Recently, after President Obama's State Of The Union speech, I wanted to have a different dialogue with my conservative family over politics. Take Obama's advice, stop the same old arguments and vitriol. Unfortunately, the results were not surprising.
I'll keep it short. It went something like this... Obama didn't inherit any problems from bu$h, and he should have solved the economic crisis facing the U.S. by now. The bu$h "Tax Cuts" for plutocrats have helped the American worker. "The Housing Bubble" was created by Democrats because they wanted everyone to own a home, regardless of the deceptive lending practices. True documented facts aren't history... unless it's the new fake facts, which make it solid conservative history. Why should they pay for the "Health Care Reform", when they have insurance. The old standards still hold true, "Greed is Good" and "Gay Rights" equals tolerance for pedophiles. Abolishing the Fairness Doctrine did not open the door for Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. Nullifying the Glass-Steagall Act was good "Free Market" Capitalism. The recent Supreme Court decision favoring corporate contributions still leaves individuals on equal footing. There was no long term conservative agenda or right wing conspiracy stemming from The Powell Memo, (yet, refused to read it). Don't call conservatives racists if they oppose Obama's policies, especially those conservatives who do not confront and protest the creation, spreading and/or laughing at Obama jokes; but it was fine to call Progressives and Liberals traitors when they opposed the Iraq war Americans were lied into by the bu$h administration. And the funniest line of all, conservatives don't watch FOX NEWS.
I honestly tried to start the conversation in a positive manner. I mentioned that we must have some common ground and proceed from there, I even complimented them by saying, "At least conservatives have stuck to a long term agenda for what they think is right for the country." After family values and honesty, we started to move in different directions and the discussion started to fade fast. I gave in on "National Security", but mentioned we spend too much money on it. I agreed on "self-sufficiency" after everyone from all social classes has equal opportunity. One major sticking point on "freedom from too much government", came when I said, "Then you must let the individual decide what is right for themselves, such as a Woman's right to choose." The conversation quickly moved to "Right to Life", and I mentioned it's fine for conservatives to want the baby to be born but don't support government programs for the child when he's growing up. I couldn't get any of them to concede on gun restrictions for inner cities. Since the conversation got tied up with Corporate America's rights, we didn't even get to the environment and climate change.
I will say it started genteel enough, but after awhile it was back to the same old caustic arguments. I now know it is useless to talk to these automatons, even if they are family. They are the most shallow, thick, misinformed, obtuse group of riffraff I have ever known. This was the last chance. I will stop wasting energy and effort reaching out for a middle ground... their thought process is closed off for new ideas, deeply entrenched and rooted in ignorance. I'm proud that I gave an effort but learned Progressives must outlast and persevere. Progressives cannot ever trust conservatives, they are like "The Terminator", and will not ever stop! I know the truth is on our side. Sorry President Obama, nothing has changed the conservative mindset.
cross posted at Left is Right
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Showing posts with label asshattery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label asshattery. Show all posts
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Hey Dumbasses – The Healthcare Bill Will Create Jobs Too!
The ‘conventional’ (by ‘conventional’ I mean the Beltway) wisdom seems to be that the healthcare bill is dead. The media seems to think that the election of Scott Brown and the SOTU indicates that healthcare reform is taking a back burner or being restructured or some such shit.
Then there is the NY Times article that has the ominous headline that HC is “stalled” – and an even worse headline on the link to it at HuffPo that reads “Rahm: Health Care on Back Burner.” However, when I read the article there is no quote from Rahm stating that health care reform is dead.
Here is where the article 'quotes' Rahm:
How I read that paraphrase is simply that he will sign a jobs & financial reform bill before he signs a health care bill.
Obama has repeatedly said that he can do more than one thing at a time. Obama has repeatedly said that “everyday he focuses on the economy and on job creation” – even during the healthcare debate. Imagine that, a President who can multi-task.
Not only is health reform still very much alive, the bill might get a whole hell of a lot better. Especially after Obama took on the GOP at their retreat this morning.
Obama called the GOP out on their crap – even going so far as to remind them that the more that they demonize him and the Democrats, the harder that it will be for the GOP to support policies that the Dems put forth. They cannot even support policies that they might agree with. The stupid Pukes in the Senate even voted “no” on the pay-go rule yesterday. How they can say that they are “fiscally responsible” and vote “no” on pay-go is beyond me.
Health reform is an enormous jobs bill. Look at all of the potential jobs that will be created when 40 million more people have health insurance: doctors, nurses, health care billers, health care transcriptionists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, office staff, health care IT, construction workers (to build more clinics and hospitals), etc, etc, etc. Millions of fucking jobs.
Health care reform is not dead. It is now time for the Progressives to be louder than we have ever been. We need to “scream bloody murder.” We need to call our Reps and ask them to support the public option. We need to call our Senators. We need to call the Whitehouse. We need to tell them to use reconciliation or do whatever is necessary to get it done.
