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Obama pitches health plan

// July 1st, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Accountability, Health Care, Ideological Predispositions, Medical Breakthroughs, Obama, Obama's Goals, Science and Innovation, Taking back America, The Challenge of Change, Tipping Point, Transformative Change

Alex Brandon / AP

President Barack Obama hugs Debby Smith, who shared her stuggle with cancer at a town hall meeting in Annandale, Va.

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ANNANDALE, Va. – President Barack Obama wanted to put a human face on his plans to overhaul health care, and a Virginia supporter did just that Wednesday. Fighting back tears, Debby Smith, 53, told Obama of her kidney cancer and her inability to obtain health insurance or hold a job.

The president hugged her — she’s a volunteer for his political operation — and called her “exhibit A” in an unsustainable system that is too expensive and complex for millions of Americans.

“We are going to try to find ways to help you immediately,” he told Smith as hundreds looked on at a community college forum — and countless others watched on television. But the nation’s long-term needs require a greater emphasis on preventive care and “cost-effective care,” he said.

Smith, of Appalachia, Va., is a volunteer for Organizing for America, Obama’s political operation within the Democratic National Committee. She obtained her ticket through the White House.

Reshaping the medical landscape
The health care changes that Obama called for Wednesday would reshape the nation’s medical landscape. He says he wants to cover nearly 50 million uninsured Americans, to persuade doctors to stress quality over quantity of care, to squeeze billions of dollars from spending.

But details on exactly how to do those things were generally lacking in his hour-long town hall forum before a friendly, hand-picked audience in a Washington suburb. The lingering questions underscore the tough negotiations awaiting Congress, the administration and dozens of special interest groups in the coming months. Lawmakers will return to debating the issue when they return from a one-week recess on Monday.

Some of Obama’s questioners Wednesday were from friendly sources, including a member of the Service Employees International Union and a member of Health Care for America Now, which organized a Capitol Hill rally last week calling for an overhaul. White House aides selected other questions submitted by people on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

Republicans said the event was a political sham designed to help Obama, not to inform the public.

“Americans are already skeptical about the cost and adverse impact of the president’s health care plans,” Republican National Committee spokesman Trevor Francis said. “Stacking the audience and preselecting questions may make for a good TV, but it’s the wrong way to engage in a meaningful discussion about reforming health care.”

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Truth and Lies of 911 – Parts 1/15

// June 28th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // 911 Issues, Accountability, Alarming News, Department of Justice, Economic Downturn, Financial Accountability, Financial Crisis, Legalization of Pot, Marijuana Laws, National Security, Osama bin Laden, Release of Jailed Pot Users, Rule of Law, Security Interests, State Secrets, Taking back America, Terrorism, The Challenge of Change, Transformative Change, Transparency in Government, al Qaeda

This is a video of a presentation Mike Ruppert made at Portland State University on NOVEMBER. 28, 2001.

Book Publication Announcement

April 17, 2009

A Presidential Energy Policy: Twenty-five Points Addressing the Siamese Twins of Energy and Money
© Copyright 2009, Michael C. Ruppert

Yuneec Electric Aircraft Makes First Flight (Video)

// June 28th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Accelerating Shift, Alternative Fuels, Electric Cars, High Energy Prices, Power Generation, Renewable Energy Breakthroughs, Replacement Technologies, Science and Innovation, Tesla Motors, Transformative Change

by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 06.28.09

Image credit: Yuneec

Electric Aircraft Makes Successful Test Flight
There are plenty of fancy electric super cars out there proving that battery-powered does not have to mean boring. But is the world ready for electric aviation? THere’s actually more prototypes out there than you might think – from the SkySpark electric plane to the jaw-dropping, alp-crossing Sunseeker solar plane (video). Heck, there’s so much hope for battery-powered flight that there is even an Electric Plane Symposium, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has hinted at supersonic electric flight. In the meantime, another electric plane has taken flight – and this one might be on the market sooner than you’d think. Click below the fold for video footage of the maiden flight.