FogBelter's Lantern

John Boehner Debt Ceiling Bill Faces House Vote

2011-07-28T10:50:00.001-07:00

Andrea Mitchell was talking to a Tea Party Congressman from Kansas about "Cut,Cap, and Balance", and the Tea Party Congressman was beside himself about Harry Reid not bringing the bill for a vote, not recognizing that the "Cut,Cap, and Balance" plan, containing a Constitutional Amendment, required 290 votes in the House to pass ... the bill only garnered 234 votes.

What that means is that the Balanced Budget Amendment failed in the House even though the bill, itself, passed.

Why doesn't anyone point this fact out to the Tea Party "Statesmen"?
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Fitch Downgrades Greece's Credit Rating To One Step Above Default

2011-07-13T15:32:00.001-07:00

Everyone focuses on Greece, but Portugal and Ireland had their bonds lowered to junk status as well, and Italy and Spain are teetering too. This isn't a Greece issue solely. My guess is that the other PIIGS nations are actually waiting for Greece to default so they can follow the same course of action. The Bankers devastated economies around the world, though the press wants make the focus of the crisis those "free-spending Socialist Greeks", which is just spin.

Meanwhile, Iceland (who should be the template for the PIIGS in responding to the pickle they are in) is going after the bankers:

"Pressenza Reikjavik, 3/28/11 Last week 9 people were arrested in London and Reykjavik for their possible responsibility for Iceland’s financial collapse in 2008, a deep crisis which developed into an unprecedented public reaction that is changing the country's direction.

It has been a revolution without weapons in Iceland, the country that hosts the world's oldest democracy (since 930), and whose citizens have managed to effect change by going on demonstrations and banging pots and pans. Why have the rest of the Western countries not even heard about it?"

http://www.pressenza.com/npermalink/icelandx-a-country-that-wants-to-punish-the-bankers-responsible-for-the-crisis
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

14th Amendment Option May Be Legit, Says Leading Senate Republican

2011-07-07T15:45:00.001-07:00

My instinct tells me that some very very rich individuals ... people whose names never appear in financial magazines as being very very rich ... put in calls to their money managers and were apprised of the horrendous hit to their personal fortunes a US Default would cause.

And after firing the money managers for waiting so long to share this reality with them, said rich rich individuals explained, in unambiguous language, the personal downside to sitting Senators who permit this default to take place.

I'm certain Grassley will not be the last Republican Senator that floats this narrative in the coming days.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Mitch McConnell Chides President Obama For Not Accepting GOP Debt Arguments, Invitation

2011-07-05T15:30:00.001-07:00

“My hope, as I made clear, was that he would listen to Republicans and hear firsthand why we think raising taxes in a weak economy is a bad idea and what the realities are over here," McConnell said on the Senate floor.

And when Reagan raised taxes in 1982?:

-After all, in 1982, the Reagan administration implemented the first of several tax increases that it would endorse in order to reduce the deficit. (Reagan raised taxes in seven of the eight years that he was President.) Republican lawmakers and conservative economists screamed that the tax increase would slam the economy and hinder growth. But as former Reagan and George H.W. Bush economic official Bruce Bartlett noted, “It would be hard to find an economic forecast that was more wrong in every respect“:

Looking at real gross domestic product, it grew 4.5 percent in 1983 and 7.2 percent in 1984 – an exceptionally strong performance. The stock market had one of its best years ever in 1983 – both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index rose 35 percent. There was no increase in the rate of inflation, which was exactly the same in 1983 and 1984 as it was in 1982. The unemployment rate fell from 10.6 percent in December 1982 to 8.1 percent by December 1983 and 7.1 percent in December 1984.-

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/06/24/253569/reagan-1982-flashback-economy-boomed/
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Climate Change Skeptics Unite At Heartland Conference

2011-07-01T18:05:00.001-07:00

"Excuse me, Senator?"

"uh, hello?"

"I'm with AE inc, and I wanted to thank you for your support."

"Uh ... AE?"

"Amalgamated Embalming, sir, Amalgamated Embalming."

"Amalgamated Emb ... oh yes ... AE, right"

"Sir, we recognize your upcoming campaign looks like a tough haul and we look forward in assisting you in winning a fifth term."

"Why, thank you."