We need to call and write and send letters to the editor and we need to be loud. It is time to march in the streets and raise holy hell.
Health care reform is a jobs bill. Health care reform is necessary for deficit reduction. Health care reform is a moral issue – the civil rights of our time. Health care reform must be passed now.
Cross posted at PAS.
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Then there is the NY Times article that has the ominous headline that HC is “stalled” – and an even worse headline on the link to it at HuffPo that reads “Rahm: Health Care on Back Burner.” However, when I read the article there is no quote from Rahm stating that health care reform is dead.
Here is where the article 'quotes' Rahm:
With Mr. Obama’s health care overhaul stalled on Capitol Hill, Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, said in an interview that Democrats would try to act first on job creation, reducing the deficit and imposing tighter regulation on banks before returning to the health measure, the president’s top priority from last year.
How I read that paraphrase is simply that he will sign a jobs & financial reform bill before he signs a health care bill.
Obama has repeatedly said that he can do more than one thing at a time. Obama has repeatedly said that “everyday he focuses on the economy and on job creation” – even during the healthcare debate. Imagine that, a President who can multi-task.
Not only is health reform still very much alive, the bill might get a whole hell of a lot better. Especially after Obama took on the GOP at their retreat this morning.
Obama called the GOP out on their crap – even going so far as to remind them that the more that they demonize him and the Democrats, the harder that it will be for the GOP to support policies that the Dems put forth. They cannot even support policies that they might agree with. The stupid Pukes in the Senate even voted “no” on the pay-go rule yesterday. How they can say that they are “fiscally responsible” and vote “no” on pay-go is beyond me.
Health reform is an enormous jobs bill. Look at all of the potential jobs that will be created when 40 million more people have health insurance: doctors, nurses, health care billers, health care transcriptionists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, office staff, health care IT, construction workers (to build more clinics and hospitals), etc, etc, etc. Millions of fucking jobs.
Health care reform is not dead. It is now time for the Progressives to be louder than we have ever been. We need to “scream bloody murder.” We need to call our Reps and ask them to support the public option. We need to call our Senators. We need to call the Whitehouse. We need to tell them to use reconciliation or do whatever is necessary to get it done.
We need to call and write and send letters to the editor and we need to be loud. It is time to march in the streets and raise holy hell.
Health care reform is a jobs bill. Health care reform is necessary for deficit reduction. Health care reform is a moral issue – the civil rights of our time. Health care reform must be passed now.
Cross posted at PAS.
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Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
You Can Do Better Obama
I thought Obama was making a major error or was trying to appease republi-cons when he... "announced his intent to nominate" Ignacia S. Moreno to be Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division in the Department of Justice.
However, after this current report of apparent republi-con obstruction... GOP plans 450 climate bill changes, it confirms Obama is making a huge mistake. He needs to appoint a battler on the environment in the Dept. of Justice, not one who fights for corporate environmental rights. If Obama goes through with this appointment, it would appear to me that Obama is in bed with corporations and could really care less about serious issues involving a Progressive stance on the environment.
His latest turns towards the center, military tribunals, stopping the release of torture photos don't have me as near upset as this chance view on the environment.
Let me clarify... I'm off his mailing list for now. Don't get me wrong, Obama is still 100 times better than bu$h/cheney, but it does appear he is channeling his inner Bill Clinton.
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However, after this current report of apparent republi-con obstruction... GOP plans 450 climate bill changes, it confirms Obama is making a huge mistake. He needs to appoint a battler on the environment in the Dept. of Justice, not one who fights for corporate environmental rights. If Obama goes through with this appointment, it would appear to me that Obama is in bed with corporations and could really care less about serious issues involving a Progressive stance on the environment.
His latest turns towards the center, military tribunals, stopping the release of torture photos don't have me as near upset as this chance view on the environment.
Let me clarify... I'm off his mailing list for now. Don't get me wrong, Obama is still 100 times better than bu$h/cheney, but it does appear he is channeling his inner Bill Clinton.
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Sunday, May 3, 2009
Sorry Arlen, You Can't Have It Both Ways
Ok, Arlen we get it... Specter Won't Back Public Health Care Or Employee Free Choice Act. Claims he won't be a loyal Democrat. Then I say no support! Obama do not campaign for him... no funding from the DNC... what good will he do if we throw money his way without him voting for issues important to Democrats. It's imperative that we come up with a solid Progressive challenger in the Democratic Primary. Force him to play ball... we do not need another "Blue Dog 'Dino' Dem!"
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Wednesday, April 8, 2009
TEOTWAWKI
People prepared for TEOTWAWKI... an acronym for "the end of the world as we know it."
