++Jeb changed his campaign team before his launch. While it was a shuffle,GOP insiders had complained that JEB had promised that he would be leading and then release his SuperPac Money Bomb and drown the competition and be the Inevitable One.
++Problem is that his money bomb isn't going to make the $100 million number when he launches.
++His digital communications quite because he claimed that Jeb in going to go heavy into television ads. The model for his campaign is his brother's 1999 campaign where George W. convinced his party there could be nothing but surrender to his candidacy.
++Rachel Maddow interviewed Lincoln Chaffee on his unorthodox career but stumbled on a weird fact. Lincoln lived in the same dorm with Jeb at Andover and knew him early in his career. Chaffee broke with the Republicans because he could not trust W. Chaffee actually visited the CIA and was briefed as Senator on WMDs in Iraq and came away saying there was nothing there. Consequently he voted against the Iraq War and ,as he told Rachel,someone has to stand against perpetual war.
++Mike Gerson said that it is true Rand Paul's campaign is in total disarray but that any GOP candidate is only one debate away becoming a contender. But Paul has also pissed off his colleagues on the NSA issue because they accuse him of lying about the surveillance program and trying to get credit about the bill that was passed even though he had nothing to do with it.
++Ted Cruz held a mock hearing inviting HHS officials to debate Obama subsidies. The Department declined because the subject was being litigated/
++The GOP is ramping up its anti Obamacare rhetoric. They claim they have a substitute if the government loses at SCOTUS but even here there was in complete shambles.
++Steve Benen at MaddowBlog writes about President Obama doing a victory lap over Obamacare. The President's point was not only that it registered millions and drastically reduced the uninsured,it effectively is now the American health insurance system five years later. He knows a Supreme court ruling would not only take health insurance away from 6 million and lead to 9,000 deaths per year but that the whole system would be jeopardized.
++Marco Rubio has been drawing criticism for his erratic personal finances. This time it is about his "unsinkable" boat he bought. Actually I think these stories don't hurt him because they make him human with chronic financial problems, something millions can relate to.
++The DONALD really is going to announce on the 16th and he told a Raleigh audience that they would be pleased. The Donald has a secret plan to defeat ISIS and he discussed this with the Pentagon who, of course, think it is brilliant. The Donald will be the job-creatorest of presidents because he knows who to do this. He is the only one who can save us now.
++The Hillary machine is getting into gear. Her kickoff in New York will be the official start-up of her 50 state organizing campaign. Yes, Iowa Democrats are crying for her to return. But I think they need the money.
++Former Senator Tom Coburn gave a frank interview with a conservative radio host and said he was horrified by the field of Republican candidates. He gave a person by person analysis . He favors Marco Rubio.
++Chris Christie wants to put a military option on the table against China. Think about that.
++Jeb gave his first strictly foreign policy speech and wants to get tough against Putin.
++Rubio gave a speech to say he would get tough against Russia and China.
++Scott Walker said he would re-invade Iraq.
++Chris Christie's Bridgegate problems won't go away as David Wildstein, his former aide, has given evidence against Christie. Christie is accused of leaking Grand Jury testimony. Bridget Riley is pissed at being thrown under the bus and is now suing for access to the Christie sponsored investigation that exonerated Christie.
++Ben Carson's campaign quit but his business manager Armstrong Williams says it's no problem. The various SuperPacs got into each other's way. He still polls well in Iowa.
++Nate the Great tells us we should not take the Wisconsin Straw Poll that showed Bernie Sanders at 41% too seriously. We didn't.
++Under the surface,various progressive websites do not recognize a reality about Hillary's campaign. She is locking up the permanent delegates like Democratic office holders, which play a key role at the convention. There are structural elements to her campaign like Obama's before hers that rarely get observed or mentioned. 50-state organization is key. Locking up delegates is another. Basically all Democratic-leaning think-tanks are in her corner. This doesn't leave alot of space for competitors.
Showing posts with label Rand Paul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rand Paul. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Riddle Me This, Batman
++Bernie Sanders has a higher percentage in polls than all the Republican candidates. Higher than the first four who get constant media coverage. So why doesn't he merit at least the same coverage?
++Bernie has appeared in the last few days in New Hampshire, Minnesota and Iowa. His appearance in Iowa got rave reviews with Democratic activists.Party leaders say he will be a force in the caucus.
++Meanwhile the networks are debating whom to invite to the Republican debates. Fox is toying with making sure Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson are on even though Fiorina doesn't register in the polls. The idea is to say the GOP is diverse.
++While I read complaints about Hillary Clinton on the democratic websites about her not talking to the press and the Clinton Foundation donations,few have mentioned her fifty state strategy and that she has 250,000 volunteers signed up in Texas.
++The Clinton operation ,according to the New Yorker,believes it has weathered the early storms well from the e-mails to the Clinton donations and just sees blue skies.
++Martin O'Malley is speaking now but prior to his announcement he called Hillary. The question is whether Sanders,O'Malley, and Chafee can raise enough money to run effective campaigns.
++The new hybrid situation of Super Pacs and grassroots contributions muddy the waters.
++This is particularly true of Rand Paul, who suddenly has reverted to his libertarian roots to try and block the Patriot Act, which is due to expire tomorrow. Ed Kilgore in the Washington Monthly examined the fact that Rand has a money problem and needed to revert to his father's network for moolah because he didn't win a billionaire.
++Bernie has appeared in the last few days in New Hampshire, Minnesota and Iowa. His appearance in Iowa got rave reviews with Democratic activists.Party leaders say he will be a force in the caucus.
++Meanwhile the networks are debating whom to invite to the Republican debates. Fox is toying with making sure Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson are on even though Fiorina doesn't register in the polls. The idea is to say the GOP is diverse.
++While I read complaints about Hillary Clinton on the democratic websites about her not talking to the press and the Clinton Foundation donations,few have mentioned her fifty state strategy and that she has 250,000 volunteers signed up in Texas.
++The Clinton operation ,according to the New Yorker,believes it has weathered the early storms well from the e-mails to the Clinton donations and just sees blue skies.
++Martin O'Malley is speaking now but prior to his announcement he called Hillary. The question is whether Sanders,O'Malley, and Chafee can raise enough money to run effective campaigns.
++The new hybrid situation of Super Pacs and grassroots contributions muddy the waters.
++This is particularly true of Rand Paul, who suddenly has reverted to his libertarian roots to try and block the Patriot Act, which is due to expire tomorrow. Ed Kilgore in the Washington Monthly examined the fact that Rand has a money problem and needed to revert to his father's network for moolah because he didn't win a billionaire.
Friday, March 6, 2015
Afternoon Coffee At Misha's
++Bob Menendez will face corruption charges for assisting a friend and a donor get government business, according to the DOJ.
++The House Democrats promised to save John Boehner's job in case the right stages a coup d'etat.
++Secretary of the Treasury Lew said that the government's borrowing power ends March 15th and he wants Congress to raise the debt ceiling. He said they will use their "emergency powers", which could bring the real debt ceiling in October or November, when Congress debates the new budget.
++Josh Marshall tells us the third poll since Bibi's speech hasn't shown much change. Zionist Union/Labor still holds a two seat lead over Likud. He suggests we won't know whether Bibi got a bounce until the end of the weekend.
++The White House is trying to stay out of the Hillary e-mail flap. But Gawker did say State did not have one email sent to Hillary from Sid Blumenthal, the man who created the term "right-wing conspiracy".
++The Daily Beast has a piece on how the Thatcher government hid a VIP Pedophile ring.
++The great redhead Rebekah Brooks got hired again by Rupert Murdoch for News Corp operations in the United States.
++Edward Snowden isn't coming back to the United States because he says he can't get a fair trial. But he is interested in settling in Geneva, Switzerland.
++Rand Paul was criticized for not being enthusiastic enough for Bibi's speech so he dined with GOP Jewish donors who claimed the American Jewish community would be voting Republican this coming election.
++John Lewis criticized the GOP leadership for not attending the Selma anniversary celebrations. He should have said that Pettis Bridge is named for a KKK leader and gotten them to come.
++The House Democrats promised to save John Boehner's job in case the right stages a coup d'etat.
++Secretary of the Treasury Lew said that the government's borrowing power ends March 15th and he wants Congress to raise the debt ceiling. He said they will use their "emergency powers", which could bring the real debt ceiling in October or November, when Congress debates the new budget.
++Josh Marshall tells us the third poll since Bibi's speech hasn't shown much change. Zionist Union/Labor still holds a two seat lead over Likud. He suggests we won't know whether Bibi got a bounce until the end of the weekend.
++The White House is trying to stay out of the Hillary e-mail flap. But Gawker did say State did not have one email sent to Hillary from Sid Blumenthal, the man who created the term "right-wing conspiracy".
++The Daily Beast has a piece on how the Thatcher government hid a VIP Pedophile ring.
++The great redhead Rebekah Brooks got hired again by Rupert Murdoch for News Corp operations in the United States.
++Edward Snowden isn't coming back to the United States because he says he can't get a fair trial. But he is interested in settling in Geneva, Switzerland.
++Rand Paul was criticized for not being enthusiastic enough for Bibi's speech so he dined with GOP Jewish donors who claimed the American Jewish community would be voting Republican this coming election.
++John Lewis criticized the GOP leadership for not attending the Selma anniversary celebrations. He should have said that Pettis Bridge is named for a KKK leader and gotten them to come.
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Things I Missed While Finishing My Taxes
++I missed Vishnu Jindal showing up for the Governors' Conference and protesting outside the White House, saying that President Obama wasn't qualified to be Commander-In-Chief. Gee, I wish he told us six years ago.
++CPAC just opened up today and the Donald has really hired bona fide political consultants for a 2016 run for the GOP presidential nomination. Lots of Koch Brothers connected figures.
++Rand Paul is being hit because the GOP has gone militaristic. I'm sorry Andrew Sullivan isn't around to comment on the dwindling fortunes of one candidate he thought would appeal to millenials.
++PEW Research has come out with a poll that shows the GOP has ended its temporary isolationism. 67% want American ground troops in both Syria and Iraq. 71% of all primary voters want the same. And a stunning 74% say that only military options should be used to fight terrorism.
++The great Bill O seems to keep making things up. Now he saw nuns executed in El Salvador. Previously he had been the intrepid reporter in the Malvinas Islands. What next? He killed Patton himself?
++Yossi Cohen, Bibi's National Security Adviser, is still not a happy lad with Bibi's planned speech.
++Senator Menendez told John Kerry that the rumored Iran nuclear agreement will not work in "this universe", meaning the US Senate. So what are they going to do? It's not a bilateral agreement so what say does the Senate actually have?
++The Republicans in Idaho want the state to be declared a Christian state. Besides violating the constitution, wouldn't this offend Mormons whose God is on Kolob.
++The Georgia school system wants to screen D'Nesh D'Souza's film against Barack Obama.
++Hillary better clean up her donor picture before she announces. Too many foreign governments have given to the Clinton Foundation, when she was Secretary of State.
