Alan Grayson // Current TV

7 stories you missed this week: Vaclav Klaus, Google Books, Silvio Berlusconi, Alan Grayson and more

It seemed like a slow news week and then all of sudden NASA blew up the moon and Obama won a Nobel and, well, News! So here are some other things that slipped under the news radar.

Vaclav Klaus is the President of the Czech Republic, and after Ireland voted to accept the EU's Lisbon Treaty (in effect a constitution for Europe) his signature is the last thing Europe needs for Lisbon to become a reality. Well, he just pushed it off again this week. Read more at FP Passport: Klaus adds another hurdle

Google doesn't want you to freak out about Google Books. They just settled a big lawsuit with publishing industry groups and co-founder Sergey Brin wants to be clear with the public that the technology will not completely devalue books for the authors and publishers. Read Brin's op-ed at the NY Times: A Library to Last Forever

The health care debate continues! Oh you didn't hear about it? There may well be a Senate vote next week, but this week the Congressional Budget Office said the Baucus plan could actually cut the deficit. Read more from the AP: CBO: Health Bill costs $829 billion over decade

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who faces at least one charge of corruption, lost his immunity to prosecution while in office. He said he felt 'invigorated' and vowed to fight. Read more from the BBC: Defiant Berlusconi vows to fight

A new game in the UK called Internet Eyes is turning Britain's thousands of CCTV cameras into a game for profit. Spot a crime - win up to 1000 pounds! More from FP Passport: New internet game offers cash prizes for spotting crime

Oh, and, lots of other people won Nobel Prizes this week. See the list at: nobelprize.org

Finally, this video has been making the rounds today. Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) stood on the floor of the House and took a shot at the GOP, telling them that Americans don't care about their feelings (they care about health care!). Whether you agree with him or not, it's a refreshingly sincere voice in the politics of late. Crooks and Liars has the video: Rep. Alan Grayson: I Will Not Apologize- America Doesn't Care About Your Feelings

Any other stories you think we missed? Submit them at Current News and let us know!

Some of our other stories from the week:
- Prescription drug abuse in South Florida
- Did the US capture an Iranian nuclear scientist? – Reasons to think they did
- Love in Gaza: A Palestinian couple marries against all odds
- Death Penalty in the US: Ohio halts executions
- Oktoberfest in Palestine – Taybeh Brewery (Video)It seemed like a slow news week and then all of sudden NASA blew up the moon and Obama... more

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Rep. Alan Grayson’s “Medicare You Can Buy Into Act” Attracts 50 Co-Sponsors

AMY GOODMAN: Florida Congress member Alan Grayson speaking on the House floor last week. His bill has since attracted fifty co-sponsors.

Congress member Grayson joins us now from Washington, DC. He’s a freshman Congress member, and he’s no stranger to controversy. In October, he came under heavy criticism from Republicans after he said on the House floor that the Republicans’ healthcare plan involved wanting people to, quote, “die quickly.” He also established the website namesofthedead.com, honoring those who’ve lost their lives because they were uninsured. This past weekend, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin traveled to Grayson’s Florida district and urged voters at a Republican fundraiser to oust Grayson in November.

Well, Congress member Grayson, welcome to Democracy Now!, still speaking to us from the nation’s capital. Can you start off by explaining your bill that you’ve introduced, and then where you stand on, well, the whole healthcare reform bill that is being pushed through now?

REP. ALAN GRAYSON: I’ve introduced a simple three-and-a-half-page bill that opens up Medicare to anybody who wants it. If you want it and you pay for it, it’s yours. It’s that simple. It’s open to everybody under the age of sixty-five, whether or not you’re handicapped. And you pay the same amount as other people your age would pay.

And the reason to do this is because we need a public option. We need an option that doesn’t involve putting us at the tender mercies of insurance companies, particularly if there’s a mandate to do so. A lot of people feel that there is a fundamental conflict of interest between themselves and private insurance companies. The private insurance companies make money by denying you the care that you need to be healthy, and sometimes to stay alive. And a lot of people are just sick of it.

