Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi met with bloggers today via a conference call recorded by John Amato of Crooks and Liars. I took some notes while I listened, and I think in summary that Speaker Pelosi is right on track to get a good bill to the conference fight.

The conference call was in the context of releasing the Affordable Health Care for America Act (HR 3962). Here is the link to the entire 1990-page PDF: Affordable Health Care for America Act (HR 3962). I have only skimmed it at this point.

Below are my notes from listening to the audio from Crooks and Liars.

From the LA Times:

"It's a bonanza," said Robert Laszewski, a health insurance executive for 20 years who now tracks reform legislation as president of the consulting firm Health Policy and Strategy Associates Inc.

The reference is to a mandate to carry health insurance. I will not be a 'bonanza', and I will not pay for health insurance. I don't now, I haven't for 10 years, and I refuse to in the future. Am I going to be a healthcare criminal?

I am not scared. I am furious.

I am not worried or concerned or tempted to ask, "What has happened to my country?" No, I understand the American culture.

I believe the stability of America is at risk.

I wish I could treat the subject as thoroughly as possible, but unfortunately, I only have a blog. I can only state my simple opinion. I will state it without sources or links or any of the things that can be analyzed for rationality or credibility. I will express my feelings.

The Freeport Journal Standard recently published a piece called From the Pulpit: Time for a Christian Revolutionary War by the pastor of The Father’s House Church. While it doesn't matter where this church is or who this pastor is, the content of the article is another frightening example of dangerous, extremist thought in our country.

It is time for a new Christian revolutionary war.

and

The true church of Jesus Christ must arise in this desperate hour and storm heaven with our prayers. We must not relent until our Christian heritage is established again in every aspect of society.

This is a call to treasonous violence. Establishment of christianity in "every aspect of society" would be in violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

A security guard at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC was murdered by a white supremicist today.

An elderly gunman opened fire with a rifle inside the crowded U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday, fatally wounding a security guard before being shot. Authorities said they were investigating a white supremacist as the suspect.

This could be a never-ending series, but for the law enforcement agents that actually prevent such acts from occuring. The Southern Poverty Law Center assembled a list of Terror From the Right in 2005, and it is a tribute to federal law enforcement. Please follow me below for a reminder of how terrorism is (used to be?) prevented.

Dr. George Tiller was slain in his church yesterday by an anti-abortion domestic terrorist.

Tiller, who frequently wore a bullet-proof vest for protection, was shot and killed by an assailant, purported to be a 51-year old man named Scott Roeder.

For its part, Operation Rescue, a leading anti-abortion organization disavows any relation to the terrorist:

Scott Roeder has never been a member, contributor, or volunteer with Operation Rescue. Mr. Roeder may have posted to our open blog web site, as have thousands of members of the public, including those with pro-abortion views, but he is not affiliated with this organization.

Despite this, there is an obviously violent bent to anti-abortion rhetoric (see below) just as there is for racist rhetoric. There is no joy in this, but the warnings have been many recently; I believe a resounding, "I told you so", is necessary for the United States.

I don't often write much any more as there are plenty of others saying what I want said. Should they not be heard, I will add my voice. However, I do not feel I need to write about torture or Arlen Specter or the latest crisis in Africa when others are doing so adequately. I do need to write about individual experiences that can't be expressed by others.

Such is my tale of a recent conversation with one of my republican friends. He is a well-informed atheist, and we have had many a pleasant conversation about history and classical music. Today, I braved the political debate. It was one of those meandering political debates that touch on every topic because most end at "so we disagree about that".

It went well, and I would simply like to record some of the fallacies I heard and correct them with source information. Details below.

This should probably be filed in the obvious category, but it is nice to see my government get it right for a change. From the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Intelligence and Analysis, DHS/I&A, issued this unclassified assessment:

DHS/I&A assesses that lone wolves and small terrorist cells embracing violent rightwing extremist ideology are the most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United States. Information from law enforcement and nongovernmental organizations indicates lone wolves and small terrorist cells have shown intent—and, in some cases, the capability—to commit violent acts. [emphasis mine]

Perhaps Glenn Beck and his roving bands of tea-waving lunatics are more than idiots. They would seem to be dangerous idiots.

Updated, 3/31/2009: And he knows it! Do his sponsors? Oh, that's right, he's on Fox News; of course, they do! They count on their viewers being idiots, as well.

This just has to be mocked. Glenn Beck has decided to list some principles that define his concept of the American psyche, one that "surrounds" my concept somehow.

... [Y]ou’ve fallen for the Wizard of Oz lie. While the voices you hear in the distance may sound intimidating, as if they surround us from all sides—the reality is very different. Once you pull the curtain away you realize that there are only a few people pressing the buttons, and their voices are weak. The truth is that they don’t surround us at all.

We surround them.

Republicans clearly have lost their way in the advertising aspect of politics, but I am more interested in the paradigm, itself. The problem is that Beck makes no sense whatsoever, so there is only mocking derision for this silliness.

You hear it frequently from conservatives, even the unelected ones: it's all about personal responsibility. Why do we need the government, they will say, if we each take responsibility for ourselves and our families? Why do we need taxes, they opine, when we can take responsibility for our own communities and schools? Why monitor volcanoes, says their new leader; I don't even know the conservative argument for that one, but I'm sure it comes down to personal responsibility somehow.

But, what is personal responsibility? To what do we owe that responsibility? To our nation? To our future, our posterity?

President Obama has tried to answer these nagging questions, from calls for national volunteer service to his current budget.

We must usher in a new era of responsibility in which we empower citizens with the information they need to hold their elected representatives accountable for the decisions they make.

Do elected republicans understand this type of responsibility?