Contributors

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

The First Bill

Essentially, there are three bills kicking around Congress right now to address the issue of health care coverage in this country. The first is America's Affordable Health Choices Act. The second is The Healthy Americans Act. The third is the United States National Health Care Act.

The first bill , which we will talk about today, is the one introduced by Ted Kennedy in the Senate and is also making the rounds in the House with Rep Dingell. It is also known as HR 3200. The bill requires that all American have health insurance similar to how all Americans must have auto insurance. Here are some of the highlights of the bill.
  • Eliminating the Medicare Part D “donut hole” to help seniors. Each year, Seniors are forced to pay their full drug costs, despite having Part D drug coverage. The legislation would provide them with immediate relief, cutting brand name drug costs in the donut hole by 50%, and ultimately eliminate the donut hole.
  • Relieving the burden of uncompensated care for hospitals and health care providers. Detractors of the bill don't like to talk about this one. The fact is that we are already spending taxpayer money on people who can't afford health insurance. This bill would end that as everyone would be insured.
  • No deficit spending. The cost of health care reform under the legislation is fully paid for: half through making the Medicare and Medicaid program more efficient by eliminating waste and half through a surtax on the income of the wealthiest individuals aka the top one percent.
  • Help for small businesses. Under the legislation, small businesses with 25 employees or less and average wages of less than $40,000 qualify for tax credits of up to 50% of the costs of providing health insurance. Don't believe the bullshit lie of the right that government run health care will ruin small business. It won't. What will ruin it is these same small businesses having to pay increase after increase...year after year.
  • The bill provides health insurance for almost every American and provides common sense limits on annual out-of-pocket costs at $10,000 per year, ensuring that no citizen will have to face financial ruin because of high health care costs.
For some bizarre reason, the right's first beef with this bill was that it would force elderly citizens into euthanasia...a classic "fear-shit your pants" maneuver on a very small part of the bill. The reality is explained quite will in this Washington Post article.

The controversy stems from a proposal to pay physicians who counsel elderly or terminally ill patients about what medical interventions they would prefer near the end of life and how to prepare instructions such as living wills. Under the plan, Medicare would reimburse doctors for one session every five years to confer with a patient about his or her wishes and how to ensure those preferences are followed. The counseling sessions would be voluntary.

But on right-leaning radio programs, religious e-mail lists and Internet blogs, the proposal has been described as "guiding you in how to die," "an ORDER from the Government to end your life," promoting "death care" and, in the words of antiabortion leader Randall Terry, an attempt to "kill Granny."

What part of the word "voluntary" doesn't the right understand? I guess words only have meaning when they like the meaning.

The bill has gone through many changes and I'm sure it will continue to evolve. This is the plan that President Obama favors and stands the best chance of passing. But is it a good bill?

For the most part, yes. The core of this bill is to offer the public another option--an option that will compete with private insurers. I think this is a good thing because it puts the control back in the hands of the individual. If you are spending too much money on health insurance every month...something that will not likely change as virtually all insurance companies won't lower their prices...you now have a public option. If you don't like the public option and can afford to spend a little more money, you can keep your private insurance. No one is going to force you to do anything.

Another criticism of this bill is that it will drive insurance companies out of business. To those who say this, I say...take a look at the profits of Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble and tell me if they have been hurt by public libraries. People buy books and people check out books. People might by some extra insurance if they are worried (which, of course, they will be) about waiting in long lines.

No one really knows how the organic process of this is going to evolve. The right will have you believe that we will all be boiling alive in a pit of sewage. How the fuck do they know? What are the basing it on? I'm basing my optimism on the proven track record of Medicare. They are basing their ideas on....what exactly....their rage and fear?

I can safely say that I think that if this bill passes, there are going to be problems....PROBLEMS LIKE WE HAVE RIGHT NOW!! But they are going to be, at the very least, manageable because we, the people, are actually addressing them. Things might need to be changed (gasp!) as time goes on and the kinks are worked out.

At the end of the day, this bill could give us an increase in healthier Americans. Healthier Americans mean more innovation in the work place, more money to invest in the stock market and more money to spend in a sagging economy.

In other words, it's another example of President Obama attempting to save capitalism.

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Just How Stupid Are We?

Apparently, very stupid.

Talk to most conservatives these days about health care and, generally speaking, they will tell you two things about the three health care plans floating around Congress right now.

One, if the government takes over health care, there will be rationing. In other words, old people, WATCH OUT! When you are old and sick, the US Government is going to take you out back and shoot you like a wounded horse.

Two, you will no longer be able to choose your doctor. The government will be choosing them for you.

Both of these points are fucking hilarious when you consider that both of them happen constantly with private insurance RIGHT NOW! As I often do, I tend to look at big issues like health care from the standpoint of my own kitchen table. So, let's take a look at these two points shall we?

About a year ago, a friend of mine from volleyball keeled over while biking and died. He was only 48 years old. We found out later that he his arteries were blocked and had he heeded his doctor's warnings about his high cholesterol, he might've lived. I asked my doctor about what options there were for me to check my arteries, other than the standard cholesterol check, and he said there were a variety of things I could do.

He then informed me that because I was under the age of 55 ALL of them were not covered by insurance. In fact, a simple chest scan, which would say whether or not I had blocked arteries, was never covered even after 55. Why? It is always deemed unnecessary by the insurance companies. All of them think that the blood test is just fine. The exam takes all of five minutes.

I live in a suburb of Minneapolis. This suburb has a Park Nicollet clinic that has served our family well for 13 years. Two months ago it was announced that due to budget issues, the clinic would be closing and the doctors scattered around the metro area. The doctors we go to will now be farther away than doctors at another clinic in neighboring suburb. So do we stick to our old doctors and spend the extra time and gas in the car? Or do we go to the new ones? Sounds like we are being forced into a choice of doctors.

So, you see that the "fear-shit your pants" scenario that is being floated out there by the right is really a load of shit. They don't actually have any real solution to health care. They just want to foment anger and fear in a very vocal and ignorant group of Americans...Americans, I might add, that we are now seeing yelling at town hall meetings because they are believing the two lies above.

Certainly, the plans linked above are not perfect. But they do address a very serious problem and at least attempt to do something about them. Read them for yourselves and see what you think. I will be talking more about them throughout the course of this week. In the meantime, ask a conservative what his plan is for a country that spends 16 percent of its GDP on health care and can't insure 46 million of its citizens. When he or she is done griping about lawsuits and sucking the cock of the status quo, ask him or her why we rank 50th in the world on life expectancy? Or why Costa Rica and Dominca have better health care than we do?

Ask them how they can be pro life and allow a system which currently is at least partially responsible (and that's being generous) for 7 out of 1000 babies dying every year after live births and 28,000 babies dying before they turn 1. We hear a lot of talk about what is wrong with the bills in Congress but there aren't many of them (1 by my count) who offer any sort of solution.

Think about this statement from comments yesterday.

I don't WANT to delegate something as personal and important as my healthcare decisions to a faceless bureaucrat thousands of miles away.

Exactly how is that any different from what insurance companies are doing now?

Monday, August 03, 2009

I'm Shocked, I tell you, SHOCKED to find out that gambling has been going on in this establishment.

In addition to having the desire of having my longest blog post title ever, I wanted to kick off my health care week with a bang. Today's front page of the Minneapolis Star and Tribune detailed how exactly how much money the insurance companies are paying three Minnesota members of the House of Representatives. This would be also be known as reason numero uno why most conservatives and Republicans are against any sort of public option. The people that butter their bread are terrified that if any sort of public option passes, they won't be able to afford that third vacation home. So, they are pouring dollar after dollar into the coffers of Michelle Bachmann, Erik Paulsen, and John Kline.

According to the article, insurers and HMOs have spent over 40 million dollars on current members of Congress in the past 10 years. This, of course, pales in comparison to the half a billion dollars they spent lobbying (aka lying) about the perils of government run health care.

Their tactics appear to be working. Late last week, the "liberal media" spent two news cycles reporting that Obama's approval ratings were slipping and this fact was largely due to his drive to pass health care. Even one short month ago, most Americans favored a public option (72 percent). Now it is just higher than 50 percent. And why?

Because conservatives (and their anal lubricant providers) have once again successfully used fear and ignorance as a tactic while the Democrats have spent the last few weeks trying to pull open a door that says "Push." Sadly, as a result, some Americans have done the usual "change-bad, same-good" caveman reaction to yet another classic Goebbelsesque propaganda campaign.

