"Who Do You Trust?"

Dithering Over Catching Bin Ladin

I can't wait to hear Dick Cheney come out and condemn the hell out of himself and the Bush administration for dithering over catching Bin Ladin when we had the chance.

Here is Spencer Ackerman yearning to read former Bushie Sec Def Don Rumsfield's memoir just to see how he tries to explain this away.

Because this is from page eight of the new Senate Foreign Relations Committee investigation into how bin Laden and al-Qaeda escaped from the U.S. and Afghan militia assault on Tora Bora in December 2001:

The decision not to deploy American forces to go after bin Laden or block his escape was made by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his top commander, Gen. Tommy Franks, the architects of the unconventional Afghan battle plan known as Operation Enduring Freedom. Rumsfeld said at the time that he was concerned that too many U.S. troops in Afghanistan would create an anti-American backlash and fuel a widespread insurgency. Reversing the recent American military orthodoxy known as the Powell doctrine, the Afghan model emphasized minimizing the U.S. presence by relying on small, highly mobile teams of special operations troops and CIA paramilitary operatives working with the Afghan opposition. Even when his own commanders and senior intelligence officials in Afghanistan and Washington argued for dispatching more U.S. troops, Franks refused to deviate from the plan.

Why The Anthrax Attacks Mattered

Glenzilla points out the role that the anthrax attacks had in helping to push us to war with Iraq even though Saddam Hussein had no role in them. As is usually the case there is simply too much there to excerpt but I will just hit you with the last paragraph which sums up why we shouldn't allow the right wingers to keep claiming that Bush and Cheney kept us safe after 9/11 and why we should all still be pushing for a full investigation into those anthrax attacks.

Here we have one of the most consequential political events of the last decade at least -- a lethal biological terrorist attack aimed at key U.S. Senators and media figures, which even the FBI claims originated from a U.S. military lab. The then-British Ambassador to the U.S. is now testifying what has long been clear: that this episode played a huge role in enabling the attack on Iraq. Even our leading mainstream, establishment-serving media outlets -- and countless bio-weapons experts -- believe that we do not have real answers about who perpetrated this attack and how. And there is little apparent interest in investigating in order to find out. Evidently, this is just another one of those things that we'll relegate to "the irrelevant past," and therefore deem it unworthy of attention from our future-gazing, always-distracted minds.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

The Case For The War Tax

Spencer Ackerman does the honors.

Here is the thing, its going to be awfully hard for President Obama and the Democrats to push an escalation in Afghanistan without a way to pay for it after they railed for years and years about President Bush and the Republicans doing the exact same thing in Iraq. If we can't pay for the escalation then, well, maybe we shouldn't be friggin doing it.

Something for folks to think about, especially those who CLAIM to give a shit about our deficit.

Just Stay The Hell Out Of The Way

By now hopefully most of you have heard that some members of the RNC and the Republican wingnut base want to conduct purity tests on candidates and current members of Congress so they can decide to deny funding to the campaigns of Republicans who do not pass said test. I think this is the greatest idea since sliced bread honestly and just about the only thing that will make this backfire on to Democrats is if we get in the way of what is sure to be a cannibalistic blood bath in the Republican Party next year.

What we need to do right now while they are having intraparty fights is concentrate on getting legislation passed. Oh sure we can do like we did back in grade school and when one GOP candidate challenge's another's conservative cred we can pump it up and make a big deal out of it in an effort to get the other guy to escalate the beef even further. But to me that should be the extent of it. These imbeciles are going to kill their electoral chances all on their own, they don't need any help at all.

Don't worry about generic ballots and polls right now, the mid term elections are still a year away. What Democratic strategists should be doing is tracking just how many contradictions all of the Republicans and I mean ALL of the Republicans are making in order to move to the right and win their primaries. As I said before the wingnut base doesn't give a shit about consistency. All they care about is conformity. So calling out their contradictions now don't really harm them at all, and it allows them to kind of catch themselves and not make too big a fool of themselves. Hell you already see Crist starting to flip flop BACK to his original position of supporting the stimulus. Thats not really what we want to have happen. We want him to stay on the wrong side of history and then bust his ass when the general comes around.

If we just keep documenting all the flip flopping it is going to be startling to general election voters in the middle how many hoops Republican candidates are willing to jump through in order to appease their base. Especially on issues having to do with global warming, something most people who aren't Republicans accept as reality. We want whomever to come out alive from a Republican primary to look like a wingnut right wing boogey man to the average person. And I can promise you that if we just stay out of the way and let them have at it, thats exactly what will happen.

Not only does this mean we won't lose as many seats as folks think we will right now, it also means we will pick up some seats that people aren't counting on. Arlen Specter had it right earlier this year when he switched parties (although I know a lot of people still aren't happy about that). He said that these wingnut groups putting wingnut candidates up to challenge Republicans who are already pretty far to the right by most folks standards don't really give a shit about winning and losing elections. For them its about taking the Republican Party as far to the right as they can go even if that means nobody trusts them to ever run the country.

So please folks, for the love of all that is good and cuddly, lets just sit on the sidelines for most of these fights. A little goading is ok once in awhile but lets not make ourselves a target that they can end up unifying behind. And lets not do such a great job of pointing out their hypocrisy NOW that they end up changing course and pulling back from the cliff.

Hell if they wanna jump, lets let em jump!

Do Mainstream Media Journalists Know The Meaning Of The Word Hypocrite?

Witness this post on the Virginia politics blog at the Washington Post.

For months, Democrats have dubbed U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia a hypocrite for strongly opposing the federal stimulus package only to promote aspects of it later.
Here's the latest example:

Nearly half of the 30 organizations participating in a job fair Cantor is holding Monday in Culpeper were recipients of the stimulus.

The list includes a slew of government agencies and schools that have directly benefited from the package and may be using stimulus money to hire people (as the money was originally designed to do), including the Orange County public schools, the Transportation Security Administration and Virginia Department of Labor, and some companies that may have indirectly benefited such as Comcast and Terremark.

Cantor, a Richmond area congressman and the No. 2 Republican in the House, was one of the most vocal critics of the $787 billion economic stimulus bill that Congress passed in February. He has since said the package was a failure.

Now its all fine and good that this blog published what the Democrats "said" about Cantor, but how much damn evidence does the writer need in order to confirm or deny that Cantor is being a hypocrite over the stimulus? Its pretty fucking obvious to most folks that this isn't a matter of opposing opinions. You can't call something a failure then show up at a damn jobs fair skinning and grinning when half the folks there wouldn't be able to participate if not for the stimulus.

