Les Leopold, in a recent article on AlterNet, asks the question: What work do we value most?
Here's part of his answer:
"In 2009, the worst economic year for working people since the Great Depression, the top 25 hedge fund managers walked off with an average of $1 billion each. With the money those 25 people 'earned,' we could have hired 658,000 entry level teachers (they make about $38,000 a year, including benefits.) Those educators could have brought along 13 million young people, assuming a class size of 20. That's some value."
As one who labored in the educational profession for some years, it is no surprise that education, while highly touted by the politicos and other "leaders," is very low on their list of priorities. In fact, when push comes to shove financially, education and teachers generally get hit first! Currently in the State of Florida, a bill is progressing through the legislature which will effectively decimate the salaries of teachers. Some of the best of the latter are threatening to leave the profession as they cannot afford to take a 25-30% salary cut.
A huge problem, in my opinion, is that those working in the financial industry contribute nothing to society - they create nothing, they provide nothing; they serve no one except the well-to-do.
Hedge fund managers, according to Leopold, "run funds into which very rich people put money to make even more money. Hedge fund managers move the money around in very risky ways to get the most enormous yields possible ...
"Because hedge funds are considered playthings for the rich, who presumably are fully aware of all the risks, they are exempt from most financial regulations..."
Leopold is correct when he says "our economic system isn't rewarding real value. While the hedge fund 25 are living large, teachers everywhere are getting the axe. Why the layoffs? Because state and local governments are collecting enough taxes -- not since Wall Street investors crashed the economy."
It's the same old story: the rich get richer because the Republicans have deregulated the financial industry and drastically cut the tax rates of the rich. "In the 1970s," says Leopold, "the marginal rate on those with incomes above $3 million (in today's dollars) was 70 percent. Today, the effective rate on the 400 richest Americans is 16 percent, according to the most recent IRS data."
Another dramatic symbol of what's wrong with the system is the fact that ExxonMobil paid NO income taxes last year on taxable income of over $15 billion! Well, ExxonMobil claims it did pay income taxes, but somehow can't divulge just how much. Read more here.
Is this a great country, or what?
There's much more and you can read the entire article here.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
David Vitter, family values and community organizers
[Photo from here]Salon has an article about David Vitter's appearance at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference being held in New Orleans this weekend. It's rather surprising that Vitter showed up at all, considering his penchant for hookers and hanging out in diapers, but if there is one thing the Repugnicans have, it's gall!
Unfortunately, the name "Southern Republican Leadership Conference," is quite misleading. There is no "leadership" in the Republican Party if you think of leadership as having to do with offering viable programs to solve problems.
Nevertheless, there he was, the family-values Congressman hisself. As Salon described it, "...Saturday morning, Vitter strolled out to introduce former Sen. Rick Santorum -- and to push back a bit against President Obama. 'If that's the choice in 2012, I'll take a TV personality over a community organizer any day...'"
First of all, I find it utterly amazing that this and other Repugnican clowns find it proper to beat up on community organizers. I know that community organizers sometimes find themselves fighting the powers-that-be (who are mostly Repugnican), but still, they do good work amidst very difficult circumstances.
One might ask, what Vitter has done lately? Oops! We know the answer to that one. And while the implication was that he would choose Palin over Obama in 2012, we know the truth: this Jesus-loving, family values Repugnican, would take a hooker over his wife! And did. Several hookers, it seems. So maybe his choice for 2012 should be considered with a great deal of skepticism.
If there was any moral structure to the Republican Party these days, the delegates would have booed him off the stage!
The hypocrisy is mind-blowing!
Friday, April 9, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Lester & Charlie: Filibuster Fever
More from our good friends, Lester and Charlie.
Find out the filibuster can work for you! And there's more here.
Find out the filibuster can work for you! And there's more here.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Rachel Maddow - Republicans Frivolous Lawsuits: They Loved the Mandate Before Calling it Unconstitutional
From Crooks and Liars:
As we have already pointed out there are a number of Attorneys General threatening to sue to challenge the individual mandate in the health care bill. Rachel points out the other problem the Republican Party has if they take this stance. They loved the mandate before they decided they were against the mandate. Republican hypocrisy never seems to run in short supply.
I'm no expert on this but I have heard a few people kick around the idea that if by some chance the courts did rule against the mandate that would be a good thing because it would force them to switch to a Medicare buy in or some other type of public option instead to increase the size of the pool which sure as hell would not break my heart. It really doesn't sound like these suits are going to prevail in court though.
As Rachel notes, Mitt Romney now has a big problem because back in the day he was arguing about how the mandate was a wonderful thing, as long as it was only enacted on a state level. Matthew Yglesias reported on how Lee Fang tried to get Mittens to weigh in on the individual mandate and didn't have much luck.
Mitt Romney Won’t Say if the Foundation of Romneycare is Unconstitutional:
Barack Obama’s health insurance reform plan involves an individual mandate. So does the plan that Mitt Romney signed as Governor of Massachusetts. At the time Romney signed the plan, he was a moderate Republican and CommonwealthCare was considered a sober-minded centrist plan. Now Romney is a conservative, and conservatives have decided that ObamaCare is a socialist plot, so he’s had to make up a lot of reasons that their extremely similar plans are actually totally different. Part of the conservative assault, though, is hard for Romney to wriggle away from—the right’s claim that the individual mandate is unconstitutional. Obama’s got one, and Romney’s got one. So does Romney agree with the right that RomneyCare is unconstitutional, or will he defend Obama from this charge?
My colleague Lee Fang asks Romney and he refuses to say.
Go watch the video there for Romney's convoluted response.
And as Rachel points out we have Chuck Grassley and Orrin Hatch's hackery. From TPM -- Grassley: Health Care Bill Is Bad -- I Just Added Good Things To It (VIDEO):
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) today explained his health care flip-flop, saying of the health care bill that "even though it's got a lot of good things," even "a lot of things that I wrote," in the end "the bad outweighs the good."
[...]
Host Andrea Mitchell also asked him about the individual mandate, something currently being challenged on constitutional grounds, but which Grassley himself helped conceive in 1993 during the Clinton Administration.
Grassley explained: "If it was unconstitutional today, it was unconstitutional in 1993, but I don't think anybody gave it much thought" back then.
And then there's Orrin Hatch:
VAN SUSTEREN: Your state attorney general has signed on to this lawsuit to challenge it on constitutional grounds. You're a lawyer. Your thoughts on it, any legs to that, or is this --
HATCH: Back on Hillary-care they had a mandate in there. I didn't realize it, I didn't pay attention to it. We were trying to defeat Hillary-care. The more I studied since then, the more I've looked at it, the more I've come to the conclusion it would be unconstitutional to force people to buy something they don't want to buy.
