Olbermann: An American Cry for Help

Last evening Keith Olbermann shared his personal experience with a real life "death panel" situation and scorns the unfairness of health insurance in America. Since today is to be the big "Blair House Health Care Summit", I thought I'd share Keith's impassioned plea for our elected officials to fix a very broken system. Don't count on it Keith. By the way, why wasn't Anthony Weiner invited?



Since Republicans got spanked the last time they met with President Obama, they've already set up their defense.

1. Democrats aren't willing to start from scratch Riiight, because that will help.

2. President Obama actually introduced a bill Why doesn't anyone get that Republicans were voted out for a reason?

3. The bill Obama introduced is too short. Seriously? They said other one was too long.

4. The summit is superficial and designed to make Republicans look bad. Well, let's be honest. How hard is that?

5. No governors were invited to the summit -- making it too D.C.-centric. When have governors ever been included?

6. No state legislators were invited to the summit (see above for explanation). When have state legislators ever been included?

7. The summit is taxpayer-funded -- which makes it a waste of money. Kind of like Iraq?

Anthony Weiner Tells the Truth and Republicans Demand Retraction!

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY): “Make no mistake about it, every single Republican I have ever met in my entire life is a wholly owned subsidiary of the insurance industry!” When Weiner took them on today on the House floor, Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) objected. Bravo! We need more Democrats like this guy and Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL). They are fed up and are not sitting by quietly anymore. Elected Democrats by and large need to understand that we approve of them fighting back! The fact that these men are targets from the right tells me, they're doing something right! This was a very satisfying video to watch!



At the end of the debate, the House voted 406-19 the House to strip health insurance firms from an antitrust exemption Congress granted them 65 years ago. Well done, Mr. Weiner.

All nay votes came from Republicans: Reps. John Boehner (R-OH), Steve Buyer (R-IN), Todd Tiahrt (R-KS), Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Paul Ryan (R-WI), Tom Price (R-GA), Ron Paul (R-TX), Jerry Moran (R-KS), John Linder (R-GA), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Steve King (R-IA), Lynn Jenkins (R-KS), Jim Jordan (R-OH), Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Paul Broun (R-GA), Kevin Brady (R-TX), Todd Akin (R-MO), and Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA).

Hey, Teabaggers...What Has Brown Done For You?!

You've got to love the mentality of the Tea Bag crowd. One vote and they've turned on their shiny new messiah! One of the funniest comments was, "These folks, Scott Brown's "Fans," thought Brown was literally the naked lovechild of Reagan and George Washington." I guess most of the country doesn't understand that he did NOT run as a far right idealogue. He would have never gotten elected. In fact, he never once in any ad actually admit he was a Republican. He distanced himself from teabaggers, he ran as a moderate. I don't buy it, this is one vote, but the reaction of this one vote is hysterical. Do these people grasp the fact that he was elected due to a terrible Coakley campaign mixed with a guy running as an "independent?" If he make's a hard right turn, like they want, there is not one chance in hell that he get's re-elected in 2012! Massachusetts hasn't changed, Massachusetts didn't turn on the Kennedy legacy. Massachusetts was fed up with business as usual and Brown made a much better stance that he'd be different. Different doesn't mean, be a tea bagger!
I thought I'd share some of the various comments (former) Scott Brown supporters have written on various blogs and his facebook page:

• You are a piece of garbage!

• NOOOOOOOOOOO,  I DON'T EVEN LIVE IN THE DISTRICT YOU REPRESENT.  WHY SCOTT BROWN WHYYYYYYYYYYY?!?! WHY DID YOU DISRESPECT THE TEABAGGERS?!?!

• You sir, are a sellout. You sir, are NO FISCAL CONSERVATIVE. To quote a true Conservative, Joe Wilson, "You LIE!". Now I shall remove myself from your fan page, you do not deserve support.  I regret having supported you, although you're better than Coakley, I suppose? Remains to be seen.

• Way to double cross millions.

