Hate radio host Rush Limbaugh has been one of health care reform’s most viscious opponents, warning that “human beings will die earlier than normal” under the “freedom killing” and “life threatening” plan, and calling for it to be “aborted.” Yesterday, Limbaugh uttered a few simple words that we could've only dreamed hearing. He said that if health care passes and all his fears are realized, he’ll leave the country. A caller asked him where he would go if health care reform passes and his response was,
"I’ll just tell you this, if this passes and it’s five years from now and all that stuff gets implemented — I am leaving the country. I’ll go to Costa Rica."
If ever there was a rally cry to get a health reform bill passed, that was it! There's something we've got to keep to ourselves though; Costa Rica has universal health care, one of the best health systems in Latin America...don't tell Rush!
The Costa Rican healthcare system is rated very highly on an international level, and the country’s citizens enjoy the health and life expectancy equal to that of more developed nations. These accolades come courtesy of strong, universal health insurance and excellent public and private hospitals.
Costa Rica’s public health insurance system, commonly known as the Caja, is available country-wide to all citizens and legal residents. There are ten major public hospitals – four in San Jose, including the Children’s Hospital – affiliated with the Caja. For non-emergencies and everyday medical care, small clinics, known as EBAIS (pronounced ay-vy-ice), are located in almost every community.Read more on Huffington Post
While we can't be sure exactly what Limpy is looking for, it's clear he doesn't want to be anywhere with government run health care so Costa Rica is out. When asked where Rush might find his absolute, perfect private sector health plan, Markos Moulitsis (Daily KOS) said, "Well, it wouldn‘t be Costa Rica, but I‘ll tell you, what would probably work—I think Somalia would be great for Rush. I mean, it‘s a libertarian paradise. Everybody has guns. There‘s not much of a government. There sure as heck isn‘t government-run health care. So, I think, if you‘re talking about Rush‘s world view, I can‘t imagine a better place than Somalia—as long as he can find himself a nice $20 million pad in Mogadishu."
Last night Sarah Palin spoke at the anti-Obama National Tea Party Convention in Nashville. You know, the grassroots effort that only cost $549 to attend. I only saw bits and pieces so I'm not in a position to critique the whole 40 minutes. However, when she said, "How's that hopey-changey thing workin' out for ya?" my first thought was "how on earth can anyone think this idiot is competent to run our country?" She went on to say "America is ready for another revolution." Honestly, she makes George W. Bush look like a Rhodes Scholar for crying out loud. Are she and her followers really that far removed from reality? They can't seriously think this whole country has fallen apart in the past twelve months. How does it not occur to them that a true grassroots movement wouldn't pay someone $100,000 for 40 minutes? Anyhow, I thought I'd share a picture of Sarah's cheat sheet. Not only was she reading papers from the podium while mocking Obama for using a teleprompter, she wrote notes on her palm! Note to the Wasilla Witch, Obama wasn't using one a week and a half ago when he verbally spanked your precious Republicans in Baltimore.
Speaking on Fox News this morning with Chris Wallace, she said Rahm Emanuel's comments calling liberal groups "f--king retards" was "indecent and insensitive" and cause for his dismissal. However, she went to great hypocritical lengths to insist that when hate talk show host Rush Limbaugh used the same exact term to describe the same exact group, it was simply in the role of political humorist. "They are kooks, so I agree with Rush Limbaugh," she said, when read a quote of Limbaugh calling liberal groups "retards." "Rush Limbaugh was using satire ... . I didn't hear Rush Limbaugh calling a group of people whom he did not agree with 'f--king retards,' and we did know that Rahm Emanuel, as has been reported, did say that. There is a big difference there." Um, no Sarah, there's not. Is the word offensive or isn't it? I haven't liked Emanual from Day 1, but obviously not for the same reasons. To get technical, Limbaugh echoed Emanual's remarks in agreement with his assessment so Sarah lied when she said she didn't hear him call a group of people whom he did not agree with f--king retards. He most certainly did. Just because her political future is hitched to Limbaugh's fat ass doesn't make her any less than a hyprocrite and liar. God, I can't even explain how much a loathe this bitch.
One thing that is shocking to me is that no matter how many ethics violations that keep turning up about her, how many inconsistencies in her actual record and her rhetoric, her base will not acknowledge any wrongdoing anymore than she will. Just Friday, news broke that hubby was actually heavily involved in running the state of Alaska. msnbc.com obtained over 3000 pages of emails that Todd Palin exchanged with state officials. He was involved in a judicial appointment, monitored contract negotiations with public employee unions, received background checks on a corporate CEO, added his approval or disapproval to state board appointments and passed financial information marked "confidential" from his oil company employer to a state attorney. The Palin's and corruption go hand in hand. Another thing that troubles me as whenever they're close to getting caught for something, they start screaming "liberal media bias" and the friggin' chicken sh*t media backs down for the most part. Journalism and real reporters in this country with a few exceptions are a bunch scardy cats. Instead of breaking career-making stories, they're worried that their boss is going to fire them. Therefore, the right thing rarely gets done. The truth never gets told.