Rachel points out how ridiculous that statement is.
Maddow: No, no, no. The mandate was your idea. It's a good thing they didn't pass your own proposal back then when you proposed it Senator. Turns out that you hadn't really thought about just how unconstitutional it was... back then... when it was your idea... that you didn't know anything about.
What Republicans believe about Obama and Obama's response
Okay, this probably isn't news, but it's still important because it shows clearly how deep is the pit into which the Repugnican Party has fallen; it shows clearly that Repugnicans in the "heartland" are still as stupid as broomsticks; and it is scary as hell.
This from a new Harris Poll:
+ 67 percent of Republicans believe that Obama is a socialist.
+ 57 percent of Republicans believe that Obama is a Muslim
+ 45 percent of Republicans are certain that Obama was not born in this country and thus is not eligible to be president
+ 38 percent of Republicans claim Obama is "doing many of the things that Hitler did"
+ 24 percent of Republicans avow that Obama could be the anti-Christ
Whew! What a bad guy we have as president. I mean, he hasn't started a war; he's worked hard to get the economy back on track; he's struggled to pass meaningful legislation with bi-partisan support and received no bi-partisan help; he's revived our standing in the world; he's trying to do something about the environmental crisis; about renewable energy; about government waste; and he's gotten a health care reform bill passed against all odds.
But what really shows his true colors, his penchant for socialism, his hidden communistic beliefs, is that he gives his money away. Yup! You may recall he received the Nobel Peace Prize which came with a $1.4 million check!
Well, Obama, being a truly terrible person, is giving it all away! Can you imagine? What profligacy! If he was a true-blue, god-fearing American, he'd buy a new car, a new TV, and a closet full of guns!
But noooooo. He's giving money to Fisher House, "a national nonprofit that houses families whose loved ones are receiving care at Veterans Administration medical centers. He will give another $200,000 to the Bush-Clinton Haiti Fund to help the country recover from the earthquake."
The rest is going to a variety of organizations, "including education foundations, scholarship funds and regional development groups in Africa and Central Asia."
Ah, the temerity of such dastardly business. Don't you just long for the days of Bush and Cheney when greed and self-serving canards ruled the day?
Health care reform - oh, the horror of it all!
Details on the details of the health care reform bill were derived from Nick Baumann, writing for Mother Jones Online.
If you listen to the Repugnicans - especially the batshit-crazy ones like Michele Bachmann or Sarah Palin or John McCain - you'd think the world has come to an end with the passage of the health care reform bill.
Some of these broomsticks are keening loudly that this terrible deed is further proof that President Obama is a Marxist, a one-worlder, possessed by demons, not an American citizen, and is probably the anti-Christ!
Well, maybe they are right. I mean, just consider some of the things involved in this awful piece of legislation:
1. The wonderful insurance companies are not allowed to put lifetime coverage limits on your insurance. Whatever will they do if they can't deny you coverage when you get really sick and they can't cut off your insurance? No more lifetime caps!
2. The poor insurance companies are also limited in placing annual caps on your insurance, and by 2014 such caps will be outlawed totally.
3. No more pre-existing exclusions. Insurance companies are forbidden to deny your children insurance based on a pre-existing condition! That's just terrible. Many insurance companies may even have to cut back on their advertising!
4. Adults with pre-existing conditions can get insurance from a "special, temporary program." And in 2014, "when the health insurance exchanges--basically big 'pools' of businesses and individuals--come on line. At that point "all insurers will have to cover everyone, pre-existing condition or not." Damn. Some of them insurance folks may find their million-dollar bonuses cut by a dollar or two!
5. If you get sick, your insurance company cannot drop you like a hot potato, which has been the routine for many of them. No wonder the health insurance industry did everything they could to stop this legislation!
6. Young adults may remain on their parent's insurance until they are 26 years of age!
7. Old folks like me will get some bucks to help with the "donut hole" in the prescription drug coverage. And in nine months 50 percent of the "donut hole" will be covered. Eventually it will be closed completely.
8. Yippee! For those of us on Medicare, we'll get a free visit annually to our primary care physician. And, "no more co-pays for preventative services in Medicare."
9. Small business owners come out smelling like a rose. They can get up to 50 percent of premium costs as tax credits "for offering health insurance to their workers."
10. The last one bit the health insurance in the ass. If a company has "unusually high administrative costs" (hmmm...advertising, bonuses, other company perks?) they "have to offer rebates to their customers, and every insurance company has to reveal how much it spends on overhead."
Damn those Democrats and Obama! How could they pass this monstrous piece of legislation when all it does is help people and not corporations? Didn't the Supreme Court just rule that corporations are people, too?
Obviously, offering such health insurance goodies to the needy as well as the middle class is just another step down toward the hell of an atheistic, godless, communist society!
But never fear, Palin's PAC is dedicated to erasing those smiling Democratic faces from the Washington scene!
You can read Baumann's entire article here.
Coulter, the bully, turns tail and runs
The story goes like this: protesters were threatening Ann Coulter with violence, so she canceled her scheduled appearance in Ottawa, Canada, one of the places she planned to peddle her new book, titled "I'm a lying wimp."Nah, that's not the name of her new book; I just made it up.
But the rest is true. And poor Ann, in her inimitable way, trashed the organizers of the event and officials in Ottawa because she had been treated so badly.
According to Ken Wightman, writing for the Digital Journal, "Coulter's security detail informed her it may not be safe to speak and so the event was cancelled (sic)." Unfortunately, her anger was misplaced. Wightman notes that the Ottawa police were not responsible for the cancellation. Alain Boucher, "Ottawa Police Services media relations officer ... said, 'It was a decision by organizers and her own security.'"
Furthermore, some media folks claimed thousands of protesters had gathered, that they became a "mob," that there was a "riot," and that the police presence was insufficient.
And ... omigod ... there were also "reports that the police were monitoring Facebook and had informed Coulter's people of an apparent menacing tone in Facebook activity ('bring sticks, bring rocks')".
Almost makes you feel sorry for poor Ann.
Except for the facts: Police guessed the crowd at about 1,500 and many were not protesters at all, just folks who wanted to hear what Annie Get Your Gun had to say. There wasn't any mob or riot. And when the police suggested the crowd go home, they went quietly.
Furthermore, "Boucher ... said the Ottawa police took the protest seriously and were not undermanned," nor did the police "monitor" Facebook.
Ah so. Coulter, a noted bully, did what so many bullies do when their bluff is called: She pulled up stakes, took down her tent, and headed for a safe haven, while blaming everyone in sight for her own cowardice.