So the way to get beyond that is to open up Medicare, which is now available to only one-eighth of the population, to anybody who’s willing to pay for it. And it makes perfect sense when you think about it. I mean, we don’t say the federal highways are only open to senior citizens. And the Medicare provider network is an enormously valuable, expensive thing that we’ve created with federal tax dollars that ought to be open to everyone, not just seniors.

AMY GOODMAN: And how does this fit into the major piece of legislation that will or—I don’t know would even pass—won’t be voted on by the House?

REP. ALAN GRAYSON: My hope was that we would vote not only on the Senate bill, which doesn’t have a public option, not only on the reconciliation amendment, which probably will not have a public option, but that we’d also vote on this, that there’d be three votes instead of two votes. And if we voted on this and we passed it, then it would be presented to the Senate and subject to reconciliation in the Senate, so that we could end up with a public option.

AMY GOODMAN: Now?

REP. ALAN GRAYSON: Now.

AMY GOODMAN: Right, but now?

REP. ALAN GRAYSON: And if not, then it’s something to build for in the future.

***READ MORE AT LINKAMY GOODMAN: Florida Congress member Alan Grayson speaking on the House floor last... more

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Alan Grayson: Fight now or ‘kiss your country goodbye’ to Exxon, Wal-Mart

Inaction will create 'Congressman from Wal-Mart' WASHINGTON -- Responding... more

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Republican Gregg Judd and Democrat Chris Dodd block Alan Grayson and Ron Paul Bipartisan effort to Audit the Federal reserve

A House-passed provision to open up the Federal Reserve to an audit by the Government Accountability Office is unlikely to be included in the Senate reform package, Barney Frank told a meeting of House Financial Services Committee members Wednesday, according to people in the room.

Frank, chairman of the committee, told the members that Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) told him that he had assured Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) that it wouldn't be a part of the bill. Gregg has been a strident opponent of the effort to open the Fed to an audit.

Last November, Gregg said that "passage of the Paul Amendment by the House Financial Services Committee is a dangerous move by this Congress to pander to the populist anger currently directed against our central bank, the Federal Reserve," in a statement after the committee approved an amendment sponsored by Reps. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and Alan Grayson (D-Fla.).

On Wednesday, Gregg told HuffPost he wasn't aware that the Fed audit provision wouldn't be part of the final package.

"I'm not aware this happened. I've not been involved in this negotiation, so I'm probably the wrong person to talk to, because I don't know anything about it," Gregg said.

Dodd is negotiating the Fed-audit provision directly with Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). Spokespersons for Dodd and Shelby didn't respond to requests for comment.

Steve Adamske, a spokesman for the House committee, was in the meeting and confirmed that Frank delivered the message that Dodd told him he had backed off as part of an agreement with Gregg. "We'll fight for every provision that's in the House bill," including the Fed-audit measure, said Adamske. "Everything will be subject to negotiation."

With a rising populist tide, Democrats are looking for ways to burnish their pitchforks. Several Democrats during the meeting Wednesday pushed for a stronger populist agenda, which includes the audit-the-Fed provision. But it remains to be seen if those pitchforks will shatter against the wall that is the United States Senate.

"Whether the Fed-audit provision survives or not is up to the gods at this point," said Adamske.

UPDATE: HuffPost caught up with Gregg again Thursday and asked him again what discussions he'd had with Dodd. "Well, the Fed gets audited. Let's get the nomenclature right. The Fed is subject to extensive and very thorough auditing on everything except the monetary policy and the open-market-window activity, and if this Congress gets into auditing those two activities, then the Congress is in the business of money supply. And you do not want an elected body in the business of money supply, and I will do whatever is necessary to keep that from happening, if I have the ability to do that," he said.

