Know that there is no separation
there is no distance between you and source
there is nothing between you other than false illusions
know that source is already a part of you
you are already connected and you only need let go of the illusions
only need let go of the limitations the conditioned thinking you have been programmed and repetitively bombarded with
so that you have accepted the normal illusions as truth
do not give in to this fallacy
do not give in
if you call on source to reveal the truth to you
to open your eyes
you will see a greater expansion
a greater presence
a greater life than you have ever known
all you need do is allow and let source be through you in you as you
yes
it takes practice to let go
but you can do it
some are even able to let go quickly and consistently
it is up to you how quickly and how consistently you choose to let go
letting go is giving up the knowledge you have accepted and relied on so much and relying on the guidance of source within you to confirm or deny what is best and highest to act upon
what is best and highest to believe
and what is best and highest to feel
yes
feel the relief
feel the beauty of life
feel the joy of being
feel it now and know that your abundance does not lie on the shoulders of your hard work
it lies on your aligned and inspired being
that is the fastest way to allow source to do what is best for all concerned
that is the fastest way to allow abundance to flow freely
know this and allow it to be so in your life
through experience yes
through your now
yes that is critical
to truly knowing this
being this
living this
now
allow

- Morning stream of consciousness writing from John Stringer
Find out more about this blog by reading the BACKGROUND STORY.

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Strategy: the science of planning and directing military operations, a plan or action based on this; skill in managing or planning, esp. by using stratagems. (Collins Pocket Dictionary, 1986)

Stratagems: a trick or plan for deceiving an enemy in war; any trick or scheme. (Collins Pocket Dictionary, 1986)

Strategic: sound in strategy; advantageous; needed for carrying on war; directed against the military and industrial installations of the enemy. (Collins Pocket Dictionary, 1986)

A strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. The word strategy has military connotations, because it derives from the Greek word for general. A strategy is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. Strategy may also refer to:

• Business strategy, the art and science of enabling an organization to achieve its objective
  • Marketing Strategy, a process that allows an organization to increase sales and achieve a competitive advantage
  • Technology strategy, a document that explains how information technology should be used as part of a business strategy
  • Digital strategy, the process of specifying an organization’s processes to deploy online assets
• Trading strategy, a predefined set of rules to apply in finance (Wikipedia)

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir - Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.

NEWS

Senate reform bill passes last hurdle en route to passage
December 23, 2009 5:14 p.m. EST

‘On the doorstep of history’ :
Sen. Harry Reid applauds the work of his Senate colleague in moving the health care bill to a final vote.

Washington (CNN) — The Senate health care bill cleared a third and final procedural hurdle Wednesday as Democrats successfully limited remaining debate time on the $871 billion measure.

The Senate voted 60-39 along party lines to set a timetable for likely passage of the bill early Thursday morning.

Democrats also turned back last-ditch motions from Republicans claiming various provisions in the bill, including a mandate that individuals purchase coverage, are unconstitutional.

“It’s long past time we declare health care a right and not a privilege,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said after the vote.

“Today is a victory … for American families,” proclaimed Sen. Max Baucus, D-Montana. “Americans won.”

The expected victory for President Obama’s top domestic priority comes after nearly a year of sharply polarized deliberations on Capitol Hill. Any measure passed by the Senate, however, will still have to be merged with a $1 trillion plan approved by the House of Representatives in November.

Increasingly confident Democrats hope to have a bill ready for Obama’s signature before his State of the Union address early next year.

“Health care reform is not a matter of if,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday. “Health care reform now is a matter of when.”

If a combined House-Senate health care bill clears Congress and is signed by Obama, it would be the biggest expansion of federal health care guarantees since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid over four decades ago.

Republicans have mounted a no-holds-barred legislative campaign against the bill, using a series of procedural maneuvers to slow debate while arguing that the measure will raise taxes while doing little to slow spiraling health care costs.

They’ve also ripped Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, for garnering the 60 votes necessary to pass the bill in part by cobbling together a series of “sweetheart deals” for wavering members of the Democratic caucus.

“This bill is a grab bag of Chicago-style, backroom buyoffs,” Utah GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch said Wednesday.

Recent compromises made to win the backing of moderates such as Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut also angered many liberal Democrats and threatened to undermine support for the bill.

Democrats have now held three key procedural votes on the health care bill this week. The backing of all 60 members of the Democratic caucus was required during each vote in order to overcome a filibuster from a GOP minority united in opposition.

Final passage of the measure, in contrast, will require only a bare majority in the 100-member chamber.

Enthusiastic top Democrats argue the Senate bill would constitute a positive change of historic proportions. The legislation, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, would extend health insurance to more than 30 million Americans currently lacking coverage while reducing the federal deficit.

The House and Senate bills agree on a broad range of changes that could impact every American’s coverage.

Among other things, they have agreed to subsidize insurance for a family of four making up to roughly $88,000 annually, or 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

They also have agreed to create health insurance exchanges designed to make it easier for small businesses, the self-employed and the unemployed to pool resources and purchase less-expensive coverage. Both the House plan and the Senate bill would eventually limit total out-of-pocket expenses and prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.

Insurers also would be barred from charging higher premiums based on a person’s gender or medical history. However, both bills allow insurance companies to charge higher premiums for older customers.

Medicaid would be significantly expanded under both proposals. The House bill would extend coverage to individuals earning up to 150 percent of the poverty line, or roughly $33,000 for a family of four; the Senate plan ensures coverage to those earning up to 133 percent of the poverty level, or just over $29,000 for a family of four.

Major differences between the bills will be the focus of the conference committee that will try to merge them. House and Senate Democrats are still divided over how to pay for their plans. They are also split on, among other things, language relating to abortion coverage and whether to include a government-run public health insurance option.

The House bill includes a public option; the more conservative Senate measure would instead create nonprofit private plans overseen by the federal government.

© 2009 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

NEWS

Health bill clears last hurdle before passage
Dec 23, 4:36 PM EST
By Erica Werner
Associated Press Writer

From left, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Ariz., Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., and Sen, Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., confer on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 23,2009, prior to a health care news conference. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Exultant Senate Democrats pushed President Barack Obama’s landmark health care overhaul past a final procedural hurdle Wednesday, setting up a Christmas Eve vote to pass the legislation extending coverage to 30 million Americans.

Democrats voted 60-39 to end a GOP filibuster and move to a final vote Thursday. All 58 Democrats and two independents hung together against unanimous Republican opposition.

It was the 24th day of debate on the 10-year, nearly $1 trillion bill.

“It is now only hours until this Senate will pass meaningful health care reform,” said Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont.

“It has been a long time coming,” Baucus said. “I thank God that I have lived to see this day.”

