What a victory!

And it is only the prelude to the now inevitable passage of a bill in the Senate.

If Obama accomplishes nothing else in his term (and he has already accomplished plenty), he goes down in history for this accomplishment. FDR, Truman, Ike (he was for it but got talked out of it by the AMA), JFK, LBJ, Nixon and Clinton all wanted national health care. But Barack Obama is the President who is delivering it.

As for Speaker Pelosi. The reason the right hates her so much is because she is the engine that could. She just sets her mind on a course and does it. She runs the House like LBJ ran the Senate and we all benefit.

Proud to be a Democrat today.

Andrew Sullivan has been a life-long supporter of the State of Israel. His ardor for Israel was demonstrated weekly when, as a twenty-something, he edited The New Republic -- owned by Martin Peretz, one of the most extreme neocons in the country.

No more. The Gaza war did it. This is what he writes today, "I suspect in due course that Gaza will be understood as immoral, and counter-productive. It repelled me in a way that nothing Israel has done repelled me. It was an act of anger and vengeance and cruelty. And it will come back to haunt the Jewish state," he writes.

Andrew Sullivan is no enemy of Israel. In the words of his colleague, Jeff Goldberg of the Atlantic, an ardent Israel firster, "I know Andrew loves Israel, and he's a Zionist."

That makes Sullivan's criticism all the more significant. Times are changing. As for that appalling vote on Goldstone, it's a blip. History only moves forward, sometimes in starts and lurches, but ultimately forward. The occupation of the '67 territories has become a stench in the nostril of mankind.

This Media Matters video from Thursday's hate fest sums up the GOP today.

Even Nixon and Goldwater would not recognize these whack jobs.

And here is a Media Matters video on the racism of Fox news.

Roger Cohen is, in my opinion, one of the best New York Times columnist because he (along with Krugman, Kristof, Blow, and Herbert) are the only ones who thinks outside the box. (Friedman designed the box).

He was in the streets in Iran during the post-election uprising whose cause it was clear he supported.

His contempt, however, for the Iranian ruling class has not led him to contempt for the Iranian people. On the contrary, he has faith that they will, on their own, change or dismantle this regime.

He also understands that the one thing that would solidify support for the regime on the part of all Iranians would be an Israeli or an American attack on Iran's nuclear sites.

Even the strongest opponents of the regime believe Iran has the same right to nuclear development as any other country in the world. As for nuclear weapons, there is little evidence that Iran is pursuing them but, even if there was, the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) to which Iran is a signatory spells out its rights and obligations. It is no big surprise that the Iranians believe it hypocritical that Israel, which has refused to sign the NPT, is cheerfully allowed to possess 200 nuclear bombs while any evidence that Iran is enriching uranium even at levels well under what is needed to create a weapon is treated like the end of the world.

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It has become increasingly clear that President Obama's term is going to be a very difficult slog. We live at a time when Congress no longer believes -- and that includes much of the President's own party -- that a landslide election victory by a Presidential candidate means that the new President has a mandate to enact the program he ran on.

I think Obama will be able to get the key elements of his program enacted, not all of it, but enough of it to make him a successful President. Of course, nobody knows.

In any case, either in 2010 (God forbid) or 2012 (more likely), the Republicans will be back. And, when they return, they will be worse than ever -- especially now with the Christianist bigots running the party.

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I have never simply cross posted something I wrote elsewhere but this is important and I am rushed big time. Besides, I am proud to be associated with Media Matters for America and proud that it is my home base these days.

I'm rushed because I am in Juneau, fishing and hunting with Levi Johnston and he is running me ragged what with the moose chasing and all.

Actually, I'm not with Levi. But I am in Juneau which is one of the coolest cities I have ever been in. Its dazzlingly beautiful, it is loaded with 60's types, and the people are cool and smart. (Sarah Palin hated Juneau). I came to Alaska to speak to the Juneau World Affairs Council on behalf of Media Matters.

Two hundred people showed up to the events, and there wasn't a Likudnik or neocon among them. It was a sophisticated crowd at the lovely University of Alaska (Southeast), They sat through two five hour sessions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict! Levi left early with Trig, Track, Trace, and Tater.

Anyway, here is my reaction to the sickening House vote condemning the Goldstone report. It includes links to the roll call so you can see how your favorite liberal voted. And a great piece by Keith Ellison, who is, what we call in Yiddish, a shtarker (a tough guy).

If it's any comfort as you read that your favorite heroic lib voted with AIPAC, you can console yourself with this. He or she didn't almost surely was holding his nose while voting for it. These guys aren't dumb; they are just looking over their shoulders at an 800 pound gorilla. Hopefully, J Street will help stiffen their spines. That's a prayer, not a prediction.

PS I stopped in charming Sitka. It turns out that the Michael Chabon book must be fiction. I didn't see any Yiddish speaking cops or Jewish eskimos. Well, maybe one.

