Explanation: The bright clusters and nebulae of planet Earth's night sky are often named for flowers or insects, and NGC 6302 is no exception. With an estimated surface temperature of about 250,000 degrees C, the central star of this particular planetary nebula is exceptionally hot though -- shining brightly in ultraviolet light but hidden from direct view by a dense torus of dust.
Thanks to all who have said they enjoy these pics, because I love them. Click to enlarge, via.
On a housekeeping note, You can always make a donation through the PayPal button to the right, and if you are thinking of buying anything from Amazon, if you use the links over to the right, just using one of those links to buy anything gets us a couple pennies a transaction.
Via Raw Story, this video is from Depauw University, broadcast Sept. 11, 2009 (follow the link for debate details, this is just a snippet):
On the evening of September 11, DePauw University hosted a debate between former Vermont Governor Howard Dean and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove.
Rove came across as the more accomplished debater, aggressively pressing home his points, while Dean appeared at times to be taking an unnecessarily defensive position, or perhaps to be caught between defending the Obama administration and stating his own beliefs.
There were also a couple of occasions on which it appeared that the unscreened questions, most of them from DePauw students and faculty, were being deliberately tailored to cater to Rove’s pet issues.
Overall, however, the debate was notable for a high degree of civility and even a willingness to find some common ground. The two most interesting and least partisan exchanges were, surprisingly, on the subjects of illegal immigration and health care reform.
Rove's defense of torture proves once again that he has "no higher moral standards" (quoting Dean's snippet) and never will.
Debate this, KKKarl:
****************
All my previous posts on this subject matter can be found here; That link includes one specific to only Fayiz al-Kandari's story here. Here are audio and video interviews with Lt. Col. Wingard, one by David Shuster, one by Ana Marie Cox, and more. My guest commentary at BuzzFlash is here.
If you are inclined to help rectify these injustices: Twitterers, use the hashtag #FreeFayiz. We have organized a team to get these stories out. If you are interested in helping Fayiz out, e-mail me at The Political Carnival, address in sidebar to the right; or tweet me at @GottaLaff.
If you'd like to see other ways you can take action, go here and scroll down to the end of the article.
Then read Jane Mayer's book The Dark Side. You'll have a much greater understanding of why I post endlessly about this, and why I'm all over the CIA deception issues, too.
[T]he flag was, apparently, at half mast from yesterday, when all flags were that way in memory of 9/11. She postulates that particular flag was left at half-mast overnight, and illuminated, then raised this morning. There is a person at the base of the flag in the half-mast photo (on the DKos page)
I'll be happy to retract if that can be verified with more than a postulation. I'm fine with that.
UPDATE-- MSNBC? Please let us in on which image is correct?
We have some liberal idiots amongst us who are incapable of performing math or grasping how averages work (it's not surprising that they don't know the difference between net and gross, since they don't pay taxes) so I will be nice and hold their hands:
The majority of the morning, IE the time passed during the day, not the time passed during the video, (there is a MASSIVE difference) has been sampled every 3 to 4 minutes to hurry it along, down to every 60 seconds for the actual march to portray the movement properly.
The shortest time span between frames here is 60 seconds despite the source being updated every 2 seconds. All frames were captured manually as .PNG files, extended to 1/3 second long and stitched together at 30FPS.
IE, framerate = 30 to satisfy YouTube's algorithms, visible framerate = 1/3 of that as 10FPS is taken up displaying the same image. Total running time approx 40 sec, total time represented = 3.5 hours.
With that out of the way, make sure to read through the comments and laugh at all the useful idiots, lol.
"Lol", guess we liberal idiots aren't so dumb after all, huh? "Lol."
By the way, if this is erroneous reporting, let me know. I'm happy to retract and apologize.
Crystal Lee Sutton, the Burlington resident and former textile mill worker who tirelessly campaigned for workers’ rights and inspired an Oscar-winning film, died Friday.
Formerly known as Crystal Lee Jordan, Sutton died at the Hospice Home of Burlington. She was 68.
"I said I've always been different and I wouldn't have this cancer thing be any other way. I accept it," she said. "It has to follow my personality."
She went two months without possible life-saving medications because her insurance wouldn't cover it, another example of abusing the working poor, she said.
"How in the world can it take so long to find out (whether they would cover the medicine or not) when it could be a matter of life or death," she said. "It is almost like, in a way, committing murder."
The initial reports suggest that today's Tea Bagging march on Washington is a pretty small affair. The Postrefers to "tens of thousands" of protestors and says about 30,000 registered online for the march.
