Video- Wheelchair-Bound Woman Shouted Down At New Jersey Health Care Town Hall

Oh those lovely compassionate conservatives. Wonder if Mike Steele is proud of his minions?

Video- Dick Morris urges viewers to act up at town hall meetings and "terrorize" Blue Dog Democrats

All I can ever think of when I see Morris is "toesucker". Via Newshounds.

Democrats May Unite On Public Health Plan

Assholes. Bob's got the relevant phone numbers, so let your fingers do the bitching.

(CBS/AP) Emboldened by polls that show public backing for a government health insurance plan, Democrats are moving to make it a politically defining issue in the debate over the future of medical care.

Behind-the-scenes attempts to get a deal with Republicans on nonprofit co-ops as an alternative to a public plan have led only to frustration, complains a key Democrat. He and his colleagues may have to go it alone, said Sen. Chuck Schumer.

No co-ops, no compromise. Public option or go home and pray we help you out next election.

TN Republican Staffer Caught Forwarding Racist Picture

By GottaLaff

Look at the bottom right corner of this graphic ^

This is so blatant, so despicable, so utterly egregious, I honestly cannot fathom why this person is employed by a U.S. Senator, even one like Rushpublic Diane Black:

Further adding to the tragicomedy that is Tennessee politics, we are forced to deal with some of the most vicious racism you'll ever see without a white hood. [...]

Earlier today, a legislative staffer forwarded well-known West Tennessee blogger Newscoma a picture they had been sent from another staffer. It's supposed to be an "historical keepsake photo" of the Presidents. But no picture of President Obama--instead, just a "spook."

Because, haha, in addition to being another word for a ghost, "spook" is also a racial slur against African-Americans! [...]

The staffer who originally sent around the picture has now been revealed to be Sherri Goforth, an executive assistant for Republican State Senator Diane Black of Gallatin (a suburb of Nashville). When contacted by Nashville Is Talking/WKRN Channel 2 (our ABC affiliate) blogger Christian Grantham, not only did Goforth refuse to apologize, all she could do was claim that she had simply sent it "from the wrong email address. In other words, not sorry that she sent out a blatantly racist email, only sorry that she got caught. [...]

For those of you not familiar with her boss, Senator Diane Black, she's a Republican who was the main Senate sponsor of S.J.R. 127, a trigger amendment passed this year that, if passed in one more legislative vote and by a ballot initiative, will allow abortion to quickly be banned in Tennessee should Roe v. Wade ever be overturned. She also rudely cancelled a meeting with GLBT activists from her own district (you know, people she was elected to represent) at the last second by saying that they "wouldn't change her mind" and therefore she didn't even need to hear from them. [...]

If you're in Tennessee and want Senator Black to know exactly what you think of what her office is doing on your dime, consider dropping her a line:

5 Legislative Plaza.
Nashville, TN 37243-0218
Phone (615) 741-1999
sen.diane.black@capitol.tn.gov

UPDATE: Tennessee Democratic Party chairman Chip Forrester calls on Diane Black to fire Goforth. Also, you might consider dropping the TNDP a few dollars for the training sessions they're about to conduct around Tennessee to Save Our State from the GOP.

Feel free to dial in. Goforth needs to GoAway.

Warren County Ohio Commisioner to Obama: Keep your ‘filthy money’

Gobsmacked. I'm thinking there's something else going on here other than just not wanting to take the money. What exactly about the money would make it "filthy"? As one commenter said on the paper's site- Maybe the elderly folks can carry the disabled ones to the doctor?

LEBANON — Warren County is saying “no thank you” to federal stimulus funds.

The county is the only one in the state that has rejected stimulus money for transportation improvements, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation.

Commissioners rejected $373,000 in stimulus money to buy three new transit buses and upgrade their fleet, citing their opposition of deficit spending for buses and vans.

“I’ll let Warren County go broke before taking any of Obama’s filthy money,” Commissioner Mike Kilburn said.

ODOT spokesman Scott Varner said the money was specifically for transit improvements in rural areas to improve transportation for disabled people, seniors and others needing access to health care and educational opportunities.

"I'm tired of paying for people who don't have," Kilburn said. "As Reagan said, 'Government is not the answer, it's the problem.'"

If you know anyone in the Warren County area (Dayton), make sure they know about this. h/t dada.

CPAC: Rush Limbaugh's autoeroticism

By GottaLaff

Dear Leader Oxy LimpDong is so clearly infatuated with himself, I fully expect that he calls out his own name in the unlikely event that his Viagra takes hold. I am currently watching the Tee Vee Machine's airing of his CPAC speech (Speech? No, masturbation) as he explains "who we conservatives are" in his "first national address to the nation" (We'll post video asap):

"We love people."

Ohhh, you mean these people?

He also says, to screams and applause, that they "love our founding documents." That's so obvious. How'd we miss that?

"We conservatives think they're [founding documents] under assault."

Screams, cheers, standing O, fists in air, shrieks of approval. No, I'm not kidding.

"We don't want to tell anyone how to live."

Oh really? Really?

"We don't hate anybody... The racism in our culture was exclusively on display in the Democrat primary last year. It was not us..."

"We didn't ask if Barack Obama was authentically black."

"The racism, bigotry, sexism we were all charged with doesn't exist on our side."

Um:

Coulter on Obama: "It's shocking that ... he's probably going to be our next president, President Hussein." His "first big accomplishment" was "being born half-black... he wouldn't be running for president if he weren't half-black."

Er.

Ummmmm.

How could we have misjudged these people from the Drug Rehab Centers? Oh yeah. Here's how.

It's so easy to debunk hypocritical, uncouth gasbags like Oxy as they flatulate volumous clouds that their needy, mouth-breathing groupies voraciously inhale.

