SoonerBlue

 

Utah State Sen. Chris Buttars (R) has always voted against gay-rights, so it was sort of a surprise when he backed a bill that barred "landlords and employers from discriminating based on sexuality."

However, it was what he later said to the press that caused snorts and guffaws.

BUTTARS: "I meet with the gays here and there. They were in my house two weeks ago. I don’t mind gays. But I don’t want ‘em stuffing it down my throat all the time."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U1uFbqO260

OK, OK - I've had a good laugh at Buttars’ unique way of turning a phrase, and even though he’s an obvious bigot and homophobe, I give him points for at least supporting a measure that would bar employers and landlords from discriminating against people based on their sexual orientation.

It's a step in the right direction. Now, maybe when he finds that gays in his neighborhood or his workplace aren’t trying to "stuff" anything down his throat, he will relax a bit.

 

 

Yes, mad scientists are developing technology that can be implanted in our brains to operate computers, cell phones and television sets!

From Computerworld - "By the year 2020, you won't need a keyboard and mouse to control your computer, say Intel Corp. researchers. Instead, users will open documents and surf the Web using nothing more than their brain waves.

[A]lmost two years ago, scientists in the U.S. and Japan announced that a monkey's brain was used to control a humanoid robot. Miguel Nicolelis, a professor of neurobiology at Duke University and lead researcher on the project, said that researchers were hoping its work would help paralyzed people walk again. [..]"

I really do not mind all that much clicking on a mouse...but just think of how many ways this brain implant chip would be useful -- at work, at home, or outdoors -- especially when you need your hands to do something else.

 

And it would be cool to have the ability to keep all the brain-Web interactions confined to inside my head, with no need for external discs or files to store or process data.

 

What if I happened to read an inflammatory email? Would my mind mentally compose and send a nasty reply before I had the chance to reconsider? It seems a bit dangerous to me.

 

Say,  what about the controls...how would we turn the connection on or off?

 

You might remember seeing Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) grinning for the cameras as she stood behind Rep. Michele Bachmann during that anti-healthcare reform "press conference" on the Capitol steps the other day.

Well, yesterday, Rep. Foxx stood up on the House floor and tried to revise history by attacking what she calls "revisionist history" about which political party should get the credit for passing historic civil rights legislation in the 1960's. She wants people to believe it was Republicans who were the civil rights champions.

She said: "Just as we were the people who passed the civil rights bills back in the '60s without very much help from our colleagues across the aisle," said Fox. "They love to engage in revisionist history."

Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) immediately challenged Foxx, strongly denying that the GOP passed the Civil Rights Act with almost no help from the Democrats...saying that it was passed by the Johnson administration over the objections of people like Jesse Helms from her own state. And that Rep. John Lewis, "a member of this House, was beaten on the Edmund Pettus bridge to get that civil rights legislation passed. Tell John Lewis that he wasn't part of getting that legislation passed."

Maybe Foxx was talking about the 1860's, when Republicans passed Reconstruction and then Southern Democrats passed Jim Crow laws. Back then it wasn't a party thing...it was a conservative vs liberal thing. The conservatives in both parties opposed civil rights of any kind, and those leaning liberal in both parties had to fight tooth and nail to get these things passed.

Can you imagine liberals in the Republican party? It's much different today, our two parties have an ever widening difference between them...even though the Democrats still have their Blue Dog conservatives.

If we're talking about 1960's, overall, Senate Republicans voted 27-6 for the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The voting record shows a distinct split between Northern and Southern politicians. When you take this into account, the facts show that "in both the North and the South, Democrats supported the 1964 Civil Rights Act at a higher rate than the Republicans."

Virginia Foxx is wrong. Yes, 1960's civil rights legislation was passed with strong bipartisan support...but, the credit for the civil rights victory has to go almost entirely to liberals and Democrats.

Don't forget that Richard Nixon began, and Ronald Reagan continued, the now-famous "Southern Strategy"...which led to an exodus of Southern Democrats to the Republican Party. THOSE were the kind of Democrats who voted against civil rights -- the racist, white-supremacist Dixiecrat Democrats -- NOT the ones who form the Democratic Party today.

The South has never forgiven Democrats for supporting the Civil Rights Movement and that's the dirty history of Republicans and racism.

Today's Democratic Party owes its soul far more to Northern liberals than to Southern Democrat Dixiecrats.

BTW - if Rep. Foxx really believes what she said, I'd like her to tell me what has the GOP done for civil rights lately? How's that minority vote working out for you? Also...would you vote for the Civil Rights Act today, Virginia?

A lot of people are against prosecuting 9/11 terrorists in NYC civilian courts instead of military tribunals. Maybe some of them had all these Jack Bauer "24" fantasies.

But, why should this be any different than the trial of OKC bomber, Timothy McVeigh? Terrorist acts are crimes and should be prosecuted in a court of law, in the jurisdiction where the crime was committed.

It's important that we don't treat these terrorists as war criminals...it would only help them exaggerate their arrogant self-importance. They're just small time criminals...crazy cult followers. They crave attention and recognition as jihadist soldiers in a holy war who sacrifice for their god...and we shouldn't give it to them.

