Snuffed Out, Going Nowhere

Read this accurate and bloody sad essay.

H/T BB:

When Pigs Rule | Common Dreams:

"Silence is far too generous a label of contempt to apply to the Democratic Party. We are well past the point of acknowledging their complete complicity in the crime. Hardly anyone noticed in the 1990s, when New Democrats (a euphemism for old Republicans) stopped talking about the plight of the poor, even before Bill Clinton finished the job by killing welfare, reaching into the mouths of America’s impoverished and removing the food that was once there, all for purposes of guaranteeing his second term as president (and, boy wasn’t it worth it, too – look at all he achieved!). If you weren’t alive in the 1960s and 70s, you might never have realized that there was once a party in America that was rather seriously devoted to fighting a war against poverty. By the 1990s the poor became an embarrassment, and among slick New Democrats in Washington only gauche political retreads continued to remind us of their existence and plight, becoming every bit as welcome among the elites as Grandpa’s incessant flatulence at a formal dinner party."

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From the Professor (Nobel Earner)

The Threat Within - NYTimes.com:

"But Barack Obama is now the party’s leader. And let’s be frank: Obama still, after all that has happened, seems devoted to the dream of transcending partisanship, a dream he tries to serve by being nice to Republican ideas no matter how terrible those ideas are. (I did warn about this during the primaries — just saying.)

The great danger now is that Obama — with the help of a fair number of Senate Democrats — will kill Medicare in the name of civility and outreach.

This doesn’t have to happen. Republicans have, in fact, offered Democrats a huge political opportunity — much as Bush did in 2005. But I’m sorry, I have no confidence in the current leadership’s willingness to do the right thing, even when it’s also politically smart."

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Obama is doing exactly what he wants done. These aren't failures. He is acting with purpose. He represents his corporate lords.

He's fighting. Just not for me or you.

AMERICAblog News: Are you feeling fired up?:

"And now? This time, I find myself having to make intellectual contortions to make the case. I think: What could the slogan be this time?

'Change you can believe in: As long as you don't expect ME to get out front and make a forceful argument for it.'

'Change you can believe in: As long as the GOP and the Chamber of Commerce approve.'

'Change you can believe in: As long as it doesn't really challenge the power of Wall Street or inconvenience the wealthy.'

Yeah, I know just writing this is going to earn me the flames of all you Democratic pragmatists out there. You'll argue that Mr. Obama did what he could given the difficult circumstances. Silly me for thinking there is real value and power in idealism, or that failing to consistently and forcefully challenge the ideological framing set by one's opponents is what making real change requires."

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In a fantasy world...

Daily Kos: The Answer to Rachel Maddow's Question

You may label us any way you like, but we will fight for Social Security, we will defend Medicare and Medicaid, and we will not cease until the middle classes have jobs, people are safe in their homes, and our schools are educating our children.

We will not stop until the hungry are fed, and the sick are healed. We will defend the nurses, the teachers, law enforcement and fire-fighters and we will do it because we believe that THEY are the real Americans.

Call us Socialists, call us whatever you want, because we are calling Americans and we are telling them not what they can do for their country, they already know that. We are telling them what their country is doing for them, and we are telling them that you, the Republicans, are calling that Socialism and trying to take it away from you.

Get yourselves a philosophy, a big idea, a New Deal for America, if you wish, but make it something you believe in, something America believes in ... Then fight for it.

If you continue to be invertebrates, and simply try to be better Republicans than the GOP, and continue to follow the agenda, instead of setting it, then you will lose.

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All Apologies

Apology accepted, but there are still too many like you gumming up the works. Follow or get out of the way.

Daily Kos: I owe you an apology...

It was then that I realized that my desire for "compromise" and subsequent mocking of those I labeled "purity elements" was not only cruel and undue, but incredibly short-sighted and inaccurate.

I am a flawed person, like many who walk the Earth. However, I refuse to be a flawed person who does not admit fault and recognize the truth...and the truth is, Democrats who work to hold our party leaders to the principles and ideals that make us great should be celebrated, not mocked. These people genuinely care about improving the lives of others via equitable policies that seek to turn back the oppression that has choked the quality of life out of the working class for countless decades.

To my moderate friends at Daily Kos, I still love you. We need you as part of this party, even if we disagree from time to time. But please understand, I can no longer sit by and cheer when I see things transpire via the Democratic Party that serve to hurt the country and its people.

To my friends a little more to the left, please accept my apology for failing to seek to understand your motives better. When we as a party said we wanted change, you weren't kidding. YOU were serious...and now you seek to hold our Democratic Party leaders to that same standard. You have made me realize that it is better to struggle with angels than eat at the side of the devil.

There was a time when I didn't realize this. I will NEVER make that same mistake again.

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Wherein Maher rightfully schools Jon Stewart's false equivalency.

AMERICAblog News: Bill Maher: The right and the left aren't equally crazy

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Speaking of getting schooled, this cat does in the comments section. Oh boy does he get schooled in the comments.

Scientific support for creationism strong | The Crimson White

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Really?

How to Identify Sarcasm (Flowchart)

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Hell No, We Ain't Happy

Not happy at all, no no.

Team Obama is seriously fucked come November and it is all of their own making.

I'm sick of trying to 'make-them-do-it' when, obviously, they don't give a shit what we want. The appeasement of Blue Dogs and Republicans trumps what the dirty fucking hippies, who have been RIGHT about everything want.

'Compromise' doesn't mean starting in the middle and stating that all ideas are valid. You start with a clear, strong position and you stick the-fuck-to-it. Make the other motherfucker bend.

Would a Republican take over of one of both houses be horrible for America? Fuck yes, it would (great for what passes as a news media in the country, though. They loves them a circus b/c it means they won't have to do any actual journalism). Am I scare of that take over and will vote for Dems based on that fear alone? Hell no I'm not scared, and hell no I won't.

I'm voting for people who work for progressive causes tirelessly. If no one on the ballot fits that bill, then I won't be voting for them.

Some may say I'm cutting off my nose to spite my face. I disagree. I just fail to see that large of a difference between the choices. We survived Bush's 8 years and in many respects (rendition, torture, no accountability at the highest levels, corporate dominance of policy, and on and on and on....) we are stilling living the Bush years.

Not. Happy. At. All.

America: The Squeaky Wheel Gets Greased. Be. More. Squeaky, Good Guys!

Peter Daou: On the Left, a False Choice Fuels the Growing Civil War Over Obama

From the comments of the above article:

"'...the White House has consistently telegraphed that it doesn't care about progressive disquietude.'

And that's the whole problem: it's going to cost them in November, as it should. Progressives aren't afraid of a GOP takeover as David Plouffe imagines we are. We're already seeing the implementation of GOP-friendly policies (massive war spending, insubstantial health care reform, a program to assassinate American citizens without due process) under a Democratic president and Congress

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"I've been around the block politically so I'm no starry-eyed naif. I campaigned enthusiastically for Obama because I thought maybe he could cure my cynicism about politics. Instead, he has exacerbated it. For the first time in my life, I'm beginning to feel numbness when it comes to politics - I'm beginning not to care. I wonder how many others like me are out there and what effect it will have on Democrats in the coming elections?"

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If he's lost Digby, one of the most rational bloggers out there, things are not looking good.

