Jun 09 2011
Well, you’ve got your diamonds and you’ve got your pretty clothes And the chauffeur drives your car/ You let everybody know/ But don’t play with me, ’cause you’re playing with fire
(I wrote about this two days ago posted on another board and today its making headlines. Just goes to show that the bloggers are way ahead of the game.)
Feb 03 2011
We have seen some amazing days in Egypt, and it’s provided a better lesson than anyone could have ever wanted for how taking action, against long odds, can really get something done.
A secret police mechanism has been pushed aside, an Army has chosen not to attack The People, and a President who was backed by the “full faith and credit” of the US Government on Friday was being told by that same US Government on Tuesday that it’s time to go.
The People, in fact, spoke so loudly that Mr. Mubarak has informed Egyptians that he’s going to “pursue corruption”, which, if taken literally, could eventually look like a puppy chasing its own tail.
The People, however, are unhappy with his answer, and they’re speaking even louder yet…even to the point of being willing to take beatings, gunfire, and, believe it or not…camel charges…to make their voices heard.
And that got me to thinking about Social Security.
You know, we are facing the potential for a great big Social Security fight for pretty much the entire term of the 112th Congress-and it seems to me that a series of great big “Cairo-style” marches might be the way to make our voices heard, so that this Congress understands that great big benefit cuts are something that we will not tolerate.
Jan 08 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011 Representative Gabrielle Giffords, (D, AZ-08 ) was shot this morning at a “Congress on Your Corner” constituent event in a Safeway grocery store at around 10am local mountain time.
http://my.firedoglake.com/tedd…
At 11:07 am PST her condition is unknown, she has been hospitalized at the University Medical Center in Tuscon, along with other staffers, people and bystanders who were wounded. (at least 6 others wounded )
The attempted assassin ran up to her and fired at point blank range, hitting her in the head, and then ran off, but he was tackled by witnesses and brought down and taken into custody. (per what I am hearing now on MSNBC as they are talking to a sheriff on a phone line)
Rep. Giffords, 40 years old, was elected to a 3rd term on Nov 2. http://www.npr.org/2011/01/08/…
Oh, my God, a witness on the phone to MSNBC says there are bodies laying all over the place, at least 3 killed. Sheriff says 5 killed, 6 wounded.
Arizona has been a hotbed of hostility towards Democrats since Republican Gov. Jan Brewer signed the racial profiling law targeting Latinos and Indigenous peoples, and both Giffords and Rep. Raul Grijalva have previously received death threats from the extreme right wing.
_____
UPDATED According to a spokesperson for the hospital at a recent news conference on MSNBC, the Congresswoman remains in critical condition, but he is optimistic that she will survive her wound. She is said to be out of surgery. The bullet is said to have gone completely through her head.
A Federal Judge died in the attack.
A nine year old child taken to the hospital did not survive.
5 people are in surgery, 5 people are in critical condition.
The name of the suspected shooter is Jared Laughner, and it is unknown at this time if he was acting alone or in concert with others.
____
Updated #2 spelling correction. suspect Jared Lee Loughner. Age 22, Tuscon, AZ
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/… (see creepy youtubes at link, the last one is “my final thoughts” )
excerpts:
I’m a sleepwalker – who turns off the alarm clockAll conscious dreaming at this moment is asleep
Jared Loughner is conscious dreaming at this moment
Thus Jared Loughner is asleep
___If I define terrorist then a terrorist is a person who employs terror or terrorism,
especially as a political weaponI define terrorist
Thus, a terrorist is a person who employs terror or terrorism, especially as a political weapon
If you call me a terrorist then the argument to call me a terrorist is Ad hominem
you call me a terrorist
thus the argument to call me a terrorist is Ad Hominem
___
you don’t have to accept the federalist laws
nonetheless, read the United States of America’s Constitution to apprehend all of the current treasonous laws
You’re literate, listener ?
___
the property owners and government officials are no longer in ownership of their land and laws from a revolution.
thus, the revolutionary’s from the revolution are in control of the land and laws
__
In conclusion, reading the second United States Constitution, I can’t trust the current government because of the ratifications: The government is implying mind control and brainwash on the people by controlling grammar.
