Archive: January, 2010
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by Calickizzle
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 11:01am
If there is one thing to take away from the Massachusetts result, it’s this: People like to whine.
Voters granted huge Democratic gains in the 2006 and 2008 elections because they were whining about how the Bush administration was ignoring certain issues, issues that festered and only got worse on its watch. Buried under Obama’s rhetoric of “hope and change” was an underlying promise: the federal government was no longer going to sit on its hands and ignore the problems our country faced, a course of (in)action that the Republicans proved all to good at. So Obama- implausibly- secured the White House, and promised an era of responsive government.
So, now voters are whining that the government should not be as responsive as the Obama administration has- haltingly, it could be asserted- been in its first twelve months. The pattern could be broken down as thus: You’re ignoring my problems? I’ll elect leaders that respond to them. You’re responding to my problems? I’ll elect leaders that will ignore them.
(more…)
2010 mid-terms | Massachusetts Senate race | Obama | Scott Brown | View Comments
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by Memeticdrool
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 11:45pm
As all four political estates digest the MA election, some attention is naturally settling on what effect this will have on the Senate’s ability to move forward. In brief: Democrats never had it so good.
While the political pendulum swings, and no party should delude themselves with “permanent majority” talk, Dem’s have all the time they need. They’ve tried the high road of parliamentary politics, and Congressional Republicans have clearly demonstrated they will sacrifice American lives for their own petty power agenda. It’s not the first time conservatives have demonstrated their party-first politics (“nuclear option” anyone?), but it is time to let go of fantasies that the current conservative members of Congress will suddenly start voting for reasonable policy on its merits. It is simply not going to happen.
From the Whitehouse to the Senate and House, extending the legislative olive branch to R’s was gracious, honorable, and much more than they deserved post Bush 43. Now that the Republican hand is on the table, it’s time to get stuff done with or without them. Americans are dying or losing their homes or enduring any number of ills inherited from the last 30 years of bad policy and bad thinking. Regardless of who is to blame, we need to get the policy foundations laid so hard working Americans can proceed with fixing the problems. There are ways to get things done in Congress. Everyone knows this, and no one need apologize for doing the right thing and moving forward. Dems need to get it done via any and every available means necessary to save American lives from those who will otherwise hold Americans hostage to advance their own failed political quackery.
In 2009, Democrats made one big mistake: they let 60 seats – political calculus – take center stage. Now that no one need be misled by a magic number, roll up the sleeves and bring it, Dems.
2010 elections | Democrats | health care | public option | View Comments
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by Jsmog
Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 10:51am
 a principled, common sense, Strong, HARD conservative Remember when Levi Johnson posed naked in Playgirl? Yeah, most people didn’t care either. But uppity conservatives thought this might actually be the apocalypse. There was all this big hubabaloo as to whether Levi was going to go Full Monty or not reveal the real “Johnson”. He eventually went with the latter by covering his extreme private parts with a hand towel. However, this didn’t stop Palin from saying about the father of her grandson, that Levi was taking a “heartbreaking” venture into “porn” on Oprah.
Never the less, while Palin has been traveling the country embarrassing herself elsewhere she has weighed in on a few of the upcoming elections as well, saying this about MA Senatorial Republican candidate Scott Brown, that he has “you know, common sense conservative values, principles, solutions, being plugged in to meet the challenges facing America today.” Because obviously someone who poses nude in a Centerfold (without even a hand towel) demonstrates, what is it again, “conservative values, principles, solutions, being plugged in to meet the challenges facing America today.” Or maybe Levi is taking a venture into porn because of the magazine in which he chose to pose in, which was no Cosmo like Brown’s pictorial. And who knows, since Brown’s expose was during the 80s, maybe Levi will make a great Republican Senatorial candidate in 20 years. Hmmm, Levi doesn’t seem to have quite as good a grasp on hypocrisy yet, like all principled common sense Republicans do.
Take the poll : Is A.) the nude photo of Levi Johnson the porn and the nude photo of Scott Brown the common sense conservative, B.) the nude photo of Scott Brown the porn and the nude photo of Levi Johnson the common sense conservative, or C.) Sarah Palin is a hypocrite?
centerfold | hypocrisy | Levi Johnson | Palin | Scott Brown | View Comments
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by Calickizzle
Friday, January 15, 2010 at 03:46pm
By now, its clear that the recent earthquake in Haiti has left behind a wake of human suffering and destruction that is almost imaginable. As we read reports on the printed and electronic page, or watch images streamed across the airwaves, our minds can barely comprehend the devastation and suffering that is occurring in the hemisphere’s most poorest country.
