Sunday, November 29, 2009
Outside world
I've been hiding in my bunker for 10 months now. I'm curious: has Obama suspended the first amendment yet? Are we officially a Tyranny, not a Republic? Has the stimulus enslaved you all? And more seriously, is Obama still using the teleprompter?
I so fear for my country.
I so fear for my country.
Friday, November 27, 2009
One perfect and viable solution
Frugalchariot commenting on the study that says a strong public option trigger is better than the public option in the current Senate bill:
But we can dream...
Anything is, perhaps, better than nothing at all. Still, there is only one perfect and viable solution, and that’s single payer, unlimited, in conjunction with the total demise of the insurance industry, forever and for good. Health care should be considered a human right and, consequently, the top government priority is an efficient and fair system which serves all people on these shores, always (and yes, that includes illegal immigrants, even pregnant women who wish they weren’t. Always, no questions asked. How to pay for it? Obvious: no more war, no more warmongering. Defense only. Period. That should yield roughly 700 million per year, at least. It could be done, it can be done.We can dream, can't we? But in reality, to get this done, we'd need to do away with the filibuster, change the Senate composition to match the population of the states, and elect a president with massive balls. It ain't gonna happen!
But we can dream...
Sinful hugs
Frontal hugging is a sin (unless you've said "I do.") I'm so behind the times.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Enough!
Enough of plain, boring, I need to pile a bunch of shit on it to eat it, crappy turkey! This year, for the first time ever I'm cooking my own turkey after watching my family make a mockery of that bird. Good intentions just aren't enough, my beloved kin!
I bought a frozen turkey -- that's right, frozen! Thawed it in a bucket of slowly running cold water for a few hours. It has benn soaking in a brine (water, salt, brown sugar, garlic, peppercorns, red pepper flakes, rosemary, thyme, and sage).
The damned thing is is either to taste great or make me puke. But boring it ain't going to be!
I bought a frozen turkey -- that's right, frozen! Thawed it in a bucket of slowly running cold water for a few hours. It has benn soaking in a brine (water, salt, brown sugar, garlic, peppercorns, red pepper flakes, rosemary, thyme, and sage).
The damned thing is is either to taste great or make me puke. But boring it ain't going to be!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
I hope we never turn into them
The Republican party has some sort of Purity Test for which candidates they will fund. It's their money, their right. But this is group-think on steroids.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
The United Homeless Organization
Government doing its job:
[A]n investigation by Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo appears to have confirmed what many New Yorkers secretly (if somewhat guiltily) suspected all along: The United Homeless Organization, supposedly a nonprofit group set up to help feed and house the homeless, was actually an elaborate fraud.
According to a complaint filed by Mr. Cuomo [pdf] on Tuesday morning, U.H.O. does not operate a single shelter, soup kitchen or food pantry. It does not provide food or clothing to the homeless. It does not even donate money to other charities that do.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Real Salt Lake
Congratulations to Real Salt Lake, winners last night of MLS Cup 2009.
AM I thrilled that a team that won 11 games but lost 12 during the regular season are the champions? No, but it's a reality that teams don't solidify their strengths until later in the season. Everything I saw Real Salt Lake play, they were entertaining and played positive soccer, and got stronger towards the end of the season. They also include several players that I really like (Clint Mathis, Andy Williams to name a couple) and I think Jason Kreis, their coach, deserves this success.
It was also good to see LA Galaxy under the management of Bruce Arena come back from several years of gloom. Both Landon Donovan and David Beckham did not play to their usual standards, but their presence on the final was very positive. They represent the future of MLS -- promising American talent and proven world class international stars. Give us more of both and the league will do well.
The big winners were not even on the field -- they were the Seattle fans who not only have pushed MLS to new heights during the regular season, but made the MLS Cup final a rousing attendance success while adding much atmosphere to the game. Seattle soccer fans were the true champions of the 2009 MLS season.
AM I thrilled that a team that won 11 games but lost 12 during the regular season are the champions? No, but it's a reality that teams don't solidify their strengths until later in the season. Everything I saw Real Salt Lake play, they were entertaining and played positive soccer, and got stronger towards the end of the season. They also include several players that I really like (Clint Mathis, Andy Williams to name a couple) and I think Jason Kreis, their coach, deserves this success.
