Monday, January 31, 2011
Skippy Bush Apologia
Egypt protests show George W. Bush was right about freedom in the Arab world: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
After Shrugging, A Check
Ayn Rand Railed Against Government Benefits, But Grabbed Social Security and Medicare When She Needed Them | | AlterNet:
"Ayn Rand was not only a schlock novelist, she was also the progenitor of a sweeping “moral philosophy” that justifies the privilege of the wealthy and demonizes not only the slothful, undeserving poor but the lackluster middle-classes as well.
Her books provided wide-ranging parables of 'parasites,' 'looters' and 'moochers' using the levers of government to steal the fruits of her heroes' labor. In the real world, however, Rand herself received Social Security payments and Medicare benefits under the name of Ann O'Connor (her husband was Frank O'Connor)..."
"Ayn Rand was not only a schlock novelist, she was also the progenitor of a sweeping “moral philosophy” that justifies the privilege of the wealthy and demonizes not only the slothful, undeserving poor but the lackluster middle-classes as well.
Her books provided wide-ranging parables of 'parasites,' 'looters' and 'moochers' using the levers of government to steal the fruits of her heroes' labor. In the real world, however, Rand herself received Social Security payments and Medicare benefits under the name of Ann O'Connor (her husband was Frank O'Connor)..."
Bad Boeing
WTO Lowers Boom on Boeing - WSJ.com:
"The World Trade Organization Monday ruled formally that U.S. federal and local governments gave billions of dollars in illegal subsidies to airplane maker Boeing Co.
The finding is similar to that of an interim report released in September and marks the beginning of a complex end-game that will help determine the future of the $1.7 trillion passenger aircraft market..."
"The World Trade Organization Monday ruled formally that U.S. federal and local governments gave billions of dollars in illegal subsidies to airplane maker Boeing Co.
The finding is similar to that of an interim report released in September and marks the beginning of a complex end-game that will help determine the future of the $1.7 trillion passenger aircraft market..."
Sunday, January 30, 2011
No Global Warming On Fox
Fox Tries To Debunk Global Warming, Fails Miserably | Media Matters for America:
"In an article titled, 'Five Reasons the Planet May Not Be Its Hottest Ever,' FoxNews.com sought to debunk the fact that Earth has warmed over the past 30 years, as well as the notion that human activity has contributed to the warming. But Fox largely ignored climate science and botched basic facts in the article, portions of which 'are utter nonsense' and 'do not make sense' according to climatologists consulted by Media Matters, including one of the skeptics cited by Fox..."
So what else is new?
"In an article titled, 'Five Reasons the Planet May Not Be Its Hottest Ever,' FoxNews.com sought to debunk the fact that Earth has warmed over the past 30 years, as well as the notion that human activity has contributed to the warming. But Fox largely ignored climate science and botched basic facts in the article, portions of which 'are utter nonsense' and 'do not make sense' according to climatologists consulted by Media Matters, including one of the skeptics cited by Fox..."
So what else is new?
The Rich Get Richer
Bumper pay rises for Goldman Sachs bosses as profits slump 38% | Business | The Guardian:
"Top executives at Goldman Sachs collected a bumper increase in pay and bonuses last year in defiance of public opinion, and despite a 38% slump in the bank's profits.
Michael Sherwood, one of the heads of Goldman's British and European operations is being awarded free shares worth $14.4m (£9m). That represents a 60% increase on the value of the stock award he received in 2009. Goldman does not reveal whether Sherwood is also a recipient of a cash bonus..."
"Top executives at Goldman Sachs collected a bumper increase in pay and bonuses last year in defiance of public opinion, and despite a 38% slump in the bank's profits.
Michael Sherwood, one of the heads of Goldman's British and European operations is being awarded free shares worth $14.4m (£9m). That represents a 60% increase on the value of the stock award he received in 2009. Goldman does not reveal whether Sherwood is also a recipient of a cash bonus..."
More Bachman Reaction
The Tea Party Wags the Dog - NYTimes.com:
"...This time we were spared a “You lie!” But once Obama segued into a rambling laundry list and the “prom night” bipartisan photo ops lost their comic novelty, the night’s storyline inevitably shifted to the reliable diva antics of Michele Bachmann, the founder of the House’s Tea Party Caucus. For all the Republican male establishment’s harrumphing, it couldn’t derail her plan to hijack the party’s designated State of the Union response with one of her own. More Katherine Harris than Sarah Palin, Bachmann is far more riveting television bait than Paul Ryan, the bland congressman officially assigned the Bobby Jindal memorial slot after the New Jersey governor Chris Christie was savvy enough to take a pass.
The G.O.P. grandees’ consternation was palpable. Earlier in the day Bachmann had dispatched an e-mail announcing that her speech would be carried live by Fox News. But when the time came, Fox relegated the live feed to its Web site, forcing viewers to scurry to CNN, of all places, and delaying its own television recap until after prime time in the East. Rupert Murdoch’s other major organ, The Wall Street Journal, toed the same line, burying Bachmann’s speech in a half-sentence in its print edition the next morning. By then, John Boehner, seconding the disdain of Eric Cantor, was telling reporters that he hadn’t watched Bachmann because of “other obligations...”
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Who Will Run Egypt?
Mubarak or Muslim Brotherhood not Egypt's only choice: Experts - Faith & Reason: "Will the next government that emerges from the tumult in Egypt be Islamic or Islamist? There's a critical difference, say experts, who caution against knee-jerk fears that Mubarak might be replaced by Islamists -- Muslim political extremists..."
Let's hope there is another option.
Let's hope there is another option.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Dead From Text Message
Would-Be Suicide Bomber Killed by Unexpected SMS From Mobile Carrier | Threat Level | Wired.com: "An unexpected and unwanted text message from a wireless company prematurely exploded a would-be suicide bomber’s vest bomb in Russia New Year’s Eve, inadvertently thwarting a planned attack on revelers in Moscow, according to The Daily Telegraph..."
Georgia Spanish Nazi Accusations
Critics slam Georgia paper for doctored photo of governor as Nazi - CNN:
"A Spanish-language newspaper in Georgia has drawn bipartisan criticism for publishing a doctored photograph depicting the state's new governor as a Nazi..."
This is not the same thing as issuing death threats against your political opponents.
"A Spanish-language newspaper in Georgia has drawn bipartisan criticism for publishing a doctored photograph depicting the state's new governor as a Nazi..."
This is not the same thing as issuing death threats against your political opponents.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
More Beck Death Squad Activity
Glenn Beck's Ranting Sparks Death Threats Against 78-Year-Old Sociologist:
"Glenn Beck has been railing against 78-year-old CUNY professor Frances Fox Piven for weeks now, claiming she co-authored a devious plan to overthrow the government in the 1960s. Now, some of his fans are issuing death threats against her.
"Glenn Beck has been railing against 78-year-old CUNY professor Frances Fox Piven for weeks now, claiming she co-authored a devious plan to overthrow the government in the 1960s. Now, some of his fans are issuing death threats against her.
According to the New York Times, Piven has been receiving death threats after being villainized on Beck's show. "Somebody tell Frances I have 5000 rounds ready and I'll give My life to take Our freedom back," wrote one user on Beck's news site, The Blaze..."
True Colors Test Upcoming
Logistics Monster: "Constitutional conservatives and Tea Party Patriots have an opportunity arriving soon to change the course of the nation yet again by making your feelings KNOWN to your representatives when it comes to extending provisions of the (fascist) Patriot Act which was passed unread, by a progressive congress, and signed by a globalist president. Even though I disagree with Dennis Kucinich often, as a close friend of mine has said in the past, ‘even a clock is right twice a day’, and continuing to allow this government this kind of power is absolute insanity. Here is one of those ‘line in the sand’ opportunities that we must not allow to pass us by..."