"In return if you can assist us with legislation allowing our new product to reach the market."

"Why, certainly, what product?"

"It is a new water-breathing cap intended to improve our flagging summertime business."

"Wonderful, how does it work?"

"The consumer puts on the cap, enters the water, and inhales ..."

"I see. Won't people drown?"

"That's what we are hoping, sir."

"I see ... um ... I'll see what I can do to support your business. Just give me a call."

"Thank you, sir! We at AE look forward to your fifth term."

"Me too."
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Well, Don't We Liberals Hate the Public God?

2011-06-29T14:18:00.001-07:00

"Before God created Man, Man created God."

I read that once in a book by Israel Regardie, and that frames my perception of God whenever invoked. Before we Progressives concern ourselves with the trivial matter of carving a place in the public space for a mythological god, we need to first decide which mythological god we are going to so exalt ... and is that debate even worth the nation's time?

Honestly, if Progressives have to pander to religious superstitions in order to avoid being marginalized buy our countryman, then it's game over. The United States isn't even worth fighting for.

Religion's place in the public square is the most trivial of concerns ... people should believe whatever they want on their own time, and otherwise focus on getting the nation back on track as a member of a marginally existing Democratic Republic.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Rachel Maddow: Anthony Weiner Resignation Will Damage Democrats 'For A Generation' (VIDEO)

2011-06-17T16:04:00.001-07:00

I love Rachel Maddow, but she is 100% wrong about this one.

Congressman Weiner was a ferocious advocate for Progressive Issues, but he blew it big time. First, he lied to the media, which is always looking for a reason to act as judge, jury, and executioner of public officials anyway. Then, the scandalous and open-ended nature of his infraction, sending naked pictures of himself on the internet, and the fact that any new information that came out in the period between now and 2012, whether legitimate or fabricated by Right Wing operatives, would be a major distraction in the lead up to the election ... Congressman Weiner had made of himself Kryptonite.

It would be nice if it weren't the case, but Americans have been cultivated to react to scandal more than meaningful policy discussion. Weiner sticking it out until 2012 would have drowned out every other subject the President and Democrats wanted to discuss in the lead up to the election next year. Bet on it.

We can't pretend the dynamic is different than it is. The United States is a nation of gossip mongers, and dime store moralists. You can't change that between now and November, 2012. Weiner would have been an albatross.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Michele Bachmann 2012: Congresswoman Running For President (VIDEO)

2011-06-13T18:48:00.001-07:00

I hate to be the bear of bad news, but Michele Bachmann is disqualified from running for President of the United States, for now.

In March 2009 Bachmann said the following in a radio interview:

"I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back. Thomas Jefferson told us, having a revolution every now and then is a good thing, and the people — we the people — are going to have to fight back hard if we’re not going to lose our country. And I think this has the potential of changing the dynamic of freedom forever in the United States."

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2009/03/23/36990/bachmann-armed-and-dangerous/

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment states:

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Eric Bolling Accused Of 'Revolting Racism' For Obama 'Hizzouse' Comments (VIDEO)

2011-06-13T14:03:00.001-07:00

Come on, we all know that Racism has been the "Special Sauce" of the Right Wing since the Southern Strategy was developed, and Fox "News" is the Right Wing's propaganda outlet.

In fact, Roger Ailes was one of Nixon's political operatives that helped design the "Southern Strategy" in the first place.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Larry Summers: The American Economy is Sick

2011-06-13T13:11:00.001-07:00

I think it would be best if the nation didn't have a White House that took its economic marching orders from Wall Street and Transnational Business when the United States is on the fast-track to a prolonged Depression. If we don't have decision makers factoring in the needs of the American people into their economic planning we are done. Wall Street has led the nation into an economic cul-de-sac.

Wise up, Mr President.

In fact, the next time a Wall Street titan plays extortion with the United States economy ... i.e. you do this to Wall Street and Wall Street does this to the US Economy ... the President should look said Titan in the eye and say:

"If that is a threat then let me share my own. Since you want to engage in economic terrorism to benefit your business interests then you can expect to find yourself in a CIA Black site, along with your peers, should I say "No" to your request and something adverse happens to the American economy as a result."
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Tea Party Gears Up For 2012 In Contentious School Voucher Fight

2011-06-12T13:16:00.001-07:00

The reason for instituting Public Education was to extend the benefits of education to all Americans, for the benefit of themselves and the country. Privatization of education is the exact opposite. The goal is to restrict access to education based upon economic class. The children of the rich will get access to the best schools as has always been the case, but the children of the middle and poor classes will only get access to what they can afford or what they are willing to get themselves into debt with educational loans to banks. As is the case for most of the Tea Party nonsense, the goal is to takeaway rights and access in the name of Liberty.

