There are a few facts you should remember. I wrote when the ACA passed that the United States finally recognized health care as a right,not a privilege. The incoming government doesn't believe this. What Obama achieved was a dream dating back ti Theodore Roosevelt and it had eluded Republicans and Democrats ever since.
The Democrats never defended it during the by-elections and even during the 2012 election when Romney himself had established Obamacare in Massachusetts. Instead we got the whining over single payer.
Paul Krugman writes today in the New York Times about what repeal of Obamacare means. He points out that last year was a rough year for health insurance companies in the exchanges but this year and the next that will be erased. His point is that Obamacare never experienced the much heralded death spiral. But that the Republicans desire too repeal it will mean over 30 million will lack health insurance coverage. The majority of which are Trump voters.
Krugman makes the point that the desire to repeal it is to prove government programs don't work.
We are heading to this with the new Ryan Congress. Republicans aim to privatize the Veterans Administration,Medicaid, Medicare and good forbid, social security in the blind belief that the private sector performs better.
In reality, the repeal is only to give an immediate tax cut to the very wealthy. There is no plan to replace it, as Paul Krugman points out,but they will let it end after the 2020 election.
In the meantime, preventive care, lifetime limits ,etc. will be eliminated.
Please remember the Bush tax cuts to the wealthy was only one page as a bill. You will experience a blizzard of these one pages on everything from Medicare vouchers to school vouchers.
We do not have a healthcare system in this country and now there will no quarantees even to have the insurances. So stay healthy.
Showing posts with label Paul Krugman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paul Krugman. Show all posts
Friday, December 30, 2016
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
The Disappearing Iraq Supporters
++Paul Krugman writes this morning that the Iraq flap over Jeb is terrific because we need to have that debate--finally.
++TPM thought they would get the opinions of the war architects but found them wanting. It's the bad intelligence , you know. The writers found that they had run for the hills.
++Chris Christie and Pyush Jindal came out yesterday for the Iraq War. Christie also had no problems with the NSA surveillance program and said that only "civil rights extremists" were concerned.
++Michael Gerson writes an op-ed on how the Republicans should answer the Iraq question. The piece in the Washington Post is worth reading for the comments that are devastating.
++Rachel Maddow had a segment on her show that showed the Iraq War was not the consequence of bad intelligence, just bad policy making.
++Peter Beinert at the Atlantic has a piece about why you should not ask Republicans about the Iraq War.
++Gerson and James Woolsey blames it all on Obama.
++Over 70% of Republicans believe the Iraq War was a mistake. Pretty costly one.
++TPM thought they would get the opinions of the war architects but found them wanting. It's the bad intelligence , you know. The writers found that they had run for the hills.
++Chris Christie and Pyush Jindal came out yesterday for the Iraq War. Christie also had no problems with the NSA surveillance program and said that only "civil rights extremists" were concerned.
++Michael Gerson writes an op-ed on how the Republicans should answer the Iraq question. The piece in the Washington Post is worth reading for the comments that are devastating.
++Rachel Maddow had a segment on her show that showed the Iraq War was not the consequence of bad intelligence, just bad policy making.
++Peter Beinert at the Atlantic has a piece about why you should not ask Republicans about the Iraq War.
++Gerson and James Woolsey blames it all on Obama.
++Over 70% of Republicans believe the Iraq War was a mistake. Pretty costly one.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Great Read/S
++I am 2/3rds through Brian Krebs' Spam Nation:The Inside Story of Cybercrime--from Global Epidemic to Your Front Door. Krebs was the computer security writer for the Imperial Post until his stories demanded too many lawyers verifying his copy. He has gone on to create his own blog Krebs on security.com
++You could just read this as an account of a new form of global capitalism, a crime story or how hackers turned their trade into money. All those Viagra ads I get, actually deliver the drugs and don't rip off your credit cards. Krebs interviews customers of the virtual pharmacies and finds most are happy with the service. Why such a large American market? Almost all these drugs are cheaper overseas. Those "Canadian" pharmacies really ship from India or Hong Kong. The spam inserted in you computer is to generate more spam.
++Krebs fascinates with stories how the cybercriminals fund Russian sports teams as a way to pay off law enforcement and finagle their way into the Russian legal system to finance clerks to stall their investigations.
++When the Obama Administration started taking cybercrime seriously the man put in charge was none other than the EBOLA Tsar, a fact never mentioned in the press. He had previously been involved in cleaning up the virtual pharmacies.
++Krebs traces the origins of cybercrime back to Belarus and documents how they shut down all of Estonia's IT infrastructure, including banks, because they were attacking a rival cybercriminal family. From Belarus down to the Ukraine and some upwards to Russia.
++Krebs flies to Moscow to meet one head of a cybersyndicate and finds he is the same bullshitter in person as he was on the phone.
++The amount of documentation Krebs had to comb through is mind-numbing and the whole story of malware and the Internet Crime Forums, where junior hackers can get a start is beyond me and is probably only accessible to a younger generation.
++Spam Nation is accessible and a riveting read.
++Meanwhile the LA Times has an oped today on the Financial Transaction Tax, which I have supported for years, and why it will assist the middle class.
++Paul Krugman is interviewed by Ezra Klein in the VOX. Klein should learn to stay as much out of the conversation as possible. Krugman warns of pandemics that are certain to grow from globalism,is pessimistic Congress will achieve anything and speaks about liberals' fears that Hillary may be flirting with Clinton-Blairism that dictated the economic policies of the 1990s or the Third Way.
++Margaret Thatcher's papers have been released because the 30-year ban is up. Maggie wanted to rebuild the UK's chemical weapons program because of her fears in the Cold War and wanted to put commercials on the BBC. I don't know which is worse.
++Ed Kilgore at Washington Monthly ran a video of Jeb Bush saying that the science on climate change is not unanimous. This then led to a riff on Stem Cell research and anti-abortion. BUT to Jeb's Defense he is right. Climate change is not unanimous. I found a scientist named Dr. Zimmerman, who believes termites and cow farts release more methane into the air than human activity and cause more carbon emissions than your average coal plant. He's probably Bob Dylan's demented uncle. Of all the scientific papers on the subject, all of One , count it, One suggests humans are not responsible for climate change.
++But if that's Jeb's position, you can imagine what the next two years will song like.
++You could just read this as an account of a new form of global capitalism, a crime story or how hackers turned their trade into money. All those Viagra ads I get, actually deliver the drugs and don't rip off your credit cards. Krebs interviews customers of the virtual pharmacies and finds most are happy with the service. Why such a large American market? Almost all these drugs are cheaper overseas. Those "Canadian" pharmacies really ship from India or Hong Kong. The spam inserted in you computer is to generate more spam.
++Krebs fascinates with stories how the cybercriminals fund Russian sports teams as a way to pay off law enforcement and finagle their way into the Russian legal system to finance clerks to stall their investigations.
++When the Obama Administration started taking cybercrime seriously the man put in charge was none other than the EBOLA Tsar, a fact never mentioned in the press. He had previously been involved in cleaning up the virtual pharmacies.
++Krebs traces the origins of cybercrime back to Belarus and documents how they shut down all of Estonia's IT infrastructure, including banks, because they were attacking a rival cybercriminal family. From Belarus down to the Ukraine and some upwards to Russia.
++Krebs flies to Moscow to meet one head of a cybersyndicate and finds he is the same bullshitter in person as he was on the phone.
++The amount of documentation Krebs had to comb through is mind-numbing and the whole story of malware and the Internet Crime Forums, where junior hackers can get a start is beyond me and is probably only accessible to a younger generation.
++Spam Nation is accessible and a riveting read.
++Meanwhile the LA Times has an oped today on the Financial Transaction Tax, which I have supported for years, and why it will assist the middle class.
++Paul Krugman is interviewed by Ezra Klein in the VOX. Klein should learn to stay as much out of the conversation as possible. Krugman warns of pandemics that are certain to grow from globalism,is pessimistic Congress will achieve anything and speaks about liberals' fears that Hillary may be flirting with Clinton-Blairism that dictated the economic policies of the 1990s or the Third Way.
++Margaret Thatcher's papers have been released because the 30-year ban is up. Maggie wanted to rebuild the UK's chemical weapons program because of her fears in the Cold War and wanted to put commercials on the BBC. I don't know which is worse.
++Ed Kilgore at Washington Monthly ran a video of Jeb Bush saying that the science on climate change is not unanimous. This then led to a riff on Stem Cell research and anti-abortion. BUT to Jeb's Defense he is right. Climate change is not unanimous. I found a scientist named Dr. Zimmerman, who believes termites and cow farts release more methane into the air than human activity and cause more carbon emissions than your average coal plant. He's probably Bob Dylan's demented uncle. Of all the scientific papers on the subject, all of One , count it, One suggests humans are not responsible for climate change.
++But if that's Jeb's position, you can imagine what the next two years will song like.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Just My Two Cents
++Today, I've read all sides of the legal arguments for and against subsidies for Obamacare and the federal exchange. If the case is decided by law, the administration wins hands down. But the way the four judges made a power play to get the case means that four decided the case had been decided wrongly. Which means all bets are off.
++Citizens United reverse over 103-years of established law regulating campaign contributions. The Roberts Court eviscerated the Voter's Rights Act so that voter suppression played a huge role in this mid-term and will in the future. If Roberts is the corporation's guy than he should invoke the Chevron case and let the Administration win. He also had told opponents of the bill to win elections and change it that way. He may decided the same on this case,let the legislature handle this.
++The ramifications of them decided against the tax subsidies have been captured in Paul Krugman's column today about the corrupt court. Millions would be affected and thousands would die.
++As for my family, my son stays on the policy and I would limp onward to Medicare, unless the GOP eliminates that through reconciliation.
++President Obama gave a full-throated call for net neutrality and the Internet to be treated as a public utility. Carnival Cruz said this is "Obamacare for the Internet".
++Big e-mails today from the triumphant Right that they will repeal Obamacare and pass the XL Keystone Pipeline. On the latter, it may be a trillion dollar payoff to the Koch Brothers, who have sizable holdings in the Tarsands area of Canada. I would suggest the courts in the Midwest and the indigenous tribes in Canada may have a different idea.
++President Obama is off to China and will probably missed the outcry on the Ferguson Grand Jury ruling.
++I'm not so sure Obama isn't pleased with the GOP winning because he aims to have corporate tax reform the last two years, and fast track approval of at least the TransPacific Trade Pact. On the perpetual war,or Iraq 3.0, he will get the support he wants.
++The GOP says they want to impeach President Obama if he signs executive orders on immigration. Gee, what a surprise. But impeachment may actually have a positive effect of stopping the GOP from getting into more mischief. I imagine the world would be interested to see our first African-American wartime President impeached. Fascinating concept.
++It is incredible how the GOP is proclaiming a mandate after winning half of 32% of the American electorate and not campaigning on anything other than I am not Obama.
++Citizens United reverse over 103-years of established law regulating campaign contributions. The Roberts Court eviscerated the Voter's Rights Act so that voter suppression played a huge role in this mid-term and will in the future. If Roberts is the corporation's guy than he should invoke the Chevron case and let the Administration win. He also had told opponents of the bill to win elections and change it that way. He may decided the same on this case,let the legislature handle this.
++The ramifications of them decided against the tax subsidies have been captured in Paul Krugman's column today about the corrupt court. Millions would be affected and thousands would die.
++As for my family, my son stays on the policy and I would limp onward to Medicare, unless the GOP eliminates that through reconciliation.
++President Obama gave a full-throated call for net neutrality and the Internet to be treated as a public utility. Carnival Cruz said this is "Obamacare for the Internet".
++Big e-mails today from the triumphant Right that they will repeal Obamacare and pass the XL Keystone Pipeline. On the latter, it may be a trillion dollar payoff to the Koch Brothers, who have sizable holdings in the Tarsands area of Canada. I would suggest the courts in the Midwest and the indigenous tribes in Canada may have a different idea.
