I think we need this, been a rough day. Makes me cry every time.
**Okay, maybe not quiet. Let's try contemplative.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Overnight Quiet** Moment
I think we need this, been a rough day. Makes me cry every time.
**Okay, maybe not quiet. Let's try contemplative.
Tweet: "We'll use them 4 target practice"
By GottaLaff
My pal Symbolman (he co-authored the Going Rouge coloring book) aka Micheal Stinson, found someone, or two someones, we need to expose. We've managed to get several offenders deleted and/or reported to the authorities.
That won't change them or their desire to spread their toxic spew, but it has made a small impact.
It's the least we can do (click on images to enlarge):
After recent despicable events at the Tea Bagger protest, it's hard to imagine much improvement in the behavior of the worst in this country.
There has to be a way to defuse the hatred and vile threats. I wish someone would invent one already.
VIDEO- Special BLUNT: "With all due respect, oh my God... Who are we?"
By GottaLaff
You have a voice, now use it.
(Click on image to enlarge)For more information about Blunt, follow this link. If you think a video file is too big to email, then go here and use YouSendIt.com.
Please include a name you'd like to use, and a "title", if any, in your e-mail, as you'll see in the video graphics.
Remember: Try to keep the videos at 20 seconds or under.
It's your turn. Go.
Video- President Obama rallies House Democrats on Health Care Reform
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
VIDEO: Tea Party protesters mob Reps. Lewis, Carson, Cummings, shout slurs
By GottaLaff
UPDATE: Apologies if the title is misleading. It was meant to mean that there is a video, and more. The TEXT talks about the slurs. The video shows the protesters only, not the specific slurs mentioned in the text.
At today's rally, things got ugly... even uglier than usual:
A staffer for Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) told reporters that Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) had been spat on by a protestor. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a hero of the civil rights movement, was called a 'ni--er.' And Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was called a "faggot," as protestors shouted at him with deliberately lisp-y screams. Frank, approached in the halls after the president's speech, shrugged off the incident.
But Clyburn was downright incredulous, saying he had not witnessed such treatment since he was leading civil rights protests in South Carolina in the 1960s.
Be proud, Tea Baggers. Family values, patriotism, compassion: all missing.
Bigotry, racism, hatred: all present and accounted for.
Video- Tea Baggers throw shoes at pic of Rep Carnahan (D-MO), goad little kid to do it too
Yep, that kids' gonna be a fine upstanding citizen.
And then there were only six Stupak clones...
So for this you're going to lose your seat? Via Taegan-
Here's why there is no deal with Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI): Roll Call reports House Democratic leaders appear to be succeeding in their push to peel off abortion-rights opponents lined up with Stupak against a health care overhaul.
"Stupak said those standing with him now number about six -- down from the rough dozen he has claimed for weeks. That is likely enough to put the majority within striking distance of the 216 votes they need for passage."
Meanwhile, The Hill notes that Stupak is still considering whether an executive order from President Obama ensuring that federal funds would not go toward abortions would sway his vote.
CBC member: Health bill protesters called Rep. Lewis the N-word
Yeah, they did that to John Lewis. h/t John.
Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.) claimed Saturday that healthcare protesters at the Capitol directed racial epithets at Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) as he walked outside.
Carson, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus along with Lewis, told The Hill that protesters called Lewis the N-word.
Tea Party protesters held a rally outside the Capitol on Saturday, which included speeches by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and actor Jon Voight, and then proceeded into the halls to lobby members at the 11th hour.
Live Streaming Video- President Obama meets with House Dems in final health care push
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Tea Baggers getting nasty at House offices
I hope some of our people are there with cameras, this is just unconscionable. Via TPM.
As our Brian Beutler reports, a few moments ago in Longworth office building, a group swarmed a very calm looking Henry Waxman, as he got on the elevator, with shouts of "Kill the bill!" "You liar! You crook!"
Rep. Barney Frank got an uglier version of the treatment. Just after Frank rounded a corner to leave the building, an older protestor yelled "Barney, you faggot." The surrounding crowd of protestors then erupted in laughter.