Annie get your gun and run!
h/t and thanks to Ken Wightman at Rockinon
Eric Cantor the phony target of an angry mob
Well, it really wasn't an angry mob. According to Cantor and associates, it was a bullet that was shot right into his offices, probably by some deranged Democrat! Yep! And it was more than likely because he dared to stand up to our commie prezident and his Democratic minions in Congress who just passed a health care reform bill despite the fact that Cantor and his friends did everything possible to make Obama "fail"!
Oops! It turns out that no bullet entered Cantor's office. It turns out someone shot a gun into the air. Cantor's building was not damaged, Cantor was not threatened, Cantor was not in any danger. It turns out that Cantor tried to use a random bit of shooting as a means of taking the spotlight away from those 10-12 Democrats who have, in fact, faced threats of physical violence!
Cantor says he's glad it was a "random" thing. But that's a really lame comment considering he made up most of the story (even suggesting he was targeted because he is Jewish) in order to pretend he was a "victim" (just like the Dems) of the anger of some wacko political nut.
We've known for a long time that Cantor is a foul-smelling rat of a Repugnican with nothing whatsoever of value to offer our country, but this is a new low - even for him.
Here's the low-life speaking about being a "target." He just can't seem to tell the truth, and is not perturbed whatsoever by his own hypocrisy!
h/t to Huff Po for video
Oops! It turns out that no bullet entered Cantor's office. It turns out someone shot a gun into the air. Cantor's building was not damaged, Cantor was not threatened, Cantor was not in any danger. It turns out that Cantor tried to use a random bit of shooting as a means of taking the spotlight away from those 10-12 Democrats who have, in fact, faced threats of physical violence!
Cantor says he's glad it was a "random" thing. But that's a really lame comment considering he made up most of the story (even suggesting he was targeted because he is Jewish) in order to pretend he was a "victim" (just like the Dems) of the anger of some wacko political nut.
We've known for a long time that Cantor is a foul-smelling rat of a Repugnican with nothing whatsoever of value to offer our country, but this is a new low - even for him.
Here's the low-life speaking about being a "target." He just can't seem to tell the truth, and is not perturbed whatsoever by his own hypocrisy!
h/t to Huff Po for video
Alan Grayson responds to Palin putting him in the crosshairs
From Crooks and Liars:
Ed Schultz asks Alan Grayson to respond to being put on Sarah Palin's list of "targets" on her crosshairs post on Facebook.
Grayson: She told her followers to "take me out" like I was a moose that you shoot from a helicopter.
Schultz: Yeah, what is your response to that Congressman. How do you feel about that?
Grayson: It's all they've got left... fear and hatred. They've got nothing left.
Grayson also called out the Republicans for stoking fear and hatred and then blaming the Democrats for it. Ed asked Grayson what he would say to her if he met her face to face.
Grayson: You know, every time she smiles she proves that ignorance is bliss. I don't even know if she understands half the things she's talking about.
[...]
I'd love to see a Palin/Grayson ticket in 2016. We'd get elected and then the next day she'd quit. That's what she does. She's the patron saint of quitting.
Bill Maher and the "New Rule"
From Crooks and Liars:
New Rule: You Can't Use "There Will Be No Cooperation for the Rest of the Year" as a Threat If There Was No Cooperation in the First Half of the Year:
New Rule: You can't use the statement "there will be no cooperation for the rest of the year" as a threat if there was no cooperation in the first half of the year. Here's a word the president should take out of his teleprompter: bipartisanship. People only care about that in theory, not in practice. The best thing that's happened this year is when President Obama finally realized this and said, "Kiss my black ass, we're going it alone, George W. Bush style."
Two months ago, conservative Fred Barnes wrote, "The health care bill is dead with not the slightest prospect of resurrection." Well, if it's dead, you just got your ass kicked by a zombie named Nancy Pelosi. Seriously, the last time a Democrat showed balls like that John Edwards' girlfriend was filming it. Make all the botox jokes and she-shops-too-much jokes you want, but this is the biggest political victory a woman has ever achieved in America. Yes, Nancy Pelosi likes nice clothes. So does Sarah Palin. The difference is Nancy Pelosi pays for hers.
But even before the Democrats got to take a single victory lap they were already being warned not to get used to the feeling, and not to get drunk with power. I disagree. All you Democrats: do a shot, and then do another. Get drunk on this feeling of not backing down and doing what you came to Washington to do.
Democrats should not listen to the people who are now saying they shouldn't attempt anything else big for a while because health care was such a bruising battle. Wrong -- because I learned something watching the lying bullies of the Right lose this one: when they're losing, they squeal like a pig. They kept saying things like, the bill was being "shoved down our throats" or the Democrats were "ramming it through." The bill was so big they couldn't take it all at once!
And I realized listening to this rhetoric that it reminded me of something: Tiger Woods' text messages to his mistress that were made public last week, where he said, and I quote, "I want to treat you rough, throw you around, spank and slap you and make you sore. I want to hold you down and choke you while I fuck that ass that I own. Then I'm going to tell you to shut the fuck up while I slap your face and pull your hair for making noise." Unquote.
And this, I believe, perfectly represents the attitude Democrats should now have in their dealings with the Republican Party: "Shut the fuck up while I slap your face for making noise -- now pass a cap-and-trade law, you stupid bitch, and repeat after me: 'global warming is real!'"
The Democrats need to push the rest of their agenda while their boot is on the neck of the greedy, poisonous old reptile. Who cares if a cap-and-trade bill isn't popular, neither was health care. Your poll numbers may have descended a bit, but so did your testicles.
So don't stop: we need to regulate the banks, we need to overhaul immigration, we need to end corporate welfare including at the Pentagon, we need to bring troops home from... everywhere, we need to end the drug war, and we need to put terrorists and other human rights violators on trial in civilian courts, starting with Dick Cheney.
Democrats in America were put on earth to do one thing: drag the ignorant hillbilly half of this country into the next century, which in their case is the 19th -- and by passing health care, the Democrats saved their brand. A few months ago, Sarah Palin mockingly asked them, "How's that hopey-changey thing working out for ya?" Great, actually. Thanks for asking. And how's that whole Hooked on Phonics thing working out for you?
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Alan Grayson on His Medicare Buy-In and Reality Show Personality Palin
The following from Crooks & Liars:
Alan Grayson appeared on Rick Sanchez's show for the first time and talked about his Medicare You Can Buy Into Act, HR 4789, how he feels about passing the health care bill, his comment about Palin where he said "scientists were studying very carefully her trips between Florida and Alaska to learn more about the migratory patterns of the wild Alaskan dingbat" and his statement that the Republicans' health care plan is don't get sick and if you do, die quickly.