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"I refer to myself as a modern survivalist, which means I don’t do without," Spirko explained. "I have a nice TV; I have nice furniture. We are not living in the sticks, but I take all of these things very seriously."Justified in these tough economic times? Scared of the Socialist Black President? Watching too much FAUX News and Glenn Beck? Smart or fringe lunatics?
Spirko, an Army veteran and self-described "stark-raving-mad Libertarian," is part of a growing movement of people who are preparing for a disaster natural, economic or man-made. Referred to as "modern survivalists" or "preppers," they are taking steps to protect and provide for their families should something bad happen.
Theirs is a different breed of survivalist, far from the right-wing militants or religious extremists who hole up in bunkers, live off the land and wait for the apocalypse.
Preppers are regular people with regular jobs who decided after 9/11, after Hurricane Katrina or when their 401(k)s tanked that they can’t rely on someone else to help them if something goes awry.
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Thursday, April 2, 2009
Take a Long Walk on a Short Pier
The fucking nerve! On the House's $3.6 trillion budget blueprint...
UPDATE: h/t Think Progress
Please, continue being republi-con obstructionists... the American people are making you the most ignored political party in our history.
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Republicans have warned that the prospects for bipartisanship will all but vanish if majority Democrats attempt to muzzle them.Am I missing something here? Could the republi-cons first demonstrate some bipartisanship! I'm sorry, 3 lousy votes on the stimulus package doesn't cut it.
UPDATE: h/t Think Progress
President Obama’s budget passed the House and Senate yesterday, by votes of 233-196 and 55-43, respectively. No Republicans voted for the budget in either chamber. Twenty House Democrats voted against the budget.
Please, continue being republi-con obstructionists... the American people are making you the most ignored political party in our history.
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Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The Pope's Hypocrisy
The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, went to visit the Pope... he proceded to lecture her on the morals of abortion and assisted suicide.
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The Vatican says the pope lectured Pelosi about abortion and assisted suicide. Pelosi says they talked about poverty and global warming -- and she showed him pictures of her grandchildren.Before he preaches about "natural moral law" he should have thought twice about reinstating neo-Nazi Bishop Richard Williamson. I know of no higher "natural moral law" than the lesson we learned from the Holocaust.
"His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death," the Holy See said in a statement.
Benedict emphasized that "all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society" should work to create "a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development."
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Friday, January 30, 2009
Nationalize the Banks Already!
We really need to Nationalize the bad banks before we dump anymore money into them. This site explains why. And it makes economics easy to understand.
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Now why is nationalization a better use of money? Well first, we are much too far down the road to discuss hands off policies (even though I advocated for this long ago because I knew things like TARP and Ben Bernanke’s nutty work were simply money being flushed down the toilet). First, with nationalization we own the banks flat out. We can then do the following:Amen brothers and sisters!! Can I get a big Amen?
-Shareholders get eliminated
-Bondholders get eliminated
-Management gets the boot
-Then and only then, do we separate out the good and bad assets. The good assets we try to sell them off to the market. The bad assets, we assess and slowly process a pricing model and get rid of them. Yet we know since the ownership is now ours that we’ll try to mitigate the loss for taxpayers. Right now with TARP and possibly the bad bank, banks are trying to off load as much of the crap at the highest cost to taxpayers while keeping the caviar assets all for themselves.
-This will get credit moving again because now instead of absurd capital injections, banks will now need to lend money because guess what, we freakin own them and we can decide whether we loan or not!
There is nothing more preposterous than a bad bank...
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Sunday, January 25, 2009
Irreconcilable Headlines
I find it absolutely incomprehensible that these headlines can coexist:
Flood of Foreclosures: It’s Worse than You Think
Record Number of Families Seek Refuge in Shelters (Note: Link is to the NYT section dedicated to homelessness. YES, there is an entire section.)
The picture at the top of the Truthout article has a caption which reads:
This is exactly what should be happening all across the country.
The article says that banks are holding inventory for a number of reasons and this inventory is not being listed on the MLS. The problem with not listing these homes is that not only does it offer us horrible and incomplete data, but it keeps the homes empty, longer. The longer that the homes remain empty, the worse shape that they are in and the more money that it costs to get them to the point where they are saleable.
The banks are holding them because flooding the market with the true numbers will lower home prices substantially, everywhere. Who among us would want to continue to pay our mortgages if the value of our homes were to suddenly drop below the amount that we owe? How many of us would just walk away? That is a problem.
Another reason that the banks are not listing the homes is because they want to sell them in bulk to investors. This will be just grand; we can return to the days of slum-lords and serfdom, where just a few wealthy people own all of the homes and the rest of us lose our power of negotiation.
This is George W. Bush's "Ownership Society." This is exactly what he had in mind.
The rich will really have all of the power, owning all of the properties; the people who have to rent from them will just have to be happy with what they get. AND, we will all be renters. Brown water coming out of kitchen sinks, holes in the walls that rodents use as entry points, bugs and other nasties…get used to it…this will be the country that they are trying to create for us. Still.