Its the same thing with the word liar. I wonder if for just one week American journalists used the words hypocrite and liar when talking about politicians who on a factual basis were hypocrites and liars. Maybe, just maybe they would knock that bullshit off.

Unfortunately nobody in the mainstream media has the balls to do that, so I guess we will never know.

But Today I Am Still Just A Bill...

Funny but you won't hear the word filibuster anywhere in this clip...

Listen To Your Constituent Blanche Lincoln

I hope Blanche Lincoln has a second career lined up because if the public option doesn't make it in the final health care reform bill, her ass is TOAST!

Saint Ronny Fails GOP Purity Test

I had to chuckle a bit off of this one.

The Very Definition of "Real Talk"

Matt Taibbi takes out a hatchet and absolutely annihilates the political press in this country. I can't exerpt this, you gotta read the whole damn thing

What Can Health Care Reform Do For You?

Secretary Sebelius releases a state by state breakdown of how health care reform will effect all of us. Definitely worth checking out!


(via TPM)

OF COURSE He Didn't Read The Bill!

Maybe its just me but I don't think anybody should be surprised that Dick Armey didn't read the stimulus bill. To revise a Chris Rock riff, these days Republicans "love to not know shit". If anything I am mildly surprised that he admitted it. But then again being against reading probably ups his cred with the wingnuts.

A Lesson Not Learned

There was a remarkable political lesson last year that wasn't really learned because of subsequent events. However someone should point this lesson out to Harry Reid as we head into a cloture vote tonight just to start debate on health care reform, and then head into a final cloture vote later.

Last year with the financial markets on the edge of collapse the House held a vote for TARP. At the time the people of this country were made aware of how dire of a circumstance we were in and how easily we could have slipped into a depression. A couple of big name financial firms had already essential been vaporized and more were right over the horizon.

In the midst of this some of the Republicans in the House decided to vote against TARP. At the time I don't know if their leadership had miscounted or were stabbed in the back by some of their caucus but the result was the bill came up short of the votes needed to pass and chaos on the floor of the House ensued. What happened next was utterly predictable.

The markets fell sharply and GOP members of the House were raked over the coals for being insufficiently serious about the problem our nation was facing. In the end this episode probably as much as anything else helped to sweep Democrats into both halls of Congress in major majorities last year. When push came to shove it appeared to most anyone that these Republicans were more interested in playing politics than fixing a problem, and they paid for it.

Now the problem of course is that TARP has been such a PR disaster on a lot of fronts and Democrats have been so fucking inept at defending it even at all that nobody really wants to look back at the days that led up to its actual passage. If they did then they would remember that Republicans were so surprised but the country's reaction to their fuckery on the first vote that they panicked. All of a sudden McCain was suspending his campaign and on the second vote some off those Republicans who just couldn't find their way to voting for it the first time got on board to take the heat off. What that means is that when there is a crisis in this country and people play games like not voting to at least attempt to fix the problem, the American people are not going to be happy. The important thing is that in the end the fix actualy works and can be sold on an ongoing basis.

Which brings us to health care reform and a few corporatist Democratic Senators who are holding out for sweeteners.

Here is what Harry Reid should say to each and every one of them: "Fuck you, pay me!"

What I mean is he should literally tell them to step the fuck off and bring the bill up for a cloture vote tonight and dare them to vote against cloture. Dare them to put their careers in the Senate on the line by refusing to even allow the Senate to debate health care reform, a reform that an overwhelming majority of Americans agree we need even if they don't agree what it should entail. Dare the sorry muthafuckas to totally abandon the base of their party and join with the Republicans.

Matter of fact, double dare them.

See the thing of it is, this can be what they like to call these days a "teachable moment". There is no rule that says Harry Reid can't bring the bill back again in the next few days and put it up for debate again. Basically the bill has to truly be defeated for that to happen and he still has to the power to keep bringing it back. But what some of these assholes need to see is what will happen to their poll numbers if they should happen to vote against cloture.

I am thinking specifically of Blanche Lincoln who is fighting to get reelected next year, but her poll numbers would also be an example to her corporatist bretheren like Mary Landrieu and Ben Nelson. Its about time we stopped caving these assholes and instead putting their ass on the spot and making THEM cave. Fuck it, if they have the balls to say no when the bill is up for cloture then so be it, let them live with the consequences for a few days.

But my money is on them folding like a bad hand and from that point on they will be dealing fom a point of weakness.

If Harry Reid never stands up to them you can expect that every single item on the Democratic agenda will go through the same bunch of bullshit. And we already have seen what the result is when that happens, just take a look at the stimulus bill. Had we punched their asses in the throat earlier this year and rammed through a better bill then its highly likely that all the economic numbers, including unemployment, would look substantially better. Instead we gave them practically everything they wanted, fucked up the bill, and now the Democratic brand is damaged because of it.

So Harry Reid just go back and google the headlines after that House vote last year. The get on the floor tonight with confidence and put the bright lights on the ConservaDems and make them follow through on their hollow threats while the world is watching.

Trust me on this, they wont be able to take the heat.

Florida Senatorial Candidate Kendrick Meek Will Be On ESPN Today

From the press release:

Saturday, November 20, 2009

Today, the Florida Classic football game between the Florida A&M Rattlers and Bethune-Cookman Wildcats is being televised on ESPN and Kendrick Meek, who was a linebacker for the Rattlers and played in the Classic as a student athlete, will be interviewed from the sidelines by game announcers Charlie Neal and Ed Robinson, Jr. at the beginning of the second quarter. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m. and the interview should roughly begin at 3 p.m. We hope you can tune in and watch Kendrick on ESPN today.

Everybody tune and and support Congressman and soon to be Senator Meek!

Attention All Liberals And Progressives: Listen To Karen Tumulty!!!

I said from the beginning that the opt out provision for the public option was a policy and political winner. Now at least one major mainstream media journalist whom herself had big time reservations about whether we would even have a public option in the final bill, has noticed what having the provision in the Senate bill actually means.

Check out Karen Tumulty of Time's post from yesterday

I've always had trouble understanding the opt-out version of the public option. Or more specifically, I've had trouble understanding why any state would actually opt out of something that some might find ideologically objectionable, but that doesn't actually cost them anything, gives their citizens a choice, and might actually bring in some government money down the line.