They need to be tried in civilian courts...dull, bland courtrooms. No military uniforms, no military insignia in sight. Let's bore them to death as them anticipate prison time with killers and rapists...where they're the only virgins. Show them and the rest of their cult how religiously uplifting it was to sacrifice for their god.

It should also be more satisfying for us to handle terrorism and Islamic extremism this way, instead of railroading them through some kangaroo court in Guantanamo. We should try them by the book and then watch their sorry asses rot as they serve life in “Supermax.”

No, no death penalty...don't give them the “martyrdom” status that they crave. Remember how pissed Zacharias Moussaoui was because he wasn't executed and sentenced to life in solitary instead?

People have so many concerns about these trials and are asking so many questions. Like if the terrorists can receive a fair trial in New York...or anywhere for that matter. If they can find 12 qualified impartial jurors.

Or if they have enough hard evidence against Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, and whether anything he said under torture will be inadmissible. Or if authorities can limit his ability to propagandize. Well, just so happens that federal courtrooms do not allow TV cameras, so he can preach and blab all he wants.

People worry that the trials will make New York again a target for religious fanatics...like they had forgotten all about NYC until these trials. The city has tried terrorists successfully there before without cowering in fear.

I saw a poll that said 45% of New Yorkers think the trial is a good idea, versus 41% who think it’s a bad idea.

I've read both sides of whether we should drag NYC through the drama and horrific memories of 9/11 again. Some relatives of victims relish the justice this will bring, and say they will be in the courtroom every day. Others dread it and condemn the decision.

Most people seem to have faith in our justice system and those responsible for our security.

Here's a good read on the subject. "[R]egrettably, no trial can provide closure for the traumas of that day. But a judgment in New York, where the greatest suffering was inflicted, will remind us both of the narrow viciousness of the terrorists’ cause and of the enduring strength of our own values."

 

Sarah Palin is upset and calling Newsweek sexist because it used a pin-up type picture of her on it latest cover. Yes, she posed for it willingly...for a Runner’s World magazine article.

I remember that -- it was right after President Obama won the election, and the picture was used in an article where she challenged Obama to a race. She claimed that she was the better runner and that he could never keep up with her.

BTW Sarah, the only time it's okay to wear pantyhose with running shorts is if you work at Hooters.

As a feminist I have to say that the cover is sexist. No matter what a ditz Palin is...I don't see beefcake shots of male political clowns on Newsweek.

I'm wondering where she was when Hillary Clinton was being savaged with everything from toilet paper to nutcrackers.

Since a cover is also considered commentary of a sort...it's obvious that Newsweek thinks Palin is an empty political shell, along with most Americans. In a recent poll, 60 percent said she is not qualified to be president.

Some people are saying that Sarah Palin is the one who's sexist...for thinking she could use her beauty queen training to flirt and wink her way to the White House. And then is surprised when Newsweek reduces her to just a hot chick in shorts.

Call me sexist, but would Palin be this media phenomena if she had looked like Dede Scozzafava to begin with? No, with a capital N. Palin's looks are her greatest strength.

Funny that she isn't complaining about Newsweek's story -- "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Sarah? She’s bad news for the GOP-and for everybody else too." She could just like to fan the flames of sexism because it brings her more attention, more press.

Can you imagine a serious politician posing for that sort of cheesecake photograph? She knew it was going to be published. You shouldn't have to tell a grown woman -- middle-aged at that -- that she needs to be careful of such things.

I can't even imagine ol' crazy Michelle Bachmann posing like that.

Andrew Sullivan was dead on with this about Palin: "She wants to be a celebrity, not a politician. And if she could get to be a politician using the prerogatives of a celebrity - and a propaganda channel like Fox News - she would be happy. That's what's at stake here - beneath this farce."

Anyway, notice that the righties are not pitching a fit about how she's leaning her elbow on the US flag -- which is tossed casually around like an afghan over a sofa. Isn't that a violation of the Flag Code?

　

Newt Gingrich thinks the teabaggers are ruining the chances of a GOP comeback.

Naw...what was his first clue?

That three-ring circus full of clowns with teabags hanging from their hats and stapled all over their clothes? Running around carrying signs showing everything from Holocaust death camp corpses, to President Obama as Hitler...signs that said, "Next time we'll come armed."?

Just when moderate GOP voters were looking for a serious thinker to run the country, they didn't know whether to cringe, laugh, or go jump into the Boston Harbor.

Hey Newt, Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann ain't listening...and just when you finally started making sense too...

From politico.com: "Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich predicted disaster for his party if the conservative wing of the GOP continues to field independent candidates to the right of the party’s nominee.

"If we get into a cycle where there are tea parties and there are conservative third-party candidates, we will make [Nancy] Pelosi speaker for life," Gingrich told POLITICO in an interview Thursday, calling the practice "totally destructive." [..]"

I keep trying to tell everyone that this teabagger movement is just a fringe element...it will never be taken seriously.

If they claim they are not associated with any political party, they will fizzle and die in no time flat.

IF they declare as a national political party (they registered as a state party other day in Florida), they will be dismissed as a third party that will never accomplish much. That's always been the fate of third parties...look at Perot, look at Nader.

