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.

Taking the Lid Off of the Tea Party Movement, One Family Finds 'It's Just Hate'

By GottaLaff

Jennifer and daughter Kylee

I have posted several times about my Twitter pal Midge Hough and her husband Dan. They suffered the devastating loss of their daughter-in-law Jen and her baby as a result of the failure of our abysmal health care system.

Now, in your Daily Dose of BuzzFlash, we have a very touching piece written by one of their best, Meg White:

But when Midge told the story to the people gathered at the town hall meeting, she was jeered, mocked and laughed at. They didn't believe her, or didn't care.[...]

Jenny spent the next 55 days on a respirator. She suffered through a heart attack, two collapsed lungs, partial paralysis, and the delivery of a stillborn daughter. Yet she still fought to survive, trying to talk and smile and get better. She died on Aug. 26, 2009.

Telling this story of horrifying loss was hard enough for Midge, but she was mostly astonished by the group's total lack of compassion:

"How they could not know I was devastated, I'll never know." [...]

Even after a local paper verified the Jenny's story, she hounded the Houghs with hateful e-mails and insisted that their story was an "isolated incident" that shouldn't have any bearing on the healthcare debate.

Midge said she "tried to appeal to her in those ugly, ugly e-mails."

"Could she understand that we were grieving?" Midge recalled asking in one e-mail exchange with Wojtowicz. "She laughed in the e-mail. She said she didn't think they were hard enough on me" at the Lipinski town hall meeting. [...]

Though these fringe tea party activists are using Jenny's story to promote themselves, it doesn't make the Houghs second-guess their decision to bring attention to them. They say they're glad that they can show "people on the fence" about healthcare just how "radical" and "unhinged" the tea party groups can be.

"If my hurting accomplishes that, I'm OK with it," Midge said. [...]

Even before Jenny got sick, the Houghs were working to get her covered.

"We tried everything," Midge said, but no insurance company would cover Jenny's prenatal care. "She had a preexisting condition: pregnancy." [...]

She tells Jenny's story not only to bring attention to the suffering, but to remind people how easily they could find themselves in her shoes.

"It hits you when you'd never expect it," Midge said. "It could happen to anyone."

Much more here. Please read Meg's entire piece.

My previous posts on Midge and Dan's touching and infuriating story:

VIDEO: Tea baggers heckle family mourning loss of mother/unborn child

VIDEOS: Our flawed health care system failed a young mother and her unborn child

VIDEOS: The deadly results of our abysmal health care system

Countdown to JANUARY 15, 2010

By GottaLaff

I'm still feeling a little foggy from meds today (slipped disks, had them for a long time, but they act up now and then), so if I miss anything or make any obvious errors, feel free to correct me in comments. Consider that my Disclaimer-O'-The-Day.

That said, here is information I promised to share from this Facebook entry:

Description:

AMERICANS NEED TO MARCH ON WASHINGTON IN NUMBERS HERETOFORE UNSEEN TO DEMONSTRATE OUR SUPPORT FOR THE FUNDAMENTAL CHANGES WE STILL BELIEVE IN AND WANT TO SEE OUR PRESIDENT & REPRESENTATIVES FIGHT FOR.

We're now on twitter: http://twitter.com/March4Change and, we have an email address for those who are so inclined:

March4Change@gmail.com
____

IF YOU DO NOTHING ELSE -THIS FRIDAY - PLEASE EMAIL THE FOLLOWING SHOWS/ORGS WITH THE FOLLOWING SUBJECT LINE

"March for Change We Still Believe In - Jan 15th, 2010"

and language to this effect:

On January 15th, 2010, Americans will gather, peacably, on the DC Mall to show our continued support for the progressive agenda our POTUS campaigned on. We voted for President Obama b/c we hoped for more from our government: more compassion, more diplomacy, more honesty, more protection, and more equality.