A Capitol police officer threatened to throw them out but that only seemed to inflame them more.
Black support for Obama's race-neutral stance is high
I've often wondered about his thinking on all this. Guess he's doing it right.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Discontent is surging among some black advocates over President Barack Obama's refusal to target rising black unemployment, but many black residents in Charlotte, N.C., say they support his racially neutral approach to joblessness.
(snip)
African-Americans interviewed last week by The Associated Press say the president is correct to focus on the needs of all Americans, and black people should take responsibility for solving their own problems.
They include Shenika Simpson, an unemployed single mother. Simpson says Obama "can't just jump in the chair and fix everything within a year."
House leaders plan separate health vote, rejecting 'deem and pass'
House leaders have decided to take a separate vote on the Senate health-care bill, rejecting an earlier, much-criticized strategy that would have permitted them to "deem" the unpopular measure passed without an explicit vote.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said Saturday that the House would take three votes Sunday: first, on a resolution that will set the terms of debate; second, on a package of amendments to the Senate bill that have been demanded by House members; and third, on the Senate bill itself.
Van Hollen, who has been working on the issue with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), said House leaders concluded that that order -- approving the amendments before approving the Senate bill -- makes clear that the House intends to modify the Senate bill and not approve the Senate bill itself.
Pelosi rejects Stupak abortion solution
Aww, poor Bartie. Guess his 15 minutes are over.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Saturday rejected an offer to hold a separate vote on abortion provisions in the sweeping health-care legislation, setting the stage for the final talks with the last Democratic holdouts.
Pelosi told reporters that she rejected the solution offered by Rep. Bart Stupak (Mich.), the leading antiabortion Democrat who proposed passing separate, strict language that would clarify that no federal funds in the proposed legislation could go toward abortion coverage.
Asked if a vote was coming, Pelosi declared no extra votes would be held to appease antiabortion Democrats or liberals still hopeful for adding their favored causes. "Not on abortion, not on public option, not on single payer, not on anything," Pelosi said. She later added, "The bill is the bill."
Video- Palin says Obama is "without the experience" to "get policy through" -- "it's a bit over his head"
Ohio's tort reform law hasn't lowered health-care costs
Heh. I was just watching the reconciliation conference on CSPAN 2, and all of the R reps were afflicted with what I call Tort Reform Tourette's. Guess they need to get another disease stat.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - As the House of Representatives prepares to vote Sunday on a package that Democrats say will make health care more affordable, critics insist the "big government takeover of health care" is not only unwarranted, but that a part of the solution is so obvious it's a crime Democrats failed to embrace it.
It's called tort reform, or putting the brakes on junk lawsuits. If doctors and hospitals don't need to worry about defending themselves against baseless malpractice lawsuits, they'll stop ordering needless, duplicative tests and halt the practice of defensive medicine, Republican congressional leaders say. It's an easy and necessary way to bring down costs for all Americans, they say.
The problem is, Ohio has already taken that step, as have many other states. Yet five years after a difficult but successful fight in Columbus to pass tort reform, health-care costs in the state have not gone down. And health policy analysts say it may not be possible to say whether costs would have spiked even higher had Ohio not passed lawsuit reform.
Costs climbed even after the legislature limited the size of jury verdicts for pain and suffering to $250,000 except in catastrophic cases, restricted punitive damages, and made it tougher to take a case to trial. In 2004, the year Ohio passed lawsuit liability reform, average premiums for employer-based family health plans were $9,590, according to data from the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. By 2008, average family premiums were $11,425.
This means that four years after the state passed tort reform, health insurance for Ohio families in employer plans had gone up by 19 percent.
Sunday Links
Saturday Links
Morning everyone, and a Happy Spring too! Both Gotta and I have pressing engagements today, so posting will be light until this afternoon. Go outside, get some fresh air.
Astronomers discover new planet that would be at home in our own Solar System
How happy are you?
Is there anything Americans won't put in their mouths?
Thousands rally against Putin across Russia
Stem cells used to rebuild 10-year-old boy's windpipe in groundbreaking surgery
Actresses may have helped prevent suicide via Twitter
Unseen images of a lost London (when it really was a capital place to live!)