Despite the election of Barack Obama and the very loud, unified, cry of “No More” heard across this country – the moneyed interests, the banks and the investments houses still are trying to enact Dickens’s England where the cry heard is “please sir, may I have some more.”
Dammit. Enough.
I believe that the many organizations dedicated to ending homelessness are already on it, that they are already moving towards the solutions necessary.
I hope that the Congress is listening and reconciles these two headlines so that people no longer lose their homes and that the millions already sitting empty become housing for those living in cars and on the streets. A country with this much wealth has no excuse for Tent Cities or too full shelters.
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Flood of Foreclosures: It’s Worse than You Think
Record Number of Families Seek Refuge in Shelters (Note: Link is to the NYT section dedicated to homelessness. YES, there is an entire section.)
The picture at the top of the Truthout article has a caption which reads:
Ezekiel Pierre Sejour stands in front of an empty, foreclosed home that he and his mother Marie Nadine Pierre, were moved into by the Miami group Take Back the Land after she lost her jobs and could no longer pay her loans. Take Back the Land moves homeless families into empty foreclosed homes in Miami and provides legal protection from eviction. (Photo: Getty Images)
This is exactly what should be happening all across the country.
The article says that banks are holding inventory for a number of reasons and this inventory is not being listed on the MLS. The problem with not listing these homes is that not only does it offer us horrible and incomplete data, but it keeps the homes empty, longer. The longer that the homes remain empty, the worse shape that they are in and the more money that it costs to get them to the point where they are saleable.
The banks are holding them because flooding the market with the true numbers will lower home prices substantially, everywhere. Who among us would want to continue to pay our mortgages if the value of our homes were to suddenly drop below the amount that we owe? How many of us would just walk away? That is a problem.
Another reason that the banks are not listing the homes is because they want to sell them in bulk to investors. This will be just grand; we can return to the days of slum-lords and serfdom, where just a few wealthy people own all of the homes and the rest of us lose our power of negotiation.
This is George W. Bush's "Ownership Society." This is exactly what he had in mind.
The rich will really have all of the power, owning all of the properties; the people who have to rent from them will just have to be happy with what they get. AND, we will all be renters. Brown water coming out of kitchen sinks, holes in the walls that rodents use as entry points, bugs and other nasties…get used to it…this will be the country that they are trying to create for us. Still.
Despite the election of Barack Obama and the very loud, unified, cry of “No More” heard across this country – the moneyed interests, the banks and the investments houses still are trying to enact Dickens’s England where the cry heard is “please sir, may I have some more.”
Dammit. Enough.
I believe that the many organizations dedicated to ending homelessness are already on it, that they are already moving towards the solutions necessary.
I hope that the Congress is listening and reconciles these two headlines so that people no longer lose their homes and that the millions already sitting empty become housing for those living in cars and on the streets. A country with this much wealth has no excuse for Tent Cities or too full shelters.
Read more!
Friday, January 23, 2009
A Couple More Ways to Fight the Obstructionists
The only way, I believe, that we can fight the obstructionists is to call them on their bullshit. (BTW, I do not limit this to Republican hacks, if there are blue dogs who want to fight the stimulus package that we need or there are Democratic dumb assess who knew about the domestic spying or torture and rendition policies and did nothing – we need to hold them accountable too.) We need to let these assholes know that we are watching and that we are paying attention.
Yep, there is more.
We are not powerless and these are not people with power in high up places that are untouchable; not with the power of information. SoS posted a link to the criminal behavior of Jon Cornyn yesterday. We have the power to share this information with the sheeple – including their Republican constituents who are so frightened right now, that they too do not want obstructionists, and they do not want criminals in the Congress.
Especially not now; the sheeple are being shown what it is like to have someone of integrity and intelligence in the WH, they are seeing what public service is about. It is not supposed to be about power and enriching oneself – it is supposed to be about sacrifice. The dicks who treat it as their own personal ATM need to be sent home, hopefully in shackles. It is up to us to work towards that.
The Republicans are moving farther to the Right. There are very few moderate Republicans left. We need to elevate the moderates and tear down these extremists. I know that people think that a phone call to the office of a Senator or Congressperson does not make any difference - but it does.
The staffers in the office really do keep a log of calls from constituents and if there is a particular piece of legislation up for a vote or a person to be confirmed – the staffers keep a Yea and a Nay call log. The Right has their phone trees and their electronic calling machines and their Right Wing Radio and Faux News that encourages their sheeple to call in. We have the Internet.
We need to use the tools that we have and fight their crap. The Daily Show last night had a rundown of Faux News on the first day of the Obama Administration. The anti-Obama and anti-Democrat and anti-American people and and Anti-American-Values crap that was spewing from the montage was frightening. They are working hard to take him down and we need to take them down first. We are still at war and we are on the right side of history and the good side of the issues.