++President Obama is off to China and will probably missed the outcry on the Ferguson Grand Jury ruling.
++I'm not so sure Obama isn't pleased with the GOP winning because he aims to have corporate tax reform the last two years, and fast track approval of at least the TransPacific Trade Pact. On the perpetual war,or Iraq 3.0, he will get the support he wants.
++The GOP says they want to impeach President Obama if he signs executive orders on immigration. Gee, what a surprise. But impeachment may actually have a positive effect of stopping the GOP from getting into more mischief. I imagine the world would be interested to see our first African-American wartime President impeached. Fascinating concept.
++It is incredible how the GOP is proclaiming a mandate after winning half of 32% of the American electorate and not campaigning on anything other than I am not Obama.
Friday, June 6, 2014
Dinner
++Jennifer Rubin slips back into her regular disguise of hyping a GOP presidential candidate. This time she makes the case that Gov.Perry of Texas will restore America's place in the world.
++Reince Preibus has a lot of explaining to do. 500,000 signs saying Impeach Obama for not getting Sgt.Burgdahl home from captivity were found behind the RNC in dumpsters. He claims he knows nothing about them.
++Newsmax has Ronald Reagan's speech on D-Day for your enjoyment. If you want a youthful sounding President Obama speak eloquently, check out his speech today which may have surpassed the Gipper. Contrary to rightwing blogs, the President received a sustained and rousing standing ovation.
++President Obama did speak to Vladimir Putin. The French put out a Vine video, which makes Obama tower over Putin, who seemed to crawl backwards in fright. The State Department said they spoke for ten to fifteen minutes. An unhappy looking Angela Merkel also met with Putin and urged him to negotiate a ceasefire in the Ukraine. Putin also met with the new Ukrainian President and said he was sending a representative to his inauguration.
++A Cliven Bundy style sovereign citizen shot up a Georgia Courthouse and had bombs in his car before he was slain.
++The Right has gone ballistic over Eric Holder reconstituting the domestic terrorism unit. Alex Jones has camped out on RT television to talk about concentration camps being erected for dissidents. The motivation behind the DOJ decision was the mounting evidence supplied by the Southern Poverty Law Center about the rise of extreme right violent groups.
++Senator Diane Feinstein is grumpy over Obama not telling her about the release of Bergdahl so she says that the Army sergeant wasn't "close to death". A military source leaked that Bergdahl may have left his camp to search to arrange a local ceasefire with the Taliban. Interesting idea.
++Anthony Scalia was a big hit today. He was mentioned 13 times in the Federal Judge's opinion overturning Wisconsin's anti-same sex law. I guess that makes 20 states now and counting.
++Indeed,a couple filed a case against North Dakota for its prohibition of same sex marriage, leaving no state challenged.
++Paul Krugman noticed the same thing I have about the GOP's response to President Obama's epochal climate change decision on carbon emissions. Crickets. I'm sure they will recharge next week.
++The Texas GOP passed a resolution against the EPA,for therapy to change The Gay,a special prosecutor for Benghazi,and against Common Core.
++Ohio Republican legislators are trying to outlaw IUDs as a contraceptive arguing they are a form of abortion.
++If you want to know about the Senate race in Mississippi,there is no one better at analysis of the strange Southern mind than Ed Kilgore at the Washington Monthly. This is a beyond strange race between a tea bagger and good ole' boy Thad Cochran.
++John Podesta said that climate-deniers will be toast in 2016.
++Al Sharpton's show has a series of ads Democrats are running against Republicans early to prevent them from escaping the box of the extreme right policies they have voted for and endorsed in the past. The idea is to prevent them presenting themselves as moderate in the general election. The ads were quite effective.
++Reince Preibus has a lot of explaining to do. 500,000 signs saying Impeach Obama for not getting Sgt.Burgdahl home from captivity were found behind the RNC in dumpsters. He claims he knows nothing about them.
++Newsmax has Ronald Reagan's speech on D-Day for your enjoyment. If you want a youthful sounding President Obama speak eloquently, check out his speech today which may have surpassed the Gipper. Contrary to rightwing blogs, the President received a sustained and rousing standing ovation.
++President Obama did speak to Vladimir Putin. The French put out a Vine video, which makes Obama tower over Putin, who seemed to crawl backwards in fright. The State Department said they spoke for ten to fifteen minutes. An unhappy looking Angela Merkel also met with Putin and urged him to negotiate a ceasefire in the Ukraine. Putin also met with the new Ukrainian President and said he was sending a representative to his inauguration.
++A Cliven Bundy style sovereign citizen shot up a Georgia Courthouse and had bombs in his car before he was slain.
++The Right has gone ballistic over Eric Holder reconstituting the domestic terrorism unit. Alex Jones has camped out on RT television to talk about concentration camps being erected for dissidents. The motivation behind the DOJ decision was the mounting evidence supplied by the Southern Poverty Law Center about the rise of extreme right violent groups.
++Senator Diane Feinstein is grumpy over Obama not telling her about the release of Bergdahl so she says that the Army sergeant wasn't "close to death". A military source leaked that Bergdahl may have left his camp to search to arrange a local ceasefire with the Taliban. Interesting idea.
++Anthony Scalia was a big hit today. He was mentioned 13 times in the Federal Judge's opinion overturning Wisconsin's anti-same sex law. I guess that makes 20 states now and counting.
++Indeed,a couple filed a case against North Dakota for its prohibition of same sex marriage, leaving no state challenged.
++Paul Krugman noticed the same thing I have about the GOP's response to President Obama's epochal climate change decision on carbon emissions. Crickets. I'm sure they will recharge next week.
++The Texas GOP passed a resolution against the EPA,for therapy to change The Gay,a special prosecutor for Benghazi,and against Common Core.
++Ohio Republican legislators are trying to outlaw IUDs as a contraceptive arguing they are a form of abortion.
++If you want to know about the Senate race in Mississippi,there is no one better at analysis of the strange Southern mind than Ed Kilgore at the Washington Monthly. This is a beyond strange race between a tea bagger and good ole' boy Thad Cochran.
++John Podesta said that climate-deniers will be toast in 2016.
++Al Sharpton's show has a series of ads Democrats are running against Republicans early to prevent them from escaping the box of the extreme right policies they have voted for and endorsed in the past. The idea is to prevent them presenting themselves as moderate in the general election. The ads were quite effective.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Drips and Drabs
++The Donald says that Donald Sterling, owner of the Clippers, was set up by an awful "girlfriend".
++TMZ printed the photo that set off Sterling's racist rant. It was of his mistress with Magic Johnson, who sported his infectious smile. Why did Sterling's friends complain to him about Magic?
++Today Business Insider reports that Magic now wants to buy the Clippers. After all, he bought the Dodgers and brought Sandy Koufax back after Fox had smeared Sandy as "gay". Next we will have the Donald go on an anti-semitic rant.
++Egypt sentenced to death 683 dissidents, including the head of the Muslim Brotherhood, to death. And for all the promises of increased religious freedom,the New York Times yesterday found none under the military regime.
++The Obama Administration invoked new sanctions against Putin and his colleagues.
++E.G. Dionne has an excellent article in today's Post on the NRA and its current campaign of fear.
++Paul Krugman summarizes the lessons of Cliven Bundy, the High Plains Grifter.
++Howard Kurtz lambasts Fox News for ignoring Bundy's racism.
++A whopping 6% approve of Congress. 14% says Congress passes laws that improve their lives.
++It's official--Congress says it doesn't want to pass many laws this term.
++In a private meeting with the Trilateral Commission,John Kerry expressed frustration with the Mideast peace talks and said that Israel risked becoming an "apartheid" state and facing tremendous threats to their identity if the two-state solution doesn't materialize. Kerry threatened that if there is no more progress, he may leak his plan and say "take it or leave it".
++TMZ printed the photo that set off Sterling's racist rant. It was of his mistress with Magic Johnson, who sported his infectious smile. Why did Sterling's friends complain to him about Magic?
++Today Business Insider reports that Magic now wants to buy the Clippers. After all, he bought the Dodgers and brought Sandy Koufax back after Fox had smeared Sandy as "gay". Next we will have the Donald go on an anti-semitic rant.
++Egypt sentenced to death 683 dissidents, including the head of the Muslim Brotherhood, to death. And for all the promises of increased religious freedom,the New York Times yesterday found none under the military regime.
++The Obama Administration invoked new sanctions against Putin and his colleagues.
++E.G. Dionne has an excellent article in today's Post on the NRA and its current campaign of fear.
++Paul Krugman summarizes the lessons of Cliven Bundy, the High Plains Grifter.
++Howard Kurtz lambasts Fox News for ignoring Bundy's racism.
++A whopping 6% approve of Congress. 14% says Congress passes laws that improve their lives.
++It's official--Congress says it doesn't want to pass many laws this term.
++In a private meeting with the Trilateral Commission,John Kerry expressed frustration with the Mideast peace talks and said that Israel risked becoming an "apartheid" state and facing tremendous threats to their identity if the two-state solution doesn't materialize. Kerry threatened that if there is no more progress, he may leak his plan and say "take it or leave it".
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Pick A Number,Any Number
++The number of Americans that directly benefited from the ACA with signups is a staggering 19 to 26 million so far.
++Chris Weigant's talking points for Democrats is just say "and still counting". The initial phase of Obamacare has been more of a success than even the President boasts. Paul Krugman himself did his own victory lap saying that the Rube Goldberg mechanism of healthcare reform is alive and well and weirdly works.
++Blogger at Dailykos Mokurai has been tasked by Charles Gaba to keep readers posted. So let's see what the numbers look like. Brainwrap believes that the final numbers for March 31 signups will be 8.13 million,taking into account extensions. The actual final number for the day Obama announced over 7 million was 7.12 million, which exceeded the non-revised CBO projection. The Obama administration announced that 3 million were added to Medicaid.The actual number for Medicaid and CHIPS is now closer to 7 million. The sub-26s are 3.1 million but there is now dispute about this.
++Now the unknown-unknows are off-exchange sign-ups ,where people went directly to the health insurance companies for Qualified Plans. The number right now is 9 million.
++So if you add up off-exchange,exchange,sub-26ers,Medicaid and Chips you run into the 20 million.
++There will be a lot of nitpicking as we head forward but the enormous success of Obamacare has shown the pent-up demand in the US for healthcare.
++Don't worry Paul Ryan says there is no problem with the GOP repealing it. And he says that,"Of course, health insurance companies should be able to deny customers with pre-existing conditions."
++The next real challenge will be the court fight over the subsidies to the federal exchange.
++Yes, President Obama was right, "The ACA is settled. It is here to stay."
++Or as Joey Biden said, "This is even a bigger f**king deal."
++Chris Weigant's talking points for Democrats is just say "and still counting". The initial phase of Obamacare has been more of a success than even the President boasts. Paul Krugman himself did his own victory lap saying that the Rube Goldberg mechanism of healthcare reform is alive and well and weirdly works.
++Blogger at Dailykos Mokurai has been tasked by Charles Gaba to keep readers posted. So let's see what the numbers look like. Brainwrap believes that the final numbers for March 31 signups will be 8.13 million,taking into account extensions. The actual final number for the day Obama announced over 7 million was 7.12 million, which exceeded the non-revised CBO projection. The Obama administration announced that 3 million were added to Medicaid.The actual number for Medicaid and CHIPS is now closer to 7 million. The sub-26s are 3.1 million but there is now dispute about this.
++Now the unknown-unknows are off-exchange sign-ups ,where people went directly to the health insurance companies for Qualified Plans. The number right now is 9 million.
++So if you add up off-exchange,exchange,sub-26ers,Medicaid and Chips you run into the 20 million.
