Matt's Blog Solutions

ReThugnican HYPOCRITES!!!

2011-08-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

From addictinginfo.org:

24 Policies That Republicans Supported BEFORE They Were Against Them

August 22, 2011

Since President Obama took the oath of office in January 2009, Republicans have reversed their stances on many different policies and beliefs. Here are 24 of them.

1. Health Care Mandates) Prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act by Democrats, Republicans widely supported the idea of an individual health care insurance mandate, Newt Gingrich being perhaps the chief supporter. Republicans have always preached about how people need to take responsibility for themselves, and now that a law exists that makes people take responsibility, the GOP is rejecting it simply on the grounds that President Obama and the Democrats passed it.

2. The Nuclear START Treaty) Republicans shamelessly filibustered the ratification of the Obama START Treaty for quite a period of time and criticized it tremendously and continue to try and find ways to circumvent the treaty today. What Republicans conveniently forget is that Ronald Reagan, the man that Republicans worship like a God, negotiated the very first START Treaty which was signed by yet another Republican, George H. W. Bush in 1991. That treaty expired in 2009 so President Obama negotiated a new one to continue the Reagan legacy. But since President Obama negotiated this treaty, Republicans retreated from Reagan’s policy faster than the decade it took to create the START Treaty in the first place.

3. Dream Act) Immigration reform has been touted by Republicans for decades now. Reagan granted amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants in the 1980′s. Most recently, Republicans worked on immigration reform under the Bush Administration and failed. President Bush and Senator John McCain both supported immigration reform and were willing to cross the aisle to work with Democrats, most notably Edward Kennedy. All of that work and bipartisanship ceased after the 2008 Election. Staunchly opposed to President Obama and anything his administration supports, Republicans turned their backs on immigration reform in favor of militarizing the border and laws that violate the civil rights of Hispanics. Obama’s Dream Act would do much that Reagan would approve of, but Republicans refuse hear anything of it.

4. TARP) Republicans supported TARP when they helped pass it in response to the economic collapse in 2008. President Bush even signed the legislation into law. But since it’s been up to the guiding hands of President Obama to deal with TARP, Republicans have since revoked their support and have been highly critical even as they take credit for it when presenting stimulus checks to their local constituents. The fact is, TARP is successful because President Obama oversaw it and Republicans hate that fact.

5. Bail Out of Auto Industry) Republicans once supported this too but abandoned it once President Obama called for it. The auto industry is a vital manufacturing sector that supports millions of American jobs and Republicans WANTED the industry to fail simply because President Obama wanted the bail out. If it had failed, Republicans would have blamed President Obama for not supporting the American auto industry. The bail out has been a resounding success with most of the money plus interest paid back to the taxpayers. Mitt Romney has since tried to take credit for the idea because it has been so successful.

6. Israel Going Back To Pre-1967 Borders) Many Presidents have suggested this, even George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. But once President Obama repeated it, Republicans immediately denounced the President and threw their support to Israel’s President. This action by Republicans is totally unprecedented. It is reprehensible for American politicians to support a foreign leader more than the American President. Imagine if the Republican Party had overtly supported Hitler over FDR during World War Two. The only reason Republicans are rejecting President Obama’s plan is because they cannot bring themselves to endorse any idea he suggests, even if it is a Republican one.

7. Gun Control) Republicans overwhelmingly reject any and all gun control measures today. Which is very strange considering Ronald Reagan himself supported the Brady Handgun Act. But, it’s still true. Republicans did indeed support gun control measures in the past. It’s different now. Today’s intolerant, prejudiced, and extremist Republican Party is only against gun control now because they believe there needs to be a war against liberals and minority groups. It’s all about fear and war.

8. Public Education) Even the Founding Fathers believed in education for all. Every Republican President in United States history has been supportive of the public education system in this country. Ronald Reagan campaigned on axing the Department of Education but not only did he NOT eliminate it, he amped up its budget. It is only now that President Obama seeks to improve the education system that Republicans are against public education. When President Bush sought to improve public education, Republicans were on board but now that Obama is President, Republicans have decided that all public schools are evil liberal institutions that must be destroyed.

9. Infrastructure Spending) Republicans have always believed in strong infrastructure, until now. Republicans used the power of the federal government to build the railroads in the 1860′s and 1870′s, the Panama Canal in the beginning of the 20th century, and the interstate highway system in the 1950′s. Yet when President Obama called for new infrastructure spending to improve America’s crumbling roads and bridges and to improve our rail lines, Republicans immediately reversed their long-held belief in a strong American infrastructure. Why? Because they hate President Obama and oppose everything he believes in, even if it was once a part of the Republican platform.

10. Child Labor Laws) This one is surprising. Republicans were the ones that championed child labor laws in the first place. Starting in 1852, in the once Republican state of Massachusetts, child labor laws have been fought for by both parties. The only opponent of child labor laws has traditionally been big business. Republicans tried to pass a Constitutional amendment in 1924 and it didn’t succeed. It wasn’t until Democrats passed the Fair Labor Standards Act that child labor laws became federal law. Republicans oppose child labor laws now because of their deep ties with corporations. The goal of the corporate world is to find cheap labor and because President Obama is against huge corporations, Republicans must stand with the corporations, even if that means killing child labor laws.

11. Civil Rights) Republicans were once the champions of civil rights as well. They ended slavery and adopted the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. They splintered over the Civil Rights Act in 1964, although it was a Republican led Supreme Court that ruled in the Brown v Board of Education case, and have become more and more opposed to civil rights ever since. President Obama has called for increased civil rights and because of that, Republicans now oppose civil rights for everyone except Christian white males.

12. Environmental Protection) Originally championed by Theodore Roosevelt, Republicans used to support efforts to protect the environment. Over the last century, however, that support has reversed. Republicans even once supported the environment in the 1970′s when Nixon created the EPA, but no longer. Republicans are now in complete support of the irresponsibility of the oil and coal industry and want to open the entire American coastline and even federally protected lands to drilling and mining.
Republicans even used to support cap-and-trade. The first George Bush signed legislation in 1990 that implemented the cap-and-trade system and many Republicans still do support cap-and-trade. But because President Obama supports it, most Republicans are now against it.

13. Deficit Spending) This one is big. Republicans have employed deficit spending since the Reagan years and abused it during the Bush administration to pass the conservative agenda and to fund wars. Reagan doubled the national debt and George W. Bush proceeded to double it again. But because Democrats controlled the White House and the Congress from 2008 to 2010, Republicans completely reversed their stance on deficit spending and still oppose deficit spending solely on the grounds that a Republican isn’t President. If a Republican were President right now, you can bet the farm that they would abuse deficit spending once again to slam the destructive anti-middle class, anti-poor, anti-women, and anti-America agenda through Congress with no thought about fiscal responsibility whatsoever.

14. Federal Reserve) The Federal Reserve is now a target for most Republicans, which is puzzling because it was a Republican idea. Proposed by Republican leader Nelson Aldrich to organize and regulate the banking system and to enforce monetary policy, and thus stabilize our financial system, the Federal Reserve Act was signed into law by Democratic President Woodrow Wilson in 1913. Republicans now want to dismantle or weaken the Federal Reserve because President Obama needs it to enforce Dodd-Frank which will make banks more responsible and accountable, and will protect consumers.

15. Women’s Rights) The women’s rights movement was born in and grew with the Republican Party in the mid 1800′s. Many Republicans supported voting rights for women although to pass the 19th Amendment it took women threatening to cause Republican losses in the 1920 Election to persuade them to help pass it in Congress. As women gained more equality, they also demanded equal pay for equal work and reproductive rights. Ronald Reagan legalized abortion as Governor of California in the 1960′s and a moderate conservative Supreme Court handed down the Roe v Wade decision in 1973. Today’s Republican Party is now waging a war against women and the harder Democrats and President Obama fight for women’s rights, the harder Republicans will fight to eliminate them because of orders from white Christian extremists.

16. End Of Life Counseling) Republicans referred to this as “death panels” in 2009 in response to President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. But Republicans wholeheartedly supported end of life counseling in their own 2003 Medicare bill. Both of the Bush Presidents supported end of life counseling and even Sarah Palin herself supported it before she suddenly turned against it. In fact, Republicans had supported end of life counseling for decades. So what happened? Easy. President Obama supports it, so Republicans are now against it. It’s really that simple. And petty.

17. Financial Disclosure) Republicans were all for this in 2002 when they passed and President Bush signed McCain-Feingold into law. Campaign financing laws have always been supported by Republicans and Democrats alike, until now. Because of their hatred of President Obama, who supports campaign finance laws, and their desperation for absolute power and authority, Republicans are now completely against financial disclosure. They have allied themselves with the corporate world over the American people in their effort to steer elections their direction and do that, campaign finance laws must not exist. That is why the activist conservative Supreme Court struck down the laws to begin with.

18. Minimum Wage) The way Republicans have been talking about abolishing the minimum wage, you would think they’ve always been against it, right? Wrong. 82 House Republicans and 39 Senate Republicans joined the Democratic majority in passing the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. President Bush signed the bill into law. It is only now that President Obama stands with the American workers that Republicans oppose the minimum wage on behalf of their corporate masters, most notably, Koch Industries. If Republicans were so against the minimum wage, they would not have voted to raise it. Three times.

19. Military Intervention In The Middle East) This should really convince you that Republicans are simply opposing policies because a black President supports them. Reagan, Bush 41, and Bush 43 all supported military intervention in the Middle East yet when President Obama uses the military to intervene in Libya, Republicans all of a sudden become doves? They’ve really revealed themselves with this policy reversal. The fact that under President Obama, Libya successfully overthrew their dictator without one American life being lost must infuriate the GOP.

20. Abortion) It may sound really far-fetched but there are many pro-choice conservatives out there and some politicians are part of that group. Take Ronald Reagan for instance. He made abortion legal in California as Governor of the state. And most recently, it was discovered that extreme right-winger Rick Santorum’s wife had an abortion to save her own life. In my opinion, that means Santorum is for the procedure when his wife’s life is on the line, but every other woman needs to die rather than exercise their right to an abortion which was ruled to exist in Roe v Wade by a conservative leaning court in 1973.

21. Economic Development Administration) Never heard of this you say? This program provides grants to local projects which have created jobs. Republicans such as Susan Collins, Chuck Grassely, and even John Cornyn have supported it in the past. Cornyn stated in March 2010 that funds from an EDA grant “would pave the way for the creation of new jobs and business opportunities, which will strengthen the region’s economy,” according to a local East Texas NBC news affiliate. But now that the GOP plan to crash the economy on purpose is in full swing, Republicans are now calling for an end to the EDA.

22. Lower Taxes) Republican do support lower taxes, except they only support them for the wealthy, NOT the rest of us. Even as they crusade to eliminate taxes on corporations and the wealthy, Republicans fully support a new proposal that would actually raise taxes on the rest of us. And guess who opposes it? That’s right. President Obama. Republicans usually crusaded for lower taxes for everyone, but since they support class warfare now, they have partly reversed themselves.

23. Medicare) I’m aware that Republicans initially opposed Medicare when it was passed, but since its passage into law, Republicans have largely defended it, especially when they try to pander to senior citizens for votes. But if Republicans really wanted to kill Medicare, they would have actually done it when Ronald Reagan was in office. Reagan opposed Medicare when it was created but then did something quite unexpected as President. He saved it. By saving Medicare, Republicans practically endorsed it. Even Theodore Roosevelt supported national health care. And now the GOP has come full circle once again by opposing it, and are trying to slaughter it and the millions of seniors that rely on the popular health care program. Why? Because President Obama is in favor of keeping Medicare around for a very long time and Medicare represents just how popular government-run universal health care can be. So technically speaking, Republicans were against Medicare before they were for it before they were against it.

24. Social Security) Social Security is popular with everybody, even the staunchest right wingers. Ronald Reagan and Milton Freidman supported the New Deal programs of the 1930′s and even Ayn Rand collected Social Security up to her dying breath. Ronald Reagan even saved this program too by raising payroll taxes. This action also saved Medicare as it is part of the Social Security Act. The idea to privatize Social Security has popped up many times but has been met with negative reactions by a majority of the people so those ideas usually die in infancy. President Bush wanted to privatize it, but never did. Republicans had control of Congress and the White House from 2001-2006. If they had wanted to kill Social Security, they would have done so. But now all of a sudden they feel now is the time to privatize it, even as big bankers have proven that they are untrustworthy with money. Oh, and President Obama supports Social Security. Just another reason for Republicans to hate it.

Undoubtedly, one could add even more to the list but now you know what policies Republicans once supported and why they are now against those very same policies. If we take Republican claims to love America and their claims that the Founders were Republicans seriously, we could also now say that Republicans were for America before they were against her.

Our Climate Of Extremes!!!

2011-08-13T09:20:00.000-07:00

From yesterday's (8/12/11) Progress Report:

Our Climate Of Extremes

Aug 12, 2011 | By Brad Johnson

In a speech this month at the Aspen Institute, Vice President Al Gore passionately excoriated the anti-science propaganda of the climate pollution industry. He denounced the decades-long effort by top carbon dioxide polluters to pollute the public’s knowledge of the growing threat of climate change. “There’s no longer a shared reality on an issue like climate even though the very existence of our civilization is threatened,” Gore concluded, after rejecting the denier memes as “the same crap over and over and over again.” As the planet’s climate grows increasingly disastrous, the world’s polluters are digging in. Top multi-national corporations, from Johnson & Johnson to Walmart, fund the American Legislative Exchange Council, a lobbying front group that touts the “benefits of carbon dioxide.” The Republican candidates for president are either long-time deniers of climate science — like Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) — or have cast aside their previous support for carbon cap-and-trade systems, like former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA), former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R), former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R), and Tim Pawlenty.

EXTREME CLIMATE DISASTERS: With fossil pollution superheating the world’s atmosphere, it has been one of the most extreme years to date for climate in the United States in recorded history, and it was previewed by the extreme weather in 2010 that had the most FEMA disaster declarations ever . After the winter’s blizzards and the spring’s floods, it was the hottest July on record in Oklahoma and in communities throughout the United States. July was so hot “that just by plotting the location of each daily heat record that was broken, a nearly complete image of the contiguous United States is visible,” reports NOAA. “Almost 9,000 daily records were broken or tied last month.” And the National Resources Defense Council reported more than 2,000 “code orange” air quality alerts, or times when it is dangerous for children, older adults, or people with breathing problems to be outside, in the first seven months of the year. In fact, every state in the union saw record high temperatures in July. Texas is now in its worst-ever one-year drought. “Corn, soybean and spring-wheat harvests in the U.S., the world’s largest exporter, will be smaller than the government forecast last month after a damaging heat wave.” “Arctic sea ice is thinning, on average, four times faster than the models say, and it’s drifting twice as quickly.” The global oceans continue to store ever more heat. “The Arctic is all but certain to be virtually ice free within two decades,” Center for American Progress senior fellow Joe Romm writes.

EXTREME CLIMATE DENIERS: How did the right wing respond to the record-shattering climate disasters? “Record-breaking Heat Wave Was a Myth,” blared FoxNews.com. “Global Warming Theory Faces Sudden Collapse.” Fox News also attacked SpongeBob SquarePants for “pushing a global warming agenda,” and hosted denier Joe Bastardi, who cited “the first law of thermodynamics” and “La Chatelier’s principle” to argue that the greenhouse effect isn’t physically possible. Texas and Oklahoma are the states hit hardest by climate disasters this year. The oil-rich states are also dominated by politicians who deny the existence of global warming, and who rail against science-based policy to deal with our extreme climate. Governors Rick Perry (R-TX) and Mary Fallin (R-OK) have both issued calls for prayer as the official policy response to their historic heat wave and drought. But still the drought got worse. In a USA Today op-ed this week, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) reflected upon the “devastating” and “historic” Texas drought. He said that policy makers should ignore “flawed” climate science, then joined Perry and Fallin: “A prayer for rain, however, would be appreciated.”

EXTREME CLIMATE FUTURE: “If no mitigating actions are taken, significant disruptions in the Earth’s physical and ecological systems, social systems, security and human health are likely to occur,” the American Physical Society concluded in 2007. “We must reduce emissions of greenhouse gases beginning now.” Fortunately, some leaders are trying to prepare humanity to survive our increasingly catastrophic future. “The climate is clearly changing, with increasing evidence this climate change is leading to more frequent severe weather events,” Trevor Maynard, who heads the office of exposure management at Lloyd’s, said in a new report on long-range forecasting for the insurance industry. “As we suffer through severe droughts, more intense rainfall and flooding, and sea level rise along the coast, the nation’s drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure is coming under increasing levels of stress,” Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) announced, with the introduction of legislation to “help drinking water, wastewater and stormwater utilities prepare for the impacts of climate-related risks.” “The weather is getting worse and more violent,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) recognized at a recent hearing. “The federal government needs to do more to be ready to protect federal assets and provide disaster assistance on an increasing frequency.” Citizens are also rising up with greater urgency, blocking mountaintop removal, protesting at the White House, and organizing global events in September to get the planet moving toward a sustainable future.

Five Republican FACTS!!!

2011-08-03T16:07:00.000-07:00

5 Republican Facts That Every American Should Be Mad About

August 2, 2011

By Robert Sobel

Too bad so many people didn't get out and vote. If they had, maybe we wouldn't be stuck with this lame congress. Image from http://blog.aflcio.org/2010/11/03/election-about-jobs-not-republican-mandate/

There is a lot about the Republican Party that could make you gag. And to narrow it down to only a few specific topics is a tough chore. Here are 5 reasons that Americans should get fired up and start taking action:

1. Ronald Reagan was AWFUL.

The golden boy and savior of the Republican Party, Ronald Reagan , is often made out to be the best thing this country has had in our history. What you won’t hear on right-wing TV and radio like Fox News and Rush Limbaugh is that Reagan nearly tripled the national debt. He lowered the top tax rate from 70% in his first year down to 50% in 1984 and by the time he left office in January of 1989 it was at only 28%. The code name “Reaganomics” was used to describe the idea of “trickle down” or “supply side economics”. They told Americans that giving tax breaks to the wealthiest members of our country would create jobs and that the money would simply trickle down. However, the majority of jobs that were created were sent over seas and the so-called job creators put their money in off shore bank accounts. Or simply placed their wealth in stocks, bonds and real estate and paid a capital gains tax rate of only 15%, the same as a greeter at Wal-Mart. Add in selling nuclear arms to terrorists, the busting up of middle class unions, closing psychiatric wards-leaving the mentally ill to walk on the streets, and raising taxes on the middle class 11 times, I think it’s safe to say that the “golden boy” was nothing more than fools gold.

2. Universal Health Care could have happened in 1993.

In 1993 health care reform was all the rage. President Bill Clinton placed his wife, the First Lady Hillary Clinton, as the face of the program. Promising all Americans to finally receive the care that many other nations had, Hilary Clinton tried to drive this message home not just to average Americans but also spent plenty of time in Congress. A noted exchange with Dick Armey showed that the First Lady had the tough skin to stick it out with the “big boys”. However, due to her inexperience and lack of support from members of her own party, the bill never even got voted on. The far right screamed socialism and the Democrats were, as usual, too scared to come to her defense. Those on the right struck fear in the hearts of conservatives so much that the First Lady had to wear a bullet proof vest during her Health Care bus tour.

3. Medicare should be covering all of us by now, if LBJ had his way.

In 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Social Security Act of 1965 as add-ons to the existing Social Security bill, he had in mind full universal health care for all Americans. Originally, LBJ wanted to lower the Medicare eligibility age every 10 years by 10 years. Continuing each decade until every American was covered; Medicare would have included all of us. However, with big time politicians being bought off by the insurance companies, that dream was never lived out. And as middle class Americans struggle to find care, those insurance companies and politicians continue to live their “American Dream”.

4. ”Big” government is NOT the problem.

From moderates to extremists, every conservative can agree on one thing. Government is the enemy. From Ronald Reagan’s famous quote to the loud mouths on talk radio, the idea of Government in your life has been drilled into people’s heads as a negative. What most of these Americans don’t realize is how much they use and like a strong government. The seniors and disabled who yell about the supposed “Socialized Takeover” enjoy great “socialized” programs like Social Security and Medicare. The unemployed are happy to collect their checks and the low-income earners who vote conservative will gladly take advantage of Medicaid to help pay for their healthcare bills. I wonder where those people send their kids to school? If it’s not to a private school they might want to pipe down. Government isn’t there to run peoples’ lives, it is there to help every member in our society when they need it the most. Let’s regulate the people at the top to keep them from running away with everything all at the same time and we’ll create a fair and safe environment for everyone to live in. If you don’t like it, move to Somalia.

5. The Bush Tax Cuts are even worse than you thought.

Continuing on with “Reaganomics”, George Bush enacted his “Bush Tax Cuts” in 2001 and 2003. According to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, they estimated a loss in revenue over a 10 year period of just under $3 trillion. If you include the interest that needs to be paid, you can add another $606 billion, for a total of $3.6 trillion. As Republicans forced President Obama’s hand in extending these cuts for 2 more years, the country will see a loss of revenue of $561 billion over the next decade. In addition to the loss in revenue, the people who were promised to benefit from these tax cuts haven’t felt it. As with Reagan, under Bush, the wealthiest members of our country took the tax cuts and pocketed the money. While the average middle class American took the few hundred dollars extra they received and paid their electric or cable bill with it. The Bush tax cuts need to be eliminated ASAP or we could be in more trouble than we thought.