• Some of us made it our jobs to get you elected so you can STOP THE SPENDING.  I want my money back for supporting you.  You are a fraud : (

• Hey Judas, how many pieces of gold did you receive??

• SOOOOOO disappointed in you Scott Brown, you don't deserve that Senate seat.....

• I wish your truck had broken down and you couldn't make it to Washington in time to vote for this bill! You were OUR "hope and change" and you let US down BIG TIME!!! Beck/Palin 2012!!!

• Hey, COL. Klink!!! you really are "FUBAR" F**cked up beyond all regognition.

• what's next scott, a beer with OBAMA & some peanuts in the back of your truck WTF...

• scott brown ther is a new term for being bamboozled, lied to, disgraced, tricked, or pranked  its called being "scott browned"... I cant believe i supported u friggin neocon rino

• Thanks for NOTHING!!!! Can anyone running for office ever speak the truth? Probably not.

• WELL SCOTT LOOOKS LIKE YOU SHOWED YOUR BUTTOX LIKE WE SAY IN THE SOUTH SAME ON YOU I KNOW YOU THINK THE TEA PARTIES DIDNT HELP YOU GET ELECTED YOUR SADLY MISTAKEN I HEARD YOU SAID F---- THE TEA PARTIES HOPE THAT NOT TRUE AND ALSO HOW ABOUT SAYING NO TO THE HEATH CARE BILL LIKE YOU SAID YOU WOULD

• LOW LIFE SCUM HYPOCRITE!

There are so many more, but I think by now, you get the gist! 

Brown, Boehner and Bipartisanship...oye vey

I seriously have to ask, do we ever learn? Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

Today, Scott Brown (R-MA) broke rank with fellow Republicans and supported a Democratic jobs bill in an important procedural vote. Brown says the bill is not perfect but he will support it. I hope people don't read too much into this vote. This is a soft toss that the Republicans will look foolish fighting. Since Brown's election was largely a protest vote, he can't walk lock step with the party of no. Expect him to act like a moderate on these types of votes. Wait until Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy expire, or ending DADT comes close to fruition, or closing Gitmo becomes reality. Don't get suckered. This boy supports Bush policies and only supports enough moderate positions to get him elected in Massachusetts.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (the orange Republican ventriloquist from OH) said the President has crippled the credibility of this week's summit by proposing the same massive government takeover of health care based on a partisan bill the American people have already rejected. Yeah, ok "Boner", Republicans have garnered so much credibility on this topic. Obama made his own 11 page health care proposal public on Monday morning, giving participants three days to examine them before the meeting. Obama has asked that the summit be televised. It's rumored that he will add one or two Republican-backed measures to the legislation as a show of bipartisanship. These steps satisfy previous GOP demands...which means they'll have new one's. This bipartisan outreach is really getting old, it's not going to happen! Saying no to everything is working for them. It is why Democrats are getting killed in the polls. ENOUGH ALREADY! Get something good done so the public can see that Democrats can govern.  Let's see, what is the Republicans idea of HCR? Tort reform, tort reform! Sorry, I'm not buying into something that adds less than one half of one percent to the cost of health care coverage, but will limit people's ability to sue incompetent doctor's as beneficial across the board. I agree that someone shouldn't be awarded $10K for a scar on their finger, but someone who has the wrong kidney removed (happened in CA last fall) should not be limited to damages. The good news? In this case the doctor apologized for the error after surgery. I guess Republicans think that's enough. Hey, shit happens! The other thing they want is to allow private health insurance companies to sell across state lines. My first reaction to that is, "Yeah, that'll work. I'm sure they won't all be in cahoots to keep premiums high!" However, after doing a little research I found that states have regulated health insurance since the 1945 passage of the McCarran Ferguson Act, which forbids interstate sale of insurance. What Republicans are suggesting would require a federal law that replaces state regulation of insurance with federal regulation. This is an odd policy for Republicans to pursue since they generally claim to reject federal regulation in favor of state independence. They're a confusing little bunch of whiners.