On January 15th, 2010, we will stand in opposition to the voices of fear, ignorance, and hate that have, thus far, garnered virtually all the attention of the main stream media and skewed the debate over issues that are far to important to ALL Americans. We've written and phoned our Representatives in the House and Senate. We've remained a diligent, anonymous, but silent majority. Now, is the time for America to see our faces and hear our voices.

info@rainbowpush.org

vfped@veteransforpeace.net

http://www.now.org/chapters/fl.html

rachel@msnbc.com

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30031533

Countdown@msnbc.com

firedoglake@gmail.com

--If you live in any State within a day's drive of DC - PLEASE DO YOUR UTMOST TO DISSEMINATE INFO & RALLY SUPPORT FOR THIS UNDERTAKING!

--LOCAL EFFORTS - If you'd like to participate by organizing something within your own community, PLEASE DO SO!!! Use the same techniques that have brought you to this group - only on a local level. Once you numbers grow, contact the local media with a press release a week or two prior to Jan 15th. We'd rather see you in DC but we understand if it's too far or costly for some to travel. BTW - organize carpools or pool resources to charter buses, rent minivans, pay for gas.

--A member suggested that those of us who will be in DC wear something to represent those who are unable to attend (e.g. a pin or flower or what have you). GREAT IDEA!

I suggest we ALSO wear something that demonstrates our solidarity with the POTUS and with one another so . . . . break out and dust off your "old" Obama gear to show support for him BUT ALSO wear an armband (any suggestions besides an armband?) to signify our solidarity with one another.

Midge Hough [Laffy Note: My posts about her can be found here, here and here] lost her daughter-in-law, Jenny, and unborn grandson due, in part, to lack of health care insurance. Midge contacted me yesterday and expressed her support for our effort. [...] Please watch the grievous inhumanity she suffered at the hands of those who oppose the health care reform our country so desperately needs.
____________________________________

I understand that letters to congress and phone calls work. Been there, am doing that. But in today's political environment, perception and image (TV to be precise) are everything. When's the last time you tuned into your nightly news of choice to see a story about the millions of letters Americans have sent to our reps demanding serious healthcare reform? But I'll bet a months salary that you've seen stories re groups of sorely, uninformed, Tea Baggers in the last couple of weeks. And, whether we like it or not, these images drive the news stories and the national discourse on issues like Healthcare, the Environment, Energy, Education, and so on.

We need to show our numbers, our vigor, and our commitment to REAL, SUBSTANTIVE, AND FUNDAMENTAL (not incremental) CHANGE in a way that will capture the national media's attention and call attention to our discontent. This astroturf, right-wing, TeaBag movement has been successful in creating the misperception that "Millions" of Americans are fed up with Gov't (specifically Obama). THE REALITY, however, is that many more of us voted for our President because we hoped for more from our government. More compassion, more diplomacy, more honesty, more protection, and more equality.

If a conservative, Dick Armey lead and Glenn Beck fueled, astro-turf, movement can conjure up 50,000 to "protest" in DC, how many more democrats, could a true grassroots movement deliver to DC in a show of support for the policies our candidate campaigned on?

I KNOW WE HAVE IT IN US AND THE APPARATUS FOR ORGANIZING AND COORDINATING SUCH AN EVENT ARE ALREADY IN PLACE. IF YOU FEEL THIS A WORTHY CAUSE LET IT BE KNOWN TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY ACROSS THE COUNTRY - THAT ON JANUARY 15, 2010, THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF PRESIDENT OBAMA'S INAUGURATION, AMERICANS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY WILL DESCEND ON WASHINGTON DC IN THE STRONGEST SHOW OF SUPPORT EVER FOR A SITTING PRESIDENT & THE POLICIES WE SENT HIM TO FIGHT FOR.

--------------------

WHAT WE FOUGHT FOR & WHAT YOU CAN DO TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN

I'm urging everyone (and I'm doing it here in SWFL) to contact friends, organizations (e.g. democrat clubs - those at local Institutions of higher learning, local federal congressional reps, local chapter of ORGANIZING FOR AMERICA, MOVEON, NOW, GLAAD, AFL-CIO, NAACP, RAINBOW PUSH COALITION, NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK, VETERANS FOR PEACE, THE ED SHOW, OLBERMAN, MADDOW, Air America, etc) locally, regionally, or even nationally, please feel free to share the idea of the March for Change We Still Believe In.

We are, all of us individually, sparks in this and together we can create bonfires all over the country. Take the baton, run with it, pass it on, and keep us all posted!