Here are a few petitions to fight the Republicans and to congratulate Obama:
Thank Obama for ordering Gitmo shut down.
Don’t block Obama’s Attorney General because you support torture. I really cannot believe that Cornyn is such a transparent dick.
Bail Out People thinks that the stimulus package is too conservative. I tend to agree on many points; however, I have not read the actual package so I am reserving judgment. I think that Obama is playing “good cop” with the Republicans, knowing full well that the House and the Senate are totally Dem controlled and the package will be far more Progressive than what Obama has to pretend to support.
Demand that immigrant children and pregnant women are not excluded from SCHIP.
If you can make it to Colorado next week, go to camp!
Right Wing Myths about the stimulus.
Read more!
Yep, there is more.
We are not powerless and these are not people with power in high up places that are untouchable; not with the power of information. SoS posted a link to the criminal behavior of Jon Cornyn yesterday. We have the power to share this information with the sheeple – including their Republican constituents who are so frightened right now, that they too do not want obstructionists, and they do not want criminals in the Congress.
Especially not now; the sheeple are being shown what it is like to have someone of integrity and intelligence in the WH, they are seeing what public service is about. It is not supposed to be about power and enriching oneself – it is supposed to be about sacrifice. The dicks who treat it as their own personal ATM need to be sent home, hopefully in shackles. It is up to us to work towards that.
The Republicans are moving farther to the Right. There are very few moderate Republicans left. We need to elevate the moderates and tear down these extremists. I know that people think that a phone call to the office of a Senator or Congressperson does not make any difference - but it does.
The staffers in the office really do keep a log of calls from constituents and if there is a particular piece of legislation up for a vote or a person to be confirmed – the staffers keep a Yea and a Nay call log. The Right has their phone trees and their electronic calling machines and their Right Wing Radio and Faux News that encourages their sheeple to call in. We have the Internet.
We need to use the tools that we have and fight their crap. The Daily Show last night had a rundown of Faux News on the first day of the Obama Administration. The anti-Obama and anti-Democrat and anti-American people and and Anti-American-Values crap that was spewing from the montage was frightening. They are working hard to take him down and we need to take them down first. We are still at war and we are on the right side of history and the good side of the issues.
Here are a few petitions to fight the Republicans and to congratulate Obama:
Thank Obama for ordering Gitmo shut down.
Don’t block Obama’s Attorney General because you support torture. I really cannot believe that Cornyn is such a transparent dick.
Bail Out People thinks that the stimulus package is too conservative. I tend to agree on many points; however, I have not read the actual package so I am reserving judgment. I think that Obama is playing “good cop” with the Republicans, knowing full well that the House and the Senate are totally Dem controlled and the package will be far more Progressive than what Obama has to pretend to support.
Demand that immigrant children and pregnant women are not excluded from SCHIP.
If you can make it to Colorado next week, go to camp!
Right Wing Myths about the stimulus.
Read more!
What do These Senate Republi-con Fools Have in Common?
| Alexander (R-TN) Barrasso (R-WY) Bennett (R-UT) Bond (R-MO) Brownback (R-KS) Bunning (R-KY) Burr (R-NC) Chambliss (R-GA) Coburn (R-OK) Cochran (R-MS) Corker (R-TN) Cornyn (R-TX) Crapo (R-ID) DeMint (R-SC) Ensign (R-NV) Enzi (R-WY) Graham (R-SC) Grassley (R-IA) Gregg (R-NH) Hatch (R-UT) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Johanns (R-NE) Kyl (R-AZ) Lugar (R-IN) Martinez (R-FL) McCain (R-AZ) McConnell (R-KY) Risch (R-ID) Roberts (R-KS) Sessions (R-AL) Shelby (R-AL) Thune (R-SD) Vitter (R-LA) Voinovich (R-OH) Wicker (R-MS) |
A bill to amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and to modify the operation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to clarify that a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice that is unlawful under such Acts occurs each time compensation is paid pursuant to the discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, and for other purposes.May your re-election loss come down to the women you refused to give equal pay too!
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Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Another Top Story: Idiot Joe Put in His Place
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
The real reaming starts at about minute 6; but take the time to watch the whole thing, it is well worth it.
h/t to Huff Po
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Monday, December 29, 2008
Pissing Off Everyone
I wonder if Obama is doing something right – not because some groups of people are happy with his choices so far, but because, it appears, that he has succeeded in pissing off just about everyone. What this means to me is that Obama is more concerned with doing what he believes is best for the country and less concerned with poll numbers or any particular interest group.
Continue reading, after the jump, to find out who Obama has pissed off today.