Visit me at examiner.com

Trump is an IDIOT!!!

2011-04-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

This is from today's (4/1/11) Progress Report:

ELECTION

Trumpeting Conspiracies

It wasn't long ago that multi-millionaire real estate mogul and NBC's Celebrity Apprentice host Donald Trump considered running a somewhat credible presidential campaign. In 2000, he contemplated a third-party run as the nominee for the Reform Party, and in preparation, laid out a presidential platform that covered various issue areas, including the national deficit, Social Security, U.S. trade policy and campaign finance reform. This time around, however, Trump is taking a different tack. Ever since "The Donald" first floated the idea that he might seek the Republican Party's nomination to run against President Obama in 2012, he has dabbled in nearly every discredited far-right conspiracy theory in a transparent attempt to attract attention and appease the right-wing base.

GOING BIRTHER: Despite overwhelming proof that President Obama was born in Hawaii, it has taken Trump little more than a week to transition from having "just a little doubt" about Obama's birth certificate to becoming a full-fledged birther. After first raising the issue on his March 22 appearance on Good Morning America, Trump escalated his birther nonsense by telling the Daily Caller that he would release his own birth certificate, a clear attempt to make Obama's birth a major campaign issue. He then followed through, only to find out that it wasn't an official birth certificate. And even after conservatives like presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty denounced birtherism, Trump doubled down. He questioned the idea that Obama's parents could have taken out a newspaper ad celebrating his birth, telling Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, "Nelson Rockefeller doesn't put announcements. I've never seen one." O'Reilly admonished Trump for his birther rant, saying his own investigation found two birth notifications in Hawaii newspapers. That's when Trump officially went off the deep end, suggesting Obama's family faked the entire ordeal: "I grew up with Wall Street Geniuses. What they do in terms of fraud, and how they change documents." O'Reilly responded incredulously: "There couldn't have been a sophisticated (conspiracy). What is he, Baby Jesus?"

RIGHT WING GREATEST HITS: On O'Reilly's show, Trump chose to tout another topic popular among fringe right-wingers, transitioning his birther stance into outright Islamophobia. "There's something on that birth (certificate), maybe religion, maybe it says he's a Muslim, I don't know," Trump said. And he hardly stopped there. In an apparent effort to keep up with former pizza company official Herman Cain, the most brazenly anti-Islam candidate on the GOP side, Trump harped about the world's "Muslim problem." Surely, he had some sort of high-level intelligence alerting him to this problem, right? Not quite. "All you have to do is turn on your television," he said. "You know it, and I know it." Part of that Muslim problem, according to Trump, is the President's policy toward Libya. In an interview with Fox News' Greta Van Susteren, Trump pushed the unsubstantiated right-wing theory that Libyan rebels "are closely associated with Iran. And they're closely associated with al Qaeda." In an effort to complete his transformation into a right-wing conspiracy theorist, Trump also pushed the idea that Obama's memoir, "Dreams from My Father," was written by Bill Ayers, and that the Chinese were out to "strip (America) of everything they can strip us of." He's also anti-gay marriage, for no apparent reason. Trump: "I just don't feel good about it."

RATINGS BOON: After Trump's birther discussion with O'Reilly, former Bush strategist Karl Rove said he thought Trump's approach was "a mistake. It will marginalize him." But is it a mistake? In a GOP field that already features two fringe candidates (Cain and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann) and will before long become crowded with multiple other candidates, perhaps Trump is attempting to carve out a niche among the voters on the right edge of the party. Or, perhaps, a millionaire with an instinct for exploiting interests to bolster his pocketbook (think Miss USA or "You're fired!") has figured out a way to occupy the spotlight early in the race and is using it for his own self-gain. Indeed, the ratings for Celebrity Apprentice were dismal early in the season. But with Trump making numerous appearances on both morning network and evening cable TV programs, the show's ratings have suddenly spiked. Either way, it says quite a lot about the sad state of the modern Republican Party that someone like Trump can exploit GOP voters for either electoral or personal gain by running as fast as he can to the farthest right fringe of the party.

You Might be a Republican if ...

2010-11-20T16:58:00.000-08:00

This is from AddictingInfo.org by Bruce Linder:

You Might be a Republican If..........

1) You believe George W. Bush's redistribution of middle-class tax cuts to the top 1% of tax-payers was good for America, but Obama's plan to return it to the middle class is 'socialism.'

2) You believe stem cells are living human beings, but thousands of Iraqi children are 'expendable collateral damage.'

3) You believe tax cuts for billionaires is a great idea, yet you wonder why the economy has stalled, your job just got outsourced to India, and oil company executives receive $400,000,000.00 retirement packages.

4) You believe the surge worked because the violence in Iraq is back to 2006 levels, which is only horrible, compared to what it was in 2007; intolerable. Besides, Brit Hume said so.

5) You think trial lawyers are harmful to America, yet you support prosecuting some guy in Muncie Indiana who burned his 99¢ American flag that was made in China by forced child labor.

6) You're all for the 'rule of law' when it's applied to Bill Clinton for lying about his infidelity, but not for prosecuting Karl Rove and Scooter Libby for committing treason.

7) You think George W. Bush is actually a really smart guy, but his folksy manner just makes him seem dumber than he really is.

8) You believe that those privileged from birth achieve success all on their own, and that those who are born to poverty and never have opportunities for advancement, got what they deserved.

9) You believe Ronald Reagan was a great president who had complete control of all aspects of government, but the Iran-Contra Affair was an insignificant scandal that went on without his knowledge.

10) You believe Democrats tax and spend, but George W. Bush was a fiscal conservative.

11) You believe Oliver North, who was CONVICTED of perjury, obstruction of justice, destroying evidence and accepting bribes, is a patriot. But John Kerry, who saved a man's life while under enemy fire in Vietnam is a coward.

12) You believe George W. Bush kept us safe from terror, and the failure to prevent the 9/11 attacks were Clinton's fault.

13) You actually believe Fox News is fair & balanced.

14) You still believe Saddam had truckloads of WMDs, and that he somehow managed to sneak them into Syria, right under our noses.

15) You believe Terri Schiavo was sentient all along, and Bill Frist had the ability to diagnose her condition by watching a 5 second video of her sleeping.

16) You're in favor of stronger prison sentences for drug users, yet your favorite radio personality is Rush Limbaugh.

17) You complain about having to press 1 for English, yet you hire undocumented workers to mow your lawn because they're cheaper than hiring the kid next door.

18) Homosexuality is abhorrent to you, except when a Republican senator, the president of the National Association of Evangelicals, and a planted White House journalist get caught having sexual affairs with gay men. Then you suddenly feel sorry for them.

19) The war in Iraq makes perfect sense to you, but any suggestion by Barack Obama that we target al Qaeda specifically is 'dangerous and reckless.'

20) You don't mind that president Bush tortured men who were never charged with a crime, yet you're horrified by the wrath of al Qaeda when they capture one of our guys.

21) You believe the 1/10 of 1% of scientists who claim global warming is a hoax, and reject the 99.9% who say it's real, because Sean Hannity and his friends in the oil industry have convinced you that science is a part of a greater liberal conspiracy.

22) You believe patriotism means you should support your government right or wrong ... unless a Democrat's in power, then it's your patriotic duty to call him a closet Muslim, challenge his birth certificate, expose his sex life and impeach him.

23) You're proud of your party's 'culture of life.' Yet you support the death penalty for minors, you believe 600,000 dead Iraqis is justified because one of them was Saddam Hussein, and you oppose confronting the genocide in Darfur because they don't have oil.

24) You support prayer in school, as long as your kids aren't subjected to Muslim prayers.

25) You think Darwin's theory of evolution is a loony fairy tale, and mankind actually began with two naked teenagers, a magic apple and a talking snake.

26) You think $35 billion spent on health care for children is a waste of taxpayer's money, but $1.7 trillion spent on a catastrophic war that has isolated us from our allies, decimated our economy and made us less safe was money well spent.

27) You believe embargoing communist Cuba is sound foreign policy, but trading with China is just good business.

28) You believe Bill Clinton was an immoral cad, but Newt Gingrich and Henry Hyde were faithful husbands (and Larry Craig just has a wide stance).

29) You fervently defend the Constitution, but when president Bush got caught monitoring 300 million phones without a warrant, politicizing our justice system, hyping evidence for going to war and pardoning a convicted perjurer who just happened to be on his staff, then it's okay, because he was 'protecting America.'

30) You were outraged when a gallon of gasoline went from $1.29 to $1.40 during the two terms of the Clinton presidency, but you didn't seem to mind when prices tripled under George W. Bush, the "oil man."

31) You were furious when Bill Clinton pardoned international commodities trader Marc Rich, who was convicted of tax evasion, but applauded when George W. Bush exonerated Scooter Libby for obstructing justice to protect Dick Cheney from a treason indictment.

32) With no evidence whatsoever, you complained of 'voter fraud,' and demanded that thousands of blacks be scrubbed from voting lists during the 2004 election in Ohio, yet when Rush Limbaugh asked his audience to illegally claim to be Democrats and vote for Hillary Clinton during the Ohio Primary in February to "stir up trouble," a FELONY, you were okay with that.

33) You believe Barack Obama should be held accountable for every sermon that Jeremiah Wright ever gave, but John McCain, who sought the endorsement of anti-Semitic, xenophobic, openly racist and homophobic pastors should be given a pass.

34) You believe Barack Obama is either a secret Muslim, was actually born in Kenya, and his parents forged a fake birth certificate when he was born - just in case he should ever run for president, or that his father's nationality disqualifies his son from being president, all because you read that on the Internet.

35) You believe the 8 consecutive years of prosperity and strong economic growth from 1993 - 2001 was due to the work of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, but today's recession is all Clinton's and Obama's fault.

36) You laugh at how much better Barack Obama speaks with a TelePrompTer than without one, yet you never mention the fact that even with a TelePrompTer, every time George Bush opened his mouth, gibberish tumbled out.

37) You still believe Barack Obama has somehow succeeded in fooling every government and independent examination with his "obviously Photoshopped" documents. Instead, you rely on Internet gossip, WorldNetDaily and Jerome Corsi as your sources for "truth."

38) Your conservative media spent more air time discussing Michelle Obama touching the queen of England's arm than on the economy, the environment, terrorism and health care combined.

39) You believe that we should get out of Afghanistan because Obama is "nation building," yet for eight straight years of Bush's bumbling incompetence there, you kept mum. Therefore, attacking Iraq makes sense, even though they never threatened us, but finishing off the job of finding Osama bin Laden; the terrorist who killed 3,000 Americans -- Bush's original task -- is a dumb idea.

40) You were furious that Barack Obama admitted in France that Americans have occasionally been "arrogant, dismissive and derisive," but you cheered them on when Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld were arrogant, dismissive and derisive.

41) You believe that Obama's $3.6 trillion budget is an outrage, but never once complained that George Bush turned Bill Clinton's $300 billion surplus into a $1.3 trillion deficit. And it never once occurred to you that Bush deliberately omitted the Iraq and Afghanistan wars from those statistics, which means Bush's TRUE deficit was $3.1 trillion.

42) You supported Gov. Sarah Palin, partly because you believed she kept a good Christian home. This, despite the fact that her seventeen year old unmarried daughter was knocked up, her son was accused of vandalizing 44 school buses (cutting the brake lines of school buses - HELLO!!?) and was given the choice of going to jail or join the military, and Palin herself was found guilty of abusing the power of her office. But Barack Obama can't possibly be a true Christian, because his father was a Muslim, and his middle name is Hussein. (Besides, he's black, and everybody knows that Jesus was a blond haired blue eyed white man.)

43) You believe the only solution to gun violence is to make sure everybody is armed to the teeth. That way, when some crazy person goes on a killing spree, right-thinking people will take out the killer, and tranquility will prevail throughout the land.

44) You believe the mainstream news anchors are crazy, biased and filled with hate, but Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity are rational, accurate and informative.

45) You defend Rush Limbaugh's right to wish for Obama to fail, and therefore, the failure of our republic, yet you call Democrats the "blame America first crowd."

46) You claim that the economic crisis is the fault of the Democrats, but never mention that it was the Reagan administration that massively deregulated the banking industry in 1982, and it was Phil Gramm - McCain's choice for economic advisor - who completed the task for his pals in the banking industry in 1999.

47) You believe the failure of the US automobile industry is primarily the fault of the unions, and not because management of the three corporations insisted on producing vehicles that nobody wanted. And you're angry with the $28.00 per hour average wage of the work force, but you believe that the multimillion dollar salaries of the men who bankrupted the industry are perfectly reasonable.

48) You believe Barack Obama is a "narcissistic megalomaniac," because you heard Glenn Beck call him that once, but Beck himself is a humble man, concerned only for your welfare (brought to you by Goldline!).

49) You believe anybody who doesn't subscribe to Orly Taitz' birther movement is a RINO, and those who do, are carrying the torch of Reaganism.

50) You think this list is mean-spirited and biased, and even though you privately acknowledge to yourself that it's all true, you believe the Democrats are just as bad. Here's a bulletin: Nobody has ever been this bad.

Republicans HATE Americans!!!

2010-11-01T11:14:00.000-07:00

This is from today's Progress Report:

ELECTION

An Extreme Makeover

During the current campaign season, many Republican candidates have pushed to revive failed and unpopular policies from the GOP past, such as eliminating the Department of Education or privatizing Social Security. "We need to get back to transferring many of the powers of the federal government to the states," said Alaska's Republican Senate nominee Joe Miller, calling for the abolition of Social Security as we know it. "I'd start by eliminating the U.S. Department of Education at a cost of $50 billion and then move on to Housing and Urban Development," said Utah Republican Senate nominee Mike Lee. Lee's call was echoed by Nevada's Republi can Senate nominee Sharron Angle, who said, "I would like to go through to the elimination. I think we start by defunding it, and the reason that we should eliminate it is because its not the federal government's job to provide education for our children." And these newcomers to the national political stage may find many sympathetic ears in the incumbent Congress, as the GOP's shift to the right and embrace of the Tea Party has caused it to espouse an extreme anti-government zeal. These ideas -- and others becoming part of the mainstream right wing, like ending the 14th amendment's guarantee of birthright citizenship -- highlight the extreme policy positions that have come to define the modern-day conservative movement and the candidates that it has adopted.

PRIVATIZING SOCIAL SECURITY : In 2005, President George W. Bush attempted to privatize Social Security, but the effort fell flat in the face of wide public opposition. Bush now says his greatest failure was not privatizing Social Security, and many Republicans are attempting to succeed where Bush did not. According to a Center for American Progress Action Fund review, 104 Republicans in Congress have, at one point or another, supported privatizing Social Security. In all, 47 percent of House Republicans and 49 percent of Senate Republicans are on record in support of the idea. Many Republican candidates for the Senate -- including Pat Toomey (PA), Ken Buck (CO), John Boozman (AR), and Rob Portman (OH) -- have also proposed some form of privatization. This push comes despite the 2008 turmoil in the stock market, which would have cost an October 2008 retiree almost $30,000 in lost savings. In the end, creating private Social Security accounts would impose new risks on seniors , create new administrative costs and benefit reductions, and wouldn't even set the Social Security system on a path to solvency. In fact, such a move would force the federal government into trillions of dollars of new borrowing, as money that should have gone into the general Social Security system gets diverted into the creation of personal accounts. This is an unnecessary risk, as more than 13 million seniors (and 20 million people in all ) are kept out of poverty only because of Social Security.

ABOLISHING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION : As recently as 1996, the Republican Party platform declared, "The Federal government has no constitutional authority to be involved in school curricula or to control jobs in the market place. This is why we will abolish the Department of Education." However, multiple bills attempting to do so were stymied in Congress. As ThinkProgress' Scott Keyes pointed out, "The last time the Republicans made a concerted effort to eliminate the Department of Education in 1995, they ran into a strong public backlash. Polling conducted by Hart Research Associates found that 80 percent of respondents in June 1995 wanted the Department of Education to be maintained, while just 17% wanted it eliminated." And evidently not much has changed, as a new New York Times/CBS poll found that education funding is the last area in which respondents would like to see spending cuts. But that hasn't stopped plenty of GOP candidates -- 36 in all -- from advocating for the Department's abolition. And those candidates would find plenty of like-minded colleagues in Congress, as 75 incumbents have also supported the idea in the past. The Department of Education is currently responsible for the federal student loan program, Pell Grants, and education reform programs like the Teacher Incentive Fund and Race to the Top.

ENDING BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP : In April, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), after previously working with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on crafting an immigration reform package, proposed that the 14th amendment's guarantee of birthright citizenship should be overturned. "I'm looking at the laws that exist and see if it makes sense today," Graham said. "Birthright citizenship doesn't make so much sense when you understand the world as it is." While Graham's declaration was challenged by conservatives outside of Congress -- Mark McKinnon, a former Republican adviser to President Bush, said, " ;The 14th Amendment is a great legacy of the Republican party. It is a shame and an embarrassment that the GOP now wants to amend it for starkly political reasons" -- Graham's idea received a very different reception on Capitol Hill, with Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) all saying Congress should at least hold hearings on the issue. In all, 130 Republicans in Congress want to consider ending the 14th amendment's citizenship guarantee, which amounts to nearly 60 percent of the Republicans in Congress. As Keyes put it, "Ending birthright citizenship is no idle belief in the GOP caucus. Rather, Republicans have been pushing this idea for n early two decades, introducing 28 separate bills to eliminate birthright citizenship since 1995."

It's "Entertainment" NOT News!!!

2010-10-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

... and I use the term "entertainment" lightly ... the propaganda department of the right-wing also gets a big chunk of their money from a Saudi Arabian stock holder (who is the biggest investor after Rupert Murdoch) ... from today's Progress Report:

MEDIA ACCOUNTABILITY

The Fox News Factor

At a strategy meeting earlier this month, Delaware GOP Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell reportedly told party insiders skeptical about her campaign that she had Fox News' "Sean Hannity in my back pocket, and I can go on his show and raise money by attacking you guys." The fact that Fox News and its right-wing news personalities favor conservative candidates is not a secret to many people with a cable box, but amidst the current discussion over how big money is influencing this election cycle, Rupert Murdoch's highly rated "news" channel is rarely placed in the discussion. It should be: Fox News, part of the multi-billion dollar News Corporation, uses its $1.21 billion budget to provide a 24-hour propaganda and fundraising outlet for conservative candidates, many of whom confess the channel is their preferred method of "getting their voice out." The channel hosts or straight-out employs more conservative politicians than any other outlet, and provides a constant stream for their misinformation, which is often abetted by Fox News personalities, many of whom campaign for or advise GOP candidates off the air. The right-wing billionaires who are the financial backbone of the Tea Party movement have a partner in Fox News, which has been instrumental in propagating its message, even hosting live Tea Party rallies from outdoor Fox News studios. And in recent months, News Corp. has simply handed over millions of dollars to conservative campaign outfits like the Republican Governors Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

GETTING THEIR VOICE OUT: O'Donnell received instruction on how to use Fox News to her political advantage from the master: paid Fox News contributor Sarah Palin. "[O'Donnell] is gonna have to dismiss that, go with her gut, get out there, speak to the American people, speak through Fox News, and let the independents who are tuning into you, let them know what it is that she stands for, the principles behind her positions," Palin explained. Palin herself turned to Fox News during the 2008 campaign after embarrassing interviews with other mainstream outlets, and in the time since, retained Fox News personality Greta Van Susteren's husband as a political adviser. In fact, every major contender for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination that's not currently in office is on the Fox News payroll, with the exception of Mitt Romney, and all but one speak only on that network. According to Media Matters research, these potential candidates made a whopping 269 appearances on Fox News through the end of September. So far this year, none of the potential contenders on the Fox News payroll have appeared on any other television news outlet with the exception of Newt Gingrich. "We have tried to book many of them, but they have always refused, saying they are exclusive to Fox," one rival network staffer told Politico. This election cycle, numerous Republican congressional candidates have also chosen to "speak through Fox News." For example, Washington Senate candidate Dino Rossi has given at least five interviews to Fox News just in the past month, including having Fox News cameras on the campaign trail with him twice, while giving no interviews to any other national cable news outlet. During these interviews, Rossi has stood up to questioning that can generously described as "helpful" -- like this probing question from Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum: "That's a lot of pressure on you, Mr. Rossi. How [are] you holding up under that?" Or this one from Hannity: " So what story is it that you want to tell in this election that's going to make the difference and push you over the top?"

MISLEADING CONTENT: Fox News coverage of this election cycle is no more balanced than its guest list. The list of falsehoods and bogus story lines advanced by the network is too long to catalogue entirely, but just a few examples from recent weeks: Bill O'Reilly said Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) "may have come out of the closet" in support of "socialistic philosophy;" the hosts of Fox & Friends later wondered if a Pelosi speech struck a "socialist tone." Hannity also opined that House Democrats passed health care reform "with, basically, what I consider to be the moral equivalency of a bribe," and Neil Cavuto asked Republicans to promise "destroy" health care reform on the campaign trail. Even ostensible straight news reporters like Carl Cameron assert things like Obama's "liberal agenda caused" an "uproar" in Indiana. The Fox effect has a real impact on the nation's business, extending beyond elections to the passing of legislation.When Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was negotiating to join Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) in their attempt to craft an energy bill, the Republican warned Lieberman and Kerry that they needed to get as far as they could in negotiating the bill "before Fox News got wind of the fact that this was a serious process," one of the people involved in the negotiations said to The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza.