++The Big O gave a town hall meeting today and rocked the audience. You will be sorry when he's gone.
++When the Senate stops napping, Mitch McConnell will re-introduce the Keystone Pipeline bill because President Obama, in John Boehner's words, is too beholding to the extreme environmentalists. The Nebraska farmers were called anarchists by the GOP. Watch for the "terrorism" designation next. Bill McGibben watch out.
++I can't see how Boehner can get out of the Homeland Security problem. Maybe he is a genius we never recognized. Could we change the name of the awful Department! Homeland, Fatherland, Seig Heil. Let's get rid of it as Nick Gillespie argued in the Daily Beast.
++Chicago is getting ready to announce the site of the Barack Obama Presidential Library.
++Is we learning yet? Scott Walker has gutted the funding for the University of Wisconsin,following the trend of Republicans everywhere. Brownback in Kansas,Kasich in Ohio, Scott in Florida,and the list goes on.
++President Obama pulled a cute one today as he told a Latino audience that Jeb Bush should mediate between Mitch McConnell and John Boehner to get an immigration bill passed. Nice way to throw a bomb.
++I forgot John Matlock, Reagan's former ambassador to the Soviet Union, gave a speech which was covered by the Nation where he warned that Russia can't be considered a regional power because it has thousands of nuclear armed missiles. And we should take that into consideration even if John McCain is ashamed because of our response in the Ukraine.
++Times of Israel changed the header to a story where John Kerry roasted Bibi for his enthusiastic support of the Iraq War. Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo chronicled how Bibi, while out of government, campaigned across America for the war. Josh ruled it a clean hit while the Israeli papers tried to mute it later in the day.
++Scott Walker has moved into 25% according to various polls measuring the GOP field. Ben Carson is second. Iowa will look funky, especially now that the Donald has Santorum's Iowa field coordinator.
++Hillary leads every single GOP candidate by a significant margin.
++CPAC just opened up today and the Donald has really hired bona fide political consultants for a 2016 run for the GOP presidential nomination. Lots of Koch Brothers connected figures.
++Rand Paul is being hit because the GOP has gone militaristic. I'm sorry Andrew Sullivan isn't around to comment on the dwindling fortunes of one candidate he thought would appeal to millenials.
++PEW Research has come out with a poll that shows the GOP has ended its temporary isolationism. 67% want American ground troops in both Syria and Iraq. 71% of all primary voters want the same. And a stunning 74% say that only military options should be used to fight terrorism.
++The great Bill O seems to keep making things up. Now he saw nuns executed in El Salvador. Previously he had been the intrepid reporter in the Malvinas Islands. What next? He killed Patton himself?
++Yossi Cohen, Bibi's National Security Adviser, is still not a happy lad with Bibi's planned speech.
++Senator Menendez told John Kerry that the rumored Iran nuclear agreement will not work in "this universe", meaning the US Senate. So what are they going to do? It's not a bilateral agreement so what say does the Senate actually have?
++The Republicans in Idaho want the state to be declared a Christian state. Besides violating the constitution, wouldn't this offend Mormons whose God is on Kolob.
++The Georgia school system wants to screen D'Nesh D'Souza's film against Barack Obama.
++Hillary better clean up her donor picture before she announces. Too many foreign governments have given to the Clinton Foundation, when she was Secretary of State.
++The Big O gave a town hall meeting today and rocked the audience. You will be sorry when he's gone.
++When the Senate stops napping, Mitch McConnell will re-introduce the Keystone Pipeline bill because President Obama, in John Boehner's words, is too beholding to the extreme environmentalists. The Nebraska farmers were called anarchists by the GOP. Watch for the "terrorism" designation next. Bill McGibben watch out.
++I can't see how Boehner can get out of the Homeland Security problem. Maybe he is a genius we never recognized. Could we change the name of the awful Department! Homeland, Fatherland, Seig Heil. Let's get rid of it as Nick Gillespie argued in the Daily Beast.
++Chicago is getting ready to announce the site of the Barack Obama Presidential Library.
++Is we learning yet? Scott Walker has gutted the funding for the University of Wisconsin,following the trend of Republicans everywhere. Brownback in Kansas,Kasich in Ohio, Scott in Florida,and the list goes on.
++President Obama pulled a cute one today as he told a Latino audience that Jeb Bush should mediate between Mitch McConnell and John Boehner to get an immigration bill passed. Nice way to throw a bomb.
++I forgot John Matlock, Reagan's former ambassador to the Soviet Union, gave a speech which was covered by the Nation where he warned that Russia can't be considered a regional power because it has thousands of nuclear armed missiles. And we should take that into consideration even if John McCain is ashamed because of our response in the Ukraine.
++Times of Israel changed the header to a story where John Kerry roasted Bibi for his enthusiastic support of the Iraq War. Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo chronicled how Bibi, while out of government, campaigned across America for the war. Josh ruled it a clean hit while the Israeli papers tried to mute it later in the day.
++Scott Walker has moved into 25% according to various polls measuring the GOP field. Ben Carson is second. Iowa will look funky, especially now that the Donald has Santorum's Iowa field coordinator.
++Hillary leads every single GOP candidate by a significant margin.
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Best Idea of The Day
++ Someone post this idea at Democratic Underground. In response to the nutty vaccine kerfluffle and Thom Tillis on not washing your hands if you worked in a restaurant.
++President Obama should hold a daily press conference on one idea he supports. Then example put forth was seat belts. "I think wearing seat belts is a good idea." This way we would automatically get the negative GOP response. One after the other,these ideas would mount up and you would have the complete picture of the current GOP.
++Rand Paul not so few years ago said that mandatory vaccines would led to Martial Law.
++Ted Cruz chimed in today to say that if parents had religious beliefs they should have the option of refusing vaccines.
++Bobby Jindal decided not to get with the crazy bus by pointing out that kids in Louisiana have to get vaccinated.
++Mitch McConnell said that he was for vaccinations after he got polio.
++Vaccines as a political issue? They have been in Pakistan leading to millions being infected. They have been all over Africa. So why not here? We aspire to be a third world country. Is there really an issue to debate?
++I think with the GOP we may all become Val Kilmer. Val is in the hospital with a tumor which can be operated on. However because he is a Christian Scientist he is rejecting medical care. Soon we won't have any anyway.
++I don't associate crazy with Vermont but today Vermont makes it. The state has a contest to write a new state motto. The Burlington radio station that sponsored it, read the entries on the air. Listeners were outraged. Why? Because many of the mottos were in Latin, which angry listeners thought was the language of Hispanics. You can't make this up.
++President Obama should hold a daily press conference on one idea he supports. Then example put forth was seat belts. "I think wearing seat belts is a good idea." This way we would automatically get the negative GOP response. One after the other,these ideas would mount up and you would have the complete picture of the current GOP.
++Rand Paul not so few years ago said that mandatory vaccines would led to Martial Law.
++Ted Cruz chimed in today to say that if parents had religious beliefs they should have the option of refusing vaccines.
++Bobby Jindal decided not to get with the crazy bus by pointing out that kids in Louisiana have to get vaccinated.
++Mitch McConnell said that he was for vaccinations after he got polio.
++Vaccines as a political issue? They have been in Pakistan leading to millions being infected. They have been all over Africa. So why not here? We aspire to be a third world country. Is there really an issue to debate?
++I think with the GOP we may all become Val Kilmer. Val is in the hospital with a tumor which can be operated on. However because he is a Christian Scientist he is rejecting medical care. Soon we won't have any anyway.
++I don't associate crazy with Vermont but today Vermont makes it. The state has a contest to write a new state motto. The Burlington radio station that sponsored it, read the entries on the air. Listeners were outraged. Why? Because many of the mottos were in Latin, which angry listeners thought was the language of Hispanics. You can't make this up.
Very Strange
++It is very strange to see contenders for the GOP presidential nomination come out against vaccinations. And these were the same people who were petrified about the Ebola virus. Chris Christie came out for "voluntary" vaccinations. Rand Paul said vaccinations caused severe mental diseases. The last I looked we were in the 21st century. I guess not. I wouldn't be surprised to see Rand Paul call for bloodletting as an acceptable medical practice.
++Roald Dahl wrote a moving op-ed at Huffington Post advocating vaccines because his daughter died from measles.
++Meanwhile President Obama made sure he was photographed getting a vaccine.
++Today he is hosting beneficiaries of Obamacare just as the House is voting once again to repeal it.
The White House finally made it explicit about what the stakes are. It's not just for those people who might get tax subsidies for their care. Any repeal affects all of us with private health insurance and Medicare. That's 250 million people, not just the 5-10 million often mentioned concerning the SCOTUS case.
++You would be back to "pre-existing" conditions,adult children tossed off their health care,no preventative care,no caps on health insurance profits,and the list goes on. Remember the pre-Obamacare days when people were denied operations because their algorithm didn't fit. I do. People were actually in the operating room when health insurance companies would not OK an operation. I came dangerously close to this for my eye operation until the surgeon interfered. Otherwise I would be blind.
++We still have medical bankruptcies in this country. So many that these are not included in your FICO rating. Under the last administration, it was epidemic. The same goes for premium hikes. Under the Bush administration, I had to junk my health insurance because it cost more than my mortgage. My family only got it because my wife taught.
++There really is a point where these anti-Obamacare congress critters are nuts. But if they are anti-vaccine also,why should they even want health insurance?
++Roald Dahl wrote a moving op-ed at Huffington Post advocating vaccines because his daughter died from measles.
++Meanwhile President Obama made sure he was photographed getting a vaccine.
++Today he is hosting beneficiaries of Obamacare just as the House is voting once again to repeal it.
The White House finally made it explicit about what the stakes are. It's not just for those people who might get tax subsidies for their care. Any repeal affects all of us with private health insurance and Medicare. That's 250 million people, not just the 5-10 million often mentioned concerning the SCOTUS case.
++You would be back to "pre-existing" conditions,adult children tossed off their health care,no preventative care,no caps on health insurance profits,and the list goes on. Remember the pre-Obamacare days when people were denied operations because their algorithm didn't fit. I do. People were actually in the operating room when health insurance companies would not OK an operation. I came dangerously close to this for my eye operation until the surgeon interfered. Otherwise I would be blind.
++We still have medical bankruptcies in this country. So many that these are not included in your FICO rating. Under the last administration, it was epidemic. The same goes for premium hikes. Under the Bush administration, I had to junk my health insurance because it cost more than my mortgage. My family only got it because my wife taught.
++There really is a point where these anti-Obamacare congress critters are nuts. But if they are anti-vaccine also,why should they even want health insurance?
Monday, January 12, 2015
He Said If The Other Guy Would Run He wouldn't , Now He Won't
++Paul Ryan, he of "dynamic scoring" and Medicare vouchers, said that if Willard "Mitt" Romney ran again for President he wouldn't. Today Paul Ryan announced he wasn't running for President.
++Meanwhile Willard said he was certain to run and would run to the right of Jeb Bush on immigration and taxes.
