Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Being Negative

I don't usually like to post two articles from the same blog, but Think Progress has a couple of very important posts.  Rant on, please. These focus on some really BAD radio guys:

As the fourth anniversary of the Hurricane Katrina disaster approaches, hate-radio talk show host Neal Boortz mocked President Obama’s pledge to rebuild New Orleans, calling the victims human “debris.” This weekend, President Barack Obama told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he “remains focused on rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf Coast,” and anything less “would [...]
Early this morning, news broke that Sen. Ted Kennedy had passed away after serving in the U.S. Senate for nearly 50 years. Soon after, conservative commentator Andrew Breitbart began a sustained assault on Kennedy’s memory, tweeting “Rest in Chappaquiddick.” Over the course of the next three hours, Breitbart unapologetically attacked Kennedy, calling him a “villain,” “a [...]


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Well, Consider Me Duly NOT Surprised

It seems our former VPOTUS has been trying (unsuccessfully) to blow a bit of smoke our way again. Sadly, I can probably come up with a handful (or two) of friends and family who regularly watch Fox News and will argue, until we're all blue in the face, that it's all true, simply because Cheney SAYS it's true. I just don't believe there's anything wrong with questioning what comes out of the mouths of elected officials.
On Monday, the CIA released two memos from 2004 and 2005, which Vice President Cheney said would “show specifically what we gained” from the Bush administration’s enhanced interrogation program. As people like Spencer Ackerman noted, those documents didn’t end up showing that at all, however: Strikingly, they provide little evidence for Cheney’s claims that the [...]






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The Passing of a Legend

Senator Edward Kennedy died late Tuesday night. I have to give kudos to MSNBC (perhaps CNN and Fox did the same) for going wall-to-wall with early morning coverage without commercials.   From all of the comments about Kennedy's passing, one of the most heartfelt came from Joe Biden.

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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

The Health Care Debate Continues

Yes, I know what posting this is going to do - rile up some of you who follow me on Facebook.  It's somewhat akin to feed raw meat to sharks, but I'm going to do it anyway.  Thanks to Brilliant at Breakfast for the original post: The Public Option for Dummies:


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Tales of Torture

Call it what you will, but I'm thinking that all of this is getting set to really explode into a continuing story of boundaries being broken by the Bush Administration. Chime in, please. Is this truly trouble or something blown out of proportion?

Interrogator Revved Power Drill In Front of Hooded Detainee -- Report Details More Abuses

CIA interrogators racked an unloaded handgun close to the head of a high-value detainee, and revved a power drill while the detainee stood naked and hooded, according to the just-released CIA IG report. They also threatened to bring in the mother and family of the detainee, al Nashiri, as well as using a stiff brush to induce pain, and standing on Nashiri's shackles, causing cuts and bruises. And interrogators threatened another detainee, Khalid Shaykh Muhammad, that they would kill his children if [...]



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Monday, August 24, 2009

UK Health Care Update

Yet another report from the Health Care battleground. Pretty straightforward and first-hand report on the effectiveness of the UK system.

I am English (and a dual citizen of England and the United States) and I am increasingly frustrated with the misinformation reported regarding socialized medicine. Several opponents of health care reform--including major conservative radio and TV commentators and several republican politicians--claim that in England major surgery is not given to those over 59. This simply is NOT TRUE! My Mother had open heart surgery at age 81, is now [...]




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It's UFO Monday

We haven't touched this subject for quite a while, but it's always been one of my favorites. UFOs. Unidentified Flying Objects. Here's a fresh report that seems at least somewhat credible.  Doesn't it?

Six Kansas witnesses near a neighborhood pond first joked about lights in the sky circling around them, but were shocked by the craft's second appearance at close range as they made out "the distinct outline of a very thin triangular shaped black object," according to witness testimony from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) database. One of the friends called out to the others to point out a lit object in the distant darkness. They joked about it being a UFO, one snapped a cell phone image of it, and when it disappeared from view they wrote it off as a blimp. But the object came back about two minutes later - this time [...]



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It's Time To Stop Believing

Indeed, it's time for any American with a brain to stop believing all of the lies that are being told about the health care proposals. Most importantly, we need to get the word to our elderly relatives that the "death panels" are a creation of fanatics and insurance companies. And they don't exist and WILL NOT exist!