We'll see how many Tea Partyers are, in fact, patriots, and how many are just Tea Baggers, surfing along a wave of incoherent fear to line their own corrupt pockets. I predict most will not buck Obama or the Righteous Right but will endorse not only extensions but enhancements of the patently unconstitutional Patriot Act.
We'll see how many Tea Partyers are, in fact, patriots, and how many are just Tea Baggers, surfing along a wave of incoherent fear to line their own corrupt pockets. I predict most will not buck Obama or the Righteous Right but will endorse not only extensions but enhancements of the patently unconstitutional Patriot Act.
When Rabbis Attack...
To target Fox News over 'Nazi' label, rabbis make use of Murdoch's other media: "A coalition of rabbis wants Fox News chief Roger Ailes and conservative host Glenn Beck to cut out all their talk about Nazis and the Holocaust, and it's making its views known in an unusual place..."
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Palin Dropping
CNN Poll: Palin unfavorable rating at all time high – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs: "A new national poll indicates that 56 percent of all Americans have an unfavorable view of Sarah Palin, an all-time high for the former Alaska governor. That 56 percent unfavorable figure is up seven points from just before the midterm elections, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Wednesday morning..."
With Michele Bachman as a tailwind, there's only one way to go.
With Michele Bachman as a tailwind, there's only one way to go.
Bachman's Alternate Universe
In additional to not knowing the history of the Founding, Michele Bachmann also missed out on recent American history.
Michele Bachmann's Tea Party overdrive mocked for Obama response | World news | The Guardian:
"...Even more ridicule was heaped on Bachmann for comments at the end of her statement, where she sought to conclude on a rousing patriotic note. As the backdrop changed to the famous photograph of the American flag being raised over the Pacific island of Iwo Jima she talked about the 'miracle' of America's creation, referring to the battle of Iwo Jima at the close of the second world war as 'a battle against all odds'.
David Frum, a former speechwriter for George Bush, was one of many to highlight the historical inaccuracy of that statement. He tweeted: 'Did Bachmann really say that Iwo Jima was a battle against the odds? For the Japanese I guess …'
Note: She's not from nor does she represent any part of the South.
Michele Bachmann's Tea Party overdrive mocked for Obama response | World news | The Guardian:
"...Even more ridicule was heaped on Bachmann for comments at the end of her statement, where she sought to conclude on a rousing patriotic note. As the backdrop changed to the famous photograph of the American flag being raised over the Pacific island of Iwo Jima she talked about the 'miracle' of America's creation, referring to the battle of Iwo Jima at the close of the second world war as 'a battle against all odds'.
David Frum, a former speechwriter for George Bush, was one of many to highlight the historical inaccuracy of that statement. He tweeted: 'Did Bachmann really say that Iwo Jima was a battle against the odds? For the Japanese I guess …'
Note: She's not from nor does she represent any part of the South.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Why 3D Sucks
I wondered why I've been far less than impressed with 3-D, and now I have good, clear definitive answer. Why 3D doesn't work and never will. Case closed. - Roger Ebert's Journal: "...So: dark, small, stroby, headache inducing, alienating. And expensive. The question is: how long will it take people to realize and get fed up?..."
Somebody Shoulda Failed American History
Bachmann: Founding fathers ‘worked tirelessly’ to end slavery | Raw Story: "Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) said the United States was founded on racial and ethnic diversity and that the founding fathers were responsible for abolishing slavery..."
Death Threat Parade
In case you think right-wing blowhards don't cause the crazies to crow, read through this post--Glenn Beck's Rhetoric Inspires More Death Threats | Media Matters for America:
On The SOTU Address
Barack Obama, In Breeding Alert! : NO QUARTER: "...It would be one thing if the President was actually not able to speak to the American public. Hell, even Obama (who is kept inside a protective bubble by his Chicago aides) is out doing public speeches almost weekly. There is a strong case to be made that he is terribly over exposed. Getting his mug on the tube tonight will not slow the pace of home foreclosures or quicken a turnaround in the economy. Obama just wants to look competent, avoid gaffes and do the equivalent of kiss the cute baby. His only job tonight is to speak in soothing tones and try to ingratiate himself with the viewing audience."
Monday, January 24, 2011
Powell Sorta Says Cut Military
Colin Powell: Defunding NPR Won't Solve Deficit Problem, Congress Should Look At Cutting Defense: "Former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell disagreed with current proposals to cut the deficit on Sunday, saying that going after small programs one by one -- and not touching military and entitlement spending -- won't be effective in solving the country's long-term budget problems..."
Sunday, January 23, 2011
What's Reality?
Robert Lanza, M.D.: Five Reasons You Won't Die: "..Consider the uncertainty principle, one of the most famous and important aspects of quantum mechanics. Experiments confirm it's built into the fabric of reality, but it only makes sense from a biocentric perspective. If there's really a world out there with particles just bouncing around, then we should be able to measure all their properties. But we can't. Why should it matter to a particle what you decide to measure? Consider the double-slit experiment: if one "watches" a subatomic particle or a bit of light pass through slits on a barrier, it behaves like a particle and creates solid-looking hits behind the individual slits on the final barrier that measures the impacts. Like a tiny bullet, it logically passes through one or the other hole. But if the scientists do not observe the trajectory of the particle, then it exhibits the behavior of waves that allow it pass through both holes at the same time. Why does our observation change what happens? Answer: Because reality is a process that requires our consciousness..."
TP Claims Defense Cuts
The Canadian Press: Tea partiers demanding budget cuts say military in the mix, setting up hard choices for Reps:
"...Back home, supporters of the conservative tea party movement clamouring for the debt-ridden federal government to slash spending say nothing should be off limits. Tea party-backed lawmakers echo that argument, and they are not exempting the military's multibillion-dollar budget in a time of war.
That demand is creating hard choices for the newest members of Congress, especially Republicans who owe their elections and solid House majority to the influential grass-roots movement. Cutting defence and cancelling weapons could mean deep spending reductions and high marks from tea partiers as the U.S. wrestles with a $1.3 trillion deficit. Yet it also could jeopardize thousands of jobs when unemployment is running high..."
"...Back home, supporters of the conservative tea party movement clamouring for the debt-ridden federal government to slash spending say nothing should be off limits. Tea party-backed lawmakers echo that argument, and they are not exempting the military's multibillion-dollar budget in a time of war.
That demand is creating hard choices for the newest members of Congress, especially Republicans who owe their elections and solid House majority to the influential grass-roots movement. Cutting defence and cancelling weapons could mean deep spending reductions and high marks from tea partiers as the U.S. wrestles with a $1.3 trillion deficit. Yet it also could jeopardize thousands of jobs when unemployment is running high..."
Weak,Modern Gun Laws
Arizona shootings: Gun laws were tougher in old Tombstone - latimes.com:
"...And one fact is usually ignored: Back then, Tombstone had far stricter gun control than it does today. In fact, the American West's most infamous gun battle erupted when the marshal tried to enforce a local ordinance that barred carrying firearms in public. A judge had fined one of the victims $25 earlier that day for packing a pistol.
'You could wear your gun into town, but you had to check it at the sheriff's office or the Grand Hotel, and you couldn't pick it up again until you were leaving town,' said Bob Boze Bell, executive editor of True West Magazine, which celebrates the Old West. 'It was an effort to control the violence...'"
"...And one fact is usually ignored: Back then, Tombstone had far stricter gun control than it does today. In fact, the American West's most infamous gun battle erupted when the marshal tried to enforce a local ordinance that barred carrying firearms in public. A judge had fined one of the victims $25 earlier that day for packing a pistol.