SANCHEZ: Joining us now, he's on THE LIST for the very first time after voting for the health care bill last night, is Florida Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson.
Congressman, good to see you, sir.
GRAYSON: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Hey, what was it like yesterday? I just got to ask you, first of all, because there were times as I watched it I couldn't take my eyes off of it for seven hours. It was like watching a docudrama or something, what was going on in the House. It looked like the Taiwanese parliament for a while there.
What was your impression of everything going on?
GRAYSON: I had a different take than most people. I've heard those speeches over and over and over again.
I actually left around 8:00 and went down and hung out with the demonstrators for about an hour and a half and talked to them. There were plenty of people there on both sides of the argument. And I learned a lot from talking to them, and I heard some things I had not heard from my colleagues before.
SANCHEZ: You voted for this thing but you didn't like it. Right?
GRAYSON: No. I wouldn't say that at all.
I think it can be improved on. I've introduced a three-and-a-half page bill called Medicare -- the Medicare You Can Buy Into Act, HR 4789. And I think that that's the missing piece to this bill.
I think people should be able to buy into Medicare. If you want it and you pay for it, then you should have it. And I think that you're going to see movement in that direction after this bill. But I think it's a good bill. I'm glad I voted for it.
I mean, look, it saves lives.
SANCHEZ: I imagine the reason you want to do this, by the way, this Medicare thing that you're introducing, is because you want to create more competition. It doesn't seem like there's enough competition in this bill. Right?
GRAYSON: That's part of it. The other thing is that we -- the most difficult part of establishing competition is to establish a provider network.
And we've spent billions of dollars making sure that everybody from Nome, Alaska, to Key West Florida can actually go and see a Medicare doctor wherever they might need to be in the country, but it's available to only one-eighth of the public. It's like saying only seniors can drive on federal highways.
It just doesn't make any sense. It's this enormously valuable public resource that we own and we pay for and we have to use for the benefit of everyone.
SANCHEZ: The only thing about the Dems that I think they're being somewhat disingenuous on is I think you should just come clean, shouldn't you, and say, yes, this is very expensive? It takes a lot of money to do something historic like this. But I hear a lot of Democrats making it sound like this is the way to solve all of our economic problems.
Is that true? Is that genuine, when you hear people say that?
GRAYSON: Well, I think of it in terms of human beings. I know that there are so many people who don't have any coverage, and now 30 million more Americans will have it.
I know there's a lot of people who can't afford their coverage. Now it's going to be more affordable for them.
SANCHEZ: Right.
GRAYSON: I know that there's a lot of people who finally get all the health care they need until they actually need some. And then the insurance companies try to chintz them. That's not going to be possible anymore. So, ,in terms of actual individuals, those people are going to be better off, and seniors, too.
SANCHEZ: No, and I get that. And even Republicans that I talk to get that. But their concern is, it's too damn expensive.
Couldn't you have done it another way? Couldn't you have done it another time?
GRAYSON: But how can you say that when the Congressional Budget Office says it will reduce the federal deficit by $4,000 for every man, woman and child in this country? We're saving money, not wasting it.
SANCHEZ: Let ask you about something that just went on between you and Sarah Palin. You got into a little bit of a scuffle recently.
She said in a speech in Orlando, your district, your area, she said, "I can't even talk about this guy because there's kids in the room."
I mean, you've got to be a pretty awful guy for someone to say they can't even talk about you.
GRAYSON: I want to know why her kid was in the room. My kid was in school that day.
SANCHEZ: Well, you came back and you called her a "Alaskan dingbat." Did you really say that?
GRAYSON: What I said was that scientists were studying very carefully her trips between Florida and Alaska to learn more about the migratory patterns of the wild Alaskan dingbat.
SANCHEZ: My goodness. Now --
GRAYSON: And I also told her that I'd welcome the opportunity to debate her on the issues as soon as she learns anything about them.
SANCHEZ: Oh my goodness. So you don't think that Sarah Palin's all that qualified, then, from what I hear you saying, huh?
GRAYSON: You know, I think that she's an inspiration to quitters all over the country.
SANCHEZ: Whoa.
GRAYSON: I think that she's an inspiration to every student in school who cheats. That handwriting business, that was really original.
SANCHEZ: Palin recently said that she'd got some treatment. She was giving a speech in Calgary, I believe, and she said that she got treatment with her parents and would go down to Canada for -- to use their single payer system.
Now, that was weird, because she's been a real fighter against the system. Were you taken aback when she said that?
GRAYSON: Oh, look, you know, she's not even a political figure anymore. She's just a reality show personality. That's where all of this is heading. She just want to make money. That's it.
SANCHEZ: When you --
GRAYSON: It's all about -- go ahead.
SANCHEZ: Sorry about that. We've got a little bit of a satellite delay and it looks like we're stepping on each other just a little bit.
You're the kind of guy who says what he thinks. And when recently you were in the news for coming out and turning things around, as you tried to do with Republicans, and saying, no, they're the ones who are creating a situation where they'll kill old people, did you say that --
GRAYSON: No, no. Look, I mocked the absence of their health care plan.
There is no Republican health care plan that would actually give insurance to the people who don't have it. There is no Republican health care plan that will give you cheaper insurance. So what I said is, the Republican health care plan is, don't get sick.
But they understand that people are going to get sick anyway from time to time. So their backup plan is, if you do get sick, then die quickly. That's what I said.
SANCHEZ: Final question -- when you say things like that, which you know are going to -- I mean, Congressman, you know that they're going to get a lot of attention. Are you playing to the audience? Are you trying to get folks to say, hey, you know what, look at that guy down there in Florida, he's interesting? I want to see him -- are you making a lot of noise for the purposes of making noise?
GRAYSON: Look, you know, what it really comes down to is what the other side is saying. The truth hurts. And truth is very powerful.
SANCHEZ: And you believe that you were telling the truth?
GRAYSON: Oh, no question about it. No question about it.
SANCHEZ: Alan Grayson, congressman --
GRAYSON: Truth to power.
SANCHEZ: --- from Florida, is Alan Grayson. He's good enough to come and join us to have this discussion.
I'm glad you came on, sir. This is your first go-around, but we'll get you back. OK?
GRAYSON: I'll love it. Thank you very much.
SANCHEZ: Thank you.
Transcript via CNN.
Obama's grade/accomplishments
[Photo from the National Post]This was sent to me by a friend and I think it is an important piece, especially in light of the vile, hostile, premeditated attempts by Republicans and the right-wing media to "bring him down" and make him "fail."
Robert P. Watson, Ph.D. Coordinator of American Studies
Lynn University "
Email: rwatson@lynn.edu
I am always being asked to grade Obama's presidency. In place of offering him a grade, I put together a list of his accomplishments thus far.