In that sense, the opt-out reminds me of all those Governors who made a lot of noise about rejecting the stimulus money, but then took it. As Doug Holtz-Eakin, a Republican and a former director of the Congressional Budget Office who is now a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, puts it: "If the default is, you're in, the legislative momentum has to be found to get you out. ... You have to make the case that eliminating a choice is a good thing."

That's why I'm a little puzzled at this passage in CBO's preliminary analysis of the health bill that will go to the Senate floor in the next few days:

CBO's analysis took into account the probability that some states would opt not to allow the public plan to be offered to their residents. Rather than trying to judge which states might opt out, CBO applied a probability recognizing that public opinion is divided regarding the desirability of a public plan and that some states might have difficulty enacting legislation to opt out. Overall, CBO's assessment was that about two-thirds of the population would be expected to have a public plan available in their state.

Translation (I think): We're plugging in a random number here, but we have no clue why anyone would opt out either.

KT's analogy is the same one I made the day the idea was floated. Seriously folks how about taking yes for an answer for once. The truth is this version of the public option doesn't cover as many people as any of us would like and the premiums would be higher than desired, but you can say the same for the supposedly more robust House version. This is a way to get the bill passed and get at least the foundation for a really effective public option in the future.

Its time to get behind this move and move on to fighting other battles like the one over the Stupak amendment. Seriously.

Dangerous Laughing Stocks

Here is the central problem of our politics today. You have the Democrats led by President Obama who have an agenda they are trying to implement to get our country back on track. Not everything they are doing however is in the best interests of average Americans and or isn't consistent with our Constitution. That's not just my opinion, that's a fact.

But the other major political party has essential decided to eschew any semblence of real and rational arguments against what the Democrats and President Obama are doing, instead choosing to drink from the well of asshatery. Right now there is truly nothing they won't say or do to try to fearmonger against Democrats on any given subject and if that means trying to smear them or trying to smear a group of people in this country and trying to inspire reprisals, hey they are all for it.

Dahlia Lithwick has an excellent piece in Slate about the many legitimate ways the Republican Senators could have criticized Attorney General Holder's reasoning for putting Khalid Sheik Muhammed on trial in federal court in New York. But instead many Senators of the GOP persuasion decided to hold some kind of inquisition about all those "leftist lawyers" now populating the Justice Department who might be terrorist sympathizers.

Seriously.

And the last graf of her piece really puts this all in perspective.

Reasonable people can differ on whether the acts of Sept 11, 2001, were crimes to be handled in court or acts of war to be tried by military tribunals. Experts will never agree on whether criminal trials make us safer or less safe. The 9/11 families also remain split on whether trials or commissions are appropriate. But when you continue to hear that anyone who objects to Bush's detainee policies is unworthy to serve in government, or is part of some elaborate conspiracy to free terrorists, there is truly nothing left to do but laugh.

And yeah she has a point about laughing at them, until you realize that there are people in this country who don't know any better. People will hear Senator Jon Kyl intimate that Attorney General Eric Holder is a terrorist sympathizer and buy it hook line and sinker. People who, still on edge after 9-11, will decide that they HAVE to do something to protect themselves, their family, their friends. People who eventually will attempt to take the law into their own hands because they are being brainwashed into believing that their own government is conspiring against them.

And last night Rachel Maddow took this a step further also focusing on the many Republicans who now think its fine to demean a religion, and to call for the profiling of those who practice Islam.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Journalists, politicians and regular folks can continue to try to make it seem as if this is just politics as usual but its not. What is happening here is one political party is building up a tension inside this country. A tension that is a lot stronger than disagreements over the free market or tax cuts. A tension that is and has been radicalizing a percentage of our citizenry who increasingly see in the Republican party an almost tacit approval a a violent anti government backlash.

Its time for people to stop holding back on this kind of bullshit and sounding the alarm. What I don't want anybody to say if one or some of these crazy bastards go out and try to target liberals or elected Democratic officials is, "Nobody could have forseen..." The writing is right there on the wall for all to see. And if we don't get these assholes to back off the ending will be predictable. At some point people are going to have to decide if that is acceptable to them, and if not they are going to have to say something.

It is what it is.

Joe Lieberman Is A Lying Sack Of Shit

I know I am not breaking any news here with the headline. But Ezra Klein fisks his latest wankery, the claim that President Obama never talked about a public option in health care before the election.

In the immortal words of Dana Milbank, "What a Dick"

At The End Of An Otherwise Dissapointing Interview Of Lou Dobbs, Jon Stewart Brings The Awesome

Jon Stewart wasted more than 20 minutes of an interview with Lou Dobbs, taking almost every one of his answers at face value and never challenging him on the bullshit he is most known for like his advocation for the birthers and his extremely prejudiced and racist past statements about hispanics, before he finally brought it home explaining what America is really about no matter what people like Dobbs or Hannity or any other right wing asshat has to say.

You can forward to 2:44 if you want to avoid Dobbs' bullshit.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Exclusive - Lou Dobbs Extended Interview Pt. 3
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Now I understand that Stewart is a comedian and his show isn't so called "real" news, but if he is going to take up the mantle of challenging people who come on his show, ala Jim Cramer, then he should expect for people to hold him to a high standard when he gets a shot at someone like Lou Dobbs. You won't see Dobbs going on Rachel Maddow's show or even sitting down with Chris Matthews, so this was the one chance to put his ass on the spot to make him answer for the shit he has said. The idea that Stewart allowed him to assert over and over again that his an independent or in the middle when he is as right wing as they come was pretty fucking nauseating. And understand this, there were over 16 minutes of video aside from this clip of the interview and I didn't think any of the rest of it was even worth posting.

But at least he did confront Dobbs on the fact that our country is not fragile and the things that are being done right now do not consitute some kind of sea change in our history. I guess that's worth.....something.

Do We Even Have 40 K Troops For Afghanistan???

Rachel Maddow hosts Spencer Ackerman to talk about how severely a troop increase will strain our troops worldwide.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Andy McCarthy Should Be Tasting Adam Sewer's Shoe Leather Right About Now

Adam Sewer put his foot so far up Andy McCarthy's ass over his ridiculous post on Eric Holder's appearance yesterday at the Senate hearings over trying KSM that if he tried to talk right now he couln't because he would have Adam's foot in his mouth. This dude is a clown and there is no reason for any rational person to take him seriously anyway but just in case Sewer's PWNAGE crushed him.

(h/t Ackerman)

SCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOREEEEEEE

The Senate health care reform bill now has a CBO score.

"Sheiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit"

Major props to TNC for posting this...