Bob McDonnell, the normally-disciplined Republican candidate for governor in Virginia, mistakenly blurted out the F-bomb during a live radio interview on Friday.
Appearing on Washington-area radio station WTOP, McDonnell was sparring with host Mark Plotkin on the topic of transportation funding.
Plotkin asked if McDonnell would consider an increase in the state gasoline tax to help fund the transportation budget. McDonnell said no, and uttered the expletive during his response.
Oooopsie!
UPDATE, here's a little more pertinent information on what a swell guy he is:
Thesis controversy
McDonnell's 1989 thesis for Regents, is a 93-page document titled The Republican Party's Vision for the Family: The Compelling Issue of The Decade. The document explored the rise in the numbers of divorces and illegitimate births, it examined public policies that may have contributed to that increase and proposed solutions.
The document gained attention in the campaign because it outlined a 15-point conservative Republican/Christian agenda, 10 points McDonnell pursued during his years in the General Assembly, according to press analysis[4]. This agenda includes opposition to abortion in cases of rape or incest ..., covenant marriage, school vouchers, tax policies that favor heterosexual families, and discrimination against "cohabitators, homosexuals [and] fornicators."
In his thesis he also wrote that the "new trend of working women and feminists" was "detrimental to the family," he criticized Griswold v. Connecticut for "attempting to create a view of liberty based on radical individualism, while facilitating statist control of select family issues," and described the Eisenstadt v. Baird holding as "illogical." On page 20, he wrote, "man’s basic nature is inclined towards evil, and when the exercise of liberty takes the shape of pornography, drug abuse, or homosexuality, the government must restrain, punish, and deter."
McDonnell responded to the article, stating "Virginians will judge me on my 18-year record as a legislator and attorney general and the specific plans I have laid out for our future -- not on a decades-old academic paper I wrote as a student during the Reagan era and haven't thought about in years." The Washington Post reported McDonnell maintains: "Like everybody, my views on many issues have changed as I have gotten older." McDonnell says his evolved position on family policy is best represented by his 1995 welfare reform legislation where he "worked to include child day care in the bill so women would have greater freedom to work." He now insists that the position on working women he espoused in the thesis, "was simply an academic exercise and clearly does not reflect my views."[4]
It's important to remember that the 9/12ers wanted to "recapture the feeling we all had the day after 9/11." (thank you for the quote, Broadway Carl).
Isn't it great the way they did that? How they showed the world exactly what it meant to have your loved ones murdered, to have gone through national mourning and suffering? To come together as a country, to feel compassion and love for your fellow citizens? To honor and respect your president in a time of war and financial crisis?
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to grab a tissue, because... because... well... just read ahead.
Glenn Beck:
"Are you ready to be that person that you were... ::sniffle, snuffle:: ...that day ::dramatic pause:: ... after 9/11 :: dramatic pause #2:: ... on 9/12?"
Waaaaaah!!! Damn you, Glenn Beck, damn you for making me dissolve into tears! Where would we all be without you? (Feel free to answer that in Comments) Waaaaah!!!
And thank you Melissa Harris Lacewell for reminding us about-- What's it called again? Oh yeah-- civility.
I'll do my best to take my award-winning, patent-pending, internationally acclaimed quick notes. I'LL BE UPDATING, RE-POSTING AS HE SPEAKS.
Here's Prez O:
Packed house, huge cheers.
Are you fired up? [nice]
Crowd chanting "Yes we can!" They are going crazy!
You may have been watching So You Think You Can Dance, don't know if you caught it on TV, but the other night I gave a speech to Congress about health care. [HUGE CHEERS] I can already see this crowd is a lot more fun. [huge cheers]
I went to speak on behalf of American people. I ran for prez because it was time for a govt. to make possible the dreams of middle class Americans. ... that understands the quiet struggles...
Health care is one of those struggles... These aren't people, contrary to what you've heard, who are deep in poverty... these are people who are working every day, middle class Americans [applause]. ... Maybe you've been denied... due to previous condition... In the last 12 mos, 6 million more lost their insurance... Today more disturbing news: Nearly half of all Amer's under 65 will lost their coverage at some pt. over the next 10 years!
We gotta do something. [huge applause] Because it can happen to anyone.
But it doesn't stop w/ the uninsured. If you lose/change jobs or have to move... or if you're dropped/watered down coverage... just when you need it. Or paid premiums, but company wouldn't cover the full cost for care. [telling personal stories...]
Nobody should be treated that way in the U.S., that'll change this year. [HUGE APPLAUSE]
It's been a century since Teddy Roosevelt tried to get reform.. we can't sustain it any longer.