SHOWING THEM THE MONEY: When conservative politicians appear on Fox News, they don't just get softball questions -- they also get money. During his frequent appearances, Rossi was sure to note several times that viewers could visit his website, and that he "needed the help." Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle, another politician who gives interviews almost exclusively to Fox News, explained that she doesn't do interviews with other mainstream outlets because "Well, in that audience, will they let me say I need $25 dollars from a million people go to SharronAngle.com send money?" But on Fox News, when she made a fundraising pitch on Hannity's show, she made $40,000 "before we even got out of the studio in New York." Fox News has provided tremendous helps towards organizing and fundraising for the Tea Party movement as well -- Sean Hannity, Greta Van Susteren, and other Fox News personalities actually hosted the first tax day Tea Party rallies, in 2009, and just this week have been relentlessly promoting the Tea Party Express campaign bus.When candidates aren't raising money on Fox airwaves, the parent company is often just forking it over to conservative causes: News Corp. has given repeated donations to the Republican Governors Association and has also given $1 million to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is running an aggressive ad campaign against Democratic candidates. There's a benefit for Fox News in this too -- it made $534.8 million in pure profit last year. The Fox News political and money machine is hard to even categorize. Few reasonable people would call it a journalistic outfit. As Center for American Progress senior fellow Eric Alterman wrote, "Fox is something new -- something for which we do not yet have a word. It provides almost no actual journalism. Instead it gives ideological guidance to the Republican Party and millions of its supporters, attacking its opponents and keeping its supporters in line. And it does so at a hefty profit, thereby turning itself into the political equivalent of a perpetual motion machine."

Meg ... Meg ... Meg ...

2010-10-02T11:39:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted on my blog for quite some time ... I keep meaning to and then I end up posting stuff over on Facebook ... I heard on NPR yesterday that Meg Whitman is 54 years old (someone was commenting that Jerry Brown actually looked younger than she did and he's in his 70's) ... what kind of life has this woman been leading if she looks TEN YEARS older then she actually is ... this is from yesterday's Progress Report:

IMMIGRATION

Meg Whitman's Gran Problema

On Wednesday, California Republican gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman's former housekeeper -- Nicky Diaz Santillan -- held a press conference with her lawyer Gloria Allred to announce that Whitman employed her for nine years and knew she was an undocumented immigrant, but turned a blind eye and exploited their relationship. According to Diaz Santillan, Whitman knew for years that she was undocumented, but fired her just a few months before she announced that she was running for governor. "From now on you don't know me and I don't know you," Diaz Santillan claims Whitman told her in the summer of 2009. Santillan also alleges that Whitman "exploited, disrespected, humiliated and emotionally and financially abused" her and that she was not fully compensated for wages and transportation. Whitman has flatly denied knowingly employing an undocumented worker, telling reporters that she terminated Diaz Santillan's employment as soon as she learned of her immigration status. Whitman has also pinned the blame on opponent Jerry Brown (D), describing the allegations as "smear politics" motivated by Brown. Whitman has said she will take a lie detector test when Brown and Diaz Santillan submit to a lie detector. However, Whitman can't deny that she employed an undocumented immigrant for almost a decade, whether she knew it or not. Given Whitman's own politicization of the immigration issue throughout her campaign, she has largely dug this hole for herself. Her campaign has been marked by flip-flops and deception on the immigration issue -- and now possibly hypocrisy.

PRIMARY WEDGE POLITICS: Whitman once said that she favored a "program in which people would go to the end of the line, pay a fine, and do things that would allow for a path to legalization." Then, her primary race against immigration hardliner Steve Poizner tightened. When Poizner began portraying Whitman as soft on immigration, she went out of her way to clarify that what she really "meant" was that she supports reform that "secures the border first and includes a temporary guest worker program" and declared herself "100 percent against amnesty, no exceptions." She also proposed "holding employers accountable for hiring undocumented workers," and advocated for "a more efficient system" to verify the immigration status of workers seeking employment. Whitman and Poizner agreed that they would cut or end Assembly Bill 540, a state bill enacted into law in 2002 that allows undocumented immigrants who meet certain requirements to pay resident fees at colleges and universities. Whitman then proceeded to release an ad featuring her campaign chairman and former Gov. Pete Wilson (R-CA) who affirmed that Whitman will be "as tough as nails" on immigration. As the governor who backed Proposition 187 -- an Arizona-type law that was ultimately deemed unconstitutional -- Wilson's endorsement was meant to give Whitman credibility amongst the Republican right-wing base. In June, Whitman defeated Poizner "in the most expensive campaign in California history."

GENERAL ELECTION FLIP-FLOP: Once Whitman nabbed the Republican nomination, she quickly realized that she had to start focusing her efforts on repairing relations with the Latino community. On June 17, Whitman reminded California Latino voters of her opposition to Arizona's controversial immigration law in an ad that aired during the Spanish-language broadcast of the Mexico-France World Cup game. The ad would be the first of many. State Senator Gil Cedillo (D) called Whitman's Latino outreach "Orwellian" because of her "complete saturation" of Spanish language radio and television airtime. Billboards in Spanish also started to pop up all over California proclaiming that Whitman would have opposed Proposition 187 and opposes the controversial Arizona immigration law. For the first time in 30 years, Whitman opened a GOP gubernatorial office in the Latino-heavy and predominately Democratic East Los Angeles neighborhood. Meanwhile, Wilson quietly slipped behind the scenes. Rather than talking about "amnesty" or securing the border, Whitman began telling Latinos, "I'm engaging the Latino community early, because I understand and value the contributions you make to our state. My door is open. I really can't do this job without your support." However, her campaign was delivering a very different message to the rest of the California electorate. In English, Whitman reasoned that the Arizona law should be able to stand in Arizona -- explaining that the only reason she opposes implementing the Arizona law in California is because it is a "much bigger state with much bigger geography." In an interview with conservative radio hosts, Whitman explicitly affirmed that she opposes a path to legalization for undocumented workers despite the fact that she proclaimed in a Spanish-language editorial that she and Brown share an almost identical immigration platform. Brown, however, does support comprehensive immigration reform that includes a legalization program. In a debate against Brown just this week, Whitman vowed to crack down on employers who hire undocumented workers and reiterated her opposition to legalizing undocumented immigrants. Unsurprisingly, these tough immigration messages were never broadcasted by her campaign in Spanish.

THE POWER OF THE LATINO VOTE: Particularly in the wake of Arizona's SB-1070 bill, Latino voters care deeply about the immigration issue. A recent poll found that "since the end of 2009, immigration has catapulted to the top issue of personal concern among 1 in 4 Latinos." The same poll revealed that 68 percent of Latinos said they would support candidates who favor immigration reform, while only 19 percent said they would be willing to support a candidate who opposed it. In California, Republicans are still hurting from the effects of Proposition 187. In a report released by the Center for American Progress, CAP policy analyst Gebe Martinez writes, "after 1994, California Democrats won every presidential, U.S. Senate, and gubernatorial election until 2003" -- largely thanks to a Latino electorate that was deeply offended by Wilson and his party. How Whitman presents her immigration views to Latinos is especially critical given that they represent 21.1 percent of California’s registered voters. Meanwhile, 44.6 percent (or 4.4 million people) of California's immigrants are naturalized U.S. citizens. Even before the controversy involving her housekeeper broke, Latinos were already skeptical of Whitman. Polls show Brown at anywhere between a seven to 19 point lead amongst Latino voters. This week's events probably won't help. Fernando Espuelas of Univision writes, "Whatever the merits of the case now being litigated in the media by suffering victim specialist attorney Gloria Allred, the optics of this issue are horrible, and possibly fatal for Whitman's candidacy." The Service Employees International Union captures the hypocrisy of Whitman's posturing on the immigration in a Spanish language radio ad: "Whitman attacks undocumented workers to win votes, but an undocumented woman worked in her home for nine years." Whitman has already had a tough time trying to explain her shifting position on immigration reform to the general electorate. Chances are it's going to be even harder now that she has to justify her recently articulated zero-tolerance immigration policies and lack of support for reform despite her firsthand experience with the broken immigration system.

BASTARD ReThugnicans!!!

2010-04-05T11:50:00.000-07:00

This is from today's Progress Report:

ECONOMY

Hurting Unemployed Americans For Political Purposes

Last week, the Labor Department announced the good news that the U.S. economy added 162,000 jobs in March, "the most created in nearly three years." "We have some more work to do, but I think the economy is definitely getting stronger," said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. "We've made a lot of progress, we've got some work to do still and it's going to take some time to heal the damage." Included in the Labor Department's April 2 report was the fact that nearly 15 million Americans remain out of work, putting the unemployment rate at 9.7 percent. Unfortunately, beginning today, hundreds of thousands of these people will be losing their unemployment benefits. On March 25, Senate Republicans, led by Oklahoma's Tom Coburn, blocked "a $9 billion measure containing one-month extensions of unemployment insurance." His move had the backing of the GOP leadership, and now unemployed Americans will have to wait for relief until Congress returns from recess on April 12, when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) promises that extending benefits will be the top priority. "It is inexcusable and irresponsible for Republicans to once again block the extension of these benefits," said Reid. "Their excuses ring hollow to American workers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own and are trying to put food on the table, pay the rent, and take their children to the doctors."

FISCAL 'RESPONSIBILITY' AT THE EXPENSE OF THE UNEMPLOYED: Coburn is taking a page directly out of the playbook of Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY). In late February, Bunning objected to Reid's request for unanimous consent to approve a month-long extension of unemployment insurance benefits. Bunning finally relented after several Republicans began pressuring him. This time, however, the GOP leadership is standing solidly behind Coburn. In fact, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) is even saying that Republicans should have given Bunning more support. "It took an act of courage like Sen. Bunning's to perhaps jolt people into the awareness of how bad it had really gotten," he said. The issue for Republicans is that no unemployment benefits should be extended unless Congress offsets the cost of the move by taking funds out of the stimulus. Coburn has actually tried to argue that out-of-work Americans will appreciate the GOP obstruction: "Hopefully they're not going to stay unemployed, and when they're reemployed, one of two things is going to happen: Either we're going to cut spending or somebody's going to raise their taxes." However, as the National Employment Law Project's Judy Conti explained, offsetting unemployment benefits is just bad economics. "Every economist from every side of the political spectrum will tell you that unemployment benefits are most stimulative when they are not offset," she said. "In the history of the unemployment program, we have never off set these programs." Democrats are arguing that the unemployment benefits extension is considered "emergency spending" and therefore not subject to paygo rules. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) has also wondered why the GOP insists on fiscal responsibility only at the expense of the less well-off: "Under President Bush, under the Republican Congress, that went away pretty fast. By not paying for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, somehow, that was OK."

REAL EFFECTS: The expiration of unemployment benefits will hit Americans across the nation. The Labor Commissioner of Maine, where approximately 1,500 people will lose benefits this week, said that Congress' delay is an "administrative nightmare." New York is estimating that 46,000 residents will lose benefits. In Utah, where 1,300 people will see their benefits lapse today alone, the Department of Workforce Services is urging people to continue filing their weekly benefit claims in the hope that Congress will quickly pass an extension that will apply retroactively. However, it's not only unemployment benefits that Republicans are blocking; the package they're holding up also included extensions for COBRA health insurance subsidies, a delay on cuts in Medicare payments to doctors, poverty guidelines, and authorization for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Record amounts of rainfall in the Northeast have brought the critical nature of the NFIP into focus in recent weeks. Flooding in Rhode Island was the worst it's been in 100 years, Boston saw its wettest March since record keeping began in 1872, while "bridges and highways have washed out from Maine to Connecticut and sewage systems have been overwhelmed to the point that families were asked to stop flushing toilets." National Guard troops were mobilized to aid residents in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts. According to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, there are 5.5 million flood insurance policy holders in flood plains, homeowners who are now unable to renew their policies. If any of those homeowners were victims of the current flooding, they will "face complications" filing claims.

GOP BASHING UNEMPLOYED AMERICANS: Despite backing Coburn's blockade, Kyl on Sunday claimed that he supports "extending unemployment benefits because unemployment is so high." In fact, Roll Call reported last week that Republicans are planning to blame Democrats for the lapse in benefits, believing the issue "can play to their favor." Senate Republicans are pointing to the fact that House Democrats refused to go along with a plan agreed to by Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to pass a one-week extension of the benefits. The House, however, had already voted for the one-month extension. Additionally, it's unclear whether Republicans actually want to renew the benefits at all. Last month, Kyl said that unemployment benefits dissuade people from job-hunting "because people are being paid even though they're not working. ... [C]ontinuing to pay people unemployment compensation is a disincentive for them to seek new work." Rep. Steve King (R-IA) has warned against turning the "safety net" of unemployment benefits into a "hammock," and Rep. Dean Heller (R-NV) has said that the government may be creating "hobos." Americans aren't receiving unemployment benefits because they're lazy, despite the GOP's claims. In this recession, the "share of the long-term unemployed who have been out of work and pounding the pavement in search of a new job for at least six months is at a record-breaking 44.1 percent, or 6.5 million workers." A major reason for this long-term unemployment is that there just aren't enough jobs for the unemployed, with more than "six unemployed workers per job opening."

Texas SUCKS!!!

2010-03-19T12:14:00.000-07:00

Yet another reason to hate Texas ... from today's Progress Report:

EDUCATION

Jefferson Is History In Texas

If America's lucky, what happens in Texas will stay in Texas -- at least when it comes to education standards. It would even better if the right wing's destructive manipulation of the state's schools wasn't happening at all. Last week, the Republican-dominated Texas Board of Education approved a social studies curriculum that extols the importance of the National Rifle Association, Phyllis Schlafly, Confederate leader Jefferson Davis, and Joseph McCarthy. Right-wing board members removed Thomas Jefferson from "a list of figures whose writings inspired revolutions in the late 18th century and 19th century"; many of them bear ill will toward the third U.S. president because he coined the term "separation between church and state." They also decided to require U.S. history classes to teach the difference between legal and illegal immigration. Last week's vote was the culmination of a decades-long plot by social conservatives to gain control over the influential Board of Education and, ultimately, the power to impose a far-right ideology on the nearly 5 million schoolchildren in Texas. Unfortunately, what's happening in the Lone Star State may spread nationally: Texas is one of the largest textbook buyers in the nation, and publishers, eager to get the business, often tailor their books to the state's standards.

IN WITH NEWT GINGRICH, OUT WITH SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE: The Texas Board of Education is trying to create an alternate universe where McCarthy's dangerously slanderous allegations were true, Ronald Reagan was the greatest president in U.S. history, the separation of church and state doesn't exist, global warming is a myth, and people of color barely exist. The board voted 10-5 along party lines to give preliminary approval to these changes last week, and they will likely give final approval in May. Although the state has a large Latino population, efforts by Latino board members to "include more Latino figures as role models" in the curriculum were consistently defeated. At one point, a board member stormed out, saying, "They can just pretend this is a white America and Hispanics don't exist. They are going overboard, they are not experts, they are not historians. They are rewriting history, not only of Texas but of the United States and the world." Republican Don McLeroy, the board's leading conservative crusader, lost a battle to "remove hip-hop and insert country music in its place from a proposed set of examples of cultural movements." Telling, however, was Republican Pat Hardy's justification for including hip hop: White people listen to the music too. "These people are multimillionaires, and believe me, there are not enough black people to buy that," she said. "There are white people buying this." Important liberal figures are also being wiped out of U.S. history. The Republican majority voted against requiring Texas textbooks and teachers to cover the late Democratic senator Edward Kennedy, the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and leading Hispanic civil rights groups. (Hillary Clinton and Thurgood Marshall, the country's first African-American Supreme Court justice, will be taught.) Instead, students will learn about "the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s." "We are adding balance," said McLeroy. "History has already been skewed. Academia is skewed too far to the left."

RIGHT-WING PLOT TO TAKE OVER TEXAS' EDUCATION SYSTEM: McLeroy may be one of the most influential education officials in Texas, but he's certainly no expert. "The way I evaluate history textbooks is first I see how they cover Christianity and Israel," he told the Washington Monthly. "Then I see how they treat Ronald Reagan -- he needs to get credit for saving the world from communism and for the good economy over the last twenty years because he lowered taxes." Beginning in the 1960s, social-conservative "citizen activists" started taking advantage of the state's "little-known citizen-review process that allowed the public to weigh in on textbook content." Publishers began "self-censoring" their books to avoid protests by these activists. The situation became so absurd that in 1995, the Texas legislature finally intervened "after a particularly heated skirmish over health textbooks -- among other things, the board demanded that publishers pull illustrations of techniques for breast self-examination and swap a photo of a briefcase-toting woman for one of a mother baking a cake." The mid-90s is also when the Texas GOP began aggressively going after local school board races and in 2006, Republicans claimed 10 of the 15 Board of Education seats. One of the ideologues on the board is Cynthia Dunbar, who has called public education a "tool of perversion." In 2007, Gov. Rick Perry (R) named McLeroy, a suburban dentist, as chairman. The standards the board is now voting on were recommended by right-wing friends of the conservative bloc, including "a Massachusetts-based preacher who has argued that California wildfires and Hurricane Katrina were God's punishment for tolerating gays." Although the Texas Education Agency originally assembled a team of teachers and professors to review the standards, McLeroy pushed them out. The Board of Education's right-wing agenda has been aggressively pushed by Fox News in recent weeks, with the network claiming that liberals in the state are trying to remove mentions of Christmas and Independence Day from textbooks. The claims were so outrageous that the Texas Education Agency put out a press release debunking them. McLeroy may have gone too far: He recently lost his primary re-election battle to a more moderate Republican.

SPREADING OUTSIDE OF TEXAS: As the New York Times explains, Texas' standards "serve as a template for textbook publishers, who must come before the board next year with drafts of their books." Because the Texas market is so large, books for the state's students "often rocket to the top of the market, decreasing costs for other school districts and leading them to buy the same materials." "The books that are altered to fit the standards become the bestselling books, and therefore within the next two years they'll end up in other classrooms," said Fritz Fischer, chairman of the National Council for History Education. While Texas's ultra-conservative positions were generally balanced "by the more-liberal pull of California, the nation's largest textbook market," California has delayed buying new textbooks until 2014, giving Texas "unparalleled power to shape the textbooks that children around the country read for years to come." Textbook publishers have become nervous by the bad publicity, saying that they now have the ability "to deliver completely customized content" to different states. The situation in Texas, however, has also made textbook authors uneasy and wondering whether they'll be comfortable endorsing their own books. "I'm made uncomfortable by mandates of this kind for sure," said Paul S. Boyer, University of Wisconsin-Madison professor emeritus and author of several popular U.S. history textbooks, including some that are on the approved list in Texas.

Faux News!!!

2009-10-16T08:13:00.000-07:00

This is from today Progress Report ... they need to change their name to "Faux Entertainment" because they DON'T provide news, facts and it's NOT "fair and balanced":

MEDIA

Faux News

In recent days, a war of words has erupted between Fox News and the White House. It began last week when White House communications director Anita Dunn told Time magazine, "[Fox News] is opinion journalism masquerading as news." Last weekend, she told CNN, "Fox News operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party." This set off a blustering reaction from Fox, whose senior vice president Michael Clemente responded, "It's astounding the White House cannot distinguish between news and opinion programming. It seems self-serving on their part." Fox News host Glenn Beck went further, comparing the White House effort to call out Fox News's partisanship to Richard Nixon's attacks on the press and compiling of an enemies list. The truth is, Fox engages in practices that a legitimate news network would never do, regularly promoting GOP talking points and misinforming its audience on key policy debates.

A GOP TALKING POINTS MACHINE: While Fox infamously maintains that it is "fair and balanced," the fact is that the network often does little more than shovel out Republican Party talking points. For example, its "news" anchors regularly parrot the "where are the jobs?" mantra of the GOP. In July, House Republicans, one after another, took to the floor to engage in political theater by repeatedly asking that question. Numerous Fox hosts, especially America's Newsroom co-host Bill Hemmer, have echoed that talking point time and time again, failing to mention that they borrowed it from the GOP. Another example of the network aligning itself directly with the Republican agenda was its endless promotion of the conservative "tea party" demonstrations. The network even went as far as to "[provide] attendance and organizing information" for the right-wing demonstrations -- hardly the behavior of an objective network. As Comedy Central's Jon Stewart recently pointed out, the network gave wall-to-wall coverage of the anti-tax, anti-government demonstrations, yet completely ignored a similarly-sized demonstration in favor of gay rights. Indeed, Fox News chief executive Roger Ailes has proudly boasted that his network aiming to be "the voice of opposition."

A NETWORK OF DISINFORMATION: Fox repeatedly deceives its audience. A 2003 study found that 80 percent of those who primarily relied on Fox News believed falsehoods about why the U.S. invaded Iraq. In June 2007, the Project for Excellence in Journalism found that Fox covered the war less than CNN and MSNBC, and yet, its anchors now claim the network was "very faithful about covering all the bad news that came out of Iraq." A poll conducted last August found that 72 percent of self-identified Fox News viewers believe the false claim that health reform will provide insurance to undocumented immigrants, 79 percent believe it will use taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions (it won't), and 75 percent believe that it will allow the government to put the elderly to death. This isn't to say that the network always misinforms people. In a recent exchange with Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), Fox host Shepard Smith rightly corrected the senator and disproved his own network's talking point that a public option would mean a "government takeover" of the entire health care system. As Smith pointed out, the public option is simply a government-run health insurance plan that people can choose. This left the Barrasso flummoxed and clearly surprised that a Fox anchor would ever challenge Republican disinformation.