Where Is Your Outrage

I understand as a Christian that not all of us believe the same things and we definitely don't all practice the same politics. But at our core there should still be some things that bind us together. How the Religious Right can now turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to all of the exhortations of violence against President Obama through the use of a perversion of the Bible is beyond me. I had many many problems with George W. Bush. I wanted and still want him to be investigated and thrown in jail.



I have never and would never say anything that could be construed as advocating violence against him and I wouldn't sit by silently while someone around me did. I can only pray that none of the nutcases out there actually act on these dogwhistles, but if they do make any attempts whether successful or not, those Religious Righters are gonna have to look long and hard in the mirror.



I have a feeling that they won't like what they see...

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Attorney General Holder's Use Of The Word "Scared"

Here is a part of Attorney General Eric Holder's opening statement today in hearings to discuss putting Khalid Sheik Muhammed and other terrorists on trial in federal court.

Third, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will have no more of a platform to spew his hateful ideology in federal court than he would have in military commissions. Before the commissions last year, he declared the proceedings an "inquisition," condemned his own attorneys and our Constitution, and professed his desire to become a martyr. Those proceedings were heavily covered in the media, yet few complained at the time that his rants threatened the fabric of our democracy.

Judges in federal court have firm control over the conduct of defendants and other participants in their courtrooms, and when the 9/11 conspirators are brought to trial, I have every confidence that the presiding judge will ensure appropriate decorum. And if KSM makes the same statements he made in his military commission proceedings, I have every confidence the nation and the world will see him for the coward he is. I'm not scared of what KSM will have to say at trial - and no one else needs to be either.

Fourth, there is nothing common about the treatment the alleged 9/11 conspirators will receive. In fact, I expect to direct prosecutors to seek the ultimate and most uncommon penalty for these heinous crimes. And I expect that they will be held in custody under Special Administrative Measures reserved for the most dangerous criminals.

Finally, there are some who have said this decision means that we have reverted to a pre-9/11 mentality, or that we don't realize this nation is at war. Three weeks ago, I had the honor of joining the President at Dover Air Force Base for the dignified transfer of the remains of eighteen Americans, including three DEA agents, who lost their lives to the war in Afghanistan. The brave soldiers and agents carried home on that plane gave their lives to defend this country and its values, and we owe it to them to do everything we can to carry on the work for which they sacrificed.

I know that we are at war.

I know that we are at war with a vicious enemy who targets our soldiers on the battlefield in Afghanistan and our civilians on the streets here at home. I have personally witnessed that somber fact in the faces of the families who have lost loved ones abroad, and I have seen it in the daily intelligence stream I review each day. Those who suggest otherwise are simply wrong.

Prosecuting the 9/11 defendants in federal court does not represent some larger judgment about whether or not we are at war. We are at war, and we will use every instrument of national power - civilian, military, law enforcement, intelligence, diplomatic, and others - to win. We need not cower in the face of this enemy. Our institutions are strong, our infrastructure is sturdy, our resolve is firm, and our people are ready.

We will also use every instrument of our national power to bring to justice those responsible for terrorist attacks against our people. For eight years, justice has been delayed for the victims of the 9/11 attacks. It has been delayed even further for the victims of the attack on the USS Cole. No longer. No more delays. It is time, it is past time, to act. By bringing prosecutions in both our courts and military commissions, by seeking the death penalty, by holding these terrorists responsible for their actions, we are finally taking ultimate steps toward justice. That is why I made this decision.

I thought his opening statement was excellent and really framed the issue from a position of strength. When he said:

I'm not scared of what KSM will have to say at trial - and no one else needs to be either.

I found that to be very powerful in political terms. On the one hand it puts anyone who opposes this move on the defensive. If he is advocating and implementing a plan to bring KSM to justice in a federal court and he is not scared, what does that make anyone who opposes such a move? And make no mistake about it, even though Republicans are fearmongering hard against it, the truth is none of them want to be labeled as scared. They might say the "fear" something will happen or they are "concerned" but you will never hear them admit they are "scared".

The American people don't like scaredy cats leading them. They want strong leaders who take information into account, but they abhor a coward.

On the other hand when Holder says no one else should be either, he is playing the role of comforter for the nations bedwetters and worry worts. If he isn't afraid then why should any of the rest of us be? And of course no regular person wants to feel like they are acting like a scaredy cat too.

If Democrats were smart they would continue to use the term "scared" in every debate about this issue. Not afraid, not concerned, not fearful, but SCARED.

See how many Republicans run away from that term as soon as it gets thrown around.

Remember When Charlie Crist And The Republican Legislature Regected Stimulus Funds For Unemployment?

From TBO

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Unemployment compensation taxes paid by Florida businesses will skyrocket next year due to the state's high jobless rate - 11 percent in September.

snip

The increases are needed to replenish the state's Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund. It dropped from more than $1.3 billion last year to zero in August. Florida then began borrowing $300 million a month from the federal government to pay benefits.

That's your Republican economic philosophy in action. I wonder if they will try to paint THAT as a tax cut....

Biden On The Daily Show

I thought VP Joe Biden did a really good job on the Daily Show. Especially on explaining this tempest in a teapot story about the recovery.gov website. Hopefully people understand that this is much ado about nothing now.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Joe Biden Pt. 1
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Joe Biden Pt. 2
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

From The Mouth Of A Rational Republican

I guess at least one Republican in the country is tired of the fearmongering from his party over GITMO.

The prospect of transferring detainees from Guantanamo Bay to a maximum-security prison in Thomson, Illinois, generated an interesting response from a Republican state lawmaker who represents a neighboring area.

Representative Jim Sacia of the state's 89th District accused Republicans in Washington -- including Senate candidate, Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill) -- of risking thousands of local jobs in their demagoguery of the detainee issue.

"My thinking on this is extremely positive," Sacia told the Huffington Post. "If we lose this opportunity. All I can think of is we literally are idiots. I mean that sincerely."

"I understand I'm on different pages of music with others in my party. First of all this should not be a partisan issue in anyway. If President Obama brings the detainees on U.S. soil and we sit here with a brand new state-of-the-art, max security prison, sitting vacant for the last eight years, and pass on an opportunity to sell it to the federal government, which we would fill it with 1,500 regular prisoners and 800 detainees, what is the problem? The building was designed to do that.

"The only reason we have rhetoric now is because of the closing of Gitmo," Sacia concluded. "It makes no sense at all. This is a tremendous opportunity and we would be idiots to waste it."