Homeless in Haiti swamped by rains
Friday, March 19, 2010
Astronomy and Overnight Thread
Credit & Copyright: Miloslav Druckmüller (Brno University of Technology), Martin Dietzel, Peter Aniol, Vojtech Rušin
This pic made me go "ooooooh". Click to enlarge.
We have a new blogad (YEAH!) so please click thru and check out what they're trying to inform you about. That is how we make the pennies. You can also make a donation through the PayPal button to the right to help us out, and if you are thinking of buying anything from Amazon, just using one of those links to the right gets us a couple pennies a transaction.
VIDEO: Weiner rips into GOPer who read hoax memo on House floor
By GottaLaff
I officially declare today Rep. Anthony Weiner day (follow links, it's worth it):
[An] obscurely sourced (at best) memo purporting to detail Democrats' messaging plan on health care reform traveled in just a few hours this afternoon from a Republican lobbyist to political reporters to Hill aides and onto high-profile news websites before Democrats beat the story back with cries that the memo was a "hoax."
Here's the memo:
(click on image to enlarge)H/t: rosierifka
VIDEO: "There will be a civil war" if health care reform passes
By GottaLaff
TPM's Evan McMorris-Santoro talked to Kris Fisher of Oakville, Virginia.:
Do these people, these "citizens", realize that we have a Congress that was elected by American voters, legally?
And that their side lost? Fair and square? Or doesn't their brand of patriotism cover stuff like one person, one vote?
That's called "democracy". Say it with me, Kris. De-moc-ra-cy. Or in her case, deMOCKracy.
They lost.
They lost.
Let me say that one more time, so that even Kris the Protester can understand it.
They. Lost.
Deal with it without the threat of violence, okay? Can we all manage that? Or is peaceful coexistence passé?
'Kthanksbye.
Quickie: Dodd calls for Lehman Bros. investigation
By GottaLaff
Today's Quickie:
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., is calling for a federal investigation into the "Lehman situation" and other companies that may have fudged their balance sheets, contributing to the financial crisis.About time. I can't wait to see which Congress members defend Lehman.
That was today's Quickie. Was it good for you?
Chart- Who’s in play: House health-care whip count
By GottaLaff
The Washington Post has a list that they're constantly updating, of who in the House is still in play for health care reform, and how they voted in November.
It also includes each Congress member's campaign contributions from the health industry through 2009, and the percentage of uninsured in their district.
Here's a screen grab, to give you a sample of what you'll see if you link over (click on image to enlarge). I took one sample from those with the lowest dollar amount of donations, and another from those with the greatest:
Dutch furious at U.S. general for blaming gay soldiers
By GottaLaff
Remember this from yesterday's Rachel Maddow Show?
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
So does the Dutch Prime Minister:
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende attacked on Friday claims by a retired U.S. general that Dutch forces were overrun in Srebrenica in 1995 because of the presence of gay soldiers. [...]
"The remarks were outrageous, wrong and beneath contempt," Balkenende told a news conference.
Yes, in fact they were.
Oh, it gets worse:
The Dutch Defense Ministry called Sheehan's claims "absolute nonsense" and added that gay Dutch soldiers routinely cooperate with the U.S. military in the NATO mission in Afghanistan.
Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen called the claim "the bizarre private opinion of someone without an official function".
Renee Jones-Bos, the Dutch ambassador to the United States, said in a statement, "I couldn't disagree more" with Sheehan, adding there was no evidence of his claims in the extensive record of research on Srebrenica.
Military unions were equally angry. Dutch news agency ANP quoted the head of the military union AFMP as saying Sheehan's comments were "out of the realm of fiction", while the head of the gay soldiers' group SHK called his comments "the ridiculous convulsion of a loner".
You might say a few well placed people were a tad offended, mightn't you?
California bar considering disciplinary action against Orly Taitz
By GottaLaff
Orly Taitz has crossed more lines than a snail on a sidewalk, than a crosswalk guard at an elementary school, than Apolo Ohno winning races at the Olympics.
