President Obama's "The Road We've Traveled"

“The Road We’ve Traveled” is an aggressively upbeat, 17-minute review of President Obama’s first term. The film streamed live online last night via the president’s savvy new-media reelection machine.

The Last American Hero

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is a true statesman. Not beholden to special interests as he doesn't take their money, but a true American hero fighting the good fight. When I read derogatory comments about this man on various blogs, it's not just upsetting, it's frightening. This man is fighting for us in the 98%. How folks that are in the same income range as myself (middle class), can still support supply side economics based solely on our corporate media teaching them that greed is good and "they're gonna be rich some day" is mind boggling. This isn't about punishing the rich, this is about getting them to pay their fair share.  We haven't seen taxes this low since the 50's yet right wing media complain Washington has a spending problem. Here's the problem, enough Democrats have bought into this plutocratic idea that we're now stuck, and Americans are intellectually lazy so they won't read The Guardian or BBC or even Al Jazeera English. It's easier to be told what to think. They rely on a corporate owned American media. The oligrarchs make sure we have enough money for an Xbox or an iPod to keep us entertained while they totally screw us as we play Angry Birds. I wonder if Bernie can awaken anyone?

This Is What Compassionate Christians Concoct on Easter Sunday

Happy Easter to all the sane people out here! Is this something that we now consider acceptable? Is this not pushing the limits of free speech? How can this not be equated with yelling fire in a crowded theater? Here's an example of right wing "intelligence" ... or something ... on this fine Easter day. A friend on Facebook passed it along and encouraged everyone to report it, which I did since I agree. If anyone on the left posted something like this about Bush or Palin, they'd already be in shackles. I am posting this, not to give them publicity, but to prove what was on Facebook because this will be coming down and Fox News and Rush Limbaugh will deny it ever existed. I'd hate to be the asshat who posted this because from what some sources are reporting, the secret service is working on getting it taken down and it is being investigated.

The Anti-Reagan, Government Can Work When Done Right

Since I've been on an Obama bashing binge of late, I will refrain today after watching the guy I voted for step up to the mic. I was impressed.  I liked what he had to say even though he was a bit short on details. What made me take notice is that for the first time in two-and-a-half years, he finally called out the Republicans for what they are. FINALLY! He even used the word "progressive" for team blue! He called the Republicans vision of America "deeply pessimistic." He continued, "The fact is, their vision is less about reducing the deficit than it is about changing the basic social compact in America. As Ronald Reagan's own budget director said, there's nothing 'serious' or 'courageous' about this plan. There's nothing serious about a plan that claims to reduce the deficit by spending a trillion dollars on tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. There's nothing courageous about asking for sacrifice from those who can least afford it and don't have any clout on Capitol Hill. And this is not a vision of the America I know." Invoking Saint Ronnie's name within this context was brilliant in my opinion. The right still loves to wag him around like he should be mentioned with Lincoln.

"Just as we must find more savings in domestic programs, we must do the same in defense." YES! 47% of the world's spending on military is us. Our spending has doubled since 2001. He added, "We need to not only eliminate waste and improve efficiency and effectiveness, but conduct a fundamental review of America's missions, capabilities, and our role in a changing world." Is he suggesting that we shouldn't be the world's police? Stay with it Prez.

"But let me be absolutely clear: I will preserve these health care programs as a promise we make to each other in this society. I will not allow Medicare to become a voucher program that leaves seniors at the mercy of the insurance industry, with a shrinking benefit to pay for rising costs. I will not tell families with children who have disabilities that they have to fend for themselves. We will reform these programs, but we will not abandon the fundamental commitment this country has kept for generations. That includes, by the way, our commitment to Social Security. While Social Security is not the cause of our deficit, it faces real long-term challenges in a country that is growing older."I'm fairly sure Faux Newz will edit this part out. Wouldn't want their elderly viewers to hear this little tidbit. Beck, O'Reilly and Hannity will be doing some fancy editing tonight emphasizing when he said he won't renew Bush era tax cuts for the wealthy.

"Worst of all, this is a vision that says even though America can't afford to invest in education or clean energy; even though we can't afford to care for seniors and poor children, we can somehow afford more than $1 trillion in new tax breaks for the wealthy. Think about it. In the last decade, the average income of the bottom 90% of all working Americans actually declined. The top 1% saw their income rise by an average of more than a quarter of a million dollars each. And that's who needs to pay less taxes? They want to give people like me a two hundred thousand dollar tax cut that's paid for by asking thirty three seniors to each pay six thousand dollars more in health costs? That's not right, and it's not going to happen as long as I'm President."