I think you would agree that it is very impressive. His first six months have been even more active than FDRs or LBJs the two standards for such assessments. Yet, there is little media attention given to much of what he has done. Of late, the media is focusing almost exclusively on Obama's critics, without holding them responsible for the uncivil, unconstructive tone of their disagreements or without holding the previous administration responsible for getting us in such a deep hole. The misinformation and venom that now passes for political reporting and civic debate is beyond description.
As such, there is a need to set the record straight. What most impresses me is the fact that Obama has accomplished so much not from a heavy-handed or top-down approach but from a style that has institutionalized efforts to reach across the aisle, encourage vigorous debate, and utilize town halls and panels of experts in the policy-making process. Beyond the accomplishments, the process is good for democracy and our democratic processes have been battered and bruised in recent years.
Let me know if I missed anything in the list (surely I did).
1. Ordered all federal agencies to undertake a study and make recommendations for ways to cut spending
2. Ordered a review of all federal operations to identify and cut wasteful spending and practices
3. Instituted enforcement for equal pay for women
4. Beginning the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq
5. Families of fallen soldiers have expenses covered to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB
6. Ended media blackout on war casualties; reporting full information
7. Ended media blackout on covering the return of fallen soldiers to Dover AFB; the media is now permitted to do so pending adherence to respectful rules and approval of fallen soldier's family
8. The White House and federal government are respecting the Freedom of Information Act
9. Instructed all federal agencies to promote openness and transparency as much as possible
10. Limits on lobbyist's access to the White House
11. Limits on White House aides working for lobbyists after their tenure in the administration
12. Ended the previous stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date
13. Phasing out the expensive F-22 war plane and other outdated weapons systems, which weren't even used or needed in Iraq/Afghanistan
14. Removed restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research
15. Federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research
16. New federal funding for science and research labs
17. States are permitted to enact federal fuel efficiency standards above federal standards
18. Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants) after years of neglect
19. Funds for high-speed, broadband Internet access to K-12 schools
20. New funds for school construction
21. The prison at Guantanamo Bay is being phased out
22. US Auto industry rescue plan
23. Housing rescue plan
24. $789 billion economic stimulus plan
25. The public can meet with federal housing insurers to refinance (the new plan can be completed in one day) a mortgage if they are having trouble paying
26. US financial and banking rescue plan
27. The secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere are being closed
28. Ended the previous policy; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with the Geneva Convention standards
29. Better body armor is now being provided to our troops
30. The missile defense program is being cut by $1.4 billion in 2010
31. Restarted the nuclear nonproliferation talks and building back up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols
32. Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic
33. Reengaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions
34. Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any president in his first six months in office
35. Successful release of US captain held by Somali pirates; authorized the SEALS to do their job
36. US Navy increasing patrols off Somali coast
37. Attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles
38. Cash for clunkers program offers vouchers to trade in fuel inefficient, polluting old cars for new cars; stimulated auto sales
39. Announced plans to purchase fuel efficient American-made fleet for the federal government
40. Expanded the SCHIP program to cover health care for 4 million more children
41. Signed national service legislation; expanded national youth service program
42. Instituted a new policy on Cuba , allowing Cuban families to return home to visit loved ones
43. Ended the previous policy of not regulating and labeling carbon dioxide emissions
44. Expanding vaccination programs
45. Immediate and efficient response to the floods in North Dakota and other natural disasters
46. Closed offshore tax safe havens
47. Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals
48. Ended the previous policy of offering tax benefits to corporations who outsource American jobs; the new policy is to promote in-sourcing to bring jobs back
49.. Ended the previous practice of protecting credit card companies; in place of it are new consumer protections from credit card industry's predatory practices
50. Energy producing plants must begin preparing to produce 15% of their energy from renewable sources
51. Lower drug costs for seniors
52. Ended the previous practice of forbidding Medicare from negotiating with drug manufacturers for cheaper drugs; the federal government is now realizing hundreds of millions in savings
53. Increasing pay and benefits for military personnel
54. Improved housing for military personnel
55. Initiating a new policy to promote federal hiring of military spouses
56. Improved conditions at Walter Reed Military Hospital and other military hospitals
57. Increasing student loans
58. Increasing opportunities in AmeriCorps program
59. Sent envoys to Middle East and other parts of the world that had been neglected for years; reengaging in multilateral and bilateral talks and diplomacy
60. Established a new cyber security office
61. Beginning the process of reforming and restructuring the military 20 years after the Cold War to a more modern fighting force; this includes new procurement policies, increasing size of military, new technology and cyber units and operations, etc.
62. Ended previous policy of awarding no-bid defense contracts
63. Ordered a review of hurricane and natural disaster preparedness
64. Established a National Performance Officer charged with saving the federal government money and making federal operations more efficient
65. Students struggling to make college loan payments can have their loans refinanced
66. Improving benefits for veterans
67. Many more press conferences and town halls and much more media access than previous administration
68. Instituted a new focus on mortgage fraud
69. The FDA is now regulating tobacco
70. Ended previous policy of cutting the FDA and circumventing FDA rules
71. Ended previous practice of having White House aides rewrite scientific and environmental rules, regulations, and reports
72. Authorized discussions with North Korea and private mission by Pres. Bill Clinton to secure the release of two Americans held in prisons
73. Authorized discussions with Myanmar and mission by Sen. Jim Webb to secure the release of an American held captive
74. Making more loans available to small businesses
75. Established independent commission to make recommendations on slowing the costs of Medicare
76. Appointment of first Latina to the Supreme Court
77. Authorized construction/opening of additional health centers to care for veterans
78. Limited salaries of senior White House aides; cut to $100,000
79. Renewed loan guarantees for Israel
80. Changed the failing/status quo military command in Afghanistan
81. Deployed additional troops to Afghanistan
82. New Afghan War policy that limits aerial bombing and prioritizes aid, development of infrastructure, diplomacy, and good government practices by Afghans
83. Announced the long-term development of a national energy grid with renewable sources and cleaner, efficient energy production
84. Returned money authorized for refurbishment of White House offices and private living quarters
85. Paid for redecoration of White House living quarters out of his own pocket
86. Held first Seder in White House
87. Attempting to reform the nation's healthcare system which is the most expensive in the world yet leaves almost 50 million without health insurance and millions more under insured
88. Has put the ball in play for comprehensive immigration reform
89. Has announced his intention to push for energy reform
90. Has announced his intention to push for education reform
Oh, and he built a swing set for the girls outside the Oval Office
h/t to Bob Poris
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Rachel Maddow - Hayworth: Another Look
This is a follow-up to a video posted earlier today.