Feel free to go to the Facebook page and add any input you may have.

VIDEOS: The deadly results of our abysmal health care system

By GottaLaff

My Twitter pal, Chi910, aka Midge Hough, is someone who I admire, and who has told her story on several radio shows and Tee Vee shows recently. I've written about her and her family here and here.

Her experiences are worth telling and re-telling. Here are two more videos, one of The Ed Show and one called "Midge Hough's Story - Jen's Memorial Video" that is a must-see.

Watch, then dry your tears and go back and watch the Tea Partiers who thought it was more important to mock Midge than to rectify our abysmal health care system:

For those who question the loss Midge Hough tried to share at Lipinski's Town Hall, please watch the video tribute that was shown at her Memorial Service in September.

The Ed Show, where Midge and her husband Dan discuss the treatment they got when Midge tried to speak at a town hall meeting:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

VIDEOS: Our flawed health care system failed a young mother and her unborn child

By GottaLaff

Jennifer and daughter Kylee

Yesterday I posted about a group of despicable Tea Partiers attacking a family at a town hall meeting. Yes, Dan and Midge Hough were mourning the loss of their young daughter-in-law and unborn grandchild, and these insensitive beasts were rolling their eyes, jeering and groaning as Midge tried to express herself.

As it turns out, Midge and I are Twitter pals, and she was kind enough to link me to this piece that she wrote.

Please go read it, I can't do it justice. Then watch this video again:



Here's an excerpt from Midge's post:

In the richest county in the world our daughter in-law died, she died at the age of 24. We will never see her bright eyes again, her infectious smile, hear about her love for the color green, or watch her grow in her life. She didn’t have insurance, is that a crime in America??? Have we lost compassion for those who are less fortunate, and do we now condemn them to die if they can not buy private insurance? We hear about the enormous amounts of money it will cost for a public option but each day Jen was in ICU the cost was over $22,000. You do the math. She may have been alive today had we had a system that looks at everyone equally.

Now here is Midge telling the story in her own words, starting at about 1:39...

"Big Insurance: Sick of It" Rally from Justin Jach on Vimeo.

If every Republican Party of No member/Blue Dog Democrat read this post, do you think it would make a difference?

Sadly, I don't. But it should.

Conclusion: Donations from Big Insurance take priority over human survival... even that of the unborn. So much for the so-called "pro-life" party.

VIDEO- Bachmann to America: Roam halls of Congress, "pay house call on Pelosi"

By GottaLaff

"This is our liberty and tyranny moment."



Great idea, Michele! America, and of course Congress members, will thank you, because this should go over BIG:

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) is urging Americans to come to Washington, D.C., next week to roam the halls of Congress and lobby lawmakers against the House Democrats' healthcare reform plan. [...]

She said the plan on Thursday afternoon will be to walk through the House office buildings to look for lawmakers: "We can walk through Cannon, Longworth and Rayburn [office buildings], walk through the Capitol ..."

There's just not enough chaos on Capitol Hill. They need someone just like Michele Bachmann to encourage more irrational behavior, because, you know, we just haven't had enough of that lately.

VIDEO- Tea Party Express Guy: "This is AFRO-LENINISM! Coming to you on a silver platter! Barack Hussein Obama!"

By GottaLaff

Somethin's a-comin'! I don't know what, but... but... somethin'! It could be somethin' GREAT! Who the hell knows, man, 'cause I don't care! It doesn't matter!! Barack Hussein... He's... he's black! Gaaaaaaa!!! We're all gonna die!



How reassuring to witness adults-- these are adults, aren't they?-- who get so lathered up they can't see straight, yet insist upon spreading their unadulterated, seething, hateful spew on the Tee Vee Machine for children to watch while eating their Mac'N'Cheez din-dins.

But hey! Them Family Values, they sure 'nough do come through LOUD AND CLEAR!!

