Almanacs “Five Senators To Watch On Health Care - RealClearPolitics” plus 4 more

Five Senators To Watch On Health Care - RealClearPolitics
The Almanac - Nov. 10 - Post Chronicle
Adamawa - Don Counsels Women Groups On Humility - TMCnet
The Almanac - OfficialWire
Wednesday: Portola Valley council meets on open space definition and ... - The Almanac Online

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Five Senators To Watch On Health Care - RealClearPolitics

Posted: 10 Nov 2009 05:45 AM PST

With 60 Democrats in the Senate, the party has enough votes to pass any bill it pleases -- but that total includes two independents that caucus with the party and leaves no room for error. The tight margin is on display once again as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) searches for enough support to both bring health care reform up for a vote and actually pass it.

While many Republicans do not support passing comprehensive reform at all, Reid is struggling to win over the centrist members of his own party on a couple sticking points: a government-run insurance option and banning federal funding for abortions.

Following House passage of its reform legislation Saturday night, President Obama expressed confidence that the Senate would follow suit. The president has done his part, meeting personally with a number of centrist Democrats to discuss reform. How successful he and Reid can be remains to be seen, but there is consensus on the fact that it will be far more difficult than passing it out of the House.

As the Senate awaits cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office this week, all eyes remain on a select group of senators whose support or opposition could alter the ultimate success of the bill. Here are Five Senators To Watch as Senate Democratic leadership looks to pass its own health care reform by the end of the month:

Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska)

As the Almanac of American Politics puts it, "He often is found in the middle of battles between the extremes of both parties." That was true in 2005, when he was part of the Gang of 14 that sought to allow President Bush's judicial nominations to move forward, and it remains true today, as Nelson continues to be at the heart of each battle over health care.

Nelson is against the public option, even with an opt-out clause, which had been the center of debate until this week. Now, since House Democrats passed a bill Saturday that bars federal dollars from being spent on abortions, Nelson says he will not support a bill that doesn't do the same thing. "If it doesn't make it clear that it does not pay for abortion then I wouldn't support it," Nelson told reporters Monday, according to Reuters.

The second term senator could introduce his own amendment that would solve the issue. House Democratic leaders were forced to include the Stupak amendment to get enough Dem votes for passage, and Senate Democratic leadership will likely be in the same boat.

Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)

As a moderate Republican who has joined Democrats in previous key votes, Snowe is often mentioned in the health care debate. Her vote in the Senate Finance Committee helped move health care reform to the cusp of the Senate floor. However, she made sure to note at the time that she will not necessarily support the final bill that is introduced to the full Senate.

Snowe's voting record pits her in the middle of the Senate, and Democrats are hoping to win her support on this crucial vote. But Snowe has said she does not support a public option, even with an opt-out clause. So winning her vote does not appear likely -- as Reid announced the bill will indeed include it -- unless Democrats decide to give the public option a "trigger," which Snowe supports.

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The Almanac - Nov. 10 - Post Chronicle

Posted: 10 Nov 2009 04:47 AM PST

Today is Tuesday, Nov. 10, the 314th day of 2009 with 51 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Venus, Mars and Saturn. The evening stars are Mercury, Neptune, Jupiter and Uranus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include Martin Luther, founder of Protestantism, in 1483; William Hogarth, English artist and engraver, in 1697; Irish author Oliver Goldsmith in 1730; actors Claude Rains in 1889, Richard Burton in 1925 and Roy Scheider in 1932; singer Jane Froman in 1907; bandleader/trumpet/arranger Billy May in 1916; American Indian rights activist/actor Russell Means in 1939 (age 70); lyricist Tim Rice in 1944 (age 65); country singer Donna Fargo in 1945 (age 64); actresses Ann Reinking in 1949 (age 60) and Mackenzie Phillips in 1959 (age 50); filmmaker Roland Emmerich ("Independence Day") in 1955 (age 54); and comedian Sinbad, born David Adkins, in 1956 (age 53).

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On this date in history:

In 1775, the U.S. Marine Corps was formed by order of the Continental Congress.

In 1871, journalist Henry Stanley found missing Scottish missionary David Livingstone in a small African village. His famous comment: "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"

In 1917, 41 women from 15 U.S. states were arrested outside the White House for suffragette demonstrations. U.S. women won the right to vote three years later.

In 1951, area codes were introduced in the United States, Canada and parts of the Caribbean, allowing direct-dialing of long-distance telephone calls. Prior to this, all such calls were operator-assisted.

In 1969, "Sesame Street" premiered on PBS.