It was the third time Democrats have put up 60 votes on procedural measures since Monday. Final passage requires just a simple majority so Democrats should triumph easily. It will be a big victory for Obama and the Democrats, although the Senate bill will still have to be reconciled with a House-passed version before Obama could sign a final package.

There are some thorny differences between the two chambers, including stiffer abortion curbs in the House bill and a new government-run insurance plan in the House bill that’s not in the Senate version.

The sweeping legislation, crafted over months of laborious negotiations, would dramatically remake the country’s health care system with new requirements for nearly everyone to purchase insurance. The government would provide subsidies to help lower-income people pay for coverage. Unpopular insurance company practices such as denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions would be banned.

Powerless to stop the bill, Republicans stepped up their attacks, contending the sweeping bill threatened to harm Medicare and add billions to the deficit.

“Tomorrow the Senate will vote on a bill that makes a bad situation worse,” Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said on the Senate floor. “This bill slid rapidly down the slippery slope to more and more government control of health care.”

The final vote is now set for 7 a.m. Thursday, not 8 a.m. as agreed to earlier in the week. It had originally been scheduled for 7 p.m., but Republicans agreed not to use all their debate time so they could leave town earlier for the holidays and avoid bad weather looming in the midwest. On Wednesday, senators advanced the vote from 8 a.m. to 7 a.m. Thursday. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., suggested moving it up some more and holding it Wednesday night, but Republicans didn’t agree to that.

The last time the Senate voted on Christmas Eve was Dec. 24, 1895, on a military affairs bill concerning employment of former Confederate officers, according to the Senate Historical Office.

Democrats also cast several votes Wednesday turning back points of order raised against the bill by Republicans, including one by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., questioning the constitutionality of requiring most every American to buy health insurance.

Away from Capitol Hill, special deals on Medicaid obtained by some Democrats – notably Ben Nelson of Nebraska, who provided the crucial 60th vote – continued to provoke grumbling. Under the Senate bill the federal government will pay the entire cost of an expansion of Medicaid in Nebraska, unlike other states, which will have to start picking up a portion of the tab themselves after several years.

In New York, state Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos sent a letter to the attorney general and the governor urging them to join other states, including South Carolina, that are considering legal challenges over the issues.

.

NEWS

Senate health bill creates new insurance program
Reporting by Donna Smith; Editing by Bill Trott

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A new government insurance program that would help the elderly and disabled stay in their homes is headed for passage in the U.S. Senate’s sweeping healthcare revamp despite doubts about its viability and cost.

Barack Obama |  Healthcare Reform

The measure has not received the intense scrutiny focused on a proposed government-run medical coverage plan, which has been jettisoned from the Senate’s healthcare bill and is unlikely to be restored in final legislation.

But the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act, which was championed by the late Senator Edward Kennedy, is a significant program that supporters say is long overdue and critics say could add to the federal treasury’s long-term debt problems.

“If the CLASS Act becomes law, the federal taxpayer is at very serious risk of paying the price to clean up the fiscal disaster when the CLASS Act fails,” Republican Senator Charles Grassley said in a Senate speech on Tuesday.

Backers said the bill would allow disabled people to stay in their homes and out of institutional care.

It also could save states billions of dollars in the Medicaid health insurance program for the poor, which provides long-term institutional care for the disabled poor typically at much higher cost than supporting them to stay in their homes.

“We think CLASS is one of the real transformational items in the (healthcare reform) bill,” said Larry Minnix, chief executive at the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. He said the cost to states to provide long-term care for their elderly and disabled through Medicaid will skyrocket during the next 10 to 15 years without the new program.

The insurance is voluntary and would provide a cash benefit to participants if they become unable to perform at least two activities of daily life, such as dressing and bathing.

Under the Senate proposal, workers pay a monthly premium to buy coverage, probably through their employer. They would have to pay into the program for at least five years before qualifying for benefits.

PART-TIME HELP

The benefit would be at least $50 a day and the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which estimates the cost of pending legislation, assumed it would provide about $75 a day.

Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, says that would be enough to hire a nurse for a few hours to help a disabled person get ready for work or to give a break to someone who is caring for an elderly parent or disabled family member.

Harkin said it was Kennedy’s wish that the measure be included in the sweeping healthcare overhaul that the Senate is expected to pass on Christmas Eve.

The measure is supported by dozens of healthcare groups and stands a good chance of being part of a final healthcare bill that goes to President Barack Obama for his signature. But a number of analysts have voiced concern about whether the program would be financially sound over the long run.

“I think there is a significant risk it won’t work,” said Allen Schmitz, an actuary with Milliman Inc, a global consulting firm. With an initial monthly premium that one estimate said could be as high as $240, few healthy people would choose to purchase the insurance and that could undermine the financial stability of the program, he said.

“They are creating a new government program that everyone concedes is clearly unsustainable,” said Dennis Smith, a healthcare reform analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank.

The insurance program would not screen people the way private insurers do. For that reason the program is likely to attract mostly those who will need some sort of long-term care, eventually undermining its financial health, he said.

The CBO said in its analyses that the program initially would raise enough money to reduce the federal deficit by $72 billion in the first 10 years, with about $2 billion of that attributed to savings in Medicaid, which provides long-term institutional care for the disabled poor.

Premium income would continue to help reduce federal deficits in the second decade. But after that it would begin to add to deficits as benefit payments exceeded premium income and any savings to the Medicaid program, CBO said without providing specific numbers.

A similar provision was included in the healthcare overhaul passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in November. The House calls for a more expansive program than the Senate. The Senate would make the program available to active workers while the House would allow non-working spouses to join as well.

The two chambers would have to work out their differences before a final bill can be delivered to Obama.

NEWS

Senate moves health bill forward
December 22, 2009 12:34 p.m. EST
’s Ted Barrett, Dana Bash and Alan Silverleib contributed to this report.

Health care bill on track: Senate leaders on health care reform hold a news conference to discuss the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Washington (CNN) — The Senate moved closer to passing health care reform Tuesday as Democrats cleared the second of three key procedural hurdles on the sweeping $871 billion measure.

The Senate voted 60-39 along party lines to adopt changes negotiated by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada. The Senate also set a timetable for ending debate on the bill.

A third and final procedural vote is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

If Democrats clear that hurdle, the Senate will be on track to take a final vote on Christmas Eve on whether to approve the Senate’s version of the bill to overhaul health care, President Obama’s top domestic priority.

“Health care reform is not a matter of if,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said, “health care reform now is a matter of when.”

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Montana, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, declared that “the finish line is in sight.”

“We’re not the first to attempt such reforms, but we will be the first to succeed,” Baucus said.