Hullabaloo:

"If going for hard core Republican votes isn't their strategy, then someone might tell the president that for the next four months he might want to knock off his patented 'one from column A one from column B' routine and stop making false equivalence between the Democratic base and teabaggers and lavishing praise on Blue Dogs who repeatedly punch hippies and stab him in back. Of course, as I said, it's always possible that the highly professional strategists have decided to purposefully depress the Democratic base and just fight mano-a-mano for the Republicans. Judging by the rhetoric and behavior it's the most logical assumption at this point.

I do hope the Dems enjoy the scandal and impeachment circus once the batshit insane Republicans get the gavels. I know the media will."

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Daily Kos: What the hell is the Obama White House doing?:

"Yes, what the hell are they doing?

This stance on cutting deficits will wipe us out, totally in November.

Why?

This country wants the government to SPEND MONEY FOR JOB CREATION, but the Obama White House is on the side of Republicans for cuts.

This is totally, fucking, STUPID amidst 9.5% unemployment and close to 20% underemployment. I mean fucking stupid."

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Mayberry Machiavellis: Obama Political Team Handcuffing Recovery

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THE Paul Krugman. You know, the dirty fucking hippie who said last year that the stimulus was too small and too focused on Republican tax cuts (thanks, Obama) to drive down unemployment. Unemployment remains 9.+ percent. Just as it was last year.

Confidence Fairies Have Infiltrated The White House - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com:

"We’ll never know what might have happened if Obama and co. had actually had the courage of their convictions; what we do know is that they have undermined their own message at every turn."

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Robert Kuttner: My Private Obama:

"But I reluctantly conclude that whatever progressives might desire in our private visions of who Obama could yet be, he is who he is. It is like watching a needless accident in slow motion. Without a drastic and abrupt course correction, the missed opportunities will continue to accumulate this summer and fall. The whole country, not just the progressive movement, will pay dearly"

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Daily Kos: Extinction, Incrementalism and the Fate of Humanity

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Oppossing views:

Weak tea:

Daily Kos: On Ponies, Obama, and Two Groups at Daily Kos

And pitiful fear mongering by Dems. This shit boils my blood.

Daily Kos: How Democrats can impeach Obama in one easy step

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Then again, it may be all for naught anyway.

Humans could go extinct within 100 years, says renowned scientist | MNN - Mother Nature Network:

"In fact, Fenner declines to speak about climate change because he believes there's no use — our fate is sealed.

'Homo sapiens will become extinct, perhaps within 100 years,' he said in an interview with The Australian. 'A lot of other animals will, too. It's an irreversible situation. I think it's too late. I try not to express that because people are trying to do something, but they keep putting it off."

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Speak Our Minds

Daily Kos: Why Some Will Never Thank Us or Stop Hating Us

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Changing Obama's Mindset | The Progressive:

"What’s required is a total turn�around. We want a country that uses its resources, its wealth, and its power to help people, not to hurt them. That’s what we need.

This is a vision we have to keep alive. We shouldn’t be easily satisfied and say, “Oh well, give him a break. Obama deserves respect.”

But you don’t respect somebody when you give them a blank check. You respect somebody when you treat them as an equal to you, and as somebody you can talk to and somebody who will listen to you.

Not only is Obama a politician. Worse, he’s surrounded by politicians. And some of them he picked himself. He picked Hillary Clinton, he picked Lawrence Summers, he picked people who show no sign of breaking from the past.

We are citizens. We must not put ourselves in the position of looking at the world from their eyes and say, “Well, we have to compromise, we have to do this for political reasons.” No, we have to speak our minds."

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Al Franken Slams Supreme Court For Dismantling Legal Protections (VIDEO)

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Warren Buffett pledge as part of the $600 billion challenge - Jun. 16, 2010

Some material things make my life more enjoyable; many, however, would not. I like having an expensive private plane, but owning a half-dozen homes would be a burden. Too often, a vast collection of possessions ends up possessing its owner. The asset I most value, aside from health, is interesting, diverse, and long-standing friends.

My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest. Both my children and I won what I call the ovarian lottery. (For starters, the odds against my 1930 birth taking place in the U.S. were at least 30 to 1. My being male and white also removed huge obstacles that a majority of Americans then faced.)

My luck was accentuated by my living in a market system that sometimes produces distorted results, though overall it serves our country well. I've worked in an economy that rewards someone who saves the lives of others on a battlefield with a medal, rewards a great teacher with thank-you notes from parents, but rewards those who can detect the mispricing of securities with sums reaching into the billions. In short, fate's distribution of long straws is wildly capricious.

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DOJ: Nearly 500 arrests in mortgage fraud probe - Yahoo! News

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WATCH: Autistic Student Eric Duquette Amazes Audience With Graduation Speech

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Liberal-Tarians

"Help with my luggage". "Wide Stance". Etc, etc.

Just another day in Hypocritistan.

Exposed: Christian leader caught with male escort says he needed help with his luggage | Raw Story:

"A Christian leader and prominent neuro-psychiatrist who co-founded the Family Research Council with evangelist James Dobson took a ten-day European vacation with a callboy he met through RentBoy.com and was caught in an airport with the escort by a Miami newspaper."

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What Kos says:

Daily Kos: Libertarians viewed more favorably by Democrats than Republicans:

"The notion that Republicans are libertarian is ludicrous. They stick their noses into our bedrooms, into our doctors' offices, into churches. They demand the roundup of people who don't look like them. They whine about Miranda rights and due process. They are more concerned about the rights of big energy conglomerates, than they are about the rights of people to enjoy long walks on pristine beaches. They whine about true independent and free media that doesn't validate their ideology. They freak out about anyone who doesn't believe in their god, or worse, in any god at all.

For the American Taliban, 'liberty' means their ability to impose their beliefs and lifestyle on the rest of society.

So of course they would react negatively to the word, since they equate it with libertinism. For a movement predicated on imposing its mores on the rest of society, this is obviously deeply offensive."

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Larry Flynt is so awesome:

Stephen Hawking Explains How To Build A Time Machine:

"Stephen Hawking, a self-described 'physicist, cosmologist and something of a dreamer,' offers instructions on how to build a time machine in an article for the Daily Mail. 'All you need is a wormhole, the Large Hadron Collider or a rocket that goes really, really fast,' the article promises.

Hawking roots his premise in Einstein's theory of relativity, suggesting that since time moves faster in some places than others, it's quite possible to move along this 'river' into the future--but not back to the past."

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Universities of Wall Street.

Catch the documentary. It is online, too:

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1. Funny 'cause it is true. 2. Funny because it is Louis C.K. 3. Apropos funny or something.

NSFW language:

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Uncivil War

Can't wait to see what kind of mental gymnastics the fine assholes as FAUX News come up with to explain away the 'not being swarthy and Muslim' part of this group of Conservative Christian Domestic Terrorists.

Militia members charged with police-killing plot - Yahoo! News:

"WASHINGTON – Nine suspects tied to a Christian militia in the Midwest are charged with conspiring to kill police officers, then attack a funeral in the hopes of killing more law enforcement personnel, federal prosecutors said Monday."

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A Marine has a message for these Christian Conservative Domestic Terrorists.

Newsvine - An article I wish I would never have to write - To those calling for a civil war, this Marine wants you to stop, and think...:

"Secondly, Regardless of your political ideology, you've earned the right as US Citizens to say your piece - no matter how wrong it may be. That is your right, and I will give my life to protect it.

But this government of ours is a democracy. We vote for our representatives, and they vote in our interests. Sometimes, the votes don't go our way. That's life, better luck next time. Exhaust your legislative options, and then focus on gaining the required votes and/or seats to achieve your desired legislative vote next election time. That's the way things work.