A HYPOCRITICAL NETWORK: While Fox claims to be outraged over the White House pointing out that certain news networks are blatantly partisan, the fact is that it was singing a different tune under the Bush administration. In May 2008, White House counselor Ed Gillespie sent a scathing public letter to NBC News President Steve Capus, claiming that the network was guilty of deceptive editing and blurring the lines between the "news" and "opinion," a charge not unlike the one the Obama White House has leveled against Fox News. Rather than attacking the White House for calling out the press as it is doing now, Fox's hosts supported the Bush White House. Fox contributor Laura Ingraham even went as far as to say, "Why would the White House agree to do an interview with [NBC correspondent] Richard Engel?...I mean, why really bother at this point?" Then-Fox host E.D. Hill heartily agreed, "NBC News basically panders to the left and is, in essence, in the pocket for Barack Obama. Why go on a venue like that to begin with?" Gillespie has changed his mind now that Fox, and not NBC, is the target of White House scorn. Beck asked him about the White House effort to "blackball Fox," adding, "You don't see Republicans doing that to NBC, do you?" "No, and sometimes I question why," replied Gillespie. "It is beyond me, frankly."

The 10 Most Popular Conspiracy Theories!!!

2009-09-17T16:09:00.000-07:00

I was cleaning out my e-mail queue (you don't even want to know how many thousand of e-mail I have in there!!!) and came upon this old one from Alternet ... some of these I actually believe ... can you guess which ones???:

The 10 Most Popular Conspiracy Theories

By Vicki Santillano, Divine Caroline
Posted on May 28, 2009
http://www.alternet.org/story/140296/

Agatha Christie once famously said, "The simplest explanation is always the most likely." However, when something shocking or catastrophic happens in our lives, simple explanations just aren't satisfying. We crave deeper reason and meaning and when that isn't given to us, sometimes we create our own. This is how conspiracy theories are often born -- someone doesn't like the official account of a major event and challenges it with a different version. Conspiracy theories can attract a wide array of people, from vehement supporters to those who just like a good story. Whether they're somewhat believable or completely ridiculous, the most popular conspiracy theories got that way for a reason -- they're just plain fascinating.

1. Lee Harvey Oswald didn't act alone (or possibly at all).
Perhaps only 9/11 comes close to matching the multitude of theories and interest surrounding JFK's assassination in 1963. Kennedy was shot while riding in a presidential motorcade with his wife in Dallas. Lee Harvey Oswald was fingered as the gunman in the Texas School Book Depository that day, but he was shot and killed just two days later, which created a great deal of suspicion. Also, witnesses claim they heard shots coming from a grassy knoll near the motorcade, creating the mystery of the second shooter. The CIA, the Mafia, Fidel Castro, and Lyndon Johnson are often listed as the masterminds behind the murder and cover-up.

2. Princess Diana was killed on purpose.
When the People's Princess was killed in a car crash resulting from overzealous paparazzi in Paris, the public demanded answers. It was hard for them to believe that such a compassionate, celebrated figure could die so senselessly, so it didn't take long for theories to surface about why certain people in power would want her dead. Some think she was pregnant and planning to marry her boyfriend, Dodi Al-Fayed (son to the owner of Harrod's and Paris's Ritz Hotel), and planning to become Muslim, which might've worried the British Royal Family, given her influence on the people. Others state that the family wanted her out of the way so that people would support Prince Charles's remarriage. There are also optimists who believe she faked her death to escape the public eye.

3. AIDS is a man-made disease.
Those in the scientific community generally believe HIV originated from a strain of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus found in western African monkeys. But when a group of 500 African Americans were surveyed in a 2005 study published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, over half of them said that AIDS was created by the government. Conspiracy theories about why the government might have created the virus ranged from population control to the weakening of racial minority groups and gay people. Some also say that there's a cure for AIDS being back held by the government for similar reasons.

4. The government was involved in 9/11.
This is currently the most researched conspiracy theory on the Internet. Theories abound about the role of the U.S. government in the events of September 11, 2001, but most state that either the Bush administration had previous knowledge of the attacks and didn't act or that it orchestrated the entire thing. Both versions center on the belief that Bush and company wanted to gain more power quickly and get the support of the people. It's been said that the World Trade Center towers came down as a result of planted explosives, that a plane didn't crash into the Pentagon, and that Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania because it was shot down -- a theory that was only fueled when Donald Rumsfeld accidentally said during a 2004 speech that terrorists shot it down.

5. Elvis never really left the building.
Many people believe that Elvis is still alive and kicking. There have been numerous Elvis sightings throughout the years and most people point to his incorrect gravestone -- it says his middle name is "Aaron," but it's spelled "Aron" on his birth certificate -- as the key piece of evidence that his death is a fraud. The reasons for the faked death vary between him wanting to get away from the public to him being put under witness protection by the FBI for being a drug informant -- a rumor started by him meeting with Nixon in 1970 and telling him he wanted to help eradicate drug abuse.

6. The 1969 Apollo moon landing didn't happen.
At this point, the faked moon landing theory has mostly been debunked, but there are still a few ardent followers out there. They cite altered pictures and videos, missing design blueprints, and faulty recordings as evidence of the forgery. One of the most popular reasons given for faking the famous moon walk is that the Kennedy administration wanted to win the "space race" with the Soviet Union and instill public faith in NASA. However, most Americans still believe that Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong walked on the moon that famous day in July.

7. A UFO crashed in Roswell, New Mexico.
When ranch manager Mac Brazel came across crash debris near his property in 1947, he didn't know what to make of it and alerted local authorities. That same day, the Roswell Army Air Field sent out a press release that stated a "flying disc" was found; later, this was retracted and the U.S. military told the public it was a fallen weather balloon. This slip sparked a huge conspiracy theory about the government attempting to cover up evidence of UFOs and alien existence; some even say there were alien bodies found in the crash. Now the story is that the balloon was part of Project Mogul, the government's attempt to pick up on Soviet Union nuclear tests. As a result, Roswell has become a big tourist spot for extraterrestrial enthusiasts.

8. Global warming is a hoax.
Despite Al Gore's influential documentary and the beliefs of most scientists, some people believe global warming isn't actually happening. Sure, the fact that Earth's temperatures are steadily rising are irrefutable, but supporters of this theory believe it's due to technology created by those in charge for a variety of reasons -- keeping the public in a state of panic to maintain control and decreasing world population being two of the main ones. Gore, the United Nations, and Maurice Strong (a man heavily involved in environmental politics) are often named by conspiracy theorists as purveyors of the global warming "myth."

9. Shakespeare didn't write all those plays.
The most famous playwright in the world might not have existed at all. Conspiracy theorists have been debating Shakespeare's life for years, arguing that William Shakespeare was just a pen name used by a group of writers, which might explain why his signature varied throughout his career. Others think that he did exist, but that he was simply a figure for another person to write plays through, such as Christopher Marlowe, Sir Francis Bacon, or Queen Elizabeth I. The main argument against Shakespeare is the fact that he was uneducated, which seems rather elitist. Regardless, this theory still generates a lot of interest, ranking fifth in Google's conspiracy theory searches.

10. Reptilian humanoids control all of us.
This has to be one of the wackiest theories I've encountered so far. It was started by a 1999 book written by David Icke called, The Biggest Secret: The Book That Will Change the World. In it, he explains that most world leaders -- including quite a few U.S. presidents -- are actually shape-shifting reptilian beings from a different planet who start wars and are responsible for horrific events like 9/11 in order to promote fear and hatred, which gives them strength. Oh, and they're seven feet tall. Reptilian humanoids … who knew?

As silly as they can sound, there's something to be said for learning about conspiracy theories. They can offer totally new and unexpected ways of looking at events, even if you don't believe them to be accurate. And if anything, they at least suggest that as crazy and ludicrous as our ideas and beliefs feel at times, there's always someone out there who takes it one step further -- unless you're one of the ones who believe in shape-shifting reptilian overlords … sorry, but you might just take the cake.

© 2009 Divine Caroline All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/140296/

Oh, How I HATE Them!!!

2009-09-17T13:54:00.001-07:00

This is from today's Progress Report:

RADICAL RIGHT

The Right Wing's Values

On Saturday, roughly 60,000 aggrieved conservatives converged on Washington, DC to participate in the Glenn Beck-inspired 9/12 anti-Obama rally. The event, organized by FreedomWorks, a corporate-funded right-wing advocacy group headed by former Republican Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX), was promoted as a grassroots manifestation of anger at the direction of America under President Obama. But at the same time, "Washington's institutional conservative leaders and groups" jumped at the opportunity to hitch themselves to the "angry, anti-government fit." Top conservative lawmakers, such as Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) addressed the crowd on Saturday. While promoting his organization's upcoming Values Voter Summit, Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, praised the "outpouring of concerns" at the rally. "I don't think it's something that can be directed or controlled. This is not the work of organizations," said Perkins. "I think organizations can fan it and channel it but they can't build it and direct it. I think this is coming genuinely -- this is not astroturf. This is coming from the soil of America." Indeed, Perkins will try to "fan" and "channel" the conservative enthusiasm on display at the 9/12 rally and August's town halls at his group's conference, which starts on Friday. The event will feature a who's who of the conservative movement, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and Fox News' Bill O'Reilly.

A FAR-RIGHT AGENDA: The main topic of discussion at the Values Voter Summit this year is certain to be Obama's efforts to reform America's health care system. On Friday, Republican lawmakers such as Rep. Michele Bachmann (MN), Rep. Tom Price (GA), and Rep. Chris Smith (NJ) will participate in a "National Health Care Townhall." The next day, a breakout session titled "Obamacare: Rationing Your Life Away" will fearmonger about Obama's reform efforts, claiming that it features "Long lines, refusal of care, months waiting for needed surgeries, rationing of treatments, mandates in support of abortion." Another breakout session will address "Global Warming Hysteria: The New Face Of The 'Pro-Death' Agenda," promoting the WeGetIt.org campaign, which cites Sen. James Inhofe's (R-OK) disingenuous list of skeptical scientists to claim that "the science is not settled on global warming" and that there has only been "very slight warming" in the past 150 years. Other sessions will focus on "Countering The Homosexual Agenda In Public Schools" and "The Threat Of Illegal Immigration."

O'REILLY TAKES CENTER STAGE: On Friday evening, O'Reilly will be awarded the conference's first-ever "Media Courage Award." In his announcement of the award, Perkins specifically cited O'Reilly's demonization of murdered abortion doctor George Tiller. "In the aftermath of George Tiller's murder, O'Reilly became an easy target for the liberal media who tried to pin some of the blame on Bill, saying he incited the violence by decrying these unnecessary procedures on his show," wrote Perkins. "Despite the unfair allegations, O'Reilly spoke the truth, bringing new light to a gruesome procedure. On behalf of our co-sponsors and millions of values voters, we want to express our gratitude to a culture warrior who uses his national platform to promote life -- no matter what the personal or professional costs." But O'Reilly rarely spoke the "truth" about Tiller, who was murdered by a radical anti-choice extremist. Instead, O'Reilly made outrageous comparisons, saying things such as, "This is the kind of stuff happened in Mao's China, Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Soviet Union." O'Reilly regularly referred to Tiller as "Tiller the Baby Killer" and even called him "Dr. Killer" after his death.

A HISTORY OF EXTREMISM: If past years are any example, attendees at the Values Voter Summit can expect to hear plenty of extremist rhetoric. At last year's conference, one vendor sold an item called "Obama Waffles" that featured a racist cartoon of then-Senator Obama on the box front. In previous years, the late Rev. Jerry Falwell compared Hillary Clinton to Satan and Fox News' Sean Hannity compared critics of former President Bush's foreign policy to Nazi appeasers. Usually, the harshest rhetoric is saved for the gay community. In 2006, Jennifer Giroux of Citizens for Community Values declared, "The ultimate child abuse is placing a child in a gay home." Another speaker, Bishop Wellington Boone, founder of the Wellington Boone Ministries, advocated the use of the word "faggots" while Rev. Dwight McKissic of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Texas claimed "the gay rights movement was inspired 'from the pit of hell itself,' and has a 'satanic anointment.'" Gay rights are likely to be under assault again this year with former Miss California Carrie Prejean -- who publicly denounced gay marriage -- speaking and the National Organization of Marriage acting as one of the sponsors.

Just Stop It!!!

2009-07-28T10:32:00.000-07:00

This is from yesterday's Progress Report ... they don't have anything on Obama so that have to make shit up!!!:

RADICAL RIGHT
'The Wacko Wing'

Last Thursday, CNN President Jon Klein sent an e-mail to a handful of the network's "Lou Dobbs Tonight" staffers informing them that he considered one of the stories pursued by the infamously anti-immigrant host to be "dead." On his radio show the week before, Dobbs declared that President Obama needed to "produce a birth certificate," picking up on a thoroughly debunked conspiracy theory that claims Obama was not born in the United States, and the birth certificate released by his campaign last year was fake. Dobbs repeatedly pushed the "birther" cause despite the fact that his colleagues at CNN have repeatedly called the story "total bull." In fact, while guest-hosting Dobbs' own show on July 17, Kitty Pilgrim refuted the fringe theory, saying, "CNN has fully investigated the issue, found no basis for the questions about the president's birthplace, but the controversy lives on, especially on the Internet." But Dobbs has persisted, attacking his critics as "limp-minded, lily-livered lefties" who hate him because he has "the temerity to inquire as to where the birth certificate was." As Dobbs continued to air the conspiracy theory, Klein backed off his admonition of the host, telling the Los Angeles Times that Dobbs had handled the issue in a "legitimate" manner and "if there are future news pegs, then we have to take that story as it comes." On Sunday, Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz used his CNN show to chastise media outlets that "give the birthers any airtime" to repeat their "ludicrous claims." Kurtz specifically criticized Dobbs for not acting "responsible."

BORN IN THE USA: Obama was born on Aug. 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. This date is on the Certification of Live Birth released by the Hawaii Department of Health last year at the request of Obama. Birthers like Dobbs point to the fact that the campaign released the "short form" certification rather than the "long form" -- which is drawn up by the hospital and contains more information -- as the crux of their argument that the President is hiding something. But as FactCheck.org noted when they investigated and debunked claims about Obama's birth certificate, "the Hawaii Department of Health's birth record request form does not give the option to request a photocopy of your long-form birth certificate," and "their short form has enough information to be acceptable to the State Department." Birthers, like conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi, claim that the certificate posted by the Obama campaign was "a false, fake birth certificate," but its authenticity has been independently confirmed by FactCheck.org, which examined it in person and declared that "it is real and three-dimensional." Additionally, on Oct. 31, 2008, Dr. Chiyome Fukino, director of the Hawaii Department of Health, issued a statement saying that he had "personally seen and verified that the Hawaii State Department of Health has Sen. Obama's original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures." Definitive proof of Obama's Hawaii birth has also been found in the archives of two Hawaii newspapers, the Honululu Advertiser and Honolulu Star-Bulletin, which both printed birth announcements days after Obama was born in 1961. Birth announcements in those papers are placed by the state Department of Health, not the family.

RIGHT-WING MEDIA GIVES VOICE: Dobbs isn't the only media personality giving voice to the birthers. As PolitiFact's Robert Farley wrote last month, "the conservative WorldNetDaily.com Web site is the conductor of the Birther train." The far-right outlet, which sells "Where's The Birth Certificate?" bumper stickers, convinced someone to ask White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs about the conspiracy in May. The birther theory has also been pushed by bigger names in the right-wing media. Before the 2008 election, radio host Rush Limbaugh speculated that Obama may have gone to Hawaii to visit his dying grandmother to take care of "this birth certificate business." Since then, Limbaugh has joked, "[W]hat do Obama and God have in common? Neither has a birth certificate." Earlier this month, Limbaugh stepped it up a notch, declaring that "Barack Obama has yet to prove he's a citizen." Fox News has also elevated the birther conspiracy, running headlines like "Should Obama Release Birth Certificate?" on its Fox Nation website and running reports on birther-based lawsuits on its news shows. Fox's Sean Hannity has aired claims that "the president is not, in fact, a legitimate citizen by birth" and asked a caller on his radio show if he had "ever seen" Obama's birth certificate.

THE BIRTHER BILL: In March, Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL) introduced legislation requiring "presidential candidates to produce copies of their birth certificates and other documentation to prove natural-born citizenship." Posey's bill has gathered nine co-sponsors in the House. Trying to explain why he introduced the bill, Posey issued a statement saying, "This bill, by simply requiring such documentation for future candidates for president, will remove this issue as a reason for questioning the legitimacy of a candidate elected as president." But Posey has undermined this seemingly innocuous rationale for his legislation by outright accusing Obama of hiding something on a right-wing Internet radio show. "The only people that I know who are afraid to take drug tests are the people who use drugs," said Posey. Claiming that he hadn't looked at the evidence, Posey previously told the Orlando Sentinel, "I can't swear on a stack of Bibles whether he is or isn't" a citizen. On MSNBC's Hardball last week, host Chris Matthews challenged one of the bill's co-sponsors, Rep. John Campbell (R-CA), telling him that "what you're doing is appeasing the nutcases...you're verifying the paranoia out there." Asked if he believed Obama was a citizen, Campbell responded, "as far as I know, yes." Matthews retorted, "as far as you know? I'm showing you his birth certificate!" Matthews is correct that many conservative lawmakers are comfortable "feeding the wacko wing." Just today, Politico reported that Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) said birthers "have a point." "I don't discourage it," said Inhofe.

She's INSANE!!!

2009-06-26T22:38:00.001-07:00

This is from today's Progress Report ... I think Michele Bachmann says crazy shit just to get her face on TV:

RADICAL RIGHT -- REP. BACHMANN FEARS CENSUS WILL BE USED TO PUT AMERICANS IN INTERNMENT CAMPS: On Fox News yesterday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) reiterated her intention to break the law by refusing to complete the 2010 Census. Playing prominently in Bachmann's fear-mongering about the Census is her misguided belief that the community organizing group ACORN is helping to collect Census data. In fact, ACORN will not have any role in collecting Census responses. ACORN is simply one of thousands of partners who have agreed to help promote the fact that the Census bureau will soon have many job openings. Bachmann also suggested yesterday that the government could use the Census data for nefarious purposes -- including the imprisonment of Americans in internment camps. She claimed that the Census information collected between 1942 and 1947 was "handed over to the FBI and other organizations, at the request of President Roosevelt, and that's how the Japanese were rounded up and put into the internment camps." She then suggested that this might happen again. But while Bachmann's concerns about the data collected by the Census appear to be new, the questions that she is concerned with are not. Indeed, Census questions on race have been asked since 1790; home language since 1890; rent since 1880; income since 1940; and how Americans heat their homes since 1940. Moreover, as a former tax attorney, Bachmann ought to recognize that many of the Census questions that she considers invasive overlap with information that Americans give to IRS every year when filing their taxes.

BASTARDS!!!

2009-06-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

This is from today's Progress Report ... AGAINST ABORTION??? ... DON'T HAVE ONE!!!:

TERRORISM -- RIGHT-WING RADICALS CELEBRATE KILLING OF ABORTION DOCTOR: Yesterday, Dr. George Tiller, one of the last doctors who performed mid- to late-term abortions, was shot and killed "as he stood in the foyer of his church." The 51-year-old suspect, Scott Roeder, who is likely to be charged with murder and aggravated assault today, was reportedly a member of the anti-government "Freemen" group. In 2007, "someone posting to the website of the antiabortion group Operation Rescue used the name 'Scott Roeder'" and suggested organizing "as many people as possible to attend Tillers [sic] church (inside, not just outside)" and question his practices. While many pro-life groups were quick to denounce Tiller's murder, other right wingers were less concerned. "George Tiller was a mass-murderer. We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God," wrote Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry. Operation Save America's Rev. Rusty Thomas wrote, "He died the way he lived." Tiller has long been demonized by the mainstream conservative movement. "But there's no other person who bears as much responsibility for the characterization of Tiller as a savage on the loose, killing babies willy-nilly" as Fox News's Bill O'Reilly, writes Salon's Gabriel Winant. Since O'Reilly first denounced Tiller on air in 2005, O'Reilly and his guests have discussed the doctor on more than 28 episodes. "Almost invariably," Winant notes, "Tiller is described as 'Tiller the Baby Killer.'" (Watch a compilation of O'Reilly's attacks here.) Laura Ingraham compared Tiller to Hitler. RH Reality Check reminds readers that six abortion providers and clinic staff were murdered during President Clinton's two terms and links the killings to the dangerous, escalating rhetoric of the far right.

Honor Vets!!!