'You could wear your gun into town, but you had to check it at the sheriff's office or the Grand Hotel, and you couldn't pick it up again until you were leaving town,' said Bob Boze Bell, executive editor of True West Magazine, which celebrates the Old West. 'It was an effort to control the violence...'"
Saturday, January 22, 2011
National Service Call
McChrystal: Why America Needs National Service - Newsweek:
"Standing recently in new haven’s small train station, I was approached by a stranger who thanked me for my service. His gratitude was clearly genuine—and I deeply appreciated it.
During my years in uniform (particularly after 9/11), and even in the months since my retirement, I was routinely thanked for serving. For service members today, that experience is common—a thoughtful gesture that has done much to maintain the morale of a force that performs so bravely for our nation..."
I favor a universal draft-- come 18, everyone--everyone--goes. On a related note-- I've never been thanked for my service by anyone other than family, nor do I know any Vietnam era vets who have been.
"Standing recently in new haven’s small train station, I was approached by a stranger who thanked me for my service. His gratitude was clearly genuine—and I deeply appreciated it.
During my years in uniform (particularly after 9/11), and even in the months since my retirement, I was routinely thanked for serving. For service members today, that experience is common—a thoughtful gesture that has done much to maintain the morale of a force that performs so bravely for our nation..."
I favor a universal draft-- come 18, everyone--everyone--goes. On a related note-- I've never been thanked for my service by anyone other than family, nor do I know any Vietnam era vets who have been.
Return Of Another GOPer Ghost
Presidential candidates: Mitt Romney wins GOP presidential straw poll in New Hampshire - latimes.com: "... Mitt Romney won a straw poll in one of the first early-state beauty contests of the 2012 presidential primary campaign, with New Hampshire Republicans giving him more than a third of their votes Saturday and Sarah Palin coming in a distant fourth..."
KO Gone
Keith Olbermann exits MSNBC: 'Just too much for me' - USATODAY.com: "MSNBC's Keith Olbermann surprised viewers by saying he had 'been told' it was his last show, after nearly eight years, and so he was saying farewell..."
Friday, January 21, 2011
Comment Of The Day
Friday: I know, I know, you should have voted for Hillary « The Confluence: 'Marsha, on January 21, 2011 at 8:55 am said:
Now if they would only get their facts right….SS does not contribute a dime to the debt and, under law, is not part of the budget and can take no money from it. But still they persist in their lies:
“…..Medicare and Social Security, the programs that directly touch the most people and also are the biggest drivers of the government’s projected long-term debt...”'
Now if they would only get their facts right….SS does not contribute a dime to the debt and, under law, is not part of the budget and can take no money from it. But still they persist in their lies:
“…..Medicare and Social Security, the programs that directly touch the most people and also are the biggest drivers of the government’s projected long-term debt...”'
GOPer Cuts
House GOP Lists $2.5 Trillion in Spending Cuts - US News and World Report: "Moving aggressively to make good on election promises to slash the federal budget, the House GOP today unveiled an eye-popping plan to eliminate $2.5 trillion in spending over the next 10 years. Gone would be Amtrak subsidies, fat checks to the Legal Services Corporation and National Endowment for the Arts, and some $900 million to run President Obama's healthcare reform program..."
Al Gets It Right On Comcast/FCC
Comcast Is Trying To Whack Netflix: Sen. Al Franken | Epicenter | Wired.com:
"Sen. Al Franken has had it with the FCC, who has just created “essentially two Internets” with weak net neutrality rules and who this week signed off on the mega-merger of Comcast and NBC Universal.
"Sen. Al Franken has had it with the FCC, who has just created “essentially two Internets” with weak net neutrality rules and who this week signed off on the mega-merger of Comcast and NBC Universal.
A common thread unites the two decisions in Franken’s view: both highlight the “growing threat of corporate control” over information.
Franken’s remarks came Tuesday during a speech to a Netroots Nation gathering in Minnesota. The former comedian and NBC employee (during his Saturday Night Live days) has made media consolidation and network neutrality two of his signature issues, and he hammered on both of them during his talk..."
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Creepy Rick Back In Headlines
Rick Santorum Explains Obama Race Comments - Political Hotsheet - CBS News: "Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, a likely 2012 GOP presidential contender, has released a statement to Hotsheet explaining his statement casting President Obama's comments on abortion as 'almost remarkable for a black man...'"
Palin Fatigue
Why America is growing tired of Palin - CNN.com:
"OK, you've got Palin fatigue. Not to worry. So does much of the country: The latest CNN poll shows that 56 percent of Americans view her unfavorably.
More damaging, though, is this: Sarah Palin's unfavorable rating among women has gone up 10 points. And 59 percent of those all-important independent voters don't like her -- and that's up a stunning 14 points in just a few months.
You might argue it's because of the debate surrounding the Tucson shootings -- specifically, Palin's tone-deaf response to the unfair charges that she was somehow responsible for a deranged shooter's state of mind. And that could well be part of it. But there's more: She's completely overstayed her welcome..."
Amen.
"OK, you've got Palin fatigue. Not to worry. So does much of the country: The latest CNN poll shows that 56 percent of Americans view her unfavorably.
More damaging, though, is this: Sarah Palin's unfavorable rating among women has gone up 10 points. And 59 percent of those all-important independent voters don't like her -- and that's up a stunning 14 points in just a few months.
You might argue it's because of the debate surrounding the Tucson shootings -- specifically, Palin's tone-deaf response to the unfair charges that she was somehow responsible for a deranged shooter's state of mind. And that could well be part of it. But there's more: She's completely overstayed her welcome..."
Amen.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Who's Your Bro?
FoxNews.com - Alabama Gov: Only Christians are 'Brothers and Sisters':
"Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has only been in office three days, but he's already facing criticism for remarks he made the day of his inauguration..."
It's just beginning, folks.
"Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has only been in office three days, but he's already facing criticism for remarks he made the day of his inauguration..."
It's just beginning, folks.
Small Gov Hypocrisy
Haley Approves Huge Salary Increases :: FITSNews:
"So much for limited government …
With her state facing an estimated $1 billion budget shortfall, S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley handed out huge salary increases to top gubernatorial staffers on her first full day in office. She also doled out big salaries to newly-created positions within the governor’s office.
Paying attention, Tea Partiers?..."
"So much for limited government …
With her state facing an estimated $1 billion budget shortfall, S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley handed out huge salary increases to top gubernatorial staffers on her first full day in office. She also doled out big salaries to newly-created positions within the governor’s office.
Paying attention, Tea Partiers?..."
Calling A Spade A Spade
First Read - House Dem compares GOP health care case to Nazi propaganda:
'...In a little-noticed floor speech last night (flagged today by ABC News), Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee invoked Nazis, the Holocaust, Germany’s infamous Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels, and – yes – blood libel in describing how Republicans have characterized the health care law as a “government takeover.”
“They say it's a government takeover of health care, a big lie just like Goebbels,' Cohen said. 'You say it enough, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie, and eventually, people believe it. Like blood libel. That's the same kind of thing, blood libel. That's the same kind of thing...”'
'...In a little-noticed floor speech last night (flagged today by ABC News), Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee invoked Nazis, the Holocaust, Germany’s infamous Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels, and – yes – blood libel in describing how Republicans have characterized the health care law as a “government takeover.”
“They say it's a government takeover of health care, a big lie just like Goebbels,' Cohen said. 'You say it enough, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie, and eventually, people believe it. Like blood libel. That's the same kind of thing, blood libel. That's the same kind of thing...”'