So, as is my duty as a fourth rate blogger, for the next few days, we are going to take a look at health care and separate the facts from the manufactured (surprise, surprise) reality by my colleagues on the right side of the aisle. I think it is going to be fun:)

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Yep

It's not often that I agree with a poster from The Smallest Minority so I thought I would bring Kevin's (not Baker) comment regarding the Gates flap out front.

Gates was acting like an ass. His behavior, however, was NOT illegal. Crowley hooked him up and stuck him with BS charges for the offense of "contempt of cop". I highly doubt racism was a factor in this - I believe it was a petty tyrant with hurt feelings ruining the guys day, simply because he could. I think I would have been arrested had I behaved as Gates did, because cops have an expectation of deference from the ones they "serve". The fault lays with the cop - he's supposed to be the professional.

I agree completely. And thank you, Kevin, for having the viewpoint that I thought most conservatives would have on this issue.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

No Judgement Yet

I have received several emails, a few phone calls, and a couple of in person inquiries regarding Sara Palin's resignation as governor of Alaska. I haven't commented much more on it than my post from a few weeks ago.

Her farewell speech intrigued me, though. This line...

So how about in honor of the American soldier, you quit making up things. And don't underestimate the wisdom of the people. And one other thing for the media -- our new governor has a very nice family, too, so leave his kids alone.

...perplexed me. Someone care to explain to me exactly what the fuck she was talking about?

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Good Question

Bill raises an interesting point here...shouldn't there be some things in this country that are NOT for profit? And should health care be one of them?

When Congress breaks for recess, that's when I will be talking about health care. I've had some ideas bouncing around in my head but it took a few recent events in my own life to organize them to the point where I could articulate something worthwhile.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Long Walk, Short Pier

When asked whether or not she thought President Obama was born in this country, Liz Cheney (daughter of Dick), said the following on a recent edition of Larry King live.

I think the Democrats have got more crazies than the Republicans do. But setting that aside, one of the reasons you see people so concerned about this, I think this issue is, people are uncomfortable with having for the first time ever, I think, a president who seems so reluctant to defend the nation overseas.

First of all, Liz, FUCK YOU! I have pretty much had it with ass hats like yourself who think that being a Democrat means that you don't want to defend this country. Tell that to Tammy Duckworth, Paul Hackett or Ben Busch or the THOUSANDS of other Democrats who have fought and, in Duckworth's case, lost their limbs for this country.

And if President Obama is so reluctant to defend this country, why is he sending more troops to AfPak and adding 22K to the army? Why did he keep Robert Gates as SecDef? Why did he add a 40 year marine veteran (James Jones) as his National Security Advisor? Why is chucking the F-22, a cold war relic, in favor of the F-35 which is more adept at...well...bombing terrorist hideouts? Why is keeping many of the programs your father put in place?

Oh, and you're not-so-clever marrying of the birth certificate issue (see: weird fi'rner and not white) to the defense of this country is straight out of Joseph Goebbels playbook...proving my point once again that your father (and you, apparently) as well as others on the right are the ones that are more like fascists than Goldberg's psychotic fantasy.

Finally, Democrats have more crazies than Republicans? Where? The whole fucking Republican base (15-20 million people) are nutjobs. One of them has his own radio show which nets that many listeners.

By all means, though, get out their on TV on share your views to the ever growing group of voters who you continue to alienate every day with the "New Psychosis" of the conservative base. Meanwhile, we'll be over here defending this country so you can have a platform to be a brainwashed moron.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

The Video

Well, here it is. The look on Castle's (the Republican rep at the podium) tells it all. This is my fucking party now?

Yep.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Absolutely Batshit

I have written many a word on here about how the base has become more and more nutty. A week or two ago, I put up a Bill Maher video in which he stated that "over the years the left has moved more to the right and the right has moved into a mental hospital." I caught a lot of flack for the that one but I stuck to my guns.

I did so because it seems that once a month or so the right, in what has to be the finest case of psychological denial in the history of the field, cannot accept Barack Obama as president. This simple fact is driving them (or already has driven them) insane and is driving them to do and say things that are completely maniacal.

I offer as an example the recent resurgence of the "Barack Obama was not born in this country" lie. A video has been making the rounds lately (I will post it tomorrow) that shows a nut ball woman yelling at Rep Mike Castle (R-Del) at a town hall meeting, waving a birth certificate and saying that President Obama is not eligible to president.

Clearly, this woman is a lunatic and some posters here would be correct in stating that if I used her as an example of the right, I would be guilty of out group bias. But Lou Dobbs and Rush Limbaugh have been talking about it. There is now a bill in Congress, supported by 10 Republicans, that is calling for him to produce his birth certificate. Thus, I can officially say that, once again, the conservatives of this country are really going that extra mile to be even more fucking bat shit insane.

Since there are people that read this blog who will believe anything Rush says, I am here to tell all of you that all of this absolute nonsense. When Rush, Lou and others say that all President Obama has to do is "produce a birth certificate," they are completely full of shit. He did so nearly two years. ago. Here is is.
When they say it was not an official one with a raised seal, they are completely full of shit. Go to this site and you will see the official Hawaiian birth certificate of Barack Hussein Obama...raised seal and all. There are several photos of all the legal documents. There is also an announcement of his birth in the local paper. And if you call the state and/or the city, you yourself can obtain a copy of this birth certificate.

For the briefest of moments, I felt pity for people that believe things like this. They are uneducated and it's my job to educate, right?

And then I realized that their rage, paranoia, fear, and complete fucking ignorance has caused so much pain and heartache for many American families in the last ten years (or probably more) that any sympathy I felt was washed away quickly. It was replaced by a very evident truth which is still a central conviction of this blog.

These people are insane fucking morons that don't want to be educated. They are not the "fringe" of the right. They are the base. They are the 15-20 million people that listen to Rush Limbaugh, who now believes this, and the other 10 million or so that watch Lou Dobbs. They are the VERY NUMEROUS AND PERVASIVE conservative media who are reporting this story now as truth.

They need to be called on their bullshit every minute of every day. And at the loudest possible volume. So fucking go and do it!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Wait....

I wonder how long it will take right wing pundits to blow a bowel over this one.

I haven't checked Michelle Malkin's blog today but this story seems a sure fire bet for intestinal colon overload on her part. What I can't figure out is why would conservatives...and I know they will...side with the police on this one? Other than the fact that they love to play "make believe that we aren't racist" and then condescendingly smirk about it, the guy was in his own fucking home.

Wouldn't that constitute an intrusion by the state into a citizen's private domain?

I'll be here waiting for yet another example of

"It's not _____ when we do it!"

Monday, July 20, 2009

Only in this fucking state....

...would this be headline news. Sometimes, I have to say, I wonder why I live here.

The headline from WCCO.com

Man With Workout-Ball-Slashing Fetish Charged

From the article....

Court documents say Bjerkness told police he slashed the rubber balls to satisfy a sexual urge. Experts said he has an unusual attraction to inflatable exercise devices.

With every challenge we have facing us in this state as well as our nation, this warrants top billing?

What a load of shit.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Yep

"I love these folks who helped get us in this mess and then suddenly say, 'Well, this is Obama's economy.' That's fine. Give it to me! My job is to solve problems, not to stand on the sidelines and harp and gripe"

-President Barack Obama, July 14, 2009.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Back In Black

Sorry about the lack of posting lately folks. Been busy with school, kids and coaching tennis. I thought I would return with a doozy of a quote from our president. He was talking about parenting.

"We have to accept our responsibility to help them learn. That means putting away the Xbox. Putting our kids to bed at a reasonable hour. It means attending those parent teacher conferences. And READING to our children."

Man, I love that guy!

Sunday, July 05, 2009

Honestly, they need to ask why?

I spent this last weekend at my in-laws. Being that they know I love a good political discussion, they asked me why I thought Sarah Palin quit as governor of Alaska. My ultra conservative brother in law was perplexed.

"Why would she do that? It doesn't make sense, damnit!" he asked vehemently, "I only voted for McCain because she was on the ticket."

My wife, who is a moderate liberal, couldn't understand it.

"What...she's a quitter? I don't get it."