This is different than President Bush’s arrogance and his ‘fuck you’ attitude towards the world. Bush is concerned with an interest group; Big Business and those interested in making money at the expense of everyone else. I have yet to see evidence of Obama being beholden to the big moneyed crew who have ruled, or attempted to rule, this country for the last century or more.
It is time, once again, to break up monopolies and put big business in their place – I think that the Obama Administration will do this. I just have to be patient and wait for the poor guy to be sworn in before I start inundating his Administration with my expectations.
Expectations are part of Obama’s current problem. The Left would like him to deliver on campaign promises that he made (or campaign promises that we projected onto him) and the Right is waiting for him to implement some drastic Left-Wing-Agenda. He is doing neither. He has not yet been sworn in and he is, by far, more popular, interesting and followed that than the Still-President, Bush.
Obama has succeeded in pissing off the press.
Obama has been given an ‘F’ on his transition transparency.
Of course there is the whole Blagojevich scandal, which numerous people and interest groups are using as examples of “things that Obama has done wrong.”
Obama has even succeeded in causing controversy between those of us who do not exercise religiously and the obsessive health junkies.
The big conflict of the month, however, is inviting Rick Warren to give the invocation at the inauguration.
Frank Rich wrote a scathing editorial yesterday, the highlights of his slam are below.
...
...
While I absolutely agree with Rich, that fighting for people who have H.I.V./AIDS is not a substitute for tolerance and love of all people – and while I agree with Rich that Obama should not have invited Warren to begin with - I do not believe, necessarily, that Obama made the decision glibly or that there is “a tinge of Bush” in his actions. After all, Obama succeeded in pissing off the Religious Right at the same time.
Also from Rich’s opinion is this statement, highlighting the anger that the Fundies have over Obama’s invitation and Warren’s acceptance of it. Nothing shows “Christ’s Love in Action” like a bunch of anger-filled emails rabidly flowing into CBN.
Angering the Fundies is not, in itself, a free pass for Obama. I, personally, would have preferred that he had never invited Warren. I actually do not even really like the whole “invocation” thing at my President’s inaugural. If they must have a preacher there, for "tradition" or whatever, I personally would like it to be a non-denominational woman preacher…but that is just me.
I think that Obama’s intention in inviting Warren was to neutralize the Christian Right. I do not think that he did it as an intentional slight to the LGBT community. However, Obama has tremendously thin ice to skate on with those of us who support equal rights regardless of sexual identity, orientation or parts…I hope that he does not fall through it before he even takes the oath of office.
For now, though, I am reserving judgment until I see actual policy. It is not that symbolism isn’t important to me – it is. It is just that policy has the real impact. In addition, I am having a little bit of fun watching Obama do his thing and watching everyone get uptight.
When I compare the disaster that is the Still President Bush Administration (and the horrible last minute policy and law changes that he is implementing – with almost no scrutiny from the media,) - I am heartily warmed by the tiny (by comparison) problems coming from Obama.
Read more!
Continue reading, after the jump, to find out who Obama has pissed off today.
This is different than President Bush’s arrogance and his ‘fuck you’ attitude towards the world. Bush is concerned with an interest group; Big Business and those interested in making money at the expense of everyone else. I have yet to see evidence of Obama being beholden to the big moneyed crew who have ruled, or attempted to rule, this country for the last century or more.
It is time, once again, to break up monopolies and put big business in their place – I think that the Obama Administration will do this. I just have to be patient and wait for the poor guy to be sworn in before I start inundating his Administration with my expectations.
Expectations are part of Obama’s current problem. The Left would like him to deliver on campaign promises that he made (or campaign promises that we projected onto him) and the Right is waiting for him to implement some drastic Left-Wing-Agenda. He is doing neither. He has not yet been sworn in and he is, by far, more popular, interesting and followed that than the Still-President, Bush.
Obama has succeeded in pissing off the press.
Obama has been given an ‘F’ on his transition transparency.
Of course there is the whole Blagojevich scandal, which numerous people and interest groups are using as examples of “things that Obama has done wrong.”
Obama has even succeeded in causing controversy between those of us who do not exercise religiously and the obsessive health junkies.
The big conflict of the month, however, is inviting Rick Warren to give the invocation at the inauguration.
Frank Rich wrote a scathing editorial yesterday, the highlights of his slam are below.
"But for the first time a faint tinge of Bush crept into my Obama reveries this month."
...
"Bestowing this honor on Warren was a conscious — and glib — decision by Obama to spend political capital. It was made with the certitude that a leader with a mandate can do no wrong."
...
"Equally lame is the argument mounted by an Obama spokeswoman, Linda Douglass, who talks of how Warren has fought for “people who have H.I.V./AIDS.” Shouldn’t that be the default position of any religious leader? Fighting AIDS is not a get-out-of-homophobia-free card."