Yesterday I wrote about how she invaded a woman's privacy by posting her name, address, and phone number online.
Now it seems the California bar is none too thrilled with her:
Gee, I guess that would kinda put a cramp in her efforts to run for California's Secretary of State:
If she can qualify, then so can
Fun fact: Secretaries of state are responsible for elections.
At least Taitzie is an equal opportunity sewer, er, sue-er:
And by equal opportunity, I mean racist:
Yesterday I wrote about how she invaded a woman's privacy by posting her name, address, and phone number online.
Now it seems the California bar is none too thrilled with her:
California bar now considering disciplinary action against birther lawyer Orly Taitz.
Gee, I guess that would kinda put a cramp in her efforts to run for California's Secretary of State:
The Orange County registrar has confirmed that Orly Taitz -- the de facto leader of the "birther" movement trying to prove President Obama wasn't born in the United States -- has qualified to run for secretary of state. And her main opponent is a man who has only ever voted once.
If she can qualify, then so can
Fun fact: Secretaries of state are responsible for elections.
At least Taitzie is an equal opportunity sewer, er, sue-er:
But Obama isn't the only politician Taitz is challenging on the grounds of eligibility. She is using the same tactic against her Republican primary opponent for secretary of state, Damon Dunn. Taitz filed a criminal complaint against Dunn, claiming he is ineligible to run in the GOP primary because he hasn't been registered as a Republican long enough.
And by equal opportunity, I mean racist:
An investigation by Spencer Kornhaber at OC Weekly into her claims concluded they were "false."
Kornhaber can't help but notice that both Obama and Dunn are black. "Orly Taitz seems to have a thing for raising questions about black politicians' eligibility for office," he quips.
She is having one very positive effect:
Hawaii is debating legislation that would allow it to stop responding to requests for Obama's birth certificate. Officials say they still receive 10 to 20 such requests per week.
Maybe we should all send her our thanks.
There's much more over at Raw Story.
The Boehner v. The Weiner
By GottaLaff
Re: The title. I couldn't help myself. Bygones.
Moving on...
I got a little curious about Maplight.org, and went over to explore. Look what I found!
John Boehner Republican (Elected 1991), OH House district 8Total Campaign Contributions Received: $3,430,213
Top 10 Interests Funding
Interest Contributions Insurance $224,720 Securities & Investment $163,000 Electric Utilities $156,950 Banks and Credit $154,250 Health Professionals $139,500 Pharmaceuticals/Health Products $136,900 Real Estate $127,550 Lawyers/Law Firms $127,250 Hospitals/Nursing Homes $99,025 Misc Manufacturing & Distributing $95,000 Contributions from political parties and from other candidates are not included in top 10 lists.
Contributions shown for the last two years of available data, Jan 1, 2008 - Dec 31, 2009.
Anthony Weiner Democrat (Elected 1999), NY House district 9Total Campaign Contributions Received: $569,799
Top 10 Interests Funding
Interest Contributions Real Estate $128,900 Health Professionals $44,300 Securities & Investment $28,875 Lawyers/Law Firms $25,100 Building Trade Unions $20,200 Public Sector Unions $18,450 Pro-Israel $16,600 Transportation Unions $15,500 Agricultural Services/Products $15,200 Industrial Unions $11,000 Contributions from political parties and from other candidates are not included in top 10 lists.
Contributions shown for the last two years of available data, Jan 1, 2008 - Dec 31, 2009.
Quite a contrast, isn't it?
Three stories here:
1. Who influences whom.
2. We need real campaign finance reform.
3. We need real SCOTUS reform.
For some excellent Weiner (bygones), watch these videos of him smack down a couple of health care weenies (bygones).
VIDEO: Tea Bagger Circus 101
By GottaLaff
Your honor, Exhibit A:
Wow.On March 16, 2010, Tea Partiers from around the country gathered (in disappointing numbers) in front of the Capitol building for their final protest against health care reform. Also in town, appropriately, was Barnum & Bailey's actual circus. The protestors voiced their usual conspiratorial concerns about healthcare reform: that it was a government takeover and more government, of course, equals less freedom; that it would euthanize seniors too expensive to treat; and that the bill would sink the nation into irrecoverable debt, despite its actually reducing the deficit by more than $100-billion over the next ten years. Averse to facts, no one interviewed was able to cite evidence for their false beliefs about the reform proposal, and instead suggested we seek the "truth" from Glenn Beck and Fox News.