Joan Walsh of Salon said this in part: "Wow. This was the Palin we saw at the 2008 Republican convention, the snarling pitbull in shimmery lipstick. I know journalists aren't supposed to use words like mean and dumb, but I can't help it. Palin is one of the meanest people on the public stage today. She wallows in it. She loves it! Also? Possibly one of the dumbest. But mean works, and so does dumb. And so do lies, and there were many mean, dumb lies in her speech." Read entire articlehere.Joan Walsh is one of my favorites!
While this man knows no limit to the depth he’ll dive, he may have reached a level this week that even Jacques Cousteau would be jealous of. After the 7.0 Earthquake annihilated Haiti on Tuesday, Rush Limbaugh decided to make political rhetoric out of thousands of deaths to his simple minded hate-filled listeners. On Wednesday Rush declared;
"This will play right into Obama's hands. He's humanitarian, compassionate. They'll use this to burnish their, shall we say, "credibility" with the black community -- in the both light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country. It's made-to-order for them. That's why he couldn't wait to get out there, could not wait to get out there." "Now, I want you to remember, it took him three days to respond to the Christmas Day Fruit of Kaboom Bomber, three days. And when he came out after those three days, he was clearly irritated that he had to do it. He didn't want to do it. He comes out here in less than 24 hours to speak about Haiti."
Where do you even begin? Is he suggesting that Obama has some kind of connection upstairs to coincide this tragedy with his falling approval numbers? And that humanitarian, compassion stuff is for sissy’s, not for real Americans. Burnishing his credibility with the black community? That one actually made me start laughing. I’m pretty sure he’s already got them sewed up. No offense to anyone meant, but really? I’m certain the black community aren’t closet McCain fans. The Christmas Day bomber? Um, thousands didn’t die. Luckily the would-be bomber was incompetent. Obama waited until he had his facts straight before speaking publicly about it. Funny how they always forget Bush waited six days after the Shoe Bomber, a virtually identical attack. Ah, but that was just the day after the quake…
On Thursday Rush told his empty headed sheep not to donate to any Haitian relief charities. You’ll love this reasoning:
“We’ve already donated to Haiti! It’s called the US income tax! There are people who do charitable work every day in Haiti. It’s not as though… it’s our fault. There are people that have been trying to save Haiti, just as we’re trying to save Africa. You just can’t keep throwing money at it, because the dictatorships there just take it all. Besides, even if the people did get the money, that would just stop them from bothering to support themselves. It’s a simple matter of self-reliance.”
There’s nothing I can say about such a mean, ignorant statement. The last two sentences are all you really need to read. Even Joe Scarborough was shocked and horrified by Limbaugh’s lack of compassion. This man is one of the most vicious hateful people ever to be given a platform. The fact that his followers actually think he is a “real American hero” is nauseating. Those are the same people who call Keith Olbermann evil and hateful because he was the first MSM personality to start reporting on Bush’s Evil Empire. These are the same people who just weeks ago attacked non-Rush fan bloggers that hoped for a poor outcome with Limpballs health scare. While I would never go there (that Karma thing), I found it amazing that the same people dancing on Ted Kennedy’s grave while cheering were appalled and downright angry at some of the non-Rush fans’ reactions. All I will say is, I wouldn’t miss him. It would actually be more satisfying if he got fired, but he brings in too much money with all these ignorant idiots tuning in.
Wait, we’re not done, Friday came…
“This is about domestic U.S. politics. Haiti is about domestic U.S. politics, in addition to the humanitarian effort that is behind this. By the -- of course, we are not suggesting that we shouldn't send soldiers to Haiti. Do not misunderstand. But why is there no concern about the cost from the White House, when there was so much concern about Afghanistan? After all, isn't the job of the U.S. military, first and foremost, to protect the national security and interests of the United States? No, it's not. The U.S. military is now Meals on Wheels. It always is with Democrat presidents.”
Those bastard Democrats. Always trying to help out the less fortunate. Especially in a time of dire need. Rush says “f**k ‘em.” He honestly thinks our soldiers should just be killing people, not helping them! Again, he’s speaking to people who can’t even spell Afghanistan or Haiti. Hell, some of them probably can’t spell America. Notice how he never mentions that it’s always the Republicans that start the wars and tension. Notice how he doesn’t mention the economic disasters are always started by Republicans and the next poor Democratic President ends up with a big hot turd in every corner to try and clean up. And when the Democrat can’t get it cleaned up within one year after an eight year (or twelve 1980-1992) reign, they’re labeled a failure. What's worse is many dumb voters buy it!
