Florida Speaks

Go figure

2010-06-23T17:25:00.000-07:00

If you remember reading this post titled, Meltdown Mogul's Senate Agenda - Through Time predicting how Jeff Greene would find the means to dip his gold plated toes into the democratic primary, you can watch a demonstration of the absurdity in real life here. Sure it's a stretched debate but five minutes is all you need before you'll realize that Jeff Greene's track record (and lack thereof) get's the best of him.

Spawned from youtube came a video highlighting one of his worst statements during the debate (minus the one where he blatantly insults Kendrick Meek's mother). He tells the audience he doesn't regret the credit default swaps that fattened his pocket book on the backs of Floridians while feeding into the current recession.

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National Politics Round-up

2010-05-14T17:35:00.000-07:00

This is our regular feature where every day I do a post with the top 5 Florida political blog posts about national stories. They are ranked according to quality, importance of the story and relevance to the present.

1. Smooth Like Remy - Super Centrist Fail: "I'm a progressive and a Democrat and maybe not in that order but its getting harder and harder to defend the way the White House treats their base."

2. Leaflet Descending - New data on tea party sympathizers: "The blue columns display those who support the tea party and the red column is the sample of those who do not. Below each graph are the attributes or issue about each titled group or race."

3. madfloridian - The right wing had big money behind their message for decades: "If you have not read The Republican Noise Machine, do so."

4. Nancy Imperiale - Stop reporting. Start writing: "How many times have I struggled with that. Every day of my writing life, probably. I LOVE the reporting. Hate the writing."

5. Avery Voice - academic freedom is a core principle of higher education, but: "Is it responsibility to buckle to the mob. Is it responsibility not to consider any voices or opinions that are not the generally accepted opinions? Is it responsibility to not listen to voices that might offend? Someone with a checkered past? Rules out a lot of political voices. Someone with a different political or philosophical perspective. Clears out a lot of religious underbrush."

GOP's Financial Record

2010-05-09T13:30:00.001-07:00

In Florida the GOP's financial records were released this past Friday under federal investigation for lavish spending and superfluous expenses. The record confirmed that over 7 million dollars in American Express credit cards was spent under 31 past and current elected officials - including ex-chairman Jim Greer and the former party executive director Delmar Johnson.

According to the Miami Herald it was a loophole in election law that kept their receipts from the public eye. Despite being subpoenaed in the grand jury investigation of Ray Sansom (R-Destin), elected officials and Greer refused to release their foot-high pile of AmEx credit card slips.

An excerpt from the Miami Herald reads:

According to American Express billing statements obtained by the Miami Herald and St. Petersburg Times, he charged nearly $500,000 to his American Express card since he was hand-picked by Gov. Charlie Crist in January 2007 to head the party.

The bills include luxury hotels, costly entertainment, high end dining, spas, stylish clothing and gifts. Not long ago we watched as Kentucky senate minority leader Mitch McConnell attended a private meeting behind closed doors with Wall Street elites like Hedge Fund alongside Texas Senator John Cornyn. It is these actions from the GOP that reveal economic misunderstanding and a lack of empathy toward the public interest. In knowing, it is not difficult to conclude why the GOP is against financial reform.

Tax Day Video Response

2010-04-18T11:55:00.000-07:00

While approaching the capitol on Tax Day, I was on the fence about whether I should have come out as a progressive upfront or to go in 'solid snake style'. I decided that being on the offense in my first outing is asking for unwanted attention. This wasn't about me, this was about the righteous mob I was about to interview. By righteous I mean possibly armed.

I found as many random people as I could and in the final cut you see all of them. Minus the sexist criticism about how mothers can never be as good role models for daughters as fathers can be and how Obama isn't so bad because he was "born in a white belly," many sourceless talking points we have been hearing from the right were also there.

A primary question I asked was how taxes would be and are currently affected under the Obama administration. The response was instantaneous certainty that they would go up and that they have gone up already. From all the interviews that afternoon there wasn't an explanation to how or why. Maybe its because we have just been given the biggest tax cut in US history, more than under the Bush, Kennedy and Reagan administrations.

A complaint against 95% of Americans getting a tax cut (<- a vent from Time about the misunderstanding) under the new budget came from a post to the Wall Street Journal, which claimed that this was an illusion because the other 5% would have a tax increase. How far from reasoning would someone have to be not to understand why the Wall Street Journal would be interested in the richest 5% of Americans.

Lets zoom in on what sort of bracket we're looking at. The lower class federal income tax is at historically low levels. Those who are getting higher taxes under Obama's budget would have to make over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year. Limbaugh, however, seems to think that doesn't qualify as wealthy. He should have followed up that one by adding, "Being wealthy is not about how much money you have, but how many rich friends you have. "

A tea party rep I spoke with in the video said 47% of Americans do not pay income tax and that he was part of the other 53%. The flat rates, however, for the other taxes that percentage still has to pay, is more harmful to lower class incomes. For instance, if the flat rate was 50% and a person has one million dollars vs a person with one thousand dollars, that rate doesn't change.

I also asked what the US tax burden was in comparison to other countries. The most common response, besides not knowing for sure, was that we were up there at the top. No, we're really not. In fact we're quite low by that comparison. On another scale, this is coming from a rally in Florida, where we don't even have a state income tax.

Lastly I was told we had "an out of control government" that was forcing us to pay into something (aka health bill) "we never had to pay into before" and that it was an infliction to the deficit. Oh, and that the bill was "socialism."

On the contrary the bill is going to lower the deficit. Without having background on the bill you might be able to make that argument confidently. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the health care bill would cut the deficit down by $138 billion dollars. That and most importantly giving 32 million Americans health insurance.

Finally, many tea party sympathizers have been using words apart from their meaning to inspire the collection of pitchforks and torches. The health bill is not socialism, by definition. If it were anywhere near it we would have had a public option where the government would provide its own plan, but even that was going to be exactly as it was titled - an option. Confusing regulation with socialism is absurd and paranoid.

The video is available here for those who missed it.

leaflet's blog
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Mayday on Tax Day

2010-04-16T13:27:00.000-07:00

To Repeal or Not To Repeal -- That Is the Question

2010-03-30T22:52:00.000-07:00

This week history will be made when President Obama signs into law a health care reform bill that reduces costs, increases access, and provides critical insurance reforms that will put patients first. This legislation also makes Medicare more solvent and expands prescription drug coverage, all while reducing the deficit and reining in health care costs. Many of these reforms will go into effect immediately, while others will be phased in over the next several years. Even with millions and millions of Americans standing to benefit from this bill, the majority of Republican Senate candidates are on the record pledging to do everything in their power to take away health care reform if elected to the Senate. Will more Republican Senate candidates join them?

“Republicans in Washington want their Senate candidates to run on the repeal of health care reform, and many like Mark Kirk, Kelly Ayotte, and Trey Greyson have succumbed to the pressure from the establishment,” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Communications Director Eric Schultz. “Others, like Mike Castle, Jane Norton, and John Boozman have dodged the question. We believe that every Republican should be clear on if they would support the repeal of health care reform if elected to the Senate. If Mike Castle is going to look voters in the eye and pledge to repeal health care reform which will have afforded coverage to 109,000 Delawareans, eliminated the doughnut hole for seniors, offered tax credits to small businesses, lowered the deficit, and ended appalling insurance practices – then good luck to him.”

Not only is the Republican strategy of running on pledging to take away health care reform bad policy, it is also bad politics. Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter calls running on a pledge to repeal health care reform “a losing strategy,” Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank says that the “politics of repeal may not work out as Republicans expect,” comparing the Republican strategy of repeal to Republican presidential nominee Alf Landon’s pledge to repeal Social Security if elected in 1936. Respected political analyst Larry Sabato says that Republicans run a risk on running on repeal, and even conservative commentator David Frum thinks the Republican strategy of repeal is bad politics.

Although many Republican Senate candidates have taken the pledge to repeal health care reform, other have stayed silent. Below is a list of Republican running for the Senate who have pledged to take away health care reform if elected to the Senate. Noticeably missing from this list is Congressman Mike Castle in Delaware, Carly Fiorina in California, Jane Norton in Colorado, Linda McMahon and Rob Simmons in Connecticut, Rob Portman in Ohio, Senator Chuck Grassley in Iowa, John Hoeven in North Dakota, Congressman John Boozman in Arkansas, and Dan Coats and John Hostettler in Indiana.

Florida – Charlie Crist, Marco Rubio

If successful: 4 million Florida residents lose health care; donut hole reappears for 565,000 seniors; 216,000 small businesses lose tax credit; appalling insurance practices reinstated

Would Health Care Reform Help You?

2010-03-30T10:48:00.000-07:00

This is a guest post from Barbara O'Brien of The Mahablog, Crooks and Liars, AlterNet, and elsewhere:

Many obstacles and stumbling blocks remain in the way of health care reform. The House and Senate bills will have to be merged, and then the House and Senate both will vote on the final bill. We don’t yet know what will be in the final bill, or if the final bill will be passed into law. Passage will be especially difficult in the Senate, where it will need 60 votes to pass. It is still possible that after all this angst, just one grandstanding senator could kill the whole thing.

But just for fun, let’s look at what conventional wisdom says will be in the final bill and see if there is anything in it that will be an immediate benefit to people with mesothelioma cancer and other asbestos-related disease.

It is likely that the final bill will provide additional funding for state high-risk insurance pools. Currently more than 30 states run such pools, which are nonprofit, state-sponsored health insurance plans for people who can’t buy insurance because of pre-existing conditions. The biggest problem with such pools is that, often, the insurance they offer is too expensive for many who might need it. Both the Senate and House bills provide $5 billion in subsidies for state high-risk pools to make the insurance more affordable.

Under the Senate bill, beginning in 2014, private companies would no longer be able to deny coverage to adults with pre-existing conditions, nor could they charge higher premiums for people with pre-existing conditions. Until then, the state high-risk pools could provide some help.

Closing the Medicare Part D coverage gap — also called the “doughnut hole” — is another potential provision that could help some patients with asbestos-related disease. The “doughnut hole” is the gap between the coverage for yearly out-of-pocket expenses provided by Medicare Part D and Medicare’s “catastrophic coverage” threshold.