++There will be a lot of nitpicking as we head forward but the enormous success of Obamacare has shown the pent-up demand in the US for healthcare.
++Don't worry Paul Ryan says there is no problem with the GOP repealing it. And he says that,"Of course, health insurance companies should be able to deny customers with pre-existing conditions."
++The next real challenge will be the court fight over the subsidies to the federal exchange.
++Yes, President Obama was right, "The ACA is settled. It is here to stay."
++Or as Joey Biden said, "This is even a bigger f**king deal."
Sunday, December 29, 2013
The Benghazi Boomerang
++You knew it would happen. The New York Times today published an article about Benghazi. It is worth a read if you are interested in a complicated situation. The headline conclusions are that Al-Qaeda had nothing to do with the attack on the consulate or CIA-safe house,that is wasn't a planned operation and that no international terrorists had anything to do with it and that, yes, Virginia,it was caused by the anti-Muslim video that had also sparked the riots in Cairo. So I guess Susan Rice's talking points were not too far off. The Times piece got immediate pushback from Peter King of New York and Mike Rogers,the head of the House intelligence committee,who claimed that Al Qaeda was involved-sort of.
++My question is will Darryl Issa resign because of the New York Times revelations? Don't hold your breath. A tip-off from the beginning of this episode was the fact that Al Qaeda never claimed credit or made a statement on it. So Washington will debate this another week or so.
++I guess with Benghazi done and ACA rolling out, we have to go back to birtherism. Brainwrap, the new Nate Silver of healthcare, is overwhelmed trying to keep up with all the numbers. The Obama administration has announced 1.1 million have signed up on the federal website but they haven't released the news about the state exchanges. And yes, even the Amazon Post printed this morning stories about how getting health insurance is giving people a sense of security.
++But don't worry,1.3 million Americans lost their unemployment benefits yesterday. It is useful to remember that these people have been part of the middle-class before they lost their jobs. Local press coverage about this clearly puts the blame on the Republicans.
++The Amazon Post says that social conservatives lost the week. While they were all outraged about a Yuppie being suspended for Christmas over his "reality" show,conservatives didn't even fight back against the recent rulings on same sex marriage as the winds of change have taken hold. Josh Marshall at TalkingPointsMemo had an excellent article on the implications of both the Utah and Ohio decisions.
++Paul Krugman ends the year with "The Year of the Weasel", reminding us that we did not have hyperinflation and didn't become Greece. He also reminds us that none of those who predicted this have said they were wrong. Instead,they have moved the goalposts. An example of this is on right-wing websites who are now predicting the market collapse around March and urging everyone to start hoarding.
++The American "intelligence community", I thought it was an industry,not community,predicts that the "gains" in Afghanistan will all be lost by 2017. We're still leaving in 2014.
++John Kerry will be off to the Middle East next week to move the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The idea is to get to a final agreement by June. You have to admire the guy's persistence.
++Kobe Bryant is still injured and Abe Vigoda is still alive.
++My question is will Darryl Issa resign because of the New York Times revelations? Don't hold your breath. A tip-off from the beginning of this episode was the fact that Al Qaeda never claimed credit or made a statement on it. So Washington will debate this another week or so.
++I guess with Benghazi done and ACA rolling out, we have to go back to birtherism. Brainwrap, the new Nate Silver of healthcare, is overwhelmed trying to keep up with all the numbers. The Obama administration has announced 1.1 million have signed up on the federal website but they haven't released the news about the state exchanges. And yes, even the Amazon Post printed this morning stories about how getting health insurance is giving people a sense of security.
++But don't worry,1.3 million Americans lost their unemployment benefits yesterday. It is useful to remember that these people have been part of the middle-class before they lost their jobs. Local press coverage about this clearly puts the blame on the Republicans.
++The Amazon Post says that social conservatives lost the week. While they were all outraged about a Yuppie being suspended for Christmas over his "reality" show,conservatives didn't even fight back against the recent rulings on same sex marriage as the winds of change have taken hold. Josh Marshall at TalkingPointsMemo had an excellent article on the implications of both the Utah and Ohio decisions.
++Paul Krugman ends the year with "The Year of the Weasel", reminding us that we did not have hyperinflation and didn't become Greece. He also reminds us that none of those who predicted this have said they were wrong. Instead,they have moved the goalposts. An example of this is on right-wing websites who are now predicting the market collapse around March and urging everyone to start hoarding.
++The American "intelligence community", I thought it was an industry,not community,predicts that the "gains" in Afghanistan will all be lost by 2017. We're still leaving in 2014.
++John Kerry will be off to the Middle East next week to move the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The idea is to get to a final agreement by June. You have to admire the guy's persistence.
++Kobe Bryant is still injured and Abe Vigoda is still alive.
Friday, December 27, 2013
The Wingnuts Return
++It didn't take long. The anti-Obamacare hate mail has started again. This time it is the cost of malfunctioning websites in Hawaii,Oregon,Vermont and Massachusetts. Yes,they have been a bother and Massachusetts and Vermont are withholding payment from the contractor. But is this how deep in the weeds they will go?
++Apparently,yes. Americans for the Prosperity of the Koch Brothers have unleashed ads against first-term Democrats attacking them for the failures of Obamacare. These ads feature actors who claim they had multiple heart attacks and now they received a letter from the insurance company saying they were cancelled. Good thing they won't be banned from insurance for pre-existing conditions. This will continue through 2014 and beyond.
++Mitch McConnell has said the number 1 priority for him in 2014 is the repeal of Obamacare. The New York Times, which pretends this people are normal,says that now the law is in effect the Republicans are debating how best to deal with the law--gut it. The Times neglected to mention that because millions more will have healthcare that won't stop the GOP from going after it. After all,they have gone after foodstamps and unemployment insurance. Why should people who now have healthcare insurance benefit?
++Jared Bernstein in today's Huffington Post goes into detail about how Food stamps and unemployment insurance works during the Great recession and how as we climb out of it they taper off. That's why it is nuts to cut them further.
++Paul Krugman is hip to the game in today's op-ed "the Fear Economy". Krugman writes how corporations actually can manage quite well with a moderate depression. This allows them to suppress wages and cut benefits because employees are living in a state of fear.
++Robert Parry writes for Consortium News about "Obama's Not So Bad Year". Parry focuses on Obama changing the dynamic of our Middle East policy and how the Beltway pundits conditioned by years of the neoconservatives blast Obama for this so-called "Failure".
++I like Eugene Robinson but his column this morning on the civil war among the GOP is just wishful thinking. Gene talks about the CNN polls which show the public favor the GOP in the mid-terms but that the GOP doesn't have any ideas. That maybe true but they whipped up 2010 without any ideas either.
++It should be noted that at least three polls have shown Democrats with at least a three point margin in the generic poll. Others point out the inconsistency of Americans hating Congress and giving it a single digit approval rating but wanting the GOP to control it. Democracy Corps a few weeks ago--long enough after the shutdown to be relevant--pointed out that in swing districts ,which would determine the control the House,the races are very close. But readers should remember 150 GOP House members are running unopposed.
++Kudos to Brainwrap for having his Excel sheets referred to in the Washington Post concerning the signups of Obamacare.
++What was President Obama's best decision this year? You can debate about certain nominations to the court and to the administration. But my candidate is the decision he did not make--Approving the Keystone XL Pipeline. The Washington Times yesterday went ape about this because there is now a conflict of interest investigation into the State Department's approval process. Remember Keystone would raise gas prices in the Midwest and would not provide any oil to the United States or create significant jobs.
++Tomorrow 1.3 million Americans will not receive their unemployment compensation.
++Apparently,yes. Americans for the Prosperity of the Koch Brothers have unleashed ads against first-term Democrats attacking them for the failures of Obamacare. These ads feature actors who claim they had multiple heart attacks and now they received a letter from the insurance company saying they were cancelled. Good thing they won't be banned from insurance for pre-existing conditions. This will continue through 2014 and beyond.
++Mitch McConnell has said the number 1 priority for him in 2014 is the repeal of Obamacare. The New York Times, which pretends this people are normal,says that now the law is in effect the Republicans are debating how best to deal with the law--gut it. The Times neglected to mention that because millions more will have healthcare that won't stop the GOP from going after it. After all,they have gone after foodstamps and unemployment insurance. Why should people who now have healthcare insurance benefit?
++Jared Bernstein in today's Huffington Post goes into detail about how Food stamps and unemployment insurance works during the Great recession and how as we climb out of it they taper off. That's why it is nuts to cut them further.
++Paul Krugman is hip to the game in today's op-ed "the Fear Economy". Krugman writes how corporations actually can manage quite well with a moderate depression. This allows them to suppress wages and cut benefits because employees are living in a state of fear.
++Robert Parry writes for Consortium News about "Obama's Not So Bad Year". Parry focuses on Obama changing the dynamic of our Middle East policy and how the Beltway pundits conditioned by years of the neoconservatives blast Obama for this so-called "Failure".
++I like Eugene Robinson but his column this morning on the civil war among the GOP is just wishful thinking. Gene talks about the CNN polls which show the public favor the GOP in the mid-terms but that the GOP doesn't have any ideas. That maybe true but they whipped up 2010 without any ideas either.
++It should be noted that at least three polls have shown Democrats with at least a three point margin in the generic poll. Others point out the inconsistency of Americans hating Congress and giving it a single digit approval rating but wanting the GOP to control it. Democracy Corps a few weeks ago--long enough after the shutdown to be relevant--pointed out that in swing districts ,which would determine the control the House,the races are very close. But readers should remember 150 GOP House members are running unopposed.
++Kudos to Brainwrap for having his Excel sheets referred to in the Washington Post concerning the signups of Obamacare.
++What was President Obama's best decision this year? You can debate about certain nominations to the court and to the administration. But my candidate is the decision he did not make--Approving the Keystone XL Pipeline. The Washington Times yesterday went ape about this because there is now a conflict of interest investigation into the State Department's approval process. Remember Keystone would raise gas prices in the Midwest and would not provide any oil to the United States or create significant jobs.
++Tomorrow 1.3 million Americans will not receive their unemployment compensation.
Friday, December 6, 2013
A Break from Mandela and Back to Business
++The economy grew by 3.6% in the third quarter. That's higher than Commerce said last month--2.8%. Put an asterisk behind that as various economists argue it is unsustainable.
++Jobless claims were 298,000, the lowest in six years.
++The Jobs numbers for November are out this morning. The economy added 203,000 jobs and unemployment is now down to 7%. Steve Benen at RachelMaddow Blog reminds us that the job creation rate is the best since 2005 and second best since 1999. As this blog has argued, if you pass the Transportation Bill and other job creating measures offered by President Obama, we would be at 5-5.5% unemployment.
++Paul Krugman gets out of his funk and praises President Obama's economic speech as that of the guy we voted for in 2008.
++President Obama signed an executive order mandating that the government triple their use of renewable energy in seven years, bringing the percentage to 20%.
++Michael Tomasky wrote in the Daily Beast an article entitled "Why Obamacare could help the Democrats in 2014". He talks about his good experience with the website HealthCare.gov.
++Ezra Klein argues that Obamacare will not meet the 7 million the CBO projected by March. Instead, he argues that success has to be measured by the ratio of younger,healthier enrollees to older,sicker ones. Despite the polls showing millennials are tiring of President Obama, that ratio is holding up.
++Californiacovered--the real California website is seeing a surge of enrollees. Obamacaresignups.net is showing that Medicaid and private insurance combined is now over 2 million nationwide.
++The Commonwealth Fund has released a report that shows that those states who refused to expand Medicaid will lose billions and still have to paid additional billions for the Medicaid people in their states. Texas will lose 9.2 billion, Florida 5 billion,Georgia 2.9 billion, Virginia 2.8 billion,and North Carolina 2.6 billion. Remember for the first three years, the Federal Government picks up the whole tab and in outgoing years 90%.