They both turned to me waiting to hear a political wonk (see:obsessive) 's point of view...the same one I have had since she first opened her mouth.

"She's a fucking moron."

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Thank You, Michelle!

MN-06 representative Michelle Bachmann stated last week that she would not fully fill out her census report in the next federal census taking set to take place in 2010. She cited ACORN (eep urp bleep....output: insta right wing hot flaming anger) as one of her reasons. She went on to say that "between 1942 and 1947, the data that was collected by the Census Bureau was handed over to the FBI and other organizations at the request of President Roosevelt, and that's how the Japanese were rounded up."

!!!??

Someone please give this woman a guest spot on every major news network in the nation. And let's give her that spot....oh...around the fall of next year:)

The story, of course, gets better. By failing to fill out her census report fully and by encouraging others in her district to do so, the chances are raised significantly then when they reduce the districts from 7 down to 6 in Minnesota, the Sixth will be the first one to go due to a not so real population drop because incomplete surveys will not be accepted.

So, if you live in the Sixth, please listen to your congresswoman!

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Neda

Monday, June 29, 2009

A Good Run

Well, the mainstream media had a good run recently in regards to actually covering events that fucking matter. CNN led the way with wall to wall coverage of the amazing events going on in Iran. Other news networks and outlets followed with heretofore unseen and in depth coverage of a pivotal point in that country's history. I was elated to see your ordinary Joe on the street asking me about Iran and talking about it with a higher level of knowledge. People seemed to care about what was going on there and frivolous stories were nowhere to be found.

Then Mark Sanford, Governor of South Carlolina, went on a walkabout and....they started dropping like flies in CelebrityWood.

While I feel sad for their families (and am especially bummed that the passing of Ed McMahon got swept aside quickly...no one EVER will come close to him and Johnny), the deaths of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and Billy Mays are not "Breaking News" in the way that a revolution in a fucking country is news. My cup had already runneth over with Michael and now there will be no escaping it for the next month or possibly more.

And people will return to caring about shallow, meaningless bullshit when they were so close (!) to turning the corner and focusing on poignant matters like Iran, Pakistan, health care, energy, and Iraq. Do we really need to know the intimate details of Governor Sanford's life? I don't care. It's his business and I don't judge him for his actions...although I do find it HILARIOUS that my colleagues on the right are very sympathetic. Where was that sympathy from 1998-2000?

If any of you are wailing uncontrollably at the death of Michael Jackson, first of all....get a fucking life. You didn't know the guy. Save your sadness and empathy for people in your own life for crying out loud. And, if you must weep for someone you don't know, check this site out tomorrow for the video that changed my life.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Not Even Close

The next time you hear a conservative tell you that our government is close to socialism, show them this.













And then gently direct them to the nearest mental institution.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Another Classic (at 2:00)

"I don't want to be on your team. Pick another kid."

Given a recent post by Kevin Baker regarding last week's New Rules, I hope he checks this one out too:)

"We don't have a left or right party in this country anymore. We have a center right party and a crazy party. Over the last 30 odd years, Democrats have moved to the right and the right has moved into a mental hospital....they actually worry that Obama is a socialist. Socialist? He's not even a liberal."

And many of his commenters as well. I can already feel their heads exploding.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Wow.

"We had one vote and we gave it to Mousavi. We have one life and we'll give it up for freedom."

Anonymous Twitter from Tehran.

Friday, June 19, 2009

The Twitter Revolution

Like many of you, I am stunned by the events in Iran. Each day's news brings more excitement and more danger. The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a warning today to protesters saying that the government would crack down on further dissent.

While they have been able to block some transmissions from Iran, the government has had a difficult time controlling all of the Twittering that has gone on. Everyday citizens have become global reporters pushing real time information out to the rest of the world. It's an amazing thing to watch a lumbering old and out of step theocracy sadly attempt to block free speech.

And, I have to say, my chiding of Twitter of late amongst my social circles seems to have come back and bitten me on the ass. I'm still not a big fan of people having to know and tell other people what they are doing exactly at every second of their lives but if you live in Tehran....I say Twitter away, revolutionary brothers and sisters!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Yet another reason to smile:)

Wow. They continue to amaze me. Just when I thought there was a smidgen of hope that the GOP might pull together and be a little smarter about how they communicate, this happens.

Really?

No prob, Hugh. We'll take all those votes off your hands:)

Monday, June 08, 2009

The Best

A few years back, the tennis world (mostly overzealous and irritating announcers like Mary Cirillo) claimed that Roger Federer was the best player in the history of the game. This was back when he had won a few Wimbledons and the US Open.

Many of my tennis pals said that he was the best ever and I reminded them that until he wins the French, my guy Andre is still the best. To win all four slams in a career had only been accomplished by Agassi, Laver, Perry, Emerson, and Budge. To understand how difficult this is, stand in your back yard and bounce a ball off of grass, a muddy patch, and your driveway. Watching how differently it bounces and you will get the idea. The French, played on clay, eluded Federer for years.

But yesterday, he fucking won it. And in convincing fashion.

So, it is NOW official. Roger Federer is the greatest player in the history of tennis. If he wins Wimbledon this year, he will have passed Pete Sampras (with whom he is currently tied at 14) with 15 Grand Slam wins. And Pete never even won the French!

Congrats, Roger. You are the man!

Saturday, June 06, 2009

65 Years Ago Today

Friday, June 05, 2009

He said...what?

Check out this story from Andrew Sullivan. Apparently, Bill O'Reilly called the recently murdered Dr. George Tiller "Doctor Killer."

(Shakes head sadly)

And they wonder why the DHS is going to crawl up their ass with a fucking tweezers....

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

First Look

An intrepid (and large breasted) female friend (who recently declared open house to all comers :) on titty fucking if she ever gets breast cancer and has to have a masectomy) sent me this link and comment in regards to President Obama's meeting with King Abdullah (aka the "Saudi guy")

Note in the photo how he keeps his distance. I hope no photo surfaces showing them strolling and holding hands.

p.s. that Saudi guy still looks pregnant

Sweet...

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Only The Beginning

Last Sunday, Scott Roeder walked into Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, KS and shot Dr. George Tiller, killing him for being a late term abortion provider. From my local paper:

Roeder's family life began unraveling more than a decade ago when he got involved with anti-government groups, and then became "very religious in an Old Testament, eye-for-an-eye way," his former wife, Lindsey Roeder, told The Associated Press. "The anti-tax stuff came first, and then it grew and grew. He became very anti-abortion."

I'm sad to report that I'm certain this is only the beginning. As I have been saying for months, the real danger in regards to domestic terrorism is from the right, not the left. The right is far more organized, greater in number, getting more armed every day, and fucking pissed off as hell. And people gave me shit for the DHS report...

What I find to be most interesting about this latest incident in relation to the DHS report is how the right complains of "profiling" when they do the exact same fucking thing every day with Muslims. How many times have we heard the line "not all terrorists are Muslims but all the ones that are attacking us are Muslims?"

Not anymore.

The people that are going to cause the most violence in this country in the next year are exactly what Ms. Roeder described above...anti government, anti tax, old testament, anti abortion.

Sound like the base of a certain party to anyone?

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

A Pefect Solution

I think I have a perfect place for the right to vent their anger....HERE. Check out this story from the Christian Science Monitor regarding the situation in Pakistan. As if President Obama's current policy of letting the weak government fight a proxy war wasn't bad enough for my blood pressure, now we have this bullshit. I am issuing call to all gun owners who currently stock piling their armories...donate a gun to a Pakistani woman. At the very least, donate your time by encouraging and/or training her to use it.

Now most of you know that for the most part, I am a peaceful man. But when it comes to fucking garbage like this...well...I am reminded of Sean Connery in the Untouchables.

Jimmy: You want to get Capone? Here's how you do it...he pulls a knife, you pull a gun. He puts one of yours in the hospital, you put one of his in the morgue.

Yep.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Knee Jerk Hate

Today, President Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. As expected, conservatives around the country, condemned her as a liberal, activist judge who is going to kill babies, take away guns and legislate from the bench.