While I absolutely agree with Rich, that fighting for people who have H.I.V./AIDS is not a substitute for tolerance and love of all people – and while I agree with Rich that Obama should not have invited Warren to begin with - I do not believe, necessarily, that Obama made the decision glibly or that there is “a tinge of Bush” in his actions. After all, Obama succeeded in pissing off the Religious Right at the same time.
Also from Rich’s opinion is this statement, highlighting the anger that the Fundies have over Obama’s invitation and Warren’s acceptance of it. Nothing shows “Christ’s Love in Action” like a bunch of anger-filled emails rabidly flowing into CBN.
There is comparable anger and fear on the right. David Brody, a political correspondent with the Christian Broadcasting Network, was flooded with emails from religious conservatives chastising Warren for accepting the invitation to the inaugural. They vilified Obama as “pro-death” and worse because of his support for abortion rights.
Angering the Fundies is not, in itself, a free pass for Obama. I, personally, would have preferred that he had never invited Warren. I actually do not even really like the whole “invocation” thing at my President’s inaugural. If they must have a preacher there, for "tradition" or whatever, I personally would like it to be a non-denominational woman preacher…but that is just me.
I think that Obama’s intention in inviting Warren was to neutralize the Christian Right. I do not think that he did it as an intentional slight to the LGBT community. However, Obama has tremendously thin ice to skate on with those of us who support equal rights regardless of sexual identity, orientation or parts…I hope that he does not fall through it before he even takes the oath of office.
For now, though, I am reserving judgment until I see actual policy. It is not that symbolism isn’t important to me – it is. It is just that policy has the real impact. In addition, I am having a little bit of fun watching Obama do his thing and watching everyone get uptight.
When I compare the disaster that is the Still President Bush Administration (and the horrible last minute policy and law changes that he is implementing – with almost no scrutiny from the media,) - I am heartily warmed by the tiny (by comparison) problems coming from Obama.
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Disaster Governing
Though it happened last week, the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history is not getting much ink. Just another feather in the bu$h cap of disaster governing.
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On Monday, toxic coal sludge burst through a retention wall in eastern Tennessee, causing massive property and environmental damage. Federal studies have shown that coal ash contains “significant quantities of heavy metals like arsenic, lead and selenium, which can cause cancer and neurological problems.” The incident — already being called the “largest environmental disaster of its kind in the United States” — may now be even worse than originally anticipated. Tennessee Valley Authority officials “initially said that about 1.7 million cubic yards of wet coal ash had spilled” in the disaster. Yesterday, however, they “released the results of an aerial survey that showed the actual amount was 5.4 million cubic yards, or enough to flood more than 3,000 acres one foot deep.”Open Thread.
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Monday, December 22, 2008
Holiday Open Thread
OMG, Toyota's posting it's first operating loss since 1950! It's all the Unions fault... damn Unions, causing Toyota to go broke... oh yeah, Toyota doesn't have Union workers.
UPDATE: Just when I get flippant about Toyota and Unions, emptywheel puts out a great article on Toyota being a model for success.
I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Solstice, Wonderful Kwanzaa and Happy New Year.
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UPDATE: Just when I get flippant about Toyota and Unions, emptywheel puts out a great article on Toyota being a model for success.
I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Solstice, Wonderful Kwanzaa and Happy New Year.
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Sunday, December 14, 2008
“This Is A Farewell Kiss, You Dog...”
Update by Anjha: MSNBC has the video, Bush has never reacted so quickly to anything...:
Now this is funny! When bu$h made a surprise visit to Baghdad today, during a press conference, an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at him! CNN's Michael Ware reports:
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Now this is funny! When bu$h made a surprise visit to Baghdad today, during a press conference, an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at him! CNN's Michael Ware reports:
...it just sailed past his head and while the man was dragged out of the room, President Bush is said to have remarked that, “This was a size 10 shoe he threw at me you may want to know,” even as the man was heard screaming in the hallway.More at the Think Progress link:
McClatchy identified the man as Iraqi television journalist Muthathar al Zaidi and reports he threw both of his shoes at Bush just after he finished prepared remarks. The New York Times notes that the first shoe “narrowly missed” and the second shoe also missed. “This is a farewell kiss, you dog,” the Zaidi shouted.Video should be out soon Ware said!
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Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Obama’s First Scandal
The RNC demands to know “what did Obama know, and when did he know it?!?!”
The media has had their tits in wringers for two days now. All that the talking heads seem to be able to do is express their abject horror about how Blagojevich is the most corrupt politician ever [and he is a Democrat in Chicago and there are all kinds of webs and strings and common friends of Blagojevich and Obama.] There has been more insinuating on the TeeVees the last two days, than one usually receives in a topless bar in Canada.
It is worse than guilt by association; it is The Hunting of the President – The Sequel.