Any measure the Senate passes still would have to be merged with the $1 trillion House version in what could be tough negotiations

In remarks Tuesday on the Senate floor, Reid acknowledged the toxic political environment surrounding the nearly yearlong debate.

Senators should set aside “personal animosity,” he said. “There’s a lot of tension in the Senate, but I would hope everyone would go back to their gentlemanly ways. … Let’s just all try to get along.”

Republicans have mounted a fierce campaign against the bill, using procedural tactics to slow debate and casting the measure as an unnecessary government intrusion in health care that will raise costs.

“Mark my words: This legislation will reshape our nation,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said Monday. “Americans have already issued their verdict. They don’t want it. They don’t like this bill, and they don’t like lawmakers playing games with their health care to secure the votes they need to pass it.”

If a combined House-Senate health care bill wins final approval from Congress and Obama signs it, the measure would be the biggest expansion of federal health care guarantees since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid more than four decades ago.

Obama on Monday praised the Senate for “standing up to the special interests who prevented reform for decades and who are furiously lobbying against it now.”

The influential American Medical Association, a traditional opponent of overhauling health care, endorsed the Senate measure hours after a rare 1 a.m. Monday vote to start winding down debate.

Read CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s take on the health care bill

All three procedural votes require Democrats to win the backing of 60 members to break a GOP filibuster. Final passage of the measure, by contrast, will require a simple majority of 51 votes.

Back-room deals on health bill: CNN’s Dana Bash reports on Democratic leaders’ back-room deals to clinch health care reform.

To Democrats, Monday’s vote signaled eventual victory on the Senate bill.

“The die is cast. It’s done,” Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, said.

Compromises made to win the backing of lawmakers such as Sens. Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska, and Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, enraged many liberal Democrats and threatened to undermine support for the bill.

Liberal Democrats are upset with Reid’s decision to abandon a government-run public health insurance option and an expansion of Medicare to Americans as young as 55.

But top Democrats argue the Senate bill still would constitute a positive change of historic proportions. The legislation would extend health insurance coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans while reducing the federal deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The House and Senate bills agree on a broad range of changes that could affect every American’s coverage.

Among other things, they have agreed to subsidize insurance for a family of four making up to roughly $88,000 annually, or 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

They also have agreed to create health insurance exchanges designed to make it easier for small businesses, the self-employed and the unemployed to pool resources and purchase less expensive coverage. Both the House plan and the Senate bill eventually would limit total out-of-pocket expenses and prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.

Insurers also would be barred from charging higher premiums based on a person’s gender or medical history. However, both bills allow insurance companies to charge higher premiums for older customers.

Medicaid would be significantly expanded under both proposals. The House bill would extend coverage to individuals earning up to 150 percent of the poverty level, or roughly $33,000 for a family of four; the Senate plan ensures coverage to those earning up to 133 percent of the poverty level, or just more than $29,000 for a family of four.

Major differences between the bills would be the focus of a conference committee that would try to merge them.

One of the biggest divides is over how to pay for the plans. The House package is financed through a combination of a tax surcharge on wealthy Americans and Medicare spending reductions.

Specifically, individuals with annual incomes more than $500,000 — as well as families earning more than $1 million — would face a 5.4 percent income tax surcharge.

The Senate bill also cuts Medicare by roughly $500 billion. But instead of an income tax surcharge on the wealthy, it would impose a 40 percent tax on insurance companies providing what are called “Cadillac” health plans valued at more than $8,500 for individuals and $23,000 for families.

Proponents of the tax on high-end plans argue it’s one of the most effective ways to curb medical inflation. However, House Democrats oppose taxing such policies because it would hurt union members who traded higher salaries for more generous health benefits.

The Senate bill also would hike Medicare payroll taxes on families making more than $250,000; the House bill does not.

Another key sticking point is the dispute over a public option. The House plan includes a public option; the Senate plan would instead create new nonprofit private plans overseen by the federal government.

Individuals under both plans would be required to purchase coverage, but the House bill includes more stringent penalties for most of those who fail to comply. The House bill would impose a fine of up to 2.5 percent of an individual’s income. The Senate plan would require individuals to purchase health insurance coverage or face a fine of up to $750 or 2 percent of his or her income — whichever is greater. Both versions include a hardship exemption for poorer Americans.

iReport.com: Give your thoughts on the Senate health care bill

Employers face a much stricter mandate under the House legislation, which would require companies with a payroll of more than $500,000 to provide insurance or pay a penalty of up to 8 percent of their payroll.

The Senate bill would require companies with more than 50 employees to pay a fee of up to $750 per worker if any of their employees rely on government subsidies to purchase coverage.

Abortion also has been a sticking point for both chambers. A late compromise with Catholic and other conservatives in the House led to the adoption of an amendment banning most abortion coverage from the public option. It would also prohibit abortion coverage in private policies available in the exchange to people receiving federal subsidies.

Senate provisions, made more conservative than initially drafted to satisfy Nelson, would allow states to choose whether to ban abortion coverage in plans offered in the exchanges. Individuals purchasing plans through the exchanges would have to pay for abortion coverage out of their own funds.

Nelson said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that he would withdraw his support if the final bill gets changed too much from the Senate version under consideration.

Among other things, Nelson had a provision added to the bill requiring the federal government to cover Nebraska’s costs for expanded Medicaid coverage after 2016. No other state is slated to receive such a benefit.

© 2009 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

Other than what you have learned thus far
there is not much more you need focus on
the most of what we have explained is essential for you to actually practice and embody before moving on to greater things
yes it is important for you to practice consistent alignment with source
consistent thoughts and feelings of love and that journey will lead you to all you need for now
yes
what you seek is self-mastery
that is the salvation you need
that is the heaven the kingdom the power
you desire
self-mastery
yes
mastering your mind, thoughts feelings and actions
so that they align with what is best and highest for all concerned
so that they align with love
so that they align with source
yes that is where your focus on thoughts and feelings of love leads
that is where your focus on gratitude
peace and relief lead
that is exactly what source desires to experience within you through you as you
and that again is why you exist
as an extension of source
let go of all thought to the contrary
let go of all conditioned thinking telling you anything that does not coincide with freedom
enjoyment
love
peace gratitude appreciation
and all these things that love is
let go of anything to the contrary
and know that source in you as you through you
is always moving to expand your experience in the best way possible
the more you allow
the more you go with source
the more you allow
the more you let your true nature
unfold
yes
and so it is

- Morning stream of consciousness writing from John Stringer
Find out more about this blog by reading the BACKGROUND STORY.

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I have been doing a little work on the planning side of things for my holiday. There have been some changes and these will be explained below.