Some are calling this earthquake the “worst natural disaster.” And, unless you happen to be living on Mars, in a cave, under a rock, with both eyes closed, you’ve probably been inundated with requests to offer donations of financial assistance. Consider this yet another one. It is incredibly easy to make a donation, even the smallest amounts are appreciated. Just a few clicks on any of the following links and you can quickly have $20 sent to help alleviate some of the suffering. And the best thing about the following organizations, is that not a single dollar will go to Pat Robertson’s corrupt un-Christlike “humanitarian” development agencies.
Mercy Corps
American Red Cross (To donate $10 to the Red Cross, text HAITI to 90999. The ten bucks will be added to your cell phone bill. The Red Cross has described the flood of money donated by text message as a “miracle.”)
Inter Action
Haitian-born Wyclef Jean’s Yele charity: http://www.yele.org/
Doctors Without Borders
The White House’s Help for Haiti page
CARE
Oxfam
Other relief groups can be found here.
Also, you may feel that donating a little bit of money is not enough, and that due to the magnitude of the disaster you’d like to offer more. The factor of the matter is that offering “more” is simply not an option at this moment. Due to the current chaos and lack of basic infrastructure, any individual requests to come and offer assistance are being rejected, with donations to the above highly encouraged. There will be a time in the future to come and assist with the rebuilding efforts, if desired.
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by Calickizzle
Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 11:30pm
As Sen. Ben Nelson was never really a proponent of health care reform- his ambivalence regarding abortion appears to just be a convenient cover to be an obstructionist- it appears that the real reason for Nelson’s “Cornhusker Kickback” is to basically extort the federal government into dropping health care reform. Or, you know, give up on the formula that sahres Medicaid costs between the federal and state governments, and have the federal government pay 100% of the costs. And this would result in Barack Obama’s desired deficit-nuetral, less-than-$1 trillion health care bill and pretty much punch a multi-trillion dollar hole into our deficit. And the sad thing is, not only would Sen. Nelson’s misguided efforts end up bankrupting the federal government- I’ll spare the mawkish and over-used sentiment regarding “our children”- but it would also, if his desire to see the federal government “fully fund” Medicare is legitimate and is realized, would result in bankrupting state governments as well!
In other words, Sen. Nelson’s utterly ridiculous plan- which seems to have been concocted by Sean Penn’s character in “I Am Sam”- fits the definition of “lose-lose.”
Bankrupting federal and state deficits would be an awfully odd tack for a deficit hawk to take. No, its pretty clear that Sen. Nelson- one of those good ol’ untrustworthy “Blue Dog” Democrats- is little else than a master extortionist, willing to hang the rest of the country out to dry in an effort to get the ugly spectre of health care dropped.
This would be fine, if the ugly realization of the status quo wasn’t so horrible. As the Wonk Room points out:
Under the Senate bill, the federal government is funding the expansion for the first several years and increasing its contribution to Medicaid over the long term. States, which have a certain degree of flexibility in how the implement the Medicaid program, are required to partly finance the Medicaid expansion in out-years of the 10-year budget window. But in doing so, they’re also make an investment towards lowering health care costs. With reform, states would be spending less on health care than they would if they did nothing at all. Without reform, costs continue to rise. States are forced to spend millions on uncompensated care for the uninsured. Residents with coverage are paying higher premiums to compensate emergency room services. State must stretch their Medicaid budgets, particularly during periods of economic recession, and have little to spend on other social services.
It takes a certain caliber of individual to be a Senator. It is quite clear that Sen. Nelson lacks that caliber.
Ben Nelson | health care reform | View Comments
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by Calickizzle
Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 11:20am
I mean, the First amendment totally encourages outright death threats, correct?
Funny, when I went to the anti-war rallies, the worst signs read “Bush, pull out like your mother should’ve ” and “Frodo failed: Bush has the ring.”
Not a single sign outright calling for his death. I challenge Brent to prove me otherwise.
Of course, if you were wearing a T-shirt that promotes peace, that was grounds enough to get expelled from a shopping mall. Totally the same thing.
GOP | wingnuts | View Comments
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