If they keep crowing that they'll soon take back the GOP...well, that's not going to fly with moderate conservative voters. That's the GOP's biggest problem right now -- they're seen as extremists who will not allow moderate voices to speak to the mainstream of citizens and voters.

Democrats, don't be tardy to the Tea Party party...cheer them on, they will surely siphon off votes from Republican candidates. Remember...that's how Ralph Nader helped elect GWBush president.

Right now, a majority of the voting public has little faith in the Republican party or its future. Its mostly seen as the party of NO, the party of Neander-cons...and that's not gaining them much traction.

Maybe the tipping point began in 2005, when GWBush decided to hitch up his "political capital" to destroying Social Security. Yeah, he wanted to ditch Social Security and replace it with plans that would put worker's savings in the stock market.

Now just imagine the pickle this country would be in if the GOP had won that fight. Worried voters squirmed, contacted their political reps and hooted it down.

It's been downhill for the GOP ever since.

　

 

President Obama greeted Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko with a polite bow as he arrived at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Saturday.

It sure didn't take long for the rightie rage puppets to zero in on it like flies on dung and start taking political cheapshots. They whine that a US President shouldn't grovel before furriners.

Oh no!...this will lead to terrible things! Next thing you know, we'll all be driving Japanese cars and watching Japanese TV...

Everyone else saw Obama playing the part of polite guest in a part of the world where this sort of formal protocol counts for extra.

At least he didn’t vomit in the emperor’s lap ...ala Poppy Bush.

Anyway, see the bow here...and don't blink or you'll miss it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kyD_e0Y7FQ&feature=player_embedded

Don't righties realize that bowing is what the Japanese do instead of shaking hands? They don’t equate bowing with groveling...just with being polite. Notice that they never shake hands with each other...they always bow.

And where were these outraged wingnuts when their hero GWBush was holding hands with the Saudi king? Or when he gave Saudi prince Abdullah a big old smoochy? And if you want to talk about breach of protocol, what about when he gave a sneaky little neck rub to the female German chancellor...treating her like she’s a customer in a massage parlor?

I'm glad that Obama bowed knowing that righties would freak...shows that he won’t be bullied by small mean minds.

This was a deft move by Obama, but the wingnuts are too blinded by hate to see it....and if he had not bowed, these same wingnuts would attack him for committing a horrible, unforgivable breach of protocol.

There is absolutely nothing President Obama can do that righties would approve of...NOTHING. He’s too personal...he’s too aloof...he’s too polite...he’s too rude. You just have to laugh and enjoy their antics as comedy skits.

I am proud to have a President who is knowledgeable about another country’s culture. To show respect is very smart for him personally, and for our country generally.

You know, maybe we should start this bowing thing here...it would be more hygienic. Think of all the flu germs that are spread by shaking hands.

Our country has so many serious problems. How sad that we don't have a rational opposition party that would discuss these problems without rancor, and maybe offer solutions or alternatives. Even if we didn't agree, sometimes a good discussion can often bring about new ideas.

But no, all these guys want to talk about is Obama’s bowing style...

 

 

A US District Judge has ordered South Carolina not to issue an auto license plate with a Christian image and slogan...which had already been approved by the SC Legislature. The plate showed an image of a cross in front of a stained glass window with the words, "I Believe."

Judge Cameron Currie said no, no...this amounts to state endorsement of a particular religion, and ruled that the plate was a violation of the First Amendment, which is all about the separation of church and state. Or, in this case, church and plate.

More here: ~US judge bans 'I Believe' license plates~

["W]hether motivated by sincerely held Christian beliefs or an effort to purchase political capital with religious coin, the result is the same," Currie wrote in a 57-page order.

"The statute is clearly unconstitutional and defense of its implementation has embroiled the state in unnecessary (and expensive) litigation.".........

"This is great news," Americans United executive director Reverend Barry Lynn said in a statement.

"Some officials seem to want to use religion as a political football.... That's an appalling misuse of governmental authority, and I am thrilled that the judge put a stop to it."...........

In most US states, a driver can choose a customized license plate for 20 to 30 dollars, in the name of groups defending state-approved causes or in their own name.

Flyfishing enthusiasts, animal rights activists, veterans or even anti-abortion activists -- who proclaim to be "4LIFE" -- thus make their own personal stamp on US roads."

Last year another judge struck down the use of a similar plate in Florida.

The South is just too dang accustomed to having its double-dipped born-again Baptist way. People who want to express their faith can use bumper-stickers, or put a 'Honk if you love Jesus' sign in their window.

Wonder how many key scratches a car would get in SC if it had a 'Honk if you are Muslim' sign?

Each car owner is also free to buy special plates to make a religious statement...just like the anti-abortion "4LIFE" driver did. But the state CAN NOT dictate that every driver, atheist, Buddhist or Jew, has to drive around proclaiming to believe in a faith that's not theirs.

 

The Washington Times, a conservative propaganda outlet, has announced the resignation of Executive Editor John Solomon a year before his contract was up.

Maybe because Solomon had said that he wanted to bring balance to the rightie newspaper...and try to keep opinion and commentary from bleeding over into hard news?

Mr. Solomon, please, please, please write an insider expose. I'd love to learn more about this crazed cult leader Moon and his money-laundering empire...which funds the hard-right media, and key Republicans.