We rest our case.
H/t: BuzzFlash
Commenter called DeFazio; Aide: "Mr. DeFazio has not drawn a position"
By GottaLaff
I just called Rep. DeFazio's office in Washington DC and contacted an aide. He said that the recent press is inaccurate and that Mr. DeFazio has not drawn a position. This is because he is still reading the bill — so much for the Republicans' talking point! — and will not decide which way he's going to vote until he has.
That's the definitive word as of 1:37 PM Friday, Pacific Daylight Time.
My original post, via ClusterFox unfortunately, who said he switched to "no", is here.
UPDATE from my pal Della Lee, via Comments:
I also called DeFazio's DC office. I'm from his district: Springfield OR 97477. I got the same message, including "Don't believe every news report you hear." Still undecided. I urged foot in the door, amend later, Yes on HCR now!
Thank you! We have the best readers in the world.
VIDEOS: Rep. Anthony Weiner smacks down Peggy Noonan, GOP Rep. Garrett
By GottaLaff
Start watching at about 8:00:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
I lerves me some Weiner .... er, Anthony.
All Joe and Peggy could come back with is that he "raised his voice". That's it? They got nothin'.
Smackdown #2, this time of Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), courtesy of Good Day, New York:
VIDEO- GOP Congressmen: Iraq War a "horrible mistake...Everybody" thinks so.
By GottaLaff
You know that little bloodbath in Iraq we've been in for the past 8 years or so? The one that so many of us knew was wrong before it even began? The one the GOP fought tooth and nail for? The one that was a result of unrelenting fear-mongering? The one that made you a traitor to your country and a terrorist if you dared to breathe a word against it? The one that resulted in torture and maiming and 4,385 American deaths?
Yeah, that one.
Surprise! It turns out it was just a big ol' Rushpublic oopsie!
Too little too late doesn't even begin to say it:In a panel at the Cato Institute on conservatism and war, U.S. Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) and John Duncan (R-Tenn.) revealed that the vast majority of GOP members of Congress now think it was wrong for the U.S. to invade Iraq in 2003.
Isn't hindsight special? Then again, Rushpublics have always been a little backwards:ROHRABACHER: [...] All I can say is the people, everybody I know thinks it was a mistake to go in now. [...]
NORQUIST: Of Republicans in Congress, who would agree with the general analysis here that it was a mistake and/or we should go in.
MCCLINTOCK: I think everyone would agree Iraq was a mistake.
NORQUIST: Two hundred percents. Ok, we’re going to average these.
MCCLINTOCK: And, you know, again, I think virtually everyone would agree going into Afghanistan the way we did was a mistake.
After Rohrbacher said everybody he knows thought it was a mistake, he got laughter.
Laughter.
I didn't realize 1000s of unnecessary deaths as a result of a fraudulent war was funny.
Top 10 facts to know about health care reform
By GottaLaff
PolitiFact has made a list and checked it twice. However, for details, you'll have to pop over there. Here are the bullet points only:
1. The plan is not a government takeover of health care like in Canada or Britain.
2. Insurance companies will be regulated more heavily.
3. Everyone will have to have health insurance or pay a fine, a requirement known as the individual mandate.
4. Employers will not be required to buy insurance for their employees, but large employers may be subject to fines if they don't provide insurance.
5. The vast majority of people will not see significant declines in premiums.
6. The plan might or might not bend the curve on health spending.
7. The government-run Medicare program will keep paying medical bills for seniors, but it will begin implementing cost controls on health care providers, mostly through penalties and incentives.
8. Medicaid, a joint federal-state program for the poor, will cover all of the poor, instead of just a few groups the way it currently does.
9. The government won't pay for elective abortions.
10. No one is proposing new benefits for illegal immigrants.
There you go.