++We are seeing Medicaid increasing in South Carolina by a larger percent than was expected. Governor Haley has refused to expand Medicaid there.
++The net result of states refusing the Medicaid expansion is that over 5.5 million people eligible for Medicaid will remain uninsured,forcing hospitals in the South to curb their services or go out of business.
++A new poll demonstrates how isolationist America has become. Today,52% of Americans believe we should mind our own business and not get involved overseas.
++The RNC is readying their opposition to Hillary Clinton's presidential bid. Remember the RNC believed Ms. Clinton was going to be the candidate in 2008. They compiled a dossier of over 1,000 pages on her--which included her B.A. thesis on Saul Alinsky. That's why you have heard the Right target Barack Obama with a connection to Alinsky. They didn't have anyone to use their opposition research on. Now the RNC is training House members how to deal with women. Part of this is that Hillary Clinton would get 35% of the Republican Women. Reince Preibus hinted one angle of attack would be "BENGHAZI".
++Contrary to the predictions of "wave elections",The Post crunched the numbers and said the Democrats may lose 5 seats in the House in 2014. The Senate has been and still is up for grabs.
++One innovative progressive blogger tried to fathom how there is so much animosity from the Right on Obamacare. It's simple--3.8%. That's the number to keep in mind. Wealthier Americans, who depend on investment income, don't pay unemployment taxes or the social security taxes. But under Obamacare, they pay a 3.8% Medicare tax. If you are the Koch Brothers,that is a lot of bread. So investing millions in the campaign to stop Obamacare,is a great investment.
++The Post is being a little cheery about a budget deal,saying the GOP doesn't want to aggressively push their agenda this year. Nancy Pelosi is pushing back that unemployment benefits must be extended into next year. I will believe it when I see it.
++President Obama gave an hour interview with Chris Matthews before a younger crowd. It got rave reviews. Perhaps, it is because Obama was allowed to argument his case at length without interruptions.
++I may or may not do a post on the Right's reactions to Nelson Mandela's death. They will as vile as the rhetoric we hear daily about President Obama.
++Jobless claims were 298,000, the lowest in six years.
++The Jobs numbers for November are out this morning. The economy added 203,000 jobs and unemployment is now down to 7%. Steve Benen at RachelMaddow Blog reminds us that the job creation rate is the best since 2005 and second best since 1999. As this blog has argued, if you pass the Transportation Bill and other job creating measures offered by President Obama, we would be at 5-5.5% unemployment.
++Paul Krugman gets out of his funk and praises President Obama's economic speech as that of the guy we voted for in 2008.
++President Obama signed an executive order mandating that the government triple their use of renewable energy in seven years, bringing the percentage to 20%.
++Michael Tomasky wrote in the Daily Beast an article entitled "Why Obamacare could help the Democrats in 2014". He talks about his good experience with the website HealthCare.gov.
++Ezra Klein argues that Obamacare will not meet the 7 million the CBO projected by March. Instead, he argues that success has to be measured by the ratio of younger,healthier enrollees to older,sicker ones. Despite the polls showing millennials are tiring of President Obama, that ratio is holding up.
++Californiacovered--the real California website is seeing a surge of enrollees. Obamacaresignups.net is showing that Medicaid and private insurance combined is now over 2 million nationwide.
++The Commonwealth Fund has released a report that shows that those states who refused to expand Medicaid will lose billions and still have to paid additional billions for the Medicaid people in their states. Texas will lose 9.2 billion, Florida 5 billion,Georgia 2.9 billion, Virginia 2.8 billion,and North Carolina 2.6 billion. Remember for the first three years, the Federal Government picks up the whole tab and in outgoing years 90%.
++We are seeing Medicaid increasing in South Carolina by a larger percent than was expected. Governor Haley has refused to expand Medicaid there.
++The net result of states refusing the Medicaid expansion is that over 5.5 million people eligible for Medicaid will remain uninsured,forcing hospitals in the South to curb their services or go out of business.
++A new poll demonstrates how isolationist America has become. Today,52% of Americans believe we should mind our own business and not get involved overseas.
++The RNC is readying their opposition to Hillary Clinton's presidential bid. Remember the RNC believed Ms. Clinton was going to be the candidate in 2008. They compiled a dossier of over 1,000 pages on her--which included her B.A. thesis on Saul Alinsky. That's why you have heard the Right target Barack Obama with a connection to Alinsky. They didn't have anyone to use their opposition research on. Now the RNC is training House members how to deal with women. Part of this is that Hillary Clinton would get 35% of the Republican Women. Reince Preibus hinted one angle of attack would be "BENGHAZI".
++Contrary to the predictions of "wave elections",The Post crunched the numbers and said the Democrats may lose 5 seats in the House in 2014. The Senate has been and still is up for grabs.
++One innovative progressive blogger tried to fathom how there is so much animosity from the Right on Obamacare. It's simple--3.8%. That's the number to keep in mind. Wealthier Americans, who depend on investment income, don't pay unemployment taxes or the social security taxes. But under Obamacare, they pay a 3.8% Medicare tax. If you are the Koch Brothers,that is a lot of bread. So investing millions in the campaign to stop Obamacare,is a great investment.
++The Post is being a little cheery about a budget deal,saying the GOP doesn't want to aggressively push their agenda this year. Nancy Pelosi is pushing back that unemployment benefits must be extended into next year. I will believe it when I see it.
++President Obama gave an hour interview with Chris Matthews before a younger crowd. It got rave reviews. Perhaps, it is because Obama was allowed to argument his case at length without interruptions.
++I may or may not do a post on the Right's reactions to Nelson Mandela's death. They will as vile as the rhetoric we hear daily about President Obama.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Black Friday
++President Obama hasn't resigned today as Larry Klayman demanded. A right-wing website said that President Obama has other plans--declaring martial law and putting Americans in FEMA camps. He will use foreign troops to do it.
++Politico today has an article on 50 people who have already filed papers with the FEC to run for President in 2016. Quite a crew. A fun read.
++A birther preacher claims the woman shot down after crashing the White House gates this past week was the mother of Obama's "love child".
++Cliff Kincaid of Accuracy in Media says that Pope Francis long papal letter on "reckless capitalism" shows the Marxist problem inside the Church.
++David Gregory interviews Cardinal Dolan tomorrow who says that the Catholic Church has been "out marketed" on same sex marriage and the Church isn't really anti-gay.
++Washington Monthly today has an analysis why the Post's warnings about a Republican wave election should be taken with a grain of salt. Democrats defended over 250 seats in 2010, many of them in Republican-leaning districts.
++Also in Washington Monthly, James Wimberley uses the various numbers on Obamacare and Medicaid expansion to write "Thanks to Obamacare,One million people now have health insurance".
++Brian Beutler in Salon writes about "What To Expect with Obamacare's November 30 Re-launch."
++Kathleen Sebelius at Huffington Post writes how to holiday shop on Healthcare.gov. Use the off-hours.
++Paul Krugman keeps on going. At first, he wasn't going to write about Obamacare but now he comes in with a blog on its Cost Savings.
++Tim Egan in today's New York Times writes" Rooting for Failure", an analysis on the GOP actually rooting for America to fail throughout the Obama Presidency. He asks the readers to try and remember when a major political party openly wished initiatives to assist Americans fail. From the auto bailout, the stimulus,the Affordable Care Act, the list goes on.
++Meanwhile, 76,000 New Yorkers have signed up for health insurance on that state's exchange.
++The Post worries today that maybe not enough young people will sign up for health insurance to make premium costs affordable.
++Buzzfeed has a story about a website that tracks those killed or injured during Black Thursday. Protesters here in Alexandria, Virginia were arrested at Walmart's and elsewhere in the state other shoppers shot each other.
++Politico today has an article on 50 people who have already filed papers with the FEC to run for President in 2016. Quite a crew. A fun read.
++A birther preacher claims the woman shot down after crashing the White House gates this past week was the mother of Obama's "love child".
++Cliff Kincaid of Accuracy in Media says that Pope Francis long papal letter on "reckless capitalism" shows the Marxist problem inside the Church.
++David Gregory interviews Cardinal Dolan tomorrow who says that the Catholic Church has been "out marketed" on same sex marriage and the Church isn't really anti-gay.
++Washington Monthly today has an analysis why the Post's warnings about a Republican wave election should be taken with a grain of salt. Democrats defended over 250 seats in 2010, many of them in Republican-leaning districts.
++Also in Washington Monthly, James Wimberley uses the various numbers on Obamacare and Medicaid expansion to write "Thanks to Obamacare,One million people now have health insurance".
++Brian Beutler in Salon writes about "What To Expect with Obamacare's November 30 Re-launch."
++Kathleen Sebelius at Huffington Post writes how to holiday shop on Healthcare.gov. Use the off-hours.
++Paul Krugman keeps on going. At first, he wasn't going to write about Obamacare but now he comes in with a blog on its Cost Savings.
++Tim Egan in today's New York Times writes" Rooting for Failure", an analysis on the GOP actually rooting for America to fail throughout the Obama Presidency. He asks the readers to try and remember when a major political party openly wished initiatives to assist Americans fail. From the auto bailout, the stimulus,the Affordable Care Act, the list goes on.
++Meanwhile, 76,000 New Yorkers have signed up for health insurance on that state's exchange.
++The Post worries today that maybe not enough young people will sign up for health insurance to make premium costs affordable.
++Buzzfeed has a story about a website that tracks those killed or injured during Black Thursday. Protesters here in Alexandria, Virginia were arrested at Walmart's and elsewhere in the state other shoppers shot each other.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Obamacare A Done Deal
++Kevin Drum of Mother Jones writes an article today with the above mentioned title. He reads into Ezra Klein's Wonkblog into today's Amazon Post and concludes that, while we will hear new complaints from the GOP,basically Obamacare is here to stay since the website is pretty much fixed.
++Paul Krugman says that the "whole horrors of Obamacare " meme will be gone ,not in months but in weeks. His article is titled, "The Obamacare Worm Turns".
++Kathleen Sebelius earlier today urged everyone to get back on line at Healthcare.gov. The website now handles 800,000 applications per day. Soon we will be watching the numbers of enrollees like the monthly jobs figures.
++Greg Sargent asks "What if the GOP's Stance on Obamacare proves a liability?" He writes in the Post that this is the real uncovered news story. He writes that the Democrats' losses in the generic poll have all come from wealthy white voters. Meanwhile, Medicaid expansion is widely popular. Sargent reported that Democrats fear losing the Senate because of Obamacare. Americans fear they would lose the Senate with the GOP in its present state.
++Dinesh D'Souza, former President of King's College and film maker of a documentary film on Obama which the Right circulated prior to the last election, says he is thankful the United States can survive "the adult Trayvon Martin in the White House". FOX News is trumpeting a new poll showing only a 39% approval rating for the President. For comparison, Ronald Reagan hit 33%, JFK 27% and FDR 36%.
++O' by the way, Congress's approval rating is 5% in a poll with a 3.5% margin of error. I guess the 1.5% are those same 1.5% who will have their insurance rates increase. The GOP has a whooping approval rating of 24%.
++Pope Francis launched a new papal encyclical blasting unfettered capitalism, "the idolatry of money", consumerism and decried the inequities of wealth within societies. He warned that reckless capitalism would breed "a new tyranny" and criticized supply-side economics as not being based on fact.
++Paul Krugman says that the "whole horrors of Obamacare " meme will be gone ,not in months but in weeks. His article is titled, "The Obamacare Worm Turns".
++Kathleen Sebelius earlier today urged everyone to get back on line at Healthcare.gov. The website now handles 800,000 applications per day. Soon we will be watching the numbers of enrollees like the monthly jobs figures.