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Senator Secret-Holds Bill
How is this even possible? (That's rhetorical..) Which U.S. Senator Blocked the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act? : NO QUARTER:
Men Are Always Evil
Lenore Skenazy: Eek! A Male! - WSJ.com:
"...And that's not the worst. In England in 2006, BBC News reported the story of a bricklayer who spotted a toddler at the side of the road. As he later testified at a hearing, he didn't stop to help for fear he'd be accused of trying to abduct her. You know: A man driving around with a little girl in his car? She ended up at a pond and drowned.
We think we're protecting our kids by treating all men as potential predators. But that's not a society that's safe. Just sick."
"...And that's not the worst. In England in 2006, BBC News reported the story of a bricklayer who spotted a toddler at the side of the road. As he later testified at a hearing, he didn't stop to help for fear he'd be accused of trying to abduct her. You know: A man driving around with a little girl in his car? She ended up at a pond and drowned.
We think we're protecting our kids by treating all men as potential predators. But that's not a society that's safe. Just sick."
Solving The Killing Problem
Dr. E. Fuller Torrey: A Predictable Tragedy in Arizona - WSJ.com: "...Ultimately, it is important to hold state officials responsible for not providing sufficient resources to treat those who suffer from serious mental illnesses. For almost two centuries, it has been an accepted function of state government to protect disabled persons and to protect the public from individuals who are potentially dangerous. State governments have been very effective in emptying the hospitals in an effort to save money but remarkably ineffective in providing treatment for seriously mentally ill individuals living in the community."
Monday, January 17, 2011
Why The GOP Hates HC Reform
The War on Logic - NYTimes.com:
"...The key to understanding the G.O.P. analysis of health reform is that the party’s leaders are not, in fact, opposed to reform because they believe it will increase the deficit. Nor are they opposed because they seriously believe that it will be “job-killing” (which it won’t be). They’re against reform because it would cover the uninsured — and that’s something they just don’t want to do.
And it’s not about the money. As I tried to explain in my last column, the modern G.O.P. has been taken over by an ideology in which the suffering of the unfortunate isn’t a proper concern of government, and alleviating that suffering at taxpayer expense is immoral, never mind how little it costs..."
"...The key to understanding the G.O.P. analysis of health reform is that the party’s leaders are not, in fact, opposed to reform because they believe it will increase the deficit. Nor are they opposed because they seriously believe that it will be “job-killing” (which it won’t be). They’re against reform because it would cover the uninsured — and that’s something they just don’t want to do.
And it’s not about the money. As I tried to explain in my last column, the modern G.O.P. has been taken over by an ideology in which the suffering of the unfortunate isn’t a proper concern of government, and alleviating that suffering at taxpayer expense is immoral, never mind how little it costs..."
Comment Of The Day
Poll vaulting « The Confluence: "escee, on January 17, 2011 at 7:18 pm said:
Poor former Governor Palin, she just can’t stop being the center of attention. Why would anyone think that she was contributing to a toxic environment?
Now we have a guy who got shot during Gifford’s event and later made the comment “You’re dead.” while pointing with his cell phone at the town hall arrested for making a threat. I don’t really know the context in his mind for his statement, but I don’t know that it is much different from placing cross-hairs over “targets” in political races. I agree with RD’s statement that “the map was connected with her website as part of a campaign to “target” supporters of the health care reform bill is unbecoming and irresponsible for any politician on either side of the aisle. ” I also found this snippet in today’s Washington Post chilling.
“After Jesse Kelly won the Republican primary in the 8th District, the tea party-backed candidate held a gun-shooting fundraiser. An ad promoting the event said: “Get on Target for Victory in November. Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly.”
I hope that as the access to better and more powerful assault weapons continues, that voters will start to hold the republicans accountable. But at this point, I am wondering if people are getting too afraid to confront the gun issue and address the republican party bullying techniques. I know I am."
Poor former Governor Palin, she just can’t stop being the center of attention. Why would anyone think that she was contributing to a toxic environment?
Now we have a guy who got shot during Gifford’s event and later made the comment “You’re dead.” while pointing with his cell phone at the town hall arrested for making a threat. I don’t really know the context in his mind for his statement, but I don’t know that it is much different from placing cross-hairs over “targets” in political races. I agree with RD’s statement that “the map was connected with her website as part of a campaign to “target” supporters of the health care reform bill is unbecoming and irresponsible for any politician on either side of the aisle. ” I also found this snippet in today’s Washington Post chilling.
“After Jesse Kelly won the Republican primary in the 8th District, the tea party-backed candidate held a gun-shooting fundraiser. An ad promoting the event said: “Get on Target for Victory in November. Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly.”
I hope that as the access to better and more powerful assault weapons continues, that voters will start to hold the republicans accountable. But at this point, I am wondering if people are getting too afraid to confront the gun issue and address the republican party bullying techniques. I know I am."
Good Leaks
WikiLeaks promises to reveal Swiss banking secrets - CNN.com:
"A Swiss whistle-blower Monday handed over what he said were secret Swiss banking records to WikiLeaks, the website dedicated to revealing secrets.
Swiss banker Rudolf Elmer handed two discs to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at a news conference in London.
WikiLeaks could release the secret Swiss banking records in 'a matter of weeks' if it can process them quickly enough, Assange said..."
"A Swiss whistle-blower Monday handed over what he said were secret Swiss banking records to WikiLeaks, the website dedicated to revealing secrets.
Swiss banker Rudolf Elmer handed two discs to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at a news conference in London.
WikiLeaks could release the secret Swiss banking records in 'a matter of weeks' if it can process them quickly enough, Assange said..."
About The Target List
Sarah Palin's presidential hopes surely can't survive this assassin's bullet | Jonathan Freedland | Comment is free | The Guardian: "The result is that the Giffords shooting – and Palin's statements before and after it – have seared into the public mind a version of the would-be president that alienates her from the moderate and independent voters crucial to any general election victory, aligning her with the most extreme elements of the Republican party. One former Democratic strategist noted the visual grammar of that target list of Palin's: 'Remember the instigators of those abortion clinic murders? They had a list and went down the list. This puts her in that camp...'"
Giffords Seat In Jeopardy?
Arizona statute could endanger Gabrielle Giffords's hold on seat: "Even as Rep. Gabrielle Giffords shows signs of a near miraculous recovery, with doctors upgrading her condition from critical to serious Sunday, a little-known statutory provision in Arizona state law could endanger the Democratic congresswoman's hold on her seat through what doctors say will be a protracted medical struggle..."
Sunday, January 16, 2011
What Giffords Warned
No One Listened to Gabrielle Giffords - NYTimes.com:
"...The week of that interview began with the House passing the health care bill on Sunday. Within hours, on Monday morning, vandals smashed the front door of Giffords’s office in Tucson. The Palin “target” map (and the accompanying Twitter dictum to “RELOAD”) went up on Tuesday, just one day after that vandalism — timing that was at best tone-deaf and at worst nastily provocative. Not just Giffords, but at least three other of the 20 members of Congress on the Palin map were also hit with vandalism or death threats.
In her MSNBC interview that Wednesday, Giffords said that Palin had put the “crosshairs of a gun sight over our district,” adding that “when people do that, they’ve got to realize there’s consequences to that action.” Chuck Todd then asked Giffords if “in fairness, campaign rhetoric and war rhetoric have been interchangeable for years.” She responded that colleagues who had been in the House “20, 30 years” had never seen vitriol this bad. But Todd moved on, and so did the Beltway. What’s the big deal about a little broken glass? Few wanted to see what Giffords saw — that the vandalism and death threats were the latest consequences of a tide of ugly insurrectionism that had been rising since the final weeks of the 2008 campaign and that had threatened to turn violent from the start.