For example, in 2009 Medicare Part D paid at least 75 percent of what patients paid for prescription drugs up to $2,700. After that, patients must pay for all of their prescription medications until what they have paid exceeds $6,154. At that point, the catastrophic coverage takes over, and Medicare pays for all but 5 percent of the patient’s drug bills. The final health care reform bill probably will provide for paying at least 50 percent of out-of-pocket costs in the doughnut hole.

You may have heard the bills include budget cuts to the Medicare program, and this has been a big concern to many people. Proponents of the bill insist that savings can be found to pay for the cuts, and that people who depend on Medicare won’t face reduced services. But this is a complex issue that I want to address in a later post.

The long-term provisions probably will include many other provisions that would benefit patients with asbestos-related disease, including increased funding for medical research. Although there are many complaints about the bill coming from all parts of the political spectrum, on the whole it would be a huge benefit to many people.

— Barbara O’Brien
March 22, 2010

Health Reform By the Numbers

2010-03-28T13:00:00.001-07:00

National Politics Round-up

2010-03-27T13:48:00.001-07:00

This is our regular feature where every day I do a post with the top 5 Florida political blog posts about national stories. They are ranked according to quality, importance of the story and relevance to the present.

1. virtualista's posterous - Quiz for Fuckwits: "So, in the interest of pith, VF Daily has compiled this thoughtful set of questions—a Proof Questionnaire, if you will—to guide elected officials as they attempt to judge how likely it is that their offices have been intentionally attacked."

2. Smooth Like Remy - Punch Them In The Mouth With Their Polling Argument: "The Republicans made up some of the most vicious and vile lies about health care reform over the course of the last year and because the media was unwilling to call them out for these lies, several of them actually took hold with a segment of the population. Even when they were disproven over and over again, shameless Republicans continued to repeat them over and over again and the resulting confusion worked out in their favor...for awhile. The polling numbers for President Obama and the health care reform plans definitely went underwater for a time, even if the poll numbers for the underlying policies remained relatively strong. But Republicans made what could quite possibly be a cataclysmic error when they started using the polling as an argument to vote against health care reform. It was without a doubt an act of desperation as they saw the writing on the wall that health care reform would pass, but even in desperation you would think SOMEBODY would have pointed out how this might come back to bite them in the ass. Thank God, nobody evidently did."

3. Seminole Democrats - Dear President Obama: "Dear President Obama, Well done. Sincerely Yours, Theodore Roosevelt Woodrow Wilson Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson Richard M. Nixon James E. Carter William J. Clinton"

4. Ray Seaman - You Want It. You Buy It. You Got It.: "Now that the main body of health care reform is passed, we're at the end of the beginning of a much larger push to ensure universal access to health care."

5. Incertus (Brian) - Give Them Some Space: "Yes, the reactions coming from conservatives are overwrought. I called out someone last night because he used the word "traitor" to describe House members who voted for the legislation. And in the face of that sort of reaction, it would be easy to gloat, to remember the way it felt to be on the receiving end back in 1994, or 2000, or 2002, or 2004, and to jam it back in their faces. But it would be unwise, and more importantly (to me anyway), it would be unkind."

President's Weekly Address: Two Major Reforms on Health Care & Higher Ed

2010-03-27T13:27:00.000-07:00

George W. Bush calls out Grayson

2010-03-27T13:22:00.001-07:00

Classic Video

2010-03-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

"HEALTHCARE REFORM IS DEAD": Pundit Malpractice by FOX News and Others

2010-03-26T22:35:00.000-07:00

John Boehner's "Hell No, You Can't"

2010-03-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

Ten immediate benefits of HCR

2010-03-22T18:57:00.000-07:00

From Crooks and Liars:

Here are ten benefits which come online within six months of the President's signature on the health care bill:

Adult children may remain as dependents on their parents’ policy until their 27th birthday

Children under age 19 may not be excluded for pre-existing conditions

No more lifetime or annual caps on coverage

Free preventative care for all

Adults with pre-existing conditions may buy into a national high-risk pool until the exchanges come online. While these will not be cheap, they’re still better than total exclusion and get some benefit from a wider pool of insureds.

Small businesses will be entitled to a tax credit for 2009 and 2010, which could be as much as 50% of what they pay for employees’ health insurance.

The “donut hole” closes for Medicare patients, making prescription medications more affordable for seniors.

Requirement that all insurers must post their balance sheets on the Internet and fully disclose administrative costs, executive compensation packages, and benefit payments.

Authorizes early funding of community health centers in all 50 states (Bernie Sanders’ amendment). Community health centers provide primary, dental and vision services to people in the community, based on a sliding scale for payment according to ability to pay.

AND no more rescissions. Effective immediately, you can't lose your insurance because you get sick.

In our community - half-rural and half-suburb -- 50 community health centers will receive funding to provide health and preventive services to people with no access right now. And that's just one benefit. They're all valuable.

National Politics Round-up

2010-03-21T19:06:00.000-07:00

This is our regular feature where every day I do a post with the top 5 Florida political blog posts about national stories. They are ranked according to quality, importance of the story and relevance to the present.

1. Leaflet Descending - San Francisco Fiasco: "Two related cases appeared before the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, a place where legislation has been known to lean left. The panel unexpectedly delivered a combo (c-c-c...combo) breaker that afternoon when they upheld "In God We Trust" to remain on US currency and "Under God" in the pledge of allegiance. Michael Newdow, an atheist and activist from Sacramento, declared the use of God was unconstitutional and disrespectful of his beliefs."

2. Re/Creating Tampa - Politics Monday – Go Smuck Yourself: "Once upon a time there was a brand named Smuckers. Smuckers didn’t like gay people (or men who act too “feminine”), and so it made up a lie about the importance of “family values” (or something vague and disingenuous and meaningless like that) and used that lie to justify its unkind actions toward a certain incomparably gifted and adorable figure skater. This story will take us from Mississippi to Wyoming to Canada and back, full of details and scandal and unitards(!) and even a moral at the end, I promise."

3. Pensacola Beach Blog - Why Can't the Press Stop Orrin Hatch from Lying?: "Gregory should be deeply ashamed of himself. No -- more than that. NBC ought to fire his ass. Not even a cub reporter interviewing a local coach for the Hometown Homily would have a job if he allowed him lie as shamelessly as Hatch lies to the viewers of Meet the Press."

4. Smooth Like Remy - The REAL Reason People Aren't Behind Health Care Reform: "Its because our media refuses to do its fucking job."

5. The Spencerian - It's a Numbers Game: The Visual Edition: "If you're a Democrat and you're either running for office, or you're a campaign staffer for a Democratic candidate for office, you should print out these charts and carry them around wherever you go. At the very least, I don't want to hear any more about how Democrats either can't govern, or Obama doesn't know what he's doing on the economy."

Obama's Grade

2010-03-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

Robert P. Watson, Ph.D. Coordinator of American Studies Lynn University

I am always being asked to grade Obama's presidency. In place of offering him a grade, I put together a list of his accomplishments thus far. I think you would agree that it is very impressive. His first six months have been even more active than FDRs or LBJs the two standards for such assessments. Yet, there is little media attention given to much of what he has done. Of late, the media is focusing almost exclusively on Obama's critics, without holding them responsible for the uncivil, unconstructive tone of their disagreements or without holding the previous administration responsible for getting us in such a deep hole. The misinformation and venom that now passes for political reporting and civic debate is beyond description.

As such, there is a need to set the record straight. What most impresses me is the fact that Obama has accomplished so much not from a heavy-handed or top-down approach but from a style that has institutionalized efforts to reach across the aisle, encourage vigorous debate, and utilize town halls and panels of experts in the policy-making process. Beyond the accomplishments, the process is good for democracy and our democratic processes have been battered and bruised in recent years.

Let me know if I missed anything in the list (surely I did).