WT also fired Tom McDevitt, the publisher and president, and several other executives.

Then security was beefed up on the top floor.

The paper is owned by Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, and apparently a feud between Moon's sons has caused all the turmoil.

Which Moonie will end up in charge? Rumors have the sons wanting to shut down the print edition. Rumors also have the Rev. Moon wanting to shut down the whole thing, and start it up again in China or Russia.

Aside: Hmm...what would happen if a leading liberal newspaper was owned by a foreign mind-control cult? Just think what Glen Beck could do with that...or just wingnuts in general.

Anyway, with all print media suffering,..and only 20 percent of Americans admitting that they're Republicans, maybe it's natural that more rightie outlets are failing...

I read that Moon has pumped almost two billion dollars into the WT to keep it afloat since he bought it, and other rightie rags like Weekly Standard lose over a million a year. Maybe the market has already given a big thumbs down to this kind of "journalism."

Here's more: ~Mystery deepens at Washington Times~
"The situation at the Washington Times is getting even more bizarre. Days after the mysterious firing of three top executives at the city's No. 2 paper, and with no word on whether suddenly absent executive editor John Solomon will continue to lead the paper, armed guards have been posted on the third floor at the Times' headquarters, where management's offices are housed.

That's led many to wonder what in the heck is going on at the Times, which has long been shrouded in secrecy. The paper is owned by the Unification Church led by Rev. Sun Myung Moon, a shadowy figure whose church was often accused of brainwashing its followers, known as Moonies. [...]guards were posted so that the new chief financial officer can secure the paper's financial records, but armed guards seem a bit unnecessary for bookkeeping. There have been rumors that the paper is doing anything from folding to going online only, but thus far its owners have stayed mum. The shakeup ...was blamed on the economy."

 

Sen. Tom Coburn (OK-R), a doctor, is the lone holdout blocking a bill that would give veterans more access to health care. You’d think that funding for a new bill that would allow the VHA to provide caregiver assistance to our most wounded veterans would be a no-brainer, right?

But, they don't call him 'Dr. No' for nothing. Coburn had no problem voting for the war that put these Americans in harms way, now he's blocking funds to help them.

See, he's all for supporting the troops, as long that means cheering for them as they go off to fight the bad guys -- but when they return home from the battlefield, wounded, deaf, blind and limb-less, when it comes to all their special needs, well, Coburn doesn't have much sympathy for that.

Ever notice how gung-ho Republicans are to authorize spending billions of our dollars on bombing some other country (whether we need to or not), but the minute government wants to spend a little money to help those in need, like our injured veterans, Republicans get all balky?

But, while that statement is generally true, in this case I must mention again that Coburn is the ONLY Republican blocking bill S-1963. All the other R's are voting for it.

I love what those at examiner.com have to say:

~Tom Coburn: Oklahoma's shame~

"Doctor "No" once again embarrasses Oklahoma by holding up the Veterans Caregiver and Omnibus Health Benefits Act - S. 1963. Yes, he's holding firm to his ideological bent to drown the federal government in a bathtub.[..]"

Not all Okies are wingnut righties, "Bryan" said in comments -- "To pick up on your theme of Coburn as our statewide shame, he is the pubic hair in the teeth of Oklahoma."

 

President Obama gave a beautiful and moving speech at the Fort Hood memorial yesterday..it was clear that the families of the fallen were touched by his words.

He pointed out the strength and diversity of America's military: "This generation of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen have volunteered in a time of certain danger. They are part of the finest fighting force that the world has ever known. They have served tour after tour of duty in distant, different and difficult places. They have stood watch in blinding deserts and on snowy mountains. They have extended the opportunity of self-government to peoples that have suffered tyranny and war. They are man and woman; white, black, and brown; of all faiths and stations -- all Americans, serving together to protect our people, while giving others half a world away the chance to lead a better life."

He even took a moment to mention the man responsible for the shootings: "It may be hard to comprehend the twisted logic that led to this tragedy. But this much we do know -- no faith justifies these murderous and craven acts; no just and loving God looks upon them with favor. And for what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice -- in this world, and the next."

But the most touching part was when the President identified each one of the victims, taking a moment to talk about their life, family, and legacy. "Neither this country -- nor the values that we were founded upon -- could exist without men and women like these thirteen Americans. And that is why we must pay tribute to their stories."

Here is a video of his speech:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dswVUdlK9DY

 

On this Veterans Day there should be no Democrats or Republicans, there should be only Americans. Today we honor all veterans who fought to protect the freedoms we often take for granted.

It's sad that Veterans Day doesn’t seem to rank very high on America's list of favorite holidays. People seem to pay more attention to other patriotic holidays like the 4th of July, ...well, it does have fireworks.

But we have to remember that without the brave fighting men and women of our armed forces there might not be a home of the brave.

Remember what this day is all about, a day to honor all American veterans of all wars, from the Revolutionary War to the present day Iraq and Afghanistan wars. So many have given the ultimate in sacrifice.

Some of our wars haven't been as popular with our citizens as others, but the American soldier’s willingness to sacrifice his or her life for our country should never be questioned. Any man or woman who honorably wore a soldier’s uniform is a hero in my book.