But the SECOND you start committing acts of violence and vandalism, then you've usurped that Constitution. You in a way have assaulted it. And then you and I (I being every servicemember who has sworn to defend said Constitution) will have a MAJOR PROBLEM."

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Whatever they (Republicans) are blaming others of doing, they (Republicans) are the ones actually 'doing'.

It really is quite simple.

Janine R. Wedel: Shadow Elite: March to War -- The Neocon Playbook, Straight from the Soviet Bloc

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Prepared to be more shocked.

Daily Kos: Is Future Shock And Grief At The Heart Of The Tea Party?:

"Let’s take a look at who the Tea Party members are. It is true they are overwhelmingly white, but they are also overwhelmingly male, and have attended college. They also tend to be from more rural parts of the nation and skew older. Basically, you can describe them as the conservative wing of the Baby Boomers.

All this leads me to wonder, is the Tea Party Movement a Future Shock reaction? For those who don’t know, Future Shock is the idea of Alvin Toffler. He came up with this idea in 1970, and it states that as the pace of change accelerates folks become unable to absorb more change and become 'future shocked'. Toffler predicts that people who become future shocked will act out in bizarre ways; they will be unable to assimilate new information and will, in general, try to retreat from the massive pace of change.

This sounds surprisingly like the actions of the Tea Party members, doesn’t it? For the conservative Baby Boomers this pace of change, a black president, a seeming repudiation of the Republican Party’s war and economic policies, coupled with the economic melt-down and the continuing deterioration of the assumption that white men will run this nation is too much for folks who grew up in a time when change ran slower."

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The Twilight of the Elites - 10 Ideas for the Next 10 Years - TIME:

"In the past decade, nearly every pillar institution in American society — whether it's General Motors, Congress, Wall Street, Major League Baseball, the Catholic Church or the mainstream media — has revealed itself to be corrupt, incompetent or both. And at the root of these failures are the people who run these institutions, the bright and industrious minds who occupy the commanding heights of our meritocratic order. In exchange for their power, status and remuneration, they are supposed to make sure everything operates smoothly. But after a cascade of scandals and catastrophes, that implicit social contract lies in ruins, replaced by mass skepticism, contempt and disillusionment."

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Amen. I've always thought this was one of our more awful local practices.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: End Local Judicial Elections:

"WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is endorsing an end to the election of judges at the state and local levels."

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Daniel Firger: Why We Need a New Bull Moose Movement

A century ago, Roosevelt explained the need for his third-party candidacy:

The old parties are husks, with no real soul within either, divided on artificial lines, boss-ridden and privilege-controlled, each a jumble of incongruous elements, and neither daring to speak out wisely and fearlessly what should be said on the vital issues of the day.

These words ring truer today than they have in quite some time. Trillions of taxpayer dollars are propping up a financial sector bloated with profits; but Congress, looking ahead to the midterm elections, is too paralyzed to act decisively and help relieve ordinary Americans suffering through the recession. To make matters worse, the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United overturned a century's worth of campaign finance law, giving corporations more influence in elections than they've had since Teddy Roosevelt delivered his Bull Moose speech in Milwaukee.

During Roosevelt's presidency, a conservative Supreme Court comprised of railroad lawyers consistently blocked dozens of progressive federal and state legislative proposals. The pro-corporate Supreme Court appointments of Roosevelt's successor, President Taft, who filled six vacancies, did nothing to temper progressive outrage. True to form, Roosevelt jumped into the fray, decrying the Supreme Court's out-sized role as a barrier to social justice. In his Progressive Party convention speech, Roosevelt declared:

The American people, and not the courts, are to determine their own fundamental
policies. . . . The stick-in-the-bark legalism, the legalism that subordinates equity to technicalities, should be recognized as a potent enemy of justice.

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I lived in this neighborhood for a short period of time, pre-transformation. Place doesn't even look the same.

How we roll:

Hayes Valley: A Former Freeway Turns into a Farm - Look - GOOD:

"The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake left many of San Francisco's urban freeways structurally unsound. (Back then, there were many, carving up the core of the city.) But the flipside was a boon: The teardown of broad segments of elevated road has led to the revitalization—the reinvention, really—of neighborhoods like Hayes Valley. It has also given the city chunks of unused space, including the stretch between Laguna, Octavia, Oak, and Fell Streets, where ramps to the old Central Freeway haven't led anywhere in years."

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FAUX is trying to sign a deal for this to replace 24.... but, for real this time.

Fake TV Game Show 'Tortures' Man, Shocks France : NPR:

"The hostess and a chanting audience urged the players — who had levers in front of them — to send jolts of electricity into the man in the box when he gave an incorrect answer.

Even when the player screamed out in pain for them to stop, 80 percent of the contestants kept zapping him. In reality, the man in the electric chair was an actor who wasn't really being shocked — but the players and the audience did not know that.

The documentary makers say reality television relies increasingly on violent, humiliating and cruel acts to boost ratings. They say they simply wanted to see if we would go so far as to kill someone for entertainment."

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Book Claims CIA LSD Experiment Made French Town Crazy - ABC News

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Again, The Onion writes a piece of satire which quickly turns into the reality of the situation.

Pope Forgives Molested Children | The Onion - America's Finest News Source:

"VATICAN CITY—Calling forgiveness 'one of the highest virtues taught to us by Jesus,' Pope John Paul II issued a papal decree Monday absolving priest-molested children of all sin."

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This is an excellent video on how fucking stupid bottled water is.

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Loser in Chief

We elected another fucking Republican.

You create the support, Obama. That's what leaders do. We know the kabuki. We know you never wanted this b/c of your deals with big insurance and big pharma.

Loser.

Not another vote, not another dime, not another campaign phone call for Democrats.

If you think I have to hold my nose and vote Dem b/c the alternative is far worse, you've got another thing coming. I'll drag this bitch under the gutter.

Bring on President Palin.

White House slammed after declaring ‘not enough support’ for public option | Raw Story:

"Progressive bloggers and activists are up in arms about White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs' assertion Tuesday that 'there isn't enough political support' to pass a public option for health care through Congress.

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Per norm, Greenwald nails it.

This is their game. This IS what they do. Fuck 'em all.

My goal is to make it as painful as possible for any Democrat, especially those jackasses who think they are in the clear b/c they signed some goddamn letter of PO support. I can sign a letter too. Means jack shit.

Daily Kos: Glenn Greenwald: 'This is what the Democratic Party does; it's who they are':

"This is what the Democratic Party does; it's who they are. They're willing to feign support for anything their voters want just as long as there's no chance that they can pass it."

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North Alabama connection:

Slate Magazine - Editorial and Political Cartoons, Comic Strips:

"He served as editorial cartoonist for his college paper and managing editor of the alternative student newspaper while attending the University of North Alabama, where he graduated in 1980 with degrees in Art and History"

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Let's hand it back over to the idiotocracy. Bring it on.

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Because Europe has had many massive wars on its soil and has evolved to eschew militarization and war.... this is a danger to peace. Their peace endangers peace.

Seriously, did we even have an election? Is Cheney really president?

Gates Calls European Mood a Danger to Peace - NYTimes.com:

"“The demilitarization of Europe — where large swaths of the general public and political class are averse to military force and the risks that go with it — has gone from a blessing in the 20th century to an impediment to achieving real security and lasting peace in the 21st,” he told NATO officers and officials in a speech at the National Defense University, the Defense Department-financed graduate school for military officers and diplomats."