Again, thanks to Crooks and Liars.
Again, thanks to Crooks and Liars.
Franken: A Perversion of the Filibuster
Thanks for this to Crooks and Liars from which cometh the following:
From the Senate Democrats Sen. Franken speaks out on the GOP's continued abuse of the filibuster:
Freshmen and sophomore Democratic Senators today went to the Senate floor as a group to highlight the Republican obstructionism on nominations. As of this morning, there are 88 nominees on the Senate calendar, including posts at the National Labor Relations Board, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Treasury and the Army. "This is a perversion of the filibuster and a perversion of the role of the Senate," said Sen. Al Franken. "It used to be that the filibuster was reserved for matters of great principle. Today it has become a way to play out the clock."
Creationists dig new grave
On Australia's island of Tasmania, archaeologists have dug up thousands of items, including stone tools which have been estimated to be about 40,000 years. While the exact age has not been confirmed, initial estimates are expected to be correct. In fact, according to an AOL News article, "Human artifacts dating 40,000 to 50,000 years have been found in Australia north of Tasmania."
Such a problem! What's a good creationist to do? The Bible clearly states that God created everything that exists 6,000 years ago: Which is "proven" by the correct reading of the biblical book of Genesis!
Damn those Tasmanian devils, those scientists!
Ed Schultz on Michele Bachman
Michele Bachmann is breathtakingly stupid! What were voters in Minnesota drinking when they elected this christianist nogoodnik to public office?
From Crooks and Liars:
Michele Bachmann makes Ed Schultz's Psycho Talk segment for her latest round of crazy on the health care bill this week.
From The Uptake: Rep. Bachmann : "Some have called President Obama the first Post-American President.":
Mar 13 2010 : MN 06 Rep. Michele Bachmann speaks at her "Kill the Bill" Rally, to stop the Health Care Bill, on the St. Paul Minnesota State Capital steps. She compares Obama to Chavez, calls the Health Care Bill illegitimate, says you don't have to follow illegitimate bills.
"In their bill they have the IRS enforciing the Health Care Bill", said Bachmann. "We're not going to pay their taxes..." "We don't have to follow a bill that isn't law."
And from Think Progress: Bachmann: Americans ‘Have Standing To Sue’ If House Uses Self-Executing Rule To Pass Health Care:
Last week, Politico reported that House Democrats had discussed the possibility of avoiding a direct vote on Senate health care bill by using a “self-executing rule,” which would call for the Senate bill to be automatically attached to reconciliation legislation if the House votes to pass a package of fixes being negotiated between the two chambers.
[...]
On Friday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) attacked the proposal as “breathtakingly unconstitutional,” telling right-wing Minnesota radio host Chris Baker that “it would destroy Article I, Section 7, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution.” “No one’s ever seen anything like this before,” said Bachmann.
When Baker suggested that someone should be “arrested” if a “self-executing rule” is used, Bachmann declared that the parliamentary procedure would give every American “standing to sue against this bill”.
From Crooks and Liars:
Michele Bachmann makes Ed Schultz's Psycho Talk segment for her latest round of crazy on the health care bill this week.
From The Uptake: Rep. Bachmann : "Some have called President Obama the first Post-American President.":
Mar 13 2010 : MN 06 Rep. Michele Bachmann speaks at her "Kill the Bill" Rally, to stop the Health Care Bill, on the St. Paul Minnesota State Capital steps. She compares Obama to Chavez, calls the Health Care Bill illegitimate, says you don't have to follow illegitimate bills.
"In their bill they have the IRS enforciing the Health Care Bill", said Bachmann. "We're not going to pay their taxes..." "We don't have to follow a bill that isn't law."
And from Think Progress: Bachmann: Americans ‘Have Standing To Sue’ If House Uses Self-Executing Rule To Pass Health Care:
Last week, Politico reported that House Democrats had discussed the possibility of avoiding a direct vote on Senate health care bill by using a “self-executing rule,” which would call for the Senate bill to be automatically attached to reconciliation legislation if the House votes to pass a package of fixes being negotiated between the two chambers.
[...]
On Friday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) attacked the proposal as “breathtakingly unconstitutional,” telling right-wing Minnesota radio host Chris Baker that “it would destroy Article I, Section 7, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution.” “No one’s ever seen anything like this before,” said Bachmann.
When Baker suggested that someone should be “arrested” if a “self-executing rule” is used, Bachmann declared that the parliamentary procedure would give every American “standing to sue against this bill”.
Rachel Maddow - J.D. Hayworth uses McCain's cover up of Abramoff scandal
The following is from Crooks and Liars:
Dennis G. at Balloon Juice wrote an excellent post explaining how John McCain covering up for J.D. Hayworth's involvement in the Abramoff scandal was coming back to bite him in the form of Hayworth as a primary challenger. Hayworth was asked about his involvement in the Jack Abramoff affair on The Rachel Maddow Show and he used the fact that McCain did not bring him up during his committee hearings as proof of his innocence in the matter.
Hayworth: I’ll be very happy to point out how this may apply to the upcoming Republican primary. Senator McCain has joined the chorus of those attempting to link me to someone by the name of Jack Abramoff. Please don’t make the mistake of thinking that in any way I’m defending Mr. Abramoff. That’s not the case. I’m offering you a spirited defense of what I believe to be incorrect information that you have received.
But with reference to my immediate Republican opponent Sen. McCain, he chaired hearings you may recall of the Indian Affairs Committee and if memory serves I believe they were in the spring and summer of 2006. Never did my name come up in testimony. Never was I mentioned either during those hearings or in the committee’s final report. So the bottom line is this. I did nothing wrong and the people of Arizona will have a chance to decide that. As for John McCain, a man who says he’s a man of honor I think quite frankly he knows these charges to be incorrect and in desperation to keep his job, sadly he is now proving himself unfit for service in the United States Senate.
I highly recommend reading the whole thing since there is much, much more there, but here are some highlights of Dennis' post. The Grifter and the Coward…:
Both men are also linked to the Abramoff scandal. It will be fascinating to see if McCain will decide to release details about the Abramoff scandal that he has kept covered up for years in a desperate effort to hold onto his Senate seat. [...]
Hayworth went into debt to defend himself from possible charges related to the Abramoff scandal and he set-up the Freedom In Truth Trust to get others to help him retire this debt before he officially announced his run against McCain. Naturally, many of Jack’s other pals contributed to JD’s defense fund. I found Hayworth’s defense on the site to be laughable. Documents released so far in the Abramoff scandal prove him to be a liar. For example, JD says:
Here are the simple facts:
1. Abramoff contributed a grand total of $2,250 dollars to my political efforts. ($250 in 1996, $1,000 in 1998, and $1,000 to our leadership political action committee, TEAMPAC, in 1999.)