Given their general lack of empathy, let’s be grateful Fox News isn’t even covering the event. With a tragedy so horrific just 700 miles off Florida’s coast, Fox has decided to just continue doing what they do best; their relentless journey of doing their part to destroy President Obama. They featured national security experts Liz Cheney and Sarah Palin this week. The only thing I have witnessed on Fox so far was earlier today when they were bemoaning the fact that illegal Haitians currently in the U.S. have been granted an eighteen month stay. I'm sure as this "rescue and recovery" moves forward, Fox will find stories more in line with what Limbaugh would find acceptable. The human crisis will not be witnessed by their minions. Given the mentality of an average Fox viewer, I'm betting their compassionate Christian disciples find Haitians to be sub-human anyways.
And for all the knocks MSNBC has gotten through the years for their poor weekend news coverage (which has been deserved), they have shined throughout this tragedy. Not only did Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews and Ed Schultz do two live shows per night during the week dedicated to this event, MSNBC has kept teams on it all day today as well. They're outshining CNN in my opinion. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's statement of U.S. commitment was carried live. I've watched live video of some of the planes landing at Edwards Air Force Base in Homestead, Florida with passengers. I've watched interviews with evacuees. Those have been some extremely grateful people! Only those who are U.S. residents, have green cards or some type of legal claim here, have been transported here so far. Fox will probably wait until some severely injured "aliens" are transported to a Miami hospital before they decide to cover the story.
Apparently, Rush Limbaugh was rushed to a hospital in Hawaii with chest pains on Wednesday. I don't think the cause has been determined as of yet, but as far as I know he's in satisfactory condition with more tests planned. I thought I'd have some fun with what could be Glenn Beck's latest conspiracy theory, because there's nothing too over the top for the doughboy's evil twin!
Glenn Beck: Do you actually believe that President Barack Obama would abruptly end his golf outing and speed in his motorcade after he learned a child of a friend was injured while playing on the beach? That's absurd. You can't get hurt with sand. No...I, I believe this is what really happened. Rush was vacationing, probably just went to dinner, was enjoying a hula show, when all of a sudden he started feeling chest pain. Do you really think it's a coincidence that this happened while the President and Rush were in the same foreign land? Obviously Rush ingested something over dinner or something was placed in a drink where he would be forced to go to the hospital, some kind of drug...it's so obvious! Now ask yourself,...where did Obama really go when he left that golf outing? Natives used pineapple juice and Elvis movies to keep him comfortable until the ambulance arrived. Folks, do you see what's happening here? This was just a ploy to get Rush into the hospital, sedate him and place mind control devices in his brain to control the message he's sending out to his listeners. It's as clear as day people! Obama is trying to indoctrinate not only children, but the entire country to his socialist mission! What better tool to use than the man with one billion radio listeners?! This could never happen in the United States, which is why Obama chose Hawaii to make his move. *tears* People, we've got to get serious. Our President is trying to change the message of truth from one of the last true great American hero's. We must stop him.
Obama + Limbaugh + Hawaii = OBAUGHWAII, which means INDOCTRINATE in Hawaiian.
By the way, if you've been watching me for any length of time, and you still haven't looked into buying gold, what's wrong with you? I recommend Goldline. When you call them, mention my name, I get a bigger cut! Gold is at an all-time high and you, my loyal viewers know that's the best time to buy! You know you can trust me as I've got America's best interest at heart. *tears* I love my country so much and I want what's best for you, my fellow patriots. Call the toll free number at the bottom of the screen. The only thing of real value is gold. There's no time to waste.
Barack Obama: On January 20th, our 44th and first African-American President was sworn in at the age of 47. So much hope, so much energy. We'd never again have to hear nuclear pronounced nucular or wonder if our chi'dren was learnin'. He started quickly out of the box, but got bogged down by the health care reform kerfuffle. Then there were the unfortunate August town halls. Like many observers have noted, no one has ever made a dime betting against this guy. It's nice having a smart guy in the White House again. Let's hope 2010 gives him the bounceback we'd all like to see...well, most of us.
Rachel Maddow: She never shouts. She doesn't talk over guests or down to them. She doesn't ask questions to listen to herself talk. She examines, reports and exhibits a cool calmness while politely dissecting adversaries on both sides of the aisle, often to their faces...then thanks them for being on her show! Her preparation is unmatched. She covers stories no one else wants too. She goes out of her way to explain complex issues, often with humor so her viewers 'get it' without feeling inadequate. Her show has definitely found it's niche and hit it's stride.