++Rick Santorum decried Rand Paul and Ted Cruz' lack of experience and lampooned their thoughts of running for President. "They are bomb-throwers." And "Frothy Mix" doesn't know anything about that.
++Meanwhile Willard said he was certain to run and would run to the right of Jeb Bush on immigration and taxes.
++Rick Santorum decried Rand Paul and Ted Cruz' lack of experience and lampooned their thoughts of running for President. "They are bomb-throwers." And "Frothy Mix" doesn't know anything about that.
Monday, November 24, 2014
Hagel Gone, More War On The Way
++President Obama will accept the resignation of Chuck Hagel today as the Administration looks beyond the days of the drawdowns in Iraq and Afghanistan to a "new phase" in the war against ISIS.
++The next two years will be Non-Stop War 24/7.
++Even Rand Paul is getting into the action. He is introducing a bill declaring war against Isis. He wants to get proper with the Deep State.
++I watched Jimmy Carter's talk at the JFK Memorial Library this weekend and was shocked when I realized except for the bungled Iran hostage rescue mission he never waged war as President. That is stunning and probably his most interesting legacy.
++Andrew Bacevich writes today about the five most common beliefs of the Washington Punditry that are absolutely false. You can read the piece at Tomsdisptach. com and it now has appeared on democraticunderground. Bacevich's point is that Egypt and Saudi Arabia are not our natural allies and have nothing in common with us. One is a brutal military dictatorship, the other the most repressive theocracy in the world. Point one above all the rest is that American forces in the Middle East do not bring stability but the contrary. The Persian Gulf just doesn't rate anymore in the national interest. With the new oil environment,there is not a lot of national interest in the Middle East. Also terrorism does not pose an existential threat to America. But we go on believing these things.
++The Jerusalem Post writes that Bibi is preparing to attack Iran now that the nuclear talks have been delayed until June 15,2015.
++Meanwhile Hamas has announced it has received more missiles from Iran.
++The UK is now going to pass tougher "anti-terrorism" laws.
++President Obama has order a strategic review to not only fight ISIS but also Assad. Good luck with that one.
++I'm with Charlie Rangel on this stuff. Tell us in detail the national interests in continuing war in the Middle East, institute a draft with an option to serve domestically on social programs,and tax the wealthy to pay for the war.
++The next two years will be Non-Stop War 24/7.
++Even Rand Paul is getting into the action. He is introducing a bill declaring war against Isis. He wants to get proper with the Deep State.
++I watched Jimmy Carter's talk at the JFK Memorial Library this weekend and was shocked when I realized except for the bungled Iran hostage rescue mission he never waged war as President. That is stunning and probably his most interesting legacy.
++Andrew Bacevich writes today about the five most common beliefs of the Washington Punditry that are absolutely false. You can read the piece at Tomsdisptach. com and it now has appeared on democraticunderground. Bacevich's point is that Egypt and Saudi Arabia are not our natural allies and have nothing in common with us. One is a brutal military dictatorship, the other the most repressive theocracy in the world. Point one above all the rest is that American forces in the Middle East do not bring stability but the contrary. The Persian Gulf just doesn't rate anymore in the national interest. With the new oil environment,there is not a lot of national interest in the Middle East. Also terrorism does not pose an existential threat to America. But we go on believing these things.
++The Jerusalem Post writes that Bibi is preparing to attack Iran now that the nuclear talks have been delayed until June 15,2015.
++Meanwhile Hamas has announced it has received more missiles from Iran.
++The UK is now going to pass tougher "anti-terrorism" laws.
++President Obama has order a strategic review to not only fight ISIS but also Assad. Good luck with that one.
++I'm with Charlie Rangel on this stuff. Tell us in detail the national interests in continuing war in the Middle East, institute a draft with an option to serve domestically on social programs,and tax the wealthy to pay for the war.
Friday, November 21, 2014
GOP Trapped
++Today's Politico had an extensive piece on why the GOP has been trapped by President Obama's move on immigration. A pro-GOP corporate lobbyist felt this was the time when the Republicans could make a move on immigration reform. Even Jeb Bush today criticizing President Obama's unilateral move insisted the GOP should take up the mantle and do immigration reform right.
++Instead,the day was spent with nativist Stephen King threatening impeachment. The whole chorus cried "Emperor Obama" and proclaimed--wrongly--that President Obama violated the constitution. Rep. Brooks from Alabama threatened Obama should be impeached and jailed because of the executive orders.
++Rand Paul did a riff on how President Obama's immigration reform was like FDR's order to imprison Japanese-Americans during WWII. I don't really catch the similarity. Millions protected from deportation, while thousands are deprived of their liberty, even though they were Americans.
++My emails ran solid to impeachment from the right. The GOP vows to get even when they take control of the Congress in January. John Boehner vowed retaliation but he adjourned for a Thanksgiving holiday. Rep.Poe from Texas sponsored a bill to defund the immigration reform, even though it would not receive any federal funding.
++Michelle Bachmann and Steven King are off to spend Thanksgiving on the Mexican border to demonstrate how dangerous the border is.
++Cliff Kincaid of Accuracy in Media proclaimed that President Obama was a Russian spy who should be monitored by our intelligence agencies--like he isn't already. Another conservative radio announcer called for Marines to invade the White House and drag Obama away in handcuffs.
++The GOP is in total disarray with this move. They actually thought that Obama would act like he did after the 2010 mid-terms and be cowed by them. He wasn't and isn't. And this disturbs my e-mailers more than anything. They keep writing that the mid-terms where 37% of the vote was by 60-year old white men should invalidate the 2012 election. Somehow they don't understand we don't have a parliamentary system.
++What is a puzzle is why there are no "mature" Republicans who say President Obama did it the wrong way and we will show him how to do it. But no one have appeared. Even John McCain who was for comprehensive immigration reform said on an Arizona station that the next move is to find someone of "standing" to sue the President on his executive orders and to take it to the Supreme Court, which in this instance, even with the toads on it, have already in the case on Arizona that the executive branch had a wide latitude in enforcing a law and had significant discretion on implementation.
++What is missing here is what I find missing on the issue of Obamacare--there are no human beings considered. None of the affected families are real people. Just remember the House already has voted to deport all the DREAMERS just because Barack Obama. None of the people who may lose Obamacare are humans either. And remember both parties campaigned in 2008 on healthcare reform and immigration reform. One of those parties has disappeared.
++One of the most telling moments in the New Conservatism was Senator Jeffrey Beauregard Sessions complaint about Sonia Sotomayor that she was too empathetic to be a judge.
++This is not the compassionate conservatism rebranded under George W. This is the punitive society in spades. One progressive blogger hit on it this afternoon commenting on how the Republicans are invoking procedures and laws as their main objections to President Obama. The writer warned that this was just a smokescreen.
++President Obama invoking the nation we want to be has no resonance with these people. You don't engage in raw voter suppression with glee,fail to expand Medicaid in your state,and sue the President because he failed to implement the employer mandate according to the schedule in the law (even though you opposed the mandate anyway) and believe we should be a society of equal opportunity and justice for all.
++Louie Gohmert struck again today arguing that President Obama decided on the executive actions on immigration so as to encourage violence in Ferguson, Missouri when the grand jury decision comes down. But there are a lot of people in Ferguson who have a stake in being as violent as possible.
++Rep. Issa of IRS, Benghazi fame said today that there would be no laws Obama wants because he only enforces what he wants.
++Meanwhile the House Intelligence Committee released its Benghazi Report, which basically exonerated President Obama and Susan Rice from being co-conspirators. That was swept aside. The Benghazi Special Committee has held one session so far and we can expect more in the future.
++The froth and rage after the immigration speech should give minorities all they need to know about the modern GOP.
++But to top off these week's hijinx,there is the Science Reform Act of 2014 authored by Arizona Representative David Schweikert. This act says that scientists can not share their studies with the EPA. Isn't that cool. We can't have the Enviromental Protection Agency use scientific studies for their information or policy decisions. This is Cave Man stuff.
++AS John McCain often says, "It is darkest before it gets pitch black."
++We've got a grim two years before us.
++Instead,the day was spent with nativist Stephen King threatening impeachment. The whole chorus cried "Emperor Obama" and proclaimed--wrongly--that President Obama violated the constitution. Rep. Brooks from Alabama threatened Obama should be impeached and jailed because of the executive orders.
++Rand Paul did a riff on how President Obama's immigration reform was like FDR's order to imprison Japanese-Americans during WWII. I don't really catch the similarity. Millions protected from deportation, while thousands are deprived of their liberty, even though they were Americans.
++My emails ran solid to impeachment from the right. The GOP vows to get even when they take control of the Congress in January. John Boehner vowed retaliation but he adjourned for a Thanksgiving holiday. Rep.Poe from Texas sponsored a bill to defund the immigration reform, even though it would not receive any federal funding.
++Michelle Bachmann and Steven King are off to spend Thanksgiving on the Mexican border to demonstrate how dangerous the border is.
++Cliff Kincaid of Accuracy in Media proclaimed that President Obama was a Russian spy who should be monitored by our intelligence agencies--like he isn't already. Another conservative radio announcer called for Marines to invade the White House and drag Obama away in handcuffs.
++The GOP is in total disarray with this move. They actually thought that Obama would act like he did after the 2010 mid-terms and be cowed by them. He wasn't and isn't. And this disturbs my e-mailers more than anything. They keep writing that the mid-terms where 37% of the vote was by 60-year old white men should invalidate the 2012 election. Somehow they don't understand we don't have a parliamentary system.
++What is a puzzle is why there are no "mature" Republicans who say President Obama did it the wrong way and we will show him how to do it. But no one have appeared. Even John McCain who was for comprehensive immigration reform said on an Arizona station that the next move is to find someone of "standing" to sue the President on his executive orders and to take it to the Supreme Court, which in this instance, even with the toads on it, have already in the case on Arizona that the executive branch had a wide latitude in enforcing a law and had significant discretion on implementation.
++What is missing here is what I find missing on the issue of Obamacare--there are no human beings considered. None of the affected families are real people. Just remember the House already has voted to deport all the DREAMERS just because Barack Obama. None of the people who may lose Obamacare are humans either. And remember both parties campaigned in 2008 on healthcare reform and immigration reform. One of those parties has disappeared.
++One of the most telling moments in the New Conservatism was Senator Jeffrey Beauregard Sessions complaint about Sonia Sotomayor that she was too empathetic to be a judge.
++This is not the compassionate conservatism rebranded under George W. This is the punitive society in spades. One progressive blogger hit on it this afternoon commenting on how the Republicans are invoking procedures and laws as their main objections to President Obama. The writer warned that this was just a smokescreen.
++President Obama invoking the nation we want to be has no resonance with these people. You don't engage in raw voter suppression with glee,fail to expand Medicaid in your state,and sue the President because he failed to implement the employer mandate according to the schedule in the law (even though you opposed the mandate anyway) and believe we should be a society of equal opportunity and justice for all.