Taking our shuttles back from the orbit of Planet Hate-Paranoia-Fear (or just plain Planet NO to everything President Obama does), we find several interesting items regarding Ms. Sotomayor:
  • She was initially nominated to US District Court by President George H.W. Bush who, unless Limbaugh and Cheney have now thrown him out as a heretic, is a Republican.
  • Orin Hatch, Richard Lugar, Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, Thad Cochran, Judd Gregg, and Robert Bennett...all Republicans...vote for her nomination to the US Court of Appeals in 1998.
  • She upheld the Bush administration's implementation of the Mexico City Policy which requires foreign organizations receiving U.S. funds to "neither perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations".
  • She dissented from her colleagues’ ruling that the NYPD could terminate an employee from his desk job who sent racist materials through the mail. Sotomayor argued that the First Amendment protected speech by the employee “away from the office, on [his] own time,” even if that speech was “offensive, hateful, and insulting," and that therefore the employee's First Amendment claim should have gone to trial rather than being dismissed on summary judgment.
  • In cases where Sotomayor and at least one judge appointed by a Republican president were on the three-judge panel, Sotomayor and the Republican appointee(s) agreed on the outcome 95 percent of the time.
Wow. Sounds to me like she's a stinkin' commie.....IN NEOCON BIZARRO WORLD.

Anyway, President Obama has made a fine choice in Ms. Sotomayor. Her track record proves she is a moderate through and through and a perfect choice to replace the court's current moderate...David Souter. As we all know, though, these days anything to the left of Atilla the Hun is FUCKING STATIST SOCIALISM BENT ON DESTROYING ALL LIBERTY AND FREEDOM EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So when you hear the rage against the choice of Sonia Sotomayor, try hard to not listen to the direction from which it originates: white men (ages 45-130)....their ball sweat ever increasing in lather as they realize that our country is now populated by people who (gasp!) have non white men opinions (see: end of all that is holy) because (double gasp!) there are a lot less white men around these days.

Kindly input the RRRC (Reverse Racism Redirect Code) and begin sadly projecting onto me (and others) your own hilariously obvious bias.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Giving Thanks

On this Memorial Day, 2009, I find my thoughts drifting to my grandfather who passed away last year. Pop was a member of the combat engineers in WWII and served on pretty much every island in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945.

Here is to him and all the men and women who have given their lives for our country....

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Obama is the New....Bush?

The cartoon below got a few emails my way and a comment from juris regarding where I stand on Obama's recent 180s on some issues that fall under the "Conflict with Hirabis" column. My guy seems to be getting hit pretty hard from all sides these days and that probably means he's doing the right thing. Although that does not mean that I agree with him on all of these policies.

A recent off the record meeting at the White House (which ended up being on the record:)) saw several human rights groups and left wingers taking President Obama to the mat on four key issues. Here is where I stand on all of them.

Non release of the Photos: In many ways I can see both sides to this. On the one hand we need to see if there were any crimes broken and if anyone should be prosecuted. We also need to own up, as country, and apologize for this disgusting and sadistic behavior. But the pictures, should they ever be released, will put our armed forces in harm's way and perhaps add more names to the rolls of Al Qaeda recruiters. It's a tough call but let's remember that President Obama didn't create this mess...he's just trying to clean it up as best he can. So, I think that it is a good idea not to release the pictures once you look at the overall strategy of denying hirabis any fuel for their psychotic fire.

Continue Military Tribunals: If the policy is streamline to be more effective and give suspects basic rights that prisoners of war had in previous conflicts, I might be for the continued use of tribunals. As of right now, though, I am not. Regardless of how bad these guys are, they should be treated with all the liberty and rights of the Geneva convention and not put up in Spanish Inquisition like fashion with a guilty until proven innocent attitude. We are still toggling back and forth between "is this a war" or "is this criminal activity that requires police work." I say the latter is a more effective strategy (unless there is a whole country involved like Pakistan) and this has been fully proved to be very effective as was shown with the recent break up of a terrorist cell in New York.

Secret Prisons: Nope. Completely against the president on this one. I find it to be highly hypocritical of him to continue to support this when he says we have to close Gitmo. These prisons will be used as recruitment tools and are just as damaging to us as the enhanced interrogation techniques. The fact that he is going along with this makes me wonder how much Dick Cheney is still dictating our national policy which, of course, proves my point that it is still relevant to talk about conservatives:)

No Prosecution of Bushies: Not really with him on this one as well. I understand that if we go after people that tortured or the Bush Administration officials (see: all of them) that ordered it, it could turn really ugly...fast. But these people broke the law. If we send Michael Vick to jail for two years for dog fighting and we let people that break the law go free, what does that say about us as a country? I realize we need to move on but we still must lead by example and we are not doing that here.

Warrantless Wiretaps: Again, this is wrong no matter who does it. Now, I haven't looked into this much but you don't need a warrant for the first 15 days and can get one after the fact as I understand it. That much is legal. The Bush Administration went farther than this and if President Obama continues this same program then he is wrong as well. On the other hand, my nose smells something rotten here (see: conservative propaganda) and I'd like to examine both policies side by side to see if there are any differences.

So, as you can see, I do think President Obama is making some mistakes and I don't agree with him on a couple of these issues. It is nice, however, to see that he is capable of changing his mind and pursuing what he thinks is the better idea than perhaps some of his own...quite a refreshing change from the last administration. It shouldn't come to the surprise of anyone that I think this way as I said it would be like this all along. I can admit that President Obama isn't perfect...he will make mistakes...I (and he) can admit when he is wrong and I don't blindly follow him and bury my head in the sand like an ostrich.

That's how the other side operates. And man is that tough for them to understand. They just can't seem to understand that, even though I disagree with him on some issues, that I still think he is a great guy and the best person we have had in this job for years...decades even. How can I possibly support someone who is flawed? All leaders in the GOP are perfect, damnit!, and never change their minds...EVER! They are always right and it's always someone else's fault. How can Mark have this attitude?

Well, it's called reflection.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Yep.

Click on photo for larger image

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

America...Fuck Yeah!

For the past couple of days, President Obama has been chastised by both members of his own party as well as the GOP in regards to the closing of Gitmo. They refused him the funding to close the prison by his Jan 2010 deadline. With the GOP leading the charge and the Democrats doing their usual cowering in the face of right wing fear, paranoia, and ignorance (if they come on our soil, US officials will immediately issue them weapons and explosive material and tell them to go blow something up), all hope appeared lost.

Then a small town in a bright red state said they would take at least half of them if not more. And I can't wait for the conservative response (see: spin) on this one.

Two Rivers Executive Director Greg Smith said the town of Hardin, Montana would gladly take them. Why? Because their town has been hit by hard times and they sure could use the jobs. Apparently, they have an empty, state-of-the-art jail ready and waiting. Interestingly, they don't seem to be all that afraid of having hirabis in their town. Mr Smith said that the people there would be more concerned about child molesters than a few terrorists. Hee hee hee...I think I just heard a collective load drop in the pants of another GOP bullshit lie. And doesn't Harry Reid look like a total douche right about now?

Say it ain't so, Virginia. Can it be that there are still heroes left in this country that don't cower in fear in the face of a few bad guys? Are there actually people in a bright red state that can look past party lines and do what is best for American and her image?

Are the only real men living in Montana?:)

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

"We're Not Going To Have Talks Forever"

So said President Obama yesterday to newly elected Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting yesterday at the White House. He went onto basically say that he would not put the kibosh on harsher steps, including military action, should Iran not cooperate. “We’re not going to create a situation in which talks become an excuse for inaction while Iran proceeds," he said.

I couldn't agree more. The United States has made several overtures of late to sit down and engage in high level talks with Iran. Thus far, the Iranian government (as I expected) has refused. In offering to talk, President Obama has now put the US in a more positive and conciliatory light. Proceeding with tougher sanctions and perhaps even military action will now be much easier. We look the good guys again and they look like the stubborn, borderline psychotics that they actually are.

Iranian national elections are in June and all roads point to a more moderate president than Ahmadinejad. Even then, most everyone knows that it is the religious leaders that run the country so it doesn't really matter who is the "head" of state. I'm pretty certain that after the elections they will play around some more and give us a bunch of lip service. If there isn't any action or movement on their part, keep your eyes open for another meeting between Netanyahu and President Obama. If that meeting does happen, get ready for something big.

“The logic of Netanyahu’s argument is, ‘What do you do if your power of diplomacy and toughened sanctions doesn’t work?’ ” said Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East negotiator in both Democratic and Republican administrations. “Anyone who was expecting a major rift in the U.S.-Israeli relationship is going to be disappointed.”