2009-05-26T14:22:00.000-07:00

Obama sure does like Vets a lot more than Bush did ... This is from today's Progress Report:

MILITARY
Honoring America's Veterans

Yesterday President Obama observed Memorial Day in the tradition of sitting U.S. presidents, by placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery just outside Washington, D.C. Before the ceremony, a number of university professors petitioned the White House, urging Obama "to end a longstanding practice of sending a wreath to a monument to Confederate soldiers on the cemetery grounds." Despite their call to "break this chain of racism," Obama continued the Confederate monument wreath-laying tradition. But he may have started a new one, sending a second wreath to the African American Civil War Memorial honoring more than 200,000 blacks who fought for the North. Speaking before more than 4,000 veterans and family members at the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater, Obama paid tribute to the nation's fallen in his first Memorial Day address as commander-in-chief. "I cannot know what it is like to walk into battle," he said. "I'm the father of two young girls -- but I can't imagine what it's like to lose a child. These are things I cannot know. But I do know this: I am humbled to be the commander in chief of the finest fighting force in the history of the world." Speaking of those who chose to serve and those who made the ultimate sacrifice, Obama said, "They answered a call; they said 'I'll go.' That is why they are the best of America, and that is what separates them from those of us who have not served in uniform -- their extraordinary willingness to risk their lives for people they never met."

'WE HAVE FAILED' TO SUPPORT OUR VETS: In his weekly address, Obama acknowledged that "we, as a nation, have failed to live up" to "the responsibility" of serving America's veterans "as well as they serve all of us." "We have failed to give them the support they need or pay them the respect they deserve," he said, adding, "That is a betrayal of the sacred trust that America has with all who wear -- and all who have worn -- the proud uniform of our country...and that is a sacred trust I am committed to keeping as President of the United States." Indeed, according to a recent Center for American Progress (CAP) analysis, "many men and women who have served our country...are still in need of services to improve their quality of life -- before, during, and after deployments." Almost one in five Iraq and Afghanistan vets experience symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and yet only 53 percent of those suffering from PTSD or major depression have seen a physician. Attempted suicide and substance abuse rates among veterans have skyrocketed since 2003. More than 150,000 vets were homeless on any given night in 2007, with nearly 300,000 being homeless at some point during that year. Moreover, vets make up one-third of homeless Americans, even though only one-tenth of all adults are veterans. The economic downturn has hit vets hard as well. The CAP analysis notes that "foreclosure rates in military towns were increasing at four times the national average" last year. Additionally, "more than 75 percent of veterans report 'an inability to effectively translate their military skills to civilian terms.'"

A RENEWED COMMITMENT: During his Senate hearing to become Veterans Affairs Department Secretary last January, retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki pledged to transform the department into a "21st-century organization" that meets the needs of a growing population of wounded veterans. "My message would be this: Treat our veterans with respect and dignity," Shinseki said. "They're not here begging for a handout," he added. Earlier this month, the Obama administration announced the VA's 2010 budget, which increases spending by 15.5 percent over 2009, "the largest percentage increase for VA requested by a president in more than 30 years." The centerpiece of the proposal is an 11 percent increase in funding for veterans' health care. Just last week, Shinseki announced a plan to provide $215 million "in competitive funding to improve [medical] services specifically designed for Veterans in rural and highly rural areas." Also last week, Shinseki addressed the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans national conference and announced that the VA is creating a national center on homelessness among veterans. "We have a moral duty to prevent and eliminate homelessness among Veterans," he said.

SECTION 60: In his address yesterday, Obama reminded Americans of the servicemen and women who have fallen in the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. "A quarter of a million marble headstones dot these rolling hills in perfect military order, worthy of the dignity of those who rest here," he said. "Today, some of those stones are found at the bottom of this hill in Section 60, where the fallen from Iraq and Afghanistan rest. The wounds of war are fresh in Section 60. A steady stream of visitors leaves reminders of life: photos, teddy bears, favorite magazines. Friends place small stones as a sign they stopped by. Combat units leave bottles of beer or stamp cigarettes into the ground as a salute to those they rode in battle with. Perfect strangers visit in their free time, compelled to tend to these heroes, to leave flowers, to read poetry -- to make sure they don't get lonely." "[I]t doesn't take being Commander-in-Chief to honor the fallen," Iran and Afghanistan Veterans of America Paul Rieckhoff said yesterday, adding, "This Memorial Day, I hope you add your own words of remembrance for the brave men and women that have heroically served this nation, and perished on the battlefield. It is the duty of every American to ensure that they are never forgotten."

Well Said!!!

2009-05-12T09:45:00.000-07:00

This is a great opening sentence to Graydon Carter's Editor's Letter in the June Vanity Fair:

It can fairly be said that the chain of catastrophic bets made over the past decade by a few hundred bankers may well turn out to be the greatest nonviolent crime against humanity in history.

Limbaugh = ASSHOLE!!!

2009-05-06T09:58:00.000-07:00

This is from today's Progress Report ... why do people listen to this clown ... I read that the average age of a Limbaugh listener is 67 years old ... how does he get adverising money for that demographic???:

RADICAL RIGHT -- LIMBAUGH MOCKS RECESSION DURING SPEECH TO WEALTHY RIGHT-WING DONORS: On Monday night, Rush Limbaugh came to Washington, D.C. to address the President's Club Dinner, a meeting of wealthy donors and supporters of the conservative Heritage Foundation. The audience included Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), as well as various millionaire Heritage Foundation trustees, like Thomas Saunders. After more or less reprising his radio show routine, Limbaugh went on to brag about his $400 million contract with Clear Channel Communications. As he continued to gloat about his program's success, Limbaugh mocked the idea that Americans are suffering. "I've never had financially a down year. There's supposedly a recession, but we've got -- what is this May? Back in February we already had 102 percent of 2008 overbooked for 2009. So I always believed that if we're going to have a recession, just don't participate," Limbaugh said. Limbaugh is no stranger to belittling the poor and dismissing the economic troubles of others. In March, Limbaugh scoffed at a question on homeless children, asking, "Would somebody tell me the last time you saw a kid sleeping under a bridge?" As Media Matters reported, even Limbaugh's employer Clear Channel is struggling under the weight of the recession. Already this year, Clear Channel has "shed nearly 3,000 employees, or 12 percent of its workforce." While Limbaugh jets around the country in his $54 million Gulfstream G550, laughing off the recession, does he realize that his own bloated contract is contributing to the rising unemployment rate?

100 Days of PROGRESS!!!

2009-04-29T09:46:00.000-07:00

This is from today's Progress Report ... GOOD JOB Mr. President!!!:

ADMINISTRATION
Obama's 100 Days Of Progress

President Barack Obama took the oath of office on Jan. 21, 2009, with two broad mandates bestowed upon him by the American people: repair the mess that President Bush and his administration left behind after eight disastrous years in office, and enact a bold, progressive agenda that includes fixing our nation's health care system and seriously addressing global climate change. Obama went to work right away, pushing the "biggest, boldest countercyclical fiscal stimulus in American history" through Congress -- a $787 billion dollar measure that not only creates jobs but also provides investments in energy, transportation, education and health care. Obama also announced his intention to shift focus and resources away from Bush's misbegotten adventure in Iraq and refocus on Afghanistan, where the security situation is worse than it has been since the start of the U.S.-led war there in October 2001. Now, a series of recent public opinion polls shows that the American public not only overwhelmingly approves of the job Obama is doing as president, but they also believe the nation is heading in the right direction -- "the first time in years the nation has held such an optimistic view of its future." For example, a new ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 50 percent of Americans now say the country is on the right track (48 percent say the wrong track), compared with just 13 percent who had the same feeling last October (85 percent said the U.S. was heading in the wrong direction at that time). Indeed, in his first 100 days in office, Obama has received the support of the American public to implement the progressive agenda he campaigned on.

BREAK FROM BUSH: Shortly after taking office, Obama worked quickly to repair the damage done under Bush and has, in total, issued 29 executive decisions reversing Bush administration policy. On his first day as president, Obama signed an executive order mandating the closure of the Guantanamo Bay terror detainee prison camp within one year. The next day, he ordered military leaders to establish a plan for a responsible withdrawal from Iraq,and he signed executive orders ending CIA secret prisons and ending torture by requiring that all interrogations abide by the Army Field Manual. Obama put these first actions as president in simple terms. "We intend to win this fight" against terrorists, he said. But "we are going to win it on our own terms." On the domestic front, Obama reversed Bush's restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research in March, asserting that his administration would "make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology." In London at the G20 Summit and in other European capitals earlier this month, Obama reassured America's friends and allies that the United States would reengage the world as an equal partner. "We're starting to see some restoration of America's standing in the world," Obama said in London. " It is "very important for us to be able to forge partnerships as opposed to dictating solutions." As far as "dictating solutions," Obama also ditched Bush's "with us or against us" foreign policy mindset in dealing with America's allies and adversaries. Indicating his sincerity in reaching out to the Muslim world, Obama granted his first television interview as president to Dubai-based Al-Arabiya. "My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy," Obama said, adding, "We are offering a hand of friendship." Most significantly, Obama also opened the door to direct dialogue with Iran last month, sending the government and its people a "groundbreaking" "special message" on Nowruz, the start of the Persian New Year, in which he said the U.S. is seeking "engagement" with Iran "that is honest and grounded in mutual respect."

A PROGRESSIVE AGENDA: On Jan. 29, Obama signed his first major piece of legislation, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, an equal pay law making it easier for workers -- most of whom are women -- to initiate pay discrimination lawsuits. "We are upholding one of this nation's first principles: that we are all created equal and each deserve a chance to pursue our own version of happiness," Obama said at the bill's signing ceremony. Six days later, Obama signed a bill expanding publicly funded health insurance for children, known as SCHIP, legislation Bush had vetoed twice despite strong bipartisan support in Congress. The bill reduces the number of uninsured children by about half over the next four years and will "boost the number covered by the program to 11 million." "In a decent society, there are certain obligations that are not subject to trade offs or negotiation -- health care for our children is one of those obligations," Obama said. And just last week, the President signed a $5.7 billion national service bill championed by Sens. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) that "triples the size of the AmeriCorps service program over the next eight years and expands ways for students to earn money for college."

THE NEXT 100 DAYS AND BEYOND: Obama and Congress have yet to finalize legislation that would fully accomplish health care reform and solve our climate crisis, but these two major issues remain on the front-burner and have received significant attention in the administration's first 100 days. The economic recovery bill passed earlier this year contained key health care provisions that lead the way toward reform, including $19 billion for health care information technology to implement electronic health records and an agency to "conduct and support research that would assess the benefits of competing treatments," both of which aim to reduce future overall costs. Moreover, Obama's budget creates a "reserve fund" as a down payment to reform the health care system. The stimulus bill also provided a boost to a green economy. In what The New York Times called "the biggest energy bill in history," the Recovery Act provides $91 billion for clean energy investments. In a further indication that addressing climate change is a top priority for the Obama administration, the Environmental Protection Agency confirmed this month that greenhouse gas pollution endangers the health and welfare of the American public. The move finally complies with the Supreme Court's 2007 ruling -- ignored by Bush -- that such emissions should be regulated by the federal government under the Clean Air Act. Obama's budget contains key energy provisions that also aim to limit greenhouse gases and build a clean-energy economy, such as a mandatory cap on carbon emissions which is expected to raise hundreds of billions of dollars over the next ten years that will go toward clean energy development and tax credits for working Americans.

Radical Right???

2009-04-28T13:19:00.000-07:00

Why do conservatives/resmugnicans/rethugnicans/republiCAN'TS HATE America so much??? ... this is from today's Progress Report:

RADICAL RIGHT
100 Days Of Opposition

Tomorrow marks the first 100 days of the Obama administration. Tomorrow's Progress Report item will highlight the past 100 days of progress. But today, we're focusing on how the conservatives have chosen to spend their first 100 days.

In the first 100 days of the Obama presidency, the country has been confronted by a myriad of challenges. President Obama has faced an inherited economic recession -- including widespread foreclosures, a banking system plagued by toxic assets, and mounting unemployment -- as well as two wars, international terrorism, global climate change, millions of Americans still without health care, piracy and now, the threat of a flu pandemic. But instead of engaging in a substantive policy debate with the President, conservatives have spent the past three months immersed in a radical transformation, lurching further to the right. Indeed, the brand of conservatism now in ascendancy embraces apocalyptic rhetoric, cheers on reflexive attacks on Obama, and fuels a steady drumbeat of conspiracy theories. With control of neither the White House nor Congress, conservatives have looked to hate radio talkers like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh for leadership. The new Republican Party chairman, Michael Steele, has also championed the fringe voices of the right wing while threatening to punish members of his party who make any attempts at bipartisanship. The single greatest achievement of the conservative movement thus far has been the staging of anti-Obama, anti-tax "tea party" protests, which were attended by over 100,000 people country-wide and quickly embraced by GOP leaders as the future of the party. The tea party protests, along with the near universal party-line votes opposing Obama's agenda items show how conservatives acting on Limbaugh's pre-Inauguration Day proclamation that he hopes Obama fails.

EMBRACING RADICALIZATION: While the mainstream of America is more and more progressive in its policy solutions, the Republican party appears intent on tapping into a darker undercurrent of right-wing rage that has proliferated since Obama's election. Public servants for the "loyal opposition" started using the rhetoric of armed opposition to Obama, such as Rep. Michele Bachmann's (R-MN) call for people to be "armed and dangerous" over Democratic energy proposals. But as the conservative lobbyist-orchestrated "tea parties" gained momentum, GOP lawmakers issued more brazen calls for violence. Appearing before throngs of anti-Obama protesters, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) called for "revolution," as he declared that the attendees were the patriots who would, quoting Thomas Jefferson, refresh the tree of liberty with the "blood of tyrants." During the tea party fervor, Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) called for assassinating Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D) over taxes. Speaking to reporters after a tea party, Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) suggested that his state may have to secede from the Union, a call then defended by former Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-TX). A Department of Homeland Security report on growing threats of right-wing domestic terrorism has become a rallying cry for conservatives, as members like Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) remarked to an audience, "Welcome, right-wing activists, is that what we are? Extremists, yeah, well I'm gonna get me a button." Going forward, House Republican leaders are now routinely stating that Obama's green economy proposals equate to a "declaration of war" on the country.

REFLEXIVE ATTACKS: Although conservatives and Republicans have made a point to tell the press they are focused on simply "putting forward positive alternatives," they have spent most of the first 100 days incessantly searching for ways to smear the president. Whether they are complaining about Obama's suit jacket policy, jabbing him about his use of a teleprompter, or ridiculing his wife for serving soup to the poor, conservatives have found no alleged fault too trivial. Exhibiting a certain form of creativity, they scoured Obama's trips abroad for evidence that he somehow hates America. To conservatives, Obama's brief bow to the Saudi King was proof that he is a "hillbillie," and the fact he shook hands with the Venezuelan President an example of his "shallowness." Obama's personalized gifts to the Queen of England were a sign of his apparent narcissism, according to conservatives, and when Obama spoke to the Turkish people on America's religious tolerance, he was -- in the eyes of Fox News pundits -- betraying the "Judeo-Christian ethic." The compulsive assaults on Obama have not only generated a cottage industry of newly-manufactured insults, but they have policy implications as well. Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) thought he could score political points by mocking spending on volcano monitoring programs, but a federally-funded monitoring system detected an eruption in Alaska a month later. As Republicans reflexively decried almost all spending programs in the Recovery Act as useless "pork," Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) employed the same political rationale to cut pandemic flu preparedness funds from the bill -- just months before the current swine flu pandemic threat.

NOT GROUNDED IN REALITY: In their quest to discredit Obama, conservatives have increasingly left the facts far behind. Playing upon myths forged during the presidential campaign, Republicans like Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and a chorus of talk radio hosts have spread the lie that Obama will "take away your gun." However, in the age of Obama, conspiracy theories have not been bound to only fringe members of Congress and right-wing radio. A bill aimed a preventing the creation of a "global currency" to replace the dollar -- a non-existent threat hyped by the right-wing echo chamber -- gained at least 30 GOP co-sponsors. The pattern has persisted on every major agenda item Obama has put forward. Republicans have falsely claimed that an MIT study showed that a cap on carbon pollution is a $3,100 light-switch tax. When the author explained the study actually found a $65 cost in 2015, conservatives declared the cost was then $3900. GOP talking points opposing Obama's Recovery Act were laden with accusations similarly made of whole cloth. For instance, Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) joined other Republican lawmakers in decrying a made-up high-speed train supposedly designed to run "straight from Disney[land] ... to the doorstep of the Moonlight Bunnyranch in Nevada." And during the first public debates over health reform, the conservative establishment converged to support a "report" by Hudson Fellow Betsy McCaughey that erroneously suggested that investments in comparativeness effectiveness investments would create a "new bureaucracy" to "monitor doctors."

BASTARD republicans!!!

2009-04-24T12:02:00.000-07:00

This is from today's Progress Report ... the republiCAN'Ts are still acting like they're in high school ... the need to grow up and want America to succeed NOT fail:

RADICAL RIGHT
Obstructing Progress

Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said that in the next five weeks until Memorial Day recess, the Senate will "tackle a hefty legislative agenda that includes bills to rein in predatory practices in the housing and credit card industries and a reform of government procurement." Looking back on what Congress has accomplished since the beginning of the year, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said, "The three pillars of the president's budget -- education, energy and health care -- have already been advanced down the field to a significant extent in the first three months." The optimistic tone of the Democratic leaders in Congress, however, is not shared by their counterparts in the Republican Party. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said in a press conference yesterday that, in the last four months, "it's become clear to him [Obama] that the idea of bipartisanship 'was a ruse.'" However, the seeming absence of bipartisanship isn't a result of the Obama administration's lack of trying. Congressional Republicans have done little but delay key executive branch nominees and attempt to block key legislation, all the while failing to offer any alternative ideas of their own.

DELAYING NOMINEES: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) objected to a motion to begin debate on the nominations of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS) as Secretary of Health and Human Services, David Hayes for deputy secretary of the Interior Department, and Thomas Strickland for assistant secretary for fish and wildlife at Interior. Regarding Sebelius, McConnell said he objected because members of his caucus had not yet had time to consider her candidacy properly. However, the real reason is that a select few in the Republican caucus are attempting to delay her appointment -- at the insistence of right-wing social conservative groups -- because of her commitment to pro-choice women's health policies. The delay is reminiscent of what transpired after Ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill's nomination, when a small group of Republican senators -- including John McCain (AZ), Lindsey Graham (SC), and Sam Brownback (KS) -- announced their opposition, claiming Hill "lacks experience in the Middle East." As the National Security Network's Max Bergmann pointed out, they really took issue with his desire to avoid bombing North Korea. Further, the only substantive result of delaying Hill was to hinder the Obama administration's ability to effectively and efficiently make progress in Iraq. Indeed, Gen. David Petraeus was reportedly "frustrated by the delay." A similar chain of events is likely to play out with Sebelius, Dawn Johnsen, Harold Koh, and many other key nominees. The goal in holding up Obama nominees, it should be clear by now, is not to find better qualified nominees or answer substantive concerns. Rather, it appears to be part of an attempt on the part of Republicans in Congress to "obstruct and delay" the implementation of the legislative agenda the American people voted for last November.

BLOCKING THE PROGRESSIVE AGENDA: Since January, Congress has expanded access to health care for low-income children through the passage of SCHIP Expansion, laid the ground work for economic recovery with the passage of Obama's Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and passed a budget resolution that demonstrated the Obama administration's intention to push for real progressive changes in the tax code, the health care system, and environmental regulation. On health care in particular, congressional Republicans have worked hard to register their opposition to reform. As the Wonk Room's Igor Volsky explained yesterday, "Key Republicans voted against the popular SCHIP legislation, eight Republican senators (including health care heavy weights Grassley and Hatch) voted [in committee] against Gov. Kathleen Sebelius's nomination to head the Department of Health and Human Services, misrepresented the intent of health information technology...in the stimulus, and have already taken the public option off the table." But both the Senate and House leadership are serious about making health care reform happen this year. Due to obstructionism, however, they may now have to implement health care reform through the budget reconciliation process, which would allow the reform measures to be "protected from filibusters and passed by a simple majority vote." Republicans used reconciliation to pass the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts, key provisions of their signature legislative agenda in 1994, the Contract with America, and on many other occasions in the last 30 years. Now, however, the Republicans have developed a bit of "political amnesia" and are calling the use of reconciliation the "Chicago approach to governing" and "a declaration of war." Further, they are plotting retaliatory parliamentary tactics -- including refusing to attend committee hearings and demanding that the text of bills, often hundreds of pages long, be read aloud -- that would "grind the Senate to a virtual halt." Yesterday, however, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) conceded that Democrats have the "right" to pass health care reform using the reconciliation process.

FAILING TO PROVIDE AN ALTERNATIVE: While Republicans have worked hard at saying "no," they have repeatedly failed to offer realistic alternative proposals. Several days after presenting his budget proposal, Obama pointed out during a prime-time press conference that congressional Republicans were failing to offer concrete alternatives to his budget. In response, Boehner hurriedly assembled a news conference to introduce their alternative "budget." "Here it is, Mr. President," Boehner declared, brandishing a glossy 19-page document in his hand. The only problem was that Boehner's budget didn't contain any numbers. When Republicans finally offered a detailed plan on, ironically, April Fool's Day, it did not appear to make any more economic sense than the brochure of recycled ideas they released the week before. Indeed, despite the growing recession, the plan called for a five-year spending freeze which, as the Wonk Room's Pat Garofalo explained, would "negate the stimulus, while betting economic recovery will occur thanks to an abundance of supply-side tax cuts." This trend appears likely to continue. Indeed, in a week dominated by congressional hearings on energy and health care, Boehner mentioned each issue only once yesterday in his press conference -- and that was to tell reporters that House Republicans still have no alternative health care plan and no alternative energy and environment plan. "Our health care solutions group is continuing to do their work. Our energy solutions group continues to do its work." Still, he insisted that "you'll continue to see us try to be the party of better solutions."