Head of a minuteman group arrested for double homicide

By GottaLaff

Of course, Beck, O'Reilly, et al. will say they were actually ultra far leftists while simultaneously defending their Second Amendment rights. And of course, Forde should be exonerated because she's been keeping evil brown people from entering our country:

Three people have been arrested in connection with last months deadly double homicide in Arivaca that left a nine-year-old and her father dead. One of the people arrested for the homicide is the National Executive Director of the Minuteman American Defense group (M.A.D.), a group known for patrolling the border, and is dedicated to "Defending America's Borders" according to their website.

Jason Eugene Bush, 38, Shawna Forde, 42 and Albert Robert Gaxiola, 43, were all taken into custody and charged in connection with the murders of 29-year-old Raul Flores and 8-year-old Brisenia Flores. Both were killed during an alleged home invasion. [...]

The mother survived the shooting, called police, and found a gun. Sheriff Dupnik says the three returned moments later to make sure everyone was dead. At that point, the mother shot and injured Bush, and the three fled the scene.

The trio has been charged with two counts of First Degree Murder, one count of First Degree Burglary, and one count of Aggravated Assault.

Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik says, "Jason Bush was in fact the shooter of all three of these people under orders from Ms. Forde." [...]

Sheriff Dupnik adds, "To just kill a 9-year old girl because she could be a potential witness, to me, is one of the most despicable acts I have ever heard of."

Forde is known for being the head of the minutemen group M.A.D., where she is listed as the National Executive Director.

"If you look at her history closely, and you know what we know, she is at best a psychopath," says Sheriff Dupnik referring to Forde during a press conference Friday. [...]

Upon leaving the press conference, Forde stated to reporters, "I have nothing to do with the murder."

M.A.D. indeed. In more ways than one.

H/t: Liberalchik

"What they are not telling you about the homsexual ordinance!"

By GottaLaff

(click on screen grab to enlarge)

Shriiieeeeek! They're coming to get us! The evil cross-dressing homos will eat your kids! No worse! Teh Gay porn stars will abort them! And then they'll force straight couples into instant and brutal divorce! And that's AFTER they join the military by not telling after nobody asks! Gak!

Via Shannyn Moore, who reveals who these "not so Jesus Christians" are:

Gay rights ordinance is bad

Here are just some of the reasons I am against the homosexual ordinance.

It would allow any man to dress like a woman and use any public women’s restroom. Ladies, do you want that to happen? If not then you should contact the Anchorage Assembly and show up at the June 9 public hearing.

A man in a highly visible sales job could come to work dressed like a woman.

A person of either sex who indulges a taste for extreme sexual promiscuity and pornography during working hours could not be stopped or fired even though it damages the company’s image.

Maybe, worst of all, this ordinance would allow a man who teaches a second grade class or any grade to show up as a woman in the classroom and the School District could do nothing because of this ordinance.

This is a poorly written ordinance. For more of my explanation can be found at www.SOSanchorage.org

– Dr. Jerry Prevo

pastor, Anchorage Baptist Temple

And who wouldn't want to follow a pastor like him, what with those big, warm, outstretched arms of acceptance, grace, and brotherly love?

VIDEO: Ron Paul says secession 'worth a discussion'

By GottaLaff


I wonder if eBay sold Texas yet. It's worth a discussion. And saying Ron Paul is losing it is worth a discussion, too:

"It is very American to talk about secession. That's how we came in being. Thirteen colonies seceded from the British and established a new country. So secession is a very much American principle," Paul said in a video posted on YouTube.

The self-professed libertarian, who garnered a substantial grassroots following when he ran for president last year, stopped short of endorsing secession for his home state, but said the idea is "worth a discussion."

"What about all the strong endorsements we have give the past decade or two to all the republics that seceded from the Soviet system? We were delighted about it," Paul also said.

Seceding from my promise to myself to be civil about Ron Paul is worth a discussion.

NYC church to tweet the Passion of Christ

Now, I'm not one to decry technology as destroying culture, but this is just too damn close. Check out @tswpassionplay on Twitter if you dare.

NEW YORK — Experience the Passion of Christ — in 140-character bursts.

In a marriage of Christian tradition and digital technology, Wall Street’s Trinity Church is using the micro-blogging service Twitter to perform the story of Jesus Christ.

The main characters will tweet the Passion play for three hours beginning at noon on Good Friday. The feed also can be delivered to mobile devices or e-mail addresses.