Monday, May 18, 2009

A Long Comment

Hysteria has run amok over at The Smallest Minority....apparently the time has "passed for reasoned discourse." I wanted to reprint my comment on Kevin's post here in case anyone else wanted to chime in.

With all due respect to Cindi, discussing Iraq and how that fits into the "Common Sense" culture you dream about IS on topic. Since he was mentioned in this post,

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Benjamin Franklin said this in the early part of 1775. He also said, "There was never a good war or a bad peace." So, Kevin, you can't have it both ways. And while I agree with you regarding Dr. Paul's insane ideas on the topic of international relations, if you are for "common sense" you should NOT be in support of anything the Patriot Act offers nor invading Iraq and all that comes with it.The world that many of you fear has been here the last eight years and most of you have cheered it on. You have supported neo conservatism by allowing our citizens, as well as citizens from abroad, to be rounded up, without trials nor representation, and sent to prison. Why? Because they were Muslim.

In fact,"your" Franklin "your" Jefferson, "your" Adams, "your" Madison, "your" Washington and "your" Paine have nothing in common with modern day conservatism and I suspect that most if not all of them, if they were alive today, would be vilified by most right wing bloggers. Why, Franklin's quote from above would have elicited calls of treason and cowardice.

In a draft of the Constitution, Jefferson wrote, "All persons shall have full and free liberty of religious opinion; nor shall any be compelled to frequent or maintain any religious institution." How do you think that idea plays with "The Base?" Jefferson, btw, was a devotee of the Muslim faith and his copy of the Koran was used in Keith Ellison's swearing in ceremony.

John Adams said "There is something very unnatural and odious in a government a thousand leagues off. A whole government of our own choice, managed by persons whom we love, revere, and can confide in, has charms in it for which men will fight." Indeed, government can work if the right people are in it. He also said, "Let the human mind loose. It must be loose. It will be loose. Superstition and dogmatism cannot confine it." There is whole lot of the superstition and dogmatism coming from the right these days.

James Madison said, ""If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy." No shit.

George Washington said, "Every post is honorable in which a man can serve his country." According to writings on this blog as well as the right wing in its current form, serving your country means being a socialist. Or is it fascist? I can never keep track. Any time the talk of common good comes up, screeding flames of death burst forth from the right. He also said, in a letter to Madame Lafayette, "Democratical States must always feel before they can see: it is this that makes their Governments slow, but the people will be right at last." Imagine if he had said that today. The f word? Suffering Jehosaphats! What ever would the response from the right be?

And, finally, Thomas Paine, on whom this post was based, said in Common Sense, "It is of the utmost danger to society to make it [religion] a party in political disputes. Mingling religion with politics may be disavowed and reprobated by every inhabitant of America." Paine would not even be a candidate for janitor in the GOP in its current form.

He also said (quoted here many times), "Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries BY A GOVERNMENT, which we might expect in a country WITHOUT GOVERNMENT, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer."

We furnish the means by which we suffer indeed. If I were an alien who landed on this planet and the only information I had on America was the writings here, I would assume the end was near. Thankfully, it is not. Individual freedom and liberty aren't going anywhere, folks. Perhaps your definition of it is and let's be realistic...that's the real problem here, isn't it? It's not the you are afraid of losing your liberty. You are afraid of being wrong. So, you can try to submit the belief that you are aligned with the founding fathers ideologically but every time you do, I am going to be there to call you on your bullshit. And, as a postscript to this very long comment, history has already proved that you are wrong.

In the 1930s and 40s, we came closer to a socialist state then we ever did. And what was the result? We defeated the greatest army this world had ever seen..."strong arming" GM btw. We built a strong economy and had more regulation than we do today. We had a 91 percent tax rate on the top one percent and built the national highway system because of it. This allowed our economy to expand even further and, in a hilarious bit of irony, allowed some of you to go on to very successful careers in engineering.

Happy for you ideologically but perhaps sad for future engineers and innovators, those days are gone and will never come back. Our country has moved too far away from allowing any sort of government institution (NASA for example) that kind of power. Look at the hysteria over the government's temporary involvement in the banking industry and Detroit recently. As Alan Greenspan and many others said in the CNBC documentary "House of Cards" (shown to me by last in line recently and fully torpedoing any last shred of an idea that blames government for our current issues), the corporation and free market rule the day and will forever.

Gordon Gecko would be proud and all of you, rather than gathering pitch forks and torches, should be happy.

I shudder with anticipation at what the response is going to be:)

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Liberal Media Watch

I was shocked...SHOCKED, I tell you to see all the major news outlets and all the Sunday chat shows devouring Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Aren't they all her liberal stooges?

Liberal media bullshit owned once again.

Oh, and while I think she did know what was going on back in 2002 and 2003 (making her guilty of complicity after the fact), SHE WASN'T THE ONE EXECUTING A POLICY OF TORTURE YOU FUCKING DUMB ASSES.

Nice try, righties. You should know by now that I will always be here to call you on your bullshit.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Everyone Be Hatin'

To say that I have been bombarded in the last 24 hours with emails, phone calls, and personal conversations regarding President Obama's decision to fight the release of photographs detailing abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan would be an understatement. My friends on the left are pissed as hell and are accusing him of covering up just like W. My friends on the right are laughing and calling him a wimp and saying "I told you so." My opinion?

If you are pissing off everyone, you are probably doing something right.

The fact is that we all know what happened. There was rampant abuse across the board. More importantly, it was systemic, meaning that the abuse was tacitly approved by all levels of the Bush Administration. As we try to apologize to the rest of the world for being such D bags for the last 8 years, any sort of release of photographs of this type would be detrimental to our image clean up across the globe. In addition, President Obama is correct in stating that our troops would be in greater danger should these images see the light of day.

All of this being said, the fact that my guy has to put up with this bullshit really fucking pisses me off. The blame for all of this should be laid squarely at the feet of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld NOT President Obama, although being the REAL man that he is (and even though he had nothing to do with any of this) he is still accepting the responsibility for it. If people want to pissed off, fine... be mad that they allowed the most un-Christian behavior to occur that I think this country has ever seen. Be mad at the animals in our own armed forces that will never be prosecuted for these crimes.

Be mad at the sadists in the Bush Administration that had the incredibly fucked up idea that we have to become our enemy in order to "keep us safe."

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Changing of the Guard

Yesterday, Defense Secretary Gates fired the top general in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan. He has replaced him with Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal (left), a man who has far more special forces experience than McKiernan. McChrystal had boots on the ground in Saudi Arabia from 1990 to 1993, serving both Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield.

"Today we have a new policy set by our new president. We have a new strategy, a new mission and a new ambassador," Gates said Monday at a news conference. "I believe that new military leadership also is needed."

I agree. I'm still not entirely backing off my criticism of President Obama (which, b to the w, is NOT to be confused with the right wing douche bag talking point that Obama is the next Jimmy Carter aka wimp) regarding his "Nixonian Vietnam let a proxy fight the war" pursuit of policy in that part of the world. But this is at least a step in the right direction. McKiernan and other U.S. commanders, echoing yours truly, have said resources they need in Afghanistan are tied up in Iraq.

The "read between the lines" part of this story is that if the Pakistani Army can't do what it is trying to do right now in the SWAT valley (and never will for reasons I have stated previously), the United States will have a man in charge who can get the job done if called upon to do so.

Once again, Stan's the Man!

Monday, May 11, 2009

Reform?

Since Last in Line is so fond of taking trips down memory lane regarding previous posts and comments of mine, I thought we would start off the week with one of his offerings.

A while back, John Waxy asked Last what positive things Bush contributed to our society. Last replied that tort reform was one of them. He went on to say that frivolous lawsuits were breaking the financial back of this country and we needed to be rid of them.

Take a look at this story which I caught on Fox News this morning. I guess Bush's tort reform is ok when we are making sure that corporate officers are able to keep their third vacation home (see: no such animal as employee rights...who gives a shit if they are in ill health?). But a student is allowed to sue his teacher for a thought provoking discussion of religion. Yeah, that's just dandy. I guess U.S. District Judge James Selna is not one of those activist judges we hear the right screeding about constantly because he thinks the case has merit.

And, once again, my tap into your inner rage and pass shit off as fact theory is fully proven. Next stop for Jim Corbett....the Inquisition! I'm sure the robes (white) are fully laundered and ready to go:)

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Thanks, Dick!