1. Ordered all federal agencies to undertake a study and make recommendations for ways to cut spending
2. Ordered a review of all federal operations to identify and cut wasteful spending and practices
3. Instituted enforcement for equal pay for women
4. Beginning the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq
5. Families of fallen soldiers have expenses covered to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB
6. Ended media blackout on war casualties; reporting full information
7. Ended media blackout on covering the return of fallen soldiers to Dover AFB; the media is now permitted to do so pending adherence to respectful rules and approval of fallen soldier's family
8. The White House and federal government are respecting the Freedom of Information Act
9. Instructed all federal agencies to promote openness and transparency as much as possible
10. Limits on lobbyist's access to the White House
11. Limits on White House aides working for lobbyists after their tenure in the administration
12. Ended the previous stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date
13. Phasing out the expensive F-22 war plane and other outdated weapons systems, which weren't even used or needed in Iraq/Afghanistan
14. Removed restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research
15. Federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research
16. New federal funding for science and research labs
17. States are permitted to enact federal fuel efficiency standards above federal standards
18. Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants) after years of neglect
19. Funds for high-speed, broadband Internet access to K-12 schools
20. New funds for school construction
21. The prison at Guantanamo Bay is being phased out
22. US Auto industry rescue plan
23. Housing rescue plan
24. $789 billion economic stimulus plan
25. The public can meet with federal housing insurers to refinance (the new plan can be completed in one day) a mortgage if they are having trouble paying
26. US financial and banking rescue plan
27. The secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere are being closed
28. Ended the previous policy; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with the Geneva Convention standards
29. Better body armor is now being provided to our troops
30. The missile defense program is being cut by $1.4 billion in 2010
31. Restarted the nuclear nonproliferation talks and building back up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols
32. Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic
33. Reengaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions
34. Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any president in his first six months in office
35. Successful release of US captain held by Somali pirates; authorized the SEALS to do their job
36. US Navy increasing patrols off Somali coast
37. Attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles
38. Cash for clunkers program offers vouchers to trade in fuel inefficient, polluting old cars for new cars; stimulated auto sales
39. Announced plans to purchase fuel efficient American-made fleet for the federal government
40. Expanded the SCHIP program to cover health care for 4 million more children
41. Signed national service legislation; expanded national youth service program
42. Instituted a new policy on Cuba , allowing Cuban families to return home to visit loved ones
43. Ended the previous policy of not regulating and labeling carbon dioxide emissions
44. Expanding vaccination programs
45. Immediate and efficient response to the floods in North Dakota and other natural disasters
46. Closed offshore tax safe havens
47. Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals
48. Ended the previous policy of offering tax benefits to corporations who outsource American jobs; the new policy is to promote in-sourcing to bring jobs back
49.. Ended the previous practice of protecting credit card companies; in place of it are new consumer protections from credit card industry's predatory practices
50. Energy producing plants must begin preparing to produce 15% of their energy from renewable sources
51. Lower drug costs for seniors
52. Ended the previous practice of forbidding Medicare from negotiating with drug manufacturers for cheaper drugs; the federal government is now realizing hundreds of millions in savings
53. Increasing pay and benefits for military personnel
54. Improved housing for military personnel
55. Initiating a new policy to promote federal hiring of military spouses
56. Improved conditions at Walter Reed Military Hospital and other military hospitals
57. Increasing student loans
58. Increasing opportunities in AmeriCorps program
59. Sent envoys to Middle East and other parts of the world that had been neglected for years; reengaging in multilateral and bilateral talks and diplomacy
60. Established a new cyber security office
61. Beginning the process of reforming and restructuring the military 20 years after the Cold War to a more modern fighting force; this includes new procurement policies, increasing size of military, new technology and cyber units and operations, etc.
62. Ended previous policy of awarding no-bid defense contracts
63. Ordered a review of hurricane and natural disaster preparedness
64. Established a National Performance Officer charged with saving the federal government money and making federal operations more efficient
65. Students struggling to make college loan payments can have their loans refinanced
66. Improving benefits for veterans
67. Many more press conferences and town halls and much more media access than previous administration
68. Instituted a new focus on mortgage fraud
69. The FDA is now regulating tobacco
70. Ended previous policy of cutting the FDA and circumventing FDA rules
71. Ended previous practice of having White House aides rewrite scientific and environmental rules, regulations, and reports
72. Authorized discussions with North Korea and private mission by Pres. Bill Clinton to secure the release of two Americans held in prisons
73. Authorized discussions with Myanmar and mission by Sen. Jim Webb to secure the release of an American held captive
74. Making more loans available to small businesses
75. Established independent commission to make recommendations on slowing the costs of Medicare
76. Appointment of first Latina to the Supreme Court
77. Authorized construction/opening of additional health centers to care for veterans
78. Limited salaries of senior White House aides; cut to $100,000
79. Renewed loan guarantees for Israel
80. Changed the failing/status quo military command in Afghanistan
81. Deployed additional troops to Afghanistan
82. New Afghan War policy that limits aerial bombing and prioritizes aid, development of infrastructure, diplomacy, and good government practices by Afghans
83. Announced the long-term development of a national energy grid with renewable sources and cleaner, efficient energy production
84. Returned money authorized for refurbishment of White House offices and private living quarters
85. Paid for redecoration of White House living quarters out of his own pocket
86. Held first Seder in White House
87. Attempting to reform the nation's healthcare system which is the most expensive in the world yet leaves almost 50 million without health insurance and millions more under insured
88. Has put the ball in play for comprehensive immigration reform
89. Has announced his intention to push for energy reform
90. Has announced his intention to push for education reform

Oh, and he built a swing set for the girls outside the Oval Office

National Politics Round-up

2010-02-28T21:03:00.001-08:00

This is our regular feature where every day I do a post with the top 5 Florida political blog posts about national stories. They are ranked according to quality, importance of the story and relevance to the present.

1. Smooth Like Remy - "Things We All Agree On": "I know a lot of progressive bloggers focus the majority of their posts on good policy and I think that is a good thing. I however tend to focus on good messaging. The reason being that in this day and age where most politicians are more concerned with being reelected than what is good for the country, the best messaging usually wins. By wins I mean it shifts public opinion and therefore it can shift votes on any piece of legislation."

2. South Florida Daily Blog - The Difference Between Democrats And Republicans: "These two clips encapsulate the difference between the two political parties quite nicely, I think, when it comes to how serious the two parties are about reforming health care and, quite frankly, their empathy for their fellow Americans."

3. Robert McKnight - Am I the Only One?: "The national press continues to annoint Senator-Elect Scott Brown (R., Mass.) as new political model--good looking, from a big state, nice family, etc. But with a closer look..."

4. Pensacola Beach Blog - Call the Filibuster Bluff: "Lots and lots of folk are weighing in on what last night's Massachusetts special election means, including us. As many or more already have moved on to wonder what, if anything, the Obama administration can do after losing its supposed filibuster-proof 60-vote majority in the Senate. After all, we can't allow deliberate obstructionism to paralyze our government for the next three years."

5. Truman's Conscience - Air America And Its Faux Progressive Programming Shuts Down: "Air America, the groundbreaking talk radio network that started out as a lone beacon of real progressive programming, finally ended its long, slow agonizing five year death spiral and breathed it last this afternoon. I loved this network’s original lineup when it started out in March of 2004 with a real life hard hitting progressive/liberal time slots that included the likes of Marc Maron, Sam Sedar, Janine Garafalo, Rachel Maddow, and my favorite and future U.S. Senator from Minnesota, Al Franken."

Daily Humor

2010-01-20T23:38:00.000-08:00

Catching up on This Week in Blackness:

S3, E2:

S3, E3:

S3, E4:

President Obama's Weekly Address

2010-01-03T18:25:00.001-08:00

The Fight Against Al Qaeda:

Escape From Ohio

2009-12-30T17:58:00.001-08:00

If you don't know who Electric Six is, you should. Kind of alternative-electronic-humorous stuff. Really fun. Really entertaining. Usually not that political, except for the lyrics to a song on their new album, called "Escape From Ohio," which contains this:

They say that what you give is what you're gonna get
It's no wonder everything's gone to shit
Because they've given us John Boehner
You better believe they've given us Jean Schmidt!

And the floodgates of hell have opened wide
It's better to get all politics aside
They're gonna roll out Joe the Plumber
Just to make sure our minds get properly fried

Good stuff.

Debunking ‘Climategate’ with actual science (video)

2009-12-13T07:37:00.000-08:00

So much for the scandal:

Conniving and Sinister

2009-12-13T05:54:00.000-08:00

From Shakesville:

President Obama's Weekly Address

2009-12-13T05:30:00.000-08:00

Learning from History to Reform Wall Street:

Get Bernie's Back

2009-12-07T17:49:00.000-08:00

From Open Left:

When Ben Bernanke was first nominated to chair the Federal Reserve Bank in 2005 by George W. Bush, he declared that there was no housing bubble. Three years later, during an economic crisis caused by the housing bubble he did not foresee, Bernanke used over two trillion dollars of Federal Reserve money to bail out the banks that caused the crisis.

Bernanke has been nominated for another four-year term. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has taken extraordinary measures to try and stop him. Can you join our partners at the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) to say "thank you" to Sen. Sanders for his courage?

Senator Sanders, thank you for standing up to Wall Street!

Bernanke's bailout has allowed banks to return to profitability, but the rest of the country still suffers from high unemployment. Even though the Fed's mission is to reduce unemployment, Bernanke says there is nothing can do to help. When asked what he thought Congress should do about unemployment, Bernanke recommended against a new jobs bill, but suggested cutting Social Security and Medicare instead.

To stop all of this, Sanders put a "hold" on Bernanke's confirmation. This hold will slow down the process by a few days, give the public more time to weigh in on Bernanke, force a debate on the Senate floor, and show Wall Street they can't buy every Seantor. You can say "thank you" to Bernie for his heroics here:

Get Bernie's back--sign the thank you letter!

When members of Congress make gutsy moves like these, they need to know the grassroots are backing them up. Organizations like Open Left and the PCCC are looking to deliver 20,000 "thank you" signatures to Senator Sanders by the end of the week. You can let Bernie Sanders know you have his back by joining the 8,000 people who have already signed the "thank you" letter:

Thank you Senator Sanders--we will keep fighting with you!

In solidarity,
Chris Bowers, Openleft.com

Link

Askins for Governor Change Makers

2009-12-07T17:43:00.000-08:00

This is the type of campaign I'd give money to if I had any money:

More Perspective

2009-12-06T10:08:00.000-08:00

From Re/Creating Tampa

From this hyper-Libertarian/Free Market perspective all of the following are clear indications of Socialist America:

Public airwaves
Public parks
Public education
Public domain
Streets and highways
bridges
police
teachers
civil servants
the military
the courts
citizenship
Congress
libraries
Universities
NASA
scientific research supported by government grants
fairy tales
traditional music
hymns
the church
Santa Claus
the Post Office
Hurricane and Tornado advance warning systems
communications satellites
medical research
social safety net for the elderly and indigent
medicine for your grandparents
national defense
national currency
the federal government

and our founding document that gives primacy to “We the people…”
not “To the highest bidder…”

From my perspective, supporting the above list is a moderate, in some ways even conservative, position.

Perspective

2009-12-06T09:55:00.000-08:00

From While You Were Gone:

You are 13 times more likely to die in a railway accident than from a terrorist attack

You are 12,571 times more likely to die from cancer than from a terrorist attack

You are six times more likely to die from hot weather than from a terrorist attack

You are eight times more likely to die from accidental electrocution than from a terrorist attack

You are 11,000 times more likely to die in an airplane accident than from a terrorist plot involving an airplane

You are 87 times more likely to drown than die in a terrorist attack

You are 404 times more likely to die in a fall than from a terrorist attack

You are 17,600 times more likely to die from heart disease than from a terrorist attack

You are 1048 times more likely to die from a car accident than from a terrorist attack

You are 12 times more likely to die from accidental suffocation in bed than from a terrorist attack

You are nine times more likely to choke to death on your own vomit than die in a terrorist attack

You are eight times more likely to be killed by a police officer than by a terrorist

Useful Definitions For Conservatives

2009-12-06T09:46:00.000-08:00

From Air America:

con-serv-a-tive [kuhn-sur-vuh-tiv] -noun: A liberal who has not yet figured out how to think for himself/herself.

def-i-cit [def-uh-sit; Brit. also di-fis-it] -noun: The amount by which a sum of money falls short of the required amount, which only matters when a Democrat is elected to office.

fil-i-bus-ter [fil-uh-buhs-ter] -noun: The Republican's health care plan.

sen-ate [sen-it] -noun: an assembly or council of citizens having the highest deliberative functions in a government, easily manipulated by a single Senator from Connecticut who craves power and attention.

sur-plus [sur-pluhs] -noun: A thing of the past.

con-sti-tu-tion [kon-sti-too-shuhn, -tyoo-] -noun: the system of fundamental principles according to which a nation, state, corporation, or the like is governed. Used to discourage health coverage to others, and promote guns. Frequently used as buzzword without ever being read by person using.

stim-u-lus [stim-yuh-luh s] -noun, plural-li: A trip to Argentina for a visit with your mistress, which could potentially cost you your job as Governor of South Carolina.

di-ver-si-ty [di-vur-si-tee, dayh-] -noun-plural-ties: The state or fact of being diverse; variety. Best adhered to by publishing ten rules and excluding everyone unwilling to abide.

gov-ern-ment [guhv-ern-muhnt, -er-muhnt] -noun: something evil and ineffective that needs to be limited to giving tax breaks for the rich, subsidies for powerful interests, and wars fought by the middle and lower-classes.

hy-poc-ri-sy [hi-pok-ruh-see] -no results found

Daily Humor

2009-12-06T09:39:00.000-08:00

Today's reason to laugh...