VIDEO-- Hannity's America: What kind of revolution appeals most to you?

By GottaLaff

(click on image to enlarge)

Here is what Keith Olbermann is talking about in Worst Persons:

There's a lot of talk on this board about armed revolt. I am curious what form of such a revolt the revolutionaries would prefer. I can see a few scenarios:

1. Military Coup - The military deposes the government and declares itself in charge. A junta rules until democracy can be restored, similar to what happened in Pakistan.

2. Armed Rebellion - The fed up civilian population attacks their enemies forcibly. They take to the streets, or wherever they need to go, to ultimately depose the government and install one that follows their own ideals.

3. War for secession - Individual states try to secede and perhaps ultimately must arm to do it.

[...]

Yet it seems that the ultimate paradox in any rebellion for freedom from within is that the ultimate goal is to impose the will of the rebels on everyone else through force. It seems the very foundation of representative democracy is ****tered if we accept that we exchange the the power of ideas for the power of the sword upon each other.

Nevertheless, I am still very interested in your own preferred form of revolt.

Go read the whole thing, I left out a lot. Call me crazy, but to me, this falls under the category of inciting violence. Looks like Gramm-pa McCain and Limelight Palin really got the ol' ball-o'-hate rollin', eh?

UPDATE: I've added the Countdown video and changed the blog title to reflect that.

For All Your Holiday Baking Needs

h/t and OMFG

Franken Camp: We're Down 73 Votes, May Pursue Legal Action

By GottaLaff

Just win already, Al:

According to officials from the Al Franken campaign, the margin separating the Democratic challenger and Sen. Norm Coleman is now down to 73 votes out of approximately 2.9 million cast.

Several weeks into the recount, 88.6% of the ballots have been counted, a slight majority of which came from Coleman supporters. [...]

The number is not based on the Secretary of State website or other sources (where the difference is listed at more than 250) but rather the findings of neutral election observers who are on the ground in state counties. In these counts, it should be noted, Coleman has challenged more ballots -- accounting for the larger deficit that Franken faces in the official count.

Even with the narrowing margin, there may not be enough room for Franken to take a lead. That's because, as the Franken camp has argued, the state has declined to publicize rejected absentee ballots. Elias, while claiming that the majority of these 12,000 ballots were rightly thrown out, estimated that "as many as 1,000," could end up being legitimate votes that were wrongfully uncounted.

On a conference call with reporters, Elias said the campaign would now "pursue all other avenues open to us," in regards to making these absentee ballots public, "including legal action." He even noted (as has been recently reported) that the United States Senate could take up the issue, a development that the Coleman campaign has called "troubling."

"If ultimately there is no remedy before the canvassing boards and before the courts, that ultimately remains an option," said Elias.

Also on the call, the Franken camp, as it has done for the past two weeks, raised concerns over missing ballots, a problematic development which has been reported in several counties.

What a mess. Stay tuned.

Franken Camp's Claim: We're Only Down By 84 Votes

By GottaLaff

TPM:

A key new development in Minnesota: The Franken campaign is now giving an actual figure for what they think their true current deficit against Norm Coleman is -- an estimated statistic that has proven elusive in this drawn-out process.

"The differential between the two candidates is 84 votes," lead Franken recount lawyer Marc Elias just told a press briefing. "That obviously is down from the starting point of 215."

The public numbers from the Star Tribune currently show Coleman ahead by 210 votes, with 77% of the total ballots recounted. But the Franken campaign points to an obvious flaw in those numbers: All challenged ballots, regardless of the merits of the challenges, are taken out of the count for now until the state canvassing board can make a final ruling.

The Franken camp, however, says its observers have taken down what the opinions were of the on-site election judges, and get their number by assuming that the local officials' calls will ultimately be upheld.

In another new development, the state canvassing board is going to take up the question of rejected absentee ballots at a meeting tomorrow. [...]

Elias also claimed some ballots might never been counted at all -- they could be stuck in the machines. "What you have here is a voting machine, and stuck in the bottom appears to be at least one ballot," Elias said, showing reporters a photo. "Now astonishingly, the election officials have refused our request to open the machine."

Pencils. Paper. Period.