I have to say that I think I have been wrong about Dick Cheney. Rather than repeatedly ripping him for being such a douche, I should be thanking him. Every time he opens his mouth, something extremely moronic comes out and politically increases the chances of more Democratic victories and a second term for President Obama.

On Face the Nation today, our former Vice President essentially stated that Colin Powell is no longer a Republican (see: American in angry white man desperately paranoid about his "culture" slipping away speak). He went on to say that Rush Limbaugh is a true Republican and the party should be taking his cues from him.

I agree. I think the GOP should align itself with someone who has a 20 percent approval rating nationally pushing it further into regional party status (see eight states in the south). In addition, ripping an honored member our Armed Forces (one who actually served in Vietnam as opposed to Dick who got four deferments) always goes over well with those folks who have conservative values but aren't lunatics. How many more votes do you suppose that will make for Dems in 2010 and the president in 2012?

Thanks Dick!

Saturday, May 09, 2009

Bill Nails it Again

"When the president suggests things that will help the greater good, that's not a slight against your fragile manhood. I know. I know. You are a rugged individualist. Except you're not.

You're just a dick."

Friday, May 08, 2009

I didn't like this movie the first time I saw it...

Eric, from comments, writes (in relation to my week long rant about Pakistan)

So where does Pakistan's decision to throw out all peace talks and launch military action against the Taliban fit in to all this?

As I expected with Zardari and Karzai visiting the White House this week, there would be a slight uptick in military engagements in the SWAT valley. I've been following this story since 9-11 and I've seen this all before. While it is true that Pakistan declared "war" on the Tailban, it's a little hard to carry out an effective campaign when a). none of your main military is being pulled from possible combat against India (aka Pakistan isn't really that serious about this); b). half your army is pro Taliban; and c). all of you intelligence apparatus is pro Taliban.

In other words, much of what we are hearing about over there is a big show. Zardari does not have control of his country and his placations of "just let us deal with it" are hollow and false. Many innocent civilians are going to die and far too little militants are going to be neutralized. There will be no clear victory at all until US intelligence forces are formally allowed into the country to assist.

Basically what I am saying is that I am still not happy and know that President Obama is continuing to pursue a failed policy.

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Nixon in 1969?

I opened up my morning Times and saw this...

There were new signs of uneasiness on Capitol Hill about United States involvement in the region. The Democratic chairman of the House Appropriations Committee pronounced himself as “very doubtful” that Mr. Obama’s plan for Afghanistan and Pakistan could succeed. The chairman, Representative David Obey, of Wisconsin, said he would allow only one year for the White House to show concrete results, and repeatedly likened Mr. Obama’s approach to President Richard Nixon’s plans for Vietnam in 1969.

Wow. I have to say that at this point I agree. Nixon thought that certain factions in Vietnam were working in tandem with US interests when they were not. There is no doubt in my mind that large swaths of Pakistani intelligence as well as the Pakistani army are very pro Taliban. They seem to be giving a whole lot of lip service to President Zardari, the current "leader" of Pakistan.

When we have our country's National Security Adviser saying that the situation in Pakistan is "one of the very most serious problems we face," one has to wonder why the "liberal" media is still stuck on fucking swine flu. Who gives a shit? In addition to the economy, this is the gravest threat we face...one that harkens back to the early days of WWII in my opinion. We have already had one horrendous attack on our home soil...we can't take another one let alone a nuclear strike. My guy seems to really be dropping the ball on this one. The people who harbored Osama bin Laden are on the cusp of getting nuclear weapons and there really doesn't seem to be much going on in DC...at least that I can see.

I'm waiting to be proved wrong.

Monday, May 04, 2009

Same ol...same ol'

Thus far, if I could pinpoint one major criticism of President Obama it would be that he appears to be pursuing the same line of strategy with Pakistan as President Bush did. Recent reports indicate that administration officials are working with Pakistani officials to negotiate with the Taliban, who have now advanced to within 100 miles of the capital city of Islamabad.

If you recall, President Bush tried to negotiate with the Taliban right after 9-11 and look at how well that went. He then proceeded to do nothing for the next seven years and essentially created this problem. Now, President Obama seems intent on continuing this same mistake. If the Taliban takes control of Pakistan--a very real possibility--then the people that harbored Al Qaeda will have access to nuclear weapons.

They will also have access to the Agosta class submarines currently sitting in the port of Karachi These subs have air delivery missile systems that can easily be upgraded to nuclear tips. As I have stated several times on this blog, I think that Al Qaeda wants to bigger than 9-11 on their next attack....little piddly shit just won't do. There is no doubt in my mind that this is they type of attack they have envisioned.

You can add into this whole mess that half the Pakistani army as well most of its intelligence agencies is pro Taliban. We have a very large problem here that needs more pressure than is currently being applied. Now, I don't see the daily intelligence briefings so I could be off in saying this but we need to step up our drone attacks and push the Pakistani government into letting us assist more in defense. If they refuse, we need to do it anyway.

It doesn't surprise me either that the "liberal" media isn't reporting this at all. To say the situation is grave is a fucking understatement. Time is running out.

Friday, May 01, 2009

Mixed and Clear Feelings

I have to say that I have mixed feelings about Arlen Specter switching sides and being a Democrat. While I am happy that he is yet another in a chorus of people who say that the Republicans are going too far to the right (anything to prove me right is always a plus:)), I am not sure I want the man who put forth the magic bullet theory on my side. President Obama was asked on Wednesday night what he thought about Senator Specter becoming a Democrat and he said that he had the up most respect for the man.

For all you righties out there who say that I worship and believe everything President Obama says, this would be ANOTHER example of an instance with which I disagree with our current leader. In fact, he couldn't be more wrong. None of us should have any respect for a man who assisted in covering up the highest crime this nation has ever seen. So, while I'm happy we'll get an extra vote out of the deal, it sucks that it has to be that guy.

I am clear, however, on yet another example of the continued psychosis of the right. I have been taken to the mat several times in comments recently regarding how I'm "just like them" for being intolerant of certain views. To those of you that say that, I would like you to explain to me how I should tolerate Michael Savage and Neil Boortz recent tirades that the swine flu is actually a terrorist attack by illegal immigrants. The comments that these two men have made recently are filled with hate, ignorance, and paranoia. They represent the EXACT base of the Republican party these days and to say I, or anyone else on the left, is like them is as fucking moronic as it is insulting.

You want to complain about a comment Bill Maher or Keith Olberman made about the right? Fine, every time I'm going to bring up Savage and Boortz and tell you to fuck off.

Owned and done.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

100 Day Report Card

Well, my guy has been at 1600 for 100 days and I thought it would be nice to take a look at what he has done...the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Let's start with the 400 pound gorilla in the room...the economy. For the most part, I didn't really have an opinion on either the stimulus package or the budget. My knowledge of economic matters isn't as extensive as it is with foreign policy. After some reading and some careful consideration....I still don't have one...really. I'm not crazy about the deficit but I also think that you have to spend money to make money. President Eisenhower spent the equivalent of 900 billion dollars of today's money on the national highway system and ended up creating a much stronger economy. I think President Obama is on the right track when he says that health care and climate change can be keys to a stronger economy. But can we sustain a multi trillion dollar deficit? No one really knows so for that reason I give him a C+

On the issue of terrorism, sadly, I have to give him a D at this point. It's not because I think he is "weak" or because he shook hands with Chavez (btw, last time I checked he is not a Muslim). It's because he has continued the same policy of doing nothing in regards to Pakistan and look where that has gotten us? The Taliban within 100 miles of the capital and ready to take control of nuclear weapons. Granted, they wouldn't be there if a certain incompetent cretin with a daddy complex hadn't stomped his feet in frustration from not wanting to learn no more about stuff.

But President Obama is in office now and needs to take ownership, in a very forceful way, of this issue. We cannot allow these people nuclear weapons. They have no regard for human life and would love to see what little regard they do have brought to life with women in chains. This is an issue that is very important to me, as readers of NFTF for years know about, and I will be talking about it more in the coming days as the "liberal" media is not.I do give him props for closing Gitmo and releasing the torture memos. It's time to show the world that we are not like the animals that want to do us harm. So, he barely misses the F.