I can't wait to see what kind of backlash Sacia faces from saying just about the most sensible thing I have heard from a Republican all year.

Im sure Boss Limbaugh will have something to say.

FL Senatorial Candidate Kendrick Meek Speaks On Excessive Overdraft Fees

On The New "Pre 9-11 Mindset" Talking Point

There is a really simple pushback to the new Liz Cheney et al talking point that putting Khalid Sheik Muhammed on trial shows a "pre 9-11 mindset". Just point to the several terrorist plots broken up recently by our national security apparatus.

Oh and for shits and giggles you can even point out that they were thwarted without the use of torture.

Its really not that hard Democratic strategists. Seriously.

P.S. If you wanna make them walk off the set in a huff then you can also point out who was in office in the months prior to 9-11. One thing is for sure, nobody can say that President Clinton wasn't paying attention to terrorism. Remember HE was the one who actually tried to kill Osama Bin Ladin before he left office.

"I Don't Care About The Constitution"

Bill O'Reilly finally says what and other right wingers really think about our Constitution.



The more these dumbasses rail against putting KSM and other terrorists on trial here in federal court, the more they are going to reveal the venal cowards that they really are. It will be interesting to see if Bill O'Reilly tries to walk back his denouncement of the document that he and his cohorts claim to be upholding the values of night after night.

A Mountain Of Evidence

I am not sure there is anyone on the planet that is still not convinced that Charlie Crist isn't lying through his teeth about his earlier support for the stimulus bill but just in case check out this exchange from the Rolling Stone.

But when I interviewed Crist this spring for my piece The GOP Jihad, here’s what he told me he’d have done had he had a darn vote:

Rolling Stone: Just a final question: Had you been in the Senate, would you have voted with the other Republicans for the stimulus package?

Crist: Absolutely.

Like I said before, this isn't likely to affect Republican voters in his primary against Rubio because for them his conformity is a good thing regardless of the hypocrisy it shows. But should he make it out of that primary this will definitely doom his electoral prospects.

Voters kind of expect politicians to lie. What they don't expect is for that politician to try to play them for fools.

Full Flopping For The Base

I really wonder just how much Tim Pawlenty hates himself every night when he looks in the mirror and realizes how stupid he has to make himself look just to try to appease the Republican base. Here is a guy who just a few years ago was working to solve climate change who is now trying to push the idea that it either doesn't exist or isn't man made.

This isn't a true beliving dumbass like James Inhofe, Pawelenty actually KNOWS better. But if he wants to have any chance at a national political career in his own party then he has to reject his own knowledge. Man that has got to eat his ass up at night. He can't be happy about it, that's for sure.

And the worst thing about it is that the wingnut base doesn't even care if he flip flops just to appease them. As long as he denies climate change they won't give a damn if he used to work as Al Gore's publicist. They don't want integrity, instead they demand conformity and many instances will even reward it no matter what a politicians prior record is.

What has to scare any elected Republican with half a brain is that its actually getting worse. Even John McCain who trashed bills that he himself sponsored, didn't have to go around denying science just to get the nomination. I have a feeling that by the time 2012 rolls around Republican primary candidates will have to have Rush Limbaugh writing their speeches just to have a shot at winning. It will be interesting to see just how low someone like Pawlenty is really willing to go to try to be the wingnut champion.

Interesting, and sad....

38 Hot

I can't really bring myself to blog today after reading this. I keep trying to calm down but it really isn't working.

RIP Shaniya Davis.


I pray for comfort for her dad and the rest of her surviving family and friends.

I also say it couldn't have been me or there would have been at least one more body.

Real talk.

On Fearing KSM's Propaganda...

Spencer Ackerman has an excellent take down for all these wingnut asshats running around with their hair on fire because they contend that putting Khalid Sheik Muhammed on trial will give him an opportunity to rail against America and spew propaganda to his fellow extremists.

What’s an actual insult to the victims of 9/11 is the idea that America is not strong enough to withstand the blatherings of a mass murderer. For me, the prospect of KSM grandstanding at his trial falls into I-wish-a-motherfucker-would territory. I want to hear how KSM builds a case against America, because everyone will hear how laughably conspiratorial and clownish it is. Think of what a cathartic moment it will be when America sees the face of the man considered to be UBL’s most efficient henchman and he delivers a pitiful harangue to a bank of cameras. No one will be emboldened to do anything but laugh. The only downside will be his inevitable discussion of how CIA operatives tortured him.

My hope for the KSM trial is that it does more than all this. It should forever shatter the pernicious myth that al-Qaeda is composed of supermen — supermen against whom America has no choice but to alter its character and most precious laws in order to confront. I suspect we’ll have an Eichmann-in-Jerusalem moment — and sorry for the unfortunate Nazi/al-Qaeda analogy; al-Qaeda are not the Nazis; but I couldn’t really think of any other parallel — except instead of the banality of evil, we’ll see the lunacy and vanity and self-absorption of it. That’s because al-Qaeda’s weltanshauung depends on a myth that holds America to be implacably determined to snuff out the glory of Islam. In reality, most Americans couldn’t give a fuck about Islam and only started to know the first thing about it because of 9/11. But that America — an America bearing no resemblance to the actual America — will be what KSM seeks to counter-indict. It’s farcical, and farcical in ways that can only benefit the real America.

You know I loved that I-wish-a-motherfucker-would line! LOL

I will make a distinction though and this comes from a comment I left on his blog.

You see (Republicans) aren't REALLY afraid of what KSM will say or do during the trial. What (they are) REALLY afraid is that a Democratic administration will do what a Republican administration didn’t. And that is show that our system of justice is stronger than any terrorist in some far off land living in a cage. And also that we will NOT show cowardice by bending to their will by not giving them a fair trial and thus becoming the caricature that they try to make out of our country. And finally that a Democratic administration will show more deference to our founding fathers than Bush or Cheney would have ever dreamed.

You see once KSM and his cohorts are dragged in front of a jury and are handed down the death penalty, then they lose the super villan with super powers status that Bush, Cheney and just about every Republican in Congress has given them for the last 8 years. And guess what, if there are no more boogey men then Republicans will have a hard time finding someone to fearmonger against when they are pimping their national security cred.

As with most things that have to do with Republican criticism of moves that the Obama administration makes, this has almost nothing to do with what they are actually saying and everything to do with what they see as their political futures. See also, health care, cap and trade, gay marriage…etc

I think its very important that we push back on silly Republican criticizms of the Obama administration. I think its equally important that we always point out that most of these criticisms are rooted in rank politics and not real ideology. Its one thing to be a hypocrite. Its another thing to be a hypocrite just for political gain and discounting how that hypocrisy could put the citizens in this country in harms way.

