An Intervention Is Needed For This Obsession

Bill Maher talking about "birthers" and how this "diluted, time-wasting Right Wing obsession" needs to be killed. "Dummies talking to other dummies" and cranks like Lou Dobbs highlight America's polite tendency to give the "special" people in the community more room than they need.

See a pattern? GOP obsessed on Clinton and Whitewater. Now it's Obama and a birth certificate. All pre-Presidential items used as distractions. They have to find something from the past because they have nothing in the present.

But with Bush, they could never see his past as an insight into what kind of guy he would be: lifelong C student, cocaine user, horrible business man, drunk until he was 40, never finishing his National Guard duty, fake Christian, Daddy Issues with zero respect for other points of view, the list goes on. And low and behold he is the worst President ever.

The GOP judgment is so off, I wish it were laughable, but it's much more sad, almost dangerous.

Frank Schaeffer Interview

Frank Schaeffer on John Whitehead's Friendly Fire. Discussing how the popular, yet marginal, Right Wing players are "encouraging the deranged".

Part One:

Dobbs Takes Rating Hit

This restores my faith in the maxim: "talk like an idiot, lose some of your ratings."

According to analysis of Nielsen data by the New York Observer, as criticism of Lou Dobbs has continued to rise over his questioning of President Obama's citizenship, his ratings at CNN have continued to go down.

In fact, Dobbs' audience has decreased 15% in total viewers and 27% in the all important age 25 to 54 demographic group since the start of the controversy.

Dobbs will of course spin this that he is a martyr and his "free speech" rights are under attack. Not quite. Aligning yourself with the most fringe element of the wacko Right and providing a forum to conspiracy theorists has consequences.

While stirring up controversy and public outcry is a time-tested method in cable news of juicing your ratings, for Dobbs it's FAIL.

Source: NY Observer

The Gang Of Six Represent 3%

We have to put the Gang of Six in context:

The "Gang of Six" senators involved in bipartisan health care negotiations represent six states with a total of less than three percent of the U.S. population (Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Maine, New Mexico and Iowa).

The diversity in those six states amazes me. Not. Do the four least-populated counties of western Kansas want to chime in?

That being said, it looks like the August break has prompted a "plan B" for the Democrats which should have been "plan A" from the get go:

Under the scenario now being discussed, bi-partisan talks would be aborted and parliamentary maneuvers used to force the bill through with a party-line vote."

You can no longer be bi-partisan with the insurance industry shills. They had their attempt to offer ideas. It's time to ignore the GOP.

Source: http://politicalwire.com/

Boston Cop: "Banana Eating Jungle Monkey" Not Racist

Justin Barrett, a Boston cop and National Guardsmen, sent an email to the editor of the Boston Globe and to colleagues at the National Guard calling Henry Louis Gates a "banana eating jungle monkey."

He claims he was not being racist. His remarks were published.

Barret then wrote the Globe writer with these choice words: "You are a fool. An infidel. You have no business writing for a US newspaper nevermind detailing and analyzing half-truths."

"Infidel"?. What a great word to use. Conjuring up Al Qaeda. Well played.

The National Guard suspended him. The "language contained in the e-mail violates policies of the Massachusetts National Guard and what it stands for in its commitment to uphold and protect the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Constitution of the United States."

Can't say a racist cop in Boston surprises me. If these is what he says in emails, just think what is said in private.

Source: RawStory

Prof. Gates' Unconstitutional Arrest

via The Atlantic:

"Lucia Whalen, whose 911 call led to the arrest of the Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. at his home, made her first public comments Wednesday, saying at no time did she ever mention race to the responding police officer.

...[also] repeatedly mentioning that they might live there."

So Crowley made the assumption that they were black and treated Gates as a criminal because he was a black man in a nice house. It happens. And Gates got mad. It happens.