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Jon Stewart ‘proves’ Glenn Beck is a commie | Raw Story:

"In the very same speech, Beck shed some light on his success. 'I educated myself. I went to the library and books are free.'

Stewart lowered his head in disbelief. 'Glenn, Glenn, Glenn the library isn't free. It's paid for with tax money. Free public libraries are the result of the progressive movement to communally share books,' he said.

'Community owned! That sounds like communist! You are a communist!' exclaimed an exasperated Stewart."

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Toast Miraculously Spotted On Jesus (PICTURE)

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Banging Head Against Wall

Drive-By Truckers' The Big To-Do Pre-Order!

The Big To-Do Pre-Order!

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BangheadagainstwallBangheadagainstwallBangheadagainstwall
BangheadagainstwallBangheadagainstwallBangheadagainstwall
BangheadagainstwallBangheadagainstwallBangheadagainstwall

Obama calls health care summit with Republicans

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No one could have predicted....

44 - Top House Republicans throw cold water on health-care summit


Goddamn right.

Daily Kos: ***K Bipartisan***k***ship

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Agreed, but if you aren't pushing that slow change as hard and as fast as you can, then the change gets consumed by the Palins of the world and pooped out the other end. You-fucking-betcha. (I read that off my hand)

Raise hell early and often, Progressives. Early and Often and Always.

Daily Kos: Hello, kind world? (Updated):

"I wrote a diary recently comparing the life of a progressive to trench warfare. This cause, of using the government to improve the world, is the work of a lifetime. And the fight is not a fair one.

There are three factors at play; the values of the people, the policies of the government, and the politics which (theoretically) turns the values into the policies.

Values change slowly, but they do change. When I was young, the idea of gay marriage was inconceivable. When my father was young, the idea of a black President was inconceivable. And yes, Inigo - that word does mean what I think it means. The work of changing the values of your friends and families and neighbors moves at glacial speed, but it does move. The one thing you cannot do is abandon your values and remain quiet. Every day, in a million conversations, values are changing. Don't stop."

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I wish Obama would hire this dirty fucking hippie who's been frackin' right about 99% of the time.

Op-Ed Columnist - America Is Not Yet Lost - NYTimes.com:

"Instead of fraying under the strain of imperial overstretch, we’re paralyzed by procedure. Instead of re-enacting the decline and fall of Rome, we’re re-enacting the dissolution of 18th-century Poland.

A brief history lesson: In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Polish legislature, the Sejm, operated on the unanimity principle: any member could nullify legislation by shouting “I do not allow!” This made the nation largely ungovernable, and neighboring regimes began hacking off pieces of its territory. By 1795 Poland had disappeared, not to re-emerge for more than a century.

Today, the U.S. Senate seems determined to make the Sejm look good by comparison."

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You got a little racism on your chin... yeah right there.... no, you missed it... above... no... next to... ah, forget it.

Daily Kos: The Real Tea Partiers

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Both cities are great but our surrounding areas are far more scenic. SD is kinda scrubby and ugly.... but a really fun city!

And everyone overplays how 'cold' it is in SF. Yes, 52 degrees in Feb. is arctic.

San Francisco vs. San Diego: Which is the better getaway? - latimes.com:

"It is a per-capita fact that one city has more surf shops and the other has more college graduates. But there's more to this choice than that.

One of these cities gives you reliable sun, a world-class zoo and kid-friendliness, accompanied by the occasional reminder that the 1982 film 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High' was based on a true story.

The other city doesn't seem to care as much about your kids, but it will feed, entertain and edify you with such verve and sophistication that you'll barely notice the arctic breezes.

One is forever winning popularity contests, but the other is cheaper, has less crime and attracts more than twice as many overnight guests countywide."

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Hurry the fuck up.

Focusing 192 lasers on one little target:

"Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory reported Thursday they have taken a major step toward harnessing the forces that power the sun in an effort to create unlimited energy on Earth."

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You may want to wait until you get home. Jack this bad boy up to 720, burn one, then sit back and be amazed. Pretty damn cool.

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Don’t Worry About the Left

Amen, amen, a-freakin-men.

Daily Kos: What bill do you think you're supporting?:

"And every time progressives shrug their shoulders and say, 'all right, we'll take whatever we can get', you empower those critics. Rather than draw a line in the sand and bolster the efforts of true reformists, you are leaving them high and dry. And the weaker progressives get, the more Ben Nelson and Joe Lieberman and Blanche Lincoln and the rest of that bunch can do to make this not just a bad bill politically, but a bad bill policy wise.

It's clear at this point that if we get anything at all, it won't be much good. That's an obvious political reality. But every shrug of the shoulder helps make this even worse."

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Agreed, Russ, but why didn't you, jeez, I don't know... vote against the goddamn bill?!? Why are you conceding any power that you might have as a Progressive to Liebercrats?

Russ Feingold: In the News - Press Releases:

"“I’ve been fighting all year for a strong public option to compete with the insurance industry and bring health care spending down. I continued that fight during recent negotiations, and I refused to sign onto a deal to drop the public option from the Senate bill. Unfortunately, the lack of support from the administration made keeping the public option in the bill an uphill struggle. Removing the public option from the Senate bill is the wrong move, and eliminates $25 billion in savings. I will be urging members of the House and Senate who draft the final bill to make sure this essential provision is included."

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Really, Rahm. Really?

We'll see how that works out for you and the President.

You are eternally fucked after this bit of snide bullshit.

Daily Kos: Rahm Emanuel: Don’t Worry About the Left

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Weren't these suppose to be the smartest people in the world?

Drew Westen: Leadership, Obama Style, and the Looming Losses in 2010: Pretty Speeches, Compromised Values, and the Quest for the Lowest Common Denominator:

"Somehow the president has managed to turn a base of new and progressive voters he himself energized like no one else could in 2008 into the likely stay-at-home voters of 2010, souring an entire generation of young people to the political process. It isn't hard for them to see that the winners seem to be the same no matter who the voters select (Wall Street, big oil, big Pharma, the insurance industry). In fact, the president's leadership style, combined with the Democratic Congress's penchant for making its sausage in public and producing new and usually more tasteless recipes every day, has had a very high toll far from the left: smack in the center of the political spectrum.

What's costing the president and courting danger for Democrats in 2010 isn't a question of left or right, because the president has accomplished the remarkable feat of both demoralizing the base and completely turning off voters in the center. If this were an ideological issue, that would not be the case. He would be holding either the middle or the left, not losing both."

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Still good to remember how evil and fucked up the previous overlords were, though.

Would have been nice to prosecute a bunch of them, but, nah, not enough time with all of the screwing-over-the folks-who-voted-you-in by the current bunch.

Report: Bush Admin Raised Terror Alert Based On Con Man's Al Jazeera 'Decoding' Scam | TPMMuckraker:

"The report deals another blow to the credibility of the Department of Homeland Security's color-coded terror alert system, and comes after Ridge's claim that the system was used as a political tool when he was DHS secretary.

The man who prompted the December 2003 Orange alert was Dennis Montgomery, who has since been embroiled in various lawsuits, including one for allegedly bouncing $1 million in checks during a Caesars Palace spree. His former lawyer calls him a 'habitual liar engaged in fraud.'"

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And the remainders of this band of assholes has all but prevent any type of meaningful legislation from ever passing.

