Friday, July 31, 2009
Wages and Republican thinking
Employment compensation news:
Employment compensation for U.S. workers has grown over the past 12 months by the lowest amount on record, reflecting the severe recession that has gripped the country.After some Republicans made their typical comments about such news, we have this opinion about how Republicans think:
They despise unions, fair wages and anything that prevents corporations from making obscene profits for a few execs. They think that trickle down works. They love their corporate masters and want us all to become third world laborers because that is how you keep your job.Bingo!
They can neither imagine, nor do they want, a world were all workers earn a fair salary at a safe facility. They are from the 19th century.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
The envoy
Some nut at Newsweek tries to make the case Why Obama should make George W. Bush his Mideast envoy. I'm not kidding.
Beer
I just find it vulgar and disturbing how much time the mainstream media dedicated to the beer meeting.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
There they go again
Back in the 60's, Republicans predicted all kinds of doom if Medicare became law.
Ronald Reagan: “[I]f you don’t [stop Medicare] and I don’t do it, one of these days you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it once was like in America when men were free.” [1961]But few sensible people would disagree with the following:
Barry Goldwater: “Having given our pensioners their medical care in kind, why not food baskets, why not public housing accommodations, why not vacation resorts, why not a ration of cigarettes for those who smoke and of beer for those who drink.” [1964]
While Medicare is not without its problems, it has dramatically improved access to health care, allowed seniors to live longer and healthier lives, helped greatly reduce poverty amongst the elderly, contributed to the desegregation of southern hospitals, and has become one of the most popular government programs.We must ignore the predictions of doom this time around and pass health care insurance reform. After all, Republicans have an amazing record of being on the wrong side of the American people's will.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
The farewell, as a poem
One way street
Bipartisanship should be a two way street, but it isn't. See this observation from Bruce Josten of the Chamber of Commerce, a group that has opposed health-care reform, to Senator Baucus:
"The Chamber applauds your commitment to develop a comprehensive plan that garners bipartisan support in the United States Senate. Restructuring one-sixth of the U.S. economy is too important to pursue on a one-party basis," says the letter, signed by Bruce Josten, the Chamber's chief lobbyist.If that is so, then I have to ask: when the Bush administration decided unilaterally to refuse to address one-sixth of the US economy, was the Chamber of Commerce equally as worried that one party was shutting off the idea? I'm going to guess the answer is no.
Monday, July 27, 2009
The Five Biggest Hurdles to Health-Care Reform
This is a good summary of the major obstacles facing health care reform. It's easy to see how this is not a trivial challenge. Trying to score the progress of the bills in Congress day to day is a waste of time.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Red Bulls season tickets
I'm a NY Red Bulls season ticket holder. Does anyone know if there's a Lemon Law equivalent?
Man, this team is so bad it's killing me.
Man, this team is so bad it's killing me.
Witch Doctor
About the Obama witch doctor picture:
Boy, it seems like Republicans can't even send around racist emails about President Obama any more with getting into loads of trouble. What is this world coming to?Poor Republicans. They are so misunderstood. All they want to do is have fun... and nothing does it for them like insulting others.
A bag of garbage
The central problem exposed by the current financial crisis explained:
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Saturday, July 25, 2009
GatesGate
The news cycle has been dominated by Obama's words about the incident involving the arrest of Mr. Gates at his own home. Here's a comment that summarizes my own opinion:
Sometimes I feel like I'm living in bizzaro world, and today is one of those times. I mean, sure, Obama probably shouldn't have said all cops are honkeys, or maybe kept better control of all black people everywhere, but it's still such a crazy media diversion when you consider the stakes facing our country right now.Unfortunately, we're stuck with the media we've got.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Republicans: they don't, they won't
This quote by Howard Fineman bears repeating over and over:
I talked to people on the Hill all day today. I talked to Republicans as well as Democrats. Republicans claims they have a plan. They don't. They claim they're going to have a plan. They won't. Their whole strategy ... is to stand on the sidelines with their arms folded while the Democrats try to work this thing out. That's their whole strategy."They don't... they won't."
Listen to Nate
Nate Silver addresses the current sausage-making process that is a reform of our health care insurance and explains why "liberals' doom-and-gloom, conservatives' glee, and the media's nearsighted reporting are all equally uncalled for."