Senator Al Franken (D-MN): Franken’s very first piece of legislation was an amendment to the FY2010 Defense Appropriations Bill, prohibiting defense contractors from restricting their employees’ abilities to take workplace discrimination, battery, and sexual assault cases to court. 30 male Republicans voted against it. Then they were shocked by the blowback they received. Apparently, they viewed Jamie Leigh Jones gang rape and the 24 hour lock up in a shipping container, which inspired this amendment as frivolous; "Just boys being boys." Protecting Halliburton/KBR against lawsuits must come first in their neo-con world. I honestly do not understand how any self-respecting woman can vote Republican. This was just another example of their ongoing dismissal of women as equal parts of society.
Chesley Sullenberger: How could you not be impressed on January 15th when Captain Sully landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River saving all 155 on board. The plane encountered a double bird strike which crippled both engines. Further adding to his legend was that he walked the aisle of the jet twice looking for passengers before exiting the plane himself. One part of his legend that was too much information was how it increased his "love" life.
Susan Boyle: Who can forget her rendition of "I Dreamed A Dream" on Britain's Got Talent. The sneers, jeers, eye rolls and chuckles the portly, frumpy woman received prior to her song, and the immediate reactions upon launching into it was one of the greatest moments ever on live TV. If ever anyone proved you can't judge a book by it's cover, she sure did.
Shaquille O'Neil: In a nice gesture towards a poor family, NBA star Shaquille O'Neal paid for the funeral of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis whose body was found November 16 in North Carolina on the side of the road. Her mother and another man were charged with multiple offenses. I'm not a basketball or O'Neil fan, but I'll give the guy credit for doing a very nice thing.
Losers
Glenn Beck & Rush Limbaugh: Conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory. Lie after lie. All nonsense, much of it dangerous. They give the teetering fringe the outlets they need to justify radical actions. I'm all for freedom of speech, however when you are able to spread outright lies without consequence, we have a problem.
Dick Cheney: He does everything the above do, but he says it as an ex-VP. That may give him a bit more credibility with a few more people. His constant attacks on Obama are meant to distract people of the true Bush-Cheney record. The 20%ers honestly believe they kept us safe and think Clinton was at fault for 9/11. They think the economy was strong under Bush. It does seem to have effectiveness with the same old segment. Of course Cheney won't appear anywhere but Fox Newz, the right wing propaganda channel. This is another case of repeating the message incessantly until it becomes a perceived truth to as many as possible.
Birthers: So is it that they don't realize Hawaii was a state in 1961? Do they really believe Obama's grandparents posted birth announcements in the Honolulu Advertiser & Star Bulletin in August of 1961 because they knew he'd be president one day? Do they just not care that Kenya didn't become a republic until 1964? Or is it as simple as trying to delegitimize the "exotic" guy for some predisposed opinions? Hmm...
Deathers: The same people as the birthers. They couldn't make that argument stick so they moved on. The new claim, kicked off by Sarah Palin was that Obama was going to have a panel of bureaucrats to decide who lives and who dies. Apparently, in addition to the elderly and down's syndrome babies, there was even an amendment that conservatives get offed first! You know, we could laugh about this, but there's a whole lot of people in this country that actually believe this crap. You know who they are as well as I do. They're the anti-education Christofascists. No surprise that my top pick(s) gave both groups credibility for their message(s).
Sarah Palin: There's not much more that I can add to what I've already written about her. I just find it terribly disturbing that 58,343,671 people willingly voted for a ticket that could've put this empty-headed nitwit one heartbeat from the presidency. In 2009 she proved that she's a liar, she's deceptive, she's manipulative, she's an anti-intellect, she's an opportunist ... and she's becoming a multi-millionaire because she has a huge fan base who thinks she's attractive - and waves the bible.
Peyton Manning: Because it's my blog. I can't stand this guy for a variety of reasons. It started while he was a college "star" and continued as his professional success grew. Somewhat recently, Huffington Post had an article about his commercials that eventually led to a discussion comparing him and Tom Brady. A lot of responses were calling Manning the all-American boy and disparaging Brady because he had a child out of wedlock. Even the fact that it had been a long-term relationship was irrelevant to these flag-waving, bible-thumping clowns. Manning likes to use the God word. Whenever I spoke of Manning's issue, I got scrubbed. Whenever I linked the article, I got scrubbed. Read this linked article if you want to see where my feelings about him begin. It's the story of a female trainer's treatment by not only him, but her employer because of him. I will root against the Indianapolis Colts until he retires. Brother Eli's stunt when the San Diego Chargers drafted him was just one more clue about how cocky these guys are, thanks to their father Archie who was a below average NFL quarterback in the 70's. I'll keep Tom Brady, thank you very much.