Doug Thompson: Death panels: Another myth that won't die


Over breakfast at my local eatery this weekend, an argument erupted at a nearby table over "death panels" and the ravings of former Alaska governor and Presidential wannabe Sarah Palin. "Obama wants to decide who lives and who dies," an elderly woman said, her voice quaking. "The government will kill people." Her friend tried to calm her down but she wasn't buying.  "I don't want my life decided by the government," she continued. "I'm an American. This used to be [...]
UPDATE: Looks like Chuck Grassley has picked up a solid dose of reality:
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has backtracked on comments that the government "would decide when to pull the plug on Grandma," saying yesterday on Face the Nation, "It won't do that." Grassley also said, as he has in the past, that [...]

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Saturday, August 22, 2009

The Health Care Conundrum

Okay, do we want a Public Option? Or not?  Is the British system better?  Or worse?
Stephen Amidon has a really great, straightforward defense of Britain’s health services up at Salon, in response to wingnuts who trot out the so-called horrors of the NHS in their attempts to shut down American health care reform, of which no plan has much in common with the NHS.  Which is too bad, because reading Amidon’s descriptions of health care access in Britain---doctor’s visits, hospital visits, home visits from the doctor, all performed with great care and minimal paperwork---will make Americans fill with longing, especially when [...]
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More Fun TV

I caught this exchange one recent morning, but didn't see a clip until tonight. Maria Martiromo from CNBS guesting on MSNBC is a true "piece of work".
As reported by blogger D-Day, the fireworks were bright over in Starbucks-land this morning. "Excuse me, but if America is so bad, why is it that if I got sick or one of my loved one's got sick, well America is the best....?" best, best, best? That was Maria Bartiromo on Morning Joe, arguing with Matt Tiabbi about the health insurance issue. What she didn't say is that she has great health insurance as an anchor at[...]

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Friday, August 21, 2009

Ya' Gotta Chuckle!!

One advantage of getting up at 5 am is catching more of Morning Joe on MSNBC. Friday brings Willie Geist's "Week in Review", always worth watching.


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Thursday, August 20, 2009

Does Grassley REALLY Expect Us To Believe This?

No way! Does he think we haven't been paying attention?  Does he think videotapes don't exist? Or is it just the old tactic of "I'm a prominent politician, so if I say it - they'll believe it"?

Last week, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) seeded deep doubts about his commitment to reaching a bipartisan deal on health care reform when he lent credibility to the flagrantly false claim that proposed legislation might “pull the plug on grandma.” He further eroded trust in his ability to negotiate in good faith when he told MSNBC [...]
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Cash For Clunkers

I'm all for some major overhauling of the health care system.  However, I'm really getting nervous about deeper government involvement given how badly this Cash for Clunkers program is being handled. Would Washington handle health care any better? If Washington is NOT involved, would anything change? Probably not.  Folks, what we have here is a real crisis.  We're at the proverbial crossroads and I'm not liking either way we go.


Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood assured car dealers Wednesday that they will be reimbursed for sales made under the Cash for Clunkers program and said the department would soon offer plans to wind down the popular car incentives. LaHood said the department will announce by Friday how it intends to [...]
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Just Make Them Go Away

How can supposedly smart people act so stupid? Tom DeLay needs to just crawl back behind his rock.

MSNBC host Chris Matthews brought on his good friend Tom DeLay today to talk about his training for “Dancing with the Stars.” After a few minutes of chit chat, Matthews asked DeLay about the far right and its conspiracy theories, including whether President Obama is proposing “Hitlerian health care.” Matthews asked, “So you want to [...]
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Ignorance of Americans

Ya' know, sometimes the blatant ignorance of Americans amazes me. Multiple myths about the health care proposals continue to resonate with far too many people.

There's a pretty striking finding buried in the new NBC/WSJ poll: It turns out nearly half of Americans believe the "death panel" fib. The pollster read a series of predictions about the health care plan, and asked Americans whether they were "likely to happen" or "unlikely to happen." In the "death panel" one, Americans were asked whether the health care proposal [...]
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Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Novak's Demise

Do you remember what got Robert Novak kicked off CNN? Sad to say, he passed away today. Maybe his performance on this clip gives us an indication of the brain tumor that ultimately killed him.

Arkansas Tonight

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Monday, August 17, 2009

Have You Heard??

The public option on health care may NOT be dead.  That will be good news or bad news, depending on where you stand on the issue. But...