Giffords’s first brush with that reality had occurred some seven months before her office was vandalized — in the red-hot health care fever of August 2009. She had held another “Congress on Your Corner” meeting, at a Safeway in the town of Douglas. There the crowd’s rage and the dropping of a gun by one attendee prompted aides worried about her safety to summon the police. The Tucson Tea Party co-founder, Trent Humphries, told The Arizona Daily Star afterward that this was a lie, that “nobody was threatening Gabby.” After Loughner’s massacre, Humphries was still faulting her — this time for holding “an event in full view of the public with no security whatsoever...”"
"...The week of that interview began with the House passing the health care bill on Sunday. Within hours, on Monday morning, vandals smashed the front door of Giffords’s office in Tucson. The Palin “target” map (and the accompanying Twitter dictum to “RELOAD”) went up on Tuesday, just one day after that vandalism — timing that was at best tone-deaf and at worst nastily provocative. Not just Giffords, but at least three other of the 20 members of Congress on the Palin map were also hit with vandalism or death threats.
In her MSNBC interview that Wednesday, Giffords said that Palin had put the “crosshairs of a gun sight over our district,” adding that “when people do that, they’ve got to realize there’s consequences to that action.” Chuck Todd then asked Giffords if “in fairness, campaign rhetoric and war rhetoric have been interchangeable for years.” She responded that colleagues who had been in the House “20, 30 years” had never seen vitriol this bad. But Todd moved on, and so did the Beltway. What’s the big deal about a little broken glass? Few wanted to see what Giffords saw — that the vandalism and death threats were the latest consequences of a tide of ugly insurrectionism that had been rising since the final weeks of the 2008 campaign and that had threatened to turn violent from the start.
Giffords’s first brush with that reality had occurred some seven months before her office was vandalized — in the red-hot health care fever of August 2009. She had held another “Congress on Your Corner” meeting, at a Safeway in the town of Douglas. There the crowd’s rage and the dropping of a gun by one attendee prompted aides worried about her safety to summon the police. The Tucson Tea Party co-founder, Trent Humphries, told The Arizona Daily Star afterward that this was a lie, that “nobody was threatening Gabby.” After Loughner’s massacre, Humphries was still faulting her — this time for holding “an event in full view of the public with no security whatsoever...”"
GOP Leader Resigns Amid Threats
Gabrielle Giffords' Arizona shooting prompts resignations:
"...Miller said when he was a member of McCain's campaign staff last year has been criticized by the more conservative party members who supported Republican opponent J.D. Hayworth. The first and only African-American to hold the party's precinct chairmanship, Miller said he has been called 'McCain's boy,' and during the campaign saw a critic form his hand in the shape of a gun and point it at him.
'I wasn't going to resign but decided to quit after what happened Saturday,' Miller said. 'I love the Republican Party but I don't want to take a bullet for anyone.'
Note: no liberals were involved in the making of this resignation.
"...Miller said when he was a member of McCain's campaign staff last year has been criticized by the more conservative party members who supported Republican opponent J.D. Hayworth. The first and only African-American to hold the party's precinct chairmanship, Miller said he has been called 'McCain's boy,' and during the campaign saw a critic form his hand in the shape of a gun and point it at him.
'I wasn't going to resign but decided to quit after what happened Saturday,' Miller said. 'I love the Republican Party but I don't want to take a bullet for anyone.'
Note: no liberals were involved in the making of this resignation.
Border Boondogling
Homeland Security Cancels ‘Virtual Fence’ After $1 Billion Is Spent - NYTimes.com:
"The Department of Homeland Security on Friday canceled a project to build a technology-based “virtual fence” across the Southwest border, saying that the effort — on which $1 billion has already been spent — was ineffective and too costly..."
A billion here, a billion there... We can just fire some bureaucrats to make-up the difference. You knoq, nurses, cops, teachers, and etc.
"The Department of Homeland Security on Friday canceled a project to build a technology-based “virtual fence” across the Southwest border, saying that the effort — on which $1 billion has already been spent — was ineffective and too costly..."
A billion here, a billion there... We can just fire some bureaucrats to make-up the difference. You knoq, nurses, cops, teachers, and etc.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Realizing Another Evil-Right Goal
NJ Gov. Chris Christie wants to end teacher tenure – and he's not alone - CSMonitor.com:
"...Ending tenure is also being championed prominently by former Washington, D.C., Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. Ms. Rhee’s new Students First education-reform group called for that this week when it released its detailed policy agenda.
Contrary to what the word conjures up, tenure doesn’t mean a lifetime job guarantee for teachers. Laws establishing hearings or other protections against arbitrary firing sprang up state by state in response to problems such as discrimination against women or politically motivated firings.
“Tenure is really about due-process protections,” says Patrick McGuinn, a political science professor at Drew University in New Jersey who has studied tenure policies, “but over time it’s become so lengthy, complicated, and costly to go through those due-process protections ... that virtually no teachers are fired on the basis of performance...”
Of course, stripping the teachers of any rights will balance the budget, stop terrorism, close the borders, and end abortion.
"...Ending tenure is also being championed prominently by former Washington, D.C., Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. Ms. Rhee’s new Students First education-reform group called for that this week when it released its detailed policy agenda.
Contrary to what the word conjures up, tenure doesn’t mean a lifetime job guarantee for teachers. Laws establishing hearings or other protections against arbitrary firing sprang up state by state in response to problems such as discrimination against women or politically motivated firings.
“Tenure is really about due-process protections,” says Patrick McGuinn, a political science professor at Drew University in New Jersey who has studied tenure policies, “but over time it’s become so lengthy, complicated, and costly to go through those due-process protections ... that virtually no teachers are fired on the basis of performance...”
Of course, stripping the teachers of any rights will balance the budget, stop terrorism, close the borders, and end abortion.
Banker Bonuses
JP Morgan bankers to share $10bn bonus pot after profits leap | Business | guardian.co.uk:
"JP Morgan's investment bankers are to receive an average payout of $369,651 (£233,000) after the bank set aside almost $10bn to cover basic pay and bonuses.
"JP Morgan's investment bankers are to receive an average payout of $369,651 (£233,000) after the bank set aside almost $10bn to cover basic pay and bonuses.
The figures were released after JPMorgan Chase kicked off the US banking reporting season by reporting a 47% jump in profits for the last quarter of 2010..."
Spacing Lunacy
I've read a lot of over-wrought, self-important drivel on various topics on the Internet. This one gets in my Top Twenty List: Two spaces after a period: Why you should never, ever do it. - By Farhad Manjoo - Slate Magazine:-- And I thought I was being anal retentive over TNT's constant "Less Commercials" grammatical faux pas.
The Great American Divide
A Tale of Two Moralities - NYTimes.com:
"...This deep divide in American political morality — for that’s what it amounts to — is a relatively recent development. Commentators who pine for the days of civility and bipartisanship are, whether they realize it or not, pining for the days when the Republican Party accepted the legitimacy of the welfare state, and was even willing to contemplate expanding it. As many analysts have noted, the Obama health reform — whose passage was met with vandalism and death threats against members of Congress — was modeled on Republican plans from the 1990s.
But that was then. Today’s G.O.P. sees much of what the modern federal government does as illegitimate; today’s Democratic Party does not. When people talk about partisan differences, they often seem to be implying that these differences are petty, matters that could be resolved with a bit of good will. But what we’re talking about here is a fundamental disagreement about the proper role of government..."
"...This deep divide in American political morality — for that’s what it amounts to — is a relatively recent development. Commentators who pine for the days of civility and bipartisanship are, whether they realize it or not, pining for the days when the Republican Party accepted the legitimacy of the welfare state, and was even willing to contemplate expanding it. As many analysts have noted, the Obama health reform — whose passage was met with vandalism and death threats against members of Congress — was modeled on Republican plans from the 1990s.