No ! I won’t pay debt with a currency that’s not backed by gold and silver !
No ! I won’t trust in God !
What’s government if words have no meaning ?
-Jared Loughner 3
The above quotes were from the #3 video of a youtube account of a “Jared Loughner” which is at the HuffPo link.
This is Tea Party – Libertarian theme babbling.
The Federal Judge who was murdered, along with 5 others so far, was US District Court Judge John Roll.
_______
Update #3. Law enforcement are looking for a second suspect, who is believed to have come to the store with the shooter, a white male in his 50’s, whom they are not otherwise releasing any news on, other than they have pictures they are not releasing. http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.c…
Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik says Rep. Giffords was the intended target of the shooting, and was “not convinced” that the suspect had acted alone. http://www.13wmaz.com/news/bre…
Sep 21 2010
Originally posted at Citizen Orange.
The fate of almost a million lives could be decided in the next six hours. As a voter, as a millenial, as a migrant, as a Guatemalan, I’m writing to say that I will be watching along with the vast majority of those who will determine the future of the United States of America.
If you already haven’t heard already, Harry Reid is going to offer the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act up as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. The Senate is scheduled to vote on taking up the Act tomorrow at 2:15 p.m. If you haven’t called you’re Senator yet in the support of the DREAM Act please do so now by calling:
888-254-5087
It is imperative that you focus on these Senators. If you’ve called already, call again. If you’ve called again, ask five friends to do the same. If you’ve done all that, here are some more actions you can take.
Sep 02 2010
Washington – Pandercrats in Congress are poised to play a leading role this month in thwarting their party’s effort to raise votes for the incumbents.
A small but growing number of Moderate Pandercrats are balking at boosting taxes on the rich, now that there has been a sufficient gain of numbers of poor to please Wall Street. Many who are retiring anyway or floundering in the polls, face electorates who are planning their retirement going away parties already, and are anticipating a nice slice of cake. Some represent areas that were loaded with empty foreclosed on sprawlburban mansions, some are reluctant to increase the feeling of voting obligation on anyone while the old 2008 party platform isn’t quite officially ready for the alien autopsy yet.
“The voter’s will is very weak right now. Voting could lower consumer demand for means tested results, at a time when we want people putting more votes into the other party” said Sen. Evan Bye, who is auditioning to become a lobbyist.
“We still expect to have an election at some point in November,” Reed spokesman Bib Man Lee said. “Whether Republicans will allow them to vote for anyone is a whole other story.”
The speaker and the president have been clear they want to extend the middle class tax cuts, but because there is no middle class anymore, they have indicated a willingness to compromise to make the final lame duck session a time of bipartisanship cameraderie.
Rep. Gerald Connolly, DINO -Va., represents the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, one of the nation’s wealthiest districts. Median family income there in 2008 was $117,892, well above the national average of $63,211. He said that repealing the top rates would have political consequences.“Sometimes we forget how we became the majority. We did it by winning some affluent districts,” he said.
“The general rule of thumb is that you do not raise taxes or cut spending during an economic downturn. That would be counterproductive,” (Sen. Kent) Conrad, (DINO ND) said.
… at a Kansas City fundraiser in July, (senate candidate) Robin Carnahan (DINO MO) said last week that she wanted to extend the Bush tax cuts for everyone.
“Now is not the time to raise taxes,” she said.
Jun 09 2010
I’m listening to the Primary election results on television and watching on the internet. Here are the current leads or projected winners for some of the races nationwide. The polls closed in CA an hour ago. HuffPo also has a header banner up with this http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
First, the biggest suck disappointment of the evening- Democrat Senate Plantation Blanche over Bill Halter in Arkansas , 52 to 48%.
Blanche Lincoln (D, “there isn’t going to be a public option” Walmart, Koch Oil, Arkansas)
Bill Halter
There’s been a lawsuit filed over the closing of polling places, but Halter has conceded.