And here's McCollum story.

I will answer that question right off. As far as I know (and that is all that I can legitmiately comment on) he is.

The only reason I ask the question is because Goldberg, the Atlantic blogger, has joined with the usual neocons suspects to assert with ugly vehemence that the Iranian-American scholar, Trita Parsi, is not a loyal American but an operative of the loathsome Iranian regime.

Read this by Daniel Luban. And this by Spencer Ackerman (there are now a dozen similar pieces on the web) describing precisely who Trita is, what he stands for and what the neocons (now hell bent on an attack on Iran by the end of the year) are saying about him. Why Trita? Because he is the most effective advocate for diplomacy with Iran rather than listening to the Israeli hawks and their boys here.

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Here is today's Haaretz It looks like the administration has backed down on its criticism of settlements and that America is, yet again, putting all the onus on the Palestinians. Bibi is one happy guy today.

Meanwhile, the House is planning to vote Tuesday to support the Israeli position that the Gaza war was a praiseworthy exercise in Israeli restraint and sensitivity to civilians.

The good news is that J Street is opposed to it.

The bad news is that the 800 pound gorilla, AIPAC, and its satellite organizations are pushing it hard.

The House resolution which will pass on Tuesday basically endorses everything Israel did in the horrific Gaza war while bashing Judge Richard Goldstone for documenting war crimes committed in that war (320 dead Palestinian kids!).

After the vote I'll post the roll call and you will see that some of your favorite "courageous" liberals are none too courageous when it comes to this issue. Some of the very House members who denounce the Iraq war, the Afghanistan war and God knows how many other US military actions (often rightly) go mute when it comes to Israel. In fact, most of them do. In other words, they are courageous when there is no cost for it. (I'm curious about my current hero, Alan Grayson. Does he buckle on this issue?)

Passing this resolution will damage US security by stating to the world that when Bibi asks us to jump, we jump even higher. (Note to Congress: Did you ever consider just saying you don't agree with Goldstone's findings or did AIPAC reject that approach?)

Here is the Post story. Here is the resolution. Here is a Jewish Telegraphic Agency report by its fine reporter, Ron Kampeas, showing just how bad this resolution is.

Next week: the names of the Democrats who vote for it, just so you know why John F. Kennedy would not be writing "Profiles in Courage" about Congress in the 21st century.
I douby they will pass it by voice vote because then they can't get "credit" from AIPAC.

It is hard to imagine that the United States Congress can outdo its own record of rousing support for any and all Israeli actions and policies. But now, according to a report by Spencer Ackerman in the Washington Independent, it is preparing to do just that.

Next week the Democratic House is slated to vote on a resolution - introduced by Howard Berman (chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee), Gary Ackerman (chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East) and two Republicans, Ranking Members Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Dan Burton.

The legislators pushing the resolution say the Goldstone report is unfair and biased against Israel. Although the report condemns both Israel and Hamas for "war crimes," the representatives take strong issue with Goldstone's finding that Israel took little care to protect civilians during its massive onslaught.

Of course, the numbers themselves support Goldstone. According to B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights organization, "Israeli security forces killed 1,382 Palestinians during the 22-day military operation. Of those, 774 did not take part in the hostilities, including 320 minors and 109 women over the age of 18."

Number of Israelis killed: 9 (3 by friendly fire).

The resolution ignores those numbers, offering not even a word of sympathy to those who were killed. 320 kids!

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Not long ago, no mainstream media personality would ever allow himself to be associated with anyone who suggests that diplomacy, not war, is the way to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Being thought of as not 100% down with the government of Israel was a career killer. And, if it wasn't, media and show business figures believed it was and that was the same thing.

That era ended with the rise of Jon Stewart, the most trusted television personality in America (and the only one the kids pay attention to). Unlike the Jewish organizational figures who are always screaming that the sky is falling on our Jewish heads, Stewart is anything but scared of his own, or anyone else's, shadow.

Because Jon Stewart is so utterly at home as an American and as a Jew, he can say what he thinks about the Middle East. And that seems to be be that diplomacy is better than killing people and that no lobby should inhibit debate on an issue that affects all Americans.

Jon Stewart, all by himself, has created a sea change in the mass media's approach to the Middle East. Once others in the business see that Stewart says what he thinks -- and not only survives but thrives -- others will do it too.

And who will be the beneficiaries: Americans, Palestinians and, most of all, Israelis. Israel will not survive if it stays on its current course. Stewart understands that and feels compelled to help save Israel from its suicidal policies. And Stewart matters.

My friends and I have been involved in the struggle to help secure Israel for decades. Jon Stewart is the most effective ally we've ever had. In the names of the American people, the Jewish people and the State of Israel, I thank you!!!

Check out yesterday's Daily Show interview. Stewart received a slew of threats when the word went out that he was going to air this segment. He went ahead anyway. J Street and J Stewart all in one week. Bad times for the lobby!

