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Dr. Nancy Snyderman talks to NOW's President Terry O'Neill about how the Stupak amendment caught NOW off guard, but that the issue has galvanized young women. O'Neill said she felt the amendment essentially over rules Roe v Wade. And I agree completely with O'Neill when asked by Dr. Nancy if this was a 'most fundamental violation of church and state' that the Catholic bishops inserted themselves into this political debate.

O'Neill: You know that's the first thing that I said. I don't know where the Internal Revenue Service is, but I hope they're paying attention.

And as Dr. Nancy noted again, it's two white men making policy about women's reproductive decisions.

While we're on the subject, what Digby said...

I have a moral objection to paying for any kind of erectile dysfunction medicine in the new health reform bill and I think men who want to use it should just pay for it out of pocket. After all, I won't ever need such a pill. And anyway, it's no biggie. Just because most of them can get it under their insurance today doesn't mean they shouldn't have it stripped from their coverage in the future because of my moral objections. (I don't think there's even been a Supreme Court ruling making wood a constitutional right. I might be wrong about that.)

Many of the men who are prescribed this medication are on Medicare, so I think it should be stripped out of that coverage as well. And unlike the payments for abortion, which actually lower overall medical costs (pregnancy obviously costs much, much more) banning tax dollars from covering any kind of Viagra would result in a substantial savings.

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From PBS's Now with David Brancaccio:

As President-elect Barack Obama unveils his top economic team, a leading progressive thinker challenges America's next leader with a controversial plan for economic recovery.

Robert Kuttner, author of the new book "Obama's Challenge," talks to NOW on PBS about the enormous obstacles to -- and potential solutions for -- getting America's economy back on track.

Kuttner offers his advice on how Obama should stimulate a recovery: spending $600-700 billion per year over several years to fundamentally change the economy. "We need the government big time to prevent this from becoming the Great Depression II," Kuttner tells NOW's David Brancaccio.

Will Obama usher in the most sweeping reforms since the New Deal to get the economy working again?

You can watch the rest of the segment here and Jed has more over at DailyKOS.

  NOW on PBS:

Even though he's no longer running for president, John Edwards is still a man with a mission: to cut poverty in the United States by 50 percent in 10 years. This week, NOW's David Brancaccio talks with Edwards about how he plans to achieve this ambitious goal and what role it may and should have on the upcoming presidential election.

"What's happening in America today is middle class workers, people who are like my parents and my family, the family that I grew up in, they are having a terrible time," Edwards tells NOW.

The current economic crisis has Edwards and his followers more committed than ever, but will their efforts gain enough momentum to make a difference?

The entire program is available in streaming video or audio at their website.  NOW also provides John McCain and Barack Obama's positions on poverty. 

NOW on PBS:  

Of the thousands of U.S. troops getting discharged from the Army each year, many who are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and brain injuries aren't getting the vital care they need. The Army claims these soldiers have pre-existing mental illnesses or are guilty of misconduct. But advocates say this is a way for the Army to get rid of "problem" soldiers quickly, without giving them the treatment and benefits to which they're entitled.
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This week, NOW travels to Fort Hood in Texas to meet traumatized soldiers fighting a new battle, this one against the army they served. Are soldiers being wrongfully discharged for honorable service?

The entire episode is available for streaming on the NOW website, as well as web-exclusive interviews with Jonathan Norrell and David Chavarria (above) about their heart-breaking experiences.