The WTF's
Joe Wilson (R-SC): He of the "You lie" fame. Can you imagine had a Democrat yelled "You lie" at Bush when he was making his WMD claims? He/she would've been censured, Republicans would've demanded an apology on the floor and the Republicans would've spent millions on a challenger. How did the Democrats handle it? As usual they did nothing. They once again let the R's have a "win". Is it an important win? Not by itself. Democrats still don't get that these little victories add up in the minds of our simple minded electorate. There's a group that thinks by not responding, it means any of their various nonsense is correct. When will Dems learn?
Michele Bachmann: "I have experience that throughout my political career, being labeled a kook." - "Michael Steele, you be the man. You be the man." - “What we have to do today is make a covenant, to slit our wrists, be blood brothers on this thing." Ok, I just used a few of my favorites although there are dozens more. Gee Michele, given the comment about slitting wrists over HCR, I have no idea why you would be labeled a kook!
Tiger Woods: There's really nothing I can add that you haven't heard or thought yourself. I'm not sure if I've ever witnessed a faster fall from grace. He'll return to golf and he'll win, but he'll never have the marketability that he had before Thanksgiving. His brazenness probably even makes Bill Clinton jealous.
Balloon Boy: You now, the day I got home from work and saw this on tv, while we didn't know officially that it was a hoax, I knew that kid was going to be found hiding in the house. Glad mom and dad are going to jail for a little while. They should also be forced to pay the $42,000 bill they received to reimburse police, the National Guard, and the FAA who were all involved in the search.
Party Crashers: Michaele and Tareq Salahi, managed to slip into a state dinner at the White House even though they were not on the guest list. Reportedly, the Secret Service is looking into its own security procedures. Yeah, that makes sense, let them investigate themselves. Am I the only one who thinks that's ridiculous? Anyone?
While I applaud Obama for deciding on a date to bring troops home from Afghanistan, I would have preferred there wasn’t an eighteen month escalation preceding it. Of course critics say that the only thing Obama’s 18 month plan does is create a month 19 plan for the terrorists. Well, maybe so, but realistically we can’t capture and kill them all so just how many more American lives need to be wasted as we stumble around looking for a clear path to a perceived victory? How many times in the last eight years has the mission been changed just to keep us there? Even though I never viewed Bush as a legitimate President, I supported his decision after 9/11 to go into Afghanistan with the mission to capture and/or kill Osama bin Laden. I wanted the man responsible for the attack on our country “dead or alive”. On March 13, 2002, the part-time resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue stated in regard to bin Laden, “I am truly not that concerned about him. I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." That was just six months after the worse attack ever on US soil. Clearly, W’s heart wasn’t in it as he discovered they had no oil, so he shifted his attention to Iraq where he forced unfounded ties to Al Qaeda and the Taliban and used them to sell to congress and the American public the need of a pre-emptive war. Of course for the Bush administration, it was a financial windfall to keep the war going and capturing bin Laden was never a priority because it would have destroyed any way of justifying going into Iraq. Cheney’s lifetime ties to Halliburton and the millions he's made from them are rarely included in this sad story either. When Keith Olbermann or Rachel Maddow bring it up, they're assailed as enemies of "real" America. Who is the real enemy? U.S. Marines allegedly had bin Laden trapped in Tora Bora in December of 2001 and asked for additional support. A decision to not deploy those requested American forces to go after him or block his escape was made by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his top commander, Gen. Tommy Franks. Why would they do that if not to prolong the war and start another one? How many American lives could have been saved.
Wednesday night on The Rachel Maddow Show, Rachel was joined by our U.N. ambassador, Susan Rice. The two had a very respectful back and forth as Rachel believes there’s an undeclared war in Pakistan while Rice denies that is the case and explains the differences in our Middle East involvements. It’s informative to watch two adults talk about U.S. policy. The two parts are about 23 minutes combined:
This interview should be enlightening for those of us truly trying to understand our mission and goals. Unfortunately, we have an electorate that, for the most part, has no real intellectual curiosity and in fact dislikes anyone who does. Surely, 23 minutes of two smart women (gasp) talking about military strategy can not be taken seriously by the "right". They see this type of discussion reserved for conservative white males only and it wouldn't have taken 23 minutes, just six words, "bomb the hell out of them." They much prefer the primal instinct of war over a well reasoned peaceful policy discussion and decision. In their eyes, "fight makes right" and anyone who disagrees is viewed as a traitor or weak. These people agreed with McCain and his 100 year war idea. Most of our low information voters rely on “key” words/topics like; liberal, socialist, fascist, czar, Marxist, Nazi, Hitler along with Kenyan, ACORN, abortion, same-sex marriage, etc…to get them fired up -- no thought needed. These words are delivered on a nightly basis from Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity on Fox and Rush Limbaugh on the radio. The fact that their listeners/viewers repeat these words after hearing them on these shows even though many of the terms are contradictory certainly doesn’t deter them, that’s for sure! They applaud the untrained, unsophisticated views of their hero's. The only one in that group who completed what he started is O'Reilly (Marist College). The people that hang on to their every word, despise Maddow (Stanford & Oxford), Olbermann (Cornell), Ed Schultz (Minnesota State) and Thom Hartmann (Michigan State). I'm not sure when having an education became a bad thing in this country. Except for the occasionally bombastic Schultz, have you also noticed that our commentators have a much calmer demeanor? I'm also not buying that being a "liberal" is the profanity that conservatives have turned it into. By definition, we favor progress and reform, the protection of civil liberties. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded. Those aren't bad things!