VIDEO- Targeted by the Tea Party: Parkinson's Hero Speaks
By GottaLaff
Previously, I posted a video of a man with Parkinson's disease getting verbally abused, right up in his face, by a bunch of vulgar Tea Tantrumers. They accused him of wanting "handouts" because he supports health care reform. They threw money at him, humiliated him, and harassed him.
Now he is speaking out, and he says he "didn't feel afraid." He's a lot braver than I'd ever be:
Bob, the man with Parkinson's who was targeted by the Tea Partiers, sat down with ProgressOhio for an interview. He is 60 years old and was first diagnosed with Parkinsons 15 years ago. He has two masters degrees and a Ph.D. from Cornell. He taught at the University of Michigan and worked as a nuclear engineer.
Bob was able to have a $150,000 surgery that greatly increased his quality of life, thanks to Medicare and the Cleveland Clinic. He attended the event in Columbus because he believes in giving back and thinks everyone should have access to affordable health insurance and quality health care.
"Everyone take your own action."
He's right, and he is a hero.
H/t: Digby, who has a lot more "sickening behavior" to share with you.
Networks reject $arah Palin, who wants BIG money for small reality show
By GottaLaff
$eems ol' Greedy McBadShow has been rejected by the Big Three and has been sent to CableLand. So much for her irresistible celebrity pull:
Sources say A&E Networks and Discovery Communications want to acquire Palin's project, which focuses on the ex-governor giving a guided tour of her native Alaska [...]
But here's the money line, as it were... so to speak... after a fashion...
The former vice presidential candidate is asking for between $1 million and $1.5 million per episode, a hefty amount for a first-year cable series.
It's good to know she's staying true to her money-grubbing self. She can add this outlandish effort to rake in some more cash to her habit of making a few bucks by avoiding property taxes, her ghostwritten book, and her exorbitant speaking fees.
To put her salary demands into perspective:
Stars tend to receive about $10,000 to $25,000 per episode for their appearances on reality TV, according to a recent report in the New York Post. But that does vary. For the second season of “The Osbournes,” for example, each member of the clan reportedly received $5 million, bringing MTV’s bill to $20 million. That was a huge salary increase, considering they only received about $5,000 each, per episode, for the first season. Then again, it was a huge hit for the network. [...]
For the first season of “The Apprentice,” Donald Trump received $50,000 per episode, and double that for the second season. For the third season of “Dancing with the Stars,” participants were offered contracts that had variable pay rates, depending upon how long they lasted, for a maximum of $245,000.
It's nice to see that Greedy's priorities are consistent. It's never about America, it's all about Greedy.
Palin initially pitched the show to broadcast networks. Given the show's laid-back nature theme and lack of high-stakes drama that tends to typify broadcast reality hits, industry executives see cable as a better fit.
And by "better fit" the networks mean it sucked too much for words, they wouldn't get near it and knew better than to rely on a failed, lying quitter to carry a series, especially a boring one.
Shorter version: Don't call us, we'll call you.
Oregon Rep. DeFazio Switches 'Yes' Vote to 'No' on Health Care Bill. BUT...
By GottaLaff
The opposition from Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., dials back the number of House members leaning toward voting yes to 214, and the number leaning toward voting no to 217.
DeFazio announced his opposition shortly after Ohio Rep. John Boccieri, also a Democrat, announced that he will switch his vote to yes, temporarily putting Pelosi within one vote of what she needs.
However, there's a glimmer of a whiff of a silver lining:
But he indicated he could still change his mind again.
"I'm a no unless they fix this," he said, referring to what he sees as insufficient Medicare spending in rural areas.
I'm holding on to the audacity of hope.
VIDEO- Hey "Pro-lifers": "What about Jenny's baby? Isn't that life as important?"
By GottaLaff
My Twitter pal, Chi910, aka Midge Hough, is someone stubborn, obstructionist Congress members should be listening to. I've written about her and her family here, here, and here.
Tea Partiers thought it was more important to mock Midge than to rectify our abysmal health care system.
And as you know, the GOP has mocked, smeared and used scare tactics relentlessly.