So that brings up the core issue here: freedom of speech. Crowley thinks he can arrest you for it. Harvey Silvergate at Forbes adds:

"if one accepts Crowley's claim that he dished out to Gates equal treatment under the law, this case stands as a dire warning to all citizens as to the dangers inherent in exercising one's constitutional right to free speech when in an exchange with a police officer."

Gates ended up being arrested for uttering mere words. Not breaking and entering. Not disturbing the peace.

"This gets us to the heart of the matter. Under well-established First Amendment jurisprudence, what Gates said to Crowley--even assuming the worst--is fully constitutionally protected."

So the same losers who said Gates deserved it, are probably the same losers who say the Constitution has to be protected against non-American born U.S. Presidents. Which one is it? You want to protect Constitutional rights, but only for the people you like?

That being said, even if you hate Gates for other reasons or think he was over the top for asking for the officer's name and badge, fact is:

"Even if Professor Gates were wearing a "Fuck You, Cambridge Police" jacket, the officer would have been obligated to leave the house without its occupant in handcuffs."

Granted, Police work is tough. It's what you signed up for. Underpay someone and over work them and you'll get some tense people. I have respect for authority, but as this story unfolds with all the "he said, she said", one thing is certain, we need to stop confusing a police report with the truth.

Power to the little man!

Source: Forbes

Factcheck.org Certify, Birthers' FAIL

Not that birthers were ever interested in the truth.

FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship. Claims that the document lacks a raised seal or a signature are false. We have posted high-resolution photographs of the document as "supporting documents" to this article. Our conclusion: Obama was born in the U.S.A. just as he has always said.

Funny that "birthers" have no problem with Palin never showing the birth certificate for her son, Trig.



Source: factcheck.org

Consumers Like Medicare Better

Consumers give Medicare higher marks than private insurance plans. The majority of Americans who are experienced with "government-run" health insurance, i.e. people over 65, like what they have and don't want to change it. It's now up to educate all the other younger Americans to know what they are missing. We need the option. All other roads lead to ma$$ive corporate profits.

The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll found 62 percent of Americans expressing support for "having the government create a new health insurance plan to compete with private health insurance plans."

67 percent in a Kaiser Family Foundation poll in April support a public option.

72 percent in the most recent CBS News/New York Times poll want a public option.

More importantly, the higher scores [pictured below] for Medicare are based on perceptions of better access to care. All the myths of the GOP and Blue Dogs simply don't hold up.



Source: National Journal

Filing "Disorderly Conduct" Just Because

Obama tries to explain the police state we live in, vis a vis Gates, he gets the brush back. [The situation of disagreeing with the police has little to do with the quality of the service, but more about the attitude/mood of the officer.]

Here's another example of the police mentality in America:

Police in Mobile, Ala., used pepper spray and a Taser on a deaf, mentally disabled man who they said wouldn't leave a [Dollar] Store's bathroom ... Police tell the Press-Register of Mobile that officers shot pepper spray under the bathroom door after knocking several times. After forcing the door open, they used the stun gun on Antonio Love.

Then they tried the Crowley option: arresting him for disorderly conduct. Mercifully a judge threw the charge out. But notice the disorderly conduct charge filed even after all the facts are known. The crime - disabled while taking a shit - is just asking to be tasered and pepper-sprayed.

Surprise! - the guy is African-American. Pretty brutal. They held the guy for 6 hours, then dropped him off in his apartment complex parking lot without notifying anyone. Sounds like someone feels like they fucked up.

What ever happened to Police trying to diffuse situations, not escalate them? They pepper sprayed the door before they even knew who was inside, or what condition they were in. This happened in a Dollar Store?! The South has done it again.

NOTE: Pointing at a police officer is "assault", touching him is "battery".

Source: The Daily Dish

The GOP Sideshow Craziness

Rachel Maddow sums up the sideshow craziness from the conservative Right regarding health care reform. It's not about the public option, to the Right, it's all about a secret plan to kill old people.

And it's not just the fringe and Rush "dittoheads", it's elected members of Congress spreading the fear.