But I'm sure the feckless Democrats who call themselves "Progressives" will not do one goddamn thing about it.

Op-Ed Columnist - A Dangerous Dysfunction - NYTimes.com:

"Some people will say that it has always been this way, and that we’ve managed so far. But it wasn’t always like this. Yes, there were filibusters in the past — most notably by segregationists trying to block civil rights legislation. But the modern system, in which the minority party uses the threat of a filibuster to block every bill it doesn’t like, is a recent creation.

The political scientist Barbara Sinclair has done the math. In the 1960s, she finds, “extended-debate-related problems” — threatened or actual filibusters — affected only 8 percent of major legislation. By the 1980s, that had risen to 27 percent. But after Democrats retook control of Congress in 2006 and Republicans found themselves in the minority, it soared to 70 percent."

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Grandpa McCain lying again.

Think Progress � Flashback: McCain Refused To Grant 30 Seconds Of Time During Iraq War Debate:

"Unfortunately, McCain’s memory is suffering. In fact, McCain has engaged in the very same behavior that he was criticizing Franken for yesterday."

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Sometimes I really wish the 'fiction' part was replaced with 'reality'.

From Uruguay to Hollywood: Watch the Video:

"Here's a fairy tale that could only happen in the movies. Man makes YouTube video. Goes to Hollywood. Gets pots of money and a movie deal. Except this story is true.

An unknown producer from Uruguay, Fede Alvarez, shelled out about $300 to create a cool video of a robot invasion in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. The four-minute short, 'Ataque de Panico!' (Panic Attack) features ginormous (but slow-moving) weapon-wielding robots that blow stuff up."

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The Road to Neo-Feudalism

I obsessed over Obama's Facebook page yesterday where he got hammered, I mean absolutely hammered in the comments to these ridiculous 'Call your Senator to support health care' and 'We can't allow out differences.....' horseshit wall posts.

Facebook | Barack Obama

A true sign that he just pissed away the youth vote which is crucial to Democratic success.

So, post after post after post of just taking Obama to task, then.....

Along comes Jennifer:

"Jennifer *****
What happened to respect for the President? Like what he is doing or not he is still our President! A health care reform bill is not the problem with America, it's the people who think watching CNN and going to a few town hall meeting makes them know everything about everything.hey, CNN watching know it all, if you know so much about it then why are you bitching about it on Facebook? If you are so smart why are you not a congressmen or senator? There is a reason he is the President and you are not. So how about you all have respect for your Commander and Chief. Maybe if people would start respecting others again America wouldn't be in the shape it is in. It all comes down to common courtesy. Not public options or whatever other bullshit you people like to bitch about."

"If you are so smart, why are you not a congressmen or senator"... indeed.

Smart enough? Maybe.

Just not evil enough.

And, damn, if we'd just known about the R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Bless her heart.

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Here's a dose of the tone of 80% of the comment from O's FB page:

Your support of this bill is the equivalent of Bush proclaiming "Mission Accomplished" before the bodycount really started to rise.

What's going on in the Senate is a disgrace.

Lieberman is a disgrace. ... See More

Squandering the majority we gave you all in 06 is a disgrace.

The constant capitulation, under the guise of bipartisanship, is a disgrace.

And forcing 30 million more Americans to purchase insurance under threat of penalty, without making the system work better for the public - and not the insurance companies - is a disgrace. This is not why we elected you!

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Thank jeebus for Markos.

Daily Kos: 20 answers

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And this has been one of my main arguments all along and in its current state, the bill FAILS:

Economic Scene - If Health Reform Fails, America’s Innovation Gap Will Grow - NYTimes.com:

"In the cradle of American innovation, workers are making career choices based on co-payments, pre-existing conditions and other minutiae of health insurance. They are not necessarily making decisions based on what would be best for their careers and, in turn, for the American economy — that is, “where their skills match and where they can grow the most,” as another Silicon Valley entrepreneur, Cyriac Roeding, says. Health insurance, Mr. Roeding adds, “is distorting the decision-making.”

It is impossible to know how much economic damage these distortions are causing, but they clearly aren’t good. Economic research suggests that more than 1.5 million workers who would otherwise have switched jobs fail to do so every year because of fears about health insurance. Some of them would have moved to companies where they could have contributed more, and others would have started their own businesses."

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Emptywheel � Health Care on the Road to Neo-Feudalism

I believe that if the Senate health care bill passes as Joe Lieberman has demanded it–with no Medicare buy-in or public option–it will be a significant step further on our road to neo-feudalism. As such, I find it far too dangerous to our democracy to pass–even if it gives millions (perhaps unaffordable) subsidies for health care.

20% of your labor belongs to Aetna

Consider, first of all, this fact. The bill, if it became law, would legally require a portion of Americans to pay more than 20% of the fruits of their labor to a private corporation in exchange for 70% of their health care costs.

Consider a family of 4 making $66,150–a family at 300% of the poverty level and therefore, hypothetically, at least, “subsidized.” That family would be expected to pay $6482.70 (in today’s dollars) for premiums–or $540 a month. But that family could be required to pay $7973 out of pocket for copays and so on. So if that family had a significant–but not catastrophic–medical event, it would be asked to pay its insurer almost 22% of its income to cover health care. Several months ago, I showed why this was a recipe for continued medical bankruptcy (though the numbers have changed somewhat). But here’s another way to think about it. Senate Democrats are requiring middle class families to give the proceeds of over a month of their work to a private corporation–one allowed to make 15% or maybe even 25% profit on the proceeds of their labor.

It’s one thing to require a citizen to pay taxes–to pay into the commons. It’s another thing to require taxpayers to pay a private corporation, and to have up to 25% of that go to paying for luxuries like private jets and gyms for the company CEOs.

It’s the same kind of deal peasants made under feudalism: some proportion of their labor in exchange for protection (in this case, from bankruptcy from health problems, though the bill doesn’t actually require the private corporations to deliver that much protection).In this case, the federal government becomes an appendage to do collections for the corporations.

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Democrats Lash Out At Obama Over Health Care Disappointments:

"Congressional Democrats are starting to voice their anger at President Obama over the way health care legislation has been compromised, blaming him for not fighting harder.

'The president keeps listening to Rahm Emanuel,' said Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.). 'No public option, no extending Medicare to 55, no nothing, an excise tax, God!' he exclaimed about the Senate health care bill to Roll Call. 'The insurance lobby is taking over.'

'The White House has been useless,' Rep. Dave Obey (D-Wis.), the chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee, told Politico. Referencing Senate delays, he said, 'It's ridiculous, and the Obama administration is sitting on the sidelines. That's nonsense.'"

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The Audacity to Ask a Question | techPresident:

"It's not every morning that you run into one of the most powerful men in the country in relatively intimate and unguarded surroundings, so today as I was boarding the shuttle down to DC and saw White House senior advisor David Axelrod seated by a window just behind the first class section, I decided I had to seize the moment. My parents gave me 'change the world' disease when I was young, after all, and I probably will never shake it.

The aisle was full in front of me anyway and thus I was literally standing across from him. Knowing I might only have a minute, I quickly pondered what to say.

'Is this 'change we can believe in'?' I asked. He didn't respond at first so I repeated the question to make clear I was talking to him. It was his slogan, after all, that he and the rest of the Obama '08 campaign, had offered to the nation."