"We cannot afford one trillion dollars in tax cuts for every millionaire and billionaire in our society. We can't afford it. And I refuse to renew them again," Good, that's what the majority of Americans want. It's going to be a messy fight, but if he holds strong and frames this correctly, and fellow Democrats don't wilt, people will line up behind him and take this country forward.

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

Yes We Can, But We Won't

I'm feeling really beat down today. I just read an article in the current Newsweek entitled "War on the Weak: How the GOP came to view the poor as parasites—and the rich as our rightful rulers." It discusses new Republican heartthrob Paul Ryan who once said of radical right winger Ayn Rand, “The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand.” Those very same democracy crushing beliefs have already spread throughout the Republican Party via the Tea Party and a bunch of clueless followers who hate the black guy. And you know the Democrats, they'll try to catch up.

Other articles I've read suggest that tomorrow President Obama will embrace the suggestions of the so-called bi-partisan Cat Food Commission he assembled early in his presidency, who were all conservatives, regardless of which letter was after their name. While not as draconian as Ryan's plan, still a devastating blow to the middle class with tax "relief" to those with the most. It pains me to say this, it's not just disappointment any longer; I no longer trust Obama. I feel like he's working behind the scenes to yank us to the right without making it as obvious as a Republican administration would. Did he have a conversation with Paul Ryan and tell him to come up with something so freakin' insane that the Cat Food Commission recommendations will look palatable?

Meanwhile, as it went largely unnoticed in the mainstream media, President Reach-Across-the-Aisle-and-Always-Cave agreed to the Republican demands that the budget bill would prohibit the capital from spending its own local money for reproductive health care services affecting low-income women on procedures such as abortion, etc. It could also even eliminate initiatives that help prevent the spread of AIDS. DC Mayor Vincent Gray was arrested yesterday in a protest and stopped just short of calling Obama a traitor. Change you can believe in?

This video could've been recorded yesterday. George Carlin was brilliant and timeless. Considering the current BS the "conservatives" are shoveling in their attempts to defund Planned Parenthood and all their other anti-woman legislation, this is perfect. This guy is truly missed.

Being a Democrat is Like Being a Cubs Fan

Who negotiates like this? Republicans ask for $33B cut in spending and Democrats offer $34B. Then Republicans taste blood and ask for $40B and Democrats say $78B. Now Republicans want $100B and 218 republican votes before a budget can be passed. I'm waiting to see how many Democrats will switch parties to help them out! Did any of the Democrats ever buy a new car or a house? This is NOT how you negotiate. What the hell are Dems doing? Voting for Democrats is like being a Cubs fan. Seriously, as a long suffering Red Sox fan who finally saw the end of the curse in 2004 (otherwise they'd be my example). Let's think about the Cubs. They haven't won the World Series since 1908. Throughout the years, they've had many stars; Rick Santo, Ernie Banks, Roger Hornsby, Ryne Sandberg, Greg Maddux, etc... However, they have the Curse of the Goat, Steve Bartman, the black cat running past the dugout (hogwash, black cats rule), etc... Politically, we have a superstar manager in Barack Obama, solid progressive Senators like Bernie Sanders, Barbara Boxer, Sherrod Brown, Al Franken and Debbie Stabenow. Progressive Congressmen/women such as Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Waters, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Jan Schakowsky, Anthony Weiner and Dennis Kucinich. Why do I always feel like Ernie Banks? He played for 19 years and never got the prize --- a World Series Ring. We had control of all three branches for two years and what happened? President Bi-Partisan. All he and our Democratic leaders did was capitulate to minority whining and crying. Pelosi failed to pass a 2011 budget late in 2010 so we're facing a government shut-down or the demise of womens health services. Why-oh-why does the party of the people cower when they have every single opportunity to do what the people want by large majorities? The Democrats as a whole are 1980's style Republicans, I begrudgedly get that. I don't know exactly when it happened (I expect it was the Reagan years), but it did. Maybe my wish that out more liberal members can make a difference is a far fetched dream. At this point I just want them to protect what we have already fought for and earned, but I'm not seeing a real fight for it. It's upsetting that our uninformed electorate isn't up in arms. Instead they're worried about who's going to win American Idol or Charlie Sheen's latest antics.

He's Back! Olbermann Returns With Special Comment

Even though Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced earlier today that the United States is taking the next step in military operations against Libya by transferring command and control of the no-fly zone to NATO, I wanted to share this video from the
FOK News Channel from yesterday. Granted, it's not the same as Countdown, but it's great to have his voice back. His new show on Current TV is scheduled to start late spring.