Thursday, July 23, 2009
More proof Obama is a terrorist
On the minds of many right wingers, Barack Obama is a tyrant, a socialist, a fascist, like Hitler, Like Castro, a foreigner, and a terrorist. And here's more evidence to support that last charge:
for the first time in the Pew survey, an American president is more popular than Osama bin Laden in most Muslim nations. In Jordan, for example, 30 percent of the populace says they are confident in Obama, 28 percent say they are confident in bin Laden. Just 7 percent of Jordanians said they were confident in Bush in 2008.In right winger world, nothing says failure like being liked abroad. In fact, look how badly Obama has failed:
In Western countries -- England, France, Germany and Spain -- it is a nearly universally held belief that President Obama will "do the right thing in world affairs." Whereas only 16 percent, 13 percent, 14 percent and 8 percent of those respective countries' populations said the same thing about former President George W. Bush in 2008.See? The man is a traitor! :-p
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Waterloo
Republicans learn a new word.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Follow ups
I wish more TV shows would follow up previous broadcasts with fact checking of what was said on previous shows. Just as Rachel Maddow does here:
Bush and teen girls
The Bush administration and their wacky conservative ideas:
Teenage pregnancies and syphilis have risen sharply among a generation of American school girls who were urged to avoid sex before marriage under George Bush's evangelically-driven education policy, according to a new report by the US's major public health body...The CDC says that southern states, where there is often the greatest emphasis on abstinence and religion, tend to have the highest rates of teenage pregnancy and STDs.
Their incompetence and stupidity knows no bounds.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Is our citizens learning?
To paraphrase George W. Bush, the question is: is our citizens learning?
Frankly, I think the answer is no. What's going on is a crisis in Republican leadership. Fear not, eventually they will find leaders who are better liars.Who can forget the glory years, when the Gipper invoked God but never went to church? When Arlen Specter accused Anita Hill of perjury to distract from Clarence Thomas’s false witness? When Newt Gingrich and other conservatives indulged in affairs with young Washington peaches as they pushed to impeach Bill Clinton?
No one had more flair than W. and Cheney, crowing about making us safe as they made the world more dangerous, and bragging about fiscal restraint while they spent us into oblivion.
Now when Republicans get caught flouting the principles they dictate, they are not able to practice hypocrisy with such impunity.
Climate Change Challenge
Climate change skeptics commonly point to a cooler than average day as proof that the whole climate change concern is a hoax. Nate Silver is challenging them to put their money where their ignorant mouths are. You can read the details of the challenge here, but basically, Nate is willing to pay $25 for each day that goes under the average temperature at a challenger's home town, and will collect $25 for each day that goes above the average.
As of this writing, he has no takers.
As of this writing, he has no takers.
Sarah Palin and George W. Bush
Why do I dislike Sarah Palin so much? This sentence covers my major reason:
To the left, I think, she embodies a sort of comfort with ignorance that they think characterizes most/all conservatives.And this was exactly what made W. such a nuisance as well. Sarah and George share many of the same annoying qualities:
the smirkiness, the smugness, the regional accent (although Palin's, I assume, is not feigned), the malapropisms, the contempt for media (both the people who cover it and their mediums), the express deference to religious faith, the occasionally undeniably likable moments of joviality and regular guy/gal-ness, the tendency toward self-dealing, the bulldog/barracuda mentalityJust one word of caution: I remember vividly back in 2000 when I was sure W. stood no chance whatsoever of being elected (or, as it turned out, selected) president of the United States.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
We're gonna need a bigger fence
We're going to have to fence the Pacific Ocean... and then the whole Gulf of Mexico:
As the land border with Mexico tightens with new fencing and technology, the authorities are seeing a sharp spike in the number of people and drugs being moved into the United States by sea off the San Diego coast.Just goes to show you... come up with a lousy idea and you solve nothing.
One step closer
to health care reform:
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released estimates this evening confirming for the first time that H.R. 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, is deficit neutral over the 10-year budget window – and even produces a $6 billion surplus.Imagine that. We can pay for it and still save money. Yes we can.
Could this be true?
Yummy news for chocolate lovers:
scientists for the world's largest chocolatier believe they have stumbled on the holy grail of chocolate: a recipe that is both melt-resistant and low-calorie.But... will it taste better than Hershey Kisses? That's the question.Vulcano is the internal code name for the new product by the Swiss chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut. Developed in a laboratory under top-secret conditions by an international team of food engineers, it not only has 90% fewer calories than the average chocolate product, it is also heat-resistant to temperatures of up to 55C (131F). Most chocolate starts to melt at 30 degrees.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Wise Latina
Maureen Dowd on the judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings:
Nah! Not at all.