Firstly, I have decided to push the holiday back a bit. There are a few public holidays during January 2010, so I think I can cope with a few extra weeks at work before needing the break. So instead of taking the holiday at the start of February, I am thinking of taking the holiday for two weeks in late February – early March 2010, or maybe a week or so later than that.

The later time for the holiday will also allow me to save for the trip and ensure I have everything I want for the holiday. I may even be able to get a digital video camera by then, which will be a great plus.

Secondly, the destination has also changed. I won’t be going out west as temperatures out that way are sure to be very hot and somewhat unbearable for any bushwalks I would want to do. The out west option will need to be looked at for a winter holiday (even though night temperatures are bound to be quite cold then). I do have a plan underway for that option also, which will probably mean a holiday in about August – September 2010 (but that is another story for another time). So to make sense of these two possible (probable) holidays in my Blog posts, the earlier holiday will be called the summer holiday 2010 and the later the winter holiday 2010.

So instead of going way out west for the summer holiday 2010, I’m thinking of going west a little (and to the south), before heading back to the southeast and travelling through the far southeast of New South Wales.

Are there any solid plans? Solid may not be quite the word for it, but I am settling on what I’d call a fairly sure itinerary for the first couple of days of summer holiday 2010. The date is certainly not fixed and that is really quite flexible at the moment. The itinerary for the first few days will probably be:

Day 1 Destination – Dubbo

Day 2 Destination – Conimbla National Park

Day 3 Destination – Wagga Wagga

So the next stage of planning will be to iron out the itinerary for these first three days before moving on towards my planned far southeast New South Wales travels.

For information on Conimbla National Park:

http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/NationalParks/parkHome.aspx?id=N0053

by Dr. Brent Lipke DC

Fibromyalgia is a term describing a condition involving chronic muscle and joint pain, headaches, irritable bowel, sleeplessness, depression and anxiety.  Sounds bad right?  It’s even worse because most forms of treatment meet with limited success.

People often develop fibromyalgia following an accident or trauma to the body.  One study found a 10 times increase in the risk of fibromyalgia following a neck injury. 

The American Journal of Medicine and other sources, show chiropractic to reduce pain and improve sleep quality.  Chiropractic works by removing stress from the nerve system allowing your body to function and heal normally.

 To learn more about how a safe, gentle and scientific, Chiropractic adjustment could TRANSFORM your health contact your chiropractor.  If you are interested in a complimentary consultation, CALL me at The Family Chiropractic Centre, 519-837-1234. 

I’m Dr. Brent Lipke, educating you to help you educate others !

NEWS

Senate health care bill clears key hurdle
December 21, 2009 8:15 a.m. EST
’s Ted Barrett, Dana Bash, Alan Silverleib and Jim Acosta contributed to this report.

The Senate vote on health care reform came shortly after 1 a.m. Monday.

Health care hurdle cleared: Health care reform cleared a major hurdle in an early morning vote in the senate. CNN’s Brianna Keilar reports.

What can health bill change?: CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Karen Tumulty of Time magazine talk about what the health care bill would do.

Partisan rancor fills D.C.: A blizzard of partisanship blankets Washington in the debate over health care reform. CNN’s Jim Acosta reports.

Washington (CNN) — Democrats won a major victory in their push for health care reform early Monday morning as the Senate voted to end debate on a package of controversial revisions to a sweeping $871 billion bill.

The 60-40 party-line vote, cast shortly after 1 a.m., kept Senate Democrats on track to pass the bill on Christmas Eve. If it passes, the measure will then have to be merged with a roughly $1 trillion plan passed by the House of Representatives in November. Shortly after the vote, the Senate went into recess until noon Monday.

The vote left President Obama on the cusp of claiming victory on his top domestic priority and enacting the biggest expansion of federal health care guarantees since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid over four decades ago.

“Today, the Senate took another historic step toward our goal of delivering access to quality, affordable health care to all Americans,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said in a statement.

The bill will help “promote choice and competition to drive down skyrocketing health care costs for families … all across America.”

The vote was the first of three this week requiring Democrats to win the backing of 60 members — enough to break a GOP filibuster. Final passage of the measure, in contrast, will require a simple majority in the 100-member chamber.

Many political observers believe Monday’s outcome indicates a likely Democratic win on the remaining procedural hurdles and the final vote.

Inside the Senate debate: A major health care victory for Democrats as a 60-40 party line vote was reached to end a package of controversial proposals.

Conservative Dem defends deal: In a CNN Exclusive, Nebraska Democrat Sen. Ben Nelson explains his health care negotiations on ‘State of the Union.’

Obama adviser on drop in polls: Watch as a senior adviser to President Obama discusses the president’s approval rating with CNN’s John King.

“The die is cast. It’s done,” New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer proclaimed after the vote.

Republicans ripped the majority for passing the measure in the middle of the night and accused Democrats of ramming the bill through despite growing public opposition.

“Make no mistake: If the people who wrote this bill were proud of it, they wouldn’t be forcing this vote in the dead of night,” argued Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky.

“Mark my words: this legislation will reshape our nation. And Americans have already issued their verdict. They don’t want it. They don’t like this bill, and they don’t like lawmakers playing games with their health care to secure the votes they need to pass it.”

The unusual timing of the vote was a consequence of Senate rules, Democrats’ determination to pass the bill before adjourning for the holidays, and the GOP’s willingness to use every possible legislative tactic to slow the bill’s progress.

Unanimous Republican opposition has forced Reid to win the support of all 60 members of his traditionally fractious Democratic caucus. Compromises made to win the backing of more conservative members, such as Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, have enraged many liberal Democrats and threatened to undermine support for the bill.

Liberal Democrats are particularly upset with Reid’s decision to abandon a government-run public health insurance option and an expansion of Medicare to Americans as young as age 55 — ideas strongly opposed by Lieberman and other centrists.

Top Democrats, however, argue that the Senate bill as written would still constitute a positive change of historic proportions. The legislation, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, would extend health insurance coverage to over 30 million Americans while reducing the federal deficit by $132 billion over the next decade.

The deficit would drop by another $1.3 trillion between the years 2019 and 2029, the CBO said.

Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have now reached agreement on a broad range of changes that could affect every American’s coverage.

Among other things, they have agreed to subsidize insurance for a family of four making up to about $88,000 annually, or 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

They have also agreed to create health insurance exchanges designed to make it easier for small businesses, the self-employed and the unemployed to pool resources and purchase less expensive coverage. Both the House plan and the Senate bill would eventually limit total out-of-pocket expenses and prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.

Insurers would also be barred from charging higher premiums based on a person’s gender or medical history. Medicaid would be significantly expanded under both proposals.