General Petraeus and Former General Powell Take On Draft Dodger Cheney

Gen. David Petraeus, the current leader of U.S. Central Command, completely denunciated the Dick Cheney school of "torture is awesome" thought on Sunday. On Meet the Press, Petraeus made the case against torturing terrorist detainees, saying he found it far more pragmatic and beneficial to stick to methods authorized by the army field manual. He also reiterated his support for closing Gitmo, albeit without a date-specific time frame.

"I have always been on the record, in fact, since 2003, with the concept of living our values. And I think that whenever we've perhaps taken expedient measures, they've turned around and bitten us in the backside. We decided early on, in the 101st airborne division, we just said, we decided to obey the Geneva Conventions. In the cases where that is not true we end up paying a price for it, ultimately. Abu Ghraib and other situations like that are non biodegradable. They don't go away. The enemy continues to beat you with them like a stick.... Beyond that, frankly, we have found that the use of interrogation methods in the army field manual that was given the force of law by Congress, that that works."

Then there's former Gen. Colin Powell's disagreement with Cheney's "be afraid, be very afraid of the socialist black man in office" rhetoric. On CBS's Face the Nation, Powell pointed out that Obama has kept in place most of the programs enacted by the Bush administration.

"To suggest that somehow we have become much less safer because of the actions of the administration, I don't think that's borne out by the facts. [] The Transportation Security Administration created by George Bush is still in action working in our airports. They take care of me every day that I go to an airport [] Our counterterrorism authorities and forces are hard at work. Our law enforcement officials are hard at work. We have gone after the enemy in Afghanistan with 50,000 more troops, more predators are striking al-Qaida and Taliban leaders in Pakistan. We have continued the policies that President Bush put in place with respect to Iraq. And so I don't know where the claim comes that we are less safe."

I don't know about you, but all this Cheney cheap talk has to be extremely frustrating for the men and women actually serving or have served with honor in our military. This sociopath received five draft deferments during Vietnam. How can anyone think this criminal has what it takes or the knowledge about military policies, especially during wartime? At least President Obama admits it's not his strong suit and listens to those who have the experience. I know it's not politically correct to say, but Cheney wants to see us get hit again, on our soil, on Obama's watch. His rhetoric is making us less safe. He is inviting another terrorist attack by implying we're not ready to respond. He is salivating over the thought of more American casualties. He believes that's the winning combo to give him the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and force us live under his Marshal Law. This man is pure evil, there's no other word to describe him.

2010 CPAC - A Celebration of Hate and Intolerance

At last year's CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) event, the keynote speaker was Rush "I hope Obama fails" Limbaugh. This year's is Glenn "Obama is a racist" Beck. Who are the real leaders of the conservative movement? Clearly not any of their politicians. This party is turning to hate tv/radio hosts while their fired up listeners and viewers have turned into rabid dogs who no longer fear showing bigotry and hatred. In fact, they seem to be "out and proud." What is in our future when the most angry are the anti-intellectual crowd who are enthused enough to show up and vote? I hope Democrats are paying attention and Independents don't allow themselves to be lulled into a false sense of responsible policy. Don't for one minute buy into Republicans are for smaller government. That is a myth that the Democrats need to start literally proving to the people. Taking the high road in politics will never again be a possibility. Just ask John Kerry.

We got some interesting little tidbits this week from CPAC. I'm going to run down a list of some of the more interesting one's. Former Massachusetts short term governor Mitt Romney claimed among other thing's that the Bush record wasn't all that bad compared to the current president's. "I am convinced that history will judge President Bush far more kindly -- he pulled us from a deepening recession following the attack of 9-11, he overcame teachers unions to test school children and evaluate schools, he took down the Taliban, waged a war against the jihadists and was not afraid to call it what it is -- a war. And he kept us safe." Let's see where I disagree...oh yeah, all of it. I would like some kind of evidence where he pulled us out of a recession after 9/11. Anyone got anything? All "No Child Left Behind" did was force schools to push kids through that weren't necessarily ready. The schools became more concerned with their own evaluations rather than the students. He took down the Taliban? Really? Why hasn't this bombshell been on the news? What does Willard know that the rest of us don't? More nonsense being suggested that Obama doesn't call our military occupations -- war (totally proven to be false) and my very favorite...Bush kept us safe...except for that one really, really big time and a few smaller one's that no one really remembers...at least no one who get's all their information from Fox News.