If we do nothing, your premiums will rise faster than your wages. Businesses will close down, fewer will open in first place. We'll be spending more than Medicare/caid than every program combined. Not an option. I may not be first, but I'll be last to take up hcr. [HUGE APPLAUSE] We'll get it done this year.
Good news: We're closer now than ever. Solid agreement on 80%, that's never happened before.
Coalition of drs, nurses, hospitals, sr's groups, even drug companies. They know it won't be stopped, want to be on board.
Partisan spectacle now... Scare tactics v. honest debate. Score short term political points instead of solving longterm challenges. THE TIME FOR BICKERING IS OVER, time for games is past... time for action, time to deliver on health care for every American. [HUGE APPLAUSE, YES WE CAN, YES WE CAN]
A lot of misinformation out there. I want you to know about the plan, so when you talk to your friends, you can say, here's what's going on.
More security, stability for those w/ insur, and provide insur. for those who don't. Slow the growth of health care costs for families, businesses, govt. If you have insurance, NOTHING IN THIS PLAN WILL REQUIRE YOU OR EMPLOYER TO CHANGE COVERAGE OR DOCTOR. Repeats it.
What it will do is make it work better for you. Against law to deny coverage for preexisting conditions [HUGE APPLAUSE]... or get dropped when you get sick, or water it down... or place some arbitrary cap....We will place a limit on charges for out of pocket expenses. Nobody should go broke because they got sick. [HUGE APPLAUSE]
Insur. co's must cover routine check ups, preventive care, mammograms, colonscopies, etc. [HUGE APPLAUSE]
With no insurance? You can get covered. Affordably. NOT by some govt. takeover, but w/ a marketplace where indivs' and sm. businesses can shop for a plan. One big group of uninsured Amer's can drive down costs [CO-OPS... UH OH] You should get the same deal that members of Congress get. [HUGE APPLAUSE]
If you STILL can't afford, we'd provide you/sm. bus. owners tax credits. In the first few years to set up the exchange, you need immediate help, those w/ preexisting conditions... there will be coverage.
One option, ONE... most who offer coverage will be private.. one should be PUBLIC INSURANCE OPTION [HUGE APPLAUSE]. I want to be clear: It would only be AN OPTION. Nobody is forced to choose it, nobody w/ insur. would be affected by it. It would keep pressure on private insurance.
Same as private v. public colleges, universities. Same should be true of health care.
I'm open to different ideas, but I won't back down from basic principle of providing a choice. I'll make sure no govt or insur. bureaucrat gets between you and coverage you need.
How to pay for it? Legit concern. We inherited some big deficits/debts, and have big econ. crisis. We need control of our federal budget. First, I WILL NOT SIGN A PLAN THAT ADDS ONE DIME TO DEFICITS, NOW OR IN FUTURE, NO IFS, ANDS, OR BUTS.
Iraq War, tax cuts were what I was faced with. I won't make those same mistakes when it comes to hcr.
Next: Savings within existing system, money that's wasted, abuse... Drs, nurses determined that there's waste, not must me. Same with Medicare/caid. Distortions cleared up: WE HAVE STOOD UP FOR SR'S NOT HAVING TO STRUGGLE WITH MEDICAL BILLS. THAT IS THE ESSENCE OF MEDICARE, IT REMAINS A SACRED TRUST. Not one dollar of Medicare fund will be used, we will not be lowering benefits for srs. We will eliminate $$ of waste and fraud, and subsidies to insurance co's.
Next: Create independent commissions of medical experts, to ensure srs. will have Medicare. We can use savings for prescription drug costs. So don't pay attention to scary stories of how your benefits will be cut. The ones who accuse are the ones who have talked about cutting Medicare in the past.
Making Medicare more efficient helps reduce costs elsewhere. Look at Mayo Clinic and what id does. We want to help country learn from Mayo. That'll save everyone $.
Reduce infection rates, teach drs. how to work together... take fewer tests, email to all the drs. Common sense solutions.
Plan: Ideas from both parties... seek common ground in weeks ahead. I'll listen to serious proposals, but I WILL NOT WASTE TIME TO THOSE WHO THINK IT'S GOOD POLITICS TO KILL HEALTH CARE [HUGE APPLAUSE]. I'M NOT GONNA ALLOW SPECIAL INTERESTS TO USE SAME OLD TACTICS, ALLOW PEOPLE TO MISREPRESENT MY CLAIMS, OR ACCEPT THE STATUS QUO.