There are, however, major differences between the Senate measure and the more expansive — hence expensive — House bill.

One of the biggest divides is over how to pay for the plans. The House package is financed through a combination of a tax surcharge on wealthy Americans and new Medicare spending reductions. Individuals with annual incomes over $500,000 and families earning more than $1 million would face a 5.4 percent income tax surcharge.

The Senate bill also cuts Medicare by roughly $500 billion. It does not include a tax surcharge on the wealthy, however. It would instead impose a 40 percent tax on so-called “Cadillac” health plans.

Proponents of the tax on high-end plans argue it’s one of the most effective ways to curb medical inflation. House Democrats are adamantly opposed to taxing such policies, arguing that such a move would hurt union members who traded higher salaries for more generous benefits.

Another key sticking point is the dispute over a public option. The House plan includes a public option; the more conservative Senate plan would instead create new nonprofit private plans overseen by the federal government.

iReport.com: Give your thoughts on the Senate health care bill

Under both plans, individuals would be required to purchase coverage. But the House bill includes more stringent penalties for most of those who fail to comply. Both versions include a hardship exemption for poorer Americans.

Employers face a much stricter mandate under the House legislation, which would require companies with a payroll of more than $500,000 to provide insurance or pay a penalty of up to 8 percent of their payroll.

The Senate bill would require any company with more than 50 employees to pay a fee of up to $750 per worker if any of its employees relies on government subsidies to purchase coverage.

Abortion has also been a sticking point for both chambers. A late compromise with conservatives in the House led to the adoption of an amendment banning most abortion coverage from the public option.

It would also prohibit abortion coverage in private policies available in the exchange to people receiving federal subsidies.

Senate provisions, made more conservative than initially drafted in order to satisfy Nelson, would allow states to choose whether to ban abortion coverage in plans offered in the exchanges. Individuals purchasing plans through the exchanges would have to pay for abortion coverage out of their own funds.

Many observers expect the final bill will conform largely to the measure now moving through the Senate.

“Reid had to make a lot of concessions to get his entire caucus behind the Senate bill,” said CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser.

“He can’t afford to a lose a single vote. Every Democratic senator has the power to kill this bill, and that fact gives Senate negotiators tremendous leverage in their negotiations with the House.”

Nelson told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that he would withdraw his support if the final bill gets changed too much from the Senate version under consideration.

Among other things, Nelson had a provision added to the bill requiring the federal government to cover Nebraska’s costs for expanded Medicaid coverage after 2016. No other state is currently slated to receive such a benefit.

© 2009 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

NEWS

Senate votes to give green light to health care bill
December 21, 2009 1:50 a.m. & 4:18 a.m. EST
’s Ted Barrett, Dana Bash and Alan Silverleib contributed to this report

Washington (CNN) — Democrats won a major victory in their push for health care reform early Monday morning as the Senate voted to end debate on a package of controversial revisions to a sweeping $871 billion bill.

The 60 to 40 party-line vote, cast shortly after 1 a.m., kept Senate Democrats on track to pass the bill on Christmas Eve. If it passes, the measure will then have to be merged with a roughly $1 trillion plan passed by House of Representatives in November. The Senate went into recess until noon Monday shortly after the vote.

The vote left President Obama on the cusp of claiming victory on his top domestic priority and enacting the biggest expansion of federal health care guarantees since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid over four decades ago.

“Today, the Senate took another historic step toward our goal of delivering access to quality, affordable health care to all Americans,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said in a statement.

The bill will help “promote choice and competition to drive down skyrocketing health care costs for families … all across America.”

The vote was the first of three this week requiring Democrats to win the backing of 60 members — enough to break a GOP filibuster. Final passage of the measure, in the contrast, will require a bare majority in the 100-member chamber.

Many political observers believe Monday’s outcome indicates a likely Democratic win on the remaining procedural hurdles and the final vote.

A major health care victory for Democrats as a 60-40 party line vote was reached to end a package of controversial proposals.

In a CNN Exclusive, Nebraska Democrat Sen. Ben Nelson explains his health care negotiations on ‘State of the Union.’

“The die is cast. It’s done,” New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer proclaimed after the vote.

Republicans ripped the majority for passing the measure in the middle of the night and accused Democrats of ramming the bill through despite growing public opposition.

“Make no mistake: If the people who wrote this bill were proud of it, they wouldn’t be forcing this vote in the dead of night,” argued Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky.

“Mark my words: this legislation will reshape our nation. And Americans have already issued their verdict. They don’t want it. They don’t like this bill, and they don’t like lawmakers playing games with their health care to secure the votes they need to pass it.”

The unusual timing of the vote was a consequence of Senate rules, Democrats’ determination to pass the bill before adjourning for the holidays, and the GOP’s willingness to use every possible legislative tactic to slow the bill’s progress.

Unanimous Republican opposition has forced Reid to win the support of all 60 members of his traditionally fractious Democratic caucus. Compromises made to win the backing of more conservative members, such as Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, have enraged many liberal Democrats and threatened to undermine support for the bill.

Liberal Democrats are particularly upset with Reid’s decision to abandon a government-run public health insurance option and an expansion of Medicare to Americans as young as age 55 — ideas strongly opposed by Lieberman and other centrists.

Top Democrats, however, argue that the Senate bill as written would still constitute a positive change of historic proportions. The legislation, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, would extent health insurance coverage to over 30 million Americans while reducing the federal deficit by $132 billion over the next decade.

The deficit would drop by another $1.3 trillion between the years 2019 and 2029.

Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have now reached agreement on a broad range of changes that could effect every American’s coverage.

Among other things, they have agreed to subsidize insurance for a family of four making up to roughly $88,000 annually, or 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

They have also agreed to create health insurance exchanges designed to make it easier for small businesses, the self-employed and the unemployed to pool resources and purchase less expensive coverage. Both the House plan the Senate bill would eventually limit total out-of-pocket expenses and prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.

Insurers would also be barred from charging higher premiums based on a person’s gender or medical history.

Medicaid would be significantly expanded under both proposals. The House bill would extend coverage to individuals earning up to 150 percent of the poverty line, or roughly $33,000 for a family of four; the Senate plan ensures coverage to those earning up to 133 percent of the poverty level, or just over $29,000 for a family of four.

There are, however, major differences between the Senate measure and the more expansive — and hence expensive — House bill.

One of the biggest divides is over how to pay for the plans. The House package is financed through a combination of a tax surcharge on wealthy Americans and new Medicare spending reductions.

Specifically, individuals with annual incomes over $500,000 — as well as families earning more than $1 million — would face a 5.4 percent income tax surcharge.

