Haley Barbour: Health care reform like Jonestown

Sigh, I guess they've squeezed all the usage out of the other disastrous massacres or do they just rotate them?

Gov. Haley Barbour (R-Miss.), chairman of the Republican Governors Association, called the Democrats' health care reform proposal "catastrophic" Thursday and compared it to the poison ingested at the infamous Jonestown cult’s mass suicide in 1978.

(snip)

"This is such bad policy for the United States, and it's going to be so bad for our health care system," the Mississippi governor said. "It's going to make health insurance premiums go up. It's going to cut Medicare by about $500 billion. Huge state tax increases. It is catastrophic for small business. But if the Democrats wanna do something to help Republicans, I can't improve on this.

"I've been looking for Jim Jones and where's the Kool-Aid. This is awful, awful policy for our country—and the people know it. The public already understands this. And the longer the debate goes on, the more the public understands that they're going to end up paying more and that they're going to get lower quality health care. But politically, if the nation can survive it, it will be a political windfall for Republicans."

Video- Beck warns "regular Democrat[s]" that the "über-left" is "about to smother you with a pillow"

Media hype-nosis: Dueling TERROR Speeches

By GottaLaff

The lead-in to President Obama's speech began with this:

Chris Matthews: "It's going to be quite a moment here... I don't want to scare you, but...."

MSNBC reduced a major speech by the president of the United States, followed by Cheney's fear mongering, lying propaganda to something they proudly bannered as "Dueling Terror Speeches".

Yes, focusing on national security is now a cable reality show. Which of the two speakers will walk away with the ultimate prize: Shoring up their base, higher approval numbers, and ultimately winning the next election?

Who will be kicked off the Island of National Archives?

Pat Buchanan rooted for the Nation of Dick. He's the winner, declared the most irrelevant punditiot since Newt Gingrich.

Host Chris Matthews was pumped and saliva-spray-ready. Lawrence O'Donnell maintained an Obama-like calm, the voice of reason in a maelstrom of Nielsen ratings-grabs and the quest for overly-dramatic, frenzied punditiocy (until the Dueling Terror Speeches were over... then he justifiably went ballistic).

The victor will walk away with good reviews and positive headlines for at least one news cycle. Who could ask for more? The rejected contestant gets the usual parting gifts: Bonus air time and a (false) sense of credibility. I'm talking to you, Cheney.

As for the real losers? That would be the woefully inadequate news media and the American people. And unfortunately, there are no consolation prizes.

Bernie Mac makes off-color joke at Obama event

By Paddy


Oh Noes!!! A comedian known for off color jokes made an off color joke? What will happen next? Blues singers singing the blues? Modern dance dancers dancing modern dance? Sheesh. I await the kerning to begin for Obama to condemn/reject/renounce Mr "Also Black" Mac.

CHICAGO—Comedian Bernie Mac endured some heckling and a campaign rebuke during a surprise appearance Friday night at a fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Toward the end of a 10-minute standup routine at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Chicago, the 50-year-old star of "The Bernie Mac Show" joked about menopause, sexual infidelity and promiscuity, and used occasional crude language.