But that was then. Today’s G.O.P. sees much of what the modern federal government does as illegitimate; today’s Democratic Party does not. When people talk about partisan differences, they often seem to be implying that these differences are petty, matters that could be resolved with a bit of good will. But what we’re talking about here is a fundamental disagreement about the proper role of government..."
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Pima CC Kudos
(My bold)--Experts Back School's Handling of Loughner - WSJ.com:
"The release of documents detailing how Pima Community College responded to incidents involving suspected Arizona shooter Jared Lee Loughner largely show the school acting diligently while underscoring the limits of its capabilities and responsibilities, experts said Thursday.
'They did identify this student and get him off campus,' said LeRoy Rooker, a former official with the U.S. Department of Education who helped rewrite federal privacy regulations after the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings. 'It's not their job to get him mental health care...'"
"The release of documents detailing how Pima Community College responded to incidents involving suspected Arizona shooter Jared Lee Loughner largely show the school acting diligently while underscoring the limits of its capabilities and responsibilities, experts said Thursday.
'They did identify this student and get him off campus,' said LeRoy Rooker, a former official with the U.S. Department of Education who helped rewrite federal privacy regulations after the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings. 'It's not their job to get him mental health care...'"
Civil Discourse Basics
Arizona's back-to-basics sheriff - CNN:
"A little-known sheriff has stepped into the national spotlight with a back-to-basics lesson for America:
Treat people with respect; engage in civil discourse; be nice.
Those aren't the sexiest talking points. But in the wake of Saturday's mass shooting in Tucson in which six people were killed and a congresswoman was critically wounded, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik says a little moral fortitude is what America needs..."
"A little-known sheriff has stepped into the national spotlight with a back-to-basics lesson for America:
Treat people with respect; engage in civil discourse; be nice.
Those aren't the sexiest talking points. But in the wake of Saturday's mass shooting in Tucson in which six people were killed and a congresswoman was critically wounded, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik says a little moral fortitude is what America needs..."
Saying "No" To Coal
E.P.A. Revokes Permit for West Virginia Coal Mining Project - NYTimes.com: "The Environmental Protection Agency revoked the permit for one of the nation’s largest mountaintop-removal coal mining projects on Thursday, saying the mine would have done unacceptable damage to rivers, wildlife and communities in West Virginia... "
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Right Whining
Six real, dead victims and the GOP, Rightists, and the Christian Crazies still manage to do what they do best: play the victim card. Poor Krauthammer is so distressed he may have to take to the fainting couch, which is a heckuva lot better than being a real victim, you know, with real bullets, real blood, real pain and all. Read it if you want-- Charles Krauthammer - Massacre, followed by libel:
Defending Palin,Sorta
Palin and Clyburn add fuel to raging fire with “blood libel” and intellectual deficits--The Confluence:
"...I will stick up for Sarah’s right to be treated with respect and not demonized. The left has been relentless in using her as a whipping girl for the past two years and the behavior of Jeralyn and Digby and just about every other lefty blogger has made us at The Confluence very angry with the behavior of what should be our side. We have always condemned the demonization and dehumanization of Sarah Palin because it undermines our moral authority and it is wrong.
But I am very disappointed that her message wasn’t more like Bill Clinton’s, who condemned, unambiguously, the demonization of those you disagree with. To Sarah, it’s all just very spirited. Yes, let’s just continue this level of spirit!
How about we let all of the political spectrum have equal access to spirited debate? The fairness doctrine would ensure free speech for everyone. Who could possibly be against that?
Sarah? Do you have something to say in support of the fairness doctrine? Sarah? Sarah?
She’s not a demon. But I disapprove of he company she keeps. She doesn’t meet my WWHD standard. In fact, this speech may have done more harm than good by giving the wingers an excuse to pick up where they left off..."
"...I will stick up for Sarah’s right to be treated with respect and not demonized. The left has been relentless in using her as a whipping girl for the past two years and the behavior of Jeralyn and Digby and just about every other lefty blogger has made us at The Confluence very angry with the behavior of what should be our side. We have always condemned the demonization and dehumanization of Sarah Palin because it undermines our moral authority and it is wrong.
But I am very disappointed that her message wasn’t more like Bill Clinton’s, who condemned, unambiguously, the demonization of those you disagree with. To Sarah, it’s all just very spirited. Yes, let’s just continue this level of spirit!
How about we let all of the political spectrum have equal access to spirited debate? The fairness doctrine would ensure free speech for everyone. Who could possibly be against that?
Sarah? Do you have something to say in support of the fairness doctrine? Sarah? Sarah?
She’s not a demon. But I disapprove of he company she keeps. She doesn’t meet my WWHD standard. In fact, this speech may have done more harm than good by giving the wingers an excuse to pick up where they left off..."
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Gun Control Rethought
I wonder if the mass murder in Tuscon was one of Sharron Angle's Second Amendment solutions?
A Right to Bear Glocks? - NYTimes.com:
"...Today, the amazing thing about the reaction to the Giffords shooting is that virtually all the discussion about how to prevent a recurrence has been focusing on improving the tone of our political discourse. That would certainly be great. But you do not hear much about the fact that Jared Loughner came to Giffords’s sweet gathering with a semiautomatic weapon that he was able to buy legally because the law restricting their sale expired in 2004 and Congress did not have the guts to face up to the National Rifle Association and extend it..."
I'm against gun control, in general, but we need to reclassify weapons and really put some stringent background checks on high volume automatic weapons. A 32 round Glock shouldn't be in the same category as a six shot revolver like the Taurus Judge.
A Right to Bear Glocks? - NYTimes.com:
"...Today, the amazing thing about the reaction to the Giffords shooting is that virtually all the discussion about how to prevent a recurrence has been focusing on improving the tone of our political discourse. That would certainly be great. But you do not hear much about the fact that Jared Loughner came to Giffords’s sweet gathering with a semiautomatic weapon that he was able to buy legally because the law restricting their sale expired in 2004 and Congress did not have the guts to face up to the National Rifle Association and extend it..."
I'm against gun control, in general, but we need to reclassify weapons and really put some stringent background checks on high volume automatic weapons. A 32 round Glock shouldn't be in the same category as a six shot revolver like the Taurus Judge.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Lest We Forget: Hate Edition
Krugman Climate of Hate - NYTimes.com:
"...Put me in the latter category. I’ve had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach ever since the final stages of the 2008campaign. I remembered the upsurge in political hatred after Bill Clinton’s election in 1992 — an upsurge that culminated in the Oklahoma City bombing. And you could see, just by watching the crowds at McCain-Palin rallies, that it was ready to happen again. The Department of Homeland Security reached the same conclusion: in April 2009 an internal report warned that right-wing extremism was on the rise, with a growing potential for violence.
Conservatives denounced that report. But there has, in fact, been a rising tide of threats and vandalism aimed at elected officials, including both Judge John Roll, who was killed Saturday, and Representative Gabrielle Giffords. One of these days, someone was bound to take it to the next level. And now someone has..."
"...Put me in the latter category. I’ve had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach ever since the final stages of the 2008campaign. I remembered the upsurge in political hatred after Bill Clinton’s election in 1992 — an upsurge that culminated in the Oklahoma City bombing. And you could see, just by watching the crowds at McCain-Palin rallies, that it was ready to happen again. The Department of Homeland Security reached the same conclusion: in April 2009 an internal report warned that right-wing extremism was on the rise, with a growing potential for violence.