Asked if Dodd had assured him there would be no audit, Gregg said, "He has not assured me on this issue. He may have said it to somebody. I've heard him represent what his thoughts are, but the term 'assurance' is a little different than what I've -- I think Senator Dodd understands this issue, and I can't speak for him, but I believe he agrees that Congress should not be involved in monetary policy."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/21/dodd-and-gregg-block-audi_n_431421.htmlA House-passed provision to open up the Federal Reserve to an audit by the Government... more

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Alan Grayson: "Which Foreigners Got the Fed's $500,000,000,000?" Bernanke: "I Don't Know."

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Where Did All of the Money Go? House Demands Audit of the Federal Reserve

Ed Schultz interviews Florida Rep. Alan Grayson about Congress finally demanding more... more

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Congressman Grayson: SIGTARP Report Illustrates Danger of Secret Bailouts

"When all else fails, Wall Street can still stick it to the taxpayer."

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Alan Grayson Reads Names Of Dead In Republican Districts (VIDEO)

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) took to the floor Wednesday night to read the names of... more

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Grayson Cries on House Floor Over the Uninsured

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) broke down in tears several times on the House floor... more

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Lobbyists Are Whores

Recently Orlando congressman Alan Grayson has taken a media bashing for calling a... more

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ALAN GRAYSON

"I have trouble listening to what [Cheney] says sometimes because of the blood... more

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Rep. Alan Grayson Grills Republican On Constitutionality Of Anti-ACORN Crusade

One of the right’s loudest crusades has been their effort to undermine the... more

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'Die quickly' congressman creates namesofthedead.com; GOP cries foul

Republicans charged Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) with breaking House ethics rules and... more

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Grayson Launches Site To Honor, Name Those Dead From Lack Of Health Care

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), who launched himself into the heat of the health care debate... more

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Alan Grayson: A Democratic star is born (Video)

With Alan Grayson a Democratic star is born. Grayson has been electrifying Democrats... more

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Republican Healthcare Plan: Don't Get Sick

If Congress was a sport, new Congressman Alan Grayson would be the rookie to watch.... more

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Rep. Alan Grayson Slams Republicans about Health Care on the Situation Room

Rep. Alan Grayson discusses the Republican health care plan with Wolf Blitzer, Alex... more

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HuffP "Rep. Grayson Calls For 'Corporate Death Penalty On Contractors' Who Rip Off Government"

When the House of Representatives went after federal funding for the community-organizing group ACORN last week, the bill as written also affected "any organization" that had been involved in a wide range of fraudulent activity and other bad behavior.

On Friday, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) inserted into the "legislative history" language spelling out that including all fraudulent organizations was, in fact, the intent of the Congress.

Meanwhile, he has been asking citizens to suggest specific companies which would be targeted by the anti-fraud language and provide evidence for the claim. The list has grown several pages long. The names of those organizations will be submitted into the congressional record next week.

"The purpose of this bill is to cleanse federal contracting and grant-making, completely and permanently. The purpose is to put an end to the invidious practice of rewarding those who steal taxpayer money by giving them more taxpayer money," writes Grayson. "The bill imposes, and is intended to impose, a corporate death penalty on contractors who fall within the scope of its prohibitions."

Grayson's history notes that the highest-ranking Republican on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), agrees with him. As the ranking member's report describes, however, the term 'filed a fraudulent form' extends to all organizations that have filed such a form, whether or not such a filing has resulted in a conviction or judgment. The ranking member issued a statement yesterday, which said: 'For far too long, recipients of federal dollars have been given free reign [sic] and some have acted in a reckless and cavalier way and whether it be ACORN or anyone else -- abuse and fraud will not be tolerated.' He added, 'frankly, I don't know how anyone can successfully argue [that] those who actually perpetrate fraud and misuse taxpayer dollars should not be' subject to these prohibitions."

Read the full entry into the legislative record:

H.R. 3221 - LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Madam Speaker,

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill including prohibitions on federal funds and other activities with respect to certain organizations. The intent of Congress with respect to those provisions is as follows:

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/25/rep-grayson-calls-for-cor_n_300399.htmlWhen the House of Representatives went after federal funding for the... more

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Bernanke Doesn't Know Who Got Half A Trillion Dollars

During his questioning of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Shalom Bernanke before the... more

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