Tim Pawlenty didn't want to go unnoticed, so on the day Tiger Woods spoke at his apologetic press conference, TimmyPaw remarked, "I think we should take a page out of her [Elin Wood] playbook and take a nine iron and smash a window out of big government in this country." Do these guys ever outgrow junior high humor? They probably fart in public and insinuate it was someone else just for laughs.

Florida wannabe senator Marco Rubio (R)said, "The president couldn’t find anywhere to set up a teleprompter to announce new taxes,” while he was reading off of a teleprompter. This "Obama uses a teleprompter" thing is so friggin' old already. Name the last president or politician who didn't use one. I think the thing that drives me crazy is the dummies who actually think that both Bush's, Reagan, Palin, Bachmann and the rest of their hero's speak off the cuff...well, I guess in Palin's case, it's true.

Erick Erickson, editor-in-chief of the conservative RedState.com blog, offered up some honesty while discussing the right wing's infrastructure when he noted, "We've got Fox News." It's not like it's a secret, but they're now getting brazen enough to admit it.

As Human Events editor Jed Babbin introduced Grover Norquist, he quipped, "And let me just say, I'm really happy to see Grover today. He was getting a little testy in the past couple of weeks. And I was just really, really glad that it was not him identified as flying that airplane into the IRS building." Seriously? They couldn't even wait until the IRS building in Austin stopped smoking? How do you joke about a terrible event sparked by an unstable man which caused several injuries and two fatalities, including the pilot...just one day later to boot? Don't forget, these people call themselves compassionate conservatives. Way to stay classy, conservative movement.

One surprising thing happened at CPAC. When California Young Americans for Freedom’s Ryan Sorba launched into a denunciation of the conference for inviting GOProud, he was roundly booed off the stage. In response to jeers following his initial screed, Sorba said, "the lesbians at Smith College protest better than you do." Way to go Smith College, you've been in the limelight twice this week! This one positive reaction by the crowd does not for a second make me think of amending the title to this blog entry.

The crowd chanted, "Run, Dick Run" when Dick Cheney was introduced by daughter Liz. The pair took turns with their usual anti-Obama rhetoric. You know the one's, he doesn't keep us safe, he's a socialist, he's a one term president, yadda, yadda, yadda. Were these people seriously hibernating from January 2001-January 2009? I have no other explanation as to their rational for wanting to return to the good ol' days of the Bush-Cheney Dictatorship. I'm not on board with everything Obama has done, it's the difference with our side, we don't march lock step. However, to think the current state of affairs is in any way Obama's fault is just plain ridiculous. In my opinion, if Obama would put Elizabeth Warren in charge of everything financially culpable to our government and let her make the decisions without getting in the way, we'd be on our way to a solid long-lasting recovery!  She has been the only one consistently making sense out of this whole financial debacle.

Rachel Maddow who was in D.C. for a Library of Congress event decided to take in CPAC while she was in town. She was accosted from a guy who literally got into her face, got somewhat physically threatening and threw literature at her (To Keep Our Honor Clean: We Must Oppose the Homosexual Agenda for the Military). She said, Thank you. Who are you? and he yelled in her face, "We're normal people, what about you?" As Rachel stated on her show, "He did not in fact seem like normal people, but more specifically he was from an organization called Tradition, Family and Property whose booth I sought out later. They say that it would be unclean to have gay people in the military - and they have this neato gold Welsh looking crest." Except for that one creepy individual, Rachel said everyone was very nice to her. I still find it amazing that these people don't understand that gay people are already serving. Removing DADT isn't about allowing gay people to join the military, it's about letting them continue to serve even if someone finds out they're gay! I don't understand how they're missing that fact!