2. I never met with Abramoff concerning any legislation.
3. He never came to my office.
4. He never lobbied me directly on any issue.
The record proves him to be a liar on points 1 and 4. Point 2 is certainly a lie if you include a phone call as a “meeting”. There are numerous records citing direct discussions between Abramoff and Hayworth. It is unclear if these meetings/discussions took place in Hayworth’s “office”, so point 3 could technically be true, but only if you exclude meetings between Hayworth’s staff and Abramoff’s staff.
Only a small fraction of the millions of pages of emails, billing records and other evidence linking Abramoff to his co-conspirators has been released. Most of these documents are under wraps and that lets many of Jack’s old Congressional grifter buddies run for office again in 2010. In an ironic twist, a grifter like Hayworth can thank John McCain for the fact that he is out of jail and able to scam gullible voters once again. You see, John McCain had the goods on Hayworth but did not have the courage to put Country over Party or the integrity to let duty trump his ambitions.
[...]
McCain’s investigation of the Abramoff scandal collected over 750,000 pages of documents. He has sent these documents to the National Archives where they will sit under seal for the next twenty years—it is a great way to sweep the largest Congressional scandal in decades under the rug.
[...]
Too bad McCain didn’t keep his promise to “not stop until the complete truth is told” that he made back in 2004. If he had then Hayworth, Norquist, Reed and a host of other grifters would be in jail and/or discredited. Instead, McCain let his cowardice and ambition conceal crimes that he knew they had committed. McCain actively hid evidence of corruption from the American people, but it looks like he kept a copy of that evidence readily at hand just in case he ever needed it. This is most likely why Norquist is still supporting McCain—John has the goods on him. And now, McCain is suggesting that he’ll dig into these hidden documents to release selective attacks on JD Hayworth.
As I asked last month when Hayworth was on MSNBC attacking McCain for his lie about TARP, how's that cover up working out for you now McCain?
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Rove is a liar
From Crooks and Liars:
Another day, another round of interviews with Karl Rove pushing his latest bit of revisionist history. Tom Brokaw asks Rove about the Bush administration's claims that the oil revenue would help pay for the war and Rove denies it.
ROVE: No, no. Tom with all due respect that was not the policy of our government that we were going to go into Iraq and take their resources in order to pay for the cost of the war. … [T]he suggestion that somehow or another the administration had as its policy, “We’re going to go in to Iraq and take their resource and pay for the war” is not accurate.
Think Progress noted, Rove is lying.
Rove’s claim is simply not true. In fact, days after the U.S. invasion, then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told a congressional panel that Iraqi oil revenues would help pay for reconstructing the country, i.e. a cost of the war. “The oil revenue of that country could bring between 50 and 100 billion dollars over the course of the next two or three years. We’re dealing with a country that could really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon,” he said.
One month before the war, then-White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said Iraq “is a rather wealthy country. … And so there are a variety of means that Iraq has to be able to shoulder much of the burden for their own reconstruction.”
Let us waterboard Karl Rove!
Karl Rove epitomizes the "bullies" I met in school many years ago. While full of bravado and bullshit, underneath they were cowards!
This "big" man who waged war from the sidelines, protected by presidents and flacks, and by the ignorance and stupidity of a large portion of the American population, he can pretend and preen without ever having to get his soft, lily-white hands dirty.
So, just the other day in a BBC interview, Karl the bully said he was "proud" of the fact that under his reign (Bush, you recall, more or less worked for him) the United States engaged in torturing other human beings.
"I'm proud what we used techniques that broke the will of these terrorists."
Well, he's rewriting history, of course, with that "broke the will of these terrorists" bit. And the examples he gave in the interview have all been debunked. What waterboarding did give us was a bunch of useless information because when you torture a person he/she will eventually tell you what you want to hear, true or not.
(The really sad thing about all of this is that it is very likely the 9/11 attacks could have been avoided if the Bush administration under Rove's leadership had paid the slightest attention to the intelligence it had been provided in the summer of 2001 which warned of just such a thing!)
In the interview, Rove went on to say he didn't consider waterboarding to be torture. Furthermore, he said, when we utilized such procedures, the torturees were told that they would not drown and a doctor was present. Why would the latter be necessary if it wasn't torture?
If he really believes waterboarding is not torture, then it would behoove him to bend over backward, figuratively and literally, and allow himself to undergo that non-torture - to demonstrate to the whole world that it isn't really torture - you know, just to be sure.
It is too bad that Rove and Rumsfeld and Cheney and Bush and all the criminal gang that ran our government into the ground with their lies and dreams of empire and most importantly, their grasping for oil, have not been tried in a court of law. For some reason, politically inspired it seems, they have been given a free pass (so they can write books to try to justify their unlawful behavior).
The least anyone who says waterboarding is not torture could do is undergo the process himself. Step up to the plate, Mr. Rove! We're calling your bluff.
But, like most bullies, you will run and hide when push comes to shove!
This "big" man who waged war from the sidelines, protected by presidents and flacks, and by the ignorance and stupidity of a large portion of the American population, he can pretend and preen without ever having to get his soft, lily-white hands dirty.
So, just the other day in a BBC interview, Karl the bully said he was "proud" of the fact that under his reign (Bush, you recall, more or less worked for him) the United States engaged in torturing other human beings.
"I'm proud what we used techniques that broke the will of these terrorists."
Well, he's rewriting history, of course, with that "broke the will of these terrorists" bit. And the examples he gave in the interview have all been debunked. What waterboarding did give us was a bunch of useless information because when you torture a person he/she will eventually tell you what you want to hear, true or not.
(The really sad thing about all of this is that it is very likely the 9/11 attacks could have been avoided if the Bush administration under Rove's leadership had paid the slightest attention to the intelligence it had been provided in the summer of 2001 which warned of just such a thing!)
In the interview, Rove went on to say he didn't consider waterboarding to be torture. Furthermore, he said, when we utilized such procedures, the torturees were told that they would not drown and a doctor was present. Why would the latter be necessary if it wasn't torture?
If he really believes waterboarding is not torture, then it would behoove him to bend over backward, figuratively and literally, and allow himself to undergo that non-torture - to demonstrate to the whole world that it isn't really torture - you know, just to be sure.
It is too bad that Rove and Rumsfeld and Cheney and Bush and all the criminal gang that ran our government into the ground with their lies and dreams of empire and most importantly, their grasping for oil, have not been tried in a court of law. For some reason, politically inspired it seems, they have been given a free pass (so they can write books to try to justify their unlawful behavior).