Anyhow...
Obviously President Obama has more information about the situation than we do, but I’d love to see our service members come home. I'm just not sure that the goals that Susan Rice explained are realistic. These wars have done nothing positive for our country and there’s so much more we need to focus on. I did not vote for Obama to follow in Bush's footsteps in any manner, including Iraq and Afghanistan. We live in a world of microwave ovens and high-speed internet so we’ve grown accustomed to wanting everything now…if not sooner! Besides the war, President Obama is being criticized a lot for not accomplishing anything in his first year because we can’t see sure evidence. The stimulus appears to be working, yet because unemployment didn’t immediately fall to 5%, conservatives call it a failure. The health care impasse has been caused by "just say no" Republicans and conservative Democrats. Granted, Obama should take a more active role, but with the eight year mess he was handed, there remains only so many hours in a day. George W. Bush was most likely the worst leader (I won’t call him Prez) this country has ever had and his legacy is quite possibly going to destroy Obama’s as well unless giant steps are taken. I think one of the things that has caught him off guard is there is no longer a "no drama Obama." Everything he does is getting ridiculed and scrutinized by the right in ways that they weren't totally prepared for, so they've taken some heat. He came out of the gate strong with broadening stem cell research and passing the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. He appeared to be a strong, quiet, no frills Commander-in-chief when he ordered the Navy Seals to kill three Somali pirates who were holding an American cargo ship captain hostage. Then the health care debate began, Sarah Palin spoke of death panels, the crazed fringe took over informational town hall meetings and all the wonderful momentum and hope we had for this young President came to a screeching halt. I hope he can clean up most of the damage before the 2010 elections. While I don't think the Democrats will lose the majority in the House, it may no longer be a strong majority.
Sarah Palin Update: Since my last post was on Thanksgiving, I wasn't yet aware of The Turkey Trot To Nowhere. Evidently Sarah agreed to run the 5k Kennewick “Turkey Trot.” But she quit 40 minutes in! She wanted to avoid the adoring masses at the finish line. The article is linked above from "The Mudflats." It appears that the infamous Palin bus tour is a hoax. Joe McGinniss reports she's in fact flying around America on a private jet, specifically a luxurious "Gulfstream II 12-passenger jet rented from Universal Jet Aviation of Boca Raton, Florida, at a cost of more than $4,000 per hour." Yes indeed, her fans say she's "just like them!" In addition, camera's and recording devices are being banned from her book signing stops, BUT for a fee, you can get a photo taken of yourself with the former Alaska Governor for the following size/prices: 5x7 $15.99, 8x10 $20.99, 8x12 $23.99, 11x14 $35.99. Has any of her "fans" figured out yet that she's just in this for the money? Speaking of the former Governor, the Minnesota Mall of America announces she wants to be called Governor and wants only English speaking press when she appears there. Why should they call her Governor? Honestly, the way her gaffe filled book signing tour is going, you'd think she'd ban English speaking press so her never ending flow of ignorance wouldn't be reported daily!
Palin has also called on President Obama to boycott the Copenhagen climate conference since she feels the hacked emails from the the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England prove that man-made climate change is a hoax.
"Policy decisions require real science and real solutions, not junk science and doomsday scare tactics pushed by an environmental priesthood that capitalizes on the public's worry and makes them feel that owning an SUV is a 'sin' against the planet."
In some ways Palin's sudden enthusiasm for science comes as a surprise, since she has suggested evolution is not real and wants creationism taught in schools. Then again this gives her the chance to once again recite "Drill baby, drill."