Part 1

Part 2

MJ Rosenberg is Senior Fellow on foreign policy at Media Matters Action Network

This is a must read and a must watch, especially now that AIPAC and its friends are struggling to deal with the J Street phenomenon which, following its blockbuster of a conference, is now a force they must reckon with.

Max Blumenthal takes on the Israeli ambassador, Elie Wiesel, John Hagee, Jeff Goldberg and Michael Goldfarb in one beautiful piece of truth-telling.

It's all here.

My inclination as a diehard Obama supporter is to assume that, in the long run, his decisions turn out to have been right.

But it became ever more clear yesterday hat his "forgive and forget" policy toward Joe Lieberman was a big mistake. (See Reober Scheer here).

I understand why Obama did what he did. It is summed up in two adages. The first states that the difference between a caucus and a cactus is that, on a cactus, the pricks are on the outside. The other states that it is better to have the bad guy pissing out from inside the tent, than outside pissing in.

These are wise adages. But they don't apply to Lieberman. He has been pissing inside the tent for a decade, at least. His treachery was capped off by his opposition to Barack Obama in the 2008 general election. His whole raison d'etre is to harm the Democratic party (and push an aggressive policy toward Iran, much like his Iraq policy, only worse).

He is not a Democrat. He is a neocon. No, he's not a Republican because he does not believe in any kind of party loyalty. By stating that he won't even stand with the Democrats on a filibuster vote, he has demonstrated that our 60 vote majority is a chimera anyway. It's time for him to go, if for no other reason than to send a message to right-wing Democrats. And also retribution.

A comparable Republican would have been sent packing years ago. I don't like to emulate them but, sometimes, I do admire that they at least stand up for their odious principles. Why don't we stand up for our good ones?

Between sessions at the amazing J Street conference, people mill around talking to friends and, sometimes, just a person standing near by.

I was lucky enough to find myself talking to a young man from Gaza, in Washington for the conference. He is not on the program. He is here to learn. And he is a remarkable person in every way.

Yusuf Bashir is 20. He's tall and handsome and, if I had to guess based on his looks, I would have taken him for a well-off American Jewish college kid.

He most certainly is not.

Yusuf is from Gaza, specifically from Deir el-Balah. Until Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ended the military (and settler) occupation of Gaza in 2005, Yusuf, his parents, and four siblings, lived in a house next to the Israeli settlement of Kfar Darom, right next to a military base.

In 2000, the Israeli army decided to seize the house and use it as a sentry post. The army had already destroyed or taken other houses in the neighborhood.

But Yusuf's father refused to move his family.

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I don't know what did it.

Sure Jeremy Ben Ami worked for two years to get to this moment, and then assembled a terrific team. Obama helped. So did the disastrous Gaza war and its ugly aftermath. And then the haters piled on, only causing hundreds of people to sign up for the conference at the last minute. (I stood on line to get my credentials behind a mob that didn't sign up in advance at all).

One woman said, "We're from New York and don't do 'conferences.' But then we saw that e-mail from that settler who condemned J Street for accepting a contribution from an Arab-American girl and had to come."

There are many more people in attendance than J Street expected. All the last-minute folks have made it impossible to get into the sessions unless you push your way in early. I heard that Ben Ami expected a thousand but it's looking more like 1700-2000.

I gave my seat in one session to one very old man. He grabbed my hand. "These are the Jews I've been waiting for since 1967. Actually, I feel like I've been waiting for them since the Balfour Declaration. I feel like saying a sheheceyanu." That is the prayer thanking God for letting us live to see the day.

And, although I am not a praying man, I said, "let's say it." And we did Quietly.

"Baruch ata adonai elohenu melech ha olam, shehecheyanu, v'kiyimanu, v'higiyanu laz'man hazeh.

Blessed are You Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe who has given us life, sustained us, and allowed us to live to see this day."

Amen.

In an interview in Sunday's Washington Post, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu may go further than any of his predecessors in rejecting a settlement freeze -- this after President Obama went further than any of his predecessors in demanding one.

In the fifteen years since Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader, Yasir Arafat signed the Oslo agreement, Israel has never, in principle, ruled out a settlement freeze. On occasion, it has, in fact, implemented a freeze while on several others, Israeli prime ministers said "yes" but with conditions.

There has been one constant. Israeli prime ministers tended to go along with the US and Palestinian view that freezing settlements was not a final status issue (i.e, one that would only be resolved in the context of comprehensive negotiations) but a precondition for negotiations like the PLO's cessation of violence, which has been in effect for years.

Israeli prime ministers understood that Palestinians viewed the expansion of settlements as something unacceptable during negotiations. As one Palestinian put it, "you can't discuss how you will divide the pizza while one guy is gobbling it up."

This all changed today with an interview in Sunday's Washington Post.

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