Conservatives denounced that report. But there has, in fact, been a rising tide of threats and vandalism aimed at elected officials, including both Judge John Roll, who was killed Saturday, and Representative Gabrielle Giffords. One of these days, someone was bound to take it to the next level. And now someone has..."
North Pole Moving
FoxNews.com - Magnetic North Pole Shifts, Forces Runway Closures at Florida Airport: "The planet's northern magnetic pole is drifting slowly but steadily towards Russia -- and it's throwing off planes in Florida..."
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Palin In Crosshairs?
Sarah Palin's "Crosshairs" Ad is Focus of Gabrielle Giffords Debate - ABC News:
"...No connection has been made between this graphic and the Arizona shooting, but it has put the Palin team somewhat on the defensive. Rebecca Mansour, a spokesperson for SarahPac, told conservative commentator Tammy Bruce, 'We never imagined, it never occurred to us that anybody would consider it violent.' Insisting she was speaking for herself, and not on behalf of Palin, Mansour added, 'We never ever, ever intended it to be gun sights.'
However, following the initial controversy over the 'crosshairs' last year, Palin issued her now oft repeated rallying cry, 'Don't retreat. RELOAD...'"
Nice tap dancing, Tammy, but the GOP has been pouring gasoline on the ground since the first Jesse Helms campaign way back when. Now the Tea Party has started adding jet fuel to the mix, so don't act all surprised 'n shocky when a spark ignites the whole mess and both the innocent and the guilty get burned.
"...No connection has been made between this graphic and the Arizona shooting, but it has put the Palin team somewhat on the defensive. Rebecca Mansour, a spokesperson for SarahPac, told conservative commentator Tammy Bruce, 'We never imagined, it never occurred to us that anybody would consider it violent.' Insisting she was speaking for herself, and not on behalf of Palin, Mansour added, 'We never ever, ever intended it to be gun sights.'
However, following the initial controversy over the 'crosshairs' last year, Palin issued her now oft repeated rallying cry, 'Don't retreat. RELOAD...'"
Nice tap dancing, Tammy, but the GOP has been pouring gasoline on the ground since the first Jesse Helms campaign way back when. Now the Tea Party has started adding jet fuel to the mix, so don't act all surprised 'n shocky when a spark ignites the whole mess and both the innocent and the guilty get burned.
Comment Of The Day
Representative Gabrielle Giffords Shot « The Confluence: "RD, on January 8, 2011 at 4:37 pm said:
In Giffords’ case, she’d already been the target of someone with a gun at one of her rallies last year and her office was vandalized. No one is blaming anybody but Beck and Palin’s provocative messaging has got to stop. If the shooter wasn’t responding to their messages, sooner or later, someone else will. Violent mentally disturbed people with guns do not need encouragement..."
In Giffords’ case, she’d already been the target of someone with a gun at one of her rallies last year and her office was vandalized. No one is blaming anybody but Beck and Palin’s provocative messaging has got to stop. If the shooter wasn’t responding to their messages, sooner or later, someone else will. Violent mentally disturbed people with guns do not need encouragement..."
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Friday, January 07, 2011
Ineptitude 101
Republican lawmakers miss oath, vote on floor anyway - Jonathan Allen - POLITICO.com: "Two Republicans, including a member of the GOP leadership, voted on the House floor several times despite not having been sworn in, throwing the House into parliamentary turmoil Thursday — the same day the Constitution was read aloud on the floor.
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, and freshman Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) missed the mass swearing-in ceremony on the House floor Wednesday but proceeded to cast a series of votes. Fitzpatrick read a portion of the Constitution on the floor Thursday. Sessions, appointed to the Rules Committee, participated in some committee activities, and that panel, at the suggestion of House parliamentarians, was forced temporarily to suspend consideration of a rule for the repeal of last year’s health care overhaul while the matter was sorted out..."
Rather like conferring degrees on students at a commencement exercise then checking if they were actually eligible to be graduated. Colleges do it all the time.
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, and freshman Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) missed the mass swearing-in ceremony on the House floor Wednesday but proceeded to cast a series of votes. Fitzpatrick read a portion of the Constitution on the floor Thursday. Sessions, appointed to the Rules Committee, participated in some committee activities, and that panel, at the suggestion of House parliamentarians, was forced temporarily to suspend consideration of a rule for the repeal of last year’s health care overhaul while the matter was sorted out..."
Rather like conferring degrees on students at a commencement exercise then checking if they were actually eligible to be graduated. Colleges do it all the time.
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Shuler Gets Speaker Votes
The Fix - Democrats' defection from Pelosi is historic: "...Of the 18 Democrats voting for other candidates yesterday, 11 voted for Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), two voted for Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and five voted for other Democrats. The seven candidates receiving votes is more than any other race on record..."
What Public Schools Can't Do
At Private Schools, the Risk of Being ‘Counseled Out’ - NYTimes.com:
"...Not discussed on schools’ tours or in their glossy pamphlets, counseling out is nonetheless a matter of practice at many private schools. Unlike the public school system, private schools are not obligated, and often not set up, to handle children having trouble keeping up.
“There are some kids that we’re not going to renew,” said Pamela J. Clarke, the head of the Trevor Day School in Manhattan, “either because they can’t do the work and we’re not serving them, or generally, that might be combined with behavior issues we can’t win...”
It is much easier to "win" if you can toss all the losers.
"...Not discussed on schools’ tours or in their glossy pamphlets, counseling out is nonetheless a matter of practice at many private schools. Unlike the public school system, private schools are not obligated, and often not set up, to handle children having trouble keeping up.
“There are some kids that we’re not going to renew,” said Pamela J. Clarke, the head of the Trevor Day School in Manhattan, “either because they can’t do the work and we’re not serving them, or generally, that might be combined with behavior issues we can’t win...”
It is much easier to "win" if you can toss all the losers.
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Real Spies 101
Get those spy-novel notes out and read this post for a treatise on how things really work-- and don't work. Dubai Assassination Followed Failed Attempt by Same Team | Threat Level | Wired.com:
The Dance Of The Dead
Taking the House, Republicans to Probe Democrat Policies - TIME: "...But moving swiftly to eviscerate the health care law isn't merely a not-so-subtle overture to the conservative base. It also sets the tone for what could be a bitter two years of gamesmanship and gridlock on Capitol Hill, particularly since most legislation House Republicans shepherd through will likely perish in the still Democratic-controlled Senate. That will almost certainly be the fate of the health care repeal effort, which is officially titled the Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act. Representative Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat, dubbed it a 'disingenuous' piece of political theater. 'It's a kabuki dance. The fact of the matter is we're not going to repeal it,' she told reporters on Tuesday. 'If it weren't so sad, it would be laughable...'"
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Second Class Women?
Scalia: Women Don't Have Constitutional Protection Against Discrimination: "The equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not protect against discrimination on the basis of gender or sexual orientation, according to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia..."
Vampires Looking In The Mirror
Insurers Held to Task Over Death-Bet Policies - WSJ.com:
"New investor lawsuits are emerging amid the wreckage of an investment boom in life-insurance policies that spectacularly collapsed.
The suits involve the secondary market in life policies, which boomed from 2004 to 2008 as thousands of old people sought to make fast cash by taking out multimillion-dollar policies on their own lives to sell to investors. Tens of billions of dollars worth of insurance changed hands. Under the deals, the investors pay the premiums until the insured person dies, at which point they collect the death benefit..."
Why am I not surprised?
"New investor lawsuits are emerging amid the wreckage of an investment boom in life-insurance policies that spectacularly collapsed.
The suits involve the secondary market in life policies, which boomed from 2004 to 2008 as thousands of old people sought to make fast cash by taking out multimillion-dollar policies on their own lives to sell to investors. Tens of billions of dollars worth of insurance changed hands. Under the deals, the investors pay the premiums until the insured person dies, at which point they collect the death benefit..."