We should also recognize and honor military families for the great sacrifices they have always made throughout the course of our history.

I am grateful to all the World War II veterans, the Vietnam veterans, the Korean War veterans, the Desert Storm veterans, and those today fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan...they have all served our country with such valor. I salute them every one.

Thank You for your service to our country! Semper Fi!

"The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war."
~Douglas MacArthur

 

When I first learned of the Fort Hood shootings, and who the suspect was, I was genuinely torn about how to react...other than with shock and grief. I truly tried to keep an open mind about the role of religion in this tragedy -- believe me, I am the kind of person you'd want on your jury -- but the past few days have revealed many troubling things about Hasan.

My feelings changed and intensified after learning that he had visited radical Islamist websites, chatting up suicide bombers...and that he had been in contact with that radical Imam for a year. An Iman known for his incendiary anti-American teachings...and whose website is now praising what Hasan did.

Hasan's mind had to be sick to begin with, and if they weren't actual co-conspirators in the shooting, these jihadists helped to inflame his mind with extremist religious dogma before he snapped.

Let's be clear -- if a madman just happens to be a Muslim, then religion might be immaterial. But if he yells "God is Great!" in Arabic right before he shoots 43 people, then he commits his crime in the name of Islam.

I read that the Departments of Defense and Justice have decided that Hasan will be prosecuted in military court...which means that they believe he acted alone. Because his case would be tried in civilian court if they thought he conspired with non-military people.

Some people are saying that Hasan went on the shooting rampage because he was a coward and didn't want to go to Afghanistan. Well, then why didn't he just commit suicide? At first I thought he was trying to cause "suicide by cop"...but, since he was trying to take so many soldiers with him, now I think this was his "suicide bomb."

Hate to say it, but it looks like the Army dropped the ball on this one. Regardless of what they knew and when they knew it, they should have let this madman out of the Army. Yes, investigators said that Hasan's emails with the radical Imam were consistent with a research project he was doing at Walter Reed on post-traumatic stress disorder...and that there was nothing to suggest any threat of violence. BUT, wasn't this something to worry about, given the nature of the Iman's communications with others?

Maybe the Army is too keen on keeping either Muslims or psychiatrists in the service. Muslims are valuable with Iraqi and Afghan locals; the Army has only 408 psychiatrists for 545,000 soldiers...a ratio of 1 to 1335.

And since there were no flaming threats, the Army just didn't follow up on the FBI and Homeland Security investigations. Like they should've been watching when he bought the "cop killer" gun.

What gets me is that in the middle of the FBI investigation, the Army left Hasan in his post, even promoted him to Major last May.

Here is the latest news on Hasan from CBS.

Aside: Notice that the "D.C. Sniper" John Allen Muhammad is executed at the same time rightie blowhards are bellowing that the shooting at Fort Hood is the first terrorist attack since 9/11.

 

 

A lot of lefties are hollerin' that the healthcare bill just passed in the House is too weakened down on the public option.

I say, cool it guys...no matter how weak it is, it's a foot in the door. So far, it's the closest we've been to getting government involved in Medicare-like healthcare for the working class poor. It can always be tinkered with and expanded later.

That's why righties are doing everything they can to block it, because it opens the door to single payer. On Thom Hartman's radio show they were talking about if the bill goes down in flames in the Senate, then they have something called a reconciliation process, which is used only for budgetary programs. The HC bill is a budgetary program...so Senate Democrats can introduce Medicare for all through this process. It could be passed with a 51 vote majority...or at the very least be used as a bargaining tool.

Here's what I'm talking about:

From the Hill: "The Senate could still use budget rules to pass healthcare without 60 votes, the White House indicated Monday.

President Barack Obama is hopeful that the Senate will pass a healthcare bill with 60 votes, but White House press secretary Robert Gibbs held out the possibility that budget reconciliation rules could still be used. [..]"

Another thing lefties are unhappy about - especially women - is the Blue Dog Stupak abortion amendment, which tramples on women's rights.

I am so tired of arguing about abortion. Why do old Baptist white guys like Stupak have to make rules about sexual organs they don’t have?

So women can't buy abortion insurance with their own money if they're on a government subsidized health plan...but just about all mens' insurance covers Viagra boner-pills?

But without the Stupak amendment, or something like it, the bill wouldn’t have passed. Maybe moderate Democrats just thought the worst of Stupak would be stripped out in conference.

AND, all is not lost...this little GOP tidbit might surprise you:

From politico.com: "Senate Republicans seem initially cool to Rep. Bart Stupak’s (D-Mich.) amendment in House health-care overhaul legislation, which essentially blocks the federal funding of abortions.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the third-ranking Republican in the body, said abortion is an important issue but "the issues that are going to dominate the health care debate are whether we’re reducing costs or whether we’re increasing the costs for most Americans."

 

 

Looky here, the Tea Party is legit. It's been registered with the office of the Florida Secretary of State...and is going to run candidates against both Republicans and Democrats in state and national races.

Now they can officially parade around in those silly costumes and complain about everything and hate everyone under the sun.

Ah well, this is just another chance for the wingnuts to split the GOP vote and give elections to Democrats on a silver platter.