Quick Thoughts: On the Tiger Woods' ongoing saga: You know, the story seemed pretty conflicted right from the start, and has unfolded exactly as I expected it too, including my vision of the night in question and how the window of the Escalade was smashed. I am the last person who will condone any form of domestic violence, but as more and more information comes out, don’t you get the feeling that he probably wishes he just stayed in the house and took the beating?...On Thursday, Republican Senators David Vitter (R-La.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla) introduced the gimmick filled "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act". "The idea, broad-brush, is that whatever government option is in the bill, every senator and every representative should be enrolled in it," Vitter told 'The Hill'. "No other possibilities, no other choices." "It's called leadership," Coburn said. "If it's good enough for everybody else, we ought to be leading by example." Funny thing happened though, Democrats called their bluff. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) who tried to become a co-sponsor and was given the cold shouldar, was joined by Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), and Al Franken (D-Minn.) in support. These are the kind of Democrats we need -- one’s with a spine! I like Sherrod Brown a little more every time I see him. ...You will love thisheadline: "Arlington, Tennessee Mayor Russell Wiseman Assails 'Muslim President' For Pre-Empting 'Peanuts": Seriously, this guy believes that President Barack Obama's West Point address, in which he announced his intention to escalate the war in Afghanistan, was intentionally timed to prevent Christians from watching Charlie Brown, stating, “Ok, so, this is total crap, we sit the kids down to watch 'The Charlie Brown Christmas Special' and our muslim [sic] president is there, what a load.....try to convince me that wasn't done on purpose”: The Peanuts Christmas show? Really? Now I could see if it was Rudolph or Frosty, but...These conservative fools weren’t embarrassed by eight years of a court appointed corrupt Presidency with the Bush-Cheney Regime, but they still can’t get over the fact that the young, black Hawaiian (yes Republicans, it was a state in 1961) won. Southerners get upset that they're perceived as uneducated, but they keep electing people like this. In fact, they should be embarrassed that people like Wiseman (ironic, isn't it?) continue to pop up on television and other media and make every southern stereotype be proven true. Snarky comment of the week from Huffington Post commentator MCISMetal: "I can't comment on the Kyoto Accord as I've only ever seen the Honda" - Sarah Palin
In case you missed it... News of the "get a life -- and a new iron": Nov. 27 METHUEN, Mass. (AP) -- A Massachusetts woman who recently separated from her husband and had her hours cut at work says an image of Jesus Christ she sees on her iron has reassured her that "life is going to be good." Mary Jo Coady first noticed the image Sunday when she walked into her daughter's room. The brownish residue on the bottom of the iron looks like the face of a man with long hair. The 44-year-old Coady was raised Catholic. She and her two college-age daughters agree that the image looks like Jesus and is proof that "he's listening." Coady tells The Eagle-Tribune she hopes her story will inspire others during the holidays. She says she plans to keep the iron in a closet and buy a new one.
The "image of Jesus" that she sees has only reassured me that what's going to be good in her life is not burning down her house. The good news is she's going to put it in the closet and buy a new one. Since it looks like it's very old and well used, this is a good call...although I'll be expecting it to be up for bid on Ebay!
UPDATE 12/6/09: Just did a quick search on Ebay and there already is an iron with Jesus alleged image listed! The reasonable seller zinsanemods (amazingly the same person also has an Ozzy Osbourne iron - what are the odds?!) has allowed a $3000 Buy It Now.
This was not something I initially thought worthy of my time, but after a week of television appearances which turned out hilarious, I can’t resist. The mega Sarah Palin fan, and the newer, younger former beauty queen that the wingnuts are lusting over, Carrie Prejean made the same exact errors as Palin; the more she spoke, the worse it got. After making this statement at the Miss USA Pageant when asked by Perez Hilton how she felt about gay marriage;
“Well I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one way or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And, you know what, in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, no offense to anybody out there. But that’s how I was raised and I believe that it should be between a man and a woman.”
Fair enough, it’s her opinion and she has a right to say it, although she didn’t clarify her stance on masturbation at that time, nor did she seem to understand that very few states recognize same-sex mariage, but I digress. Apparently, it never occurred to her or her defenders that people who disagree with her also had the right to say so and respond! You see, that’s another part of the right wing hypocrisy that never get’s the attention it deserves. It’s always a one way street with these people. NBC Today’s Meredith Viera interviewed her Tuesday, soon after she dropped her lawsuit against Miss California USA when it was revealed that there was a sex tape of her floating around. Prejean brushed it off as a youthful indiscretion done at age 17 only intended for her boyfriend at the time to see. And she said, she wasn’t having sex, she was by herself! Huh??? Ok, then Bill Clinton really didn’t have sexual relations with that woman either. Prejean then had the gall to say that the body is a “temple from God and skin shouldn't be shown and women shouldn't be judged on their bodies". Is Prejean the only one who doesn’t realize that’s exactly what she was doing in the Miss USA Pageant? Furthermore, while I agree that women shouldn’t be judged by their bodies, I have to question, why then did she get breast implants?