On the issue of health care, he gets an A from me. He extended insurance to 4 million children and threw out Bush's neolithic stance on stem cell research. The health and wellness of this country means more people working, spending money, and thus, a better economy. It's time to leave the long Spanish robes and cries of heresy behind when it comes to science.

With education, he gets at A. His current budget includes money for ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) as well as college funds. Our country is falling behind in the world because we value education only through the lens of private corporations. This is an abomination. The simple fact that President Obama's idea of "taking a break" is going to a school is fucking mega. We will never have another "Greatest Generation" unless we bring our country up to speed in multiple intelligences.

In regards to the environment, I give him a C. I'm not certain that cap and trade is the way to go. I need to look more into this. He also seems very laissez faire about the latest IPCC reports which give me pause. But he at least admits that climate change is happening and action is going to be taken which is more than I can say for the world is flat crowd on the right.

On his staff, or the best and the brightest he has put in place to get us out of the Great Recession, I give him a B. James Jones, Robert Gates, Arne Duncan, Joe Biden, Eric Holder, Kathleen Sebelius, Ray LaHood, Eric Shinsecki, Janet Napalitano, Rahm Emmanuel: MONEY! Hillary Clinton: good, but I don't like her personally after the Karl Rove bullshit of the primaries. Timothy Geithner: love his intellect, hate his communication skills, up to his eyeballs in cronyism. President Obama himself gets lower marks due to the Tom Daschle dalliance (why would he EVER consider a guy who has a driver?) and subsequent DC speak surrounding the nomination. Throw in the Bill Richardson BS too. Who was on the vetting team for crying out loud?

Misc gaffes: the special olympics remark (total locker room jock shit), telling Republicans to not listen to Rush Limbaugh (he is only as big as you make him), and taking forever to buy the dog (dude, it's your kids)

Misc goodies: using a teleprompter (that's correct, righties, isn't it nice to have a president who takes the care to prepare?), not using a teleprompter (like...all the fucking time...the right must be tuned in to Hee Haw re-runs when this happens), and watching the beginning of the end of extremism (Ahmadinejad, the Brothers Castro, and Chavez falling all over themselves to be seen with Obama).

So, I guess my overall grade is a B. There has been some impressive stuff so far...certainly waaaayyyy better than President Bush...but the Pakistan thing is really sticking in my craw of late and I don't see a lot of movement in that arena. But hey! Maybe something will happen in the next few weeks...assuming we all don't die of swine flu...and I will be proven wrong.

I'd certainly be happy if he was the one to do it.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Simply The Best

The last new rule sent me to the ER for O2.

Hands down, the best commentary on the current state of the Republican Party I have ever seen. And I just said that with Matt Taibbi's piece two days ago in Rolling Stone.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Stomach...hurts....too much laughter

From Matt Taibi of Rolling Stone Magazine

Following the Republican Party of late has been a movingly depressing experience, sort of like watching Old Yeller die — if Old Yeller were a worm-infested feral bitch who spent the past eight years biting children at bus stops and shitting in neighborhood swimming pools. As a useful force in American politics, the Republicans have been dead for a while now. But in the seven months since Sarah Palin's nomination, they have taken on an intriguing new role: providing much-needed comic relief during dark times, serving as the unofficial rodeo clowns of the Financial Crisis Era.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

NEWSFLASH!

This just in...

Jesus Christ would have approved of water boarding.

That's right folks. I've taken an informal poll of my conservative friends (not last in line as he is currently the star of Salsa Tonight!) and they all agree that, in addition to carrying an assault rifle, if Jesus were alive today, water boarding would've have been just dandy with him. I guess they really don't get the meaning of these passages.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

(Matthew 5: 9-10)

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Last In Line...Salsas!

For those of you who wanted to know what Last In Line looks like, here he is in all his glory. Of course, I'm sure many of you thought that when you first did see him that it wouldn't be like this!

Looks pretty good, doesn't he?

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Words of Wisdom

My friend Gina just posted this on her FB page. Very astute and quite accurate.

The meaning of "communism" and "socialism" has been thrown out there so much to describe so many things that it is really now meaningless. What does it mean to say that Obama is a socialist? First, get the definition of that correct, and then offer up the proof. Raising taxes is not "socialist." Requiring banks who take TARP money to hold to certain rules is not socialist.

We've never been an unrestricted free market. The govt has always attached strings to its funding. The interstate/highway funding of each state is contingent (partially) on the state having a drinking age of no less than 21. It's been that way for many years now. Is that socialist? I mean, who is the fed govt to tell the states what laws they have to make? But if they give the funding, they can make it contingent on following their rules.

Obama has not even advocated repealing the bush tax cuts yet. And he proposes a modest increase in the upper tax bracket percentage, back to where it was under Clinton.


The sky hardly fell then. The hyperbole and hysteria of certain right wing people is just getting to be too much- like the boy who cried wolf. It's not being taken seriously. There has been much government intervention over the years- our country was not a libertarian free for all with no taxes and no restrictions before Obama took office.

And yet some people are acting like Obama is going to confiscate not only our money, but our guns and our houses and perhaps put us in concentration camps. We need a little perspective and some knowledge of history. And when we pay taxes, it is not OUR money being stolen from us. WE are the govt, WE elect these people, WE decide as part of the social contract that we need to pay taxes for the common good. We are not just a nation of individuals, every man for himself. Admittedly there's govt waste and incompetence, and that should be addressed. But different issue.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Worth 1000 Words

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Suddenly he's not a socialist.

Last Thursday, President Obama unveiled a new plan to bring high speed rail to the United States in full force. While the 8 billion that is initially going to be spent is small change compared to what really has to be done, it is a start. As he made the announcement and discussed how it would benefit trade and our economy, I was reminded of President Eisenhower's plan for a national highway system.

At the time, the wealthiest people in this country were taxed at a whopping 91 percent of their income and some of that money went to build the infrastructure that built highways like Interstate 35 that runs from Duluth in my home state all the way down to Texas. Imagine that...a Republican using the government to make the economy better.

Of course, that would never happen today as it is quite clear to 58 million Americans that President Obama is going to "drag us into that European cesspool of socialism" as a conservative friend of mine recently reminded me. That number of 58 million just got a little smaller, though, as a friend of mine's railroad products company (his dad owns the company and he sits on the board of directors) has suddenly seen the light. Most everyone there has been pretty right wing and very much Obama loathers...that is until last Thursday.

As if out of someone's ass (where it all started to begin with), President Obama is a great guy! And not a socialist at all...

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Teabags and Traitors

Well, well, well...it certainly has been quite an interesting few days, hasn't it? I know this sounds cliche but it really has ALL BEEN BUILDING TO THIS.

My posts over the last week or so have been around the general theme of how entertaining the right has become since they got their asses handed to them in the last election. They started off as their usual peptic selves and have since boiled over into a hilarious combination of insanity and paranoia spewing forth heretofore unfathomable lies and deceit. What has caused them to get this way?

First up is tax day (April 15th)...always a day to rile up conservatives. I want my money, damnit! But I also want a strong defense, smooth roads, and someone to take care of me when I am shitting my pants at age 80. Ah, the hyperbole.....

This year, in a sad attempt to find some galvanizing event to coalesce into something resembling a party, they have glommed on, much to the chagrin of real Libertarians who despise Republicans spending as much as they do Democrats spending, to the various "Tea Parties" being thrown around the nation to protest against President Obama's tax policies and his....socialism?

(Mark leaves computer area and walks into family room. Finds pillow with which to muffle copious amounts of laughter)

First of all, this year they would actually be protesting the tax policies of President Bush, not President Obama, who passed 2009 laws in 2008. Second, President Obama is more than likely going to wait to raise taxes on the top percent of this country AFTER Bush's tax cuts expire in 2010...which means that won't actually happen until 2011. He is doing this because, contrary to the belief in psycho-ville, he does have conservative economists advising him. And, third, socialism? Ok...um...fucksticks? Please do a little research. The current tax rate in the upper bracket is 36 percent. Under President Obama's plan it would increase to 39 percent. JESUS H JOHNSON!! If that's not socialism, then I don't know what is!! Anyone want to take a guess what it was Reagan? Nixon? Eisenhower? 50, 70, and 91 percent!

Oh...no...that's going to leave a mark.

The fact is that the progressive tax was put into play by a Republican (Teddy Roosevelt) first because he called it the "fair and right thing to do...to spread the wealth." Imagine if ol' Teddy were around today...he would be taken out back and shot in the head by his own party.