++Greg Sargent asks "What if the GOP's Stance on Obamacare proves a liability?" He writes in the Post that this is the real uncovered news story. He writes that the Democrats' losses in the generic poll have all come from wealthy white voters. Meanwhile, Medicaid expansion is widely popular. Sargent reported that Democrats fear losing the Senate because of Obamacare. Americans fear they would lose the Senate with the GOP in its present state.
++Dinesh D'Souza, former President of King's College and film maker of a documentary film on Obama which the Right circulated prior to the last election, says he is thankful the United States can survive "the adult Trayvon Martin in the White House". FOX News is trumpeting a new poll showing only a 39% approval rating for the President. For comparison, Ronald Reagan hit 33%, JFK 27% and FDR 36%.
++O' by the way, Congress's approval rating is 5% in a poll with a 3.5% margin of error. I guess the 1.5% are those same 1.5% who will have their insurance rates increase. The GOP has a whooping approval rating of 24%.
++Pope Francis launched a new papal encyclical blasting unfettered capitalism, "the idolatry of money", consumerism and decried the inequities of wealth within societies. He warned that reckless capitalism would breed "a new tyranny" and criticized supply-side economics as not being based on fact.
MunichKatrinaObamacareBenghazi
++Mark Halperin really did raise the issue of rationing care at the end of life and believes this will be a big issue about Obamacare.
++Paul Krugman thinks Obamacare will soon become another Benghazi as enrollments soar. Krugman and Ezra Klein both report smooth sailing on healthcare.gov. Klein now says the Administration will conduct their outreach.
++Politico reports that Obama has asked his team not to seek better national news coverage about Obamacare but focus on local stories that are positive.
++The Amazon Post actually wrote a positive story about the Kentucky exchanges after it had been covered for weeks by television stations.
++The Post now raises the question about how the IRS will be able to handle the deluge now that the website can handle 800,000 a day.
++Paul Krugman in another article wrote about how Californiacovered is doing quite well and that if Obamacare works in the largest state it can work anywhere.
++Republican governors are now faced with a dilemma of how to avoid expanding Medicaid. Apparently,Florida is in secret negotiations with the Administration to expand Medicaid.
++The Supreme Court is actually entertaining the Hobbyland Case, where the owner pretends his business is a religious organization and should not offer birth control in his insurance plans.
++NPR did a weirdly positive story about California's efforts on Obamacare. Weird because they had that nasty interview with Jerry Brown last week.
++The corporate television still repeats the strange meme that Obamacare is like Katrina, which left thousands dead.
++Ed Schultz to his credit is the only one on television who keeps pounding away on the positive news from Obamacare.
++Polls suggest that Obama and the Democrats have taken a pasting on this news coverage and the GOP now leads the generic congressional polls. This is incredible after the Democrats were posting "wave election" numbers during the shutdown.
++Patty Murray (D.-Wash) says that the budget conference will have a small budget deal, where the Democrats and GOP split the difference. It is still dubious whether the House GOP will go along.
++Bibi Netanyahu threatened President Obama in the phone call on Sunday after the Iranian deal saying that Obama should be concerned whether he will remain the most powerful person in the world after this.
++Think Progress wrote a piece showing how the world now looks according to Bibi's Bomb Cartoon, namely a helluva safer and Iran further away from a nuclear weapon.
++The GOP howling over the Iran deal continues, likening it to Munich, which is a reference always used on negotiated settlements.
++Rachel Maddow last night showed how deft the diplomacy was. Not only did the Iran deal get done but also it was agreed that the Syrian peace conference will be convened. The Syrian opposition has accepted.
++The one agreement that looks strangely in doubt is the Afghan security arrangement. Susan Rice met with President Karzai and he made more demands after having agreed to the last agreement negotiated with John Kerry. The United States now threatens to leave without one.
++President Obama has established parole boards for the remaining 167 prisoners in Gitmo. Today,the Amazon Post published a story that the CIA has operation "Penny Lane", which turned Gitmo prisoners into double agents and then released them. The sooner we close the base the better.
++China declared an air defense zone over the contested islands with Japan. Naturally, the US military flew through it without notifying the Chinese. There will be more bluffing as we pivot toward the Pacific.
++President Obama lobbied again in California on the immigration bill and challenged John Boehner to pass it even in a piecemeal fashion.
++Andrew Sullivan at The Dish had a fascinating article after the Iran deal on President Obama as the Liberal Reagan. I don't know about the liberal since the President said in California he doesn't have a strong ideology.
++Paul Krugman thinks Obamacare will soon become another Benghazi as enrollments soar. Krugman and Ezra Klein both report smooth sailing on healthcare.gov. Klein now says the Administration will conduct their outreach.
++Politico reports that Obama has asked his team not to seek better national news coverage about Obamacare but focus on local stories that are positive.
++The Amazon Post actually wrote a positive story about the Kentucky exchanges after it had been covered for weeks by television stations.
++The Post now raises the question about how the IRS will be able to handle the deluge now that the website can handle 800,000 a day.
++Paul Krugman in another article wrote about how Californiacovered is doing quite well and that if Obamacare works in the largest state it can work anywhere.
++Republican governors are now faced with a dilemma of how to avoid expanding Medicaid. Apparently,Florida is in secret negotiations with the Administration to expand Medicaid.
++The Supreme Court is actually entertaining the Hobbyland Case, where the owner pretends his business is a religious organization and should not offer birth control in his insurance plans.
++NPR did a weirdly positive story about California's efforts on Obamacare. Weird because they had that nasty interview with Jerry Brown last week.
++The corporate television still repeats the strange meme that Obamacare is like Katrina, which left thousands dead.
++Ed Schultz to his credit is the only one on television who keeps pounding away on the positive news from Obamacare.
++Polls suggest that Obama and the Democrats have taken a pasting on this news coverage and the GOP now leads the generic congressional polls. This is incredible after the Democrats were posting "wave election" numbers during the shutdown.
++Patty Murray (D.-Wash) says that the budget conference will have a small budget deal, where the Democrats and GOP split the difference. It is still dubious whether the House GOP will go along.
++Bibi Netanyahu threatened President Obama in the phone call on Sunday after the Iranian deal saying that Obama should be concerned whether he will remain the most powerful person in the world after this.
++Think Progress wrote a piece showing how the world now looks according to Bibi's Bomb Cartoon, namely a helluva safer and Iran further away from a nuclear weapon.
++The GOP howling over the Iran deal continues, likening it to Munich, which is a reference always used on negotiated settlements.
++Rachel Maddow last night showed how deft the diplomacy was. Not only did the Iran deal get done but also it was agreed that the Syrian peace conference will be convened. The Syrian opposition has accepted.
++The one agreement that looks strangely in doubt is the Afghan security arrangement. Susan Rice met with President Karzai and he made more demands after having agreed to the last agreement negotiated with John Kerry. The United States now threatens to leave without one.
++President Obama has established parole boards for the remaining 167 prisoners in Gitmo. Today,the Amazon Post published a story that the CIA has operation "Penny Lane", which turned Gitmo prisoners into double agents and then released them. The sooner we close the base the better.
++China declared an air defense zone over the contested islands with Japan. Naturally, the US military flew through it without notifying the Chinese. There will be more bluffing as we pivot toward the Pacific.
++President Obama lobbied again in California on the immigration bill and challenged John Boehner to pass it even in a piecemeal fashion.
++Andrew Sullivan at The Dish had a fascinating article after the Iran deal on President Obama as the Liberal Reagan. I don't know about the liberal since the President said in California he doesn't have a strong ideology.
Friday, October 18, 2013
T.G.I.F..America Is Still Alive
++The GOP Dead-Enders are still taking the dead off the battlefield. The GOP Civil War has broken wide open and the Teabaggers are now fielding primary challenges to GOP Senators in Mississippi,Tennessee, Kentucky and South Carolina.
++Yes,the President did hold tough and the GOP got nothing--except what was already in the ACA law already about income verification.
++The initial cost of the shutdown was $24 billion for a stunt, the most expensive political charade in history. It will lower our GDP by .6%.
++While we escaped financial death this time,we all got wounded. Three contributors from the American Conservative--Rod Dreher,Josh Barro, and Daniel Larison launched attacks on the GOP and the TeaParty for the shutdown. Dreher in his excellent "Strangelove Republicans" hit upon something that was diving my anxiety throughout the shutdown. I lost two different retirement possibilities under W's Administration and have only begun to get above water. A default would have wiped me out and doomed any prospect that my wife and I could ever retire. Dreher points this out about millions of Americans and Barro says succinctly that the Republicans are "dangerously incompetent" and , as I noted this past week, forfeited their claim to governance.
++Charlie Cook switched 14 races from Republican to leaning Democratic because of the shutdown. In today's National Journal,Cook went further into questioning the GOP's strategy. He asked a psychiatrist what accounts for the GOP doubling down on what is obviously untrue. He answer he got was this was known as"hysterical delusional affirmation" or "delusional synergy". Writers such as David Frum and Andrew Sullivan have tagged this "epistemic closure", the inability of conservatives to deal with contradictory evidence that refutes their ideological claims. Cook's psychiatrist says this syndrome "entails the suspension of logical intellectual processes with a selective consideration of only confirmatory input."
++While the Obamacare roll out for the uninsured has been a technological mess, Democracy Corps has found that a majority of Americans know believe you should just fix it and not repeal it or even defund it.
++Shivers went down my spine when I realized that the budget conference between the Senate and the House meant debates over the Ryan budget. However,there were good signs. Harry Reid blasted the idea of social security cuts for increased defense spending and appointed Bernie Sanders to the Senate group of negotiators. By this morning,the budget team of both the House and the Senate said that there would be no Grand Bargain and that they were aiming at building confidence measures rather than going for an over-arching long-term fix to the debt.
++On Monday,New Jersey becomes the 14th state to recognize same-sex marriage.
++In Virginia, usually the Governorship is on by the party not the Presidents. This year could be historic. T-Mac has been winning all the polls over the Cooch since July and got three more polls this week. However, the Cooch has managed to conduct a voter purge ,which the Federal Court upheld today,all the way until the election.
++Real bettors are now waging that the Democrats will win the House. I'll wait until the dust dies down.
++Paul Krugman, who actually knows more than I do about the economy,agrees with me that without the shutdown and the January obstruction,the economy would show a 6% unemployment based on macroeconomics. If you added anything positive like the Jobs Bill,we would be back at normal. Remember that in the months ahead. All of this slowness in the recovery is entirely politically made.
++The GOP has a new spin that even Karl Rove is circulating. President Obama wanted this shutdown and he and Valerie Jarrett plotted the strategy to make Republicans look bad. Rove says this is to split the GOP and make the Party weak for 2014. Amazing! Then how does Rove explain the letter signed by 80 tea baggers to Boehner demanding a shutdown over Obamacare.
++The Teabaggers now vow to block Immigration Reform because this is another Obama plot to annihilate the GOP.
++While Senator Cruz would not rule out another shutdown, Mitch McConnell said that in no way is this going to happen and that the debt ceiling would not be held up. But that didn't work out last time.
Friday, August 2, 2013
The Congress Has Left The Building-Who would know?
** The House repealed for a record 40th time Obamacare.
**Rep. Issa now claims the IRS is obstructing his investigation and will subpoena records directly from the Treasury Department.
**President Obama intervened directly to solve the Obamacare problem for Congress and its staff, according to Politico, so the congress critters will not have to pay huge increases in insurance.
**The State Department shut down all the embassies in the Middle East and issued a terrorist warning for all travel because of threats of an Al Qaeda attack. Seems to be based on real intelligence that Al Qaeda and comrades out of the Arabian peninsula are up to something.
**Last night, the Senate approved without dissent 4 gay ambassadors and one gay official of the Justice Department. Times have certainly changed.
**The economy added 162,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 7.4%, the lowest since December 2008.
**Gun deaths since Newtown are at 6,734. The number exceeds American deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan.