++Louie Gohmert struck again today arguing that President Obama decided on the executive actions on immigration so as to encourage violence in Ferguson, Missouri when the grand jury decision comes down. But there are a lot of people in Ferguson who have a stake in being as violent as possible.
++Rep. Issa of IRS, Benghazi fame said today that there would be no laws Obama wants because he only enforces what he wants.
++Meanwhile the House Intelligence Committee released its Benghazi Report, which basically exonerated President Obama and Susan Rice from being co-conspirators. That was swept aside. The Benghazi Special Committee has held one session so far and we can expect more in the future.
++The froth and rage after the immigration speech should give minorities all they need to know about the modern GOP.
++But to top off these week's hijinx,there is the Science Reform Act of 2014 authored by Arizona Representative David Schweikert. This act says that scientists can not share their studies with the EPA. Isn't that cool. We can't have the Enviromental Protection Agency use scientific studies for their information or policy decisions. This is Cave Man stuff.
++AS John McCain often says, "It is darkest before it gets pitch black."
++We've got a grim two years before us.
Saturday, June 21, 2014
More on Iraq
++Andrew Bacevich appeared on Bill Moyers to talked about the political elites love of war even though they know nothing about actual warfare. If you can see the clip, please look it up. He makes the case that we have been a huge presence in the Middle East since 1980 and asks the question whether we have brought greater stability and greater democracy.Citing Iraq--two wars there--Afghanistan,Libya and even Somalia, if the answer is yes to either of the issues then we should keep doing what we have been doing. If the answer is no, then we should stop.
++Rand Paul was asked to comment on Dick Cheney's attack on President Obama said that we have to ask a whole lot of questions about those who advocated and planned the Iraq invasion. Since there were no WMDs, which was its rationale, he said, we have to ask whether it really was won in 2005 as the Bush Administration claimed. He went on to say that the Iraq invasion created the whole mess there now and that he would like to know from the advocates of the war why did we embolden Iran and allow Iran to have hegemony in the region.
++The Harvard Study on the cost of the Iraq War puts the cost at $4 trillion or $35,000 per household in America. Senator Bernie Sanders said on the Ed Show that if we spent $1 trillion like the Society of Engineers has said, we could have a modern infrastructure in America.
++Rand Paul was asked to comment on Dick Cheney's attack on President Obama said that we have to ask a whole lot of questions about those who advocated and planned the Iraq invasion. Since there were no WMDs, which was its rationale, he said, we have to ask whether it really was won in 2005 as the Bush Administration claimed. He went on to say that the Iraq invasion created the whole mess there now and that he would like to know from the advocates of the war why did we embolden Iran and allow Iran to have hegemony in the region.
++The Harvard Study on the cost of the Iraq War puts the cost at $4 trillion or $35,000 per household in America. Senator Bernie Sanders said on the Ed Show that if we spent $1 trillion like the Society of Engineers has said, we could have a modern infrastructure in America.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
When the Going gets weird, The Weird Goes Pro
++ Dick and Liz Cheney attacked President Obama for not caring about terrorism today in the Wall Street Journal. Bless her heart, Jennifer Rubin let the cat out of the bag at the end of her column saying that the father and daughter team was shilling for their new front group Alliance for a Strong America. Their op-ed read like Dinesh D'Souza.
++The GOP hellbent on saving their last monument wants Ahmed Abu Khattala sent to Gitmo. The DOJ says No way, Jose.
++The GOP wonders why getting Abu Khattala so long. The Daily Beast has an article about why the Delta Force took its time. They were rehearsing at Fort Bragg on a fortification like the man's home and planned the operation for a year. The go-ahead was held up until the FBI and the DOJ felt they had gathering sufficient evidence to try Khattala in a court of law.
++The Center for American Progress wants the Obama Administration to bomb Iraq as a counter-terrorism measure. General Petraeus doesn't like the idea because that would make us a Shiite Air Force. But remember his surge troops are the ones now fighting Baghdad.
++Anne Marie Slaughter, who used to be a member of the Obama Administration, writes an op-ed in today's New York Times advocating American actions in both Syria and Iraq and believes that such actions are in line with the UN General Charter and if we can't get approval then we should act and get approval later. This is the problem "humanitarian interventionists" have. They run up against the same problems as the neo-cons.
++Andrew Sullivan finds more about the Iraqi neo-cons hawks he doesn't like. His article in The Dish on the neo-Straussian strains of Wolfowitz and Billy Kristol is worth reading.
++Rand Paul doesn't quite know what to say because he thinks President Obama needs congressional approval to take any actions. Senators Graham and Ayotte do not.
++None of this matters because Sweeney Todd declared the Obama Presidency dead today on Morning Joe. He later told Matt Drudge that he really never became distant from the President.
++President Obama's foreign policy approval fell to 41% but like anything Obama polls show that the majority of Americans support his ideas on Iraq over Senator McCain's.
++Rachel Maddow did an excellent segment last night on the loony-tune Iraqi war boosters coming back in the media and how the right ignored the one piece of news about Benghazi that they should have cheered about--the capture of Abu Khattala. Instead Drudge has a story about meat and chicken prices going up.
++Dana Millbank and Politico got into a pissing war over Dana's excellent op-ed on the Heritage Foundation's bizarre Benghazi program which had all the conspiracy crowd there.
++Libya said today that the operation to capture Abu Khattala violated their sovereignty.
++David Ignatius calls for a peace conference to re-draw the map of the Middle East. Basically, the Sykes-Picot agreement is defunct.
++With the architects of the Iraq war back in the news,I wish reporters would ask them about their own actions. For example, how did Wolfowitz so grossly underestimate the cost of the war--$86 billion to $2-4 Trillion. That's not just a rounding error. Or Paul Bremmer--why did he dissolve the Iraq army and aren't they the ones fighting Baghdad now? Or General Petraeus--aren't the members of the Sunni Awakening allies of ISIS now? Or Dick Cheney--Didn't our invasion bring in Al Qaeda to fight in Iraq when it had never been there before? Instead,reporters might dance around issues of the Status of Force Agreements and who sign the withdrawal agreements but the rest of the issues remain buried.
++The only one that I saw really get beat up was John Bolton and that was on Fox News and it was by libertarians who didn't know what they were talking about.
++At least John Bolton went back to how bad Saddam Hussein was. But there is a big question: When the United States was threatening war and wanted Saddam to go, why did we not take him up on his offer?--He would go as long as he could keep $1billion. In retrospect, that was a great deal.
++The summer is turning into another BP summer. Remember the oil spill in the Gulf and the whole summer news converge about whether Obama was doing enough. This Iraq situation feels the same way. Getting Bergdahl back--bad. Capturing Abu Khattala--bad. Iraq conflict--really bad.
++Remember shutting down the government over Obamacare? Well now, the Republicans in the Senate want to shut down the government in September over the debt ceiling because of the new EPA carbon emissions regulations. So crash the world economy because regulations will take place in a year. Good move. At least a new Depression will cut greenhouse gases, since the factories will shut down.
++Since Willard Romney was so clairvoyant on a number of issues. Willard said we just a tad away from losing the gains in freedom we earned over all the years of fighting. Whose "we" white man since no Romney has ever fought for the country. Since Willard is the man, the GOP are now counting him as a Presidential candidate again. Time to get Steve Benen out of mothballs at the Rachel Maddow Show and back on the Romney beat.
++The GOP hellbent on saving their last monument wants Ahmed Abu Khattala sent to Gitmo. The DOJ says No way, Jose.
++The GOP wonders why getting Abu Khattala so long. The Daily Beast has an article about why the Delta Force took its time. They were rehearsing at Fort Bragg on a fortification like the man's home and planned the operation for a year. The go-ahead was held up until the FBI and the DOJ felt they had gathering sufficient evidence to try Khattala in a court of law.
++The Center for American Progress wants the Obama Administration to bomb Iraq as a counter-terrorism measure. General Petraeus doesn't like the idea because that would make us a Shiite Air Force. But remember his surge troops are the ones now fighting Baghdad.
++Anne Marie Slaughter, who used to be a member of the Obama Administration, writes an op-ed in today's New York Times advocating American actions in both Syria and Iraq and believes that such actions are in line with the UN General Charter and if we can't get approval then we should act and get approval later. This is the problem "humanitarian interventionists" have. They run up against the same problems as the neo-cons.
++Andrew Sullivan finds more about the Iraqi neo-cons hawks he doesn't like. His article in The Dish on the neo-Straussian strains of Wolfowitz and Billy Kristol is worth reading.
++Rand Paul doesn't quite know what to say because he thinks President Obama needs congressional approval to take any actions. Senators Graham and Ayotte do not.
++None of this matters because Sweeney Todd declared the Obama Presidency dead today on Morning Joe. He later told Matt Drudge that he really never became distant from the President.
++President Obama's foreign policy approval fell to 41% but like anything Obama polls show that the majority of Americans support his ideas on Iraq over Senator McCain's.
++Rachel Maddow did an excellent segment last night on the loony-tune Iraqi war boosters coming back in the media and how the right ignored the one piece of news about Benghazi that they should have cheered about--the capture of Abu Khattala. Instead Drudge has a story about meat and chicken prices going up.
++Dana Millbank and Politico got into a pissing war over Dana's excellent op-ed on the Heritage Foundation's bizarre Benghazi program which had all the conspiracy crowd there.
++Libya said today that the operation to capture Abu Khattala violated their sovereignty.
++David Ignatius calls for a peace conference to re-draw the map of the Middle East. Basically, the Sykes-Picot agreement is defunct.
++With the architects of the Iraq war back in the news,I wish reporters would ask them about their own actions. For example, how did Wolfowitz so grossly underestimate the cost of the war--$86 billion to $2-4 Trillion. That's not just a rounding error. Or Paul Bremmer--why did he dissolve the Iraq army and aren't they the ones fighting Baghdad now? Or General Petraeus--aren't the members of the Sunni Awakening allies of ISIS now? Or Dick Cheney--Didn't our invasion bring in Al Qaeda to fight in Iraq when it had never been there before? Instead,reporters might dance around issues of the Status of Force Agreements and who sign the withdrawal agreements but the rest of the issues remain buried.
++The only one that I saw really get beat up was John Bolton and that was on Fox News and it was by libertarians who didn't know what they were talking about.
++At least John Bolton went back to how bad Saddam Hussein was. But there is a big question: When the United States was threatening war and wanted Saddam to go, why did we not take him up on his offer?--He would go as long as he could keep $1billion. In retrospect, that was a great deal.
++The summer is turning into another BP summer. Remember the oil spill in the Gulf and the whole summer news converge about whether Obama was doing enough. This Iraq situation feels the same way. Getting Bergdahl back--bad. Capturing Abu Khattala--bad. Iraq conflict--really bad.
++Remember shutting down the government over Obamacare? Well now, the Republicans in the Senate want to shut down the government in September over the debt ceiling because of the new EPA carbon emissions regulations. So crash the world economy because regulations will take place in a year. Good move. At least a new Depression will cut greenhouse gases, since the factories will shut down.
