Senator Sanders

Off to War The first of the nearly 1,500 Vermont National Guard soldiers going to Afghanistan flew out of Burlington on Sunday after an emotional farewell ceremony. "This is a difficult mission, but I am absolutely confident that you will succeed in it," Sen. Bernie Sanders said on Fox 44.  Sanders told the families of the departing soldiers they should not hesitate to ask for help while their loved one is off in Afghanistan, The Burlington Free Press reported. LINK and VIDEO

Health Care - Obama President Obama came to Capitol Hill on Sunday to urge Senate Democrats to pass health care reform, but Democrats remained divided over a public option. Sen. Bernie Sanders says competition for private insurance companies is needed, USA Today reported. LINK

Health Care - Who Pays? A Sanders amendment would replace a 40 percent excise tax on high-price health insurance policies with a 5.4 percent surtax on high-income households, the Bureau of National Affairs reported.

Bernanke Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke addresses the Economic Club of Washington today. While Bernanke is expected to be reconfirmed for a second term as the central bank chief, Sen. Sanders has pledged to use procedural tactics to delay a confirmation vote, The Washington Post, Politico and The Washington Times reported. "Good for Sanders," Jonathan Witt wrote in the conservative American Spectator.  LINK, LINK, LINK and LINK

Sign Bernie Sanders' Petition Sen. Sanders has a petition on his web site to indicate your opposition to the re-nomination of Ben Bernanke for Chairman of the Federal Reserve. "Hop to it, sparky," Liberty Maven urges. LINK

International

Afghanistan When he finishes testifying on Capitol Hill this week, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, will return to Kabul to implement a war strategy that is largely unchanged after a three-month-long White House review of the conflict, The Washington Post reported. LINK

Global Warming The largest and most important U.N. climate change conference in history opened Monday, with organizers warning diplomats from 192 nations that this could be the best, last chance for a deal to protect the world from calamitous global warming, The Associated Press reported. LINK

National

Push for Deal on Public Health Plan President Obama exhorted Senate Democrats on Sunday to put aside their differences and seize their moment in history by passing landmark health legislation. But senators said he did not mention sticky issues like abortion or a new government-run insurance plan, The New York Times reported. LINK

Senator Dodd to Press Financial Reform Senator Christopher Dodd chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, is ready to push through a controversial financial regulation reform bill with or without Republican support, senior aides said, just days before the House of Representatives votes on its own reform legislation, according to Reuters. LINK

Junkets Despite changes intended to curb congressional junkets, some lawmakers and even their families continue to take trips hosted by private groups and companies that revel in their access to Washington power brokers. An examination by The New York Times of 1,150 trips shows that some of them bent or broke rules adopted in 2007 to limit corporate influence in Washington. LINK

Vermont

Lake Memphremagog When a wealthy Northeast Kingdom man died two years ago, he left two miles of lakefront land to the government, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hasn't yet accepted the gift from Michael Dunn of Derby. If it doesn't act by next September, it 's likely that the property would be sold and developed, VPR reported. LINK