Id talked about this not long ago. We have actually discussed in several threads how this will be “the 90s on meth.” I am afraid that it might be worse. If we allow them even an inch on the rope that they are tying into a noose, if we let them draw even one line on their map to the witch hunt, it will easily get out of control. We have to stop this now…even before the oath. We cannot allow the Right Wing nuts to control the narrative. We have to quit bringing knives to gunfights and quit putting our faith in “the process.”
The process has changed and it is time that we Liberals figure out what game that we are really playing. We can’t allow goals to be scored while we are still trying to figure out the rules. It is a whole new ballgame now. One need only look at the hypocrisy of the “Great Chicago Scandal of 2008!” Consider that were actual connections between Right Wing Queen Palin and seven-time convicted felon Ted Stevens and we never saw the media reporting on these connections or even mentioning Stevens and Palin in the same sentence. The standard is so double that it has been divided into something that is not even a standard at all.
We might have to lower our standards a little to figure it out; I am not advocating immorality or the ends justify the means. All that I am saying is that when we are swimming around with a bunch of bottom feeders we cannot always expect to use the sunlight to see.
I do agree that Coyote is right, laugh at the bastards and call their absurdity what it is. I also think that we need additional strategies. I see things getting awfully ugly – the Right is digging in their heels and they are hanging on tight. They will not give up their hundred year rule wet-dream easily, they just won’t.
Read more!
The media has had their tits in wringers for two days now. All that the talking heads seem to be able to do is express their abject horror about how Blagojevich is the most corrupt politician ever [and he is a Democrat in Chicago and there are all kinds of webs and strings and common friends of Blagojevich and Obama.] There has been more insinuating on the TeeVees the last two days, than one usually receives in a topless bar in Canada.
It is worse than guilt by association; it is The Hunting of the President – The Sequel.
Id talked about this not long ago. We have actually discussed in several threads how this will be “the 90s on meth.” I am afraid that it might be worse. If we allow them even an inch on the rope that they are tying into a noose, if we let them draw even one line on their map to the witch hunt, it will easily get out of control. We have to stop this now…even before the oath. We cannot allow the Right Wing nuts to control the narrative. We have to quit bringing knives to gunfights and quit putting our faith in “the process.”
The process has changed and it is time that we Liberals figure out what game that we are really playing. We can’t allow goals to be scored while we are still trying to figure out the rules. It is a whole new ballgame now. One need only look at the hypocrisy of the “Great Chicago Scandal of 2008!” Consider that were actual connections between Right Wing Queen Palin and seven-time convicted felon Ted Stevens and we never saw the media reporting on these connections or even mentioning Stevens and Palin in the same sentence. The standard is so double that it has been divided into something that is not even a standard at all.
We might have to lower our standards a little to figure it out; I am not advocating immorality or the ends justify the means. All that I am saying is that when we are swimming around with a bunch of bottom feeders we cannot always expect to use the sunlight to see.
I do agree that Coyote is right, laugh at the bastards and call their absurdity what it is. I also think that we need additional strategies. I see things getting awfully ugly – the Right is digging in their heels and they are hanging on tight. They will not give up their hundred year rule wet-dream easily, they just won’t.
Read more!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
David Fucking Gregory?
Are you gawddamned kidding me?!
Look, I get it, Brokaw was killing MTP. I know that in his "attempt" to be fair he overdid the whole Right-Wing friggin' stance on everything; and that this was the last thing that the American people wanted, but you do not fix that by going even further to the Right.
Jeebus, NBC. What.Are.You.Thinking!!??
David friggin' Gregory has killed your 6 pm programming with his "Race to the Whitehouse" show, AKA "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue." Now, you really want to put the last nail in the coffin of MTP?! You really want MTP to die with Tim?!
Admittedly, I loved Tim Russert. I really did. I cried for 3 days when he died.
I just think that the talent to choose from was a much greater pool than the likes of gawddamned David Gregory. Any friggin' body would have been better.
My vote was for Phil Donahue or Bill Moyers. At this point though - anyone but Gregory would do.
Jeebus. It feels like the end of an era.
Read more!
Look, I get it, Brokaw was killing MTP. I know that in his "attempt" to be fair he overdid the whole Right-Wing friggin' stance on everything; and that this was the last thing that the American people wanted, but you do not fix that by going even further to the Right.
Jeebus, NBC. What.Are.You.Thinking!!??
David friggin' Gregory has killed your 6 pm programming with his "Race to the Whitehouse" show, AKA "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue." Now, you really want to put the last nail in the coffin of MTP?! You really want MTP to die with Tim?!
Admittedly, I loved Tim Russert. I really did. I cried for 3 days when he died.
I just think that the talent to choose from was a much greater pool than the likes of gawddamned David Gregory. Any friggin' body would have been better.
My vote was for Phil Donahue or Bill Moyers. At this point though - anyone but Gregory would do.
Jeebus. It feels like the end of an era.
Read more!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
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