American Morning
After standoff, Senate votes to extend jobless benefits
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/POLITICS/03/02/jobless.benefits.bill/t1main.jim.bunning.gi.jpg caption="Sen. Jim Bunning says that if the benefits are so important, senators could find a way to fund them."]
Washington (CNN) - The Senate voted Tuesday to pass a $10 billion measure to extend benefits for unemployed workers and fund road projects after Sen. Jim Bunning agreed to end his filibuster.
"We cannot keep adding to the debt and passing the buck to generations of future workers and taxpayers, my children and your children and our grandchildren," Bunning said on the Senate floor after the agreement to end his filibuster was reached. "Tonight, tomorrow and on every spending bill in the future, we will see if they (Democrats) mean business on controlling the debt or if it's just words. We will see if pay-go has any teeth or not."
Bunning blamed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for Bunning's almost week-long block of a vote on the 30-day extensions and said his amendment would remove "black liquor" - a byproduct of the pulp and paper process - from eligibility for a bio-fuels producer tax credit, saving $24 billion.
But Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said that very action is already part of a bill that will came up for a vote Wednesday - the long-term extension of those jobless benefits.
"The senator from Kentucky, after one week, has decided to accept exactly what was offered to him last week," Durbin said. "The senator from Kentucky said 'No, I may lose. I am not going to offer an amendment, I am just going to object.'"
Durbin urged a rejection of Bunning's amendment, saying passing it would further delay benefits already delayed by Bunning's filibuster. FULL STORY
Senator ripped for stalling jobless benefits
(CNN) – One senator's decision to block legislation is having an immediate impact on hundreds of thousands of lives.
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) has staged a one-man filibuster that's holding up unemployment benefits and closing down job sites. The retiring senator says he's for the extension, but says he wants Congress to find a way to pay for it first.
Ultimately, millions of people could lose their benefits. Thousands have already been cut off, including Linda Calvin, a case worker for the Head Start program who was let go last May. She joined us on Tuesday's American Morning.
Read more: Democrats rip GOP senator for blocking jobless benefits extension
John Roberts, Kiran Chetry & John Avlon discuss 'Wingnuts'
Editor’s note: John P. Avlon is a senior political columnist for The Daily Beast and author of "Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America." Previously, he served as chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun.
(CNN) – CNN independent analyst John Avlon is the author of a new book called, “Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America."
Avlon is no stranger to viewers of CNN’s “American Morning.” He joins the program on Fridays for his weekly “Wingnuts of the Week” segment.
What’s a wingnut?
According to Avlon, a wingnut is someone on the far-right wing or far-left wing of American politics. In a polarized two-party system, he says, wingnuts have a disproportionate influence and too often define the terms of debate.
On Monday March 15, Avlon will discuss “Wingnuts” at Strand bookstore in New York City. He will be joined by American Morning anchors John Roberts and Kiran Chetry. The event is free and open to the public.
Date: March 15, 2010
Time: 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Place: Strand bookstore
828 Broadway (at 12th St.)
New York, NY 10003-4805
'Letters to Jackie' captures a nation's anguish
Editor's Note: 1.5 million letters were sent to Jacqueline Kennedy after JFK's assassination in 1963. Author Ellen Fitzpatrick's new book, "Letters to Jackie,” highlights 250 of those condolences. It is published by Ecco and goes on sale at bookstores March 2, 2010.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/02/25/letters.cover.art.jpg caption=""Letters to Jackie" is a first-ever compilation of condolences received by Jacqueline Kennedy after President John F. Kennedy's assassination."]
By Ronni Berke, CNN
(CNN) – The 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy was an act of violence that shocked the collective American conscience, sparking an outpouring of grief that transcended racial and economic lines.
That grief has now been cataloged by historian Ellen Fitzpatrick in a new book, "Letters to Jackie," a first-ever compilation of some of the 1.5 million condolence letters the first lady received after Kennedy's death.
Most of the letters were originally destroyed by the National Archives, which felt it would not have enough room to store them. Fitzpatrick combed through more than 15,000 of the remaining letters at the JFK Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, to choose 250 for the book.
"The letters that were most compelling to me were ones that encapsulated some sense of Kennedy as a president, or it was someone who had something very powerful to say about the day of the assassination … or someone who talked about an experience with grief in their own life," said Fitzpatrick.
There was also great diversity among the letter writers.
"I am but a humble postman," wrote Henry Gonzales. "Please try to find it in your heart that we Texans of Mexican origin love all of you."
Henry Gonzales emigrated from Mexico to Texas with his parents at the age of two. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he joined the U.S. Postal Service. (Photo scan courtesy the JFK Presidential Library and Museum)
Dems could sidestep GOP to pass health care
(CNN) – President Obama talked about health care reform in his weekend Web address, saying "let's get this done." But it doesn't look like Thursday's summit did a thing to bring Congress closer to a compromise.
Democrats are now on the verge of taking a dramatic step, one that could leave Republicans powerless to stop the bill. Our Jim Acosta explains the process and its potential consequences.
Cornyn: 'This is about theater'
Some critics are calling the president's televised health care summit nothing more than political theater. We heard from White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on American Morning Thursday, but for the Republican perspective we turned to Sen. John Cornyn of Texas.
Live Updates: Health care summit
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