Don't you just feel sorry for all those old rich white greedy men, and the sycophants who keep them in power, who are losing their grip on power?A wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not know that a gaggle of white Republican men afraid of extinction are out to trip her up.
After all, these guys have never needed to speak inspirational words to others like them, as Sotomayor has done. They’ve had codes, handshakes and clubs to do that.
Nah! Not at all.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
A worm
After playing a clip of senator Lindsey Graham telling Sonia Sotomayor "unless you have a complete meltdown, you're gonna get confirmed. And I don't think you will," conservative clown Glenn Beck said this on his TV show:
Since Lindsay Graham came to my attention during the Bill Clinton impeachment proceedings, I've thought of him as a weasel. In terms of symbolism, that's close enough to a worm.
"Does anybody remember when Lindsey Graham wasn't a worm?"Well, I confess that it pains me to admit that I come very close to agreeing with Beck.
Since Lindsay Graham came to my attention during the Bill Clinton impeachment proceedings, I've thought of him as a weasel. In terms of symbolism, that's close enough to a worm.
Monday, July 13, 2009
To Some White Men
A few words to white men (well, not all white men, just some) from an African American woman. A very good read.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Another day, another pile of Republican crap
They really have nothing constructive to offer, and even when just being negative, Republicans are a failure:
At a news conference Friday, Republican lawmakers criticized the White House for spending so much, while simultaneously saying the administration wasn't spending it fast enough.As a group, is there a more pathetic example of a petty and useless mass of bones and flesh than the Republican party? No!
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Sirens of Soccer
Learn about dribbling, passing, shooting, and other soccer terms...
Sirens of Soccer Instructional Video from Sirens of Soccer on Vimeo.
Senator Al Franken
Next to the election of Barack Obama, no other win pleases me more than Al Franken's. And now that Norm Coleman legal charade is over, it's great to know Franken's victory is official, even if anticlimatic.
Besides giving the Democratic caucus 60 votes, Franken was opposed by some of the worst Americans of our time, making this win extra special because of that.
Now, I just wish that Al Franken allows his sense of humor some measure of liberty -- the Senate floor could use it.
Besides giving the Democratic caucus 60 votes, Franken was opposed by some of the worst Americans of our time, making this win extra special because of that.
Now, I just wish that Al Franken allows his sense of humor some measure of liberty -- the Senate floor could use it.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Differences
The differences between Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin, as far as politics go, are enormous. In terms of intellect, command of the issues, temperament, respect for fellow Americans, proper sentence articulation, etc. etc. etc. Hillary kicks Sarah Palin's butt all over the political field.
Now we can add a new difference: Hillary is not a quitter.
Now we can add a new difference: Hillary is not a quitter.
Monday, July 06, 2009
Yes, we can afford it
The notion that universal health care would be too expensive is just pure scare-tactic bullshit. Listen to the professor:
It makes sense. We can do it. Let's!Let me start by pointing out something serious health economists have known all along: on general principles, universal health insurance should be eminently affordable.
After all, every other advanced country offers universal coverage, while spending much less on health care than we do. For example, the French health care system covers everyone, offers excellent care and costs barely more than half as much per person as our system.
And even if we didn’t have this international evidence to reassure us, a look at the U.S. numbers makes it clear that insuring the uninsured shouldn’t cost all that much, for two reasons.
First, the uninsured are disproportionately young adults, whose medical costs tend to be relatively low. The big spending is mainly on the elderly, who are already covered by Medicare.
Second, even now the uninsured receive a considerable (though inadequate) amount of “uncompensated” care, whose costs are passed on to the rest of the population. So the net cost of giving the uninsured explicit coverage is substantially less than it might seem.
Good vacation
So... I go away for vacation and Sarah Palin's head explodes, Sandford implodes, and we're inching ever so slowly towards a public option. That's quite a good vacation, I'll say*.
Now, if only the stock market would stop sliding...
* The vacation was far better for reasons I won't say. ;)
Now, if only the stock market would stop sliding...
* The vacation was far better for reasons I won't say. ;)