**Believe it or not, the NRA has requested the Supreme Court overrule prohibitions against minors from owning guns.
**Vacationing Paul Krugman phoned in his blog claiming we are on the verge of Impending Chaos because Republicans have gone insane. Krugman's concern has been politely repeated in the Washington media who finally are waking up to the idea that there can be no budget deal in time for September 30, when funding for the government runs out. Instead, people are saying that we are looking at years of sequestration, which will gut the social safety net and erode the military. The trigger for concern was yesterday's failure of the Senate to pass the Transportation Bill, which would have passed if the Republicans didn't filibuster it.
**Senate Republicans are telegraphing that when they return from recess they will conduct a mother of a filibuster on all of President Obama's judicial nominees.
**There is movement on the Hill for changing the NSA and reforming parts of the Patriot Act. While true, caution should be taken because the problems with the NSA do not register significantly in the polls. The same can be said about torture,where a plurality approve--wherever polling takes place.
**Charlie Cook ranks the Kentucky Senate race a "toss-up". With Sam Nunn's daughter in the Georgia race,Nate Silver's 50-50 chance of the Republicans taking control of the Senate grows a tad dimmer. Lindsey Graham is being tea bagged in South Carolina. Reaction to North Carolina's passage of voter suppression laws and severe anti-abortion laws have bolstered Kay Hagan's chances at re-election.
**Another same sex couple in suing Oklahoma for recognition of same sex marriage.
**Lindsey Graham and John McCain are being sent to Egypt on behalf of President Obama to scout out the Egyptian military's position on restoring democracy. The administration refuses to acknowledge that it was a coup that overthrew Mohammed Morsi so that aid can continue. The Egyptian military has vowed to break up the pro-Morsi demonstrations.
**John Kerry has secured promises from Israel and the Palestianian Authority to start negotiations over the next 9 months to reach agreement on the final status of a Palestinian state.
**Bobby Jindal is heading to Iowa to test the presidential waters. Tom Harkin and Senator Dick Durbin are traveling to Steven King's district to pump for immigration reform.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Before the State of the Union
++The Senate voted again today to pass the Violence Against Women Act with 22 Republican male Senators voting "no". John Cornyn of Texas said the act didn't afford rapists due process before Indian courts.
++In about a minute, the Senate committee is supposed to vote out the Hagel nomination. Senator Imhofe said earlier that that Hagel will be held to the 60 vote standard in the full Senate vote.
++Senator McConnell said he wasn't interested in dealing with Joe Biden to avoid sequestration. The Defense Department faces a $85 billion cut and domestic programs will be gutted.
++President Obama is supposed to announce the withdrawal of 34,000 troops from Afghanistan this year. He is also supposed to talk more about the economy, a subject he avoided in his inauguration speech. The country needs Lift and he should provide it unless he gets bogged down in details.
++Ted Nugent, who said he would either be dead or in jail if Obama won a second term,will be attending the State of the Union address at the invitation of the Republicans.
++Marco Rubio this week was hailed as the Savior of the Republican Party ,which has a big gender gap problem. Today, Rubio voted against the Violence Against Women Act. That should help.
++The North Koreans have tested another nuclear device, which now goes along with its missiles. Maybe we will have to pay them attention.
++Pakistan, which already has nuclear capability, has tested missiles for launching nuclear weapons.
++President Obama is supposed to announce further cuts in our nuclear arsenal.
++Bibi Netanyahu is positively giddy that President Obama is going to visit Israel in March. The agenda includes Iran, Syria, and the negotiations with the Palestinians.
++The Syrian opposition has now seized major airfoils, a dam and now threatens the capital.
++The Treasury has announced that the U.S. actually had a surplus last month because of the increase in social security taxes.
++Thom Hartmann had an excellent show on how the austerity programs in Europe are encouraging the rise of fascist parties again.
++Paul Krugman continues his lonely campaign against austerity in the United States. The Beltway continues its discussion of the deficit, even though this year will be the first time since 2008 that the deficit dipped below $1 trillion.
++Out of sight, several GOP governors are signing on to the Medicaid elements of Obamacare, even though they opposed it. It happens to be a good deal for states.
++Sam Tannehaus had a long article in the New Republic on how the GOP will remain the white party and how it has embraced the politics of John Calhoun and his vision of nullification.
++On the day Galileo was born, Pope Benedict abdicated his position and will step down from the papacy at the end of the month. Being the first pope to abdicate for 800 years, his gesture is a one man reformation.
++The drone wars are the new cause celeb in the Beltway. I write more on it as we go along.
++The Gun legislation is still mired by hype and lobbying by the NRA.
++The month long discussion of the GOP re-branding itself so far has yielded very little. If anything, the House GOP is more Tea Party than not. Karl Rove's new effort to stomp out the Tea Party is being met with ferocious reaction and establishment Republicans are getting gun shy.
++Today, as the GOP thought to bring up Benghazi again. The latest rumor is that Obama was selling arms from Libya to Syria and didn't tell the ambassador. This was laughed out by Hillary Clinton. But there is no stopping people who believe this is bigger than Watergate.
++Lindsey Graham has threatened to hold up Hagel and Brennen until he gets answers from Obama about Benghazi. Not to be outdone, Dick Cheney said that all of Obama's national security team were "second-raters".
++President Obama has less than two years to accomplish anything else in his Presidency. Go for immigration reform.
++In about a minute, the Senate committee is supposed to vote out the Hagel nomination. Senator Imhofe said earlier that that Hagel will be held to the 60 vote standard in the full Senate vote.
++Senator McConnell said he wasn't interested in dealing with Joe Biden to avoid sequestration. The Defense Department faces a $85 billion cut and domestic programs will be gutted.
++President Obama is supposed to announce the withdrawal of 34,000 troops from Afghanistan this year. He is also supposed to talk more about the economy, a subject he avoided in his inauguration speech. The country needs Lift and he should provide it unless he gets bogged down in details.
++Ted Nugent, who said he would either be dead or in jail if Obama won a second term,will be attending the State of the Union address at the invitation of the Republicans.
++Marco Rubio this week was hailed as the Savior of the Republican Party ,which has a big gender gap problem. Today, Rubio voted against the Violence Against Women Act. That should help.
++The North Koreans have tested another nuclear device, which now goes along with its missiles. Maybe we will have to pay them attention.
++Pakistan, which already has nuclear capability, has tested missiles for launching nuclear weapons.
++President Obama is supposed to announce further cuts in our nuclear arsenal.
++Bibi Netanyahu is positively giddy that President Obama is going to visit Israel in March. The agenda includes Iran, Syria, and the negotiations with the Palestinians.
++The Syrian opposition has now seized major airfoils, a dam and now threatens the capital.
++The Treasury has announced that the U.S. actually had a surplus last month because of the increase in social security taxes.
++Thom Hartmann had an excellent show on how the austerity programs in Europe are encouraging the rise of fascist parties again.
++Paul Krugman continues his lonely campaign against austerity in the United States. The Beltway continues its discussion of the deficit, even though this year will be the first time since 2008 that the deficit dipped below $1 trillion.
++Out of sight, several GOP governors are signing on to the Medicaid elements of Obamacare, even though they opposed it. It happens to be a good deal for states.
++Sam Tannehaus had a long article in the New Republic on how the GOP will remain the white party and how it has embraced the politics of John Calhoun and his vision of nullification.
++On the day Galileo was born, Pope Benedict abdicated his position and will step down from the papacy at the end of the month. Being the first pope to abdicate for 800 years, his gesture is a one man reformation.
++The drone wars are the new cause celeb in the Beltway. I write more on it as we go along.
++The Gun legislation is still mired by hype and lobbying by the NRA.
++The month long discussion of the GOP re-branding itself so far has yielded very little. If anything, the House GOP is more Tea Party than not. Karl Rove's new effort to stomp out the Tea Party is being met with ferocious reaction and establishment Republicans are getting gun shy.
++Today, as the GOP thought to bring up Benghazi again. The latest rumor is that Obama was selling arms from Libya to Syria and didn't tell the ambassador. This was laughed out by Hillary Clinton. But there is no stopping people who believe this is bigger than Watergate.
++Lindsey Graham has threatened to hold up Hagel and Brennen until he gets answers from Obama about Benghazi. Not to be outdone, Dick Cheney said that all of Obama's national security team were "second-raters".
++President Obama has less than two years to accomplish anything else in his Presidency. Go for immigration reform.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Running Against The Fantasy Obama
After watching "The Road We've travelled", my mail box as filled with rightwing e-mails denouncing Obama for a flag with his face on it seen in Florida, the desecration of military cemeteries in Libya as confirmation of the folly of supporting the Arab Spring, and a Youtube of how President Obama's birth certificate was forged. None of this could sway anyone but reinforce the rightwing views of our radical, Marxist, Muslim, Kenyan-born President. Sometimes, I respond, "Feel the hate, Luke."
Jonathan Bernstein writing in today's Washington Post warns the Republicans about running against this phantom and believing their own nonsense. Today, Mitt Romney again remarked that President Obama never had a real job--say like bankrupting companies. Bernstein writes that you and your self-enclosed world may buy this but that no one is going to accept the President is inexperienced or that he's never had a "real job", like teaching constitutional law or ,more to my point, organizing communities wasn't a real job. The problem for Republicans is that if they recant on these fantasies they will be drummed out of the party and the Catholic Church or their local Mormon Tabernacle.
Yesterday, the President and the Vice President kicked off their campaign. The President didn't refer to his opponents by name but Vice-President Biden assumed the role of the attack dog. The Vice President was warming up his routine before going on to other "swing states". His was a populist economic message aimed at the middle class and warning voters that if they vote Republican they will "bankrupt the middle class". He wove enough anti-1%er language in the speech to take on Mitt Romney and he reminded Ohio voters that Mitt was for letting Detroit go bankrupt and that even Bain Capital had no money to bail out the auto industry, something Bain said at the time.
The Obama campaign has believed that they will face a battered Romney as the Republican nominee. Romney yesterday admitted the economy was getting better and that the recovery looked like it was going to hold. The more the economy does, the whole rationale for his candidacy starts to evaporate but if voters feel a recovery, they will remember who did the heavy lifting and how obstructed.
So how is Republican enthusiasm for Willard. Gallup today released a poll that GOP enthusiasm for Willard is far below its embrace of McCain in 2008.
Will you enthusiastically support your candidate--47% McCain; 35% Romney
Is Your Vote against Obama--35% McCain; 42% Romney
Will you vote for Obama --6% McCain ; 8% Romney
Stay Home --8% McCain ; 11% Romney
This blog has posted a few polls recently that demonstrate that Obama is getting his mojo back and re-capturing his 2008 coalition. Today, the Allstate(really)/National Journal/Heartland poll has President Obama's approval rating hitting 51% and his numbers among components of his coalition coming back to 2008 numbers. Obama still lags among white independents and white students. Otherwise, everything is about equal or above. 60% of the respondents said that the economy was improving and the majority give credit to measures taken by President Obama.
If you want an excellent Paul Krugman column, today's "Born Killers" is Krugman at his Nobel best explaining how oil prices work and how Republican calls for "Drill,Baby, Drill" will not cut prices or lead to greater employment. He does an excellent comparison of the current boom in South Dakota, which Republicans tout as their model, and the gas boom in Pennsylvania, which shows that in large populated states the oil and gas industry do not create enormous numbers of jobs. It is worth reading as Romney criticizes the President for wanting "alternative energy", while he wants an "alternative President"--yuck, yuck.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Good Things on July 4
I recommend E.J. Dionne's column about the meaning of this day and the emphasis the signers placed on the common good. As E.J. writes, the signers didn't hate government or laws,just the manner in which they were being enforced. While our independence day is July 2 or a month later when all the signers finished their work,it should be remembered that a good third of the signers lost all their property and wealth in standing up for independence. Another 9 were killed in the Revolution. Signing the document entailed real risks and many paid an enormous cost. I could do without the accusation against the King leaving the colonists to the threats of the wild Indian breeds.