She is now making an appeal to her own representative, Dan Lipinski, and I would like to give her a hand getting the word out via her video.
Please support her efforts:Midge Hough, who lost her daughter-in-law and unborn granddaughter due to lack of health insurance, urges Rep. Dan Lipinski to stop using misleading, abortion arguments to block health care reform. --- Please consider donating $10 to support the production & distribution of this video.
You can visit her website here.
Dep't. of the Obvious: GOP Insiders Say Steele is a Liability
By GottaLaff
Um, duh?
The National Journal's Political Insider's Poll finds that when Republican insiders were asked whether RNC Chairman Michael Steele was an asset or a liability, 71% said Steele was a liability, while only 20% said he was an asset. Another 9% said he was neither or both.
Why would anyone think this guy isn't an asset?
No More Negotiating with Stupak
Hope you have plans for next year Bart, 'cause you ain't coming back. Via Taegan-
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was asked by ABC News about Rep. Bart Stupak's (D-MI) suggestion that there could be another bill to address abortion funding but she closed the door.
Said Pelosi: "This bill is about health care and not about abortion. There will be no further changes in the bill."
Rep. John Boccieri (D-OH) Switches From No To Yes
Getting closer.
Just now on MSNBC- Rep. John Boccieri (D-OH), who voted against the November bill, announced this morning in an emotional speech that he will vote for the health care bill. Boccieri is the fourth congressman to flip from no to yes.
Seven years ago today
Iraq Coalition Military Fatalities By Year
| Year | US | UK | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 486 | 53 | 41 | 580 |
| 2004 | 849 | 22 | 35 | 906 |
| 2005 | 846 | 23 | 28 | 897 |
| 2006 | 822 | 29 | 21 | 872 |
| 2007 | 904 | 47 | 10 | 961 |
| 2008 | 314 | 4 | 4 | 322 |
| 2009 | 149 | 1 | 0 | 150 |
| 2010 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Total | 4385 | 179 | 139 | 4703 |
| Documented Iraqi civilian deaths from violence | |
|---|---|
| 95,680 – 104,382 | |
| Latest incidents | Latest identified |
| Mar 06: Woman by roadside bomb in al-Karma Details | Son of Hashmiya ? Adult; Male Details |
| Recent events | |
Monday 15 March: 13 killed Falluja: 8 by bomb | |
h/t noweasels for reminding me.
Rep Eloit Engel just announced on David Shuster's show he is a yes vote
He was an undecided before, now in the yes column. Yeah Eliot! Here's the latest whip count.
Informal Survey- Teabaggers clueless when it comes to taxes
I'd love to see their version of reality when it comes to other stuff too, but this is fascinating.
CONFUSION-BASED RAGE, CONT'D.... Former Bush speechwriter David Frum enlisted some interns this week to survey Tea Party activists protesting in D.C. earlier this week. The goal was to get a sense of the activists' understanding of taxes -- ostensibly, the "movement's" raison d'etre -- and factual knowledge.
Bruce Bartlett reported today on the survey's results, and found that for an anti-tax group, "they don't know much about taxes."
Indeed, it appears much of the Tea Party crowd is simply clueless about the issues they claim to care the most about, wildly exaggerating federal tax rates, how much a median family pays in taxes, and what's changed since President Obama took office.
In short, no matter how one slices the data, the Tea Party crowd appears to believe that federal taxes are very considerably higher than they actually are, whether referring to total taxes as a share of GDP or in terms of the taxes paid by a typical family.
Tea Partyers also seem to have a very distorted view of the direction of federal taxes. They were asked whether they are higher, lower or the same as when Barack Obama was inaugurated last year. More than two-thirds thought that taxes are higher today, and only 4% thought they were lower; the rest said they are the same.
As noted earlier, federal taxes are very considerably lower by every measure since Obama became president.... No taxpayer anywhere in the country had his or her taxes increased as a consequence of Obama's policies.
Video- Stephen Colbert "interviews" Mary Matalin
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Mary Matalin | ||||
| ||||
Why the wingers even try with him is beyond me.
.jpg)