We are closer than ever before. This is the hard part, when special interests want to bring me down, scare, intimidate you... so I need your help. [applause]
Pundits say maybe you're doing too much. Pushing too far, too fast. [crowd: noooo] I never said change would be easy. When FDR intro'ed Soc. Security [boos?] they called it socialism. But sr's. decided protection was worth fighting for. When Medicare was intro'd, they said, gov't. takeover, but imagine what sr's. would go thru now w/o Medicare.
I've always believed change comes from the bottom up, begins with you, sharing your stories, fighting for something better. That's what's happening right now. [crowd's going wild, yes we can]
I asked if you were fired up [crowd goes nuts], some have heard that story. [He retells it]
There you go. : )
One voice can make a difference. Fired up? Ready to go? They can't stop us, let's go get this done!
Wilson's Democratic opponent in next year's congressional race, Rob Miller, said in a Friday night e-mail to supporters that he had received more than $1 million in small contributions in less than 48 hours.
A campaign aide to Wilson confirmed Saturday that Wilson has raised more than $700,000.
Ahead of President Obama's visit to Minneapolis Saturday, the Democratic National Committee is out with a new attack ad painting Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty as a politician attempting to appeal to the "extremists" in the Republican party.
"Tim Pawlenty is spreading lies about health reform," the nearly two-minute web ad charges.
See, if you smack 'em down, they get all defensive and stuff:
RNC Spokesman LeRoy Coleman released the following statement in response to the DNC ad:
“Once again, the Democrats are desperately trying to shift attention away from their extraordinarily unpopular health care plan – especially on a day when the President is bringing his traveling road show to Minnesota in an attempt to sell his floundering government-run health care proposal. Minnesotans, however, aren’t fooled by the rhetoric. The President’s government-run health care plan would increase costs, increase taxes, increase the deficit and reduce health care choice and quality.”
Um, no. Once again Rushpublics, "you lie!" Here's proof.
My very caring, impassioned 72-year-old Twitter pal, who goes by the name 42bkdodgr, would like to share his feelings about the hypocrisy, racism, and outright hostility of the -Ers, and I am more than happy to oblige.
I took the liberty of adding a couple of graphics.
Take it away, 42bkdodgr:
The Political Carnival recently posted an article titled “ Colorado Tea Party Organizer Issues Racist Threat To Fellow Blogger” which I read with great interest. Many of you know I detest racism in all forms from my previous special comments on The Political Carnival.
I found the racist threat made by Shaun Conley, a plumber in Johnstown Colorado, to be disgusting and reprehensible. What caught my interest was his ending comment, “You can’t spend your way to prosperity, and you can’t borrow your way out of debt. That’s what we’re trying to fight as a group” (tea baggers).
I ask Shaun and the “tea baggers” the following:
Where was the outcry when President George Bush took the budget surplus given to him by the Clinton Administration and used it up and substantially increased the National Debt?
Where was the outcry when President Bush took this country into an unjust war on misinformation that his administration provided Congress and the American people?
Where was their outcry when Bush Administration violated national and international laws... and our country lost the respect of the international community?
Where was the outcry when the Bush administration didn’t include the cost of the Afghan and Iraq Wars in the annual budget, but hid it under “supplementing spending”?
Where was the outcry when President Bush signed a prescription drug plan for the elderly without being able to pay for it?
Where was the outcry in 2005, when the budget estimate for the Medicare prescription drug plan would cost more than $1.2 trillion in the coming decade? That amount is larger than the $900,000 billion to $1 trillion dollars the Obama administration is estimating the Health Care Reform (HCR) will cost over 10 years, which will be fully funded.
Where was the outcry outrage when end-of-life provision for terminally ill people was included in the 2003 Medicare Drug Bill, that was overwhelmingly approved by the Republicans in Congress? Why are you then so concerned about the so called “death panel” inclusion in the proposed HCR bill?
From Conley’s remarks, you know he was surely against any stimulus plan, so he probably would have liked the banks, brokerage firms and auto companies to fail, throwing this country into a deep depression.
Maybe if these so called “tea baggers” would have been as vigilant during the Bush Administration, as they are concerned about the birth place of Obama, whether he is “one of us”, rather than engaging in mob rule to shut down real discussion at Town Hall meetings, this country would be in better shape today.
Great thanks again for another relevant, thought-provoking piece, 42bkdodgr. We need a gazillion more like you.
When Republican congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina heckled President Obama during his address to a joint session of Congress this week, it was no surprise that the subject was immigration.