Keith Olbermann's Special Comment: 03/23/11

Obama To Play Kissy Face With Republicans Again

"We need to come together, Democrats and Republicans, around a long-term budget that sacrifices wasteful spending without sacrificing the job-creating investments in our future. My administration has already put forward specific cuts that meet congressional Republicans halfway. And I'm prepared to do more." said Obama.

Seriously Barack, grow a set! I'm really tired of this. Bill Clinton called these b*stards bluff 17 years ago...and won. WTF is wrong with you? If you've already met them halfway, but are willing to do more, that means you will go at least three-quarters their way because they won't budge, they never do. I root for this guy, but he continues to do things that make me want to bang me head against a tree. Everytime Republicans set a goal, he moves towards it so they move the goal line further to the right...and he chases it. How many times does Charlie Brown allow Lucy to pull the football away before he kicks grass in her face? I hope to God he doesn't try to use, "Change We Can Believe In" again. Is the 2012 ballot going to look like this? Barack Obama (R), Mitt Romney (I), John Edwards (D),
Ron Paul (C).

The democratic base that put him in office has some basic ideas: Cut the damn military budget! Stop the war machine. That will save billions in a very short period of time. This man's biggest selling point was getting us out of Iraq and Afghanistan. 50,000 so-called peacekeepers are still in Iraq and he escalated Afghanistan by 40,000 troops. Legislatively, on many fronts, he's been magnificent, but damn it, he could've been a true game-changer. Yet he caved and continues to at nearly every turn. At one time I believed he was playing chess and everyone else was playing checkers. Now I don't even know if he's interested in the game. He seems to just go with the easiest flow. The folks on the right will never accept him, never. My concern about him in 2008 was he didn't have enough D.C. experience. I knew he was a smart guy and I loved his speech at the 2004 DNC. However, his lack of relationships in regard to the arm twisting needed to get anything done has become crystal clear. He should've served at least a full term as Senator before going for the big boy's chair.

I close with my own personal pet peeve: I'm sick and tired of hearing the "shared sacrifice" comments from him and other Democrats. The wealthy and the corporations haven't sacrificed a thing. Where exactly is the sharing? Please read this Reuters article.  Every single cut is coming at the expense of the middle class and the poor. They've since added a $1.7 billion cut to the Social Security Administration.
I feel beat down, disillusioned and depressed about our future. If this guy couldn't deliver, who can?

White House To Cave On Bush Tax Cuts For The Rich

Today we've heard that the White House is ready to accept an across-the-board continuation of steep Bush-era tax cuts, including those for the wealthiest taxpayers. Add $700 billion to the debt? Why not, those top 2%ers are having a rough time. Yes there was a bloodbath for Congressional Democrats last week and as usual, these morons are either misreading it or are in on the game. Before the election, 80% of Americans thought extending the tax cuts for those making less than $200K and letting the cuts expire on the wealthy was the way to go. But nope! Nancy Pelosi thought the Republicans would make that a political issue so she didn't take a vote! Well yeah, a vote you idiot Dems could have won with! What happened to all the debt reduction talk from the teabaggers and Republicans? Oh that's right, they won. Here's Republican thinking in a nutshell: "Now we can screw the little guy a little more, we'll just keep bringing up God, guns, gays and our new fave, Muslims. The rest of our positions don't matter, let's just keep 'em scared!" Here's the best part, Pelosi is going nuts over this decision. Where the F were you when you weren't the lame duck Speaker?! Dumbass Axelrod said "The notion of spending the next two years fighting over this, I think, is a complete misreading of what the American people want. They want us to focus on the economy. They don't want us to fight the battles of the last two years." Yes, yes we do! Stop being a bunch of candy-assed suckers. The Democrats in Congress got slaughtered because the Republican Senate used the filibuster as standard operating procedure and the Democrats sat back and said, "OK, just don't be mad at me...please."

How about yesterdays news from Obama's Debt Commission? I think it's time for us to admit that this guy is a wimp and a corporatist. A decade of unnecessary wars, tax cuts for the wealthy, and the fallout from Wall Street's housing bubble have almost tripled U.S. public debt since 2001. Yet look at the debt commission suggestions yesterday, their idea of reducing the debt is to take it out of the hides of middle class workers and retirees. Obama put 18 conservative white men, all Wall St insiders on a commission; why is anybody shocked or surprised? I'd rather lose my modest tax cut than see the wealthy successfully extend the wealth discrepancy gap while jobs continue to be outsourced. I really hope this phony gets primaried or just doesn't run again. I know many will point to Carter/Kennedy, but this guy is folding like a card table. Disappointed is an understatement.