Learn To Speak TEABAG!

Judd Gregg's Obstruction Manual

2009-12-06T09:33:00.000-08:00

The Republican agenda in action:

FOUNDATION FOR THE MINORITY PARTY’S RIGHTS IN THE SENATE (Fall 2009)

The Senate rules are designed to give a minority of Senators the right to insist on a full, complete, and fully informed debate on all measures and issues coming before the Senate. This cornerstone of protection can only be abrogated if 60 or more Senators vote to take these rights away from the minority.

I. RIGHTS AVAILABLE TO MINORITY BEFORE MEASURES ARE CONSIDERED ON FLOOR (These rights are normally waived by Unanimous Consent (UC) when time is short, but any Senator can object to the waiver.)

New Legislative Day – An adjournment of the Senate, as opposed to a recess, is required to trigger a new legislative day. A new legislative day starts with the morning hour, a 2-hour period with a number of required procedures. During part of the ―morning hour‖ any Senator may make non-debatable motions to proceed to items on the Senate calendar.

One Day and Two Day Rules– The 1-day rule requires that measures must lie over one ―legislative day‖ before they can be considered. All bills have to lie over one day, whether they were introduced by an individual Senator (Rule XIV) or reported by a committee (Rule XVII). The 2-day rule requires that IF a committee chooses to file a written report, that committee report MUST contain a CBO cost estimate, a regulatory impact statement, and detail what changes the measure makes to current law (or provide a statement why any of these cannot be done), and that report must be available at least 2 calendar days before a bill can be considered on the Senate floor. Senators may block a measure’s consideration by raising a point of order if it does not meet one of these requirements.

“Hard” Quorum Calls –Senate operates on a presumptive quorum of 51 senators and quorum calls are routinely dispensed with by unanimous consent. If UC is not granted to dispose of a routine quorum call, then the roll must continue to be called. If a quorum is not present, the only motions the leadership may make are to adjourn, to recess under a previous order, or time-consuming motions to establish a quorum that include requesting, requiring, and then arresting Senators to compel their presence in the Senate chamber.

II. RIGHTS AVAILABLE TO MINORITY DURING CONSIDERATION OF MEASURES IN SENATE (Many of these rights are regularly waived by Unanimous Consent.)

Motions to Proceed to Measures – with the exception of Conference Reports and Budget Resolutions, most such motions are fully debatable and 60 votes for cloture is needed to cut off extended debate.

Reading of Amendments and Conference Reports in Entirety – In most circumstances, the reading of the full text of amendments may only be dispensed with by unanimous consent. Any Senator may object to dispensing with the reading. If, as is often the case when the Senate begins consideration of a House-passed vehicle, the Majority Leader offers a full-text substitute amendment, the reading of that full-text substitute amendment can only be waived by unanimous consent. A member may only request the reading of a conference report if it is not available in printed form (100 copies available in the Senate chamber).

Senate Points of Order – A Senator may make a point of order at any point he or she believes that a Senate procedure is being violated, with or without cause. After the presiding officer rules, any Senator who disagrees with such ruling may appeal the ruling of the chair—that appeal is fully debatable. Some points of order, such as those raised on Constitutional grounds, are not ruled on by the presiding officer and the question is put to the Senate, then the point of order itself is fully debatable. The Senate may dispose of a point of order or an appeal by tabling it; however, delay is created by the two roll call votes in connection with each tabling motion (motion to table and motion to reconsider that vote).

Budget Points of Order – Many legislative proposals (bills, amendments, and conference reports) are subject to a point of order under the Budget Act or budget resolution, most of which can only be waived by 60 votes. If budget points of order lie against a measure, any Senator may raise them, and a measure cannot be passed or disposed of unless the points of order that are raised are waived. (See http://budget.senate.gov/republican/pressarchive/PointsofOrder.pdf )

Amendment Process

Amendment Tree Process and/or Filibuster by Amendment – until cloture is invoked, Senators may offer an unlimited number of amendments -- germane or non-germane -- on any subject. This is the fullest expression of a ―full, complete, and informed‖ debate on a measure. It has been necessary under past Democrat majorities to use the rules governing the amendment process aggressively to ensure that minority Senators get votes on their amendment as originally written (unchanged by the Majority Democrats.)

Substitute Amendments – UC is routinely requested to treat substitute amendments as original text for purposes of further amendment, which makes it easier for the majority to offer 2nd degree amendments to gut 1st degree amendments by the minority. The minority could protect their amendments by objecting to such UC’s.

Divisible Amendments – amendments are divisible upon demand by any Senator if they contain two or more parts that can stand independently of one another. This can be used to fight efforts to block the minority from offering all of their amendments, because a single amendment could be drafted, offered at a point when such an amendment is in order, and then divided into multiple component parts for separate consideration and votes. Demanding division of amendments can also be used to extend consideration of a measure. Amendments to strike and insert text cannot be divided.

Motions to Recommit Bills to Committee With or Without Instructions – A Senator may make a motion to recommit a bill to the committee with or without instructions to the Committee to report it back to the Senate with certain changes or additions. Such instructions are amendable.

AFTER PASSAGE Going to Conference, Motions to Instruct Conferees, Matters Out of Scope of Conference

Going to Conference – The Senate must pass 3 separate motions to go to conference: (1) a motion to insist on its amendments or disagree with the House amendments; (2) a motion to request/agree to a conference; and (3) a motion to authorize the Chair to appoint conferees. The Senate routinely does this by UC, but if a Senator objects the Senate must debate each step and all 3 motions may be filibustered (requiring a cloture vote to end debate).

Motion to Instruct Conferees – Once the Senate adopts the first two motions, Senators may offer an unlimited number of motions to instruct the Senate’s conferees. The motions to instruct are amendable – and divisible upon demand -- by Senators if they contain more than one separate and distinct instruction.

Conference Reports, Out of Scope Motions – In addition to demanding a copy of the conference report to be on every Senator’s desk and raising Budget points of order against it, Senators may also raise a point of order that it contains matter not related to the matters originally submitted to the conference by either chamber. If the Chair sustains the point or order, the provision(s) is stricken from the conference agreement, and the House would then have to approve the measure absent the stricken provision (even if the House had already acted on the conference report). The scope point of order can be waived by 60 Senators.

Availability of Conference Report Language. The conference report must be publicly available on a website 48 hours in advance prior to the vote on passage.

Grayson: "The Constitution Didn't Contemplate a Standing Army, Much Less an Army Standing in Kabul"

2009-12-06T09:31:00.001-08:00

Rush Limbaugh: "I Like Rubio."

2009-12-06T07:41:00.000-08:00

Alan Grayson: Drop Cloture to 55 Votes

2009-12-06T07:38:00.000-08:00

10 Companies to Avoid This Holiday Season

2009-12-06T07:28:00.000-08:00

From Change in Tallahassee:

1. Children's Place: "It gets its products from places with human rights and labor violations and had to pay $1.5 million in a settlement alleging that they violated the Securities Act.

2. Hanes: "...went the extra step to be cited for 'egregious labor violations.'" Oh, and they have not even an attempt at an anti-discrimination policy for sexual orientation and gender identity.

3. JC Penny: "D- on Green America's scorecard and D+ from the NAACP."

4. Limited Brands (this includes Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works): "The now scarily common 'sourced from countries with widespread, well-documented human and labor rights abuses' rears its head here..."

5. IBM: "It's been sued for improperly converting employee pension plans and for exposing them to toxic chemicals." Oh and also for "aiding and abetting South Africa's apartheid regime."

6. Albertsons: The gamut of really bad labor stuff — "Unpaid overtime, punishing employees for opposing discrimination policies ... intimidates workers into refusing unions ..." and the list unfortunately goes on.

7. Chiquita: This is a good summary: "Everything is contaminated."

8. L'Oreal: Still getting it for their lack of policy on animal testing (oh, and using banned chemicals).

9. Target: Bad on the environment, racial discrimination and of course ''sourced from countries with widespread, well-documented human and labor rights abuses.'"

10. Wal-Mart: Obvi!

President Obama's Weekly Address: Pushing Forward on Jobs

2009-12-06T07:26:00.001-08:00

Conniving and Sinister

2009-12-06T07:24:00.000-08:00

From Shakesville:

Daily Humor

2009-12-03T16:34:00.000-08:00

Today's reason to laugh...

Not political, but funny nonetheless: The Landlord

The Landlord from Will Ferrell

Daily Humor

2009-12-02T16:00:00.000-08:00

Today's reason to laugh...

This one is an old one, but I'd never seen it: Obama and McCain dance off!

President Obama's Afghanistan Address

2009-12-02T15:54:00.000-08:00

Daily Humor

2009-11-23T18:25:00.000-08:00

Al Gore on SNL:

Daily Humor

2009-11-22T21:11:00.000-08:00

What's W. up to? Covering "White Lines," by Grandmaster Flash:

President Obama's Weekly Address

2009-11-21T16:20:00.001-08:00

Does House passage give Senate momentum?

2009-11-12T17:42:00.002-08:00

Hit the Blue Dogs!