++Since Willard Romney was so clairvoyant on a number of issues. Willard said we just a tad away from losing the gains in freedom we earned over all the years of fighting. Whose "we" white man since no Romney has ever fought for the country. Since Willard is the man, the GOP are now counting him as a Presidential candidate again. Time to get Steve Benen out of mothballs at the Rachel Maddow Show and back on the Romney beat.
Friday, June 6, 2014
It really is Bergdahlzi
++Paul Ryan told Virginia Republicans that the House was going to "investigate" the swap for Bergdahl.
++The Senate Armed Services Committee is supposed to hold classified hearings on the subject on Tuesday.
++Whipping up Citizens United in New Hampshire, Rand Paul tweeted "Hey, Mr.President, trade five Democrats for Bergdahl." In his actual speech, he said, "Trade Hillary for Bergdahl."
++President Obama in his interview with Brian Williams on NBC news said he would do it again and will if another American soldier is held captive. He also said it was an unanimous decision by his principals and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
++Hillary Clinton told an astonished Diane Sawyer that she agrees with President Obama decision because the first principle is to try and get everyone left home.
++If I were any Democrats on these committees, I would produce Rinse Penis" "Impeach Obama for not bringing Bergdahl home" placards to show how this was going to go anywhichway the Right decides.
++To capture the Right's patriotic spirit, a Davy Crockett imitator rallied the Texan Republicans to an armed insurrection against dictator Obama.
++The Senate Armed Services Committee is supposed to hold classified hearings on the subject on Tuesday.
++Whipping up Citizens United in New Hampshire, Rand Paul tweeted "Hey, Mr.President, trade five Democrats for Bergdahl." In his actual speech, he said, "Trade Hillary for Bergdahl."
++President Obama in his interview with Brian Williams on NBC news said he would do it again and will if another American soldier is held captive. He also said it was an unanimous decision by his principals and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
++Hillary Clinton told an astonished Diane Sawyer that she agrees with President Obama decision because the first principle is to try and get everyone left home.
++If I were any Democrats on these committees, I would produce Rinse Penis" "Impeach Obama for not bringing Bergdahl home" placards to show how this was going to go anywhichway the Right decides.
++To capture the Right's patriotic spirit, a Davy Crockett imitator rallied the Texan Republicans to an armed insurrection against dictator Obama.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Benghazi and Monica Lewinsky Returns
++ Vanity Fair has an interview with Monica Lewinsky about the Clinton scandal days. She wants to take back her narrative. I always liked her for some bizarre reason.
++The Washington Post again slammed President Obama on the actual results of the Libyan operation.
++Jane Mayer writes in the New Yorker about a more relevant event that the GOP should think about:"Reagan's Benghazi" the attack on the Marine barracks and embassy in Beirut. That story got taken over by the invasion of Grenada.
++Fox News will not report on any White House press briefings unless they talk about Benghazi.
++Dana Perino, W's spokeswomen, says weathermen on the White House briefing about climate change should only ask about Benghazi.
++Rand Paul says that Hillary Clinton should be subpoenaed on Benghazi. The GOP wants to make this a twofer--damage President Obama and Hillary Clinton.
++A bipartisan Senate bill would take the decision for the Keystone XL TarSands Pipeline away from the review process and have Congress approve it. Mary Landrieu, D-La, says that approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline is critical because of the situation in the Ukraine. You figure that one out.
++The White House issued the third National Climate Assessment weighing in at 800 pages. The Handout to the press was 137 pages. Its basic message was that we are now being severely affected by climate change, it will get worse and something must be done.
++Nancy Pelosi demanded 50-50 representation on Boehner's Select Committee to Investigate Benghazi. Fat chance.
++The Washington Post says that the GOP has a 87% chance of taking over the Senate . They predict 53 to 47 seats. Color me skeptical on the number.
++The Washington Post again slammed President Obama on the actual results of the Libyan operation.
++Jane Mayer writes in the New Yorker about a more relevant event that the GOP should think about:"Reagan's Benghazi" the attack on the Marine barracks and embassy in Beirut. That story got taken over by the invasion of Grenada.
++Fox News will not report on any White House press briefings unless they talk about Benghazi.
++Dana Perino, W's spokeswomen, says weathermen on the White House briefing about climate change should only ask about Benghazi.
++Rand Paul says that Hillary Clinton should be subpoenaed on Benghazi. The GOP wants to make this a twofer--damage President Obama and Hillary Clinton.
++A bipartisan Senate bill would take the decision for the Keystone XL TarSands Pipeline away from the review process and have Congress approve it. Mary Landrieu, D-La, says that approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline is critical because of the situation in the Ukraine. You figure that one out.
++The White House issued the third National Climate Assessment weighing in at 800 pages. The Handout to the press was 137 pages. Its basic message was that we are now being severely affected by climate change, it will get worse and something must be done.
++Nancy Pelosi demanded 50-50 representation on Boehner's Select Committee to Investigate Benghazi. Fat chance.
++The Washington Post says that the GOP has a 87% chance of taking over the Senate . They predict 53 to 47 seats. Color me skeptical on the number.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
The World Didn't End
++Rev. Hagee said that the blood red moon meant the world was ending. It didn't.
++But the IPCC report said we may be getting close with global warming if we don't adopt policies for 20-24% alternative fuels within 15 years. The report was developed by 2,000 scientists in hover 110 nations, who reviewed over 9,000 academic studies. If the humans generate 1,000 gigatons of carbon that we are all toast. The planet will survive but we won't.
++The CBO's report on Obamacare is giving the GOP heartburn. Obamacare will cost $104.6 billion less than projected over a ten-year span, will increase,not decrease employer-based insurance by 7 million, lower premiums and healthcare costs.
++But the GOP have found a new Obamacare issue. The Census bureau will be recalculating the number of uninsured. To the GOP, this means we will not know the true effects of Obamacare. It's Obama's fault.
++The CBO reports that the deficit will be $23 billion less than projected to $492 billion. This will be the lowest deficit since 2007 and represent 2.8% of the GDP. Since 1980,the deficit has averaged 3.2%.
++Mike Huckabee told the Freedom Summit in New Hampshire that the United States was less free than North Korea.
++In the same state, former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown said Democratic Senator Jeanne Sheehan was like another Senator from Massachusetts. Brown has lived in New Hampshire for 40 days and Sheehan in New Hampshire for 40 years. More worrisome to New Hampshites should be that Scott was born in Maine and not in New Hampshire as he claims.
++PPP-Move-on. org conducted polls in congressional districts and find that GOP incumbents are very vulnerable in 17 seats and with the right GOTV the Democrats could take back the House.
++John Boehner's primary opponents cut an ad accusing Boehner of electile dysfunction.
++Governor Sandoval of Nevada became the first Republican governor to ask the House to extend the unemployment insurance for the long-term. The Nevada party also threw out its anti-abortion, anti-gay platform because they wanted to be inclusive ,not exclusive.
++Britt Hume and George Will accused President Obama and Eric Holder of "playing the race card". Hank Aaron,the baseball great, likened critics of President Obama to those racist who threatened him during his race to beat Babe Ruth's home run record. For that remark, he received buckets of racist mail. I guess race doesn't play into any of this.
++Rand Paul is being beat up for his remarks about Duck Cheney being for the war in Iraq because of his role as CEO in Halliburton. Bart Stephens in the Wall Street Journal attacks Paul and asserts that the GOP would lose in one of the largest landslides. Rick Lowry of the National Review has a more fun attack on Paul.
++Carville claims that the GOP will become extinct if Hillary Clinton runs for President.
++Willard "Mitt" Romney tweeted Harry Reid with a photo of him paying his taxes. I'm glad he did for the first time in a decade.
++Senator Pryor,the struggling Democrat in Arkansas,top Rep. Cotton in the fifth straight poll, prompting the Republican to challenge him to five debates.
++Sovereign Citizens' groups, the Oathkeepers, and militiamen rallied to the cause of rancher Bundy, who had neglected to pay taxes for 1993 and refuses to pay the BLM cattle raising fees. The classy groups put women and children in the front lines because they wanted to create another WACO and spark a revolution. The BLM stood down but is moving in legal directions against the tax evader. FOX news and the rightwing websites proclaimed the nutty spectacle a win for freedom
++John Brennan, the director of the CIA, was in the UKraine and tensions mount in the East.
++Bandar Bush, the old Saudi friend of the Republicans and Saudi spy chief, was resigned. His last assignment by the Saudi monarchy was to topple Assad in Syria.
++But the IPCC report said we may be getting close with global warming if we don't adopt policies for 20-24% alternative fuels within 15 years. The report was developed by 2,000 scientists in hover 110 nations, who reviewed over 9,000 academic studies. If the humans generate 1,000 gigatons of carbon that we are all toast. The planet will survive but we won't.
++The CBO's report on Obamacare is giving the GOP heartburn. Obamacare will cost $104.6 billion less than projected over a ten-year span, will increase,not decrease employer-based insurance by 7 million, lower premiums and healthcare costs.
++But the GOP have found a new Obamacare issue. The Census bureau will be recalculating the number of uninsured. To the GOP, this means we will not know the true effects of Obamacare. It's Obama's fault.
++The CBO reports that the deficit will be $23 billion less than projected to $492 billion. This will be the lowest deficit since 2007 and represent 2.8% of the GDP. Since 1980,the deficit has averaged 3.2%.
++Mike Huckabee told the Freedom Summit in New Hampshire that the United States was less free than North Korea.
++In the same state, former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown said Democratic Senator Jeanne Sheehan was like another Senator from Massachusetts. Brown has lived in New Hampshire for 40 days and Sheehan in New Hampshire for 40 years. More worrisome to New Hampshites should be that Scott was born in Maine and not in New Hampshire as he claims.
++PPP-Move-on. org conducted polls in congressional districts and find that GOP incumbents are very vulnerable in 17 seats and with the right GOTV the Democrats could take back the House.
++John Boehner's primary opponents cut an ad accusing Boehner of electile dysfunction.
++Governor Sandoval of Nevada became the first Republican governor to ask the House to extend the unemployment insurance for the long-term. The Nevada party also threw out its anti-abortion, anti-gay platform because they wanted to be inclusive ,not exclusive.
++Britt Hume and George Will accused President Obama and Eric Holder of "playing the race card". Hank Aaron,the baseball great, likened critics of President Obama to those racist who threatened him during his race to beat Babe Ruth's home run record. For that remark, he received buckets of racist mail. I guess race doesn't play into any of this.
++Rand Paul is being beat up for his remarks about Duck Cheney being for the war in Iraq because of his role as CEO in Halliburton. Bart Stephens in the Wall Street Journal attacks Paul and asserts that the GOP would lose in one of the largest landslides. Rick Lowry of the National Review has a more fun attack on Paul.
++Carville claims that the GOP will become extinct if Hillary Clinton runs for President.