What Birthers Believe

I've kind of tried to shut off much of the news today just for a mental break, but had this sent to me from a Facebook friend. Since I was actually laughing out loud as I watched it, I felt compelled to share it. It's hilarious! You gotta love the witch doctor! Whoever put this video together did a fabulous job. Sadly, much of what they incorporated into this are things that are commonplace on many Tea Party signs. http://www.tlgmedia.com/

Flush This Mister Sr. WH Anonymous Source!

Shortly after Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) beat union supported candidate Bill Halter for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in Arkansas, an anonymous senior White House aide began spreading word that President Obama's political team thought that the money unions had spent on Halter's candidacy was a massive waste and damaging to the party.
The unnamed official told Politico's Ben Smith, "Organized labor just flushed $10 million of their members' money down the toilet on a pointless exercise. If even half that total had been well-targeted and applied in key House races across this country, that could have made a real difference in November."

AFL-CIO spokesman Eddie Vale quickly responded to the criticism saying, "We are not an arm of the White House or the DNC or a political party. We work on issues. And if we feel like someone is standing up for working families, we support them, and if they don't, we won't support it. In the past, people would have assumed that was talk, but now we have backed that up with action. Is the lesson they are taking out of tonight that they can go after labor and anonymously trash us and we will put our tail in between our legs and slink home? That ain't happening." And to drive home the point that the White House was hiding behind the cloak of anonymity in their attacks, the AFL-CIO spokesman added: "My name is Eddie Vale of the AFL-CIO and I'm proud to fight for working families and I don't hide behind anonymous quotes."

When will this WH understand that real liberals don't care about blindly electing anyone with a (D) after their name? I'm so disillustioned, disappointed and disgusted with this administration kowtowing to every conservative they can find under any and every rock, but have totally thrown us under the bus. We actually voted for change and progress and are ending up with a status quo, right leaning administration. I knew we were in trouble when Rahm Emanual basically told us to piss off saying, "where they going to go?" Screw you Rahm. You are destroying the party, not those of us who wanted real change - change that benefits the masses, not the few privileged. We'll stay home and we won't donate. Yes, Republicans will take over for the next few years, but really, what's the difference? And more importantly, why the hell are people so anti-union when it's the unions who will protect them in the workplace? Don't they care about fair wages, benefits and safety? How I'd love to see a third party with Bernie Sanders (VT-I) on the top of the ticket!

The View From The Deck - Week Ending 4/18/10

Goldman Sachs was busted this week by the SEC for fraud. So you'd think financial reform legislation would fly through the senate in a quick nearly unanimous matter, right? With the current environment of outrage from the voters against big banks and bailouts, this moment would be the push for regulation that we've all been clamouring for! If you thought that, you'd be wrong. All 41 Republican senators have signed a letter and sent it to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) opposing the legislation. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is spreading the false claim (prepared by Frank Luntz: it's not what you say, it's what people here) that this bill entitles Wall St. to never ending bailouts. I think it's great news for Democrats, seriously. If Republicans are going to "bank" on fooling the voters in November with false claims about what is in this bill, any momentum they may have gathered over the misinformation spread during the HCR battle is going to be lost because the Democrats seemed to have learned a lesson and are fighting back. This bill in fact does the oppostite, it requires liquidation of the failed institution...something many wanted from the start. By taking the stance they are with opposing regulation, they've sided with the big banks. Good luck with winning over the true independents with that position.

Here's another good one. New Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown was asked by a Boston Globe reporter why he's opposed to the bill, and doesn't really seem to know why as he responded with; "Well, what areas do you think should be fixed? I mean, you know, tell me. And then I'll go get a team and go fix it." Holy chit! He asked the reporter what to do! Congratulations Massachusetts, we have the male version of Sarah Palin representing us in the senate. Ted Kennedy must be rolling in his grave. Read more here. 

Earlier this week President Obama discussed why the U.S. must do it's best to resolve conflicts before they become too serious, but Sarah Palin doesn't think he made sense when he said, "It is a vital national security interest of the United States to reduce these conflicts because whether we like it or not, we remain a dominant military superpower, and when conflicts break out, one way or another we get pulled into them." Snowbilly grifter said, "I would hope that our leaders in Washington, D.C., understand we like to be a dominant superpower." Yes, let's listen to the woman that didn't know North Korea and South Korea were two seperate countries thinking the relationship was akin to North Dakota and South Dakota. OK, she enjoys the U.S. being pulled into conflict and having our tax dollars spent overseas, but doesn't want all Americans to have access to affordable health care. Gotta love those compassionate conservatives. I guess she also doesn't understand, or more likely doesn't care that sending our military into harms way to fight someone else's battle's is offensive to some of us. Apparently she also doesn't understand that our meddling in other countries affairs is why we're hated by many countries. Admittedly, strong national defense is important, pursuing world domination at any cost is wrong.
Didn't she quit her job as governor to spend more time with her family and get out of the limelight? Why is her voice still being heard? She's a danger with her nonsensical proclamations.