It was also good to see LA Galaxy under the management of Bruce Arena come back from several years of gloom. Both Landon Donovan and David Beckham did not play to their usual standards, but their presence on the final was very positive. They represent the future of MLS -- promising American talent and proven world class international stars. Give us more of both and the league will do well.
The big winners were not even on the field -- they were the Seattle fans who not only have pushed MLS to new heights during the regular season, but made the MLS Cup final a rousing attendance success while adding much atmosphere to the game. Seattle soccer fans were the true champions of the 2009 MLS season.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
RW Moment: ACORN
Doesn't matter what or how... ACORN did it!
This was a right winger moment.
This was a right winger moment.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Wrong results for Fox
Fox conducted a poll about Obama's bow (really?!) to see if Americans felt it was appropriate. Well, Americans pretty much told Fox to go fuck itself:
The numbers: Appropriate 67%, Never appropriate 26%. Even a majority of Republican respondents were okay with the bow, by a 53%-40% margin.
Civil Right and Republicans
This is a new one on me. Virginia Foxx, a Republican Congresswoman, claimed on the House floor that Republicans passed Civil Rights bills, without much help from Democrats. She didn't appear to be joking, although I wouldn't rule out that she's part of the Yes Man group.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Deja vu, also?
After drawing some parallels between George W. Bush in 1998-1999, and Sarah Palin now, Jay Newton-Small makes the following observation:
But what Bush had that Palin lacks right now is Karl Rove. And I don't know if Palin's noticed but Rove seems to be warming up to the former vice presidential nominee – going so far as to flatter her new book. Palin in 2012, compassionate conservatism part deux?I firmly believe that in the current political climate, and with the built-in conservative echo chamber infrastructure, under the right guidance, Palin could be the Republican nominee in 2012. And after the nomination? Well... just look back at 2000 -- anything is possible.
Monday, November 16, 2009
An American president in China
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Shrinking the American Constitution
Right wingers now hate the American judicial system and don't think it works. If they have it their way, the American Constitution will be down to one amendment: the second one.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Deported!
Via Steve Bennen:
The Onion reflects on the big media story of the day: "Acting on anonymous tips from within the Hispanic-American community, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials on Wednesday deported Luis Miguel Salvador Aguila Dominguez, who has been living illegally in the United States under the name Lou Dobbs for 48 years."haha funny stuff.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Lying sacks of shit
That's Fox News, of course
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Sean Hannity Uses Glenn Beck's Protest Footage | ||||
| ||||
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Delay tactics
When it comes to public policy, can conservatives do anything other than to delay the inevitable? Health care reform, climate change, same-sex marriages, stem-cell research... they all will come to pass, there is no way around it.
Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare, Civil Rights... all things conservatives bitterly opposed, all things that the American people will never give up because they like them all.
I suppose their tactics serve a purpose: it forces more debate and prevents rash implementations of new ideas, but can these people come up with anything, other than slogans, that the American people will actually ever embrace?
Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare, Civil Rights... all things conservatives bitterly opposed, all things that the American people will never give up because they like them all.
I suppose their tactics serve a purpose: it forces more debate and prevents rash implementations of new ideas, but can these people come up with anything, other than slogans, that the American people will actually ever embrace?
Monday, November 09, 2009
Give me more good government
E.J. Dionne Jr. takes on the anti-government crowd:
Here's a story you may have missed because it flies in the face of the dreary conventional wisdom: When advocates of public programs take on the right-wing anti-government crowd directly, the government-haters lose.
This is what happened in two statewide referendums last week that got buried under all of the attention paid to the governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey. In Maine, voters rejected a tax-limitation measure by a walloping 60 percent to 40 percent. In Washington state, a similar measure went down, 57 percent to 43 percent...
But will President Obama and his party take the lesson and go on offense against the simple-minded anti-government screeds now getting so much play?