Since the American Right would like to co-opt the whole American revolution, we should remember that the original tea party was a protest against the King granting the East India Company corporate tax breaks so they could wipe out the local American tea merchants. And,unlike revisionists who want to make them Christians, we should remember the gathering place for the make believe Indians were the Masonic Lodges in Boston.
For the future generations, I hope Greek Prime Minister Papandreau is wrong when he says,"The economic system is stronger than the will of the people."
The next few weeks--Obama's traditional bad season--should see some frightening occurences. Rand Paul, who would not know the common good if it hit him in the face, will filibuster the debt ceiling vote. This should make us remember that few gave America a chance to survive on the day of its birth. I find it ironic to have received an e-mail today from the Campaign for Liberty,Ron Paul's campaign, claiming that the situation today is similar to when Americans found against the King. This time we are supposed to fight our own government which I recall was democratically elected the last time I look--and perhaps the last democratically elected one will may have for a while.
While politics has become dreary recently, there are a few bright spots in our culture.
I recommend Steve Benen in his crusade against Mitt Romney's claims to being a job creator, If Steve keeps at it, his findings might find their way into the mainstream media, which has studiously ignored Willard's rather lame record on precisely what he thinks is his strength. Steve says that Romney is "leading with his chin" on this front.
Andrew Sullivan's website "Daily Dish" reminds us everyday that art,culture,science, religion and music may inform our lives more than the hackneyed debates in Washington. I especially love the website's use of poetry. The time-lapsed videos posted every few days reminds us of the beauty of planet earth. Beauty does matter. Andrew, a naturalized American, retains a fondness for the British Conservative Party and its strange austerity program. But to his credit, Andrew was aeons ahead in arguing the basic conservative nature of same-sex marriage and has lived to see the day when his lonely work has paid off.
Who would have ever thought that one of our leading ethical and moral leaders would turn out to be Dan Savage? I don't know whether that is a good or bad sign for our culture. Dan Savage has become immortal in our political life. Try to Google Santorum. When all the establishment gay organizations sat on their hands, Dan and his partner took the initiative to video, "It'll Get Better" to address the concerns of young gays, who were being bullied or afraid to come out of the closet. This simple campaign that has gone viral with celebrities, sports teams, even the White House taping messages is credited with saving hundreds of teenagers from committing suicide. While I miss reading about the furries in Savage Love, Dan shows that one person can make a real difference and is a reason for optimism in our troubled land. My political mentor, Bayard Rustin, would have loved Dan. Bravo for everything you do.
And thye digital generation keeps surprising us. Playing For Change reminds us that the relationship we have with music is global. If you've never heard them, check out the YouTubes or better yet buy the album with the DVD. Musicians from around the world collaborate long-distance on some of the world's best known songs.
For the geezer crowd, I recommend Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, a cinematic tribute to Paris and a fairy tale about the days in the 1920s of the "Lost Generation". Having walked the same streets less than a month ago,Woody Allen evokes the Paris I've known and loved--even if he's on the touristy side. And after all these years, he still maintains his grudge against California. And Carla Bruni was a nice touch as a tour guide at the Rodin Museum.
In Aspen. Bill Clinton resumed his role as elder statesmen and political analyst, which he is good at. Clinton likes Jon Huntsman as an authentic human being and a pretty good Governor, thinks Romney has picked up his game since last campaign and expressed surprise at Michelle Bachmann's prowess on the campaign trail even though he disagrees with her about everything. He concludes that President Obama will win re-election because he has a good story to tell and significant achievements to show. He says that the President's national security creds will be strong . He says this was true even before he got Bin Laden. He also warned Obama not to cave to the Republicans over the debt ceiling vote.
The Newt spent July 4th with his lovely bride Callista trying out his new niche issue campaign. Newt's new book on American Exceptionalism is out. Newt's problem in my view has been his courting the Religious Right with phony historian David Barton by his side and his funding of the anti-gay marriage efforts in many states. He decided to go hard right before he knew tha landscape and how his campaign would be depopulated. So correcting course to his more geeky side is going to be tough.
Joe Biden reminded me of Hubert Humphrey in his speech before the NEA, when he attracked the Republican assault on teachers and public employees as one of the "biggest scams" in American history. For his effort, NEA overwhelmingly endorsed Obama for a second term.
Maybe we should look more kindly on the Three Amigos--John McCain, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham--as sort of a nostalgia group, a reminder of the neocons. They can keep touring for the rest of their terms and remind us that we should never withdraw from a country we invaded and since we have such a large defense budget we should invade more countries. It's really best if McCain stays away from any discussion of tax issues because it reminds us all of the 2008 debacle when he suspended his campaign to set the country right.
These three on a tour to Afghanistan were horrified that President Obama would dare pull 12,000 troops out by the end of the year. The Left has widely criticized the President for not pulling out more since it's unclear what is to be gained by shoring up the Karzai regime, which seems to be endorsing the worse policy ideas of the Taliban daily. And, of course, why should we withdraw from Iraq at all. I mean Tim Pawlenty says it's a model for the region. Lieberman says that Iran is petrified by being surrounded by democracies. Does anyone listen to these guys anymore? That's why I think we should keep the Three Amigos around so that we never fall back into this kind of thinking again. At last count, the total costs for our liberation of Iraq and Afghanistan will total $4 trillion.
Karl Rove is still up to his mischief. Now he's picking up the theme of how the Obama Administration favors the Muslim Brotherhood. Some one should show him the photo of Ike meeting the head of the Muslim Brotherhood at the White House. I'm sorry, Karl, keep to producing the ads that the stumulus was a failure and that the Democrats want to cut Medicare benefits, while the GOP wants to eliminate it. Does anyone find it strange that the Swiftboat billionaires are bankrolling Rove's operation? Remember when the Bush White House swore this was an independent operation not connected to their campaign against Kerry?
Does anyone thiunk it's strange that Mitt Romney, a Mormon, says that marriage is between a man and a woman? How about a few women? Isn't that the tradition?
My challenge this July 4th is to avoid delving into all the nonsense being said by the GOP on the debt ceiling issue. I take the CBO view--Do nothing. Restore the Bush tax cuts and implement the cost-savings measures in the Affordable Care Act and the debt will be manageable. Better yet withdraw troops in a timely manner from Iraq and Afghanistan and cut defense spending where appropriate.
Another good thing about this country is Paul Krugman. While I don't agree with him calling Obama "Herbert Hoover", I do agree with him that we have instantly lost sense of any lessons that the 2008 financial crisis taught us. Here's hoping his predictions about the future are wrong. He got to be right once and let's leave it at that.
And who can neglect Rachel Maddow--the only fresh face on television who has both intellect and humor. Her reporting on DADT probably influenced the Obama Administration's decision more than we know. She has been ahead of the curve on reporting on the war against Americans in the states such as Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio. And we owe her a debt of gratitude for her constant reporting on the war against the uteri, the unnerving campaign to restrict reproductive rights in about two dozen states.
Enjoy the Fireworks!
Since the American Right would like to co-opt the whole American revolution, we should remember that the original tea party was a protest against the King granting the East India Company corporate tax breaks so they could wipe out the local American tea merchants. And,unlike revisionists who want to make them Christians, we should remember the gathering place for the make believe Indians were the Masonic Lodges in Boston.
For the future generations, I hope Greek Prime Minister Papandreau is wrong when he says,"The economic system is stronger than the will of the people."
The next few weeks--Obama's traditional bad season--should see some frightening occurences. Rand Paul, who would not know the common good if it hit him in the face, will filibuster the debt ceiling vote. This should make us remember that few gave America a chance to survive on the day of its birth. I find it ironic to have received an e-mail today from the Campaign for Liberty,Ron Paul's campaign, claiming that the situation today is similar to when Americans found against the King. This time we are supposed to fight our own government which I recall was democratically elected the last time I look--and perhaps the last democratically elected one will may have for a while.
While politics has become dreary recently, there are a few bright spots in our culture.
I recommend Steve Benen in his crusade against Mitt Romney's claims to being a job creator, If Steve keeps at it, his findings might find their way into the mainstream media, which has studiously ignored Willard's rather lame record on precisely what he thinks is his strength. Steve says that Romney is "leading with his chin" on this front.
Andrew Sullivan's website "Daily Dish" reminds us everyday that art,culture,science, religion and music may inform our lives more than the hackneyed debates in Washington. I especially love the website's use of poetry. The time-lapsed videos posted every few days reminds us of the beauty of planet earth. Beauty does matter. Andrew, a naturalized American, retains a fondness for the British Conservative Party and its strange austerity program. But to his credit, Andrew was aeons ahead in arguing the basic conservative nature of same-sex marriage and has lived to see the day when his lonely work has paid off.
Who would have ever thought that one of our leading ethical and moral leaders would turn out to be Dan Savage? I don't know whether that is a good or bad sign for our culture. Dan Savage has become immortal in our political life. Try to Google Santorum. When all the establishment gay organizations sat on their hands, Dan and his partner took the initiative to video, "It'll Get Better" to address the concerns of young gays, who were being bullied or afraid to come out of the closet. This simple campaign that has gone viral with celebrities, sports teams, even the White House taping messages is credited with saving hundreds of teenagers from committing suicide. While I miss reading about the furries in Savage Love, Dan shows that one person can make a real difference and is a reason for optimism in our troubled land. My political mentor, Bayard Rustin, would have loved Dan. Bravo for everything you do.
And thye digital generation keeps surprising us. Playing For Change reminds us that the relationship we have with music is global. If you've never heard them, check out the YouTubes or better yet buy the album with the DVD. Musicians from around the world collaborate long-distance on some of the world's best known songs.
For the geezer crowd, I recommend Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, a cinematic tribute to Paris and a fairy tale about the days in the 1920s of the "Lost Generation". Having walked the same streets less than a month ago,Woody Allen evokes the Paris I've known and loved--even if he's on the touristy side. And after all these years, he still maintains his grudge against California. And Carla Bruni was a nice touch as a tour guide at the Rodin Museum.
In Aspen. Bill Clinton resumed his role as elder statesmen and political analyst, which he is good at. Clinton likes Jon Huntsman as an authentic human being and a pretty good Governor, thinks Romney has picked up his game since last campaign and expressed surprise at Michelle Bachmann's prowess on the campaign trail even though he disagrees with her about everything. He concludes that President Obama will win re-election because he has a good story to tell and significant achievements to show. He says that the President's national security creds will be strong . He says this was true even before he got Bin Laden. He also warned Obama not to cave to the Republicans over the debt ceiling vote.
The Newt spent July 4th with his lovely bride Callista trying out his new niche issue campaign. Newt's new book on American Exceptionalism is out. Newt's problem in my view has been his courting the Religious Right with phony historian David Barton by his side and his funding of the anti-gay marriage efforts in many states. He decided to go hard right before he knew tha landscape and how his campaign would be depopulated. So correcting course to his more geeky side is going to be tough.
Joe Biden reminded me of Hubert Humphrey in his speech before the NEA, when he attracked the Republican assault on teachers and public employees as one of the "biggest scams" in American history. For his effort, NEA overwhelmingly endorsed Obama for a second term.
Maybe we should look more kindly on the Three Amigos--John McCain, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham--as sort of a nostalgia group, a reminder of the neocons. They can keep touring for the rest of their terms and remind us that we should never withdraw from a country we invaded and since we have such a large defense budget we should invade more countries. It's really best if McCain stays away from any discussion of tax issues because it reminds us all of the 2008 debacle when he suspended his campaign to set the country right.