In what must be applauded as a positive step, President Obama ordered that nearly all hospitals allow patients to say who has visitation rights and who can help make medical decisions, including gay and lesbian partners. He instructed his Health and Human Services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius to draft rules requiring hospitals that receive Medicare and Medicaid payments to grant all patients the right to designate people who can visit and consult with them at crucial moments. Sounded like a great day for equal rights and then something a little weird happened...
The very same day this was announced, the White House ripped CBS for suggesting Solicitor General Elena Kagan, widely viewed as a leading candidate for the Supreme Court is gay. Um, is our White House playing it both ways? Such a strong denial and assertion seems like a pretty homophobic reaction that they've blown waaay out of proportion at the mere suggestion of Kagan's sexuality. I might not have even heard about it had they not behaved as such asshats. Personally, I don't care what her sexual orientation is, she's a conservative and I do not want her selected as the next Justice of the Supreme Court. This is one of those "elections have consequences" thingies that are of major importance. He needs to put someone in there who will not continue the trend of moving the court to the right. It is worth the fight, sir! I've said it before, this administration has me all over the place with what they're doing. One thing I haven't wavered on, fire closet conservative Rahm Emanual.

It's Tax Day...Coffee anyone?

The left pushes back...finally!  People in support of President Obama's policies showed up at various Tea Party events today. Unlike President Bush's 2001 tax cuts, which went to the wealthiest 2.2%, President Obama's tax cuts overwhelmingly benefit working and middle class families -- in fact, 95% of all Americans! Woo hoo!!!  Citizens for Tax Justice, a self-described non-partisan organization, released a report on Tuesday that read: "The 2009 economic stimulus bill actually reduced federal income taxes for tax year 2009 for 98 percent of all working families and individuals." This total includes the 95 percent of working families that will or have received tax credits in the range of $400 to $800. Huh, what do you know?  Obama got it right...much to right wing chagrin. I think the troubling message though is that polling numbers indicate that many Americans are barely aware of reality. Sadly, a good chunk of the country believes it has been saddled by this administration with tax hikes. Back in mid-February, 24 percent of respondents to a CBS News/New York Times poll said that their taxes had increased under Obama. Fifty-three percent said they had stayed the same. Only 12 percent thought their taxes had gone down. 

REVOKE REAGAN TAX CUTS...SPEND ON EDUCATION...WE'RE A NATION OF DUMMIES!

People crying about their taxes are seriously misguided. They are upset because they feel the government takes too much of their limited funds. The larger issue is that their wage isn't high enough, not that they pay too much taxes on it.  Wages have stagnated over the past 30 years while expenses (and corporate profit) have gone up. Earning power in relation to inflation leaves us with far less purchasing power than our parents or grandparents had. You can thank Corporate America via Ronald Reagan for that. Many families can't even get by with two incomes, while 50 years ago one income was more than enough to pursue the American Dream. But try explaining this to a member of the Tea Party. For them government is the problem...especially when led by a so-called black socialist, marxist, nazi guy; Unless it's a Republican government,who can do no wrong and must be obeyed without question.

Make the rich pay their fair share.  Let's get a progressive tax rate and close the God damn loopholes that are slowly turning us into a third world country. If anyone thinks that can't happen here, they're not paying attention.

SNL and Tina Fey bring us "The Sarah Palin Network"

The only good thing about Sarah Palin's love of being in the spotlight is that it keeps Tina Fey returning to "Saturday Night Live." This is too good to be missed.



Quick Thoughts:  Not happy with various rumors about who Obama may replace liberal outgoing Justice Stevens with. Every article I read says he doesn't want the fight and will pick a conservative. Two possible replacements, Judge Merrick Garland of the federal appeals court in the District of Columbia, and Solicitor General Elena Kagan seem to be front-runners. If this turns out to be true, what's the sense of having a Democratic President? These appointments are for life!  I'm not expecting a super-liberal, but I want someone left leaning. In my opinion, the Supreme Court picks are a large part of any president's legacy. For all the complaining he did, even during his State of the Union speech about SCOTUS 5-4 ruling allowing unlimited corporate spending in campaigns, you'd think he'd be looking left. Maybe he'll surprise us, but he's kicked the more liberal part of his base in the teeth every chance he's gotten so far...single-payer was never considered, he took the public option off the table by claiming it wasn't essential, 30K more troops sent to Afghanistan, even though most General's agree that the time is now to remove DADT, he decided on a one year study to decide if homophobic rednecks with really big guns can handle knowing that they might be serving with someone who's got "the gay!" Obama is still better than what our other option was, but he's been a disappointment in a lot of ways...