I have always though that Democrats should make a stronger pitch for good government, rather than join the Republicans in criticizing Washington.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
God hates health care reform... maybe
Reaching out to the big weapon:
I can see their logic -- the force responsible for all the diseases probably isn't sympathetic to better health care. After all, this is the guy that once flooded just about every man, woman, child, and animals on the planet.Once again Religious Right leaders are linking up with Lou Engle and The Call for prayer and fasting, this time in an effort to stop healthcare reform.
Tony Perkins, Mat Staver and others are scheduled to participate in another Engle-led prayer vigil/conference call tonight seeking God's intervention in order to stop this "unreighteous legislation"
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Compromise: the American way
This comment by Tamarat pretty much reflects my views on the health care reform bill:
When I was under 20, I thought any compromise was evil and immoral. I grew up. Now, even though I'm a strong supporter of a single payer system, I will be happy to get a bill with a foot-in-the-door public option.Let's take a bite of this stinking apple. We can always take another bite later.
And even though I've been pro-choice for most of my life (from before abortions were legal -- since age 12 when my mother explained why abortions should be legal), I'll live with this horrible anti-abortion amendment. My reaction to it was: next step -- a campaign to raise money so that low income women have access to whatever reproductive health services they need (in addition to beefing up security for women's clinics and pushing for enforcement of all protections of these clinics).
Friday, November 06, 2009
Jim Crow laws
If state referendums were the only way to undo Jim Crow laws, I wonder how many states would still have those laws in the books.
Bucks Beckham
Remember all the hoopla back in 2007 about Beckham coming to America and making $50 million a year? Well, anyone with any sense knew that was hyperbole, but the reality still has the sweet sound of many millions:
LONDON (AP)—David Beckham earned nearly $16.5 million from personal sponsorship deals during his first full season with the Los Angeles Galaxy... A separate company, Brand Beckham, receives his $5.5 million basic salary from the Galaxy, the share of the merchandising he generates for the MLS team and joint endorsements with his wife, Victoria, including their range of fragrances.Don't start any collections for the Beckhams just yet.
I'm watiing...
for the apology to Limbaugh (emphasis mine):
At yesterday's tea party rally on Capitol Hill, at least one protester brandished a large graphic photograph of the victims of the Dachau Nazi concentration camp, comparing health care reform to Nazi policies. Today, Rep. Eric Cantor's (R-VA) spokesman called the photograph "inappropriate."10... 9... 8...Cantor, in an interview today with Bloomberg, also offered some criticism of radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh's comparison of President Obama to Adolf Hitler.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Capitalism and teen sex
Left to its devices, capitalism is like 2 teenagers having unprotected sex -- it's a lot of fun but you know it's not going to end well; we the people (government) always have to step in and save the day. Regulation, oversight, progressive taxes, social safety nets, and sensible fiscal policy are but a few of the tools government needs in place to prevent financial disasters.
Shame on governments for being asleep at the wheel this last time around and letting us get fucked without protection, but at least, it is clear to see by the chart below (posted by Paul Krugman) comparing the great depression (WORLD29) with the great recession (WORLD08) that it was governments around the world that prevented, so far, a repeat of the great depression (and let's not forget that it was government that pulled us out of that one too).
Shame on governments for being asleep at the wheel this last time around and letting us get fucked without protection, but at least, it is clear to see by the chart below (posted by Paul Krugman) comparing the great depression (WORLD29) with the great recession (WORLD08) that it was governments around the world that prevented, so far, a repeat of the great depression (and let's not forget that it was government that pulled us out of that one too).
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
LBJ
I have been away for a few days, in part visiting the LBJ ranch, the real Texas White House, and Johnson City.
Cast aside Vietnam, LBJ's accomplishments were indeed remarkable. True, he benefited from large majorities in the House and the Senate (during his administration, Democrats never held less than 64 seats in the Senate), but still, the amount of legislation that was passed to move our country in a better direction is staggering.
Cast aside Vietnam, LBJ's accomplishments were indeed remarkable. True, he benefited from large majorities in the House and the Senate (during his administration, Democrats never held less than 64 seats in the Senate), but still, the amount of legislation that was passed to move our country in a better direction is staggering.