Put Them In JAIL!!!

2009-04-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

This is from Monday's (4/13/09) Progress Report:

BUSH LEGACY
Gone But Not Forgotten

It has now been three months since President Bush and his family boarded their plane back to Texas and handed the reins of power over to President Obama. Yet Bush administration officials are pushing to make sure that the American public remembers them -- or rather, remembers what they want them to remember. While Bush has been focusing on fundraising for his presidential library and hitting the lecture circuit, his top aides have been aggressively taking to the airwaves to criticize Obama. With Obama's approval rating still above 60 percent, these aides are pulling out all the stops to shape Bush's legacy and pass blame on to his successor. However, there's little proof that these attacks are working. In a recent C-SPAN poll of presidential historians, Bush made a list of the top 10 worst presidents in U.S. history. Even abroad, officials are attempting to hold the Bush administration accountable. Last month, a Spanish court "agreed to consider opening a criminal case against six former Bush administration officials...over allegations they gave legal cover for torture at Guantanamo Bay."

THE DECIDER: Even while still in office, Bush was looking forward to making a "ridiculous" amount of money on the lecture circuit. According to his bio on the Washington Speakers Bureau website, the point of his speaking tour is to promote his policies that were "controversial at times" but "kept the country safe for more than seven years." Bush is now lecturing approximately once a week. His first appearance was in Canada, where activists and human rights lawyers tried to bar his entry into the country. Bush has also been working to raise $300 million for his presidential library, although "the prospect" of being identified "in perpetuity" with Bush's agenda "freezes the blood" of some of Southern Methodist University's leading academics. Even though he is writing a book on his time in office, Bush is not sitting around and reflecting on his missteps and regrets. "He's secure in the place he's in. He's confident in the decisions he made. There's none of that 'Shoulda, woulda, coulda,'" said former aide Dan Bartlett. One event that Bush is trying to wipe from the American public's minds is the Iraq war. His advisers have said that the war is "unlikely" to be one of the topics of focus at the presidential library; in fact, Bush's official 483-word bio on the library website doesn't have a single mention of Iraq. A newly released five-minute promo video for the library mentions the word "Iraq" just once, although it devotes a full 35 seconds to clips showing extensive footage of 9/11 and Bush's subsequent reaction.

THE LOYAL BUSHIES: Finding work has been tough for many former loyal Bushies. A Washington job recruiter estimated that only "25% to 30% of ex-Bush officials seeking full-time jobs have succeeded," a rate that is "much, much worse" than when Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton left office. Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has been one of the most high-profile job seekers; he has blamed his troubles on the "rough economy" rather than his incompetence while in the Bush administration. Others have been lucky enough to stay in the public light by appearing on cable news. Fox News contributor Karl Rove continues to use his platform to attack the Obama administration -- even though Bush has said that Obama deserves his "silence." Last week, for example, Rove called Vice President Biden a "blowhard" and a "liar." He also went after Obama for praising the "Turkish secular movement" while abroad, even though Bush did the same thing while in office. Former chief of staff Andrew Card's objections have been less substantive, focusing on the fact that unlike Bush, Obama does not require his staff to wear a jacket at all times in the Oval Office. In January, Card said that the new dress code showed a lack of "respect" for the office and created a "kind of locker room experience." Most recently, the President's brother, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, has made headlines for telling Obama to leave his brother alone. "If I had one humble criticism of President Obama, it would be to stop this notion of somehow framing everything in the context of, 'Everything was bad before I got here,'" Jeb Bush told Fox News's Sean Hannity last week, not noting that his brother also repeatedly attacked Clinton. In addition to attacking Obama, these Bushies have banded together to create a Bush-Cheney Alumni Association, committed to "help build a lasting legacy for President George W. Bush and the Bush-Cheney Administration."

SAME OLD DICK: The former vice president has been one of Obama's loudest and most controversial critics. On March 15, Cheney received widespread attention -- and criticism -- for saying that Obama is "making some choices that, in my mind, will, in fact, raise the risk to the American people of another attack." Senior White House Adviser David Axelrod responded that although Bush has "behaved like a statesman...I just don't think the memo got passed down to the vice president." Both Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder similarly came out and condemned Cheney's comments. Cheney is also up to his old secrecy tricks, refusing to transfer his records and gifts to Bush's presidential library. Next week, top administration officials will be gathering in Dallas for a reunion with the ex-president. One person who won't be there? Cheney, who is still reportedly at odds with Bush over his decision not to pardon Scooter Libby.

Who Helped Bush???

2009-04-06T11:45:00.000-07:00

This is how far behind I am on some of my e-mail reading ... this is from the January 16th Progress Report:

ADMINISTRATION
The 43 Who Helped Make Bush The Worst Ever

Next week, "change is coming to America," as President George W. Bush wraps up his tenure as one of the worst American presidents ever. He wasn't able to accomplish such an ignominious feat all by himself, however; he had a great deal of help along the way. The Progress Report heralds the conclusion of the Bush 43 presidency by bringing you our list of the top 43 worst Bush appointees. Did we miss anyone? Who should have been ranked higher? Let us know what you think.

1. Dick Cheney -- The worst Dick since Nixon. The man who shot his friend while in office. The "most powerful and controversial vice president." Until he got the job, people used to actually think it was a bad thing that the vice presidency has historically been a do-nothing position. Asked by PBS's Jim Lehrer about why people hate him, Cheney rejected the premise, saying, "I don't buy that." His top placement in our survey says otherwise.

2. Karl Rove -- There wasn't a scandal in the Bush administration that Rove didn't have his fingerprints all over -- see Plame, Iraq war deception, Gov. Don Siegelman, U.S. Attorney firings, missing e-mails, and more. As senior political adviser and later as deputy chief of staff, "The Architect" was responsible for politicizing nearly every agency of the federal government.

3. Alberto Gonzales -- Fundamentally dishonest and woefully incompetent, Gonzales was involved in a series of scandals, first as White House counsel and then as Attorney General. Some of the most notable: pressuring a "feeble" and "barely articulate" Attorney General Ashcroft at his hospital bedside to sign off on Bush's illegal wiretapping program; approving waterboarding and other torture techniques to be used against detainees; and leading the firing of U.S. Attorneys deemed not sufficiently loyal to Bush.

4. Donald Rumsfeld -- After winning praise for leading the U.S. effort in ousting the Taliban from Afghanistan in 2001, the former Defense Secretary strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq and then grossly misjudged and mishandled its aftermath. Rumsfeld is also responsible for authorizing the use of torture against terror detainees in U.S. custody; according to a bipartisan Senate report, Rumsfeld "conveyed the message that physical pressures and degradation were appropriate treatment for detainees."

5. Michael Brown -- This former commissioner of the International Arabian Horse Association was appointed by Bush to head FEMA in 2003. After Katrina made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, Brownie promptly did a "heck of a job" bungling the government's relief efforts, and was sent back to Washington a few days later. He was forced to resign shortly thereafter.

6. Paul Wolfowitz -- As Deputy Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2005, Wolfowitz was one of the primary architects of the Iraq war, arguing for the invasion as early as Sept. 15, 2001. Testifying before Congress in February 2003, Wolfowitz said that it was "hard to conceive that it would take more forces to provide stability in post-Saddam Iraq than it would take to conduct the war itself." Wolfowitz eventually admitted that "for bureaucratic reasons, we settled on one issue, weapons of mass destruction," as a justification for war, "because it was the one reason everyone [in the administration] could agree on."

7. David Addington -- "Cheney's Cheney" was the "most powerful man you've never heard of." As the leader of Bush's legal team and Cheney's chief of staff, Addington was the biggest proponent of some of Bush's most notorious legal abuses, such as torture and warrantless surveillance, and is a loyal follower of the so-called unitary executive theory.

8. Stephen Johnson -- The "Alberto Gonzales of the environment," EPA Administrator Johnson subverted the agency's mission at the behest of the White House and corporate interests, suppressing staff recommendations on pesticides, mercury, lead paint, smog, and global warming.

9. Douglas Feith -- Undersecretary of Defense for Policy from 2001-2005, Feith headed up the notorious Office of Special Plans, an in-house Pentagon intelligence shop devised by Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz to produce intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq. A subsequent investigation by the Pentagon's Inspector General found the OSP's work produced "conclusions that were not fully supported by the available intelligence."

10. John Bolton -- As Undersecretary of State, Bolton offered a strong voice in favor of invading Iraq and pushed for the U.S. to disengage from the International Criminal Court and key international arms control agreements. A recess appointment landed Bolton the job of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, despite his stringent animosity toward the world body. Today, he spends his time calling for war with Iran.

11. John Yoo -- As a lawyer for the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, Yoo authored a series of legal memos giving military interrogators authority to use torture and coercive techniques when interviewing terrorist suspects. Yoo said that only those techniques that inflict pain equivalent to "death, organ failure or permanent damage resulting in a loss of significant body functions" constitute torture. Last year, he refused to answer whether or not the president could order a detainee to be buried alive.

12. Ari Fleischer -- Bush's first press secretary helped redefine the role as that of liar-in-chief rather than informer of the public, earning a reputation as "the world's most dishonest flack." Whereas his successors sometimes looked uncomfortable lying, Fleischer was having fun, spinning a cowed and gullible press corps through two massive tax cuts and the initiation of a war undertaken on false pretenses.

13. John Ashcroft -- In 2003, as Bush's first Attorney General, Ashcroft approved waterboarding and other torture techniques on detainees. Ashcroft's nomination was controversial, as he had a history of opposing school desegregation. The chief architect of the invasive Patriot Act, Ashcroft maintains to this day that Bush is "among the most respectful of all leaders ever" of civil liberties.

14. Henry Paulson -- Even as the financial system was crashing down around him, Treasury Secretary Paulson insisted for months that th e banking system was "safe and sound." Once he decided that the economy needed saving, Paulson requested nearly unfettered authority to send billions of taxpayer dollars to banks with no oversight.

15. L. Paul Bremer -- This Presidential Medal of Freedom winner took over the Coalition Provisional Authority in May 2003. Under his mismanagement, the insurgency exploded in Iraq. Bremer claimed he had all the troops he needed to secure the country, overestimated the strength of the new U.S.-trained Iraqi army, disbanded the Iraqi army leaving thousands of Iraqi soldiers with no income and no occupation, and enacted a de-Baathification law that barred many experienced Iraqis from government positions.

16. Bradley Schlozman -- As a recent DOJ Inspector General report demonstrates, Schlozman was a central figure in Bush's politicization of the Justice Department. Violating civil service laws, Schlozman used political and ideological considerations to ensure that only "right-thinking Americans" received jobs. He eventually lied to Congress about his efforts.

17. J. Steven Griles -- A former energy lobbyist and no. 2 official in the Interior Department, Griles went to jail for lying to Congress about illegal favors he did for corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Griles also abused his position "to unlock nearly every legal barrier to exploitation" of our nation's oil and mineral reserves. Before his conviction, Griles left the White House to become a lobbyist for ConocoPhillips.

18. Condoleezza Rice -- As Bush's national security adviser, Rice was another strong advocate for invading Iraq, once famously warning that the U.S. should attack Iraq and not wait for solid proof of its WMD because "we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud." Rice also ignored an urgent warning from the CIA before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that a strike inside the U.S. was imminent.

19. Scooter Libby -- Cheney's former chief of staff was a key player in the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame as part of the Bush administration's quest to punish Plame's husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, for publishing an op-ed debunking one of the White House's main justifications for invading Iraq. Libby was ultimately convicted of perjury and obstructing justice in a federal investigation into Plame's outing but later had his 30-month prison sentence commuted by Bush.

20. Monica Goodling -- Goodling was the most notorious graduate of Pat Robertson's Regent University during her tenure in the Justice Department. As the White House liaison at the DOJ, she based the department's hiring of candidates on their sexual preference, GOP loyalty, and adherence to conservative ideology.

21. Alphonso Jackson -- As Housing and Urban Development Secretary, Jackson let the U.S. housing market crumble while he was busy giving lucrative contracts to his golfing buddies, retaliating against Bush critics, and erecting giant photo homages to himself.

22. Michael Hayden -- As director of the National Security Agency, Hayden ran Bush's warrantless wiretapping program and misled Congress about the program's legality. After moving to the CIA, he dismissed the destruction of evidence implicating the CIA in torture as "in line with the law."

23. Lurita Doan -- The former head of the General Services Administration (GSA)who doled out a no-bid contract to a friend, Doan famously hosted a meeting of White House political operatives where she asked how GSA employees could "help 'our candidates' in the next election." After the Office of Special Counsel called for her firing, she was forced to resign at the request of the White House.

24. Gale Norton -- A former industry lobbyist and Bush's first Secretary of the Interior, Norton pushed a radical ideological agenda "through regulatory rollbacks, suppression of science, preferential treatment, and collusion with industry" -- including doctoring scientific findings on the impacts of oil drilling on caribou. After resigning under the cloud of ties to Jack Abramoff, she joined Shell Oil.

25. Lester Crawford -- After promising to act on the morning-after contraceptive pill during his confirmation hearings, the former FDA Commissioner "indefinitely postponed nonprescription sales of emergency contraception over the objections of staff scientists who had declared the pill safe." Crawford resigned after just two months on the job and later pleaded guilty "to charges that he hid his ownership of stock in food and drug companies that his agency regulated."

26. Harriet Miers -- Well-known for being Bush's failed Supreme Court nominee, Miers also thought it was "important" to her as White House Counsel that Rove protege Tim Griffin was installed as a U.S. Attorney, making her a central figure in the U.S. Attorney scandal. She is said to have called Bush "the most brilliant man she had ever met."

27. Hans Von Spakovsky -- Originally a political appointee in the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, Spakovsky "injected partisan political factors into decision-making" and used every opportunity "to make it difficult for voters -- poor, minority and Democratic -- to go to the polls." In 2008, Spakovsky withdrew his name from consideration for the FEC, following months of opposition from lawmakers and civil rights groups.

28. Tommy Franks -- As head of U.S. Central Command from 2000 to 2003, Franks oversaw Osama bin Laden's great escape from Afghanistan, gave orders for the stabilization of Iraq via PowerPoint, assumed that the U.S. would draw down to 25,000 troops by the end of 2004, and had American soldiers stand idly by as chaos and lawlessness took hold after the invasion.

29. Thomas Scully -- As chief administrator for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Scully was the White House's head negotiator on the Medicare prescription drug bill. Scully threatened to fire chief actuary Richard Foster if he revealed that Bush's Medicare Part D legislation "would cost 25% to 50% more than the Bush administration's public estimates."

30. Julie MacDonald -- A top Interior Department appointee, MacDonald "interjected herself personally and profoundly" and "tainted nearly every decision made on the protection of endangered species" over a five-year period, intimidating the staff with "abrupt and abrasive, if not abusive" tactics. MacDonald also leaked government documents to a young acquaintance whom she met while playing "internet role-playing games."

31. William Haynes -- As the former general counsel at the Defense Department, he was part of a five-person team of high-level administration lawyers, dubbed the "War Council," that tossed the Geneva Conventions aside and hatched out the legal framework for torture in secret meetings.

32. David Safavian -- Safavian was (twice) tried and convicted for his role in the jack Abramoff scandal. Safavian was found guilty of "lying and obstructing justice" in an attempt to cover-up "his many efforts to assist Abramoff in acquiring two properties controlled by the GSA."

33. James Connaughton -- As chairman of the White House Council of Environmental Quality, Connaughton wrote EPA press releases downplaying the danger of the air quality in lower Manhattan following 9/11. "A former lobbyist for utilities, mining, chemical, and other industrial polluters," Connaughton insisted "there's a lot of disagreement" about humans' impact on global warming, and he touted a bogus study purporting to show that the 20th century was not unusually warm.

34. William Luti -- A former Navy officer and Cheney aide, Luti was dispatched to the Pentagon in 2001 to work underneath Feith to find "evidence" to support his boss's belief in conspiracy theories linking Saddam to al Qaeda. Luti was an integral component of Cheney's campaign to pressure intelligence professionals to conform their judgments to administration policy rather than reality.

35. Susan Orr -- As Assistant Deputy Secretary for Population Affairs, this former Family Research Council official oversaw funding for the only federal program that provided contraceptive services to low-income Americans. Orr cheered Bush's anti-contraception record, saying, "Fertility is not a disease. It's not a medical necessity that you have [contraception]."

36. Christopher Cox -- Under Chairman Cox, the Securities and Exchange Commission censored internal reports showing that it ignored critical signs pointing to Wall Street's meltdown. Cox's SEC also failed to detect Bernie Madoff's $50 billion Ponzi scheme, despite a decade of warnings.

37. Elliott Abrams -- An Iran-Contra convict pardoned by Bush 41, Abrams was named by Bush 43 as the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Democracy, Human Rights, and International Operations. As a founding Project for a New American Century signatory and a staunchly pro-Israel neoconservative, Abrams supported expanding Israel 's 2006 bombing of Lebanon into Syria and advocated a Fatah coup after Hamas won the February 2006 Palestinian elections.

38. Philip Cooney -- A former oil lobbyist who served as chief of staff of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Cooney doctored climate reports to "soften" words and phrases linking greenhouse gas emissions to global warming. After his political interference was revealed, Cooney left the White House to become a lobbyist for Exxon.

39. Colin Powell -- Though Bush called him "an American hero" when he appointed him to be the first African-American Secretary of State, Powell placed an ugly "blot" on his record when he pushed the Bush administration's faulty case for the Iraq war in a speech to the U.N. on Feb.5, 2003, using inaccurate information. Liberal hawks and the media rallied around Powell's false case, calling it the "winning hand" for war.

40. Elaine Chao -- The Labor Secretary made it through all eight years of the Bush administration, driving morale at the Labor Department so low that staffers threw a "good-riddance party" to cheer her departure. She leaves behind a "deeply troubled department" that "spent eight years attacking workers' rights, strong workplace health and safety rules, and unions while they carried the water for Big Business."

41. Julie Myers -- After being hired as head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement based on little more than her personal connections, Myers made herself famous by awarding "Most Original Costume" to an employee who dressed up in blackface and a prison costume for Halloween. She was also heavily criticized for conducting politically-motivated immigration raids.

42. Wade Horn -- As Assistant Secretary for Community Initiatives at the Department of Health and Human Services, Horn funneled millions of tax-payer dollars into right-wing abstinence-only programs. Shortly before he resigned, it was revealed that he had given nearly $1 million "to the National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI), where he was the president for at least three years until joining the Bush administration in 2001."

43. George Deutsch -- As a young, inexperienced press officer for NASA, Deutsch "told public affairs workers to limit reporters' access to a top climate scientist and told a Web designer to add the word 'theory' at every mention of the Big Bang." He resigned in 2006 after it was discovered he had lied on his resume, falsely claiming that he had a journalism degree from Texas A&M.

Dishonorable Mentions: Bush appointees who didn't quite make the list included a child pornography aficionado, a patron of hookers, a shoplifter, a mail fraudster, an operator of an illegal horse gambling ring, and a CIA official who took bribes in the form of prostitutes.

Obama's Op-Ed To The World!!!

2009-03-24T14:13:00.000-07:00

A time for global action

By Barack Obama

March 24, 2009

When the heads of state of the G-20 countries gathered in Washington in November to address the world financial crisis, little was accomplished, as the delegates were awaiting then-President-elect Barack Obama's leadership.

Shortly after Obama took office, Nathan Gardels, the editor of the Global Viewpoint service of Tribune Media Services, approached White House press secretary Robert Gibbs with an idea:

If the president wanted to speak directly to people in advance of the April G-20 summit in London, he could do so through writing an "op-ed to the world." Global Viewpoint has 35 million readers in 15 languages through many of the world's top papers, from Le Monde in Paris to Yomiuri Shimbun in Japan to O Estado de Sao Paulo in Brazil.

The article was completed Sunday afternoon in Washington and then syndicated around the world on Monday for Tuesday publication. Today the article appears in papers ranging the Tribune to Corriere della Sera in Italy to the Arab daily Asharq Al Awsat to the International Herald Tribune.

We are living through a time of global economic challenges that cannot be met by half measures or the isolated efforts of any nation. Now, the leaders of the G-20 have a responsibility to take bold, comprehensive and coordinated action that not only jump-starts recovery, but launches a new era of economic engagement to prevent a crisis like this from ever happening again.

No one can deny the urgency of action. A crisis in credit and confidence has swept across borders, with consequences for every corner of the world. We have learned that the success of the American economy is inextricably linked to the global economy. If people in other countries cannot spend, markets dry up—already we've seen the biggest drop in American exports in nearly four decades, which has led directly to American job losses. And if we continue to let financial institutions around the world act recklessly and irresponsibly, we will remain trapped in a cycle of bubble and bust. That is why the upcoming London Summit is directly relevant to our recovery at home.

My message is clear: The United States is ready to lead, and we call upon our partners to join us with a sense of urgency and common purpose. Our leadership is grounded in a simple premise: We will lift the American economy out of crisis and reform our regulatory structure, and these actions will be strengthened by complementary action abroad. Through example, the United States can promote a global recovery and build confidence around the world; and if the London Summit helps galvanize collective action, we can forge a secure recovery, and future crises can be averted.