++Willard "Mitt" Romney tweeted Harry Reid with a photo of him paying his taxes. I'm glad he did for the first time in a decade.
++Senator Pryor,the struggling Democrat in Arkansas,top Rep. Cotton in the fifth straight poll, prompting the Republican to challenge him to five debates.
++Sovereign Citizens' groups, the Oathkeepers, and militiamen rallied to the cause of rancher Bundy, who had neglected to pay taxes for 1993 and refuses to pay the BLM cattle raising fees. The classy groups put women and children in the front lines because they wanted to create another WACO and spark a revolution. The BLM stood down but is moving in legal directions against the tax evader. FOX news and the rightwing websites proclaimed the nutty spectacle a win for freedom
++John Brennan, the director of the CIA, was in the UKraine and tensions mount in the East.
++Bandar Bush, the old Saudi friend of the Republicans and Saudi spy chief, was resigned. His last assignment by the Saudi monarchy was to topple Assad in Syria.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Day Light Savings Time
++It's that time of year when my servers go down twice a day and the political rhetoric goes off the charts into insanity.
++We have escaped AIPAC and CPAC this year. CPAC got more media coverage than they have political support. Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo should be commended for telling it like it is. Media outlets don't have to spend money to cover like Netroots. DC is a Republican biased town. And besides CPAC organizers know "crazy" sells.
++Andrew Sullivan at his Dish tells us that just as you think the Obama era is over,it is now reaching its maximum impact in the economy. Check out his charts.
++Liberal blogger Bartcop,Terry Coppage, died at the age of 60 from pneumonia and leukemia. It is amazing that he had been blogging since 1999. Democratic blogs have spent two days genuinely mourning his loss.
++We are in the final stretch of signing up for Obamacare. Rather than avoid it, Democrats are fighting back against crooked ads bought by the Koch Brothers. Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats are now openly attacking the Koch Brothers. Effective ads refuting their healthcare ads are running in North Carolina,Alaska, Michigan and Louisiana.
++The I.G. of the Post Office has endorsed the idea of having the Post Office provide cash checking services for customers and same-day loans. The idea was actually used in the early 20th Century . His report supports Senator Warren's proposal of the same.
++We were entertained by the CPAC attacks on Obama as a tyrant who is weak. One thing I noticed was that CPAC seemed to go out of its way to invite felons. Ollie North, Scooter Libby and Bernard Kerik were in attendance.
++2 million people on the White House website signed a petition against the Keystone Pipeline. Bill McKibben thanked the millions who have demonstrated against or signed the petition,saying the grassroots came through.
++Rand Paul romped to victory in the CPAC poll. Republicans are now split between the Paul-Snowden wing and the Putin supporters. Peter King is upset by the Paul victory because it means that the isolationist wing of the party is growing.
++Obama won a plurality of Americans 48 to 43 on his handling of the Ukraine situation.
++But the Sunday shows wanted Blood and Guts Cheney to advocate a military option. I guess that means thermonuclear war.
++The Crimean Tatars have vowed jihadist actions if Russia takes over the Crimea permanently. Terrific!
++Senator Feinstein is very angry that the CIA spied on the Senate. Spare us the melodrama. Just release the Detention and Torture Report. The public has the right to know. It's a little late in the game to cry that the CIA violated the constitution. When hasn't it?
++There is a little Cold War by Saudi Arabia against Qatar for their not treating the Moslem Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.
++The Iraqi President al-Maliki charged that Saudi Arabia and Qatar are terrorists themselves for supporting Sunni insurgents in Iraq.
++Refugees from Syria now number 4 million and counting.
++We have escaped AIPAC and CPAC this year. CPAC got more media coverage than they have political support. Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo should be commended for telling it like it is. Media outlets don't have to spend money to cover like Netroots. DC is a Republican biased town. And besides CPAC organizers know "crazy" sells.
++Andrew Sullivan at his Dish tells us that just as you think the Obama era is over,it is now reaching its maximum impact in the economy. Check out his charts.
++Liberal blogger Bartcop,Terry Coppage, died at the age of 60 from pneumonia and leukemia. It is amazing that he had been blogging since 1999. Democratic blogs have spent two days genuinely mourning his loss.
++We are in the final stretch of signing up for Obamacare. Rather than avoid it, Democrats are fighting back against crooked ads bought by the Koch Brothers. Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats are now openly attacking the Koch Brothers. Effective ads refuting their healthcare ads are running in North Carolina,Alaska, Michigan and Louisiana.
++The I.G. of the Post Office has endorsed the idea of having the Post Office provide cash checking services for customers and same-day loans. The idea was actually used in the early 20th Century . His report supports Senator Warren's proposal of the same.
++We were entertained by the CPAC attacks on Obama as a tyrant who is weak. One thing I noticed was that CPAC seemed to go out of its way to invite felons. Ollie North, Scooter Libby and Bernard Kerik were in attendance.
++2 million people on the White House website signed a petition against the Keystone Pipeline. Bill McKibben thanked the millions who have demonstrated against or signed the petition,saying the grassroots came through.
++Rand Paul romped to victory in the CPAC poll. Republicans are now split between the Paul-Snowden wing and the Putin supporters. Peter King is upset by the Paul victory because it means that the isolationist wing of the party is growing.
++Obama won a plurality of Americans 48 to 43 on his handling of the Ukraine situation.
++But the Sunday shows wanted Blood and Guts Cheney to advocate a military option. I guess that means thermonuclear war.
++The Crimean Tatars have vowed jihadist actions if Russia takes over the Crimea permanently. Terrific!
++Senator Feinstein is very angry that the CIA spied on the Senate. Spare us the melodrama. Just release the Detention and Torture Report. The public has the right to know. It's a little late in the game to cry that the CIA violated the constitution. When hasn't it?
++There is a little Cold War by Saudi Arabia against Qatar for their not treating the Moslem Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.
++The Iraqi President al-Maliki charged that Saudi Arabia and Qatar are terrorists themselves for supporting Sunni insurgents in Iraq.
++Refugees from Syria now number 4 million and counting.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Wingnuts Ahoy
++The reason President Obama persuaded the American people in his State of the Union address was, according to the American Family Association, he possessing supernatural powers.
++Rand Paul after his homage to Ayn Rand in his response to the State of the Union doubled down on his criticism of Bill Clinton by saying he is a "serial philanderer."
++Charles Pierce writes today of how much he will miss the Obama presidency because of the entertainment provided by the GOP clown car in their responses to the State of the Union.
++George Will today found an obscure legal clause in the Affordable Care Act that might be used to cripple it. He argues subsidies are only allowed for the state exchanges but not the federal and that Red states might use this to sue.
++Ted Cruz says that the time is right to repeal Obamacare because he established the language of the national debate over the terrible things the healthcare law does. He even says he will fight his own attempts to close the government.
++PPP shows that "Sugar Uncle" Mike Huckabee is in the lead for the GOP presidential nomination and that his call for woman to keep their libidos in check pushed his approval rating among the GOP up to 64%. In second is Jeb Bush and third is Chris Christie.
++In the National Journal, Ron Fournier apologized for his 2013 support of Chris Christie as the savior of the GOP.
++Rinse Penis has ordered all RNC staff and board members not to appeal on MSNBC.
++Some wag noted that GOP responder to the State of the Union wanted government out of healthcare but neglected to mention she had government healthcare through her Navy husband, which took care of the expenses for her son who was born with Downs Syndrome. Also, while she wanted the government out of healthcare decisions, she voted only hours before to prevent any insurance coverage for abortions.
++The Tan Man wants to throw in the towel over the debt ceiling. The House can't agree to any appropriate ransom. Ted Crus says he will go for a fight on this.
++The Tan Man told the House retreat that the GOP has to be an alternative to Obama, not the opposition. Good luck with that one.
++Quinnipiac reports that Governor Medicare Fraud Rick Scott is down 46 to 38 to Charlie Crist.
++The Post/ABC poll shows Hillary Clinton trouncing Chris Christie 53 to 41.
++In a generation of polling, Hillary Clinton has the largest primary lead of all-time. Among Democrats she is 73 to Joe Biden's 12 and Elizabeth Warren's 8.
++Michelle Nunn is in the lead against all GOP opponents in Georgia.
++Democratic Senator Kay Hagen is now down 7 points to any Republican challenger.
++The number of federal employees is almost the same number as during the time of Reagan. The Post reports that more than a third of current Federal employees will be eligible to retire in 2017.
++A man named James Meachem appeared on Morning Joe to say that FDR and Lincoln would never use executive orders to improve the economy. FDR is the champion of executive orders, while President Obama has less than George W. Bush.
++Rand Paul after his homage to Ayn Rand in his response to the State of the Union doubled down on his criticism of Bill Clinton by saying he is a "serial philanderer."
++Charles Pierce writes today of how much he will miss the Obama presidency because of the entertainment provided by the GOP clown car in their responses to the State of the Union.
++George Will today found an obscure legal clause in the Affordable Care Act that might be used to cripple it. He argues subsidies are only allowed for the state exchanges but not the federal and that Red states might use this to sue.
++Ted Cruz says that the time is right to repeal Obamacare because he established the language of the national debate over the terrible things the healthcare law does. He even says he will fight his own attempts to close the government.
++PPP shows that "Sugar Uncle" Mike Huckabee is in the lead for the GOP presidential nomination and that his call for woman to keep their libidos in check pushed his approval rating among the GOP up to 64%. In second is Jeb Bush and third is Chris Christie.
++In the National Journal, Ron Fournier apologized for his 2013 support of Chris Christie as the savior of the GOP.
++Rinse Penis has ordered all RNC staff and board members not to appeal on MSNBC.
++Some wag noted that GOP responder to the State of the Union wanted government out of healthcare but neglected to mention she had government healthcare through her Navy husband, which took care of the expenses for her son who was born with Downs Syndrome. Also, while she wanted the government out of healthcare decisions, she voted only hours before to prevent any insurance coverage for abortions.
++The Tan Man wants to throw in the towel over the debt ceiling. The House can't agree to any appropriate ransom. Ted Crus says he will go for a fight on this.
++The Tan Man told the House retreat that the GOP has to be an alternative to Obama, not the opposition. Good luck with that one.
++Quinnipiac reports that Governor Medicare Fraud Rick Scott is down 46 to 38 to Charlie Crist.
++The Post/ABC poll shows Hillary Clinton trouncing Chris Christie 53 to 41.
++In a generation of polling, Hillary Clinton has the largest primary lead of all-time. Among Democrats she is 73 to Joe Biden's 12 and Elizabeth Warren's 8.
++Michelle Nunn is in the lead against all GOP opponents in Georgia.
++Democratic Senator Kay Hagen is now down 7 points to any Republican challenger.
++The number of federal employees is almost the same number as during the time of Reagan. The Post reports that more than a third of current Federal employees will be eligible to retire in 2017.
++A man named James Meachem appeared on Morning Joe to say that FDR and Lincoln would never use executive orders to improve the economy. FDR is the champion of executive orders, while President Obama has less than George W. Bush.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Quien Es Mas Macho?