Nearing the end of the interview Prejean pulled the tried and true victimhood page directly out of the conservative play book, stating that;
“There is an extreme double standard that conservative women are under attack for whatever it is. If Sean Hannity went out there and said some of the things that Keith Olbermann has said about me, if he says anything about Sotomayor, Michelle Obama, he would be off the air. Why is there this double standard? That’s the reason why I wrote this book.”
Unfortunately, there’s a certain group of minions who will believe that statement. Keep in mind that Hannity was licking her boots Monday night in her first interview, but seriously do conservatives not yet understand that there is video these days? Hannity has talked negatively and at length about both aforementioned women. Olbermann thinks Prejean is a hypocrite and he’s right! Does little Carrie ever acknowledge what’s said by conservatives about California Senator Barbara Boxer, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, or Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wassermann-Schultz just to name a few? Hell no! That’s the true double-standard. The difference is the women on the left realize that when you’re in the public eye, you have to accept the bad with the good. Conservatives are thin-skinned liars and hypocrites, pure and simple.
Ah, but the former Miss California wasn’t done. Next came the Larry King interview Wednesday on CNN where she threw a temper tantrum. When she refused to talk about her lawsuit settlement or sex scandal while continuously telling Mr. King that he was being inappropriate, the host opened the phone line to callers. The moment the first caller said, "I'm a gay man…" she began unhooking her microphone from underneath her sweater and when King asked her to respond, she stated "I can’t hear you". Really? I’m not a fan of Larry King, but his response was handled with class while emphatically and correctly stating that he did nothing wrong. Not surprisingly, like Palin, she’s just another little phony who doesn’t want to answer any questions that she hasn’t previously approved. They both only want questions that will show them in their best light...which is probably a full moon on a Friday the 13th at a cemetery. And Thursday…drum roll please…the former boyfriend claims that the video was when she was 20 years old, two years ago, and there are several of them! Another lie, another day in the life of a wingnut. You really can’t make up this stuff!
Quick Thoughts: Teabagging leader Dick Armey is still rearing his ugly head. This time by defending insurance companies who do not want to cover clients who have pre-existing conditions. Does anybody else find it odd that the obese former member of congress who looks like he’s thrown back a drink or two and will be covered for life by government run health care is vilifying diabetics and those with liver inflammation who’ve been without insurance saying they don’t deserve government run health care because of eating like pigs and drinking excessively?... A shocking revelation; Birther Queen Orly Taitz told fellow birthers to lie. And this became news to anybody who’s head isn’t up their ass, why?…Family values Senator David Vitter(R), best known for his liaisons with prostitutes and his preference for wearing diapers while railing against same-sex rights (it’s unnatural you know), is now protecting the formaldehyde industry by blocking Paul Anastas, a renowned scientist known as the "father of green chemistry" to head the EPA's Office of Research and Development. Why is this guy still in office? Everyone would like to give Louisiana voters the benefit of doubt after Katrina, but c’mon...The Catholic Church threatens to stop feeding the homeless over gay marriage in Washington D.C. And these people claim to do God’s work! To their credit, the D.C. lawmakers rebuked them and said they will find another group to fill this need. When will this country respect our country’s laws and restore separation of church and state? This is one of the most disgusting stories of the week and absolutely no one in the MSM covered it...Meanwhile, 10 year old Will Phillips of Arkansas refuses to recite the Pledge Allegiance to a country that discriminates against gays. The young man has bigger stones than our president on this issue. I wonder what his thoughts on Iraq or Afghanistan are?... Federal prosecutors took steps Thursday to seize a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a Muslim organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government. The Piaget Building, as it’s known was erected in the 1970s under the Shah of Iran. Ok, maybe I am being naïve, but will someone please tell me how they obtained ownership in the first place? Weren’t they holding U.S. hostages then?...The teabaggers are now fighting amongst themselves! The Tea Party Express and the Tea Party Patriots are about to face each other in Teabagger Bowl I. Let’s see if they exercise their second amendment rights! Honestly, this has got to be one of the most hilarious developments of the right wing fragmentation. I’m waiting for a reality series, “When Teabaggers Attack”…Sarah Palin’s ghost written book, Going Rogue: An American Life, “officially” comes out Tuesday. Apparently it was leaked early and none other than Rush Limbaugh proclaimed that it is "truly one of the most substantive policy books I've read". Rush, get some hand lotion, buy a few more copies and continue to enjoy those 16 pages of color photographs.
That’s it for now, next week I’ll plan on further discussion about Sarah Palin’s book and the fallout (which has already begun) from its inaccuracies. By the way, you can pre-order your copy at Amazon for the discounted price $9.00 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping. Personally, I’ve pre-ordered a copy of Going Rouge: An American Nightmare, a Sarah Palin compilation from “The Nation” magazine and available here: http://orbooks.com/
Have a great week and continue to think progressive!
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