2009-11-12T17:42:00.001-08:00

From the PCCC:

This week, "Blue Dogs" and other bad Democrats voted to kill health care reform. They betrayed us on this core Democratic issue.

It's payback time.

Can you chip in $25 to help run online ads in the districts of 10 bad Democrats?

Together, we can hold them accountable to Democratic voters back home who trusted them with their time, money, and votes. You can see all 10 targets at the above link.

Poll after poll in "conservative" states shows that voters want health care reform -- and yes, they want the public option. Yet these bad Democrats put their corporate contributors ahead of their constituents.

Here are some of our targets:

Scott Murphy (D-NY). Murphy won a special election in April with ads featuring President Obama in a district Obama won. He told voters "the United States is facing a health care crisis." Yet Murphy voted against Obama's #1 domestic priority: health care.

Heath Shuler (D-NC). In 2006, Democrats spent millions helping Shuler win what is now a safe seat. As chief "whip" for the Blue Dogs, Shuler recruited other Democrats to vote against health care reform.

John Barrow (D-GA). Barrow won his 2008 Democratic primary solely because Obama endorsed him in a highly African-American district -- a district that Obama won by double digits.

Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL). Kosmas represents a district near Rep. Alan Grayson, but is the polar opposite of Grayson. Instead of being bold and having a people-powered campaign, she is corporate-funded and consistently votes against the people.

Mike Ross (D-AR). Ross is a top Blue Dog who Keith Olbermann featured for selling out to his insurance contributors. Our PCCC poll showed that Arkansas voters want a public option by 56% to 37%.

Fortunately, health care reform squeaked by without their votes. But If we don't hold bad Democrats accountable when they betray us on core Democratic issues, they will do it over and over again.

Can you chip in $25 to hold them accountable?

Then, please forward this to others. Thanks for being a bold progressive.

--Aaron Swartz, Stephanie Taylor, Adam Green, Andrew Perez, and the PCCC team

"Poll after poll shows that even voters in conservative areas want health care reform and demand the public option. Blue Dog Democrats like Suzanne Kosmas are wholly owed subsidiaries of corporate America, and they will pay a political price back home for putting their corporate contributors ahead of their constituents who want reform."

-- Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a 250,000 member progressive activist organization dedicated to electing bold progressives to Congress.

Recent polls:
NBC/WSJ Poll Shows 76% Support For Choice Of Public Plan
September New York Times poll: 65% overall, 47% of Republicans, 61% of Independents, 81% of Democrats support public option.
October CNN poll: 61% to 38% support public option.
Arkansas Oct 2009, Research 2000: 56% to 37% support public option.
Indiana Oct 2009, Research 2000: 52% to 42% support public option.
Nebraska Oct 2009, Research 2000: 46% to 44% support public option
Nevada Oct 2009, Research 2000: 54% to 39% support public option
Connecticut Sept 2009, Research 2000: 68% to 21% support public option.
Maine Oct 2009, Research 2000: 61% to 28% support public option.

Getting Back Our Power (From the Tea Party "Patriots")

2009-11-12T17:36:00.000-08:00

Just as we have to assert our Sovereignty, I feel we need to take other action to restrict the power of our government.

After the New Year, I will be starting a Ballot Initiative here in the State of Florida, to set Term Limits. I am gearing for this Amendment to be placed on the 2012 ballot - which should be enough time to collect the necessary funds for the petition & collect the required number of signatures.

I recommend that States that have Ballot Initiatives should do the same. Below is a link that gives a list of States that have Ballot Initiatives for State Amendments, to Initiate New Laws, Overturn State Statutes, & Recall Officials.

http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/States

I suggest you check this out, as your State may have an Initiative that you are unaware of. You may have more power than you think!

The Ballot Initiative is one of the most powerful tools that "We the People" have, as we are able to circumvent the Legislature. This is solely between the People & the State Division of Elections.

When I contacted the Florida Division of Elections concerning a Ballot Initiative that I was considering, they gave me three links. The first link gave a complete explanation of the procedure for setting up a Ballot Initiative. The second link gave a sample copy of a petition (it must be in a specific form). The third link gave forms that I needed to fill out. I found the Florida office to be very accommodating. One of you, in each State, would need to find out your specific procedures.

If you don't find your State listed under any of the options, you will have a more difficult time getting something like term limits passed. Obviously, your Representatives are not going to be thrilled with passing legislation that will restrict them in any way,

I suggest the best route would be to try to get your State to pass a law allowing Ballot Initiatives. You would have to find a representative who would be willing to submit this to your legislature. More difficult - but not impossible

What is most important is that we take whatever action is necessary to "take back our power". It is a matter of researching & investigating our options.

The best option would be to get a US Constitutional Amendment limiting terms - that would effect all States. At this time, the Federal Government does not allow Ballot Initiatives:

The US has no initiative process at the national level. In order for any federal initiative to be ever put to voters nationwide would require Congress to propose an amendment to the US Constitution which in order to take effect would need to be ratified by three-fourths of all the state legislatures or constitutional conventions because the frames of the US Constitution, in Article I, Section I, bestowed all of the legislative power upon the legislative branch of the federal government , the United States Congress.

So, we have to do it State by State.

Unruly Republicans Disrupt Health Care Debate

2009-11-12T17:33:00.000-08:00

Daily Humor

2009-11-12T17:28:00.000-08:00

Today's reason to laugh...

Hannity = Dishonesty

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Sean Hannity Uses Glenn Beck's Protest Footage

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

The Danish Miracle

2009-11-12T17:14:00.000-08:00

National Politics Round-up

2009-11-11T20:39:00.000-08:00

This is our regular feature where every day I do a post with the top 5 Florida political blog posts about national stories. They are ranked according to quality, importance of the story and relevance to the present...A round-up of Florida posts on Veterans Day

Incertus - Two Poems for Veterans Day

Dan Gelber - Veterans Day 2009

Pensacola Beach Blog - Celebrating Veterans

Why Now? - Veterans Day

The Reid Report - Veterans Day

Why Now? - Supporting the Troops

Daily Kos - 2,226 Uninsured Vets Died in 2008

Daily Humor

2009-11-11T20:22:00.000-08:00

Today's reason to laugh...

Markos schools Tom Tancredo

President Obama on the Texas Shootings

2009-11-10T18:35:00.000-08:00

Weekly address:

Memorial speech, part 1:

Memorial speech, part 2:

This Modern World

2009-11-10T18:23:00.000-08:00

(Click to enlarge)

Conniving and Sinister

2009-11-10T18:17:00.000-08:00

From Shakesville:

Daily Humor

2009-11-06T06:09:00.000-08:00

Stewart parodies Becks' paranoid conspiracy charts, Nazi rhetoric:

National Politics Round-up

2009-11-04T19:23:00.000-08:00

This is our regular feature where every day I do a post with the top 5 Florida political blog posts about national stories. They are ranked according to quality, importance of the story and relevance to the present.

1. Brian Winfield - Justice for Ryan and Something More: "A jury convicted one of Ryan Skipper’s two killers of first-degree murder just hours ago. It’s all over the evening news. My how times change. Today was the second of two trials, both resulting in a life sentence for each of Ryan’s killers. Three young Florida men whose lives are ended in one way or another. There is no joy, no celebration, no closure, but there was justice and that’s something."

2. Reid Report - Meanwhile, a lesson for Democrats: "Bottom line: the base didn’t come out for the Dems yesterday, in Virginia in part because the candidate, Creigh Deeds, was such an incompetent, he ran away from Barack Obama rather than toward him (Obama has a 52 percent approval rating among those who voted in Virginia according to exit polls, and 57 percent in New Jersey. Sorry, RedState…) In New Jersey, there was simply no rallying the troops for a former Wall Streeter who was as unpopular as he was unpleasant."

3. Blast Off! - Clarence Thomas: oral arguments are pointless: "I guess it's not surprising when a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court who hasn't asked a question of a lawyer in oral arguments since 2006 says that he doesn't see a reason even to have oral arguments. But as a lawyer, I find it a little distressing to hear it said so plainly."

4. Pushing Rope - Max Baucus Facing His Public Option Moment: "Sen. Max Baucus has reiterated he supports the public option. In the Senate Finance Committee, Baucus said he voted against Sen. Chuck Schumer's public option amendment because there wasn't enough votes in the Senate. Majority Leader Harry Reid believes there are 60 votes to stop a Republican filibuster of the public option. Reid would only need 51 votes to pass a public option health care bill. ABC News reports Baucus got wind of Reid's plan and went ballistic."

5. Reid Report - Snowe job: is President Obama putting ‘bipartisanship’ before principle?: "It’s not clear whether the 'bipartisanship above all' strategy is coming from Rahm Emanuel, who is essentially on record as wanting something –anything — for the president to sign, regardless of what’s actually in the bill — or whether the fecklessness is coming from higher up the food chain, including from the president himself."

Conniving and Sinister

2009-11-04T18:52:00.000-08:00

From Shakesville:

Right-Wing TrollWatch, Part 1

2009-11-02T19:34:00.000-08:00

From the comments in my FoxLand post from last week, Rex has this to say:

Logic 1 invalidates nothing. The fact that they can’t do anything with a super-majority is THEIR OWN FAULT. Saying there’s too many moderates and Republicans is simply an excuse.

This one comes out of a very basic misunderstanding that you can only buy into if you ignore all reality. Lots of people operate under the basic belief that Republican = conservative, Democrat = liberal. This is not true. It has never been true. Conservatives have been trying really, really hard to make the first half of that true in the last few years, but no one is really trying to make that happen on the Democratic side. Democrats have a supermajority, liberals do not. The public option (which is the root of this conversation's beginning) is a liberal policy. In the house that is based on democratic principles (direct election of the people based on population), there are more than enough liberals to get the policy passed. In the other house, the one based on states and not based on democratic principles, liberals still have a majority, but they are far from having a supermajority. In a straight up-or-down vote, it would pass. But Republicans, conservative Dems like Joe Lieberman and the Blue Dogs have enough votes to filibuster the bill, that is beat it with a minority. Seems to me it wasn't that long ago that up-or-down votes were a good thing. Now, conservatives hate them. Hypocrisy much?

So, here in the real world, saying that a bill can't be passed because there aren't enough votes for it isn't an excuse. Even if it were an excuse, it'd be a quite legitimate one based on what's really happening. If a public option doesn't pass, it'll be because conservatives, a minority, used a archaic rule to stop it.