Be my guest!

So let crazy Michelle Bachmann and her angry teabagger mob storm the steps of the US Capital to give seditious speeches...and spread more seditious lies about the President and the democratically-elected government.

See, President Obama's opponents HAVE to do everything they can to stop him NOW...no matter how wild and outrageous, no matter how many lies they have to tell, or how many Nazi and death camp signs they have to carry. They have to pound him down, call him a socialist, fascist, Communist, Muslim and say he isn't an American.

Teabagger rabble-rousers and their congressional leaders are fighting like crazy to keep Obama from gaining a toehold...it's curtains for them if he succeeds at anything.

They have to cause as much partisan hatred as they can because they have only a short time before we go into the mid-term elections. It would be bad news for teabaggers and birthers if, say, the economy started to improve, or if a healthcare bill passed that actually helps the working class poor.

That's why they're fighting healthcare reform so fiercely -- they think it will work, and will be quite an historic victory for Obama. Which will drive the GOP even further into the wilderness.

Look at some of them in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-fXUedC5GQ&feature=player_embedded

PJ O'Rourke - famous Republican writer - said about the rally -- "Democrats belong to the silly party, Republicans belong to the stupid party...but you don't want to be stupid and crazy at the same time."

 

Teabaggers always holler "photo op!" whenever President Obama shows respect to the military, but he didn't take any press or TV cameras along when he visited wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Hospital the other day. He spent time with 19 soldiers and visited the families of 3 soldiers in intensive care. He also awarded two Purple Hearts.

So...now the righties can say that's just like a Communist to do things in secret...and guess who else visited the troops without the press? Hitler...

Today the President and the First Lady will attend a memorial service in Texas for the victims of the Fort Hood tragedy.

At least they aren't going to just fly over...

You might not have seen much of it because the Fort Hood shooting tragedy happened the same day, but Rep. Michele Bachmann, (R-MN) brought some more crazy to healthcare reform a few days ago, and I think it deserves a little mention.

She led teabaggers on a "Hands Off Our Health Care!" rally at the Capitol. The majority of protesters were brought in on buses chartered by Americans For Prosperity...a corporate-funded, anti-healthcare reform group.

Like James Carville said -- "If you drag a Fox News crew through a retirement home, there’s no telling what you’ll find.

Apparently lots of folks who'd love a free all expenses paid trips to the Capitol.

The protesters were white folks of a certain age, many Medicare recipients (who, no doubt, want government out of their healthcare), carrying signs showing everything from Holocaust death camp corpses, to President Obama as Hitler.

Equating healthcare reform with the Nazi Holocaust...have they no understanding of history or any sense of human decency?!

Teabaggers actually believe insurance company shills when they tell them the Democratic OPTION to sign up for Medicare-like medical insurance is equal to Nazi death camps.

"Kill the bill!"..."Kill the bill!" echoed across the Mall. All that was missing was a pig's head on a spike...

Several members of Congress were at the rally giving seditious speeches. Had any Democrat attended a rally of that sort, much less given a speech like that during the GWBush administration, they would've been savaged as unpatriotic and run out of town.

Bachmann led the teabaggers through congressional office buildings on a series of "House calls"...telling them to go "scare" their Congress members out of voting for healthcare reform.

But many of the protesters just got bogged down by the metal detectors as they tried to enter the House and Senate office buildings.

And the ones who did get in got a little carried away...literally. Capitol Police arrested several protesters in the Hart Senate Office Building...charging them with unlawful entry.

It's very clear that Bachmann, Beck, Limbaugh et al, are in charge of the entire Republican agenda, and they're really coming unhinged. Their teabaggers call President Obama an African-born Socialist/Nazi/Communist/Muslim.

Which is funny when you stop to think about it. Are they so ignorant they don't even know the difference between a Nazi and a Communist? Don't they realize how close to Nazis they are? Nazis were white, Christian, racist, nationalistic xenophobes. Sound familiar?

Truth be told, Bachmann, Beck, Limbaugh et al, probably don't believe that healthcare equals the Holocaust, or that President Obama is a Nazi.

They just want media attention, votes, ratings, etc....and will encourage their leg-humpers to be as deliberately inflammatory as they can be. Like what is more obnoxious and offensive than big signs with Nazi symbolism and death camp corpses?

Well, the disgusting comparisons of healthcare reform to Nazi death camps didn't go over well with Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel. He put out a Twitter statement criticizing the teabagger sign that showed pictures of naked death camp bodies with "National Socialist Health Care: Dachau, Germany -- 1945" written across the top.

~~"Elie Wiesel on the GOP Tea Party's anti-Semitism and Holocaust comparisons: "This kind of political hatred is indecent and disgusting."~~

Next, teabagger bloggers attacked Wiesel ...and proved me right about them not having a clue about who Elie Wiesel is...they said "she" should mind her own business.

He certainly knows what he's talking about when he talks about fascism...how mobs can rise up behind hysteria and propaganda to become violent and murderous.

But to the teabaggers, fascism is anything that Democrats support, like healthcare.

Wonder how many moderate, Independent or centrist voters they won over as they proudly walked around with their swastika and death camp signs?