It is what it is...

Cenk Goes The Fuck Off On "Morning Joe"

I would add one more thing to this beautiful rant. President Obama announced at his last address to a joint session of Congress that he would get tort reform into the health care reform bill as a concession to Republicans and they STILL gave him their ass to kiss.

Rapid Response Teams

Organizing for America is organizing Rapid Response Teams of grassroots people to put pressure on our members of Congress to get health care reform completed before the end if this year. If you are interested just click here.

OOOOOOOOO This Is Gonna Get Good!

You want further proof that the Tea Baggers are gonna be the end of the GOP?

I was trolling memeorandum this morning having my cup of coffee when I came by this headline:

Dick Armey: Sarah Palin More 'Cheerleader' Than Captain...

Immediately I thought about how this could be the beginning of an all out, no holds barred, flame war between the Dick Armey astroturfed tea bagging crowd and the pro Sarah Palin, truth and knowledge don't matter, denizens. Alas when I clicked on the article Armey didn't really go after her like I thought he would although he did take some digs out of her for basically standing on the sidelines and also not doing the work necessary to become a viable candidate.

But then my dissappointment quickly evaporated as I remembered that wingnuts don't need any actual insults or slights to throw a hissy fit. So I go back over to memeorandum and sure enough there is a link to a post by "Conservatives 4 Palin".

Oh, its on BEYATCH! LOL

Armey really steps in it when he claims Governor Palin is just a "cheerleader". I don't know if he's being misogynistic or merely obtuse, but either way this is beneath the Dick Armey I thought I knew. I'd like to think he's simply having difficulty grasping the possibilities that technology allows in the hands of the right person. Governor Palin has always been a pioneer, both in spirit and in practice. This is who she is and how she has conducted her previous campaigns. She has never done things the conventional way. Perhaps Mr. Armey is unable to grasp the fact that yes, she can and is leading the modern conservative movement in a new and, perhaps, unconventional way. He is living in the past and needs to realize that there are new and better ways of doing things. As someone who has long supported Mr. Armey and his brand of libertarian conservatism for years, I hope this is the reason for his ill-conceived comments today.

snip

Today in a piece for Commentary Magazine, John Podhoretz writes that whatever Governor Palin's is doing to remain an influential player in American polictics is working just fine:

...Sarah Palin is dominating the news once again in advance of the release of her book. Which is to say, front-page stories, the lead stories on the morning shows, all using tiny tidbits of information about the book and a few clips from Monday’s Oprah. Whatever Sarah Palin is, she is also, as all this makes clear, a huge star. With the very prominent exception of Barack Obama, she’s the sensation in American politics this decade. And a person who can make news just by opening her mouth is a person to be reckoned with, a person who is not going away, a person who is going to play a role in American politics for a long time.

It is clear, to say the least, that Mr. Podhoretz has a much better grasp on Governor Palin's influence than Mr. Armey. Dick Armey can either get on board and help, or step aside.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

What makes this particular flame war perfect is that its between to people who are out of elected office and not likely to run again at least for the next 3 years or so. That means neither will have any motivation to hold back or apologize because there are no voters for them to cow tow to. This has all the earmarks of escalating, especially with Palin's history of not just letting things go. And it really doesn't matter who wins, as long as it keeps heating up because no matter what as long as it keeps going its gonna keep fracturing the GOP base.

Now all progressives and liberals, we need to for the most part just get the hell out of the way and let this happen. If we jump in and start antagonising for either side it may well backfire and derail this whole implosion by giving them a common target to unify against. Trust me on this one, they don't need any help at all to make this train wreck happen.

Instead I propose that we all hold back on criticizing Sarah Palin or at least criticizing her as much as we were. As everybody knows I have a moratorium on posting on any Sarah Palin stories (and technically I am still in compliance because this isn't about her per se, this is about the sychophants who follow her and the paid sychophants that follow Armey) and so far the world hasn't come to an end. At this point she has so destroyed her own credibility that you have the AP and even FoxNews jumping out to fact check her before some of our own blogs have a chance to do so.

So instead just sit back, grab some popcorn, and enjoy the fireworks that are sure to come!

Long Term Ramifications

Ezra Klein games out the long term implications of the Stupak amendment. Here's a hint, it ain't good!

Finally, Justice

Eight years later Khalid Sheik Muhammed and various other terrorist will now be brought to justice.

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, and four other men accused in the plot will be prosecuted in federal court in New York City, a federal law enforcement official said early on Friday.

But the administration will prosecute Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri -- the detainee accused of planning the 2000 bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen -- and several other detainees before a military commission, the official said.

The decisions to give civilian prosecutors detainees accused of the 2001 terrorist attacks and keep the case of the Cole attack within the military system are expected to be announced at the Department of Justice later on Friday by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.

We've been through all the arguments before, but I guarantee we're about to have the same tiresome debate all over again. We'll hear that a U.S. criminal court couldn't possibly be equipped to hear a case against a terrorist suspect -- except for all the U.S. criminal courts that have already proven that they're well equipped to hear cases against terrorist suspects. We'll hear that KSM, if convicted, will end up in an American supermax facility that's ill prepared to house terrorists -- except for all the terrorists that already safely locked away in American supermax facilities.

I've simply never understood the right's weak-kneed panic over the U.S. justice system.

Contra Steve Benen who I have a great amount of respect for, this all makes perfect sense to me. Right wingers only talk about the values this country was founded on in abstract terms but they don't really believe in them. They believe that THEY are the only arbiters of the right way to do things and how justice should be carried out in this country. Its why they try every way possible to undermine existing laws without going through the normal channels to change them. Its why they can promote stuff like torture just to make themselves feel tough. Its why they are so against any bill that ensures equal rights for everyone. For the right its all about their own ego and in this case because they are scared of their own shadow they think everyone else should be too.

And its really that simple. For them they don't care what the law says. Instead they would rather just lock these guys away and throw away the key without even so much as a hint of a trial. They don't trust their fellow citizens to be able to bring back a guilty verdict and therefore they don't think they should have to rely on them. Its really funny to watch them constantly invoke the founding fathers when it suits them when the truth is they either have no idea and or have no respect for what this country was really founded on.

It is what it is.

Update: Utterly predictable...

Can We Get Somebody To Call This Muthafuka Out?