Our efforts must begin with swift action to stimulate growth. The U.S. has passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—the most dramatic effort to jump-start job creation and lay a foundation for growth in a generation. Other G-20 members have pursued fiscal stimulus as well, and these efforts should be sustained until demand is restored. We should embrace a collective commitment to encourage open trade and investment, while resisting the protectionism that would deepen this crisis.

We must restore the credit that businesses and consumers depend upon. We are working aggressively to stabilize our financial system. This includes an honest assessment of the balance sheets of major banks, and will lead directly to lending that can help Americans purchase goods, stay in their homes and grow businesses. This must continue to be amplified by the actions of our G-20 partners. Together, we can embrace a common framework that insists on transparency, accountability and restoring the flow of credit that is the lifeblood of a growing global economy. And the G-20, together with multilateral institutions, can provide trade finance to help lift up exports and create jobs.

Third, we have an economic, security and moral obligation to extend a hand to countries and people who face the greatest risk. If we turn our backs on them, the suffering caused by this crisis will be enlarged, and our recovery will be delayed because markets for our goods will shrink further and more American jobs will be lost. The G-20 should quickly deploy resources to stabilize emerging markets, substantially boost the emergency capacity of the International Monetary Fund and help regional development banks accelerate lending. Meanwhile, America will support meaningful investments in food security that can help the poorest.

While these actions can help get us out of crisis, we cannot settle for a return to the status quo. We must put an end to the reckless speculation and spending beyond our means, and to the bad credit, overleveraged banks and absence of oversight that condemns us to bubbles that inevitably bust. Only coordinated international action can prevent the irresponsible risk-taking that caused this crisis.

All of our financial institutions—on Wall Street and around the globe—need strong oversight and common sense rules of the road. All markets should have standards for stability and a mechanism for disclosure. A strong framework of capital requirements should protect against future crises. We must crack down on offshore tax havens and money laundering. Rigorous transparency and accountability must check abuse, and the days of out-of-control compensation must end. Instead of patchwork efforts that enable a race to the bottom, we must provide the clear incentives for good behavior that foster a race to the top.

I know that America bears our share of responsibility for the mess that we all face.

But I also know that we need not choose between a chaotic and unforgiving capitalism and an oppressive government-run economy. That is a false choice that will not serve our people or any people. This G-20 meeting provides a forum for a new kind of global economic cooperation.

The nations of the world have a stake in one another, and the United States is ready to join a global effort on behalf of new jobs and sustainable growth.

Global Viewpoint/ Tribune Media Services

Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune

Iraq War Six Years Old!!!

2009-03-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

This is from today's Progress Report ... you just know that Dubya is sitting down in Texas with that smirk on his face, beer in hand, drawing a huge presidential pension, and not even thinking about all the lives that have been lost since he lied us into the war with Iraq:

IRAQ
Six Years Of War In Iraq

Six years to the day have passed since President Bush launched the invasion of Iraq, a preventative war of choice based on "intelligence fixed around the policy." The purpose, according to Bush, was "to disarm Iraq, to free its people, and to defend the world from grave danger." Yet of course, there were no weapons to disarm and no "grave danger" to defend against. The war has spawned more terrorists and created deeply rooted resentment of the United States. Even including the billions of dollars Congress has authorized to bail out the nation's troubled financial institutions, this unnecessary war will most likely turn out to be "the largest spending bill in history," as Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) called it. Billions have been lost in waste, fraud, and abuse. Private contractors who have raked in billions from the war have established solid records of endangering the lives of Americans and Iraqis in the country. More importantly, al Qaeda -- the main threat to the U.S. when the war was launched -- "has organized to pre-9/11 strength" because Bush turned his back on Afghanistan, a war in which the U.S. and its allies are not currently winning. However, the war in Iraq may be starting to draw to a close. Late last year, the Bush administration negotiated a security agreement -- or "withdrawal accord" -- with the Iraqi government, mandating that all U.S. troops exit the country by 2011. Last month, President Obama announced his own plan to speed up that process, ordering two-thirds of U.S. forces to redeploy by Aug. 31, 2010. The Progress Report has rounded up the significant developments surrounding the Iraq war over the last year -- some good, some bad, and others ugly.

THE GOOD:
-- Violence in Iraq is down to its lowest level since August 2003.
-- A new ABC/BBC/NHK poll suggests that Iraqi civilians are "more upbeat about the future," and for the first time since March 19, 2003, violence and insecurity "are no longer the main concern of most Iraqis."
-- U.S. combat deaths are at their lowest level since the initial invasion.
-- Iraqi leaders and U.S. troops have offered praise of Obama's plan to speed up the American withdrawal from Iraq.
-- Iraqi civilian casualties have been steadily dropping since 2007, and despite a slight uptick in February, January 2009 "set a record for the lowest number of Iraqi civilians killed" since the war began.

THE BAD:
-- Through last Tuesday, 4,260 U.S. servicemen and women and hundreds more from coalition countries have been killed in Iraq since the war began. Tens of thousands have been physically and mentally wounded. In fact, suicides among Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans "may exceed the combat death toll because of inadequate mental health care."
-- According to Iraq Body Count, nearly 100,000 (maybe more) Iraqi civilians have lost their lives because of the war. Nearly 5 million Iraqis have either been internally displaced or left the country.
-- A U.N. report released last month found that more than 25 percent of Iraq's young men are out of work, "a situation that is likely to worsen and threatens the country's long-term stability. ... Overall, the country's unemployment rate is 18%, but an additional 10% of the labor force is employed part time and wanting to work more."
-- A study released last month found that "Iraq accounts for 1,067 suicide attacks" anywhere since 1981, "a number that accounts for more than half (54.8%) of all suicide attacks" since that time.
-- The situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate as precious American and allied resources are still being used in Iraq.

THE UGLY:
-- Being an architect of the war means never having to say you're sorry. Bush blames others for having to launch the war. Vice President Cheney is convinced the life and treasure lost to fight the Iraq war was worth it. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice actually said she is "so proud" the U.S. invaded Iraq. And major war architect Richard Perle now denies the existence of neoconservatism, the ideological basis for the invasion.
-- Despite zero evidence, Bush administration officials are still trying to link Saddam to al Qaeda. -- The British government released internal memos and e-mails last week that provide further evidence that the government dossier former UK prime minister Tony Blair used as the basis for which to justify the country's involvement in the invasion was indeed "sexed up" with unsupported claims of an imminent threat from Iraq.
-- Last July, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) introduced a resolution praising the success of the "surge" of U.S. forces into Iraq "against enemies who attacked America on 9/11." Rep. Steve King (R-IA) recently introduced a "Victory in Iraq" resolution (despite the fact that Gen. David Petraeus refuses to use the term) "chronicling the success of the troop surge in Iraq and warning the new Commander-in-Chief that if he changes strategy, he takes ownership of whatever happens on his watch."
-- The war has engendered so much hostility that during Bush's last press conference in Iraq, Iraqi journalist Muntader al-Zaidi threw both of his shoes at the President in an attempt to avenge the humiliation Bush levied on the Iraqi people. "This is a farewell kiss, you dog," al-Zaidi said.

SCIENCE!!!

2009-03-04T10:10:00.000-08:00

This is from today's Progress Report ... WELL DONE, Mr. President!!!:

ENVIRONMENT -- OBAMA REVERSES BUSH RULES ON ENDANGERED SPECIES: In one of his administration's last-minute regulation changes, President Bush last December "eliminated 35-year-old regulations in the Endangered Species Act that required an independent scientific review of proposed federal projects to determine whether they imperil protected plants and animals." Yesterday, President Obama vowed to reverse that ruling, in a visit to the Interior Department to mark its 150th anniversary where he signed a memo requiring agencies to seek scientific advice and input before implementing changes that might affect endangered species. "In brief remarks, the president said he had signed the memorandum to 'help restore the scientific process to its rightful place' in the working of the Endangered Species Act. 'We should be looking for ways to improve it, not weaken it,' Mr. Obama said of the act." The New York Times notes that Obama's announcement "drew loud applause." "This is very good news for endangered species," said Andrew Wetzler of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "The regulations that President Bush issued were clearly illegal, and they were bad policy to boot."

The Inaugural Address!!!

2009-01-21T23:15:00.000-08:00

This is a great speach by President Obama ... he even gives a shout-out to Atheists!!!:

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. Those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers ... our found fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."

America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

PRESIDENT OBAMA!!!

2009-01-20T12:43:00.000-08:00

Words can't describe how HAPPY I am ... these past 8 years with Bush have been very SCARY ... LET THE HEALING BEGIN!!!

PROPAGANDA!!!

2009-01-07T12:56:00.000-08:00

I'm so worried about what Bushie is going to try and pull off in the next two weeks before he's sent packing back to Texas ... his legacy is SHIT ... he will go down as the worst pResident this great country of ours has ever had ... even after history judges him ... this is from today's Progress Report:

ADMINISTRATION
The Bush Legacy Propaganda

President Bush repeatedly argues that neither he nor his contemporaries are yet able to fully assess his legacy. Rather, he and his advisers say -- again and again and again -- that "history will judge" whether he was an effective president. Despite this oft-repeated claim, the President seems disinclined to leave any of his legacy to chance. In recent weeks, he and his advisers have offered assessments of the Bush era that are increasingly at odds with reality. Condoleezza Rice, for example, argued that Bush engaged the United Nations more than any other president. And just yesterday, Bush told a crowd that Donald Rumsfeld did an "outstanding job" as Secretary of Defense. In a similar vein, the White House recently released a report entitled, "Highlights of Accomplishments and Results of the Administration of George W. Bush" that featured a list of "100 Things Americans May Not Know About the Bush Administration Record." As Frank Rich wrote for the New York Times, "This document is the literary correlative to 'Mission Accomplished.'" As Rich notes, much of the legacy report's claims about the Bush administration's economic, social, and international accomplishments are only true under very narrow conditions, suggesting that the President hopes that Americans would blind themselves to the broader failures of his presidency.

TOLL ON ECONOMY: The Bush legacy document declares that Bush "instituted pro-growth policies" that produced "six years of uninterrupted economic growth and an unprecedented 52 consecutive months of job creation" and asks, "Did you know the President's tax relief helped fuel growth that led to the largest three year increase in revenues in 26 years?" In reality, the President's "pro-growth policies" served to weaken the economy by nearly doubling the federal debt, championing deregulation on Wall Street, and increasing the income gap. While Bush claims that his tax cuts provided needed economic stimulus and pulled the economy out of recession in 2001, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman explained simply, "None of this is true." A recent Los Angeles Times poll found that 75 percent of Americans feel that Bush economic policies were responsible for the current weakened state of the U.S. economy. Further, Americans see the error of Bush's reckless economic deregulation, with 62 percent calling for more aggressive regulation on Wall Street. Bush, however, has not learned his lesson. Yesterday, he told the conservative publication Human Events, "I will continue to argue for low taxes, less regulation."

TOLL ON SOCIETY: In his legacy document, Bush claims credit for promoting a "culture of life" by banning the use of federal funds for embryonic stem cell research and instituting regulations allowing health care professionals to refuse to participate in medical procedures that violate their personal beliefs. His ban on federal funding for stem cell research "set research back five to six to seven years in this country," delaying potential treatments for a number of degenerative and life threatening diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Similarly, the President's regulatory change allowing health care providers to abstain from procedures they deem unethical allows virtually anyone in the health care sector -- including janitors, receptionists, and volunteers -- to refuse to assist patients with obtaining birth control, abortion, fertility treatments, sterilization, or even referrals to those who would provide such services. As family health insurance premiums nearly doubled, employers became less likely to offer coverage, and the total number of Americans without health insurance grew by 7 million individuals, Bush failed to meaningfully address the nation's health care crisis. In fact, he vetoed expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program, denying 10 million low-income childrenaccess to health care. Thankfully, in failing to pass his unpopular Social Security privatization plan, the Bush presidency was not as damaging as it could have been. Had he been successful in the drive, retirees would have suffered massive losses as a result of the current financial crisis that he had a hand in creating.

TOLL ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: The legacy document also tells a story of how Bush "kept America safe and promoted liberty abroad." But this ignores the obvious fact that the attacks of 9/11 happened on his watch, not to mention the roughly 4,000 troops who have died in his wars. Further, while the President claims credit for expanding and strengthening the nation's counterterrorism tools, the U.S. military is weaker now than it was five years ago, the State Department is suffering from staffing shortages and low morale, and Bush's approval of illegal interrogation techniques harmed the CIA's intelligence-gathering initiatives and threatened troops abroad. The President's cowboy diplomacy and his disastrous invasion of Iraq led to unprecedented levels of U.S. unpopularity around the world. But Bush remains untroubled, saying recently, "I think I'll be remembered as a guy who was dealt some pretty tough issues and I dealt with them head-on and I didn't try to shy away."

Excellent Choice!!!

2008-12-08T10:46:00.001-08:00

President-Elect Obama keeps making great choices for his Cabinet ... from today's Progress Report:

VETERANS
A 21st Century Veterans Affairs

Yesterday, President-elect Barack Obama named ret. Army Gen. Eric Shinseki as his Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), promising "the kind of VA that will serve our veterans as well as they have served us." Shinseki will face one of the country's most daunting tasks: managing an institution already plagued by backlogs, scandals, and inadequate resources, and is increasingly taxed by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. During the press conference, Shinseki spoke directly to veterans: "If confirmed, I will work each and every day to ensure that we are serving you as well as you have served us. We will pursue a 21st-century VA that serves your needs." The nomination of the first Asian-American to the post -- Shinseki, a Japanese-American, grew up in Hawaii -- carried extra poignancy coming on the 67th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attacks. Military officials and some veterans organizations immediately praised Obama's announcement. Former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell called Shinseki "an inspired selection." "He is a man that has always put patriotism ahead of politics, and is held in high regard by veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan," read a statement by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

TWO PURPLE HEARTS: Shinseki is most famous for publicly contradicting Bush administration officials' overly optimistic predictions about the war in Iraq. In 2003, then serving as the Army's chief of staff, he told Congress that it would take several hundred thousand U.S. troops to secure Iraq. The Bush administration's failure to heed Shinseki's warnings led to a decimation of the U.S. military -- underequipped forces, an over-reliance on the National Guard and Reserves, a dangerous stop-loss policy, and an increasing number troops coming home with mental and physical problems. As University of Michigan professor Juan Cole told the Washington Post, "If Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and [former undersecretary for defense Douglas J.] Feith had listened to Shinseki, there wouldn't be as many wounded veterans to take care of." Shinseki served two combat tours in Vietnam, receiving two Purple Hearts and four Bronze Stars. He has frequently worked with wounded veterans and visited Walter Reed Army Medical Center, referring to it as a "members-only section" since he, too, is an amputee.

A DOWNTRODDEN AGENCY: In 2002 and 2003, Bush administration officials tried to sell the public on an Iraq invasion by arguing that the costs to the United States would be almost nonexistent. "Under every plausible scenario, the negative effect will be quite small relative to the economic benefits," said then-White House adviser Lawrence Lindsey. Bush administration officials not only completely miscalculated the billions the United States would have to spend on combat and reconstruction but also failed to plan for the cost of caring for wounded troops after the war. The Iraq war has seen an unprecedented number of troops who "have been wounded or injured and survived," according to economists Joseph E. Stiglitz and Linda J. Bilmes. The ratio for Iraq and Afghanistan has been seven injuries for every fatality -- by far the largest in U.S. history -- compared to 2.6 and 2.8 for the Vietnam and Korean wars, respectively. The result of this lack of preparation has been a badly neglected VA, with the appalling conditions at Walter Reed as only the tip of the iceberg. In July 2007, Jim Nicholson resigned as VA Secretary in disgrace, leaving a tenure during which he stood by and even supported the Bush administration's slashing of the agency. President Bush has, in fact, repeatedly objected to large increases in the budget for veterans' medical care. However, Nicholson's departure hasn't cleared up all the problems. Under new secretary James Peake, VA officials have been trying to cover up data on the troubling rise in suicides among veterans.

SHINSEKI'S CHALLENGES: Veterans are suffering the consequences of the Bush administration's neglect. Last year, a Harvard Medical School study found that one in eight veterans younger than 65 is uninsured. Military retirees who are insured are often paying more for medical care than other retirees. Despite the Bush administration's promises to reform the veterans' care system after the Walter Reed scandal, a Government Accountability Office report last year found that delays for disability payments "still average 177 days -- nearly six months -- with no indication that dramatic improvement is in the offing." One of Shinseki's most pressing challenges will be modernizing the VA to deal with the increasing number of mental health troubles faced by soldiers coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Nearly 20 percent of returning veterans have post-traumatic stress disorder, but only about half of them seek treatment. Another area where the VA has fallen short is in its treatment of women veterans. As the AP has reported, "Of the women veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan who have walked into a VA facility, 15 percent have screened positive for military sexual trauma." Roughly 180,000 women have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and last year, the VA) "treated more than 255,000 female veterans. The number is expected to double within five years."

Wise Words!!!

2008-12-03T13:21:00.000-08:00

The Freedom From Religion Foundation put this sign out as a Christmas decoration in Olympia, Washington ... GOOD STUFF!!!:

There are no gods,

no devils, no angels,

no heaven or hell.

There is only our natural world.

Religion is but

myth and superstition

that hardens hearts

and enslaves minds.

Well Said, Ted!!!

2008-12-02T18:26:00.000-08:00

This is from today's Progress Report:

Last night, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) accepted an honorary degree from Harvard University. "I have often been called a liberal, and it usually was not meant to be a compliment," he said. "But I remember what my brother said about liberalism shortly before he was elected president. "He said if by a liberal they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people...If that is what they mean by liberal, I am proud to be a liberal," Kennedy said.

Me too, Ted ... I'm very proud to be a LIBERAL!!!

$1.84???

2008-11-24T22:21:00.000-08:00

I paid $1.84 for a gallon of gas at COSTCO today ... they're up to something ... gas hasn't been this low since ... 1998???

Yet Another "SCREW YOU" From Bush!!!

2008-11-11T10:17:00.000-08:00

This is from yesterday's (11/10/08) Progress Report ... can't Dubya just go on vacation in Crawford for the next two and a half months and just disappear??? ... hasn't he destroyed America and The World enough???:

ADMINISTRATION
Bush Rolls Back Regulations

Having promised to "sprint to the finish" of his second term and "to remain focused on the goals ahead," President Bush is "working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken government rules" aimed at protecting workers, consumers and the environment, the Washington Post reports. "The administration wants to leave a legacy," said Gary Bass, executive director of OMB Watch, "but across the board it means less protection for the public." Indeed, the Bush administration is implementing over 90 new regulations which "would be among the most controversial deregulatory steps of the Bush era and could be difficult for his successor to undo." The wide array of new regulations includes proposals to undercut outpatient Medicaid services, weaken the Endangered Species Act, and allow increased emissions from older power plants. In some instances, the administration has allowed federal agencies to circumvent public feedback methods by limiting the period for public comment, "not allowing e-mailed or faxed comments or scheduling public hearings." Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama, meanwhile, "have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House policies." The kind of regulations they are looking at are those imposed by Bush for "overtly political" reasons, said Dan Mendelson, a former associate administrator for health in the Clinton administration's Office of Management and Budget.

CUTTING BACK MEDICAID: On Friday, the very same day that the Department of Labor announced that the U.S. unemployment rate is at a 14-year high of 6.5 percent, Bush "narrowed the scope of services that can be provided to poor people under Medicaid's outpatient hospital benefit." The new regulation arrives at a time when states are considering limiting Medicaid eligibility and Americans are losing their jobs -- and by extension, employer health benefits. According to the Kaiser Foundation, a 1 percent increase in unemployment results in 1 million more people enrolling in Medicaid and the State's Children's Health Insurance Program, and another 1.1 million more people becoming uninsured. Public hospitals and state officials immediately protested Bush's proposed action, saying it would "reduce Medicaid payments to many hospitals at a time of growing need," the New York Times reports. Ann Clemency Kohler, the executive director of the National Association of State Medicaid Directors, said that "the new rule is a pretty sweeping change from longtime Medicaid policy. Since the beginning of the program, states have been allowed to define hospital outpatient services. We have to question why the rule is being issued now, three days after the election, with a new administration coming in."

GUTTING ENDANGERED SPECIES: In what would be the biggest change to Endangered Species Act since 1998, the Bush administration wants to allow federal agencies "to decide for themselves whether highways, dams, mines and other construction projects might harm endangered animals and plants." Currently, federal agencies are required to consult with an independent agency -- the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) or the National Marine Fisheries Service -- to determine whether a project would harm an endangered species. As Sharon Guynup of the Baltimore Sun points out, "[T]aking wildlife experts out of the equation eliminates the checks and balances that have kept the [Chesapeake] bay's bald eagles, shortnose sturgeon, Delmarva fox squirrels, piping plovers and other rare creatures from disappearing" and would only encourage agencies to "revert to pre-Endangered Species Act tactics of cutting big projects into a series of small ones that fall under the radar." The draft rules also would also "bar federal agencies from assessing the emissions from projects that contribute to global warming and its effect on species and habitats," the AP reports.