The Senate bill also cuts Medicare by roughly $500 billion. It does not include a tax surcharge on the wealthy, however. It would instead impose a 40 percent tax on so-called “Cadillac” health plans valued at more than $8,500 for individuals and $23,000 for families.

Proponents of the tax on high-end plans argue it’s one of the most effective ways to curb medical inflation. House Democrats are adamantly opposed to taxing such policies, arguing that such a move would hurt union members who traded higher salaries for more generous benefits.

The Senate bill would also hike Medicare payroll taxes on families making over $250,000; the House bill does not.

Another key sticking point: the dispute over a public option. The House plan includes a public option; the more conservative Senate plan would instead create new nonprofit private plans overseen by the federal government.

iReport.com: Give your thoughts on the Senate health care bill.

Individuals under both plans would be required to purchase coverage, but the House bill includes more stringent penalties for most of those who fail to comply. The House bill would impose a fine of up to 2.5 percent of an individual’s income. The Senate plan would require individuals to purchase health insurance coverage or face a fine of up to $750 or 2 percent of his or her income — whichever is greater.

Both versions include a hardship exemption for poorer Americans.

Employers face a much stricter mandate under the House legislation, which would require companies with a payroll of more than $500,000 to provide insurance or pay a penalty of up to 8 percent of their payroll.

The Senate bill would require companies with more than 50 employees to pay a fee of up to $750 per worker if any of its employees relies on government subsidies to purchase coverage.

Abortion has also been a sticking point for both chambers. A late compromise with Catholic and other conservatives in the House led to the adoption of an amendment banning most abortion coverage from the public option.

It would also prohibit abortion coverage in private policies available in the exchange to people receiving federal subsidies.

Senate provisions, made more conservative than initially drafted in order to satisfy Sen. Nelson, would allow states to choose whether to ban abortion coverage in plans offered in the exchanges. Individuals purchasing plans through the exchanges would have to pay for abortion coverage out of their own funds.

Many observers expect the final bill will conform largely to the measure now moving through the Senate.

“Reid had to make a lot of concessions to get his entire caucus behind the Senate bill,” said CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser.

“He can’t afford to a lose a single vote. Every Democratic senator has the power to kill this bill, and that fact gives Senate negotiators tremendous leverage in their negotiations with the House.”

Nelson told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that he would withdraw his support if the final bill gets changed too much from the Senate version under consideration.

Among other things, Nelson had a provision added to the bill requiring the federal government to cover Nebraska’s costs for expanded Medicaid coverage after 2016. No other state is currently slated to receive such a benefit.

© 2009 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

NEWS

Senate pushes to pass bill by holiday

December 20, 2009 6:10 p.m. EST

This weekend's snowstorm in Washington hasn't stalled the Senate debate to overhaul health care.

Washington (CNN) — Senate Democrats braved the aftermath of a blizzard Sunday to continue their push to pass a sweeping health care bill before Christmas.

The Senate began an all-day session, to be followed by a crucial vote scheduled for after midnight, on changes crafted by Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada to gain support for the bill from all 60 members of the Democratic caucus.

With Republicans unanimously opposed, Democrats need the support of their entire caucus to overcome a filibuster and move to a final vote on the bill later this week.

“We have had a long, arduous and I think sometimes taxing debate to reach this moment,” said Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the chamber’s second-ranking Democrat, to open the session. “I think it’s time for a vote.”

A key hurdle was cleared Saturday when the last Democratic holdout, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, agreed to support the bill in return for compromise language on federal funding for abortion and more money for his state. It was the latest in a series of deals with Senate Democrats to hold together caucus support for the bill.

iReport.com: Give your thoughts on the Senate health care bill

The House of Representatives already has passed its health care bill, and if the Senate also passes legislation, the two versions would be merged by a conference committee. Both chambers then would have to approve a final version before it goes to President Obama to be signed into law.

Obama had wanted to sign the bill by the end of year, but his senior adviser, David Axelrod, acknowledged Sunday that wouldn’t happen.

“I think we’re going to have some work to do when we come back” from the Christmas-New Year break, Axelrod said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Both Axelrod and Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday the Senate bill lacks some provisions the Obama administration wanted, but that it would bring much-needed health care reforms.

“There is no major piece of legislation that’s ever been passed without compromise; that’s the legislative process,” Axelrod said on NBC. “It is not perfect. Over time it may be improved, as all legislation is.”

In a New York Times op-ed published Sunday, Biden said the bill was “not perfect,” but called it “very good” because it expands coverage to those currently unable to afford or obtain health insurance while holding down the nation’s spiraling health care costs.

“I’ve been around a long time, and I know that in Washington big changes never emerge in perfect form,” Biden wrote.

Republicans, however, accused the Senate’s Democratic majority of working secretly to force through a poorly conceived bill that required special deals with recalcitrant caucus members.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the wheeling and dealing “personifies the worst” in how Washington operates, while Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, accused the Democrats of buying support.

“This process is not legislation; this is corruption,” Coburn said at a news conference.

The only Republican to have voted for a health care reform plan in the Senate Finance Committee in October, Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, said Sunday she would oppose the measure now before the full chamber.

“I deeply regret that I cannot support the pending Senate legislation as it currently stands, given my continued concerns with the measure and an artificial and arbitrary deadline of completing the bill before Christmas that is shortchanging the process on this monumental and trans-generational effort,” Snowe said in a statement.

While Reid apparently believes he has the 60 votes now to pass the Senate bill, it was unclear how senators would react to changes by a conference committee.

Nelson told “State of the Union” on Sunday that he would withdraw his support if the final bill gets changed too much from the Senate version under consideration. In particular, Nelson said he would oppose a bill that includes a government-run public health insurance option in the House version but cut from the Senate bill.

Facing criticism from both Republican opponents of health care and liberal Democrats seeking a stronger bill, Nelson said, “It’s like going home and getting bit by the family dog. Who enjoys that?”

“The high intensity here is as harsh and unforgiving and unrelenting as I have ever seen it in my nine years here,” he said of the health care debate.

Meanwhile, Republican Mike Huckabee, a former presidential hopeful and ex-governor of Arkansas, traveled to Nelson’s home state to rally against the senator’s decision to vote in favor of the bill. Speaking at an Americans for Prosperity event in Omaha, Huckabee invoked the holiday spirit, likening the health care bill to a “lump of coal” that has “fired up” the public.

“If the members of this Congress will not pay attention to the people who elected them, who hired them and who have the right to fire them, then the people in this country will remind them who they work for when they no longer get to work for them,” he said.

The $871 billion Senate bill would be the largest deficit-reduction measure in a decade, Obama said Saturday.