The one sign that didn't disgust me or make me cringe was -- Palin/Bachmann 2012!

Oh please, Oh please, Oh please...

 

Hooray for Speaker Nancy Pelosi! She got this mother done!

Last night the House of Representatives worked long and hard to finally pass their healthcare reform bill by a vote of 220 to 215. With two votes to spare! They needed 218.

One lone Republican - Rep. Joseph Cao - voted with the Democrats. I hope they up his Secret Service protection. You might think he has some macho heuvos...but then he represents the very blue New Orleans. His opponent was the corrupt Democrat with the stash of cash in his freezer, remember?

39 Blue Dog Democrats voted against the bill...some are in the Corporate Pocket, some want to please the red state folks back home.

One milestone down, one to go. Yes, some of the amendments suck...but we finally have a healthcare reform bill in the works that will make healthcare affordable and available to all Americans.

Now, on to the Senate where it will all be on Sen. Reid....where they will duke it out in the final conference committee as they try to merge the House and Senate versions before a final vote in both chambers.

Senate Wingnuts will try to make it a bloodbath....hopefully with their blood, because the majority of Americans want healthcare reform.

But, if a healthcare bill can pass the House, looks like one could pass the Senate...with a few tweaks here and there in committee. Hopefully some of those sucky amendments will be stripped out. Please don't screw up my Public Option...too much.

No, the final bill won't be perfect, but it will be a start. It’s been such a long and traumatic journey just getting this far, but after last night I'm becoming more optimistic.

The only ones this is bad for are the insurance companies, and I ain't crying for them. They were running so scared...look how much money they spent in the last few days on negative TV ads filled with half-truths and downright lies.

History is being made.. made by people who actually care about ALL Americans. The same kind of history that Social Security made...and Medicare. Hopefully, President Obama's administration will be remembered for accomplishing something positive in this country for the greater good of working class Americans.

The Republicans learned that the only thing worse than not having a healthcare reform bill is having a stupid one...their alternative bill was voted down by 258 to 176.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the Republican bill would cover 3 million, and reduce the deficit by 68 billion...and that the Democratic bill would cover 39 million more people and reduce the deficit by 104 billion.

The Democratic bill says that insurers have to cover people with pre-existing conditions...the Republican bill has no such provision.

Our healthcare system was not working...but we're on the right track now as we try to repair it before it completely destroys our society and economy.

You go President Obama! It took LBJ two years to get Medicare.

 

 

The one I can't figure out is the guy who killed all those little Amish kids...

And bless those soldiers who quickly used first aid techniques to save so many lives.

 

Life will never be the same for Ft. Hood, but there's no tighter family than a military family. They will help each other through the healing, I wish them peace.

 

It should've been a piece of cake for Tea Party candidate Doug Hoffman to win NY-23...but he lost in a district that has voted GOP for 138 years. What happened?

Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh were pushing hard for Hoffman...who also had Sarah Palin's mavericky support. How did the Tea Partiers turn an otherwise easy victory into defeat? What happened?

You say that the loss of two Dem governorships is a 'stinging rebuke' to the White House.

But you say nothing about how your hero Hoffman's loss is NOT a 'stinging rebuke' to extremist wingnut politics?

So much for the anti-Democratic Congress/White House Teabagger movement -- because Democrats GAINED seats in the House. Seats that can vote.

So, was Tuesday's election a wake-up call for Dems...or reality check for Repubs?

Righties are saying that President Obama has lost his mojo because NJ and VA elected GOP governors.

Let me get this straight -- two state elections losses by Democrats are a 'stinging rebuke' to the Democrats in the federal government...while two Democratic victories in federal elections don’t mean a thing?

The GOP lost both Congressional races the other night, including one in a district they'd held since the days of the Civil War. A 'stinging rebuke' to Obama, no doubt...

Lefties are saying that the state election results don't have as much national significance as the Congressional results, because state elections focus mostly on local issues and state issues.

Let's talk about the significance of state races. How about in November '01, when GWBush's approval ratings were in the 80s, and Democrats went on to win gubernatorial races in NJ and VA? That was certainly no portent of things to come -- the 2002 mid-terms didn't go very well for Dems.

Governorships have NEVER been a reliable barometer of national politics.

Incumbents also usually get kicked out in the mid-terms....and an especially bad time to be an incumbent is during an economic catastrophe.

A lot of people are saying that there's not much of a lesson to be learned from a bunch of low turn-out races in an odd year...except for, um, it's the economy stupid.

 

 

If you only listen to Fox News. you'd think a couple of wins for Republicans last night will kill the chances of healthcare reform. Maybe someone should tell them that McDonnell and Christie are governors and can't vote on healthcare reform in Congress.

But, guess what? The two Democrats who won congressional elections yesterday in CA-10 and NY-23 CAN vote on the healthcare bill.

In fact, when they won both of those congressional seats, Democrats expanded their House majority. Yesterday, Democrats had 256 voting members in the House...after Owens and Garamendi are sworn in, they'll have 258.

 

If government officials can get away with anything as long as they invoke loss of memory, maybe Bill Clinton should have just said, "I cannot recall having sex with that woman."