INCREASING POLLUTION: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working on regulations that would allow increased emissions from older power plants while also rolling back existing air quality regulations for national parks and wilderness areas. While "the Clean Air Act requires older plants that have their lives extended with new equipment to install pollution-control technology if their emissions increase," Bush's proposed rule would "allow plants to measure emissions on an hourly basis, rather than their total yearly output. This way, plants could run for more hours and increase overall emissions without exceeding the threshold that would require additional pollution controls," McClatchy reports. The industry-friendly rule -- which the administration tried to implement in 2003, before it "was vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in July"-- is now being opposed by EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson and Robert Meyers, the assistant administrator in charge of air issues. According to McClatchy, "the EPA official said that concerns in the agency were that the analysis justifying the rule change was weak and the administration didn't plan to make the analysis public for a comment period, as is customary." Three computer models, released by the EPA, have also shown that the proposed rule "would increase carbon dioxide emissions by 74 million tons annually," "roughly equivalent to the total annual CO2 emissions of about 14 average coal-fired power plants."

VICTORY!!!

2008-11-06T23:11:00.000-08:00

Men weeping with joy ... that's how I can sum up Barrack Obama's Presidential win on Tuesday ... I was weeping after they announced the win at 8pm PST ... three other Democratic men I've spoken to/e-mailed with told me they cried as well ... words can't describe how happy I am about this!!!

WE'RE GOING TO GET OUR COUNTRY BACK!!!

Book Banning at the Book Fair!!!

2008-11-06T12:24:00.001-08:00

This past Monday The Wife volunteered me to work the Book Fair (sponsored by Scholastic) at The Boy's school ... I reported to the Woman In Charge of it around 8am and asked what I could do ... she told me to restock and straighten out the books on all the shelves around the room ... I was busy restocking books from cardboard boxes of books under the tables ... I came upon the book "The Golden Compass - The Story of the Movie" in one of the boxes ... I scanned the shelves and could not find where its spot was ... I asked the Woman In Charge where this book was on the shelve so I could see if I needed to put more out ... she said, "I decided not to put that book out" ... I asked, "Why aren't you putting it out???" ... "she said, "I'm not putting it out for personal reasons" ... I glanced at what was hanging around her neck ... a cross ... I was in the presence of a christian BOOK BANNER!!!

I remembered the controversy over the movie "The Golden Compass" when it came out ... this is what's posted on Wikipedia about the controversy:

Several key themes of the novels, such as the rejection of religion and the abuse of power in a fictionalised version of the Catholic Church, were diluted in the adaptation. Director Weitz said "in the books the Magisterium is a version of the Catholic Church gone wildly astray from its roots", but that the organization portrayed in his film would not directly match that of Pullman's books. Instead, the Magisterium represents all dogmatic organizations. Weitz said that New Line Cinema had feared the story's anti-religious themes would make the film financially unviable in the U.S., and so religion and God ("the Authority" in the books) would not be referenced directly.

Attempting to reassure fans of the novels, Weitz said that religion would instead appear in euphemistic terms, yet the decision was criticised by some fans, anti-censorship groups, and the National Secular Society (of which Pullman is an honorary associate), which said "they are taking the heart out of it, losing the point of it, castrating it..." and "this is part of a long-term problem over freedom of speech." The Atlantic Monthly said also "With $180 million at stake, the studio opted to kidnap the book’s body and leave behind its soul." The changes from the novel have been present since Tom Stoppard's rejected version of the script, and Pullman expected the film to be "faithful" although he also said "They do know where to put the theology and that’s off the film." A Christianity Today review of the film noted that "'magisterium' does refer, in the real world, to the teaching authority of the Roman Catholic Church, and the film [is] peppered with religiously significant words like 'oblation' and 'heresy'", adding that when one character smashes through the wall of a Magisterium building, the damaged exterior is "decorated with [Christian] Byzantine icons."

On October 7, 2007 the Catholic League called for a boycott of the film. League president William A. Donohue said he would not ordinarily object to the film, but that while the religious elements are diluted from the source material, the film will encourage children to read the novels, which he says denigrate Christianity and promote atheism for kids. He cited Pullman telling the Washington Post in 2001 that he is trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief. The League hoped that "the film [would fail] to meet box office expectations and that [Pullman's] books attract few buyers," declaring the boycott campaign a success after a North American opening weekend which was lower than anticipated. One week after the film's release, Roger Ebert said of the campaign, "any bad buzz on a family film can be mortal, and that seems to have been the case this time."

R. Albert Mohler, Jr., the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, agreed that the broad appeal of the film was a dangerous lure to the novels, which he criticized for carrying a clear agenda to expose what [Pullman] believes is the tyranny of the Christian faith" and for "[providing] a liberating mythology for a new secular age." The Rev. Denny Wayman of the Free Methodist Church made the assertion that The Golden Compass is a "film trying to preach an atheistic message." Other evangelical groups, such as The Christian Film and Television Commission, adopted a "wait-and-see" approach to the film before deciding upon any action,[42] as did the Roman Catholic Church in Britain. Some religious scholars have challenged the view that the story carries atheistic themes while in November 2007, a review of the film by the director and staff reviewer of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting appeared on the website of the Catholic News Service and in Catholic newspapers across the country. The review suggested that instead of a boycott, it may be appropriate for Catholic parents to "talk through any thorny philosophical issues" with their children. However, on December 10, 2007 the review was removed from the website at the USCCB's request. On December 19, 2007, the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, published an editorial in which it denounced the film as godless.

Pullman said of Donohue's call for a boycott, "Why don't we trust readers? Why don't we trust filmgoers? Oh, it causes me to shake my head with sorrow that such nitwits could be loose in the world." In a discussion with Donohue on CBS's Early Show, Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists, said that rather than promote atheism, the film would encourage children to question authority, saying that would not be a bad thing for children to learn. Director Weitz says that he believes His Dark Materials is "not an atheistic work, but a highly spiritual and reverent piece of writing", and Nicole Kidman defended her decision to star in the film, saying that "I wouldn't be able to do this film if I thought it were at all anti-Catholic". Some commentators indicated that they believed both sides' criticism would prove ultimately impotent and that the negative publicity would prove a boon for the film's box office.

After she said she wasn't putting that book out for personal reasons I didn't even want to be in the same room with her ... my already aching tennis elbow was bothering me so I told her I had to go home and take some painkillers ... I went to vote for Obama after that and then headed home ... all the while the fact that she didn't put this book out bothered me ... I had already planned to take The Kids to the Book Fair after school to pick out a book ... after they picked out what they wanted I yelled across the room to the Woman In Charge, "Hey (her name), where's that book about The Golden Compass???" ... she got a weird look on her face and pointed under the table and said, "It's in one of those boxes" ... I found it and bought it along with what The Kids picked out.

The Woman In Charge had no problem putting out two books about someone in the Hitler Youth.

I was going to make a BIG STINK about this but I don't want The Boy to be embarrassed ... or demonized by others at the school.

BUT, book banning is WRONG!!!

Now I have to move "The Golden Compass" to the top of my Netflix queue.

STOP IT!!!

2008-11-04T16:45:00.000-08:00

It's bad enough that I'm stressed about the election today ... but, STOP ROBO CALLING ME!!! ... I voted this morning and the calls just keep coming in late in the afternoon ... I can't go back and change my vote ... and I'm NOT going to.

I feel so bad about Obama's Grandmother dying on Monday ... I wish she could have hung on long enough to see the man she raised become the Leader of this great country.

Feline Drama!!!

2008-10-31T22:27:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday morning I got up, made coffee and started to feed the cats ... I noticed that only Mifune had shown up to eat ... I went looking for Wasabi ... I found the sliding glass door AND screen in our bedroom wide open ... an accident by The Wife & The Boy the night before ... Wasabi was gone ... I did a quick search of the neighborhood right away ... nothing ... after dropping the kids off at school/preschool I came home and spent hours wandering the neighboorhood calling out to him ... later The Wife came home from work with a sign she made up and we attached a picture of our fur-child to it ... I went to Kinkos and made 100 copies of it to make sure everyone in this part of Palm Desert knew to look for Wasabi ... I spent most of Wednesday in bed with a migraine caused by the stress of losing that cat but in the evening we went out again and put up signs everywhere ... still no cat ... on Thursday going to work took my mind off of it a bit but the minute I got home I went into a funk 'cause I wanted my cat back ... at 3:30am this morning (Friday) the Lady Baby was crying for Mama ... The Wife got up to check on her and then ran back into the bedroom in a panic looking for her glasses and ran out the bedroom door saying she thought she heard Wasabi outside on the side of the house ... I heard her calling to Wasabi and a couple seconds later came back into the house holding that crazy boy!!! ... he was gone for 3 long days ... we have no idea where he was hanging out but he wasn't dirty except for his feet ... he had lost some weight and drank water like crazy ... he somehow had found his way back home ... I hope he enjoyed himself because that won't be happening again!!!

Now I have to go all over North Palm Desert taking down the "Lost Cat" signs.

See This Doc!!!

2008-10-19T22:48:00.000-07:00

Today I watched the documentary Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten ... this is a MUST-SEE film for fans of The Clash ... Julien Temple did a fantastic job directing.

United Stupid of America!!!

2008-10-12T23:44:00.000-07:00

I just saw something on the 11 o'clock news that really disturbed me ... they were doing a story about the presidential campaign and they showed a clip from a McCain rally today ... there was an older woman holding the mic and looking at McCain like she was asking a question ... she said into the mic, "He's an Arab" ... McCain said, "No, no, no" and took the mic away from her and walked away (which is one of the few things he's done in recent memory that I agree with!!!).

There are people out there that think Obama is an Arab.

Maybe there are some people in this country that aren't smart enough to vote!!!

Army of God???

2008-10-06T08:25:00.000-07:00

Should I be honored by the Tony Soprano of the anti-abortion movement commenting on my blog??? ... NO!!! ... Don Spitz is from the Army of God ... an extremist right-wing anti-abortion group from Virginia ... he was commenting on my line (which is from a bumpersticker): Against Abortion? Don't Have One! ... does this guy spend his time online checking out every web site that has the word "abortion" on it??? ... he is a very dangerous and blood-thirsty man ... I hope he doesn't mail me anthrax (which he is known to threaten people with!!!) ... here's his comment that he left on my blog post this past Friday:

Rev. Don Spitz said...

I can dig it. "don't believe in abortion , don't have one"

"don't believe in shooting babykilling abortionists don't shoot one."

"Don't believe in killing sex perverted sodomites, don't kill one"

I think you are on to something Matt.

SAY THIS PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I am a sinner and am headed to eternal hell because of my sins. I believe you died on the cross to take away my sins and to take me to heaven. Jesus, I ask you now to come into my heart and take away my sins and give me eternal life.

http://www.armyofgod.com

Random Thoughts!!!

2008-10-02T22:16:00.000-07:00

During tonight's VP debate Sarah Palin used the term "Joe Six Pack" ... what does that mean??? ... if this "Joe" is drinking a six pack of beer a day he has a drinking problem ... maybe Palin is trying to appeal to the alcoholic voters.

I think it was during the last election there was a ballot measure to fully fund preschool for California's kids ... it didn't win ... I bet all the people that want the $700BILLION bailout DIDN'T vote in favor of free preschool ... those people hate my kids.

The only position anyone should have on ABORTION is: Against Abortion? - Don't Have One!

The only position anyone should have on GAY MARRIAGE is: Against Gay Marriage? - Don't Marry a Gay Person!

No Protest For Me Tonight!!!

2008-10-01T16:04:00.000-07:00

I would normally be at the La Quinta peace vigil tonight ... but, my right arm is so achy that I won't be able to hold my protest sign ... so in lieu of the protest I'm going to post the lyrics to Michael Franti & Spearhead's song "Time to Go Home" (watch the video):

TIME TO GO HOME

Those who start wars, never fight them
And those who fight wars, they never like them
And those who write laws, they can't recite them
And those of us who just fight laws, we live and die them

But I know they never gonna tell you why, no
They only wanna tell you lies, no
Never ever gonna tell you why, no
They only wanna tell you lies, no
Never ever gonna tell you why, no
They only wanna tell you liesIts time...it's time to go home

Don't take our boys away, no
Don't take our girls away, no
Don't take our boys away, no
Don't take our girls away, no (it's time to go home)
Don't take our boys away, no
Don't take our girls away, no
Don't take our boys away, no

Those who build walls are pretending
That forever they can defend them
Those who dam streams can build fountains (yes they can)
But those of us who just let them run free...we can move mountains

But I know they never gonna tell you why, no
They only wanna tell you lies, no
Never ever gonna tell you why, no
They only wanna tell you lies, no
Never ever gonna tell you why, no
They only wanna tell you lies
Its time...it's time to go home

Don't take our boys away, no
Don't take our girls away, no
Don't take our boys away, no
Don't take our girls away, no (it's time to go home)
Don't take our boys away, no
Don't take our girls away, no
Don't take our boys away, no

It's time
It's time!
How many people were they runnin from and
How many people never saw it comin
How many people never heard the warning
How many people never stayed at home and
How many people never heard the call and
How many people never saw it all and
How many people did they spend it on and
How many people got to sing this song and
How many people never heard the cry and
How many people gotten pushed aside and
How many people never saw the doves fly
How many people never said goodbye and
How many people never saw the fall and
How many people til we end it all and
How many people never saw the wrong and
How many people did we drop the bomb on

Don't take our boys away, no
Don't take our girls away, no
Don't take our boys away, no
Don't take our girls away, no
Don't take our boys away, no
Don't take our girls away, no
Don't take our boys away
It's time
It's time to go home

Away
Away, highway ridin'
Away, highway ridin'
Away
Away (Away)
Away (Away)
Away (Don't take our boys away)
Away

Golden Parachute??? ... Yell Fire!!!

2008-09-23T20:49:00.000-07:00

This whole $700BILLION bailout is really starting to bother me ... I know we have to support the finanical health of the country ... but, the BASTARDS that run it are all about money and don't want the government bothering them and they HATE paying their fair share of taxes ... now they want the AMERICAN TAXPAYERS to BAIL THEM OUT ... SOCIALISM!!! ... that's what it's called ... you're kicking in $2300 per person ... it made me think about back in 2003 when the government flew a plane load of CASH to IRAQ and quite a bit of it (BILLIONS!!!) went missing ... and I don't think they're even looking for it ... it also made me think of the BRILLIANT Michael Franti & Spearhead song "Yell Fire":

Yell Fire

A revolution never come with a warning
A revolution never sends you an omen
A revolution just arrived like the morning
Ring the alarm we come to wake up the snoring

They tellin' you to never worry about the future
They tellin' you to never worry about the torture
They tellin' you that you'll never see the horror
Spend it all today and we will bill you tomorrow
Three piece suits and bank accounts in Bahamas
Wall street crime will never send you to the slammer
Tell all the children in the arms of their mammas
The F-15 is a homocide bomber

TV commercials for a pop a pill culture
Drug companies circling like a vulture
Ameriraqi babies with a G.I. Joe father
Ten years from now is anybody gonna bother?

Yell Fire, yo, yo, yo
Here we come here we come
Fire, yo, yo , yo, yo
Revolution a comin'
Fire, yo, yo, yo, yo
Fire, yo, yo, yo, yo

Everyone addicted to the same nicotine
Everyone addicted to the same gasoline
Everyone addicted to a technicolour screen
Everybody tryin' to get their hands on the same green
From the banks of the river to the banks of the greedy
All of the riches taken back by the needy
We come from the country and we come from the city
You play us on the record, you can play us on the CD

All the shit you've given us is fertilizer
The seeds that we planted you can never brutalize them
Tell the corporation they can never globalize it
Like Peter Tosh said Legalize it

Girls and boys hear the bass and treble
Rumble in the speakers and it make you wanna rebel
Throw your hands up, take it to another level
And you can never, ever, ever make a deal with the devil

Yell Fire, yo, yo, yo
Here we come here we come
Fire, yo, yo, yo, yo
Revolution a comin'
Fire, yo, yo, yo, yo
Fire, yo, yo, yo, yo

Read This Book!!!

2008-09-15T22:25:00.000-07:00

This isn't the start of "Matt's Book Club" but I just finished Barbara Ehrenreich's brilliant new book "This Land Is Their Land - Report From A Divided Nation" ... you gotta read this book!!! ... she also authored the fantastic "Nickel and Dimed" a couple years ago ... I could go on and on about it but the best thing for you to do is just read it!!!

He Was Involved, Part II!!!

2008-09-09T11:52:00.000-07:00

In the May 2008 Esquire magazine there was an interview with Vint Cerf, Creator of the Internet, and this is what he had to say about Al Gore:

"Al Gore had seen what happened with the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956, which his father introduced as a military bill. It was very powerful. Housing went up, suburban boom happened, everybody became moblile. Al was attuned to the power of networking much more than any of his elective collegues. His initiatives led directly to the commercialization of the Internet. So he really does deserve credit."

An ISLAND!!!

2008-09-02T17:03:00.000-07:00

This is from today's Daily Mail from England:

The North Pole becomes an 'island' for the first time in history as ice melts

By Fiona Macrae
Last updated at 12:32 AM on 02nd September 2008

The North Pole has become an island for the first time in human history.

Startling satellite pictures taken three days ago show that melting ice has opened up the fabled North-West and North-East Passages - making it possible to sail around the Arctic ice cap.

The opening of the passages has been eagerly awaited by shipping companies which hope they will be able to cut thousands of miles off their routes.

But to climate change scientists it is yet another sign of the damage global warming is inflicting on the planet.

Mark Serreze, a sea ice specialist, described the images as an 'historic event' - but warned they added to fears that the Arctic icecap has entered a 'death spiral'.

The pictures, produced by NASA, mark the first time in at least 125,000 years that the two shortcuts linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans have been ice-free at the same time.

In 2005, the North-East Passage around Russia opened, while the western one, across the top of Canada, remained closed, and last year the position was reversed.

But the satellite data shows that the North-West passage opened last weekend and the remaining tongue of ice blocking the North-Eastern one dissolved a few days later.

Professor Serreze, of the U.S. government-funded National Snow and Ice Data Center, told a Sunday newspaper: 'The passages are open. It is an historic event.

'We are going to see this more and more as the years go by.'

Shipping companies are ready to exploit the new routes. The Beluga group, based in Bremen, Germany, plans to send the first ship through the North-East passage next year, cutting 4,000 nautical miles off the voyage from Germany to Japan.

If the ice continues to melt at current rates it will soon be possible to sail right across the North Pole.

Many scientists believe that the mass of ice that forms a jagged circle around the North Pole could vanish altogether in the summer by 2030.

Others believe it could take as little as five years for the Pole, currently frozen all year round, to be ice-free between mid-July and mid-September.

Four weeks ago, tourists had to be evacuated from Baffin Island's Auyuittuq National Park in northern Canada because of flooding from thawed glaciers.

The park's name means 'land that never melts'.

A Harriet Meyers Moment!!!

2008-09-01T22:21:00.000-07:00

I was going to come home from work tonight and blog about how McCain's VP pick is just like when Bush picked Harriet Meyers for the Supreme Court ... but, then I read my e-mail and Kate beat me to it ... so this post is written by Kate (check out her web sites ... she's one hellava photographer!!!):

Hey, do you guys remember when George Bush picked Harriet Meyers to be a Supreme Court justice and then she turned out to be an idiot and he had to pick someone else? Anybody get the feeling the same thing's about to go down with Sarah Palin? Boy, Bush and McCain really are the same, right down to their inability to pick competent people to do important jobs. (Feel free to share this comparison with anyone who might be interested...)

Kate
http://www.kateluhrphotography.com/
http://www.katespawprints.com/

Thank You McBush!!!

2008-08-29T22:36:00.000-07:00

I thought John McCain was going to make me happy and make Joe Lieberman his VP choice ... he did me one better ... he picked a former beauty queen and small town mayor who has been the govenor of Alaska for less than two years ... and ZERO foreign policy experience ... and he's been making light of Barack Obama's experience on the campaign trail ... I think McCain became disoriented and picked someone that looked like the female anchors on Faux News.

He thinks he going to pick up Hillary's votes with her ... but, this woman is ANTI-abortion ... not going to happen ... I hope Obama's people are working their asses off this weekend to work this VP pick to their advantage.

I cried during the news tonight ... it's been three long years since Katrina tore up New Orleans ... they showed footage of woman outside the New Orleans Convention Center holding babies and crying ... I couldn't take it ... where were Bush and McCain during this horrible time 3 years ago??? ... celebrating McCain's birthday on the tarmac in Phoenix, or course!!!

He Was Involved!!!

2008-08-23T23:37:00.000-07:00

I get so pissed off when resmugnicans slag off on Al Gore ... before "An Inconvient Truth" came out they used to always spout, "Al Gore claims to have invented the internet ... he didn't" ... the July 2008 issue of Vanity Fair has a great article about the history of the internet ("How The Web Was Won") ... here's the blurb they have next to the picture of Al Gore:

THE LEGISLATOR
Vice President Al Gore

He got a bum rap. Gore never claimed to have "invented the internet," though columists said otherwise and had sport with him anyway. Here's what Gore really did: throughout the 1980s, as a senator from Tennessee, he stood out as a highly visible, early proponent of networking. In 1991, Congress passed the High-Performance Computing Act, also known as "the Gore Act," which paved the way for a privatized, commercialized Internet that could thrive and evolve outside the government's hands - in other words: the Internet as we know it today.