The least anyone who says waterboarding is not torture could do is undergo the process himself. Step up to the plate, Mr. Rove! We're calling your bluff.
But, like most bullies, you will run and hide when push comes to shove!
Fundys on the march in Texas
You can't say we weren't warned. Back some 30 years ago, at the inception of the Christian Coalition, Pat Robertson and other right-wing religionists vowed that christianist conservatives would infiltrate every aspect of American life, from school boards, to city councils, to governor's offices, even the United States Congress and thereby transform the United States into a fundamentalist christianist state ruled by their version of biblical law and order.Unfortunately, these christianist fundamentalists have been remarkably successful, as we have documented over and over again on this blog.
One of their latest victories was won in Texas, where the State Board of Education is comprised of a majority of christianist nogoodniks who have no educational qualifications for serving on an educational board, and who see the role of the schools in Texas, not to educate, but to indoctrinate children with fundamentalist christianist beliefs (which also happen to coincide in many cases with "conservative" Repugnican beliefs).
As an aside, these people love the word, "conservative," and use it to describe their philosophies and actions. But they are not conservative in any sense of the word. They are as radical as the Marxists they disavow, working to upset years of educational excellence with their own revisionist schemes, based not in reality, but in the Bible and their own pointy little heads.
The Texas SBOE has been ruled by these cretins for many years; cretins who have concluded Darwin's theory of evolution is all wrong because it seems, to them, to contradict their bibles - those ancient scribblings of scientific excellence! These cretins, also ignorant of American history, continue to perpetrate the nonsense that the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation, and that our founding fathers did not intend any kind of separation of church and state.
In Texas, there are 120 pages of curriculum standards written by the cretinous SBOE. Over the past several years, about 100 amendments have been made to these standards, most all of which reflect the views of the non-intellectual misfits on the board.
One should note that as the amendments have been made, real historians, economists, sociologists or other experts were rarely, if ever, consulted!
Thus, Texas students will now be taught such things as:
- the concept of separation of church and state cannot be found in our founding documents
- the American revolution was essentially a religious revolution
- the importance of the "the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s, including Phyllis Schlafly, the Contract With America, the Heritage Foundation, the Moral Majority and the National Rifle Association"
- '"the unintended consequences" of the Great Society legislation, affirmative action and Title IX legislation" as well as the notion that the internment of U.S. citizens who were of Japanese descent during WWII was not racially based because some Germans and Italians were also interned
- Joe McCarthy wasn't all that bad so the study of McCarthyism will include the notion that "the later release of the Verona papers confirmed suspicions of communist infiltration in U.S. government"
- Economists Milton Friedman and Friedrich von Hayek (free-market believers) were just as important as Adam Smith, Karl Marx and John Maynard Keynes
- that capitalism is not a good word and "free-enterprise system" should be used in its place
- "'the importance of personal responsibility for life choices" in a section on teenage suicide, dating violence, sexuality, drug use and eating disorders"
But there's more:
A female attorney from Richmond, Texas, who is convinced the U.S. was a Christian nation from its inception, "managed to cut Thomas Jefferson from a list of figures whose writings inspired revolutions in the late 18th and 19th century, replacing him with St. Thomas Acquinas, John Calvin and William Blackstone." Never mind that John Calvin was a murdering bastard who killed people opposed to his religious views! And just which "revolution" was based on the writings of Tommy Acquinas?
Another amendment requires students to learn "how taxes and regulations restrict private enterprise, and that students analyze the importance of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Gun rights were given the same importance as free speech rights."
In a U.S. history section, the SBOE included "references to 'laws of nature and nature's God' in a study requiring "students to explain major political ideas."
What is especially unfortunate in all of this is that when it comes to textbooks, it is often the case that "as Texas goes, so goes the nation." In other words, Texas sets the parameters for textbook publishers and schools across the country.
Isn't there some way we can help the State of Texas secede from the Union. Who needs it?
Friday, March 12, 2010
Texas Textbook Controversy - ABC Nightline
We've written about this moron before. But what you see here is just plain scary! Welcome to Texas, 2010. Maybe we could help the state secede?
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Rachel Maddow - Bart Stupak's non-issue of abortion funding
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Rachel Maddow - Va Gov plays games with gay civil rights
Here's more on Pat Robertson's "gift" to the State of Virginia.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Gary Herbert: Big Brother Repugnican in Utah
The party of fear and desperation has struck again. The party that proclaims it's abiding desire for small government, for personal freedom, for less interference in people's lives, has once more proven that it is the Grand Old Hypocritical Party.Beginning with Reagan and through the Bush years, we've seen what happens when the GOHP gets the reins of government. First of all, the government expands exponentially despite the Gipper's stupid comment that "government is not the solution; government is the problem."
Secondly, we've seen a concerted effort, especially during the last Bush administration, to dismantle our Constitutional guarantees with regard to free speech and personal liberty. The GOHP speaks with forked tongue.
Today, in Utah, a state controlled by Mormon Repugnicans, a woman who is involved in an illegal abortion can be charged with homicide! Such a woman is now considered to have killed her unborn child.
The governor of Utah, Gary Herbert, a Mormon, signed the bill making this atrocity legal and was "extremely happy" to do so. Not only so, but he's hoping other states will enact legislation based on the Utah law.
Gary Herbert, a real estate broker turned politician, is a typical Repugnican. He not only thinks it's right to impose his religious views regarding abortion on everyone in Utah, but he is also a global warming denier.
But people like Gary Herbert should not be in politics. They don't seem to understand that they serve all the people, even those who hold views they might find abhorrent because of their particular religious views.
So many Repugnicans these days, believe God is on their side, and will stop at nothing to impose those religious views on their constituents, thereby denying those constituents their constitutional rights.
They are sick puppies and are leading our country down the primrose path of totalitarianism.
And the SOB's dare to call Obama a "Marxist"!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Rush Limbargher to leave country?
Rush Limbargher, scumbag extraordinaire, has threatened to leave the good ol' US of A if Congress passes the health care reform bill! I don't think he said where he would go. It is possible that countries more refined with governments more sane than our own would refuse him entry. He may be able to return to the Dominican Republic, I suppose, where he's engaged in various shenanigans previously, or maybe he will disappear in a cloud of Oxycontin.
Whatever. This threat (or promise) of Limbargher is probably one of the most important reasons justifying the passage of health care reform.
Can you imagine a country free of this lying, nogoodnik bastard?
Repugnican Big Brother in Virginia
These are Repugnican principles: Hate is a virtue. Government has the right to decide sexual orientation and persecute those who don't conform. Welcome to the State of Virginia under Repugnican rule!
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Gaywatch - Virginia Edition | ||||
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