“We are on the cusp of making health care reform a reality,” the president said.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the legislation could decrease the deficit by $132 billion over the first decade, and more than $1 trillion in the 10 years afterward, Obama said at a brief news conference.

While the House and Senate bills agree on most issues, there are significant differences over how to pay for them and how they will expand health coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans.

The House bill calls for an income tax surcharge on the wealthy, while the Senate version would increase the Medicare payroll tax for those earning more than $200,000 and levy a tax on insurance companies that provide expensive health plans.

Axelrod told “State of Union” that the president thinks the Senate idea to tax insurance companies that provide high-cost “Cadillac” health care coverage is worth considering.

Axelrod avoided discussing details but said that taxing the expensive insurance plans would lower their long-term costs because insurers would seek to bring down the price to avoid the tax. Obama “thinks that has some merit,” Axelrod said.

Organized labor opposes taxing expensive health plans, arguing such benefits have been negotiated for workers in lieu of pay raises in a changing economy.

Axelrod noted the plan would tax insurance companies, forcing them to become more efficient. Eventually, he said, reducing the cost of employer-provided health care should mean more money to raise wages.

Some liberal Democrats criticize the Senate bill as being too weak, but Axelrod said a final health care measure passed by Congress will mean historic and far-reaching benefits for the nation.

“It is so wrong to suggest that this is somehow some kind of middling improvement for the American people,” Axelrod said.

In a CNN Exclusive, Nebraska Democrat Sen. Ben Nelson explains his health care negotiations on ‘State of the Union’.

Obama adviser David Axelrod tells John King that his administration is on the cusp of reforming health care.

CNN’s Howard Kurtz talks with three top journalists about the personal tone of the health care debate coverage.

Sen. Lindsey Graham gives scathing criticism of the Obama administration and the proposed Senate health care bill.

CNN’s Dana Bash reports, as Sen. Ben Nelson pledges support for health care reform, bring the vote count to 60.

© 2009 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

I have a wonderful friend who is aware of effective energy modalities and helps others all the time with them.  However, he is stuck in a pattern of never asking for help himself or allowing anyone to help him so he gets ill more than anyone I know.  My belief is we were not meant to go through life by ourselves and that we need to ask others, and also allow them, to help us.

Where are you not asking for help?  Where did so many us get the belief that help was a “bad” thing to ask for?  There is so many healing modalities for mental, emotional, physical and spiritual healing that to sit around and be miserable because you won’t ask for help mystifies me.

www.healingspiritarts.com/MarjaShelley.html

NEWS

The White House

Progress on Health Care and Climate Change

President  Obama speaks to the media about the progress being made in the Senate to pass health care reform legislation as well as breakthroughs made in Copenhagen to address climate change. December 19, 2009.

The White House

NEWS

Senate Democrats win over key holdouts to reach 60 votes on reform bill

Health Care in America

Senate Democrats secure a key vote needed to move health care reform forward. CNN’s Dana Bash reports.

Washington (CNN) — U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska on Saturday threw his support behind the Democrats’ health care reform bill, giving the party the crucial backing it needed to avoid a Republican filibuster that would prevent a Senate vote.

The first of a series of votes is set for Monday at 1 a.m., on a so-called manager’s amendment, consisting of amendments crafted in the last week-and-a-half by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

At the request of Republicans, the entire package of amendments — 383 pages — was being read Saturday, for hours, on the Senate floor.

The Senate could vote on the entire bill, a top priority of President Obama, before Christmas.

However, a House Democratic leadership source told CNN that Obama’s repeated requests for a health care bill to arrive on his desk by the end of the year won’t be met. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the ongoing internal discussions within the party, said there is “no chance of a conference between Christmas and New Year’s.”

Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, said the latest version of the Senate health care bill “is a legislative train wreck of historic proportions.”

“If [Democrats] were proud of this bill, they wouldn’t be doing it this way,” McConnell said. “They wouldn’t be jamming it through in the middle of the night on the last weekend before Christmas.”

McConnell said the legislation “will have a profound impact on our nation. This is not renaming a post office. Make no mistake, this bill will reshape our nation and our lives.”

President Obama said the Senate health care reform bill would be the largest deficit-reduction measure in a decade.

It appears the Senate will be ready to take a final vote on a health care bill by Christmas. Brianna Keilar reports.

It appears the Senate will be ready to take a final vote on a health care bill by Christmas. Brianna Keilar reports.

Reid and Sen. Charles Schumer of New York spent most of Friday trying to answer concerns from Nelson, who had held back on supporting the bill because of his objections to public funding for abortions.

Schumer said negotiations with Nelson over the legislation’s health care provisions began Friday morning and ended with handshakes close to 11 p.m.

Schumer and others involved in the talks said Nelson didn’t want to make a public announcement about his decision to back the bill until the negotiated abortion language was entered into the record.

Nelson’s backing gave the Democrats the crucial 60 votes needed to move the bundle of recent amendments, which involved a spate of compromises, to the Senate floor.

“Change is never easy, but change is what’s necessary in America today. That’s why I intend to vote for cloture and for health care reform,” the Nebraska Democrat told reporters.

Cloture is the procedure that allows senators to place a time limit on consideration of a bill or other matters, and thereby overcome a filibuster.

Nelson warned, however, that if there are changes to the health bill when House and Senate leaders meet to resolve their differences, he will withdraw his support. The House has passed a different version of the bill.

Obama said the Senate’s health care reform bill would be the largest deficit-reduction measure in a decade.

“We are on the cusp of making health care reform a reality,” he said.

“With today’s developments, it now appears that the American people will have the vote they deserve on genuine reform that offers security to those who have health insurance and affordable options for those who do not.”

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the legislation would offer a decrease in the deficit of $132 billion over the first decade, and more than $1 trillion in the 10 years after that, Obama said at a brief news conference.

The new cost for the revised Senate bill is $871 billion, the CBO said. The previous price tag was $848 billion.

Obama’s was one of a flurry of press briefings held Saturday after Nelson’s announcement.

Nelson, a social conservative who opposes abortion, did not want taxpayer funds to pay for the medical procedure. One of his main requests was that states that offer insurance present at least one plan without the abortion option. In addition, he was assured that anyone receiving federal health subsidies would pay separately for an abortion.

Two liberal U.S. senators who had not committed to supporting the health bill also announced Saturday that they would vote “yes” on its passage.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent who caucuses with the Democrats, said he changed his stance because the measure now contains provisions for new community health centers. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said he favored the insurance reforms in the legislation.

Neither is totally pleased, but they told CNN it’s a good first step.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, who was involved in some talks with Nelson, said she’s satisfied that the agreement’s language achieves its goal.