Why am I not surprised?
Monday, January 03, 2011
Personal TV Favorite
Voted the best tv show of 2010 and my personal favorite--the best "buddy" series evah:
We Have a Winner! The Best TV Show of 2010 Is... - E! Online:
"Supernatural!
Fans cast hundreds of thousands of votes to decide the winner of our year-end bracket tournament, and the ever-loyal fans of the CW's Supernatural came out on top—the Winchester brothers' second impressive victory in recent weeks, as fans also secured Jensen and Jared a coveted (and the show's first-ever) TV Guide cover.
Also impressive? The serious rally that went down among Castle fans, who came thisclose (0.8 percent) to beating out Supernatural. The final results:
Supernatural: 50.4%
Castle: 49.6%"
We Have a Winner! The Best TV Show of 2010 Is... - E! Online:
"Supernatural!
Fans cast hundreds of thousands of votes to decide the winner of our year-end bracket tournament, and the ever-loyal fans of the CW's Supernatural came out on top—the Winchester brothers' second impressive victory in recent weeks, as fans also secured Jensen and Jared a coveted (and the show's first-ever) TV Guide cover.
Also impressive? The serious rally that went down among Castle fans, who came thisclose (0.8 percent) to beating out Supernatural. The final results:
Supernatural: 50.4%
Castle: 49.6%"
Conservatives Support Terrorists
Leading conservatives openly support a Terrorist group - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com:
"Imagine if a group of leading American liberals met on foreign soil with -- and expressed vocal support for -- supporters of a terrorist group that had (a) a long history of hateful anti-American rhetoric, (b) an active role in both the takeover of a U.S. embassy and Saddam Hussein's brutal 1991 repression of Iraqi Shiites, (c) extensive financial and military support from Saddam, (d) multiple acts of violence aimed at civilians, and (e) years of being designated a 'Terrorist organization' by the U.S. under Presidents of both parties, a designation which is ongoing? The ensuing uproar and orgies of denunciation would be deafening.
But on December 23, a group of leading conservatives -- including Rudy Giuliani and former Bush officials Michael Mukasey, Tom Ridge, and Fran Townsend -- did exactly that. In Paris, of all places, they appeared at a forum organized by supporters of the Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MEK) -- a group declared by the U.S. since 1997 to be 'terrorist organization' -- and expressed wholesale support for that group. Worse -- on foreign soil -- they vehemently criticized their own country's opposition to these Terrorists and specifically 'demanded that Obama instead take the [] group off the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations and incorporate it into efforts to overturn the mullah-led government in Tehran.' In other words, they are calling on the U.S. to embrace this Saddam-supported, U.S.-hating Terrorist group and recruit them to help overthrow the government of Iran. To a foreign audience, Mukasey denounced his own country's opposition to these Terrorists as 'nothing less than an embarrassment...'"
It is Greenwald but he does a very valid, important point.
"Imagine if a group of leading American liberals met on foreign soil with -- and expressed vocal support for -- supporters of a terrorist group that had (a) a long history of hateful anti-American rhetoric, (b) an active role in both the takeover of a U.S. embassy and Saddam Hussein's brutal 1991 repression of Iraqi Shiites, (c) extensive financial and military support from Saddam, (d) multiple acts of violence aimed at civilians, and (e) years of being designated a 'Terrorist organization' by the U.S. under Presidents of both parties, a designation which is ongoing? The ensuing uproar and orgies of denunciation would be deafening.
But on December 23, a group of leading conservatives -- including Rudy Giuliani and former Bush officials Michael Mukasey, Tom Ridge, and Fran Townsend -- did exactly that. In Paris, of all places, they appeared at a forum organized by supporters of the Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MEK) -- a group declared by the U.S. since 1997 to be 'terrorist organization' -- and expressed wholesale support for that group. Worse -- on foreign soil -- they vehemently criticized their own country's opposition to these Terrorists and specifically 'demanded that Obama instead take the [] group off the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations and incorporate it into efforts to overturn the mullah-led government in Tehran.' In other words, they are calling on the U.S. to embrace this Saddam-supported, U.S.-hating Terrorist group and recruit them to help overthrow the government of Iran. To a foreign audience, Mukasey denounced his own country's opposition to these Terrorists as 'nothing less than an embarrassment...'"
It is Greenwald but he does a very valid, important point.
Sunday, January 02, 2011
New USAF Weapon
With Air Force's new drone, 'we can see everything': "...This winter, the Air Force is set to deploy to Afghanistan what it says is a revolutionary airborne surveillance system called Gorgon Stare, which will be able to transmit live video images of physical movement across an entire town..."
Lest We Forget:Voter Fraud Edition
Riverdaughter's post is the most important post of the day. She recounts some of the outrages that led to Sen.Clinton being defrauded of the nomination. Read it if your blood pressure is good, otherwise your head may explode.
In case you missed this the first time… « The Confluence:
"...Let me just add that if Barack Obama had won fair and square, I would have been happy to vote for him. But from the very beginning of the primary season, he showed contempt for the voting process and with abiding by the rules of the convention. His whips were heavy handed, red-faced macho balls of fury, threatening, intimidating and brutish. By the end of the convention after all I’d seen and heard, Barack Obama was the last man on earth I would have voted for president. My vote for McCain was in protest of the unforgivable manner that the DNC treated its voters and delegates and the way it allowed its party apparatus to be highjacked by Obama’s thugs..."
In case you missed this the first time… « The Confluence:
"...Let me just add that if Barack Obama had won fair and square, I would have been happy to vote for him. But from the very beginning of the primary season, he showed contempt for the voting process and with abiding by the rules of the convention. His whips were heavy handed, red-faced macho balls of fury, threatening, intimidating and brutish. By the end of the convention after all I’d seen and heard, Barack Obama was the last man on earth I would have voted for president. My vote for McCain was in protest of the unforgivable manner that the DNC treated its voters and delegates and the way it allowed its party apparatus to be highjacked by Obama’s thugs..."
The Daily Uh-Oh: End Of Days Edition
More Than A Thousand Dead Birds Fall From Sky : NPR:
"Wildlife officials are trying to determine what caused more than 1,000 blackbirds to die and fall from the sky over an Arkansas town.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said Saturday that it began receiving reports about the dead birds about 11:30 p.m. the previous night. The birds fell over a 1-mile area of Beebe, and an aerial survey indicated that no other dead birds were found outside of that area..."
"Wildlife officials are trying to determine what caused more than 1,000 blackbirds to die and fall from the sky over an Arkansas town.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said Saturday that it began receiving reports about the dead birds about 11:30 p.m. the previous night. The birds fell over a 1-mile area of Beebe, and an aerial survey indicated that no other dead birds were found outside of that area..."
More Health Chaos Coming
Republican: New U.S. House will go after Obama's health care bill - The Oval: Tracking the Obama presidency: "An incoming House committee chairman said today that the new Republican majority will probably move this month to repeal President Obama's health care bill, setting up a major political battle over the president's major domestic initiative..."
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Braun? Really?
Carol Moseley Braun lauded as unity candidate in Chicago mayor's race - chicagotribune.com: "African-American political leaders rallied around former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun on Saturday as a unity candidate best qualified to be Chicago mayor, capping a holiday week of private negotiations that left her the only major black politician in the campaign..."
Bristol Welcomed
Bristol Palin's move puzzles pundits, pleases neighbors | Reuters: "The reasons behind Bristol Palin's apparent move to this quiet, tree-lined community south of Phoenix remain unclear, but her new neighbors say they are ready to roll out the welcome mat..."
Good for them.
Good for them.
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