I would love an honest explanation of what kind of thought process MSNBC President Phil Griffin uses on a day to day basis.  This week, David Schuster was suspended indefinitely for shooting a pilot for a possible new CNN show. Griffin was well within his right to do that to Schuster who has a no compete contract with MSNBC. However, their rift began a few months ago when Schuster "tweeted" his opinion about conservative punk, Faux Newz "confibutor" James O'Keefe breaking into senator Mary Landrieu's office. His role has been diminishing on the network ever since. Apparently Schuster felt he had no future at the network and took a stupid risk. Now for my issue; why is it that Schuster was reprimanded for the O'Keefe situation, but last week on Chris Matthews' Hardball, Pat Buchanan was allowed to spew white supremist, pro-confederacy rhetoric, talking over Karen Finney throughout? Buchanan behaves and speaks like that on a regular basis.  Rachel Maddow had it out with him on the air last year when he spouted a bunch of racist nonsense and he hasn't appeared on her show since; likewise he hasn't been on Keith Olbermann's Countdown either. However, Joe Scarborough, Matthews and Griffin seem to be just fine with nasty Pat...

Finally, I rented Michael Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story" and give it two thumbs up. There are even segment's that conservatives will appreciate, excluding blind ideologues. I know Moore is a lightning rod, and I understand why, but the very fact the he (a wealthy man himself) consistently upsets the apple cart of the rich and powerful is enough reason to at least consider what he's saying.

Obama Says Drill Baby, Drill?!

Get me off this roller coaster! Obama is starting to confuse me and make me mad at the same time. Is he a Democrat or not? Let's look at some of his major decisions so far...all conservative. He campaigned on health care reform with a strong public option. The HCR bill that just passed was essentially the Republican answer to Bill Clinton's failed bill 16 years ago...or Massachusetts' Romneycare. While the bill does many good things, he never fought for the public option and still didn't get one Republican vote. In the stimulus package, he included tax cuts against the wishes of Democrats to get Republican votes that never came. Against the wishes of his base, 30,000 more troops were sent to Afghanistan instead of winding down military involvement. He's increased unmanned drone attacks in Pakistan where 32% killed are civilians. He's dragging his feet on DADT and DOMA even though he promised his base they would be removed in his first term, yet he supported expanding President Bush's church-based federal assistance program. He even signed a bill allowing loaded guns into national parks!

NOW he's going to do something that he actually campaigned against, probably hoping to get conservative Independents on his side for the mid-term elections which is unlikely to happen. Today, his administration announced that it plans to open vast swaths of the outer continental shelf to offshore oil and gas extraction, making large areas of the eastern seaboard, the Gulf Coast, and Arctic Ocean available for drilling. The Interior Department, estimates that 63 billion barrels of oil will be economically recoverable if the additional exploration is allowed. The U.S. uses 7 billion barrels a year. Is it really worth it just to appease the right wing? I'm starting to feel like this guy is all over the place with policy and for that, I blame Rahm Emanual. That said, it's time to man-up and be the guy we elected or maybe the Democrats need to find a real Democrat to run in 2012. We're watching Obama morph into Bill Clinton, and while Clinton did a lot of good things, I can't forgive him for the right turn he made on many issues. As Rachel Maddow recently said, "Bill Clinton was probably the best Republican president we ever had, if you look at the policies he passed." Oh, and Barack, the right wing still does not like you and never will accept you. Get over it! Perhaps you should focus on people who will actually support you if you do the right thing.

Don't get me wrong, President Obama was still miles better than the alternative in 2008. And maybe his die-hard supporters are correct when they say he's playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers, but so far he's not the tranformational guy I'd hoped for.

Yes We Did! Yes We Did!

With all the vitriol we've witnessed since President Obama's inauguration and more recently over the health care reform debate, it's clear we're a country divided in every single way. With all the attrocities the previous administration pulled off, nothing close to what we're witnessing now ever took place. Sure, there were, and still are anti-war protesters, but the violence and death threats directed at Democratic Congresspeople and Senators for trying to do something to actually help Americans by and large is something this country hasn't seen in a very long time. The day of the HCR vote we watched Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) spit on by a Teabagger. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a hero of the civil rights movement was called a 'ni--er.' And Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was called a "faggot," as protestors shouted at him with deliberately lispy screams. Yeah, those Tea Party activists are real Americans...in the KKK world. I doubt I'm the only one who gets the feeling that part of their frustration is that amongst their, socialist, marxist, nazi, communist, fascist, Kenyan signs, the one they really want to hold up and scream out towards Obama starts with a "n" and rhymes with bigger...but that would just be wrong. The Republican party has embraced this radical fringe and I hope against hope that they will pay the price on election day. Democrats even seem to enjoy the sense of winning. I hope they hold on to that feeling.