It's also no surprise that while the House Republican leadership demanded that Wilson apologize for his intemperance and breach of protocol, pro-GOP talk-show hosts such as Rush Limbaugh and right-wing bloggers have defended him and urged him to stand firm.
For the moment, at least, the most effective opposition to the Obama administration comes not from the Republican Party establishment but from the talk-show/tea-party right, which -- if it has its way -- will convert the GOP into an almost exclusively white, zealously religious, mostly Southern party. For these people (including Southern Republicans such as Wilson) immigration is a red-meat issue.
Ding! Welcome to Election 2010.
Rutten then gives us a history lesson, which you should really go read.
With this sort of history as background, it's a little easier to understand how South Carolina, which flew the Confederate battle flag over its statehouse until 2000, has emerged as the place where Republican blood comes closest to flowing the talk-show-approved hue of red. [...]
Healthcare reform may be this month's battleground, but immigration, abortion, gun control, separation of church and state, and jingoism decked out as patriotism are the articles of faith from which the talk-show right's catechism derives. Immigration remains a particularly resonant issue because it touches so many of this tendency's sensitive nerves: racial anxiety, gnawing questions of national identity and a generalized sense of traditions under threat. Thus, even now -- in the midst of economic crisis, mass unemployment, war and the healthcare debate -- the talk-show right continues to beat the anti-immigrant drums. [...]
What's odd about the obsession of GOP lawmakers like Wilson with this issue is that opposition to humane and realistic immigration laws is neither a traditionally conservative nor traditionally Republican position. [...]
If the GOP's cooler heads are wondering whether to draw back from where the talk-show right is leading them, they should consider the case of California. Former Republican Gov. Pete Wilson's strident advocacy for Proposition 187's sweeping anti-immigrant legislation not only permanently alienated most of the state's Latino voters from the GOP, but set in motion the forces that ultimately produced the country's most ideologically extreme state Republican and Democratic parties. That's one of the major reasons we have a state government in which the two parties no longer engage each other in any substantive way, and in which little that's genuinely important or constructive is accomplished.
The United States can ill afford to have California's dysfunctional present become its future.
We must look like the stupidest Taliban run third world country to everyone else...
A new British film about Charles Darwin has failed to land a distribution deal in the States because his theories on human evolution are too controversial for religious American audiences, according to the film's producer.
Creation follows the British naturalist's 'struggle between faith and reason' as he wrote his 1859 book, On The Origin Of The Species.
The film, directed by Jon Amielm was chosen to open the Toronto Film Festival and has now been sold to almost every territory in the world.
But US distributors have turned down the film that could cause uproar in a country that, on the whole, dismisses scientific theories of the way we evolved.
Christian film review website Movieguide.org described Darwin as 'a racist, a bigot and a 1800s naturalist whose legacy is mass murder.'
The site also stated that his 'half-baked theory' influenced Adolf Hitler and led to 'atrocities, crimes against humanity, cloning and generic engineering.'
Jeremy Thomas, the Oscar-winning producer of Creation, said he was astonished that such attitudes exist 150 years after On The Origin of Species was published.
'That's what we're up against. In 2009. It's amazing,' he said.
Jeebus, I have never woken up with such a strong food craving. Guess I'm making stuffed peppers for dinner. Any secret tips for making them out there from you gourmetty cooks?
Maybe I came to the intertubes too late, but I've never gotten this "off topic" thingie that people are always apologizing for. In that vein, Gotta and I wanted ya'll to know that there is no "on topic" or need to apologize for going off it in comments on this blog. We really enjoy and get great ideas and links with your help, so don't bother with the "o/t"- we won't chide, yell at or wag our finger rudely at you for most anything** you say.
Earlier I posted about the Democrats' apparent concern over the supposed huge, enormous, gigantic turnout for ::drum roll::Project 9/12 ::ECHO echo echo::
Conservatives have seized on this memo as proof Democrats are playing an expectations game.
It's a plot! It's all a big, scary plot, I tell ya!
They say the House leadership wrote the memo in hopes it would be leaked and inflate expectations for the turnout anticipating that it will fall short.
Ya hear that? If the -Ers fail to show in GINORMOUS numbers, it's all our fault!
"It's an old political tactic to get out in front and make wild projections and when they're not met, claim their opponents don't have the juice," said Pete Sepp, a spokesman for the National Taxpayers Union, one of the organizers of the rally.
Sepp said there's only one reason to float a number that high.
"You set the bar at 2 million and anything under it becomes a failure," he said, adding that any event in D.C. that attracts 50,000 is considered a success...."