Apr 24 2010
From The Hill this afternoon:
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-…
Congressman Raul Grijalva, (AZ- 07) the co chair of the Democratic progressive caucus, is closing his Tuscon and Yuma offices because of death threats being made to staffers on the eve of SB1070 possibly being signed by Arizona’s Republican Governor Jan Drinkwine Brewer. Yes, that is her real name, Drinkwine Brewer, and she just signed the anti- undocumented worker, latino and hispanic profiling, race baiting bill into law this afternoon.
One man called the congressman’s Tucson office twice and said he would “blow everyone’s brains out,” spokesman Adam Sarvana told The Hill.Opponents of the bill, who include Grijalva, say that the bill is discriminatory.
Thousands of people concerned that the bill violates the U.S. Constitution have gathered outside the state capitol of Phoenix in protest since the bill cleared the legislature on Monday. The bill makes it a crime to be in this country illegally, and it requires any Arizona police officers to question people about the status of their citizenship and immigration status if there is any reason to suspect that they are undocumented workers, also known as “illegal aliens.” They must be able to show proof of citizenship upon request, merely based upon suspicion. The bill also makes it illegal to hire undocumented immigrants for day labor, to transport them, and allows lawsuits against government agencies that Arizona feels are hindering enforcement of immigration laws.
Mar 26 2010
It wasn’t but a couple of days ago that we had a conversation about The Fear and the emails that are used to spread it, and I figured with that out of the way we had dealt with the topic, and that we’d move on to new things.
Well, we would be moving on, Gentle Reader, if it wasn’t for the fact that an email came in today that was so ugly, so disturbing, and so indicative of what we are about to see as the battle over the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) begins to heat up (ENDA being possibly the next “big contentious thing” that this Administration hopes to accomplish), that I had to interrupt my story schedule to bring it to your attention.
Mar 06 2010
Crossposted at Daily Kos
You don’t get more Establishment than an Ex-President.
Bill Clinton Throws His Support To Blanche LincolnIn a boost to embattled Dem Senator Blanche Lincoln – and a bit of a blow to primary challenger Bill Halter – fellow Arkansan Bill Clinton is throwing his support to the incumbent Senator, his spokesman confirms to me.
Halter’s entry into the race had kicked off a round of speculation about who Clinton would endorse, given that he hails from the state and remains very popular with Dem primary voters. If Clinton had remained neutral it would have been a big boost to Halter.
Clinton spokesman Matt McKenna tells me, however, that the former President is supporting Lincoln.
“Senator Lincoln asked President Clinton several months ago to support her reelection,” McKenna says. “He said he would, and he does.”
Yes, the Democratic Establishment can kiss my DFH ass.
More below the fold
Feb 24 2010
In a post on Salon today, Glenn Greenwald reveals to readers the essential tactic of the Democratic Party leadership. It’s not trying to get Republican support, it’s not filibuster reform, it’s not registering people to vote. It’s much more manipulative than that.
It is an explanation for the “lack of spine” that Democrats are often said to have – which, we can now see, is merely a convenient illusion for prominent Democrats. It is a scapegoat that they can use so that progressives will continue voting for them even though we get nothing that we ask for, and instead have to take whatever crumbs are given to us.
So what is it?
This is what the Democratic Party does; it’s who they are. They’re willing to feign support for anything their voters want just as long as there’s no chance that they can pass it.
Oct 08 2009
The news broke late yesterday afternoon that the Senate Finance Committee sought to broker a compromise measure regarding the Public Option. Giving each individual state a choice of whether or not to provide a public option appeals to fiscal conservatives and red state legislators whose most coherent reservation regarding health care reform is a concern over cost. Still, these kind of messy federal/state mandates reinforce substantial inequality. A Medicaid-style measure like this would mean that those who lived in most well-funded blue states would have superior health care coverage, while those who lived in most, if not all red states would have their health care costs still largely dictated by private carriers, many of which hold near-monopolies in individual states. If the aim of reform is to level the playing field for every American, this falls well short of the stated objective.
Today’s Politico contains a brief, but noteworthy column written by Ben Smith, which underscores the controversy regarding Medicaid reform.
The Medicaid expansion would, in a stroke, add 11 million people to the program’s ranks by raising the income cap, and one key negotiating point at the moment is the share of that cost the federal government will pick up.