These three on a tour to Afghanistan were horrified that President Obama would dare pull 12,000 troops out by the end of the year. The Left has widely criticized the President for not pulling out more since it's unclear what is to be gained by shoring up the Karzai regime, which seems to be endorsing the worse policy ideas of the Taliban daily. And, of course, why should we withdraw from Iraq at all. I mean Tim Pawlenty says it's a model for the region. Lieberman says that Iran is petrified by being surrounded by democracies. Does anyone listen to these guys anymore? That's why I think we should keep the Three Amigos around so that we never fall back into this kind of thinking again. At last count, the total costs for our liberation of Iraq and Afghanistan will total $4 trillion.
Karl Rove is still up to his mischief. Now he's picking up the theme of how the Obama Administration favors the Muslim Brotherhood. Some one should show him the photo of Ike meeting the head of the Muslim Brotherhood at the White House. I'm sorry, Karl, keep to producing the ads that the stumulus was a failure and that the Democrats want to cut Medicare benefits, while the GOP wants to eliminate it. Does anyone find it strange that the Swiftboat billionaires are bankrolling Rove's operation? Remember when the Bush White House swore this was an independent operation not connected to their campaign against Kerry?
Does anyone thiunk it's strange that Mitt Romney, a Mormon, says that marriage is between a man and a woman? How about a few women? Isn't that the tradition?
My challenge this July 4th is to avoid delving into all the nonsense being said by the GOP on the debt ceiling issue. I take the CBO view--Do nothing. Restore the Bush tax cuts and implement the cost-savings measures in the Affordable Care Act and the debt will be manageable. Better yet withdraw troops in a timely manner from Iraq and Afghanistan and cut defense spending where appropriate.
Another good thing about this country is Paul Krugman. While I don't agree with him calling Obama "Herbert Hoover", I do agree with him that we have instantly lost sense of any lessons that the 2008 financial crisis taught us. Here's hoping his predictions about the future are wrong. He got to be right once and let's leave it at that.
And who can neglect Rachel Maddow--the only fresh face on television who has both intellect and humor. Her reporting on DADT probably influenced the Obama Administration's decision more than we know. She has been ahead of the curve on reporting on the war against Americans in the states such as Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio. And we owe her a debt of gratitude for her constant reporting on the war against the uteri, the unnerving campaign to restrict reproductive rights in about two dozen states.
Enjoy the Fireworks!
Friday, April 29, 2011
"Americans, You've Gotten Too Expensive", Your Corporate Overlords
That's the message Americans are hearing at the Republican townhall meetings and it's just beginning to dawn on a few people. The Koch Brothers must be howling in laughter about naming their creation after a gay sex practice and now seeing these people express astonishment that their teabagger congressmen have voted to dismantle Medicare and Medicaid.
Remember Jack Germond, the veteran political writer. He reappeared in the Daily Beast with an article titled "Is Paul Ryan delusional?" Germond recounts the diasterous days of Newt Gingrich when he thought he could pull off a revolution. What astonishes Germond is the sense that the House Republicans, controlling just one small square of our political system, actually believe no one will notice their destructive behavior and that Americans will simply accept Paul Ryan's fantasy world.
Well, apparently, even with new Koch funded ads praising freshmen Republicans for voting for Ryan's plan,those citizens coming out to the town hall meetings feel they got suckered. Ryan himself had to escape through the back with a police escort and make a getaway in a different car than his own because his constituents were furious with his ideas.
In New Hampshire, ethically challenged Frank Guinta who rode the teabagger faux outrage to victory confronted real outrage at his town hall meeting. A 73-year old asked him whether he was in his right mind when he voted for the Ryan Plan. Guinta, trying to do the new GOP shuffle about how it won't affect seniors, said that these changes would be phased in. Whereupon, one Joe Platte, an eight grader, piped up and asked,"I'm 14, what am I supposed to do?
In North Dakota, a freshman congressman tried to explain to his constituents that everyone over 55 will be covered and protected. He said that the GOP was reforming Medicare to save it. People weren't buying it. A younger constituent said that if the GOP plan was so terrific why doesn't it affect seniors now. This got great applause.
I am absolutely delighted to see that Americans are demanding answers to my question,
"Who is going to insure the elderly under this plan?" So far no Republican has been able to answer this question. But Col. West come up with a uniquely American solution,arrest the constituent asking the question. A liberal blogger happened to ask him this very question, was hauled off, taken to jail and maced.
Paul Krugman in his "Conscience of a Liberal" blog keeps coming back to the Ryan Budget like a mongoose to the cobra. Krugman notes that the question is not that the Ryan Plan reduces the deficit in the right way--on the backs of all Americans except the wealthy--but whether it reduces the deficit at all. Good point. It is simply an ideological exercise to prepare the American people for being absolutely and finally ripped off.
Glenn Kessler writing in today's Washington Post does a fact check on the GOP's talking point that Americans will now have the same health care as members of Congress. Actually, this would be true if the GOP would fund the health exchanges President Obama supports. But in the Ryan Plan, Kessler notes that the government subsidizes the congressional health plans and under the Ryan Plan the whole point was to jettison health costs from government expenses. Kessler, not the first to point this out,notes that the Ryan plan shifts trillions of expenses on the elderly who can least afford it.
In Michigan , "El Duce" Rick Snyder unveiled his educational program. Here he dramatically cuts educational spending in the state, thus weakening the state's educational districts to the point where he will be able to appoint his platoon of emergency managers. The idea is to make the educational system profitable--that is to sell it off like an asset. This remarkable plan has been the brainchild of the De Vos family of Amway fame and the Princes of Blackwater fame, two Christianist families. A similar plan has just been adopted in Florida where we will have a "voucher" educational system, which will defund public education, for one run by profit-making corporations and religious organizations.
Pennsylvania's new Governor Tom Corbett has gutted that state's excellent college system,which was seen by state residents as a magnificent resource. He has told colleges that if they have natural gas under their campuses that they should exploit it to make up for the differences.
Alan Simpson appearing on panels around the country has become quite cranky as people are demanding increased taxes on the wealthy. He rightfully points out that we can confiscate all the wealth of the top 1% and not eliminate our debt. True, but, Alan, we can at least try.
The one who is really enjoying the spectacle of these popular reactions to the Ryan Plan is leftwing radio broadcaster Mike Malloy. Mike, who can be very dyspeptic about the state of the nation, has been enjoying watching all the white-haired teabaggers finally waking up to the fact that ,while they were protesting the Kenyan Muslim President, their corporate handlers have made them commit economic suicide.
And that is what the teabagger phenomenon is --a Ghost Dance to national economic suicide.
Mike Malloy raised a question that should be asked of Mike Huckabee when he declares for the presidency. Malloy pointed out correctly that the religious Right or American evangelicals almost all vote for Republicans, who favor the rich and act against the poor. Now this is against the teachings of the Messiah of these people. So does that mean that everytime the religious Right votes Republican, they are voting themselves into Hell. A theologically good point. This should be asked of former Baptist preacher Mike Huckabee.
What the outrage over the Ryan Plan shows is that some Americans are beginning to under the Republican Party and their corporate overlords believe they are just too expensive. They don't really bother to blame the blacks and the "welfare queens" anymore or the poor or undocumented workers as the cause of our economic woes. It's the American Middle Class. Now get used to it.
Make sure you get your "vouchers" at the door. Think they'll give you one for a time-share?
Remember Jack Germond, the veteran political writer. He reappeared in the Daily Beast with an article titled "Is Paul Ryan delusional?" Germond recounts the diasterous days of Newt Gingrich when he thought he could pull off a revolution. What astonishes Germond is the sense that the House Republicans, controlling just one small square of our political system, actually believe no one will notice their destructive behavior and that Americans will simply accept Paul Ryan's fantasy world.
Well, apparently, even with new Koch funded ads praising freshmen Republicans for voting for Ryan's plan,those citizens coming out to the town hall meetings feel they got suckered. Ryan himself had to escape through the back with a police escort and make a getaway in a different car than his own because his constituents were furious with his ideas.
In New Hampshire, ethically challenged Frank Guinta who rode the teabagger faux outrage to victory confronted real outrage at his town hall meeting. A 73-year old asked him whether he was in his right mind when he voted for the Ryan Plan. Guinta, trying to do the new GOP shuffle about how it won't affect seniors, said that these changes would be phased in. Whereupon, one Joe Platte, an eight grader, piped up and asked,"I'm 14, what am I supposed to do?
In North Dakota, a freshman congressman tried to explain to his constituents that everyone over 55 will be covered and protected. He said that the GOP was reforming Medicare to save it. People weren't buying it. A younger constituent said that if the GOP plan was so terrific why doesn't it affect seniors now. This got great applause.
I am absolutely delighted to see that Americans are demanding answers to my question,
"Who is going to insure the elderly under this plan?" So far no Republican has been able to answer this question. But Col. West come up with a uniquely American solution,arrest the constituent asking the question. A liberal blogger happened to ask him this very question, was hauled off, taken to jail and maced.
Paul Krugman in his "Conscience of a Liberal" blog keeps coming back to the Ryan Budget like a mongoose to the cobra. Krugman notes that the question is not that the Ryan Plan reduces the deficit in the right way--on the backs of all Americans except the wealthy--but whether it reduces the deficit at all. Good point. It is simply an ideological exercise to prepare the American people for being absolutely and finally ripped off.
Glenn Kessler writing in today's Washington Post does a fact check on the GOP's talking point that Americans will now have the same health care as members of Congress. Actually, this would be true if the GOP would fund the health exchanges President Obama supports. But in the Ryan Plan, Kessler notes that the government subsidizes the congressional health plans and under the Ryan Plan the whole point was to jettison health costs from government expenses. Kessler, not the first to point this out,notes that the Ryan plan shifts trillions of expenses on the elderly who can least afford it.
In Michigan , "El Duce" Rick Snyder unveiled his educational program. Here he dramatically cuts educational spending in the state, thus weakening the state's educational districts to the point where he will be able to appoint his platoon of emergency managers. The idea is to make the educational system profitable--that is to sell it off like an asset. This remarkable plan has been the brainchild of the De Vos family of Amway fame and the Princes of Blackwater fame, two Christianist families. A similar plan has just been adopted in Florida where we will have a "voucher" educational system, which will defund public education, for one run by profit-making corporations and religious organizations.
Pennsylvania's new Governor Tom Corbett has gutted that state's excellent college system,which was seen by state residents as a magnificent resource. He has told colleges that if they have natural gas under their campuses that they should exploit it to make up for the differences.
Alan Simpson appearing on panels around the country has become quite cranky as people are demanding increased taxes on the wealthy. He rightfully points out that we can confiscate all the wealth of the top 1% and not eliminate our debt. True, but, Alan, we can at least try.
The one who is really enjoying the spectacle of these popular reactions to the Ryan Plan is leftwing radio broadcaster Mike Malloy. Mike, who can be very dyspeptic about the state of the nation, has been enjoying watching all the white-haired teabaggers finally waking up to the fact that ,while they were protesting the Kenyan Muslim President, their corporate handlers have made them commit economic suicide.
And that is what the teabagger phenomenon is --a Ghost Dance to national economic suicide.
Mike Malloy raised a question that should be asked of Mike Huckabee when he declares for the presidency. Malloy pointed out correctly that the religious Right or American evangelicals almost all vote for Republicans, who favor the rich and act against the poor. Now this is against the teachings of the Messiah of these people. So does that mean that everytime the religious Right votes Republican, they are voting themselves into Hell. A theologically good point. This should be asked of former Baptist preacher Mike Huckabee.
What the outrage over the Ryan Plan shows is that some Americans are beginning to under the Republican Party and their corporate overlords believe they are just too expensive. They don't really bother to blame the blacks and the "welfare queens" anymore or the poor or undocumented workers as the cause of our economic woes. It's the American Middle Class. Now get used to it.
Make sure you get your "vouchers" at the door. Think they'll give you one for a time-share?
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