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Hullabaloo

If this is the only chance for reform in generations, wouldn't it have made more sense to fight for a truly comprehensive bill that actually solved the problem? If you've only got one bite of the apple every couple of decades, it seems remarkably foolish not to really go for broke. To end up with a bill like this as your once in a generation liberal accomplishment is about as inspiring as a Bobby Jindal speech.

And Obama can say that you're getting a lot, but also saying that it "covers everyone," as if there's a big new benefit is a big stretch. Nothing will have changed on that count except changing the law to force people to buy private insurance if they don't get it from their employer. I guess you can call that progressive, but that doesn't make it so. In fact, mandating that all people pay money to a private interest isn't even conservative, free market or otherwise. It's some kind of weird corporatism that's very hard to square with the common good philosophy that Democrats supposedly espouse.

Nobody's "getting covered" here. After all, people are already "free" to buy private insurance and one must assume they have reasons for not doing it already. Whether those reasons are good or bad won't make a difference when they are suddenly forced to write big checks to Aetna or Blue Cross that they previously had decided they couldn't or didn't want to write. Indeed, it actually looks like the worst caricature of liberals: taking people's money against their will, saying it's for their own good. --- and doing it without even the cover that FDR wisely insisted upon with social security, by having it withdrawn from paychecks. People don't miss the money as much when they never see it.

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On Flat-Earthers and Flat-Out Liars

Nothing to see here, folks. Just a liberal climate conspiracy... or something.

We can't pass any meaningful legislation but we can alter the weather for our political gain.... or something.

Oh, and the Earth is Flat.... or something.

World's hottest decade adds to pressure for climate accord:

"'The decade 2000-2009 is very likely to be the warmest on record, warmer than the 1990s, which were in turn warmer than the 1980s,' World Meteorological Organisation Secretary General Michel Jarraud told a press conference.

Jarraud also said that the year 2009 would probably rank as the fifth warmest since accurate records were started in 1850."

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Conservatives are just damn set against any kind of change, man-made or not.

Very hard to understand them.

Report: Bush insiders ‘distorted,’ still ‘influence’ climate change debate:

"Numerous environmental officials from the Bush administration have taken jobs lobbying on behalf of the energy industry, and some are now working to undermine efforts at a global climate change deal in Copenhagen, says a new report from a government watchdog group.

Some members of the Bush White House's environmental team 'deliberately distorted critical scientific reporting on global warming' before taking jobs at oil, gas, mining and other energy companies, says a report (PDF) from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

'CREW identified at least 22 former Bush-era officials who have gone on to lobbying or government relations, 14 of whom are registered lobbyists,' the report states. 'Through lobbying and industry-manufactured 'grassroots' activities, these individuals continue to influence and confuse the debate over global warming and hamper the efforts of the current administration to help establish a public consensus on this issue.'"

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ABC will not be Out-FAUXed.

ABC uses Fox tactic to make Stewart seem like climate change denier | Raw Story

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Won't happen again, promise.

Fox News Management Fed Up by Mistakes - mediabistro.com: FishbowlDC:

"By Matt Dornic on Nov 23, 2009 11:38 AM

After a few footage mishaps at Fox News like their recent slip-up: 'Fox News Uses Old Palin Footage,' the higher ups at the network have had enough.

In an email obtained by FishbowlDC, FNC management alerted the Newsroom that they were going to a 'zero base' newscast production, defined in the memo..."

OK, it'll happen again, because we mean for it to happen again, but we'll just lie about it.

Fox: Nothing inaccurate about our 120% poll graphic:

"As anyone who was actually listening to President Obama knows, he said $200 billion. But what's $198 billion when you're busy being Fair & Balanced, right?"

Stewart has the last word, though.

Daily Kos: State of the Nation:

"As Jon Stewart said in his take down of Fox's claim, 'So in attacking scientists for falsifying their data to support their theories on global warming, you've cited a poll that adds up to 120%.'"

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More Americans are in need of numbing the stupidity:

Most Americans support legalizing marijuana: poll:

"Fifty three percent support legalization, while 43 percent are opposed, according to a poll conducted Dec. 3 and Dec. 4 involving 1,004 voters."

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Tee'ing Off

Before I begin noting some serious Progressive anger in which I wholeheartedly share, check out something neat.... neat for me anyway.

This use to be my old neighborhood dive bar for about 7 years total. You can almost see one of my old cribs at the beginning of the video. Love Tee Off, though it was not as hipster as it is now. Place use to be a serious dive. Flaunted the smoking laws... old, painted ladies hoisted on a bar stool cackling with old, salty men.

I'm going to get one of those chops, soon, though.

Welcome to the Tee Off Bar & Grill

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I don't need to add any additional comments to these posts, because they all sum up my general feelings fairly spot-on.

It is a DailyKos kinda day.

Just Forget About Me

I'm a 28-year-old small business owner currently between health plans, with COBRA subsidies set to expire in about a year. I devote countless hours of my time that I could be spending building my business, to help the Democratic Party instead on a local, state and national level. It makes perfect sense in the current climate to take my vote and my efforts for granted, and mandate me to purchase overpriced insurance, thereby forcing me in all probability to shut down my small business and instead throw myself into the loving arms of a large employer. Or to abandon my political efforts in favor of somehow doubling my current business in the worst economic climate since the Great Depression. That shouldn't be a problem.

But people like me aren't important. You folks in the Senate need to stick up for #1, and take care of what really matters.

Come next November, so will I.

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Daily Kos: No Public Option? I'll See You In Court.:

"- Pull out of my employer-based insurance coverage and cease making payments; - Refuse to pay your penalties for not purchasing insurance from a private company; - Happily go to court over it and have you show me precisely how a mandate to purchase insurance from private insurers is constitutional. It's not a tax; it's not interstate commerce; it's patently not providing for the general welfare; so where precisely are you getting this power?"

------------

"*Note for Kossacks - I've been supporting and defending Obama this entire time, but eventually you have to draw a line and say 'this makes you a Democrat, and this doesn't.' This is the last straw for me. I will gladly go to jail rather than give one mandated dollar to insurance company vampires. No Public Option means no Health Care Reform. Period."

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F*** these Democrats. Bush gets away with it and they're letting the GOP win on purpose.:

"Did Bush/Cheney face accountability for war crimes and lying us into Iraq?

Did Democrats attack Conservative ideology as totally failed after the roaring 90's for the rich and Great Depression 2.0 for the rest of us in 2008?

No. Democrats would rather 'look forward', which is a Carlinesque term for Cover Up.

No. Instead Democrats wanted to use those failed ideas themselves to build bipartisan support for FAILED ideas that have bankrupted America and our middle and working class.

Apparently, elections DO NOT MATTER, because we are getting ANOTHER unpopular war and we are NOT getting a popular program like the Public Option, and all because Corporations have overthrown our democracy. They didn't need bullets, dollars did the job better than bullets ever could.

To be blunt, Democrats are losing on purpose, and I have had enough of the spineless wusses who want to play pattycake with the lunatics who kick them in the balls. If you aren't fighting back you are THROWING THE FIGHT, and that goes for EVERY DEM, top to bottom."

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Red coat. Red pants. Red hat?! Kinda obvious.

Daily Kos: Today I Tell my Son the Horrible Truth about Santa:

"I do not relish this day.

This is the day I have the Santa talk with my son.

To tell him what and who Santa really is.

Santa...is a socialist. A filthy, filthy socialist.

From his red suit to his anti-capitalist workshop high up in the icy tundra of socialist Canada where they measure every toy with the metric system.