Uhmmm when exactly are the Democrats planning on nailing the low hanging fruit that is Pete Hoekstra to teh damn wall? Between him and Tom Coburn Democrats should have had people wanting to storm the offices of the RNC by now. I mean seriously, what the fucking fuck?!

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Remember All Those People Who Said We Invaded Iraq Over Oil?

Meet Peter Galbraith.

Now obviously we didn't invade for a measley $100 mill but I have a feeling that this story is just the tip of the iceberg.

Stay tuned...

Very Moving

I won't hype this up, I just think you would do well to go check out this account of a chance meeting between President Obama and a journalist who happened to be visiting the graves of some fallen friends yesterday at Arlington cemetary.

More On Tom Coburn's Fuckery

Rachel Maddow hosted Congressman Joe Sestak, himself a veteran, to talk about the hypocritical asshole that is Tom Coburn. How do you even formulate an argument in your own mind to vote to fund wars putting our troops in harms way with out a way to pay for them and then turn around and put a hold on funding for those same troops' and their families' health care? What kind of self serving, egotistical, ungrateful asshole can pull that trick off and look themselves in the mirror everyday? This is a story that should be reported on, blogged about, and tweeted EVERY FUCKING DAY until this muthafucka stands down.

Real talk!

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Tom Coburn Is A Fucking Disgrace

If GOP leaders have any sense, have any balls, have any fucking sense of decency, they will make Tom Coburn's bitch ass stand down and let President Obama sign into law a bill that provides better health care for our Veterans.

If not then Democrats had damn well better tear his ass up day after fucking day over this shit. And I don't mean in a political sense either. This is beyond ridiculous and shows an indifference, nay a contempt for the very people we ask, hell in some respects demand, to put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms.

Let me stop before I REALLY get pissed off!

Say Goodbye To Greta

Lou Dobbs, racist extraordinairre has announced his resignation from CNN. I would put the over under at 7 on the number of days before FoxNews annouces his hiring.

Oh and I am taking the under. LOL

FoxNews will now accurately reflect the GOP in the evenings.

A bunch of old, angry lame white men.

President Obama On Veterans Day

Maybe There IS A Method To The Madness

According to Barney Frank DADT will very likely be repealed next year.

Next year's defense bill will probably include a provision repealing the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," policy, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) told the Advocate on Wednesday. Kerry Eleveld has the fascinating details:

Frank said he has been in direct communication with the White House, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, and other Congressional leaders about the strategy for ending the 1993 ban on gays serving openly in the military.

Though some moderate Democrats have recently expressed concern about repealing the policy during a midterm election year, Frank said resolve at the White House has never wavered. "The Administration is totally committed to this and has been from the beginning," he said.

Anecdotally, Frank recalled an incident earlier this year when Defense Secretary Robert Gates made a statement to reporters suggesting that repeal was still an open question.

"There was a point where Gates said, 'If we repeal "don’t ask, don’t tell,"'— and the next day he said, 'When we repeal "don’t ask, don’t tell,"'" said Frank. "That's because Rahm called him up. The White House has been consistently committed."

If the administration wanted, it could almost certainly put off DADT repeal until after the midterms without suffering a significant political price. The fact that, according to Frank, the White House is choosing to push for repeal before the midterms suggests that gay rights may be part of of the administration's political strategy. One can make the case that focusing on certain social issues could actually be the right move for Democrats in 2010.

Now just because Congressman Frank said it will happen doesn't mean it actually will of course. But there are a lot of people who should definitely offer up some apologies if it does. I consider myself a pretty progressive person, but some of the hyperbole from a certain segment of the left over DADT has been, in my opinion, ridiculouos. I am not talking about people pushing for the repeal, I am talking about those people who every other week were talking about how President Obama was "selling them out". I am all about putting pressure on President Obama to fulfill his promises and I am all about calling him out when he doesn't but a lot of that over the top rhetoric was bullshit and hopefully this puts an end to at least some of it.

He isn't perfect but sometimes its worth remembering that President Obama IS on our side on most issues.

FINALLY Ruth Marcus Concern Trolls In The Right Direction

Wait, you mean to tell me that Republicans are lying through their teeth about healthcare reform? Say it aint so...

A Twofer On The Rachel Maddow Show

I was going to do separate posts on this but what the hell.

First up, if the Democrats have any sense they will bludgeon Pete Hoekstra into oblivion over this obvious instance of running to the media with sensitive informations. And I don't mean any weaksauce "We are very dissappointed...." bullshit statements either. I mean some "We have serious conscerns and reservations about his ability to continue to serve on this committee..." type statements. Alerting a terrorist to the fact that we are monitoring his email. Are you fucking kidding me? Imagine if Nancy Pelosi had done it. Then flip it and turn it right back on his ass!

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Now as far as this story I just can't understand why in the hell we are continuing to pay for Blackwater or Xe or whatever the hell they are calling themselves this week to be in Iraq after all the crap they have pulled over there. And trusting them to guard our own officials? Unnacceptable!

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Hannity Caught Red Handed

See THIS is why FoxNews should never, ever be considered a news source.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Sean Hannity Uses Glenn Beck's Protest Footage
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

I can almost promise you that Sean Hannity won't issue a correction either. Thank God we have Jon Stewart to expose these idiots because the Villagers are too busy kissing their ass and sucking up to Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes to notice evidently.

Calling All Journalists With Time On Their Hands

By now most journalists and political bloggers have seen the clip of Rupert Murdock agreeing with Glenn Beck that President Obama is a racist. For the handful who haven't here you go.



Now of course, through a spokesman, he is denying that he "for one second" believes President Obama is a racist.

Now that may sound like an unequivical walkback, but it really isn't. Even though his spokesman didn't come out and say it, you will notice that he didn't retract his statement that President Obama SAID something really racist. Now most folks realize that the GOP and the conservative movement are now the kings of proclaiming that just because somebody says something racist doesn't mean they ARE racist. And my prediction is that the next time some Republican says something wildly innappropriate you will hear the wingnuts proclaim "well what about President Obama?"

We shouldn't let it go down like that.

So I am simply asking that any journalist or blogger (or both) who has contact information for Rupert Murdoch, to get in touch with him or his office and ask them to provide the statement that Murdoch is claiming that President Obama said that was racist. And I mean call or email or whatever every single day until the spokesman either has to admit they Murdoch was full of shit, or they stop responding at all which is just as damning.

So whaddya say? Anybody up for harrassing Rupert Murdoch into submission?

Happy Veteran's Day!!!