Mr. Everyman, Glenn Beck with trusty chalkboard along side, gave his keynote speech Saturday evening. Among his claims: He said, "The progressives are a cancer to our society." He used some pretty deceptive "historical" information to back up his misinformation. Did you know Herbert Hoover was really a progressive? How can you even spin that claim? He had percentages of various claims all over his trusty chalkboard. This is another case of taking one of the worst president's in history and trying to chain him to our side. The Beckerheads in the audience don't know any better and certainly aren't going to do a fact check. Did you know you have the right to "pursue" happiness, but you do not have a right to health care or housing? In Glenn's world, his pursuit of happiness is complete. He lies for a living and is very well paid for it. The health care opinion didn't surprise me, but the housing one sure did! Funny how he didn't tie any crime statistics to his uneven rhetoric about homelessness on his chalkboard. Did you also know the progressive tax rate is a bad thing? He got a standing ovation and a huge roar from the crowd for that one. He's making $23M per year and they're making a bit less than that! What is wrong with people? They not only vote against their own best interest, they're cheering an entertainer for telling them they're stupid! I guess having a modern infrastructure isn't important to a group of people who look back wistfully on the 50's. Speaking of going back in time, he compared the 20's to now, saying that it was a great time because that's when the middle class was made, failing to mention how they were exploited by their employers. He also failed to mention that in the 20's, African Americans, recent immigrants, farmers and a large part of the working class population lived below the poverty line of $2,000 per year per family. He was correct saying it was the decade of radios, motion pictures and cars becoming more affordable with mass production. However, to combat the exploitation of those same workers, the UAW for example, was eventually founded in May 1935. Manufacturing and "gasp" unions are what actually made the middle class. Conservative Republicans have been methodically destroying them ever since. Furthermore the comparison is void, we still made stuff then, we don't now. We now have unfavorable trade policies and a global economy. He also got a huge cheer for saying he took one class in college before dropping out. After telling everyone he didn't care about their personal story, he told his. We know he was a drunken, drug addict whose first wife left him, blah, blah, blah. I'll give him one thing, the misinformation he hands out to support his point of view doesn't seem to wear on his conscience at all.

Finally, Ann Coulter called Keith Olbermann a girl (amongst several other anti-liberal, anti-Democrat remarks). That's fine, he's just as much a girl as Coulter used to be! Not that there's anything wrong with being a transgender Ann (or is it really Arthur?). I really don't care about that stuff, but this is arguably the most hateful, vile public personality at this time. You reap what you sow.

Rachel Maddow Delivering 2010 Smith College Commencement Address

Last night during the toss to TRMS, Keith Olbermann decided to share video of Smith College seniors reacting to the news that Rachel Maddow will deliver the commencement speech at their graduation May 16, 2010. I know, it's been a Rachel kind of week on my blog, but I thought the reaction of the students in this video was a pretty impressive statement as to the "rock star" appeal Maddow commands at this time. Every once in a while Keith does something like this to slightly embarrass the always humble Rachel. Seems to me his fondness for his one time protégé is genuine. Read more from The Smith College Sophian

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

One more thing I'd like to add as reported by Danny Shea of Huffington Post:

'Meet The Press' Ratings Burst With Maddow Appearance
Meet the Press has benefitted from another Maddow Bump. The NBC Sunday morning program moderated by David Gregory averaged 4.162 million total viewers for first place. That's the show's highest total viewer delivery since March 22, 2009. Gregory interviewed Vice President Joe Biden and the roundtable included David Brooks, Rep. Aaron Schock, Harold Ford, and Rachel Maddow. Maddow's first appearance, in August, brought the show its highest numbers since April. She battled Schock in a particularly memorable clip on this Sunday's episode. It can be viewed from my Sunday blog post.
Meet the Press beat CBS' Face the Nation (3.025 million) by the widest margin since May 17, 2009, and it beat ABC's This Week (2.508 million) by the widest margin since December 7, 2008. The 2.508 million total viewers represent ABC's lowest total viewer delivery since August 23, 2009. FOX News Sunday averaged 1.208 million total viewers in its FOX broadcast.