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Check on Deb

November 18, 2011

Bill O’Reilly Kicks Off The Holiday Season By Blackmailing Retailers On The Wrong Side Of The “War On Christmas”

The holiday season is upon us: time for carols, shopping, family get togethers – and Fox News’ annual whinefest about the "war on Christmas.” While other people might think of this time of year as “the season of good cheer,” for Fox, it’s a cornucopia of new opportunities for divisiveness. In 2009, Bill O’Reilly got in the Christmas holiday spirit by ambushing an elementary school official because an annual holiday “gift room” fundraiser banned Christmas items (along with items of any other religion). This year, O’Reilly’s getting his ho, ho, ho’s by threatening to attack on the air any company that refuses to allow its employees to say “Merry Christmas."

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Reported by Ellen at 12:49 AM

December 29, 2009

Commemorating Deborah Yesner

As expected, Deborah Yesner, one of the original News Hounds and our dear friend, passed away on December 22, after a long, difficult battle with a brain aneurysm and subsequent complications. In lieu of flowers or cards, her family has requested donations to News Hounds, which was Deborah's passion the last several years of her life. Deb not only worked tirelessly on the blog, without any extra compensation, she was our anchor in many ways. Deborah's adult daughter was kind enough to write up a bio of her mother for Robert Greenwald. We've taken the liberty of reproducing it here, after the jump.

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Reported by Ellen at 12:26 AM

December 22, 2009

Please Hold Our Deborah In Your Thoughts And Prayers

I'd like to pause the blog for a while in honor of Deborah Yesner, a founding News Hound and my dear friend. As many of you know, Deb suffered a brain aneurysm about 14 months ago and has been quite ill ever since. I received some sad news from her family today that rather than perform yet another treatment (this time a spinal tap) that would save her life but not offer any real improvement, they have decided to let her pass peacefully. The tragic part is that her health insurance would never pay for the kind of long term care she needed. The result was that she'd go to the hospital with an infection or complication, get released once acute care was no longer needed, then go back to a nursing facility that could not adequately handle her case. Then she'd develop some other problem that started the cycle all over again. For much of the time, her husband took on the exhausting chore of caring of her at home because he felt she got better care. Her family feels that had she been able to go to a better facility, she would have had a fighting chance.

Deb is expected to pass within 24 hours. Please hold her and her family in your thoughts and prayers. This blog meant the world to her and I believe your good wishes will touch her in some way. The family has asked that instead of cards and flowers, that some kind of donation be made to a political cause, possibly about blogging. I'm researching possibilities now and will get back with more details. If anyone has any suggestions, please leave a comment.

Reported by Ellen at 1:13 PM

September 13, 2009

Deborah Needs Our Thoughts And Prayers - Updated

I just learned that our Deborah is in the hospital, in ICU, with a collapsed lung and pneumonia. I was just talking with a nurse (not Deb's nurse, just someone I met) who told me that a collapsed lung and pneumonia are very treatable. Nevertheless, Deb is still in a delicate state. The nurse suggested we use the power of prayer.

UPDATE: Good news! Deb is improving. Her close friend, CB wrote yesterday, Deborah is doing better today. I believe she is off of the O2, was awake & apparently present to her husband's stories.

Reported by Ellen at 5:16 PM

November 4, 2008

In Honor Of Deborah, Please Help Get Out The Vote!

Regular readers know that our Deborah has suffered a brain aneurysm. Although we continue to be delighted with reports of good progress (the latest update is here), she will be unable to vote today. This will be a huge disappointment and frustration for her. So as a tribute to her, and to help cheer her up, we're asking all our readers to make sure to vote and to get at least one other person to the polls who would not otherwise have voted. Please keep sending her your good thoughts and prayers but today, please give her the gift she'd like the most: Vote for Deb! Please share your GOTV efforts in our comments section.

Also, I fully expect dirty tricks. Advice from Common Cause on how to protect your vote is after the jump.

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Reported by Ellen at 1:59 PM
Good News About Deborah, reported by Melanie,