Where the Recovery Jobs Are

2009-11-01T12:38:00.000-08:00

Fox News: A 24/7 Political Operation

2009-10-25T20:05:00.001-07:00

National Winner/Loser of the Day for 10/24

2009-10-24T20:15:00.001-07:00

Winner: Alan Grayson -- His race is being marked a "tossup" even though he has no legit opponent. That's a sure sign they are afraid of him.

Loser: George LeMieux -- Serious questions need to be asked about his activities with an oil group.

Ammunition

2009-10-24T20:07:00.001-07:00

The latest links to the information you need to counter right-wing spin...

Obama isn't criticizing Fox because they are asking tough questions and reporting the truth, he's attacking them because they are biased and dishonest

The media isn't liberal

The "savings" from tort reform are based on bad math

The stimulus has produced more than 30,000 jobs

Health care reform will not lead to more bankruptcies

Nobody was praying to Obama

Stanley McChrystal did not call out Obama in London

Important Reading

2009-10-24T20:06:00.000-07:00

Good stuff you all should read from bloggers around the country...

Paul Rosenberg: "Governing A Closely Divided Country" That Doesn't Exist

Charles Lemos: Undoing Reagan

John Emerson: What is Populism? (Part III)

Meliss McEwan: I Get Letters

Adam Green: Grassroots Pressure Works

Show Me Progress: The St. Louis ACORN office: what they do

Natasha Chart: Because It's Easy To Sell Out Women

Open Left: Hissy Fits In Historical Context--Health Care, Racism & The Authoritarian Divide-Part 2

Open Left: Health Care, Racism & The Authoritarian Divide-Part 1

DavidNYC: Community Trust

Daily Humor

2009-10-24T20:00:00.001-07:00

Today's reason to laugh...

The Young Turks: Franken Kicks Conservative Ass

Catalog of Hate for 10.24

2009-10-24T19:52:00.001-07:00

10.24.09: Dail Kos commenter: "A black dyke reached for my breast many years ago, I kicked her in the face. She never did that again. Obama states WE HAVE NOT SEEN NOTHING YET.... Oh yes we have, it is HE...who has not seen nothing yet."

10.24.09: Dail Kos commenter: "Thank goodness there are Americans like Daryl who will stand up for REAL America. Not ex-cons like yourself who hate this place. Your citizenship should have been stripped long ago, you treasonous son-of-a-bitch. "Anti-Muslim"? I hope so. Just as your lame criminal ass is anti-Christian, I am glad to know that there are a few elected officials who are against the 'Religion of Peace.' You are a rotten motherfucker. I wish you ill will and the worst possible life. You are one angry minority asshole, and the US is better off without you, you leftist cocksucking gay-loving, Muslim-worshipping, Obama-bowing, flag-burning, dirt-praying, global warming-believing, Michael Moore-watching, Kos-blogging socialist asshole."

10.24.09: Matt Barber: "All I hear [Treki] saying is that the rest of the world cannot be forced to accept behaviors that are demonstrably destructive to both individuals who engage in those behaviors and to the society around them."

10.24.09: Dallas Police: Ticketed a woman for not speaking English.

10.24.09: Unknown: The racist Obama-Joker image is now a racist Obama-Joker Halloween mask.

10.24.09: Anonymous: "I Support Gays And All, But Don't Want THAT Taught In Schools!"

Conniving and Sinister

2009-10-24T19:47:00.000-07:00

From Shakesville:

Public Option Please

2009-10-24T19:29:00.000-07:00

President's Weekly Address: Working with Small Business to Drive Recovery

2009-10-24T19:26:00.001-07:00

What Is the GOP Plan?

2009-10-23T16:41:00.001-07:00

National Winner/Loser of the Day for 10/22

2009-10-22T19:59:00.001-07:00

Winner: LGBT Americans -- Finally protected under a federal hate crimes law.

Loser: Patricia Sullivan -- Filing a ridiculous complaint against Alan Grayson where she can't actually come up with any charges and can't spell them correctly anyway.

We Get Letters: Send a pink slip to Congress!

2009-10-22T19:35:00.000-07:00

More (almost) unedited fun from the far right:

We The People are sick and tired of the lame-brained, goofball antics of the Washington Fat-Cats. We have sent millions upon millions of e-mails, postcards, letters, faxes, but we didn't stop there... nearly 2 million of us marched on Washington but to no avail.

Get this, the liberal hordes think they can just take over our government for their own enrichment and outlandish purposes. We The People say: NO MORE!

Read this, It's going to be a cold day in HELL before We The People submit to the National Socialist agenda. It is time to put them on notice!

O.K., If the scallywags refuse to do the will of the people we will fire them and send them back home to mama.

Can you believe it?

National Health-Care! Gun Grabbing! Silencing Talk Radio! Silencing Free Speech! Funding Unborn Genocide! Trillions of Bailout Bucks to Wall Street Flim-Flam Artists! Trillions to Mortgage Moguls! Unlimited Funding for ACORN!

No Obama Birth Certificate and no reason why!

Enough is enough!

Minuteman Steve says; "FIRE THE BASTARDS!" (Please quote me)

Nevertheless, what have they accomplished? The Liberals' inability to push their agenda is a little shocking. The Democrats have a superior majority with 60 votes in the Senate domination in the House.

Yet, the Washington numskulls have thus far failed to deliver on a Health-Care public option or deploy any significant legislation. Their legislative priority for the labor movement is sorry, i.e., the Employee Free Choice Act. Not to mention, immigration reform has been put on the back burner for at least the rest of 2009 and well into 2010. Why do you think the important potentates haven't considered big budget issues? The answer is very simple, because We The People are getting in the way!

Go figure!

Sure, they passed an economic stimulus Bill, which demonstrates their ability to spend our money, but it's not clear how effective it's going to be in creating new jobs. Ok, Ok, Ok! The left-wing radicals filled an empty chair on the Supreme Court but didn't gain leverage because all they did is replace one bleeding heart liberal judge with another.

However, some liberal brain child thought all they had to do is change the name of the war on terror but, that went over like a lead balloon and fell flat on it's face.

As if that's not enough, the impotent, diseased political establishment then tried to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, and rebuke President Bush's long standing internal security strategies, but once again couldn't muster up a better idea, so that too went nowhere. The peacenik's reduced some troops in Iraq but increased the troop presence in Afghanistan and by doing so have hit a mental brick wall and are now paralyzed on what to do in Afghanistan.

Get this, the President safaried to Copenhagen, Denmark, to arm-twist the Olympics for Chicago, Illinois, and came up with a big fat zero. Not only did Obama fail to deliver, he failed to have Chicago considered beyond the first round of voting. Is it because Chicago is known for it's corruption?

Heck, Obama is becoming a joke! He may get nothing from the very Congress who, just a few short months ago, were lauding he was their savior. It seems like they are crucifying all his big dreams for change! The sad part is, his very own party is running the show, just on vote alone!

Listen to this, he and his buddies will start pulling their lame-brained strategies together the closer they get to the 2010 elections. Why? So they can go back home with bragging rights.

The real problem is We The People have discovered what these scallywags are up to and they scamper in the light of day. Is it about time to tell them this is their last term? Isn't it time to send them back home to Mama?

Hey, let's send them a PINK SLIP. Put them on notice before they can get their shxt together! Look, we are stopping them from enacting any kind of poisonous legislation but our time is running out! We must send them a PINK SLIP and tell them NO WAY, they have done enough damage and We The People are going to Un-elect them.

We have the power! You know FaxDC sent 1,000,000 faxes in July, over 500,000 in August, 600,000 in September and we are on schedule for another 6 to 700,000 faxes in October. Not to mention the volume of Postcards to the White House and the personal letters to President Obama. That's got to hurt their ego's.

How kool is this, FaxDC is not alone. We are making powerful allies across America. The founder of the Tea Party is coming on board with Minuteman Steve as a fellow hell raiser!

How kool is that? Nevertheless, with all our success, the fight has just begun.

The secret is out! FaxDC has done it again! Our team of top brain-surgeons have created: Operation: PINK SLIP!

Operation: PINK SLIP will fax a hot, hard-hitting blistering PINK SLIP to all 100 Senators and 435 members of the House of Representatives, WAMO!

We're not done yet, then we are going to send Mr. I'm the President Obama his own personal PINK SLIP! This is a humdinger! It cooks anyone who is anti-American in Congress. Sidewinders, floor-flushers, scallywags and politically diseased politicians will be unable to escape their PINK SLIP!

In fact, when Harry Reid, Diana Feinstein, Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the Washington horde get their PINK SLIPS they very well could scream, thrash about shaking their fists and be royally miffed! How kool is that!

Think of it, HOT, BLISTERING PINK SLIPS flooding Washington, reaching into every office of Congress, knee deep on the floor, pouring out of fax machines and best of all laying face-up on the desk of the President! WOW! Hot, cooking blistering faxes, piled on the desk, spilling over onto the floor, a mountain of faxes flowing out into the hallway, drawers bulging with simmering PINK SLIP faxes.

Ouch! Liberals are running scared like scalded cats, afraid to stick their sour mugs out into the daylight. They never know when they are going to be sent a another searing pile of hot PINK SLIP faxes. All I can say is: "Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!" Minuteman Steve

That's' not all, now we are going add more power. Not only are the numskulls facing offices filled with mountains of PINK SLIP faxes, but they are about to face more and more Tea Party Heroes! As FaxDC teams up with the Minutemen, and now adds the power of Tea Party Heroes from TeaParty.org our voices will be earth shattering!

Just think, just 3 short years ago my buddy and I didn't even know if this thing called FaxDC would work, and now here we are shaking the glass foundation of Washington and toppling the liberal oligarchy.

No wonder the Washington liberals are running around like cats with their fur on fire!

What do you say we turn up the volume? Let's Fax Hammer Washington just one more time, you know, for old time's sake!

Let's give them the fax spanking they so deserve. Let's melt down their fax machines and use up all their paper!

Are you with me? Here is what you do, first of all,

1. Read all of our stuff on the website: [sorry no link for you]

2. Get informed, then go and

3. Order the Operation: PINK SLIP fax and letter: [sorry no link for you]

You're not done yet.