Ohhh, now, you wait just a minute there, mister. I know what you're doing, yes I do. You're pulling the ol' switcheroo by lowering expectations, right? Right? Boy howdy, you nearly had me going there for a second.
Sly fox...
"...A crowd of 2 million people, he said, "would exceed our wildest dreams."
Is that what Rushpublics dream about? I'm more into white sandy beaches, hammocks, margaritas, and Anthony Weiner.
Even President Obama didn't attract 2 million people to his inauguration, when estimates ranged from 1.2 million to 1.8 million people.
Hey, wouldn't that be rich? Topping Obama's numbers? Wouldn't that be something?
Not gonna happen. Never ever. Project Exploit9/11 will not, shall not, shan't, can't, won't generate Obama-sized crowds. But posting this clever article on Fox News saying it'll never happen and turning the tables on the Dems is so-o-o GOP.
Those scamps.
But Thornell told FOXNews.com that he was not playing an expectations game and that he simply used the numbers cited by organizers.
"I was using their own words and predictions and estimates," he said, explaining his memo was a compilation of statements from different Tea Party Web sites.
Wait, so it was the TeaCynics who raised expectations after all, huh? Now who do we believe, them or the astroturfers who pay them to show up?
Adam Brandon, a spokesman for FreedomWorks, told Politico he expects the crowd to be in the 20,000-30,000 range.
Infighting is so much fun. Can't wait 'til tomorrow! Get out your tally sheets.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Arlington Superintendent Jerry McCullough issued a statement Friday apologizing for how the district handled President Obama's live speech on Tuesday.
The decision not to show the speech live to school children became particularly controversial after it became known that the district had previous plans to bus about 500 fifth-graders to attend an event with former President George W. Bush. [...]
"In retrospect, I can see how the district's decisions concerning these two events could be seen as favoring one event over another," McCullough said in his written statement. He later said, "I apologize that my decisions on behalf of the district have disappointed or hurt people."
"In retrospect"? It didn't occur to him until after the fact? Really?
Gee, it's a good thing he can now "see how" that kind of thing "could be seen as favoring" Bush over Obama. In retrospect, one can see how McCullough could be seen as a douchebag, too. I'm not saying he is one, I'm just saying one can see how he could be seen as one.
At least he tried to cover his as-- I mean, at least he apologized. There's a lot of that going around. In fact, I can see how Rushpublic apologies could be seen as pretty meaningless.
In a video I posted earlier, this is what Joe Wilson said:
“The supporters of the government takeover of healthcare, and the liberals who want to give healthcare to illegals, are using my opposition as an excuse to distract from the critical questions being raised about this poorly conceived plan.”
However, in 2003, Wilson voted to provide federal funds for illegal immigrants’ healthcare. The vote came on the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, which contained Sec. 1011 authorizing $250,000 annually between 2003 and 2008 for government reimbursements to hospitals who provide treatment for uninsured illegal immigrants. The program has been extended through 2009 and there is currently a bipartisan bill in Congress to make it permanent.
Hey Joe the Mouther: You LIE!
To be fair, Section 1011 is just a small part of a much larger bill that contained many Republican priorities. Still, Wilson’s protest against the current healthcare reform proposal giving coverage to illegal immigrants (which is false), is in direct contradiction to his 2003 vote. Allowing illegal immigrants to purchase unsubsidized healthcare through the Exchange that would be set up under the current proposal wouldn’t cost taxpayers a cent, and it would be a step towards fixing the problem that Section 1011 was designed to throw federal money at.
According to the local sheriff, Nunn, 57, placed mementos on his parents' graves, moved several feet away, then cut his wrists. [...] Nunn was taken via ambulance to the hospital.
Nunn was arrested after being taken to the hospital, for allegedly violating a protective order against Ross, by carrying the handgun. [...]
Steve Nunn -- who spent whathe has called his "formative years" in the governor's mansion -- received just 13 percent of the vote running against [Ernie] Fletcher in the gubernatorial primary that year. He is also a former state legislator. [...]
Nunn and Ross had a deeply troubled relationship. [...]
But they stayed in contact, and in February he was at her home for dinner. That night, Ross later charged in a domestic violence complaint, he struck her four times in the face, threw her against a hallway lamp, breaking it, then threw a cup of bourbon in her face. [...]
An order of protection was placed on Nunn, ordering him to have no contact with Ross for a year. Nunn was placed on administrative leave from his job as deputy secretary of the state's health and human services department, and resigned soon after.
In July, a judge found Nunn in contempt of the protection order, after Ross alleged that Nunn had published "tampered photographs" of her. [...]