...the expectation is that the progressives will just go along with no public option (because progressive always just go along.) Not so fast. Jane Hamsher reports that 60 House progressives have sent a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius laying down their marker: No public option, no bill. Here's the last two important paragraphs from the letter: [...]
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The Hits Just Keep on Coming!

I've used that headline before, but it's really true when it comes to problems with some electronic voting machines. How about a brand spanking new case in point?

RAW STORY's coverage of the news, and the release of the video demonstration of how to hack a Sequoia AVC Advantage electronic voting machine, began this way last week: A team of computer scientists at University of California, San Diego, the University of Michigan and Princeton University announced a new way [...]
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Friday, August 14, 2009

Euthanasia of the Elderly

Folks, the rumors just ain't true! Even if we get some kind of national health care program, Washington is not going to encourage the elderly to utilize assisted suicide. Somebody might talk with them about an option (depending on state laws), but NO MANDATE.  That's just one of the blatant lies that Ed Schultz tackled today.

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The "Draft Lawrence O'Donnell" Movement

Lawrence O'Donnell has been filling in for Chris Matthews this week on MSNBC. He's impressed a lot of viewers with knowledge, tenacity, and feisty attitude. After today's program, an ad hoc group of fans started a Twitter group to try to gather enough names to give MSNBC something to think about. Here's the interview that opened a lot of eyes. Hold on to your hats. It's quite the ride!


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Thursday, August 13, 2009

Money Talks


I just have to wonder how long it will take before a Fox News boss tells Beck to tone things down.  Hmmm, where have we heard that "tone down" line before?  O'Reilly?  Olbermann?  Is Beck next? Oh, by the way, there IS an Arkansas connection, so - read on!

Hate Speech: So Easy A Caveman Could Do It-- More Glenn Beck Advertisers Pull Off His Show

That irresistible line about the caveman, by the way, came from a reddit commenter. He was probably feeling celebratory over the fact that GEICO pulled all its advertising from Glenn Beck's hateful Fox TV show. And GEICO isn't the only company to have decided that [...]




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Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Glenn Beck Lunacy

My goodness! This is one of the best segments EVER on Morning Joe. Yeah, I know a lot of you don't think much of Scarborough, but I'm betting you're going to think a lot less of Fox dude, Glenn Beck, after watching this. Never have so many guests said so little of what Beck wanted them to say!

Joe Scarborough Bashes Beck Over Yesterday’s FNC Show | TV | Mediaite
You could see the wheels turning in Joe Scarborough’s mind as he thought the wheels were coming off on Glenn Beck’s Fox News show yesterday. The MSNBC host wrote on Twitter, “Not a good sign when Glenn Beck’s own guests look @ him like he’s crazy,” and later followed up: “Beck show so strange today. Host tries to paint vast left conspiracy and guests just stared at him like he was out of his mind. Bizarre TV.” Those initial tweets turned into a lengthy segment on Morning Joe this morning, where [...]


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Tuesday, August 11, 2009

230 Miles Per Gallon? Yup. It's Real!

I woke up to a quick mention of this on NPR, but it was later in the day before the cable folks really climbed on board. Seems GM has a car ready that gets....gasp...230 miles per gallon!  I know, you've been hearing those "rumors" for years, as have I.  If they had the technology, why didn't they use it before now?  Still, it appears impressive!


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Friday, August 07, 2009

Pretty good stuff from Morning Joe. He really can play and sing.


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Tuesday, August 04, 2009

I'm going to be playing around with some template options over the next few days, in an effort to revitalize this thing. I'm not sure that I  have time to devote to it, but I'm going to try. If there's a good way to double up from Twitter, to Blogger, to Facebook.....
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Stimulus Paying Big Dividends for GDP, State Budgets

Never hurts to have a hint of optimism about the economy. Does it?

PERRspectives: Stimulus Paying Big Dividends for GDP, State Budgets
Beginning in early July, Capitol Hill Republicans introduced a new talking point, proclaiming the $787 billion economy recovery package (ARRA) a "dismal failure." Sadly for the GOP, as Stephen Colbert might say, reality is showing its well-known liberal bias. After steep declines of 5.4% and 6.4% in the previous two quarters, gross domestic product fell only 1% in the last three months. And while [...]


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Monday, August 03, 2009

KO and Health Care

Let's see if this works better than my first post.


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