The links in this post took me all of 5 minutes. I'd go on, but I'm betting you can all Google as well as I can.

Bailed-out Bank of America spent $10 million on Super Bowl party

By GottaLaff

Maybe they held the Big Do inside a private jet on their way to another Big Do... or an $800,000 tent:

ABC News reports, however, that the bank managed to scrounge up millions of dollars to be an NFL sponsor and for “a five day carnival-like” Super Bowl party just outside the stadium:

The event — known as the NFL Experience — was 850,000 square feet of sports games and interactive entertainment attractions for football fans and was blanketed in Bank of America logos and marketing calls to sign up for football-themed banking products. […]

The bank refused to tell ABC News how much it is spending as an NFL corporate sponsor, but insiders have put the figure at close to $10 million. The NFL Experience was on top of that and was inked last summer, according to the bank.

The NFL said it was a “multi-million dollar” event and that it was also spending money to put on the event. A Super Bowl insider said the tents alone cost over $800,000.

Calling Attorney General Holder...

Court orders White House to preserve e-mails

By GottaLaff

Deja vu:

A federal judge has ordered the Bush White House to preserve its e-mails, just days before a new administration takes over.

How many courts have tried to correct BushCo's thuggery? 5? 10? 20? What does it take?

The court's preservation notice Wednesday stems from a ongoing lawsuit by private groups over allegedly missing electronic messages, and allegations the White House failed to properly monitor its internal communications among staff.

It has been a thorny legal and political issue for outgoing Bush officials, who are in the process of transferring more than 300 million e-mail messages and 25,000 boxes of documents to the National Archives.

U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy instructed officials to search all White House workstations "and to collect and preserve all e-mails sent or received between March 2003 and October 2005."

Executive office personnel were also ordered to surrender any e-mail from that 31-month period. [...]

The time period in question includes the start of the Iraq War, as well as the investigation into the leak of Valerie Plame Wilson's identity as a CIA operative. [...]

"There is nothing like a deadline to clarify the issues," said National Security Archive Director Tom Blanton. "In six days the Bush Executive Office of the President will be gone and without this order, their records may disappear with them. The White House will complain about the last-minute challenge, but this is a records crisis of the White House's own making."

Tip of the iceberg.

Cheney, on catching Bin Laden: "We've got a few days left yet"

By GottaLaff

Please note that the Nation of Dick says he is unaware of any impending strike on Bin Laden. He must just have some kind of "gut feeling" about the imminence of a victory over a 6'4" guy with a health problem who's managed to elude him for years.

And perhaps "feeling" is too emotional a reference when it comes to the Nation of Dick:

Outgoing US Vice President Dick Cheney Friday did not give up hope of capturing or killing Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, with only 11 days left before Barack Obama moves into the White House.

"We've got a few days left yet," Cheney told CNN when asked why bin Laden or Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri continue to elude US capture.

I wonder, did Big Dick take a gander at this here chart?

Or this one?

The government’s own figures, put out by the National Counterterrorism Center but going back only to 2004, show an increase in 2007:

The urgency of rounding up Osama bin Smoke 'im Out apparently diminished relative to the increase in the number of deaths since his September 11, 2001 attacks.

But hey, there are still 11 days to go. Patience. It simply took BushCo 7 years to get it up, so to speak.

A particularly ugly Bush stain: BushCo to bar autoworkers from striking against GM

By GottaLaff

When Thom Hartmann rants, I listen. Right now, he's ranting... loudly. He's quoting from this Raw Story piece, and when you're done reading, feel free to rant with Thom and me in Comments. The gist: GM says give us the loan money, but make it illegal to strike. A strike would give the government permission to rescind their loan and allow GM to declare bankruptcy:

A little-noticed provision buried in the Bush Administration's $13.4 billion loan package to General Motors will prohibit the United Auto Workers from launching a strike as long as the company receives funds from the federal government.

Not only that, but a strike would give the federal government the power to call in their loan -- putting the loan in default and forcing GM into bankruptcy. The government now has the power to force a bankruptcy if “any labor union or collective bargaining unit shall engage in a strike or other work stoppage.”

Why would he do this? Here's one reason: Break the unions, break the Democratic party.

The terms of GM's loan package were reported last night in the Detroit Free Press. They did not become public until GM filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

So the big fat corporate rich guys get their bonuses, but the workers get... screwed.
The US auto workers union is also saddled by another requirement of the loan: the UAW must now accept a plan to lower wages and benefits for GM to match those of other foreign-owned US automakers' plants.

Feel that rant coming on yet?

The ugly Bush Stain: Water toxin edition

By GottaLaff

The toxic stain known as BushCo cares nothing about Americans. Nothing:

Among the Bush administration's final environmental legacies will be a decision to exempt perchlorate, a known toxin found at unsafe levels in the drinking water of millions of Americans, from federal regulation. [...] It could take years to reverse.

Anila Jacobs at the nonprofit Environmental Working Group:

"We know that breast milk is widely contaminated with perchlorate, and we know that young children are especially vulnerable."

Nice, huh? Can't get more pro-life than that.

The ruling is one of dozens planned for the final days of the Bush administration. Others include a relaxing of air pollution standards for aging power plants, and a reduction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's traditional role in evaluating the impact of federal projects on endangered species. [...]

It is known to lower thyroid hormone levels in women; it poses a particular threat to pregnant women and breast-feeding children, whose long-term neurological development can be stunted by youthful hormone imbalances.

Bush is the human equivalent of the most virulent malignancy imaginable. Between wars and environmental destruction, he has done more to threaten and/or end lives than Al Qaeda and Big Bad WMD-wielding Saddam Hussein put together.

Nursing mothers of infants everywhere are thanking you, W. Take a freaking bow.

H/t: Chris