Late Update: The Herald-Leader now adds:
Police have not charged Nunn, Kentucky State Police Trooper Charles Sweeney said. Police officers will question Nunn upon his release.
As Zachary Roth says in his post, the story suggests "a son struggling to live up to the accomplishments of his father, it's almost a modern-day Southern Gothic."
What will be the right's next big Obama conspiracy theory?
That the government plans to tattoo the presidential seal on the soles of the feet of all gun-owning Christians? That Obama supported the switch from analog to digital TV because government scientists had placed interlocutor rays in every conversion box that would darken white people's skin (and don't Republicans have proof of this in John Boehner, who's been used as a guinea pig in these diabolical experiments)? Or might it be that the failure to maintain a balanced diet will become a felony, punishable by forced labor on the construction of a massive food pyramid somewhere in central Illinois?
Surely you can top that. Send your predictions here, to Comments. Then, when the mainstream media "reports" on just such a "controversy," you, instead of WorldNetDaily.com or the RNC, will be on the record for making it up first!
Conspiracies can be fun! Now go have yourselves a good time.
Earlier, I posted about Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid backing off their support of the public option. According to David Sirota's report below, that came just hours before... well, read what he says below.
This announcement comes just hours before Steve Elmendorf, a registered UnitedHealth lobbyist and the head of UnitedHealth's lobbying firm Elmendorf Strategies, blasted this email invitation throughout Washington, D.C.
Here's a copy of the invitation:
From: Steve Elmendorf [mailto:steve@elmendorfstrategies.com] Sent: Friday, September 11, 2009 8:31 AM Subject: event with Speaker Pelosi at my home
You are cordially invited to a reception with
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
Thursday, September 24, 2009 6:30pm ~ 8:00pm
At the home of Steve Elmendorf 2301 Connecticut Avenue, NW Apt. 7B Washington, D.C.
$5,000 PAC $2,400 Individual
To RSVP or for additional information please contact Carmela Clendening at (202) 485-3508 or clendening@dccc.org
Steve Elmendorf ELMENDORF STRATEGIES GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS SOLUTIONS 900 7th Street NW Suite 750 Washington DC 20001 (202) 737-1655
Steven A. Elmendorf, a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., was a senior advisor to House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt for 12 years, serving as his chief of staff after 1997. Elmendorf was also deputy campaign manager for U.S. Senator John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic nominee for president.[1]
[I]n 2006, Elmendorf gave his support to U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman's independent re-election bid after Lieberman lost the Democratic primary. Elmendorf was listed on Lieberman's campaign Web site as part of the "national chapter" of "Dems for Joe"[4]
Per a commenter on David Sirota's post:
Elmendorf is the political genius....
....who argued against the 2004 Kerry campaign responding to the Swiftboat ads.
And subsequently went into partnership with Jack Abramoff's bag man.
The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) is backing out of holding its mid-winter conference in South Carolina after one of its U.S. representatives accused President Barack Obama of lying during the president's congressional address on health care.
"Rep. [Joe] Wilson's remarks were racist, disrespectful and a disingenuous violation -- not only of President Obama -- but to the institution of the presidency and only solidified our position and the importance in not spending Black dollars where Black people are not respected," NNPA Chairman Danny J. Bakewell Sr. said in a statement.
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) has hired a new-media strategist to help with a vigorous defense launched after heckling the president.
David All, who bills his firm as the first conservative Web 2.0 agency, was retained Thursday afternoon amid the media storm surrounding Wilson’s “You lie!” outburst. Since then, All has been busy writing Twitter updates and reaching out to conservative blogs on Wilson's behalf.
Why, he could be the next Sarah the Quitter! Isn't it presh the way they both have ghost writers to spread their dufusness?
The South Carolina Republican’s defense is focused on social media, including a taped YouTube video message to supporters, a flurry of Twitter messages, numerous interviews with bloggers and an ad on the Drudge Report.
Enter All, a former communications director for Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) and a self-described fan of the late Lee Atwater, the famed strategist who ran President George H.W. Bush’s campaign.
“I got the call at 2 o’clock yesterday,” All said in an interview with The Hill. “He already knew he wanted to respond, it’s just a matter of having someone help quarterback and toss the ball when needed.”
Two hours later, Wilson’s Twitter feed went into overdrive. Over the next five hours, Wilson posted 15 Tweets, four shy of his total count for the entire month of August.
Among the Tweets, Wilson describes granting interviews to Erick Erickson of RedState.com, Jillian Bandes of Townhall.com and John Hawkins of RightWingNews. He also made a plea for conservative assistance.