The income cap, however, is only one facet to increasing eligibility. Many states, particularly red states, do not extend coverage to single adults at all, no matter how dire their need. Coverage is often provided only to adults with children and sometimes Medicaid coverage is granted to children only, leaving their parents with nothing. As a result of this, many adults are forced to file for SSI disability to obtain Medicaid coverage, since doing on is the only means by which they might attain any health care coverage at all. However, this removes individuals from the workforce, reduces tax dollars paid into the tax system as condition of employment, and places a drain upon the never-ample General Fund out of which all Medicaid expenses are paid. Removing these strict qualifying factors might costs more in the short term, but the long term consequences are much more detrimental. Someone pays the cost when a person goes bankrupt from enormous medical bills or visits the Emergency Room without insurance, having no means to pay at all. Still, to simplify this unnecessarily as another annoying example of the red state/blue state divide would not be a fair telling of the truth.
Republican governors haven’t been the only ones raising doubts.
Tennessee Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen has been an outspoken foe of the plan, and a senior Republican aide notes that two more left-leaning Democrats are also raising complaints. According to the Columbus Dispatch, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland “warned on a recent visit to Washington that the ‘the states with our financial challenges right now, are not in a position to accept additional Medicaid responsibilities.’
“Strickland said that he wants a health care package that is inclusive and provides for all citizens’, but he adds that if Medicaid is expanded, he hopes to see the Federal Government assume the greater portion of the costs, if not the total costs.'”
And New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch last week refused to sign a letter than other Democratic governors sent to congressional leaders urging passage of a health care bill this year, because it failed to “address concerns regarding potential cost shifting to the states,” according to a spokesman for the governor quoted by the media.
States do have to adhere to balanced budgets and in times of economic famine like these cannot resort to deficit spending. However, budget priorities are often disproportionately skewed away from social services and relegated to other matters, which are just as wasteful, if not more so than any pork barrel project pushed by a House or Senate member. Before Republicans and Democrats criticize Washington for its excesses or its financial demands, they would be wise to start first in their own backyards. Citing specific instances of pork barrel projects is a rhetoric device which borders on cliche, so I will spare you another retelling of it. Needless to say, room could be made even in a much reduced year of tax revenue. The obscene amount of tax breaks and concessions made to foreign automakers in order to entice them to build auto manufacturing plants is a good place to start. Those states who have never made an attempt to reform their image as little more than an endless supply of cheap labor have shortchanged themselves in ways they seem incapable of comprehending.
A more streamlined approach would, in my opinion, be best. Each state sets its own criteria regarding Medicaid in accordance to how the program was set up in the 1960’s and I have no doubt that similarly messy compromises would likely typify the efforts the states willing to institute a public option. Most red states would opt out altogether, of course. I will note that a complete reliance on the superior wisdom and judgment of the Federal Government might be naive, but I have rarely seen any state government be more efficient. What I have seen is a multitude of red states whose efficiency and collective wisdom resembles a Banana Republic combined with a slap-stick comedy routine. That they are the ones who are so quick to shoot barbs at Washington, DC, strikes me as biting the hand that feeds you. Many of these states would have nothing if it hadn’t been for the generosity of Capitol Hill and many of their universities would find themselves without needed funding if they couldn’t achieve Federal Government grants. So it is here that I’m afraid I can’t muster much sympathy for those Governors who rarely pay more than ten percent of the cost of Medicaid anyway. The real lesson to be learned here is that long-term gain is much more important than the facade of short-term cost reduction.
Sep 29 2009
Crossposted at Daily Kos
Remember how proud you felt when you heard change meant a 2% deal with big PhRMA to allow Health Care Reform to pass (as if their permission were essential?)
Well, it looks like someone in the Senate actually wants to fight to help Americans, not help screw them.
A Senate Democratic leader is hoping to blow up the deal reached between the White House, drug makers and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), by introducing an amendment on the floor to allow prescription drugs to be re-imported from Canada.
It’s one of the simplest ways to reduce health care costs but was ruled out by the agreement, which limits Big Pharma’s contribution to health care reform to $80 billion over ten years.
This is another instance of competition vs massive monopoly that harms people. I’m glad to see someone doing something about it.
More below the fold