Obviously, I voted to repeal the bill and you pretty much know where I am on replacement because I put out a bill last year on that. Is the repeal dead? I don’t think the Senate is going to do it, so I guess, yes.Republican Rep. Dave Camp • Saying out loud what astute political observers have been able to say for some time, that any attempt by Republicans to fully repeal health care reform isn’t going to happen. This is not to say the GOP is willing to give up the fight on health care, because as Camp noted, they may try to specifically target the individual mandate for repeal. Why Camp believes this could work when he knows Democratic majorities in the Senate (and a Democrat in the White House) have made full repeal a moot point is beyond us, but whether it’s political posturing or not, this won’t be the last you hear of this issue. source (via • follow)
Insider insight into bin Laden mission: As stated by Obama administration counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan, the U.S. would have claimed bin Laden alive if possible, but the al-Qaeda leader and his allies started a firefight that led to his death. He also said that President Obama and his aides were watching the operation in real time in the White House Situation Room, which he called “clearly very intense.” No kidding! Brennan also revealed that there are, in fact, photos of bin Laden’s corpse, but the White House has not yet decided whether to release them — a sensitive decision to be sure. source
I’ve made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.President Barack Obama • In his speech tonight, announcing that a U.S. special operation had killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. The President takes a very good tact here in distancing bin Laden and his organization from the Muslim community writ large. His reminder that bin Laden had himself killed many Muslims in service of his terror campaigns (and within our nation, as well, with many Muslims killed on 9/11) is an important one, too often lost in recent politicking. Even amidst what looks like broad jubilation domestically at the news, it’s important to keep the celebrating a positive thing, not something that turns at all ugly on our Muslim brethren. The President clearly wanted to short circuit that, as best he could, by emphasizing solidarity. source (via • follow)
»And don’t forget about Japan’s other problems: Prime Minister Naoto Kan was pretty unpopular prior to the earthquake and tsunami that decimated the country, and his abilities at crisis management haven’t escaped public criticism. Reuters reports that many Japanese are unhappy with the Prime Minister’s focus on the nuclear crisis, feeling that not enough attention is being paid to other pressing humanitarian tolls caused by the earthquake; the number of dead or missing currently sits at 28,000 people, though obviously that estimate is changing all the time. source
Attack on American airmen in Frankfurt: A gunman, reported by the U.K.’s Guardian as believed to be from Kosovo, opened fire on a military bus at the Frankfurt airport, killing two U.S. airmen and badly wounding two others. While no potential motive has been ascribed, the German authorities arrested a suspect inside the airport shortly after the attack, who they’ve identified as Arif Uka, a twenty-one year old. The Pentagon has not yet offered comment. source
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