4. Make a copy of your PINK SLIP fax and show it to your friends!

(Over a 6 pack of course) and get them to visit our site!

Okay, that's how we create Patriots! And you can have fun in the process. Hey folks, I'm a Minuteman not a HolyMan! So are you with me? Stop being a frog on a log or a toad on the road, read our stuff, get an education and then fax blast the hell out of Washington, you'll feel like a million bucks when your done!

[sorry no links for you]

Our Founding Fathers would be so proud of you. You know they don't like the National Socialist Agenda either! Whose side are you on? We The People know how to fix America, not a bunch of lame-brained, politically diseased, scallywags pretending they are in charge. Oh Please, We Rule!

O.K. get to the site now and I'll be seeing you at FaxDC.

Michael Moore's Action Plan: 15 Things Every American Can Do Right Now

2009-10-22T19:32:00.001-07:00

You've Seen the Movie -- Now It's Time to ACT!

Friends,

It's the #1 question I'm constantly asked after people see my movie: "OK -- so NOW what can I DO?!"

You want something to do? Well, you've come to the right place! 'Cause I got 15 things you and I can do right now to fight back and try to fix this very broken system.

Here they are:

FIVE THINGS WE DEMAND THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS DO IMMEDIATELY:

1. Declare a moratorium on all home evictions. Not one more family should be thrown out of their home. The banks must adjust their monthly mortgage payments to be in line with what people's homes are now truly worth -- and what they can afford. Also, it must be stated by law: If you lose your job, you cannot be tossed out of your home.

2. Congress must join the civilized world and expand Medicare For All Americans. A single, nonprofit source must run a universal health care system that covers everyone. Medical bills are now the #1 cause of bankruptcies and evictions in this country. Medicare For All will end this misery. The bill to make this happen is called H.R. 3200. You must call AND write your members of Congress and demand its passage, no compromises allowed.

3. Demand publicly-funded elections and a prohibition on elected officials leaving office and becoming lobbyists. Yes, those very members of Congress who solicit and receive millions of dollars from wealthy interests must vote to remove ALL money from our electoral and legislative process. Tell your members of Congress they must support campaign finance bill H.R.1826.

4. Each of the 50 states must create a state-owned public bank like they have in North Dakota. Then congress MUST reinstate all the strict pre-Reagan regulations on all commercial banks, investment firms, insurance companies -- and all the other industries that have been savaged by deregulation: Airlines, the food industry, pharmaceutical companies -- you name it. If a company's primary motive to exist is to make a profit, then it needs a set of stringent rules to live by -- and the first rule is "Do no harm." The second rule: The question must always be asked -- "Is this for the common good?" (Click here for some info about the state-owned Bank of North Dakota.)

5. Save this fragile planet and declare that all the energy resources above and beneath the ground are owned collectively by all of us. Just like they do it in Sarah Palin's socialist Alaska. We only have a few decades of oil left. The public must be the owners and landlords of the natural resources and energy that exists within our borders or we will descend further into corporate anarchy. And when it comes to burning fossil fuels to transport ourselves, we must cease using the internal combustion engine and instruct our auto/transportation companies to rehire our skilled workforce and build mass transit (clean buses, light rail, subways, bullet trains, etc.) and new cars that don't contribute to climate change. (For more on this, here's a proposal I wrote in December.) Demand that General Motors' de facto chairman, Barack Obama, issue a JFK man-on-the-moon-style challenge to turn our country into a nation of trains and buses and subways. For Pete's sake, people, we were the ones who invented (or perfected) these damn things in the first place!!

FIVE THINGS WE CAN DO TO MAKE CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT LISTEN TO US:

1. Each of us must get into the daily habit of taking 5 minutes to make four brief calls: One to the President (202-456-1414), one to your Congressperson (202-224-3121) and one to each of your two Senators (202-224-3121). To find out who represents you, click here. Take just one minute on each of these calls to let them know how you expect them to vote on a particular issue. Let them know you will have no hesitation voting for a primary opponent -- or even a candidate from another party -- if they don't do our bidding. Trust me, they will listen. If you have another five minutes, click here to send them each an email. And if you really want to drop an anvil on them, send them a snail mail letter!

2. Take over your local Democratic Party. Remember how much fun you had with all those friends and neighbors working together to get Barack Obama elected? YOU DID THE IMPOSSIBLE. It's time to re-up! Get everyone back together and go to the monthly meeting of your town or county Democratic Party -- and become the majority that runs it! There will not be many in attendance and they will either be happy or in shock that you and the Obama Revolution have entered the room looking like you mean business. President Obama's agenda will never happen without mass grass roots action -- and he won't feel encouraged to do the right thing if no one has his back, whether it's to stand with him, or push him in the right direction. When you all become the local Democratic Party, send me a photo of the group and I'll post it on my website.

3. Recruit someone to run for office who can win in your local elections next year -- or, better yet, consider running for office yourself! You don't have to settle for the incumbent who always expects to win. You can be our next representative! Don't believe it can happen? Check out these examples of regular citizens who got elected: State Senator Deb Simpson, California State Assemblyman Isadore Hall, Tempe, Arizona City Councilman Corey Woods, Wisconsin State Assemblyman Chris Danou, and Washington State Representative Larry Seaquist. The list goes on and on -- and you should be on it!

4. Show up. Picket the local branch of a big bank that took the bailout money. Hold vigils and marches. Consider civil disobedience.. Those town hall meetings are open to you, too (and there's more of us than there are of them!). Make some noise, have some fun, get on the local news. Place "Capitalism Did This" signs on empty foreclosed homes, closed down businesses, crumbling schools and infrastructure. (You can download them from my website.)

5. Start your own media. You. Just you (or you and a couple friends). The mainstream media is owned by corporate America and, with few exceptions, it will never tell the whole truth -- so you have to do it! Start a blog! Start a website of real local news (here's an example: The Michigan Messenger). Tweet your friends and use Facebook to let them know what they need to do politically. The daily papers are dying. If you don't fill that void, who will?

FIVE THINGS WE SHOULD DO TO PROTECT OURSELVES AND OUR LOVED ONES UNTIL WE GET THROUGH THIS MESS:

1. Take your money out of your bank if it took bailout money and place it in a locally-owned bank or, preferably, a credit union.

2. Get rid of all your credit cards but one -- the kind where you have to pay up at the end of the month or you lose your card.

3. Do not invest in the stock market. If you have any extra cash, put it away in a savings account or, if you can, pay down on your mortgage so you can own your home as soon as possible. You can also buy very safe government savings bonds or T-bills. Or just buy your mother some flowers.

4. Unionize your workplace so that you and your coworkers have a say in how your business is run. Here's how to do it (more info here). Nothing is more American than democracy, and democracy shouldn't be checked at the door when you enter your workplace. Another way to Americanize your workplace is to turn your business into a worker-owned cooperative. You are not a wage slave. You are a free person, and you giving up eight hours of your life every day to someone else is to be properly compensated and respected.

5. Take care of yourself and your family. Sorry to go all Oprah on you, but she's right: Find a place of peace in your life and make the choice to be around people who are not full of negativity and cynicism. Look for those who nurture and love. Turn off the TV and the Blackberry and go for a 30-minute walk every day. Eat fruits and vegetables and cut down on anything that has sugar, high fructose corn syrup, white flour or too much sodium (salt) in it (and, as Michael Pollan says, "Eat (real) food, not too much, mostly plants"). Get seven hours of sleep each night and take the time to read a book a month. I know this sounds like I've turned into your grandma, but, dammit, take a good hard look at Granny -- she's fit, she's rested and she knows the names of both of her U.S. Senators without having to Google them. We might do well to listen to her. If we don't put our own "oxygen mask" on first (as they say on the airplane), we will be of no use to the rest of the nation in enacting any of this action plan!

I'm sure there are many other ideas you can come up with on how we can build this movement. Get creative. Think outside the politics-as-usual box. BE SUBVERSIVE! Think of that local action no one else has tried. Behave as if your life depended on it. Be bold! Try doing something with reckless abandon. It may just liberate you and your community and your nation.

And when you act, send me your stories, your photos and your video -- and be sure to post your ideas in the comments beneath this letter on my site so they can be shared with millions.

C'mon people -- we can do this! I expect nothing less of all of you, my true and trusted fellow travelers!

Yours,
Michael Moore

National Winner/Loser of the Day for 10/20

2009-10-20T18:28:00.000-07:00

Winner: Alan Grayson -- Aggressively scaring off any potential challengers that could take him out next year.

Loser: Glenn Beck -- do I even need to say why this time?

Conniving and Sinister

2009-10-20T18:16:00.000-07:00

From Shakesville:

We Get Letters: WHY SHOULD I VOTE FOR MARCO RUBIO?

2009-10-20T18:01:00.000-07:00

Below is an unedited e-mail I got last night. Not sure how I got on this guy's list, but the e-mail went out to a who's who of the right-wing in Florida and beyond:

DOESN'T ANYONE HAVE ANY GUTS ANYMORE? WHY CAN'T ANYONE ANSWER MY BELOW ****QUESTION?

Dear GOP:

I SEE MARCO RUBIO, WHO IS A CUBAN IS RUNNING TO REPLACE FLORIDA SENATOR MEL MARTINEZ. WHAT I WANT TO KNOW IS HOW DO WE KNOW WE CAN TRUST HIM TO LOOK AFTER ALL PEOPLE, EVEN THE WHITES AND NOT JUST THE LATINOS?

I ALWAYS THOUGHT POLITICIANS ARE SUPPOSE TO LOOK AFTER ALL "LEGAL" AMERICAN CITIZENS?

I KNOW HE IS SMILING AND KISSES BABIES, BUT THEY ALL DO!

AS WITH THE GUY WHO IS RETIRING, Sen. Mel Martinez(Fla), IT APPEARS HE DID LITTLE TO NOTHING ABOUT STOPPING THE ILLEGAL LATINO'S FROM ENTERING FLORIDA!

I SEE MEL MARTINEZ HUNG AROUND LONG ENOUGH TO VOTE FOR JUDGE SOTOMAYOR FOR THE SUPREME COURT, ANOTHER LATINO, THEN MARTINEZ RETIRED!