We salute our Veterans today and every day for keeping us safe and preserving the freedoms we so often take for granted. And for those who are still in harms way we pray you all make it home safe and sound.

An Armey Of Dumbasses

Paul Krugman tries once again to kill the zombie lie that negras and various other poor brown people caused the financial crisis which Dick Armey tries his best to resurrect. This line pretty much says it all.

But in Dick Armey’s world, in fact on the right as a whole, the affirmative-action-made-them-do-it doctrine isn’t even seen as a hypothesis. It’s just a fact, something everyone knows.

So How Did We End Up With Stupak-Pitts?

Turns out C Street has struck again.

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You Lie!

I am not the world's biggest fan of Dylan Rattigan but he gets major props for giving this guest a nice steaming cup of shut the fuck up over her lying about the Stupak amendment in health care reform.

Spencer Breaks Some News

Want to know the latest on the Afghan strategy review by President Obama and his administration? Then check out this new piece by Spencer Ackerman about how Navy Vice Adm. William H. McRaven, the commander of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) at Ft. Bragg, N.C., and Vice Adm. Robert S. Harward, the deputy leader of the Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Va., are influencing the outcome.

Seriously, click the link dammit!

Ahem

I am not sure what this means for his job security at WaPo but Ezra Klein basically just called out Fred Hiatt over his op ed column about the House health care bill. Now he wasn't belligerent and was very respectful in his response but basically he called bullshit on Hiatt's column and there is no way of getting around that.

Fred Hiatt's column today calls the House's health-care reform bill "a step closer to bankruptcy." But he's not really talking about the House's health-care reform bill, which he admits the Congressional Budget Office has assessed as not only deficit neutral but deficit improving. He's talking about, first, a fix to Medicare reimbursement rates that really isn't part of health-care reform, and, second, the capacity of Congress to make hard decisions about, well, anything. Fair points both, but neither here nor there when it comes to the House legislation.

To take them in order, the $250 billion Medicare payment fix is actually the outgrowth of another bill: The 1997 Balanced Budget Act. That legislation created a payment formula for Medicare that tied the program's payments to the period's extremely low growth in health-care costs. But then cost growth accelerated again, and Republican and Democratic congresses alike began voting to reject the formula's cuts. Bringing the formula back into line with the growth of health-care costs will require a hefty $250 billion. But we'd have to do it whether President Obama pursued health-care reform or not. Just ask President Bush, who had no interest in health-care reform, but saw Congress reject these payment cuts in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Hiatt's more compelling objection is that Congress will continue to duck the hard questions of health-care reform and vote to avoid making the cuts and reforms that are written into the bill. As he says, "history suggests that legislators will not be deaf to the complaints of seniors and those who treat them when it comes time for the ax to fall."

This may be true. The problem, however, is that it obviates any possible solutions. For instance: In the final line of the column, Hiatt proposes that "Obama puts his clout behind the progressive ideals of thrift and cost containment." Elsewhere in the column, Hiatt laments that Congress did not "end the tax break for employer-provided insurance" or "empower an independent commission that could make cost-control decisions" or "rais[e] taxes on anyone who earns less than $250,000 per year." But if Congress will simply thwart any effort at cost containment, what's the point?

Taxes can be rolled back (see the Bush tax cuts) or indefinitely delayed (see the AMT). Commissions can be ignored or overturned. Cost controls can be repealed and weakened. I'm not necessarily arguing that Hiatt's pessimistic conception of Congress is inaccurate, but the appropriate response is either nihilistic or revolutionary. It cannot, however, be to propose different and harder cost controls than the ones Congress itself has passed.

Now I realize that I probably quoted more than what's usually acceptable but I hope he doesn't mind because I wanted you to get a very good idea of how thoroughly he PWNED Hiatt who is essentially his boss.

I have to give him major respect for not letting Hiatt's BS stand even though they work together and I can only hope that there is no retribution. Ezra is a monster when it comes to health care policy and WaPo would be a fool to let him go any damn way!

So Disrespectful

You know I find myself thinking the GOP is the most hostile to minorities, then they pull something like this and I am reminded that they might hold women of any color in contempt even more.



It takes a special kind of brainwashed woman to claim the Republican or conservatism.

Seriously.

Another Poll

Wingnut Republican Vern Buchanan wants to know if you support health care reform.

I suggest you let him know...

:)

It Was All Bullshit

If you needed any more proof that in fact the Bush administration was full of shit and NOT acting in good faith in ordering torture on GITMO detainees you don't have to look any further than the very recently released FBI memos which are now redacted further to show just how far the FBI and the CIT went in trying to convince the Pentagon and the adminstration not to use those techniques. And as you can see for yourself there objection had as much or more to do with the fact that the techniques were unreliable at best and counterproductive at worst as it did to do with the legality of it which still was not a minor point.

I'll say this, we have a major health care fight on our hands and I understand that, but after we win this long standing battle we simply MUST look back. No ifs ands and buts about it. This can not be allowed to stand. Not just because of the crimes committed against the people we tortured, but also because the Bush administration put all of our lives in danger by experimenting with unproven and unsuccessful torture techniques instead of relying on tried and true approaches just so they could satisfy their own repugnant blood lust. These fucking imbeciles thought it was more important to be able to beat their chest and claim some kind of macho toughness than actually catching the sons of bitches who wish to do us harm!

I am getting pissed off all over again just thinking about it.

Ladies And Gentlemen, We Got Em!!!

By a count of 220 to 215 the House just passed their version of a health care reform bill. One Republican, Anh Cao of New Orleans, joined 219 Democrats to give us change we can believe in!!!

Now its on to the Senate where hopefully Lieberman and Snowe aren't allowed to hijack the bill.

Lets get it done!

Update: Here is the final vote tally. Why in the fuck is Heath Shuler even listed as a Democrat at this point?

Update II: President Obama's statement after the passage of the bill.

Tonight, in an historic vote, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would finally make real the promise of quality, affordable health care for the American people.

The Affordable Health Care for America Act is a piece of legislation that will provide stability and security for Americans who have insurance; quality affordable options for those who don't; and bring down the cost of health care for families, businesses, and the government while strengthening the financial health of Medicare. And it is legislation that is fully paid for and will reduce our long-term federal deficit.

Thanks to the hard work of the House, we are just two steps away from achieving health insurance reform in America. Now the United States Senate must follow suit and pass its version of the legislation. I am absolutely confident it will, and I look forward to signing comprehensive health insurance reform into law by the end of the year.