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This week on Uprising:

* After Approval of Baucus Bill, Calls for Real Health Care Reform Intensify
* Black Agenda Report on Genocide of Iraqis
* Growing Movement Says “Basta Dobbs”
* Empire Notes on Afghanistan
* Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud

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After Approval of Baucus Bill, Calls for Real Health Care Reform Intensify

The Senate Finance Committee chaired by Montana Democrat Max Baucus voted last Tuesday to approve its proposal on health care legislation. The plan, which notably omits a public option, moved forward by way of a 14-9 vote. Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine was the only Republican on the committee to cast her support for the so-called “Baucus Bill.” The Baucus Bill is expected be combined with a competing Senate Health Committee version before being brought to the floor to face amendments in the coming weeks. Response to the news of the Finance Committee’s long-term plan for the nation’s health care system has been immediate. Physicians for a National Health Program criticized the Baucus Bill as one that “preserves all the systemic deficiencies that we see in our present health care financing model.” About thirty labor unions sponsored a full page ad demanding “real health care reform and nothing less” in the Washington Post, Capitol Hill, and USA Today newspapers. On Thursday October 15th nearly a hundred citizens and health care providers turned to acts of civil disobedience across the country voicing their opposition to the lack of real reform by risking arrests in sit-downs at insurance company offices. Mainstream corporate media barely touched the story of the protests.

GUESTS: Michael Lighty, Director of Public Policy with the California Nurses Association

Black Agenda Report on Genocide of Iraqis

Glen Ford is a writer and radio commentator and the Executive Editor of The Black Agenda Report. This week’s commentary is about the Genocide of Iraqis.

Visit www.blackagendareport.com for more information.

Growing Movement Says “Basta Dobbs”

The New York Times reported recently that vehemently anti-immigrant CNN anchor Lou Dobbs is being courted by Fox Business Network. According to one source, Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes recently met with Dobbs, considered at the time as a ‘potential hire.’ The Fox Business Network has recently added two new hosts known for their right-wing views, Don Imus and John Stossel, to their roster. For the moment, Dobbs remains with CNN and as reported by the Times, a spokesperson from the network offered no comment on the issue. Whether or not Fox ultimately acquires Dobbs, a movement to oust him from the airwaves continues with a growing national campaign. Citing rising hate crimes against Latinos and the role media personas play, an effort call “Basta Dobbs” seeks to educate the Latino community about the dangers of giving the CNN anchor a prime time platform. The campaign organized by Presente.org in conjunction with numerous groups across the nation has caught the attention of Dobbs. On a recent program last month, he referred to organizer Roberto Lovato of Basta Dobbs, as a “flea” and a “bozo.” Lovato responded by citing a survey of 100 major Latino leaders of which 70 percent said that organizing against Dobbs was a “good idea.”

GUEST: Roberto Lovato, co-founder of Presente.org and spokesperson for the Basta Dobbs campaign For more information, visit www.bastadobbs.com

Empire Notes on Afghanistan

Empire Notes are weekly commentaries filed by Rahul Mahajan, author of Full Spectrum Dominance and The New Crusade. Today’s commentary is on Afghanistan.

GUEST: Rahul Mahajan, author of Full Spectrum Dominance and The New Crusade.

Visit www.empirenotes.org for more information.

Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud

Among those reacting to President Obama’s Nobel Peace prize last week was acclaimed intellectual and philosopher Cornel West. While on tour to promote his new book, West remarked that the honor “puts …[Obama] in a very tough situation because if you got a Peace prize and you end up being a war president in Afghanistan, if you got a Peace prize and you don’t want to investigate and prosecute people who have been torturing people, turn your back, it doesn’t look good.” Cornel West has long supported Barack Obama, during and after his election, but has been clear on criticizing the President’s anti-progressive stances on issues like the economy and war. His long and illustrious career spans decades of writing insightful books such as “Race Matters,” which deeply changed American discourse on race, and the New York Times bestseller, “Democracy Matters.” Cornel West was among the earliest academics to study hip hop as a means of poetic expression, which was one of several reasons behind a very public confrontation with then Harvard president Larry Summers leading to Dr. West eventually leaving Harvard for a position at Princeton. Most recently Cornel West has struggled with prostate cancer, and in the wake of his recovery has released his memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud, co-written with David Ritz. Ritz has co-written the autobiographies of Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, and B.B. King. I had the opportunity last week to interview Dr. West at length about his new book.

GUEST: Dr. Cornel West, Professor at Princeton University author of several books including “Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud”

For more information, visit www.cornelwest.com.

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” — Howard Thurman