SPEAKING FOR MANY, IT HAS BECOME VERY, VERY DIFFICULT TO TRUST POLITICIANS ANYMORE!

I NOTICE THAT BLACK POLITICIANS GET IN TO POWER AND IT APPEARS THAT THEY JUST LOOK AFTER THE BLACKS AND THEN THERE IS THE GUY MARCO IS TRYING TO REPLACE.

COULD IT BE THAT WHITE AMERICANS ARE BEING DISCRIMINATED AGAINST BY BLACK AND LATINO POLITICIANS?

POLITICIANS HAVE WHAT I CALL THE BILL CLINTON SYNDROME, "TELL THEM WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR, THEN DO WHAT YOU WANT"! ****WHAT I WANT TO KNOW IS, CAN WE FIRE RUBIO IF HE LIES?????

KINDLY ADVISE:

THE PATRIOT FROM FLORIDA......SEPTEMBER 25, 2009.

Sorry, couldn't recreate the red text that was off and on throughout the message.

National Winner/Loser of the Day for 10/15

2009-10-15T19:42:00.001-07:00

Winner: The NFL -- For dumping Rush Limbaugh. It's simple, he's made obviously racist statements in the past, most of the players in the NFL are black and it's just plain wrong for him to be allowed to own a team.

Loser: Keith Bardwell -- Totally not racist, except for that thing where he's a flaming racist.

Conniving and Sinister

2009-10-15T19:23:00.000-07:00

From Shakesville:

Things I Can Do Without

2009-10-15T19:19:00.001-07:00

Buju Banton in Florida.

Daily Humor

2009-10-15T19:11:00.001-07:00

Reason #1,983,620 you should be reading Shakesville:

A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.

"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."

"Bardwell said he has discussed the topic with blacks and whites, along with witnessing some interracial marriages. He came to the conclusion that most of black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society, he said."

Well, he's got a point there. I mean, last I checked, the furthest a biracial child could go in America was president.

Okay, I Think This Is Pretty Funny

2009-10-09T05:29:00.000-07:00

I like how Josh Hicks can barely contain his smirk in the elevator. And I like how bad a dancer Alan Brock truly is.

Obama Wins the Nobel Prize

2009-10-09T05:19:00.001-07:00

Best Take I've Seen on Polanski

2009-10-07T18:09:00.000-07:00

Daily Humor

2009-10-07T17:56:00.000-07:00

Today's reason to laugh...

The One Where Michael Steele Makes Me Yell At My TV

5 National Stories to Read

2009-10-05T19:56:00.001-07:00

This is our regular feature where every day I do a post with the top 5 Florida political stories that people are talking about. Each story will include a link to a summary of the story, my brief comment and links to other blogs talking about the story.

1. Alan Grayson apologizes for using the word holocaust: Not a bad move, even though it was obvious he wasn't referring to the Holocaust.

2. Looks like Maurice Ferre is in the senate race: Probably too late to mean anything.

3. Conservatives are creating a Wiki-style Conservative Bible Project: Ha ha ha!

4. Karl Rove donates $1k to Marco Rubio: The conservative establishment is really pushing for Rubio, will it make a difference?

5. Much more on Alan Grayson and his health care remarks...

The Young Turks: This is How the Media Will Come After Alan Grayson

The Seminole Democrat: Finally, Support for the GOP Health Care "Plan"

Smooth Like Remy: Thank You!

Why Now?: More on Grayson

Muttering Jam: American Hero V

Smooth Like Remy: Grayson Strikes Again

The Reid Report: Stand with Alan Grayson

The K.F. Stone Weekly: Shocked! Simply Shocked!

litbrit: More Grayson goodness

Adam Bink: Alan Grayson: "We Need Democrats With Guts"

Adam Green: I got compared to Alan Grayson on MSNBC!

Talk to Me: Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

Smooth Like Remy: URGENT! Please Show Your Support For Alan Grayson.

Pushing Rope: Alan Grayson on the Ed Show

litbrit: What a spine looks like

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Political Hotsheet: Alan Grayson -- People Like A Democrat With Guts

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida: Three Cheers for U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL)

Pushing Rope: Thoughts On Alan Grayson

Chris Bowers: Grayson's Teachable Moment for Democrats

Pensito Review: Pelosi: Grayson Apology Not Necessary

Pensacola Beach Blog: Grayson's Guts Go Viral

Democratic Strategist: Rep. Grayson Dust-Up: Another MSM Exercize in False Equivalency

FLA Politics: Grayson Poll

YouTube: Rachel Maddow Interviews Rep Alan Grayson About Bashing Republicans

President's Weekly Address: Health Reform Urgent for the Economy

2009-10-05T19:43:00.000-07:00

Conniving and Sinister

2009-10-05T19:13:00.000-07:00

5 National Stories to Read

2009-09-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

This is our regular feature where every day I do a post with the top 5 Florida political stories that people are talking about. Each story will include a link to a summary of the story, my brief comment and links to other blogs talking about the story.

1. Attacks continue on ACORN, are traceable back to Karl Rove: Obviously Republicans would hate any organization that helps poor people vote.

Additional reading:

Broward's Blog: A Brief History of ACORN

Smooth Like Remy: More ACORN Bullshit

2. Income gap in U.S. at an all-time high: Sooner or later a Democrat is going to come along and make this kind of thing a big issue and she or he will win big.

3. The public option is in trouble in the Senate: Although there is a long way to go.

Additional reading:

FLA Politics: Nelson's Public Option Votes

Chris Bowers: Bill Nelson, Tom Carper Support Schumer "Level Playing Field" Public Option

Broward's Blog: Nelson votes against public option amendment in Finance Committee

Seminole County Democrats: Bill Nelson, you're a wimp.

Miami-Dade Dems: Thank you, Bill Nelson! A vote for the public option

Discourse.net: Florida's Senator Nelson Votes Against the Full Public Option

Pushing Rope: Why the Public Option Failed in the Senate

Pushing Rope: Max Baucus's Faulty 60 Vote Logical

Reid Report: Bill Nelson votes against the Rockefeller public option, will support Schumer’s version

Smooth Like Remy: My List-Updated

4. Some people are defending convicted rapist Roman Polanski: Just plain wrong on every level.

Additional reading:

Sunshine Statements: Polanski, Supporters and L.A. Justice System Are All Guilty

litbrit: Today in Things that make me feel sick

Melissa McEwan: Winner: Stupid Things Said About Polanski Today Contest

Melissa McEwan: More Free Roman Signatories

Atrios: I Did Not Mean To Become A Polanski Blogger

Deeky: Taking Her Side

Rook: Help Me Understand The Benefit

Melissa McEwan: Hollywood "Liberals" Sign Free Polanski Petition

5. Alan Grayson says the Republican health care plan is 'don't sick and if you do, die quickly.': I wonder how much of this is attributable to Matt Stoller.

Additional reading:

Smooth Like Remy: Alan Grayson FTMFW!!! (Again)

Bark Bark Woof Woof: Death Count

Blast Off!: Grayson apologizes

Discourse.net: Rep. Grayson Attacks GOP "Health Plan"

Radio or Not: A Democrat With A Spine!

Blast Off!: Good for Grayson

Smooth Like Remy: Eff Your Apology!

South Florida Daily Blog: The Republican Health Care Plan In 3 Minutes

Why Now?: Another Spine On Display

BarbinMD: Grayson: "I would like to apologize to the dead"

Adam Bink: Alan Grayson's Refusal

Joe Sudbay: Rep. Grayson's excellent speech on GOP health care plan upset the Republicans and George Stephanopoulos

Faiz Shakir: Grayson stands by criticism of Republican plan: ‘I would like to apologize to the dead.’

Howie Klein: Alan Grayson's Candor & Honesty Irks GOP Obstructionists... Again

Jon Ponder: Dem Rep. Under Attack for Describing GOP Health ‘Plan’: Don’t Get Sick, Or Die Quickly’

Chris Bowers: Defend Alan Grayson

BarbinMD: Suddenly, The Republicans Have Time

Amanda Terkel: VIDEO FLASHBACK: GOP Lawmakers Repeatedly Said Americans Would ‘Die’ Under Democratic Health Plans

SusanG: An overview of mean-spirited, partisan statements

Autumn Sandeen: Congressman Alan Grayson: Republicans Want "You To Die"

Jerome Armstrong: Grayson on Republicans Healthcare plan

Igor: Grayson’s Right: Under The Republican Plan, ‘Don’t Get Sick’ (Or You Might Have To ‘Die Quickly’)

Joe Sudbay: Rep. Grayson (D-FL) unveils the GOP health care plan

Adam Green: Grayson kicks ass on CNN's Situation Room

Joe Sudbay: Grayson's blockbuster appearance on CNN: "Democrats have to have guts"

Catalog of Hate for 9.30

2009-09-30T20:11:00.000-07:00

9.30.09: John Derbyshire: "Among the hopes that I do not realistically nurse is the hope that female suffrage will be repealed. But I’ll say this – if it were to be, I wouldn’t lose a minute’s sleep."

9.30.09: Michael Steele: Says Thomas Friedman is a "nut job" for his concerns over psychotic rhetoric from the right

9.30.09: Newsmax: Said the Newsmax blogger who advocated a coup against Obama wasn't really advocating a coup against Obama. And he used to be a Democrat.

9.30.09: John Perry: "Military intervention is what Obama’s exponentially accelerating agenda for 'fundamental change' toward a Marxist state is inviting upon America. A coup is not an ideal option, but Obama’s radical ideal is not acceptable or reversible."

9.30.09: Michael Steele: Dismisses threats against Obama

9.30.09: All kinds of crazy people: Obama has received more than 400 percent more threats than George W. Bush

9.30.09: ConservativeHQ.com Readers: 95% voted to say that Obama was a socialist

9.30.09: Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, RedState.com: Said that Obama calling for kids to spend more time in school was a grab for more indoctrination of kids

9.30.09: 11th Grader from Haines City: Says Obama is a socialist

9.30.09: W. Cleon Skousen: Said slave owners were the worst victims of the system and that slaves couldn't work fast.

9.30.09: Dick Armey: Says Democrats will use an "outbreak" of swine flu to push through health care reform.

9.30.09: Jim Quinn: Told armed service members to "run for your life, get out," because Obama "is gonna get you killed."