On a much lighter and humorous note, I'd like to share the following video with you. Over 20 million people have watched the Youtube version of that Will.I.Am tribute to Barack Obama. “Yes We Can” gets a remix featuring House Minority Leader John Boehner and “Hell no, you can‘t”. Very funny.

Today in Fright Wing World!

I just don't get it. Why is helping out fellow Americans who may have lost a job or were stricken with catastrophic illness such a terrible thing? It could happen to any of us. Why is trying to make insurance companies do the right thing a bad thing? I will never understand the dismantling of basic human decency since Ronald Reagan started destroying social policies and ramping up the military. Here are the 10 most awesomely certifiably insane comments from the fright wing airwaves upon today's historic signing of health care reform.

Rush Limbaugh claimed at the end of the day, our freedom has been assaulted. This is the kind of change that people did not think they were going to get when they voted for Barack Obama. Freedom must win the day.
We didn't expect this? Gee Rush, that was his main campaign promise.

Glenn Beck warned that we're on the cusp of a socialist/fascist takeover on a daily basis comparing HCR to the attack on Pearl Harbor; the St. Valentines massacre ("when the mob stepped in and cleaned things up"); Chamberlain's meeting with Hitler; and the Hindenburg.
Is this guy bi-polar or what?  How anyone can take him seriously!  He makes no sense!

Shock Jock Neal Boortz twittered an equally crazy and offensive comparison; Nancy Pelosi will be grinning and laughing this afternoon. Today will do more damage than 9/11.
Way to stay classy and rile up the ignorant, who would benefit most!

Anti-abortion terrorist Randall Terry is using his influence with the Pope to get Nancy Pelosi excommunicated, because extending health care to more than 30 million uninsured Americans does not obviate her role in unleashing a vast fetus Armageddon.
How do they not understand this bill has made access for poor women more difficult?

Operation Rescue’s Troy Newman says that passing a health care bill in a democratically elected Congress is tantamount to Soviet invasion, and calls for revolution: "March 21 did indeed change life as we knew it ... I won't forget the events of this day and while they heralded a change for the worst, I vow to be part of the revolution to unravel this mess."
OK, you got me...I have no idea how this makes sense to anyone.

Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association also offered a solution: shooting people.
Gotta love those family values.

Sean Hannity wondered if the successful vote was when America turned on the path "completely towards" socialism.
I really want someone to explain to me what's so bad about socialism!  In Denmark for instance, every resident has universal health care, a free college education, six weeks paid vacation and women on maternity leave get one year off!

Matt Drudge splashed this headline across his site: “A day that will live in infirmary!"
I'll bet he thinks he's oh, so clever.

FoxNation.com simply claimed American goes under the knife.
Evidently they left their heavy lifting to Fox and Fiends and the evening squawkers to handle everything anti-Obama or anti-Democrat. 

John McCain sketched out the most unforseen scenario of all: a lack of GOP cooperation going forward. "There will be no cooperation for the rest of the year,"
Wow, I'm shocked because they have been sooo helpful for the last 14 months. Country First!

Thursday Thoughts - 3/11/10

Some headlines from today that I thought I'd Quick Comment on:

Dumb and Dumber: Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann team up for fundraiser. One will be talking about 're-education camps' and the other needs to enroll in one.

House Votes For Ethics Committee To Re-Open Eric Massa Investigation: Yes by all means investigate this nutball, but don't worry about George W. Bush and Dick Cheney's illegalities. What a country! One clown groped a bunch of men and resigned. The other two groped our country leading to 4300 dead Americans and 30,000 wounded. Where the hell has our common sense gone?!

House Dems Will Forge Ahead Without Stupak Language: It's about time! This anti-choice amendment should've never gotten this far. The Hyde Amendment of 1977 is in place restricting federal money for abortion excepting rape, incest or a woman's life.  Stupak's language actually goes further than current law which is why there's such an uprising amongst pro-choicers. This is about stopping women from being able to pay for insurance that covers abortion at all...even when women have paid for their own insurance with their own money. If "Insurer A" gets federal dollars and "Woman A" has a policy with them, she will not get covered because of that! This is another backhanded restriction on women's reproductive rights. I don't want my tax dollars going to Viagra either Bart, what do you think about that?!

