Political Blog Weekly: 11 September 2009

September 11th

This week marked the 8th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the United States.  Just as I wrote my remembrance article to mark the date, so did many of our fellow bloggers.  I hope everyone took at least one moment on Friday to pause and remember those who lost their lives that day.  They weren’t fighting in a war.  They weren’t policing a foreign country.  They probably never even heard of al Qaeda or the Taliban.  They were just ordinary individuals
just like yourself who went to work to earn a decent living for themselves and their families.  It could have easily been you, a family member, or a friend who died that fateful morning.  

The following is a collection of their views and opinions.

First Door on the Left – "Remember"
QandO – "9/11"
Disillusioned Words – "Remember"
Right Wing Nut House – "Remember 9/11"
Connecting.the.Dots – "Fear Factor: Pearl Harbor to 9/11"
Pambie – "2996"
Chicagoray’s Views and News – "September 11 Tribute"
EGO – "9/11 8 Years Later"
The BoBo Files – "In Memorial – Moises N. Rivas"
Just Politics …? – "Legacy of Terrorism Against the U.S. During the 90s/00s"

Joe Wilson

During President Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress, Congressman Joe Wilson did something that hasn’t happened during my lifetime.  Explaining his vision of what Health Care Reform should look like, Obama stated that no illegal aliens would receive taxpayers money for medical treatment.  As soon as he finished his sentence, Wilson shouted, "You lie!"  This breach of protocol is very disappointing, even if Wilson is correct on the point.    

Liberal Values – "GOP Cranks Dominate Opposition to Sunstein And Health Care Debate"
Open Congress – "Joe Wilson Voted to Provide Taxpayer Money for Illegal Immigrants’ Healthcare"
First Door on the Left – "Elephant in the room"
Sic Semper Tyrannis – "Preston Brooks, Joe Wilson and the Palmetto State"
Atheist Revolution – "The Party of Selfishness: Republican Opposition to Health Care Reform"
QandO – "Why did Rep. Joe Wilson Yell ‘You Lie!’ At Obama?"

Contributing members:

• U.S. Common Sense
• The BoBo Files
• Phuck Politics
• The Right Wing
• EGO
• Bad Gals Radio

If you wish to be a contributing member, please visit the Political Blog Listing for more information.

Health Care Speech

Aside from Joe Wilson’s outburst, the bloggers were busy providing their two-cents worth on the speech given by President Obama.  As I noted in my own article, there are some good points and bad points expressed during the joint session of Congress.  Do they share my views?  

A Disgruntled Republican – "Analysis of President Obama’s Speech to Congress on Healthcare"
QandO – "Fun With Numbers"
Connecting.the.Dots – "Obama Throws Down the Gauntlet"
Ranting Republican – "Live Analysis of President Obama’s Health Care Speech to Congress"
Divided We Stand – United We Fall – "Live Blogging the Live Bloggers – President Obama’s health care speech to Congress"
The New Clarion – "The Speech You Won’t Hear Tonight"

Speech to Students

The address to Congress wasn’t the only speech President Obama made this week.  One of the more controversial stories was the planned live address to school kids across the country by Obama.  While the practice of addressing students aren’t new, this is the first time where the government put out a curriculum for the teachers to use in conjunction with the address, including asking students what they can do to help the President.  I personally think the issue was blown out of proportion.  Fortunately, no children were indoctrinated last week (once the adults read/heard the speech).

Rough Fractals – "Obama’s speech to students…"
Republican Ranting – "President Obama’s Speech to Students Was No Big Deal"
The Apathy Remedy – "From 3/5ths of a Person, To 3/5ths of a President"
Sic Semper Tyrannis – "Obama’s ‘socialist’ school speech -the text"
The New Clarion – "The Nag in Chief"
Political Castaway Blog – "Another Teachable Moment?"