After a lengthy legal battle - Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics had to sue the Justice Department - notes from Dick Cheney's FBI interview about the leak of Valerie Plame Wilson's covert CIA identity were finally released.

Surprise, surprise, like Alberto Gonzales and many other officials in GWBush's White House, Cheney couldn't remember much of anything...even crucial details like whether he told Scooter Libby about Valerie Plame Wilson.

Scooter's own notes produced at his trial show that in mid-June 2003 Cheney told him about Wilson's wife being in the CIA.

Scooter took the fall for Cheney, who probably told him that Bush would pardon him...that's why Dick was so mad when Bush didn't.

Read about it here: "WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald famously declared in the Valerie Plame affair that "there is a cloud over the vice president." Last week’s release of an FBI interview summary of Dick Cheney’s answers in the criminal investigation underscores why Fitzgerald felt that way.

On 72 occasions, according to the 28-page FBI summary, Cheney equivocated to the FBI during his lengthy May 2004 interview, saying he could not be certain in his answers to questions about matters large and small in the Plame controversy.[..]"

Here's more from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics.

Maybe a little waterboarding could refresh Dick's memory...

Seriously, this is not only about lying to the FBI, or outing a CIA agent for political gains, or covering up the Plame outing...it's about Dick Cheney never being held accountable for eight long years of criminal activity.

His secrets will remain safe as long as the mainstream, corporate media refuses to touch Cheney or Bush... or any of their cohorts. The Wilsons have a pending civil suit which may bring a little closure to this outrageous act of treason ...but there is so much more...so much.

 

An angry Los Angeles couple has been charged with attacking and torturing two loan officers for failing to help them save their home. Police said the couple and three accomplices lured the loan agents into a Glendale home last week, robbed them, held them for hours and beat then with "wooden knuckles."

Read about it here at ABC news: "California's burgeoning foreclosure crisis turned violent after angry homeowners allegedly attacked and tortured two loan agents who they believed had reneged on a promise to help save their home, authorities said. [..]"

While I don't hold the agents blameless, I don't condone beating the crap out of anyone - unless they hurt children and animals - but a working class jury might let them off easy.

Whatever the sentence...now they'll get free housing at taxpayer expense...separate cells.

 

Yes, yes, I know -- the Democrats will probably lose gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia tomorrow, and 'they' think the results will serve as clues to how everyone will vote in 2010 and 2012. This Democrat is not thrilled, but not all that worried...a lot can happen in even six months...not to mention two years. 

The special congressional election in New York is the one that really fascinates most political junkies. Frank Rich of the NYTimes says:

"BARACK OBAMA’S most devilish political move since the 2008 campaign was to appoint a Republican congressman from upstate New York as secretary of the Army. This week’s election to fill that vacant seat has set off nothing less than a riotous and bloody national G.O.P. civil war. No matter what the results in that race on Tuesday, the Republicans are the sure losers. This could be a gift that keeps on giving to the Democrats through 2010, and perhaps beyond.[...]"

The teabaggers already ran off the moderate Republican, Dede Scozzafava. She withdrew from "NY 23" this weekend (and then endorsed the Democrat) The teabaggers also raised enough money and noise to push their Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman to the brink of victory in a district he doesn’t even live in.

If the teabagger candidate wins in NY tomorrow, look for radical righties to be emboldened to go hunting for 'moderate' GOP scalps in other districts. Their angry, energized base will take on more party establishment-approved candidates who don't toe their ideological line.

This surely won't go over well with the majority of Republicans...or with the rest of the country either. Thank goodness the teabaggers and birthers are a small minority of our 300 million citizens.

And, you know something is seriously wrong within the GOP when the wingnuts turn on Newt Gingrich - long thought to have great conservative ideas. Seems the teabaggers think Newt is too moderate...they don't like how he's trying to pull the Republican Party from the radical right to the more mainstream center.

A week ago Newt appeared on several Sunday talk shows flirting with the idea of running for president in 2012. Radical rightie pundits quickly shot ol' Newt down.

Yeah, the guy who led the GOP to a 1994 revival is now being dissed as a RINO -- Republican In Name Only -- just like they did the very conservative, Sen. Lindsey Graham.

The teabaggers were also pissed because Newt endorsed moderate Dede Scozzafava, and urged Republicans not to support the more conservative third-party candidate Doug Hoffman. And they probably still remember when Newt eased out Sarah Palin as speaker at a big GOP do...he didn't want her there out-shining everybody.

Like I said, we Democrats are not all that worried. The Republican Party has lost several recent elections, and has seen its 'brand' sink to 17 percent of Americans who identify themselves as Republicans, so it doesn't bode well for the GOP if they continue to divide the party and toss centrists out of the tent. The party needs to run moderate contenders if it wants to survive and maybe win a  national election or two.

Looks like they'll have to let this little Surge of the Teabaggers play out...and learn the hard way. There's just not enough of them.

Or. maybe we'll split into a 3 party system -- Democrats, the crazed wingnut teabaggers Conservative Party, and moderate to semi-crazed Republicans. Blue Dog Democrats should switch to the moderate/semi-crazed Republican party...it's where they belong, and I hope they don't forget to take Lieberman and Specter.

Anyway...more popcorn and on with the show!