For example, an attempt to encourage people to make out "living wills" is shamelessly morphed into the government is telling you how to die. Repeat that enough times on right-wing radio, add a few Fox updates, and you have the echo chamber the Private Insurance companies paid for working to slow down proper reform.

The Right has an easy job of making stuff up because their base is so willing to believe it. 8 years of Bush will make you deny just about anything.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Quitter

Sarah Palin in a nutshell.

Bill Kristol: Gov't Health Care Is Better

Bill Kristol admits to Jon Stewart, after trying to make the asinine case that some people are more equal than others, the government can does provide first-class health care.

On Monday night’s show, Kristol worked to explain why he didn’t support a public health option, arguing in essence that the existence of Medicare and Medicaid provided health coverage to those most in need.

“So no public option, even though that’s good enough for the military — not good enough for the people of America?” Stewart asked.

“They do not deserve the same quality of health care the soldiers fighting deserve, and they [the soldiers] need all kinds of things we don’t need,” Kristol said.

“Are you saying that the American public shouldn’t have access to the same quality of health care that we give to our better citizens?” Stewart asked.

“To our soldiers? Yes, absolutely,” Kristol responded, to a chorus of boos from the audience.

An incredulous Stewart asked: “Really?”

Moments later, Kristol added that “one of the ways we make it up” to soldiers that they receive relatively low pay is by “giving them first class health care. The rest of us can go out and buy insurance.”

That’s when Stewart struck.

“Bill Kristol just said … that the government can run a first-class health care system and a government-run health care system is better than the private health care system.”

“You trapped me somehow,” a visibly uncomfortable Kristol responded.

Stewart simply forced Kristol to think for once… and sure enough that singular thought led him to a “liberal” position.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Bill Kristol Extended Interview
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Joke of the Day

Source: Raw Story

Bill Maher On Henry Louis Gates

Bill's take on arresting a 58 year-old guy with a cane for disorderly conduct in his own house.

"I'm not even sure this is a racial situation because I don't know if this cop is racist. But I have to say it seems to me more like a police situation. I think Henry Louis Gates was arrested for the crime of not kissing the behind of the police officer."

Police are to be servants of the community. Not intimidating, brutes with inferiority complexes and barely a high school diploma. Ever see the police at a job fair or high school recruiting the top candidates? Nope.

Source: HuffPo

Evidence And Logic Not Enough For Birthers

Alex Knapp explains the birther mentality:

"While traditional adherence to quaint philosophic concepts might make it appear that the evidence overwhelmingly favors the conclusion that Barack Obama is a United States citizen, it is clear that this cannot be the case so long as we don’t pay any attention to the idea that there is an objective reality.

Cognitive Realism, the Law of Attraction, and Norse Mythology all provide plausible philosophic justification for ignoring evidence and logic. Accordingly, because Obama’s claim to American citizenship is only supported by evidence and logic, he must not be an American citizen. Thus, Barack Obama is not eligible to be President of the United States.

It’s perfectly logical."

Andrew Sullivan adds his take on GOP realism:

"If you're a Republican, a lot of things are logical: the entire debt began the moment Obama took office; Bush and Cheney never tortured anyone, but Obama is about to; the WMDs really are in Iraq; the president has the constitutional power to send tanks into the streets to arrest any American without charges; deficits don't matter; Obama is a Kenyan Muslim impostor; and Sarah Palin was qualified to be president of the United States at a moment's notice."

Then you have to be bi-partisan with this lot?

Source: The Daily Dish

Quote Of The Day: Howard Dean

Socialized health care works. The private health care industry is inefficient and "insurance companies do a terrible job". Holding this two thoughts, simultaneously, is of little use for Maria Bartiromo as she confuses drug research with health insurance:

"If you do a survey of Medicare, most people are happy with Medicare. There are no bureaucrats interfering between doctors and patients in Medicare. But there are a lot of bureaucrats interfering between private health insurance companies and patients and doctors. … It’s time that the special interests in Congress stopped influencing folks to make their choices for them, and let the American people choose." - Howard Dean

Why do we have to wait to be over 65 to have a public choice in this country?