He sure needed a lot of help defending himself for someone who felt he behaved badly enough to apologize publicly. Apparently, he doesn't take his own regret seriously.
Oh, but we already knew that, didn't we?
All acknowledged that Wilson is not personally writing each of his Tweets. “He is certainly aware of all of the Tweets and understands the substance of all of the Tweets and what’s happening,” All said. “He is not exactly pressing send.”
That's a relief! He's conscious! Who could ask for a better qualified Congressperson than that?
By the way, just a thought: One of these days all that hate mongering could very well backfire. Literally. Not only are they insolent, dangerous, vulgar sheeple, but they're short-sighted insolent, dangerous, vulgar sheeple.
Robert Gibbs is on MSNBC's Hardball right now, with Chuck Todd subbing for Chris Matthews, who is recovering from tests he had related to his diabetes.
Chucky is pressing Gibbs to fill in some blanks.
Gibbs is referring Chucky to the web site and a radio address for health care answers. He's saying we'll save money via malpractice reform. He's reiterating the illegal immigrant policy. "We've had a very good week."
Chuck: You'll need Republicans. At least one.
Gibbs: Obama has talked to Repubs in the past few days... [he won't reveal names because their "phone would ring off the hook"]. He's reiterating talking points about health care reform, you've heard them all.
Chuck: War in Afghanistan... to get Al Qaeda, Bin Laden. Why is he still out there? Is getting him your goal? What is?
Gibbs: Disrupt, dismantle, destroy Al Qaeda and its extremist allies. That's where 9/11 attack started. We want to prevent future attacks. We want to capture or kill Bin Laden, but that's not all. There are terrorists who want to kill Americans.
Chuck: Two enemies: Al Qaeda, the Taliban. If you feel you've destroyed Al Qaeda, then at what point can you say you've destroyed the Taliban?
Gibbs: Taliban wants to destabilize Afghan., Pakistan, sow seeds of terror. We have to disrupt, dismantle both.
Chuck: More R's agree with Afghan. policy than Dems. Pelosi, Levin nervous. How much will Obama work on the politics of that?
Gibbs: Long view: Obama asked to reassess and reevaluate. He authorized more troops to bring security to region, for election. He's asked for a review, assessment since then. No imminent timetable for troop decisions. It'll be many, many weeks. We're working through McChrystal's assessments.
Chuck: Detailed exit strategy for Congress?
Gibbs: We're working with Congress to establish benchmarks.
Chuck: A negative strategy.
Gibbs: It's a measure of strategic progress. We won't be there forever. No resources for that, or manpower, or budget. We have to focus our goals.
Chuck: Reports about training exercise about Coast Guard.
Gibbs: The Coast Guard is trying to come up with explanation. The TV reporting was false, it alarmed too many people, especially today. I wish the reporters had taken time to check for accuracy. It's more important to be first to report accurately, not just first, instead of scaring people.
Larry Gelbart, the award-winning comedy writer best known for developing the landmark TV series "MASH," co-writing the book for the hit Broadway musical "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" and co-writing the classic movie comedy "Tootsie," died this morning. He was 81.
Gelbart, who was diagnosed with cancer in June, died at his home in Beverly Hills, said his wife, Pat.
Jack Lemmon once described the genial, quick-witted Gelbart as "one of the greatest writers of comedy to have graced the arts in this century." [...]
In 1955, Gelbart joined the fabled writing staff of "Caesar's Hour," Sid Caesar's post-"Your Show of Shows" TV comedy-variety series. Among his fellow writers were Neil Simon and Mel Brooks.
In the writers' room, as colleague Carl Reiner later told Time magazine, Gelbart "popped jokes like popcorn."
Indeed, after he went to work for "Caesar's Hour," Hope contacted Caesar to say, "I'll trade you two oil wells for one Gelbart." [...]
He also received an Oscar nomination for his screenplay for "Oh, God," the 1977 comedy starring George Burns and John Denver.
[N]ew reports have the Dems and particularly Speaker Pelosi telling Wilson that he must either apologize to the House or face a censure motion. On a strictly political calculus, it's a little hard to figure. When someone is doing so much to damage themselves and their party, generally you try not to get in their way. The key, however, seems to be Wilson's increasingly unrepentant attitude over the last two days and his refusal to go down to the well of the House and apologize to the body for his actions. [...]
Given how many the tea-bagging right has rallied around Wilson, I don't think many House Republicans want to have that vote. They don't want to vote to censure him. On the other hand, voting in support of him would be a little troubling for a lot of voters too.
.jpg)