Every year he and his sick snowy commune of jolly elf worker comrades devise yet another assault on capitalism and all that's right with America, dumping toys into the system with no profit motive at all.

And worse, he targets children, attempting to indoctrinate them with songs, free toys, socks full of candy bearing his likeness, and evening television specials all about him and the 'Christmas spirit' and giving...just GIVING!"

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Another day, another pack of goddamn lies.

Fox News' Fuzzy Math Claims 120% Of Americans Have An Opinion On 'Climategate'

Another Fox flub that conveniently hurts Democrats | Raw Story:

You probably think we're talking about last week's flub.

But no -- another day, another Fox News reporting 'mistake' that conveniently supports the news network's editorial bias."

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Energy.

Robert Lanza, M.D.: Does Death Exist? New Theory Says 'No':

"Many of us fear death. We believe in death because we have been told we will die. We associate ourselves with the body, and we know that bodies die. But a new scientific theory suggests that death is not the terminal event we think."

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Living to be 100

Damn right. We definitely need some crazy ass LBJ channeling.

So far, I'm not impressed with 'Chicago style politics'. Kind of doughy and bloated like their pizza. (Otherwise, Chicago is one of my favorite cities in the U.S. Love that place).

John Conyers Tells Obama: 'Start Knocking Heads':

"'The president could take a few pages from Lyndon Johnson's book... and start knocking heads together,' said Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee."

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Granted, those past Dem Congresses didn't have to deal with the current bat-shit crazy Republicans we do, but still....

Harold Meyerson - Harold Meyerson on the Senate's sluggish pace - washingtonpost.com:

"While Republicans have become an immovable object, the Democrats have yet to find a way to become an irresistible force. They began the year with a president who had been elected by a substantial majority on a platform of urgent change, and with sizable majorities in both houses of Congress. They had been in this position twice before. The first time around, in 1933, Franklin Roosevelt and Congress had enacted the landmark legislation of the First Hundred Days -- depositor insurance, emergency relief, industrial stabilization, public employment (the Civilian Conservation Corps). The second time around, in 1965, Lyndon Johnson and Congress had created the Great Society, passing more than 80 bills, among them Medicare, the Voting Rights Act and federal aid to education, in six months."

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Excellent piece. California is hamstrung b/c of a bill passed by Reagan Repubs in the 70s which essentially eliminates majority rule in California. 1/3 of the Cali Senate can stop anything from happening in the state.

No similar law is in place on the Fed level. Dems are just allowing the same thing to happen.

Never once from 2001-2008 did you hear of 60 votes needed for any damn thing. 60 votes are only needed when Dems are in power.

Jeez.

Steven Pearlstein - Want real reform? Let's start with Congress.

So at the risk of sounding naive, I'd like to offer a novel idea for changing the legislative dynamic, restoring majority rule to the legislative process and keeping health reform alive: Debate it on the Senate floor.

That's right, forget about spending another six weeks searching for those elusive 60 votes to break a filibuster, going back and forth with weak-kneed centrists like Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu who can't seem to decide what they really want, or self-righteous egotists like Joe Lieberman, who thinks he can call all the shots. If they have suggestions for improving the bill, let them do it the old-fashioned way: propose an amendment on the floor and see if they can get 49 other senators to agree.

To get things started, it will be necessary to put Vice President Biden in his rightful constitutional place as presiding officer, where he should make clear he'll do whatever is necessary to restore majority rule to the Senate, even as he jealously protects the rights of the minority to blabber on as long as it wants and offer whatever amendments it thinks necessary. And if that means overturning some outmoded precedent laid down by some dead predecessor, so be it.

As a final step, Majority Leader Harry Reid will need to break out the cots and announce that he'll keep the Senate in session day and night until a bill is passed or defeated or Senators agree to give up and go home.

If nothing else, it will be a marvelous civics lesson for Americans who have probably forgotten, if they ever knew, what a real floor fight looks like. They might even be so captivated that they decide to join the battle and let their elected representatives know how they feel. And my hunch is that when it's all over, we'll wind up with a health-care reform bill that is not only better than one negotiated in the backrooms, but is a much better reflection of where the country is on the issue.

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God forbid if we use reconciliation. Why, there is absolutely no precedent for such a thing....

Sen. Sanders: If Lieberman filibusters health reform, force it through | Raw Story:

"While congressional Republicans tend to howl at even the threat of such a measure being used to pass legislation they are opposed to, the GOP used reconciliation against Democrats in 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005,"

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It is ours to win or fuck up.

Op-Ed Columnist - Paranoia Strikes Deep - NYTimes.com:

"And if Tea Party Republicans do win big next year, what has already happened in California could happen at the national level. In California, the G.O.P. has essentially shrunk down to a rump party with no interest in actually governing — but that rump remains big enough to prevent anyone else from dealing with the state’s fiscal crisis. If this happens to America as a whole, as it all too easily could, the country could become effectively ungovernable in the midst of an ongoing economic disaster.

The point is that the takeover of the Republican Party by the irrational right is no laughing matter. Something unprecedented is happening here — and it’s very bad for America."

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Damn right! Money talks, bullshit walks.

Progressives Threaten To Cut Off Money For Dems Who Oppose Health Care:

With the finish line for health care reform in sight, progressive groups are taking an aggressive approach to make sure that Democrats in Congress vote with their party. They're threatening to stop giving them money.

In the past few weeks, several separate groups have announced they will withhold fundraising money and political support from any Democrats who either vote against the bill in the House or support a GOP filibuster of the bill in the Senate.

"A similar effort is being launched on the House side. On Tuesday, Markos Moulitsas, founder of the popular Daily Kos blog, urged readers to simply stop writing checks to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee as an explicit message to those '18 most endangered' Democrats who voted against health care legislation.

'It's clear that if you don't want your money to go to bad Democrats, then it's impossible to donate to the party committees,' Moulitsas told the Huffington Post. 'Some of the most endangered Democrats in 2010 are also some of the worst. If you want to contribute to the good ones, it's best to target your money directly to them.'"

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The portion of this diary excerpted below is righteously indignant, but the rest of the diary is brutal, albeit kinda inspiring too.

Talk about your Dirt Underneath.

Indeed. Fuck Y'all.

Daily Kos: I'm scared. �And I'm really f@cking angry.:

"Are you gonna sit there and tell me Mr. Gasbag/Mr. Congressman that that little clump of cells is a sacred treasure which must be saved at all costs and then turn around and say that providing healthcare for that clump of cells once the cord is cut is fiscally irresponsible and that the little bastard is now on its own?

Are you really gonna sit there and tell me Mr. Gasbag/Mr. Congressman that driving people into poverty so deep that they don't even have a shitty car to live in while Wall Street thieves, military contractors and environmental rapists grow ever more porcine and gluttonous is GOOD FOR THE COUNTRY and then turn around and LECTURE people driven mad with despair about bootstraps while hucking the occasional chunk of expired government cheese at them?

Are you gonna sit there and tell me Mr. Gasbag/Mr. Congressman that my gay friend's desires to have a legal joining that affords them the rights that the most basic common decency prescribes is somehow a THREAT to the kind of 'TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE' that my granddaughter witnessed last night?

Because if that's where we are at this point in the conversation, then I just have one thing to say to you, Mr. Gasbag/Mr. Congressman.

FUCK YOU."

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And the over/under for Dobbs on FAUX announcement is 7 days.