Source: ThinkProgress

Those Annoying Ads For Big Pharma

Fun fact of the day: only the United States and New Zealand allow direct-to-consumer drug advertisements.

You know those ads, two people in a bathtub viewing a sunset. A guy throwing a football through a tire swing. What about restless leg syndrome?

Here is some good news:

Representative Jerrold Nadler, Democrat of New York, has introduced a bill called the Say No to Drug Ads Act. It would amend the federal tax code to prevent pharmaceutical companies from deducting the cost of direct-to-consumer drug advertisements as a business expense.

“You should not be going to a doctor saying, ‘I have restless leg syndrome’ — whatever the hell that is — or going to a doctor saying, ‘I have the mumps,’ ” Mr. Nadler said in an interview. “You should not be diagnosed by some pitchman on TV who doesn’t know you whatsoever.”

It was never like that 10 years ago. You never saw ads on TV for all these unpronounceable drugs. These ads drive the demand and push people to use drugs for ailments they might not otherwise care about. Pretty devious.

And you wonder why it is so hard to get health care reform.

Source: Digsby

Reform At A Snail's Pace

A snail's pace at our expense. Republicans have blocked health care reform for a decade and a half. We have to end their influence and control the message.

"The Republicans claim the health insurance reform debate has been moving at lightning speed. In fact for 15 years, it's hardly moved at all. Now the Republicans say Congress should slow down? That's because when something goes slow enough it's easy to kill it dead in its tracks."

It's government of the people for the people. The bought-off Democrats need to be brought inline, represent their constituents and not corporations running up profits, and pass some meaningful reform.



Source: Political Wire

Blue Dogs Follow The Money

What exactly does the Blue Dog Coalition want? The lessons of Watergate's "follow the money" comes to mind.

via HuffPo:

"The Blue Dogs are (suddenly and at last) concerned with how much health care reform is going to cost, keeping watch for the next CBO report whose scoring does not land close to the deficit-neutral target. And yet, the alternatives they propose for health care reform would all -- uhm...drive up costs! So, what's the deal? Are these people basically just morons?"

Paul Krugman writes in is column:

"Maybe they're just being complete hypocrites. It's worth remembering the history of one of the Blue Dog Coalition's founders: former Representative Billy Tauzin of Louisiana. Mr. Tauzin switched to the Republicans soon after the group's creation; eight years later he pushed through the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act, a deeply irresponsible bill that included huge giveaways to drug and insurance companies. And then he left Congress to become, yes, the lavishly paid president of PhRMA, the pharmaceutical industry lobby.

One interpretation, then, is that the Blue Dogs are basically following in Mr. Tauzin's footsteps: if their position is incoherent, it's because they're nothing but corporate tools, defending special interests. And as the Center for Responsive Politics pointed out in a recent report, drug and insurance companies have lately been pouring money into Blue Dog coffers."

The influence of the health care industry, insurers and lobbyists is massive. They are spending over $1.4 million a day and have hired "350 former government staff members and retired members of Congress in hopes of influencing their old bosses and colleagues."

Money has always had the final vote and it probably always will. That's human nature. Why we spend so much on wars that destroy without much debate is baffling. But if we spend money that has a positive effect on people's lives, the vindictive nature of Americans comes to surface. "As long as I'm OK, who cares about you." Sounds even better with Bible in your hand.

I'm still betting on Obama and the Democrats' platform. Government for the people is coming back.

Source: HuffPo

Shopping For A Religion

While not a prefect chart, how obsessive does Roman Catholicism come across? Control issues? There is pretty much nothing they do not condemn.

And you wonder why we had 700 years of the Dark Ages after the rise of Christianity.



Source: Andrew Sullivan