“My goal was to try to reach some compromise so we could move forward on health care, where the basic premise was we could separate federal funds from private funds. I think we achieved that.”

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, agreed, saying the deal follows the principles of the Hyde amendment, which prevents federal funds from being used for abortions.

“Anyone who is in the exchange who also gets a federal subsidy because they’re poor, if they choose a private insurance policy and want any kind of abortion coverage, they have to write that part of the premium from their own personal funds,” the Florida senator said.

The health bill proposes a health insurance exchange for those unable to afford health coverage or don’t have coverage. No federal funds could be used to cover abortions for people participating in the exchange, the bill says.

In addition, under national plans that would be administered by the Office of Personnel Management, there has to be, if a state chooses those, at least one that does not offer abortion coverage.

Meanwhile, two congresswomen said they had “serious reservations” about the abortion provision in the Senate version of the health care bill.

“This provision is not only offensive to people who believe in choice, but it is also possibly unconstitutional,” said U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette, D-Colorado, and Louise M. Slaughter, D-New York, in a statement Saturday.

“As we have maintained throughout this process, health care reform should not be misused to take away access to health care. The more than 190-member Caucus will review this language carefully as we move forward on health care reform.”

President Obama said the Senate health care reform bill would be the largest deficit-reduction measure in a decade.

Sen. Mitch McConnell responds to the Senate’s possible vote to pass the health care reform bill.

CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield talks to Paul Steinhauser about how the public feels on health care reform.

Sen. Al Franken denied Sen. Joe Lieberman extra speaking time, and some are not amused. CNN’s Jessica Yellin reports.

© 2009 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

.

NEWS

Weekly Address: The Patient’s Bill of Rights and Health Reform

The President looks back to the bipartisan Patient’s Bill of Rights, a bill that was defeated in Congress at the hands of special interests and their supporters, and notes that health insurance reform covers the same ground and much more in terms of giving the consumers the upper hand over their insurance companies. He calls on the Senate to allow an up-or-down vote, and for those opposing reform to stop using parliamentary maneuvers to drag it out.

And for this we say hello again
it is time to let go of fear
time to embrace the truth around you in you as you
it is time to do what it take to focus your attention on love from moment to moment
to become that which you truly are that which you came into this world to be
know that you have the power to make this choice now
know that there is nothing you need wait for
nothing you need acquire
nothing you need insist upon to happen before you can claim your rightful place
your birthright
yes
it is all here for you now
and all you need do is allow
yes it is that simple
yet take commitment
resolve and focus
focus on feelings and thoughts of love
focus on that which moves your soul and inspires you from moment to moment
let go of living with the compromise
living with and settling for mediocrity in what you feel from moment to moment
living with mediocrity in what you do from moment to moment
with the choices you make from moment to moment not only leads to more mediocrity but leads to a fading of your light
a dimming of who you truly are
let go of this false action this muting of your voice
and open up to the good that source in you has for you
yes
this is truth this is understanding this is the path of the righteous
light and love
peace and joy
so much more than the limited life you have settled for in the past
it is time indeed
to break through into the truth of who you are
and to feel the bliss of life
why wouldn’t you
for your time here in this form is to be lived abundantly in the good you experience
in the detachment from the temporal you master and understand through focusing on love
yes
now
be assured that all is well and will aways be
indeed
it is your choice to enter this wellness fully
or settle for something less than real
and so it is

- Morning stream of consciousness writing from John Stringer
Find out more about this blog by reading the BACKGROUND STORY.

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Now there are so many things you can focus on to get you to where you want to be
so many things you can focus on to change your thinking change your vibration and help you align with source
the fastest route is simply love
however
love comes in so many vehicles
love can be experienced through so many channels
and love is all
find that which assists you in being your true nature your true and highest self
finding that which assists you in becoming the best and highest that you truly are is the path to love
yes it is important to understand this clarification
that love is what you are and the path on which you become
the path on which you transform
that path on which you unfold
love is so many things
and you just need to set your focus your attention
your understanding to this vibration
see the world in its perfection
see the world through eyes of love
and all that you desire will become clearer
all that you truly want to do be and have
comes so much easier
because you are no longer resisting love
resisting what is resisting the reality of your life
see through the eyes of love
by re-framing whatever situation causes you trouble in your mind
whatever situation causes you grief
re-frame them from a perspective of love and know that the best and highest has already come into your life
align your self, your mind your thoughts
align with love
with source
and know that all is well in this moment and always will be
know that you have the responsibility to allow
to align
to be love
and you will be fulfilled
and so it is
————-

QUESTION: When a situation occurs that you find difficult to see the good in, how do you re-frame your outlook? What practices do you use to do this in the moment when facing challenges? Feel free to share them with us all as comments to today’s message.
————-

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Download the free MP3 of today’s message and music here.
You can also read the full text under the video below (video may take a few seconds to load).

Allow now
this is how we tap into the oneness
this is how we tap into the truth of who and what we are
allow and let the vibration flow through you in you
as you
yes source is all around you through you
in you
and is willing to allow you to feel every good thing if you would but only allow it to be so
let go of the tensions the frustrations the blocks and obstacles by changing your focus yes
that is key
changing your focus specifically to vibrations of love
in whatever way moves you most
whatever thoughts and feelings you feel love the strongest
let them center around your heart and spread from there

this is important for your development and important for your overall growth
it is from the heart center that your connection begins
yes
this is where you bring the source energy of love from best

now
focus on that
and allow your body to feel love starting from your heart center
the left side of the heart is where you want to allow the energy to begin and let it flow to your heart and expand to your heart center, the center of your chest, then expanding throughout your body yes
let it remove blocks, melt tension and restore the proper functioning of your body
the proper flow of source energy
allowing you to tap into that which is there for you
let it redirect your mind away from the limiting beliefs you have entertained and back to the true nature of your limitlessness
yes
you are limitless love
and so it is

- Morning stream of consciousness writing from John Stringer

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Aunque no se le haga caso, siempre, existen buscadores muy educados que buscan este fichero ya catan sus órdenes. En pocas palabras, este fichero de texto, ubicado siempre en el root del sitio web y con su nombre en minúsculas, nos permite especificar lo que queremos que un bot o crawler indexe y lo que no de nuestra web. Además, nos permite indicarle dónde está ubicado el fichero sitemap.xml.

Fuentes:

• Robots.txt: todo lo que debería saber

  http://www.emezeta.com/articulos/robots-txt-todo-lo-que-deberia-saber

• RobotsTXT.Org: The Web Robots Pages

  http://www.robotstxt.org/robotstxt.html

  http://www.robotstxt.org/

• Robots.txt y Sitemap files

  http://www.advancedhtml.co.uk/robots-sitemaps.htm