++The Mayor of Sochi claims there are no gays in his city--only gay bars.
++The Marlboro Man died at the age of 72 because of respiratory problems.
++Bob Schaeffer laughed at Ted Cruz for saying Obama caused the government shutdown.
++Tom Perkins, a billionaire, said that the attacks on the Rich were the same as Kristallnacht. Really?
++Trey Radel ,Florida Republican, will resign from the House . He was caught buying cocaine from an undercover agent.
++Steve Stockman who has been absent from the House for the first 17 days blamed the media saying he was campaigning but no one saw him.
++Mike Huckbee says that women have to control their libidos and shouldn't expect Uncle Sugar to provide them with birth control pills.
++Texas candidate for governor, Wendy Davis is a "bad mother" according to the Republicans.
++Morning Joe Scarborough says that Hillary Clinton can't attack the GOP on the war against women because of Monica Lewinski.
++Newsmax says that "Hellcat" Clinton is in bad shape because of Benghazi.
++Rand Paul says that Bill Clinton exhibited predatory behavior against women and this will damage Hillary.
++Erick Bennett, the tea bagger challenger against Susan Collins, threatened to kill his wife and was charged with spousal abuse. These are positive things for his campaign.
++AIPAC has attacked Wendy Wasserman Schultz for not being pro-enough on Israel, although she has the highest pro-Israel voting record in Congress.
++Dinesh D'Sousa was indicted for violating campaign finance laws. He used both his wife and his mistress as fronts for his campaign contributions.
++Lamar Alexander's staff member who was busted for distributing child porn committed suicide.
++Kim Jong-un ordered the entire family of his uncle's executed.
++Chris Christie hired Patton, Boggs, the D.C. Law firm to defend him in his exploding scandals.
++Frank Rich in this issue of New York magazine proclaims Fox News dead and wishes liberals woud stop fixating on it.
++The Marlboro Man died at the age of 72 because of respiratory problems.
++Bob Schaeffer laughed at Ted Cruz for saying Obama caused the government shutdown.
++Tom Perkins, a billionaire, said that the attacks on the Rich were the same as Kristallnacht. Really?
++Trey Radel ,Florida Republican, will resign from the House . He was caught buying cocaine from an undercover agent.
++Steve Stockman who has been absent from the House for the first 17 days blamed the media saying he was campaigning but no one saw him.
++Mike Huckbee says that women have to control their libidos and shouldn't expect Uncle Sugar to provide them with birth control pills.
++Texas candidate for governor, Wendy Davis is a "bad mother" according to the Republicans.
++Morning Joe Scarborough says that Hillary Clinton can't attack the GOP on the war against women because of Monica Lewinski.
++Newsmax says that "Hellcat" Clinton is in bad shape because of Benghazi.
++Rand Paul says that Bill Clinton exhibited predatory behavior against women and this will damage Hillary.
++Erick Bennett, the tea bagger challenger against Susan Collins, threatened to kill his wife and was charged with spousal abuse. These are positive things for his campaign.
++AIPAC has attacked Wendy Wasserman Schultz for not being pro-enough on Israel, although she has the highest pro-Israel voting record in Congress.
++Dinesh D'Sousa was indicted for violating campaign finance laws. He used both his wife and his mistress as fronts for his campaign contributions.
++Lamar Alexander's staff member who was busted for distributing child porn committed suicide.
++Kim Jong-un ordered the entire family of his uncle's executed.
++Chris Christie hired Patton, Boggs, the D.C. Law firm to defend him in his exploding scandals.
++Frank Rich in this issue of New York magazine proclaims Fox News dead and wishes liberals woud stop fixating on it.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Muhammed Ali versus George Foreman--Sam Wang vs. Nate Silver
++About the only good thing coming from the government shutdown is the reappearance of Sam Wang. Please read Sam Wang's follow-up posts at elections.princeton.edu. He has gone behind the numbers to project the 2014 House elections. He thinks it is 50-50 now whether the Democrats can take back the House. But his re-emergence provoked Nate Silver, who believes that this too will pass and not make the dent Wang thinks. Wang disagrees because the turn against Republicans is deeper and more systemic than the pseudo-scandals generated against President Obama. Great to read dueling wonks.
++Another good thing from the shutdown has been the pent-up writing we have been hit with. John Judis in the New Republic analyzes the Collapse of the Republican Party. Salon had a great piece on how the South dominates the GOP and its awful implications for the country. Andrew Sullivan at his The Dish analyzes the "nullification of the Obama Presidency" by the Teabaggers and reflects on the bizarre demonstration outside the White House with protestors waving Confederate flags. Charles Pierce at Esquire has been merciless on his analysis of the GOP's shutdown.
++Yes, Virginia,a default would be catastrophic. The financial leaders of the world meeting in Europe warned the United States that default would shake the world. Louie Gohmert says a default of the debt would be an "impeachable" offense. Of course, if President Obama invokes the 14th Amendment it would be seen as an impeachable offense. My suggestion is that the House GOP open the government and lift the debt ceiling and go right into impeachment because that it what the House GOP wanted all along after the election.
++Despite Mark Halperin on "Morning Joe" and Bob Corker and Senator Schumer saying we are close to an agreement on the debt ceiling, I doubt it. We are back to the point where the House GOP is in such chaos,I don't believe they can pass anything in time.
++Rand Paul doesn't think a debt default is a good idea and wants to raise the age of Social Security and cut Medicare as a condition. Paul Ryan wants to prohibit contraceptive coverage for health insurance as a condition of the debt ceiling raise. The House Caucus wanted budget cuts.
++The Democrats are fighting back by refusing to accept a prolongation of the sequester,which Senator Collins proposed. The Beltway pundits believe this could be an example of Democratic overreach. Ezra Klein had written this past weekend that whatever happens a long term budget deal in the future is dead. Next year, the sequestration cuts begin to take big hunks out of the blotted defense budget. In another world, the Republicans should oppose this. But we are in Superman's Bizarro world.
++John McCain who is apoplectic now appeared on the Sunday Talk shows to urge Democrats to be gracious and give something so the GOP can step down. The conventional wisdom is that there has to be some face-saving gesture for John Boehner so that he keeps his job. "I got to get something out of this."
++David Plouffe, the mastermind of Obama's 2008 victory, outs a default at 50-50.
++Another good thing from the shutdown has been the pent-up writing we have been hit with. John Judis in the New Republic analyzes the Collapse of the Republican Party. Salon had a great piece on how the South dominates the GOP and its awful implications for the country. Andrew Sullivan at his The Dish analyzes the "nullification of the Obama Presidency" by the Teabaggers and reflects on the bizarre demonstration outside the White House with protestors waving Confederate flags. Charles Pierce at Esquire has been merciless on his analysis of the GOP's shutdown.
++Yes, Virginia,a default would be catastrophic. The financial leaders of the world meeting in Europe warned the United States that default would shake the world. Louie Gohmert says a default of the debt would be an "impeachable" offense. Of course, if President Obama invokes the 14th Amendment it would be seen as an impeachable offense. My suggestion is that the House GOP open the government and lift the debt ceiling and go right into impeachment because that it what the House GOP wanted all along after the election.
++Despite Mark Halperin on "Morning Joe" and Bob Corker and Senator Schumer saying we are close to an agreement on the debt ceiling, I doubt it. We are back to the point where the House GOP is in such chaos,I don't believe they can pass anything in time.
++Rand Paul doesn't think a debt default is a good idea and wants to raise the age of Social Security and cut Medicare as a condition. Paul Ryan wants to prohibit contraceptive coverage for health insurance as a condition of the debt ceiling raise. The House Caucus wanted budget cuts.
++The Democrats are fighting back by refusing to accept a prolongation of the sequester,which Senator Collins proposed. The Beltway pundits believe this could be an example of Democratic overreach. Ezra Klein had written this past weekend that whatever happens a long term budget deal in the future is dead. Next year, the sequestration cuts begin to take big hunks out of the blotted defense budget. In another world, the Republicans should oppose this. But we are in Superman's Bizarro world.
++John McCain who is apoplectic now appeared on the Sunday Talk shows to urge Democrats to be gracious and give something so the GOP can step down. The conventional wisdom is that there has to be some face-saving gesture for John Boehner so that he keeps his job. "I got to get something out of this."
++David Plouffe, the mastermind of Obama's 2008 victory, outs a default at 50-50.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
The President is Strong,Strong,Strong
++So says Harry Reid after the hour and a half meeting between the congressional leaders and President Obama. Harry Reid said he had never been so proud of the President. John Boehner said that the President refused to negotiate.
++What Boehner meant was that President Obama told him Obamacare has already left the station and it's not going to be de-railed.
++The President said he would not negotiate over the debt ceiling and asked Boehner to bring a clean bill to the House floor where reporters note it now has enough votes to pass.
++Meanwhile House Republicans are trying to pin the blame for the shutdown on the Democrats by passing bills piecemeal to take away the most public faces of the shutdown. For instance, the National Institute of Health has a program for cancer patients when all alternatives have failed. News that they had to turn away 200 patients today stimulated the GOP to pass a short-term bill allowing it to open. The RNC said it would pay the national parks to keep the WWII monument open because of the bad publicity of the Heroes Tour of WWII vets showing up in Washington to find the memorial closed.
++Calgary Cruz said the shutdown has made the United States vulnerable to terrorist attacks. I suppose it wasn't an ironic statement given the terrorism of the House.
++Rand Paul couldn't resist ,saying that President Obama ordered more guards on the WWII memorial than he did at Benghazi.
++Darryl Issa said he would convene an investigation into why public memorials have been closed because of the shutdown. Remember it was only about a month ago that both the Lincoln and Washington memorials were defaced with graffiti. You can imagine the outrage if these monuments were left open.
++Norm Ornstein writes in the Washington Post that the Democrats can play harder ball. Accept the NIH bill amended to include an increase in funding and add the research grants which the House neglected and send it back to the House. If need be, the Senate could amend one of the House bills by adding a clean CR on it for a vote. In short, the Democrats have to make sure the onus is on the Republicans.
++What Boehner meant was that President Obama told him Obamacare has already left the station and it's not going to be de-railed.
++The President said he would not negotiate over the debt ceiling and asked Boehner to bring a clean bill to the House floor where reporters note it now has enough votes to pass.
++Meanwhile House Republicans are trying to pin the blame for the shutdown on the Democrats by passing bills piecemeal to take away the most public faces of the shutdown. For instance, the National Institute of Health has a program for cancer patients when all alternatives have failed. News that they had to turn away 200 patients today stimulated the GOP to pass a short-term bill allowing it to open. The RNC said it would pay the national parks to keep the WWII monument open because of the bad publicity of the Heroes Tour of WWII vets showing up in Washington to find the memorial closed.
++Calgary Cruz said the shutdown has made the United States vulnerable to terrorist attacks. I suppose it wasn't an ironic statement given the terrorism of the House.