And then we have the Department of Homeland Security Report which has right wing pundits blowing the biggest bowel since Hoover dropped his last deuce in office. The report (which should be titled "No Shit") says that "right-wing extremists have capitalized on the election of the first African American president, and are focusing their efforts to recruit new members, mobilize existing supporters and broaden their scope and appeal through propaganda, but they have not yet turned to attack planning," the assessment reads.

"The current economic and political climate has some similarities to the 1990s when right-wing extremism experienced a resurgence fueled largely by an economic recession, criticism about the outsourcing of jobs and the perceived threat to U.S. power and sovereignty by other foreign powers.," it continues.

The report also points to returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan as potential targets for recruiting saying that their combat skills would be welcome in such groups. It urges more support and funding for veterans so as to avoid "the difficulty of veterans to reintegrate into their communities that could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks."

It goes on to say that "proposed imposition of firearms restrictions and weapons bans likely would attract new members into the ranks of right-wing extremist groups ... The high volume of purchases and stockpiling of weapons and ammunition by right-wing extremists in anticipation of restrictions and bans in some parts of the country continue to be a primary concern to law enforcement."

This report has prompted cries of outrage from the right. All of you will have to excuse me for a moment....

(Mark leaves computer area and walks outside. His neighbors ask him if he needs any help as he is LAUGHING HIS FUCKING ASS OFF SO HARD THAT HE HAS PHYSICALLY LOST CONTROL OF HIMSELF.)

Setting aside the obvious and highly humorous fact at how many right wingers these days act and sound like Al Qaeda (remember English translation of Al Qaeda is "the base":)), what I find to be outrageously ironic about this is how many of these folks spent months screaming about Bill Ayers and now, when DHS gets a flood of new threats from right wing extremists every day...threats that we are not privy to...threats that make Ayers look like an eight year old with a green water pistol...and we have a sitting Congress person calling for people to be "armed and dangerous" THEY HAVE THE GALL TO CRY "FASCISM?!?

Perhaps they might want to stop listening to dolts like Michelle Malkin and ACTUALLY TAKE A LOOK AT REALITY. They will see, as I did last July, that the chief concern under the subject heading Domestic Terrorism comes from their side of the aisle not the left...and has for the last 15 years. Take a look at the fucking facts. Make sure you read the first comment directly after my post which entirely proves my point.

The last time I checked it was illegal to make a threat on the president's life. This happens all the time in koolaidville. The frenzy and anger that has been whipped up by the right is absolutely unparalleled at this particular point in time. They are out of their minds with the fact that President Obama might actually succeed at what he is doing. If he does, their entire belief system is going to shatter. And to them, their lives will be over. They simply can't deal with this.

If you don't believe me, here's a little story for you. I am friends with a doctor named Sam. Sam and I work out at the same gym. He is very conservative. Last summer, right before candidate Obama was to give his speech in Denver at Mile High Stadium, a group of right wing extremists were foiled in an attempt to kill him. My friend Sam, a well respected kidney specialist here in Minneapolis...a man who has dedicated his life to saving people...came up to me as I was on the treadmill and said, "Today is a sad day." He looked really down and, thinking that something horrible had happened, I asked him what exactly was wrong.

He pointed to the TV, which had images of the redneck fucks who were planning on killing Obama and said,

"Those guys failed at their mission to save this country."

Monday, April 13, 2009

Everyone...Quick! Be afraid...

I'm sure that all of you are happy at the end of the standoff between Somali "pirates" and the US military. Captain Phillips is back safe and the bad guys are dead.

Or...are they?

Dum Dum Dah!

Pick up any newspaper (while they are still around) or flip on any channel and you will see the "liberal" media reporting that the cohorts of the "pirates" vow revenge. Oooo.....

THEY'S A COMIN'!!! THEY'S A COMIN' MA....quick, hide the white women!

And the culture of fear rolls merrily along...:)

Friday, April 10, 2009

Rush Limbaugh - Brainwashed Nazi

This one is so good I can hardly stand it.

And it makes me happy to hear that not all Republicans have lost their minds.

Thursday, April 09, 2009

And the hits just keep on coming...

Not one to prove my wrong regarding how entertaining the conservative base has become, Michelle Bachmann (thankfully not my congressional representative) has accused Democrats and even fellow Republicans of starting re-education camps in the form of the new bill to expand Americorps.

In addition to the obvious question--what color is the sky in their world?--one must seriously wonder what the fuck goes on inside the heads of people that think this way. Americorps is similar to the Peace Corps in which volunteers serve their country for a summer helping to better our nation's communities.

Orin Hatch (R-Utah) is one of the bill's co-sponsors and has gone on record in saying that Bachmann's ravings on this matter are complete nonsense. You can add this bit of nonsense to her last shriek about cap and trade, in which she said that Americans would be paying 3K extra in taxes.

Complete bullshit. Here are the facts.

I'm waiting for the story (coming soon to a TV near you) in which someone like Bachmann or Glenn Beck shoots a "commie liberal"in the head, justifies it by saying that it was their patriotic duty, and 38 million people believe them.

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Worth A Thousand Words

Huh. I guess the troops do like our new president after all:)

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Check It Out!

Check out my friend Pete's music blog. Pete is one of the very few people I know that has equal or better musical taste than myself:). I post there on a semi irregular basis (new post by me today) and you MUST make it a daily read.

Bill Maher on Glenn Beck

This is the whole New Rules segment from last Friday. Forward to 1:50 and check it out. It sums up the right's hyper over exaggeration to a tee!

Monday, April 06, 2009

Armed and Hilarious

Hailing from my home state of Minnesota, Republican Michelle Bachmann has been making quite a scene these days. I think we all remember her very special interview with Chris Matthews in which she called our current president "un-American." To be completely fair, though, Matthews (just like Katie Couric did with Sarah Palin) is a fascist liberal faggot who had the audacity to (gasp!)...ask her questions. So it really wasn't her fault and that's why she has never apologized for it.

Remember...conservatives...never wrong...always right!

It should come as no surprise to anyone that she is now advocating an armed insurgency, proving me right yet again that conservatives seem to view all things through the lens of violence. Speaking out against cap and trade a couple of weeks back, Bachmann said she wants Minnesotans "armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back."

Hmm...now let me see if I have this straight. Conservatives spent months talking about William Ayers, Weather Underground, and their ties with the supposed "radicalness" of Barack Obama and yet who are the ones that continue advocating insurgency?

Meanwhile, Sarah Palin, talking a break from creating a list of books to be banned in her quickly fading fairy tale of being the queen, is-OMG-like sooo pissed off and stuff because of what Levi dished on Tyra so she went to her BFFs at People Magazine and set the record straight.

Is it just me or does the conservative movement get more entertaining every day?

Saturday, April 04, 2009

Obama French Town Hall Meeting 4/3/2009 Pt5



This was the question I was talking about yesterday. Pay attention to the final point...fucking money.

Friday, April 03, 2009

Clear and to the Point

President Obama gave a town hall meeting today in Strasborg, France today. During the course of the Q and A , he took a question regarding terrorism. In his answer , he gave the most concise and compelling argument against torture (and...huh...without a teleprompter thus blowing the latest in a series of lame and borderline bizarre criticisms of our president).

He said

Our security and our values are not in contradiction.

This sums up exactly how I feel about the use of torture in our conflict against extremism. It doesn't work. We can maintain the values that we have as a nation when it comes to the dignity of human life and still protect our country. My grandfather proved it in World War II when, rather than treating human beings as animals as the Japanese did, we offered them food and clothing in exchange for information (that the readily gave up) which lead to winning the war. Let me say this again for the deaf fuckers that read here...WE WON THE WAR. And we did not stoop to the levels that Japanese did in order to win.

As President Obama went on to say, we cannot allow Al Qaeda to use things like Abu Ghraib or Gitmo as a recruiting tool. We need to take away as many notions as we can that we are ANYTHING like these psychotics. We aren't. We need to lead by example and I thank God that finally we have a president who represents those values in abundance and is now taking that message to the rest of the world.

I'll put up some clips of the event over this weekend.

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Then Stop Acting Like It!

'member back in the campaign when the right blew a bowel after Barack Obama made the comment about "clinging to their guns and their religion?"

Check this out.

Discussion over.