Lou Dobbs announces abrupt departure from CNN | Raw Story

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Hurry up with the life extenders, science. We godless bastards have placed our bets on y'all. And no more of the Ted Williams head freezing bs, either.

One Key Found for Living to 100 - Yahoo! News:

"Scientists have zeroed in on one apparent key to long life: an inherited cellular repair mechanism that thwarts aging and perhaps helps prevent disease. Researches say the finding could lead to anti-aging drugs."

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Great News for Republicans

We'll start with the utter horseshit from the Villagers

Dems, incumbents get wake-up call - Yahoo! News:

Nothing of the sort, news media assholes.

Eschaton:

"Deep Thought

After tonight's elections results, Joe Biden must resign, Sarah Palin must be confirmed as his replacement, and then Barack Obama must resign. The people have spoken."

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The AP's only premise: What if Dems lose on Tuesday? | Media Matters for America:

"UPDATED: What's also astonishing, and this is absolutely ignored by the press, is that the NJ race is only close today becuase the GOP candidate has lost a double-digit lead in recent months. It's only close because the GOP candidate's campaign has imploded since the summertime. But the press doesn't care about that, or what that might say about the GOP. The press only cares if Dems lose."

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Great news for Republicans.

Democratic win in conservative district is first since 1871 | Raw Story:

"The Democratic victory for a retired Air Force captain was the first for Democrats since 1871."

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This seat, historically, has been Republican. Dems won it last cycle and again this time. But, somehow, this is great news for Republicans.

Democrat Garamendi Cruises in California 10 - Yahoo! News:

"Lt. Gov. John Garamendi kept California's 10th Congressional District in Democratic hands, easily winning the special election to fill an open seat."

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Excellent news for the teabaggers.

Breckenridge, Colorado voters legalize marijuana, paraphernalia | Raw Story:

"Voters in the ski resort town of Breckenridge, Colorado legalized marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia by a nearly three-to-one margin on Tuesday.

It is the first municipality in the United States to allow paraphernalia, such as pipes, bongs and bubblers.

'[The measure] passed 73 percent to 27 percent,' ABC 7 News in Denver reported."

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But there are lessons to be learned. I'm looking at your Creigh Deeds (Worse. Campaign. Ever)

Daily Kos: State of the Nation:

"by kos
Tue Nov 03, 2009 at 09:32:52 PM PST

There will be much number-crunching tomorrow, but preliminary numbers (at least in Virginia) show that GOP turnout remained the same as last year, but Democratic turnout collapsed. This is a base problem, and this is what Democrats better take from tonight:

1. If you abandon Democratic principles in a bid for unnecessary 'bipartisanship', you will lose votes.

2. If you water down reform in favor of Blue Dogs and their corporate benefactors, you will lose votes.

3. If you forget why you were elected -- health care, financial services, energy policy and immigration reform -- you will lose votes.

Tonight proved conclusively that we're not going to turn out just because you have a (D) next to your name, or because Obama tells us to. We'll turn out if we feel it's worth our time and effort to vote, and we'll work hard to make sure others turn out if you inspire us with bold and decisive action.

The choice is yours. Give us a reason to vote for you, or we sit home. And you aren't going to make up the margins with conservative voters. They already know exactly who they're voting for, and it ain't you."

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Bazooka vs. Spork comes to mind.

Bush, Clinton Debate At Radio City In February:

"Former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will go head to head in a debate at Radio City Music Hall next February, as part of a series pairing liberal and conservative thinkers called 'Minds That Move The World.'"

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Cool.

Star Pictures: NASA's Most Extraordinary Images EVER (PHOTOS, POLL)

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Gum Job

Some dirty fucking hippie actor writing sense.

Donald Sutherland: Stand Up, Max Baucus:

"It must finally be clear to us all that the stumbling block to successful health/disease care reform has been definitively reduced to two words. They're not 'public option' or 'single payer', they're 'Max Baucus'.

He was not elected to eliminate the Democratic Majority in the Finance Committee, but that's what he's done. It was not mandated that he exclude a representative expert on single payer from his 15-person advisory board but that's what he did. More than that, he's filled his campaign coffers with millions of dollars of Insurance Company money, for heaven's sake. Fine that he sits there holding the president's suit coat at that town hall meeting, great that he gets identified by the president a bunch of times. Great, because now we can all have a good look at who he is, sitting there squirming in the spotlight."

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It ain't all like the shitty traditional media is painting it to be.

Anecdotal, but a good read.

Daily Kos: A Small-town Texas Town Hall:

"A brief round of applause interrupted him, after which he continued, 'As far as peace goes, it seems to me that we ought to be defending ourselves when we’re attacked, not when there’s something we want out of somebody. As for justice, I’d sure as Hell like to see justice brought down on those people who’ve tried their best to ruin this country. I think any person that’s been shown to break the law, whether it’s a banker or a politician, they ought to be prosecuted and brought to justice.'"

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Damn Commies!

I want to be a commie, too.

Europe versus America: Do Longer Holidays Translate to Greater Productivity? - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

For all their extra vacation days as compared with the US, workers in the EU are keeping pace -- or better -- in terms of productivity.

Much of Europe closes up shop in August. From steelworkers in Spain to technology consultants in Germany, the European Union's workers head for the coast or other vacation hot spots, forgoing the sweltering heat of Europe's cities for some rest and relaxation.

Europeans on average pocket almost 10 more vacation days than their US counterparts. That's the findings from research by consultants at Mercer, which analyzed the minimum number of vacation days that companies across Europe must provide to staff with 10 years' service, as well as the number of national holidays in each country.

The study reveals the average time off in European Union countries is now 34.4 days, compared with just 25 in the US. Overall, employees in Lithuania are entitled to the greatest amount of paid leave, with 41 holidays per year. France and Finland come a close second, with 40.

"In Europe, time off is enshrined in government legislation, so employers are forced to hire more staff to cover the gaps," says Matthew Hunt, a principal in Mercer's international team. "The US takes a different view; there's a focus on maintaining productivity."

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Drive-By Truckers:

"I never knew how it all got started
a problem with Holland before we were born
and I don’t know the name of that boy we tied down
and beat till he just couldn’t walk anymore.
But I know the caliber in Daddy’s chest
and I know what Holland Hill drives.
The state let him go, but I guess it was best
cause nobody needs all us Lawsons alive."

Reported riot in Marion, Ala., brought under control; 5 arrested - Breaking News from the Press-Register - al.com:

"State Trooper John Reese said children of the 2 feuding families began arguing at the high school this morning and shotguns were found in their cars."

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I'm just surprised that a woman from South Carolina had 13 teeth in her mouth to pull.

Hey-oh!

Woman awarded $2M after dentist pulls 16 teeth:

"A South Carolina woman has won a $2 million jury verdict against a dental clinic that mistakenly pulled 13 teeth. The State reported that 28-year-old Elizabeth Smith wanted three teeth pulled when she went to the Sexton Dental Clinic in Florence in 2006. Her lawsuit said a dentist at the clinic pulled all 16 of her upper teeth."

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Bring it. I'm ready for science fiction to become science reality regardless of the hell it could potentially release.

Life to order: Man-made organisms will be here in four months, say biologists | Mail Online:

"Artificial life will be made to order in the laboratory within four months, a controversial biologist has claimed.

U.S genome expert Craig Venter, said his team have overcome a vital obstacle in the development of new man-made organisms.

The scientist, named as one of the most influential people in the world, said the first 'synthetic species' could be created this year."

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