++Rand Paul couldn't resist ,saying that President Obama ordered more guards on the WWII memorial than he did at Benghazi.
++Darryl Issa said he would convene an investigation into why public memorials have been closed because of the shutdown. Remember it was only about a month ago that both the Lincoln and Washington memorials were defaced with graffiti. You can imagine the outrage if these monuments were left open.
++Norm Ornstein writes in the Washington Post that the Democrats can play harder ball. Accept the NIH bill amended to include an increase in funding and add the research grants which the House neglected and send it back to the House. If need be, the Senate could amend one of the House bills by adding a clean CR on it for a vote. In short, the Democrats have to make sure the onus is on the Republicans.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Deeper into the Summer Doldrums
++Spent four glorious days in upstate New York where thanks to Nelson Rockefeller,Hugh Carey,Mario Cuomo, and Andrew there exists a modern infrastructure. Who knew there was an Irish Catskills? The Mike Quinn Irish Cultural Center? Remember Mike Quill, the old corrupt union leader. All I could think about was when can I move to the North again.
++So how is the Republican rebranding going? Rand Paul is up to his eyeballs in a controversy that his spokesman and co-author of his book is The Southern Avenger, a man who toasts John Wilkes Booth on his birthday, thinks Lincoln is a monster, and that writes that the South should have won the war. Mike Huckabee traipsed down to Texas to speak for the anti-abortion bill, calling abortion slavery. Rick "Frothy Mix" Santorum followed the day after but he admitted he was confused. Louie Gohmart moved to strike all the Democrats' complaints about the House Farm Bill lacking foodstamps from the record. Rick Lowry and Bill Kristol wrote in the National Review that the House must kill the immigration bill. Mitch McConnell was raising funds off his remark that if Harry Reid eliminated the filibuster he would have "He Killed the Senate on his tombstone". Marco Rubio will not say the term "Obamacare". The House will repeal Obamacare again next week--38 or 39th time if you are counting. The North Carolina legislature voted an anti-abortion law as part of its motorcycle safety law. The net effect it would close 15 out of 16 abortion clinics in the state. Ted Nugent wants to run for President in 2016. Rick Perry already is with his visit to Israel next month. The Alaskan chairman of the state GOP says he has never met Sarah Palin or heard anything from her about her desire to run for Senate. Reince Preibus says he is totally down on the Cooch campaign for government, despite stories that the governor and the Cooch are corrupt as hell.There is still no House budget after 100 days.
++Now if you are banking on winning with a greater percentage of the white vote, why would you go out of your way to insult 51% of the white vote--the women? And if you are banking on winning back lower-middle class white voters, why are you cutting off all food stamps for the first time in 50 years when the bulk of those using them are no longer minorities?And why would you schedule a vote in the House to privatize Medicare, especially when your core constituency is the elderly?
++Pundits point to demographics as the problem with the GOP. But why would you go out of your way to starve your base and kill them off? A new report released by the Department of Health shows "death by zip code". If you are a male living in Marin County, California, you leave to 85, 81 in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia and 67 in Franklin County , West Virginia. If you live in a blue state, you will live at least ten years longer than the male in a Red State. And if your base of support is in the Red States, your base dies off 10-15 years earlier and minorities overwhelm them earlier. Red States have lower levels of education, lower levels of health, lower levels of income and higher percentage of children out of wedlock. This goes for whites as well as minorities. So why then do you campaign against healthcare, women's reproductive rights,and economic progress?
++While the Simpson-Bowles Catfood Commission recommended curtailing Social Security and Medicare and gutting the social welfare net because of the deficit, the United States just posted its largest budget surplus in its history. Will someone apologize to Paul Krugman who saw this all along?
++Quinnipiac has a poll that dispels the myth that President Obama is just not a good politician and can't get anything done. 51% believe gridlock is caused by GOP obstructionism, and only 35% believe it is because Obama can't persuade Congress to come together.
++On Immigration, no matter how you cut it, the majority of Americans and a large plurality of Republicans believe there should be a road to citizenship or at least immigrants should have the right to stay here. Only 28% of the overall sample and Republicans believe immigrants should leave the country. Watch this space because immigration is eventually going to get done--probably late in the year.
++ENDA, the bill to end discrimination against gays in the workplace, passed out of committee 15 to 7, with two Republicans. It is close to a majority in the Senate.
++The rash of anti-Obamacare ads are not really aimed at the healthcare bill per se but the expansion of Medicaid in Republican states. The scare tactics in the ad with the young mother are just that--none of the claims are true but the deeper goal is aimed at depriving the very poor of healthcare.
++Democrats are giddy over the Looney-Tune quality of the Republican positions now. But dreams of taking the House are far-fetched because the gerrymandered districts show Republicans in districts with only about 15% total minorities. So there exists no incentive for the House Republicans to do anything--at all about anything.
++Louie Gohmart has introduced at the behest of Focus on Your Family, Not Mine, a bill sponsoring proselytizing by evangelical Christians in the military. He claims Obama is biased against Christians.
++The Republican Attorney-General of Pennsylvania will not defend the state's anti-gay marriage law.
++The fight over filibuster reform is getting dire because the GOP does not want to fill spaces on legally constituted bodies like the National Labor Relations Board. The net effect when 3 conservative judges ruled Obama's recess appointments unconstitutional is that no labor law in the country can be enforced. This is also true for the EPA,and the Consumer Protection Agency, two other bodies the GOP hate. So the issue becomes can one political party in the minority actually gut the government because they don't like the legally created bodies? In the case of the 2nd Circuit Court, Senator Grassley accuses Obama of wanting to "stack"the court when all he is doing is filling the vacancies. Unless Mitch McConnell gives on this issue, watch for a showdown soon. It is basic politics that the winning Presidential candidate gets to nominate the persons of his or her choice as long as they are qualified.
++In mulling over current GOP strategy, I don't see how the GOP deals with Hillary Clinton, except to dredge up old Clinton scandals that no one remembers and in fact if they do, consider her a victim. She is a woman, who was the First Lady of a Slave State--Arkansas. So how does that work if you are depending on the white South?
++So how is the Republican rebranding going? Rand Paul is up to his eyeballs in a controversy that his spokesman and co-author of his book is The Southern Avenger, a man who toasts John Wilkes Booth on his birthday, thinks Lincoln is a monster, and that writes that the South should have won the war. Mike Huckabee traipsed down to Texas to speak for the anti-abortion bill, calling abortion slavery. Rick "Frothy Mix" Santorum followed the day after but he admitted he was confused. Louie Gohmart moved to strike all the Democrats' complaints about the House Farm Bill lacking foodstamps from the record. Rick Lowry and Bill Kristol wrote in the National Review that the House must kill the immigration bill. Mitch McConnell was raising funds off his remark that if Harry Reid eliminated the filibuster he would have "He Killed the Senate on his tombstone". Marco Rubio will not say the term "Obamacare". The House will repeal Obamacare again next week--38 or 39th time if you are counting. The North Carolina legislature voted an anti-abortion law as part of its motorcycle safety law. The net effect it would close 15 out of 16 abortion clinics in the state. Ted Nugent wants to run for President in 2016. Rick Perry already is with his visit to Israel next month. The Alaskan chairman of the state GOP says he has never met Sarah Palin or heard anything from her about her desire to run for Senate. Reince Preibus says he is totally down on the Cooch campaign for government, despite stories that the governor and the Cooch are corrupt as hell.There is still no House budget after 100 days.
++Now if you are banking on winning with a greater percentage of the white vote, why would you go out of your way to insult 51% of the white vote--the women? And if you are banking on winning back lower-middle class white voters, why are you cutting off all food stamps for the first time in 50 years when the bulk of those using them are no longer minorities?And why would you schedule a vote in the House to privatize Medicare, especially when your core constituency is the elderly?
++Pundits point to demographics as the problem with the GOP. But why would you go out of your way to starve your base and kill them off? A new report released by the Department of Health shows "death by zip code". If you are a male living in Marin County, California, you leave to 85, 81 in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia and 67 in Franklin County , West Virginia. If you live in a blue state, you will live at least ten years longer than the male in a Red State. And if your base of support is in the Red States, your base dies off 10-15 years earlier and minorities overwhelm them earlier. Red States have lower levels of education, lower levels of health, lower levels of income and higher percentage of children out of wedlock. This goes for whites as well as minorities. So why then do you campaign against healthcare, women's reproductive rights,and economic progress?
++While the Simpson-Bowles Catfood Commission recommended curtailing Social Security and Medicare and gutting the social welfare net because of the deficit, the United States just posted its largest budget surplus in its history. Will someone apologize to Paul Krugman who saw this all along?
++Quinnipiac has a poll that dispels the myth that President Obama is just not a good politician and can't get anything done. 51% believe gridlock is caused by GOP obstructionism, and only 35% believe it is because Obama can't persuade Congress to come together.
++On Immigration, no matter how you cut it, the majority of Americans and a large plurality of Republicans believe there should be a road to citizenship or at least immigrants should have the right to stay here. Only 28% of the overall sample and Republicans believe immigrants should leave the country. Watch this space because immigration is eventually going to get done--probably late in the year.
++ENDA, the bill to end discrimination against gays in the workplace, passed out of committee 15 to 7, with two Republicans. It is close to a majority in the Senate.
++The rash of anti-Obamacare ads are not really aimed at the healthcare bill per se but the expansion of Medicaid in Republican states. The scare tactics in the ad with the young mother are just that--none of the claims are true but the deeper goal is aimed at depriving the very poor of healthcare.
++Democrats are giddy over the Looney-Tune quality of the Republican positions now. But dreams of taking the House are far-fetched because the gerrymandered districts show Republicans in districts with only about 15% total minorities. So there exists no incentive for the House Republicans to do anything--at all about anything.
++Louie Gohmart has introduced at the behest of Focus on Your Family, Not Mine, a bill sponsoring proselytizing by evangelical Christians in the military. He claims Obama is biased against Christians.
++The Republican Attorney-General of Pennsylvania will not defend the state's anti-gay marriage law.
++The fight over filibuster reform is getting dire because the GOP does not want to fill spaces on legally constituted bodies like the National Labor Relations Board. The net effect when 3 conservative judges ruled Obama's recess appointments unconstitutional is that no labor law in the country can be enforced. This is also true for the EPA,and the Consumer Protection Agency, two other bodies the GOP hate. So the issue becomes can one political party in the minority actually gut the government because they don't like the legally created bodies? In the case of the 2nd Circuit Court, Senator Grassley accuses Obama of wanting to "stack"the court when all he is doing is filling the vacancies. Unless Mitch McConnell gives on this issue, watch for a showdown soon. It is basic politics that the winning Presidential candidate gets to nominate the persons of his or her choice as long as they are qualified.
++In mulling over current GOP strategy, I don't see how the GOP deals with Hillary Clinton, except to dredge up old Clinton scandals that no one remembers and in fact if they do, consider her a victim. She is a woman, who was the First Lady of a Slave State--Arkansas. So how does that work if you are depending on the white South?
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