In 1975, the ore freighter Edmund Fitzgerald broke in two and sank during a storm on Lake Superior, killing all 29 crew members. It was the worst Great Lakes ship disaster of the decade.

In 1982, Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev died at age 75 after 18 years in power.

In 1983, Microsoft released its Windows computer operating system.

In 1989, Bulgaria's long-reigning, hard-line president Todor Zhivkov resigned as democratic reform continued to sweep the Eastern Bloc.

Also in 1994, the only privately owned manuscript of Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci was sold at auction at Christie's in New York for $30.8 million, the highest amount paid for a manuscript.

In 1996, a bomb at a Moscow cemetery killed 11 and injured one dozen other people.

In 2001, Taliban officials confirmed that the Northern Alliance had captured the Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif, while U.S. President George Bush told the U.N. General Assembly that the time had come for countries to take swift and decisive action against global terrorism.

In 2002, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to allow U.S. President George Bush to take unilateral military action against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq without conditions beyond Congress being informed almost immediately.

In 2003, Lee Malvo, one of two suspects in the rash of sniper shootings that terrorized the Washington area, pleaded innocent as his trial opened in Chesapeake, Va. The trial overlapped that of the other suspect, John Muhammad, in Virginia Beach, Va.

In 2004, Shell Hydrogen opened the first hydrogen outlet at a retail gasoline station in Washington to service fuel cell vehicles from General Motors.

Also in 2004, an Israeli parliamentary committee approved a bill prohibiting pensions to families of suicide bombers.

In 2005, a bomb explosion in a central Baghdad restaurant killed at least 34 people and wounded 25 others.

In 2006, the head of Britain's MI5 counter-terrorism agency said there were 30 "mass casualty" terror plots being planned in the country.

Also in 2006, Mexico City lawmakers officially recognized same-sex civil unions, subject to approval by the mayor.

In 2007, Bank of America, CitiGroup and JPMorgan Chase, the nation's three biggest banks, agreed to a simplified structure for a reported $75 billion fund designed to stabilize U.S. credit markets.

In 2008, close to 30 people were reported killed and more than 60 were injured when three bombs went off within minutes in northern Baghdad during the morning commute.

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A thought for the day: Irish author Oliver Goldsmith said, "A book may be amusing with numerous errors or it may be very dull without a single absurdity." (c) UPI

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Adamawa - Don Counsels Women Groups On Humility - TMCnet

Posted: 10 Nov 2009 04:26 AM PST

Yola, Nov 10, 2009 (Daily Champion/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) -- WOMEN cultural and elite groups in the country have been urged to reposition themselves to be able to face challenges in fostering the dignity of Nigerian women, if the prevailing voices of women on gender issues must penetrate the desired areas.

The former deputy vice chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, FUT in Yola, Adamawa State, Prof. Emmanuel Alo, who made the call at the launching of the Maiden Almanac of a Tiv women socio-cultural group, known as "Mtem U Dooshima" over the weekend, maintained that, Nigerian women must demonstrate sincerity in the goals they pursue through associations before Nigerians would come to understand the good intentions they have for the country.

Alo, who was the chief launcher in the ceremony informed the members of the association that their relevance as a group must be predicated on sustained interest of the positive ideals that the Nigerian culture stood for.

Also addressing the women, his counterpart from FUTY, Prof. Benki Womboh expressed displeasure, citing examples and circumstances where women dumped the positive objectives that bound them in a group and rather go out for sentiments.

Womboh who reminded the group of the enormous responsibilities they have as mothers, and for some as widows, also observed that, if women independence is a pride of greatness, then their desire must be properly guided by humility.

He recalled that, over the years, the country had experienced a disconnect between women and their culture, pointing out that the western culture was the major detaching factor which had disheveled women and their environment.

The guest speaker, Mr. Patrick Ayom who is editor of The Scope Newspapers, based in Yola, said that women must provide their ideological needs and the basis for developing their conscience, if they remember God in their activities.

He said the determination of women and the success of their governance through the associations they keep would give the country the conviction of entrusting them with positions of authority.

According to his paper, "the fear the nation has in placing women in positions of authority continues to frustrate our dream of building a country and achieving other goals we desire to pursue." In her vote of thanks, the association's president, Mrs. Msurshima Swende explained that the common reasons that bring women together are to beat down on the burden the society places on the women.

She said the women needed a forum to discuss their common problems which provides better results above those results that are self induced.

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The Almanac - OfficialWire

Posted: 10 Nov 2009 01:13 AM PST