If Obama Supports Public Option, It Could Pass Senate:  I'm very sure this is true.  This is the thing that bothers me.  Why has Obama taken every chance he's gotten to say that the public option is not essential to health care reform yet he backs the mandate? I'm very worried about whatever kind of backroom deal may have been worked out with insurance companies. Keeping my fingers crossed that the bill we get helps the uninsured, not the insurers.  Not feeling great at this time although Wendell Scott says this is a start.

God Helps With Personal Decisions, Most Americans Say: Say what? The confusion for me in such statements is that most religious people claim to believe in personal responsibility. So why wouldn't they want to take personal responsibility for their own decisions? Oh that's right, when they do something wrong, they use the "devil made me do it!" Idiots.

Finally, let's hope for full recoveries for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's wife and daughter. They were hospitalized today – after their minivan was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer truck on an interstate highway in suburban Virginia. Reid's wife, Landra, 69 has a broken back and neck and their daughter, Lana Barringer, 49 has a neck injury and facial lacerations.

I really hope some fright-wingnut doesn't say something stupid about this being some kind of karma for Reid's support of HCR. How bad is it, that I feel confidant that one of those losers, whether it's Limbaugh or Beck will go there?

Wingnuts Prefer a Raygun Over a Grant

From dictionary.com
ray gun: a gun that can fire bursts of usually destructive or lethal rays
grant: to bestow or confer, esp. by a formal act
That explains it!

Just when you think you've heard it all. Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) wants Congress to tell the U.S Treasury to replace former President Ulysses S. Grant with Ronald Reagan on the $50 bill. McHenry announced his bill Tuesday. Surprise -- he has 13 Republican co-sponsors! Does anyone besides me think there's a little political gamesmanship when a southern Republican wants to remove Grant from the $50? For anyone who was out of class while the Civil War was being taught, Grant was a Union general during the War who led the North to victory and later became the nation's 18th president. McHenry said Reagan transformed the nation's political and economic thinking and argued that "every generation needs its own heroes." The transformation?! Oh, he did that all right! Let's see, he sold arms to Iran to fund the Contras in Nicaragua (which had been specifically outlawed by an act of Congress) in a little thing called Iran-Contra that history wants to forget. He kept American hostages in Iran from being released until he was sworn in. He gave everyone a tax cut in year one, but raised them every single year after that on the middle class. He cut the income tax rates of the top personal tax bracket from 70% to 28% in 7 years while social security and medicare taxes increased. He began taxing unemployment benefits retroactively. Then he deregulated everything he could and pissed on the middle class with his "trickle down" economics experiment that continues to haunt us. He once said,"Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem"...while tripling the size of government! He was against healthcare for veterans provided by the same government that asked to sacrifice their life. He gave us the largest spending increases from any previous administration. He was the originator of "death panels' wanting to eliminate Medicare for our seniors and asking them to go buy private insurance instead (sound familiar?). He gave us a large household tax increase by adding a huge surcharge on gasoline. He increased Cold War related defense spending that caused large budget deficits, the U.S. trade deficit expansion, and contributed to the Savings and Loan crisis. Oh, did I mention he funded and helped Saddam during his chemical warfare against Iran? ...

Given all the neoconservative “outrage” over the financial misdeeds arising from the UN’s socialist oil-for-food program during the 1990s, when the UN embargo was killing untold numbers of Iraqi kids, a non-partisan thinker would believe that there would be an equal amount of outrage over a much more disgraceful scandal — the U.S. delivery of weapons of mass destruction to Saddam Hussein during the Reagan administration in the 1980s. As everyone should know, it was those WMDs that Bush, Cheney and the rest of the war profiteers ultimately used to terrify the American people into supporting the invasion and war of aggression against Iraq, a war that has killed or maimed thousands of innocent people — people who had absolutely nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks in the United States. As we know, WMD's in Iraq were never found.

Yes, every generation does need heroes, but I'd like to think we can do better than a "B" movie actor turned imperial ruler who charmed his way into America's heart only because of the failed presidency of not-ready-for-primetime Jimmy Carter. I for one believe Jimmy Carter was the last truly honorable man who was our president, although I'm still hopeful that Barack Obama will wake up and live up to the man I believe he really is.

One last thing about Jimmy Carter, he was actually right, but nobody listened. If you've got a couple minutes, watch this youtube video. He called it (our current plight) 33 years ago!

Pres. Jimmy Carter Declares End on Foreign Oil Dependence


For more facts about Reagan's true legacy, I highly recommend, Tear Down This Myth: How The Reagan Legacy Has Distorted Our Policies and Haunts Our Future by Will Bunch. Looks like the newest edition has a slight name change.

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.