Also, the obsession the Right has with the elimination of the Department of Education is quite sinister as well. Eliminate the Department of Education and you eliminate the curriculum authority. What then happens is that the Corporations that own the Privatized schools can get together and reformulate curriculum that suits their Corporate Ideological Interests and furthers their agendas. From History to Science to Civics ... the Corporations will re-frame America in their own image. I don't think that is a good idea.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Nancy Pelosi: Anthony Weiner Should Resign

2011-06-11T12:15:00.001-07:00

Perhaps Weiner should step down, and perhaps we should identify other members of the House and Senate from both parties that should leave Congress and seek help for their various "shortcomings" along with him.

Since we now know that neither party will address problem members unless their issues become public and politically "hot", it is incumbent on the American People to clean house in Washington themselves. I think that it is the Patriotic duty of every American to out any members of the House or Senate whose egregious, and thus far secreted, ethical and moral lapses impede their capacity to honor their duties to their constituents and the country. Be those moral lapses be in the area of personal vice or ethics in terms of corruption.

Let's not allow Weiner to be the sin-eater for an all pervading immoral and undermining corrupt spirit in Washington. In this round of exposures let Weiner be the first but not the last to go.

Anyone having compromising evidence on sitting elected officials of either party should forward the information to WikiLeaks, for they have proven they are able to manage these situations effectively.

Remember, they all work for us ... from the President on down.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

If the President Won't Do Something About Jobs, Who Will?

2011-06-10T16:28:00.001-07:00

It seems our economic system is fatally flawed. It refuses to recognize the basic cycle of a consumer economy, which the United States was designed to be.

You have a business. The business hires employees domestically. The employees take their pay and transmute into the consumers that dozens of other businesses rely on, who, in turn hire other employees that are the consumers of dozens of other businesses. But hanging over that basic cycle are investors. Investors who want the business to provide more lucrative investment return. The business then looks at its operation and decides it can combine functions of three employees to one, and lays off two employs to recover cost it can then redirect to investors. This downsizing eliminates two consumers that are supporting dozens of businesses. Causing a downward pressure on profits. Which cause the business to lay off more employees to keep investors from bolting.

As economic activity slows down businesses purchase less supplies from vendors, putting economic pressure on their business ... and they fall into the same pattern.

Multiply this process by millions of businesses and you can see it is a perpetual economic spiral downwards.

Then add the cornered businesses investing their rainy day fund in exotic securities in order to recoup the profit lost by the lack of consumer based economic activity and you are basically waiting for the house of cards to collapse.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker Replaces Multicultural Painting With Bald Eagle

2011-06-10T05:58:00.001-07:00

The thought of Walker replacing a multicultural picture of children with the picture of a bald eagle reminds me of the words Ben Franklin wrote of the bald eagle in a letter he sent to his daughter, Sally, from France on January 26, 1784.

"For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him.

"With all this Injustice, he is never in good Case but like those among Men who live by Sharping & Robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank Coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District. He is therefore by no means a proper Emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the King birds from our Country . . . "
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Newt Gingrich Top Aide Says Disagreement Over 'Time Commitments' Prompted Departures

2011-06-09T19:15:00.001-07:00

-“There were two visions, two paths to victory, and Newt’s path and my understanding of the path to victory were different, and when that happens, then the candidate’s vision has got to prevail,” he added.-

Of course the thought bubble of the Aide is likely more along these lines'

'First the genius steps in it with his tone deaf comment on the Ryan Plan, then he gets himself tied to the spit on his $500,000 "austerity" account at Tiffany's, and as my team is fighting tooth and nail to prevent the very walls of his campaign from melting ... he decides a cruise to the Greek Isles is a smooth political move. I hear there is a Presidential Election on the horizon and I want to be a part of it.'
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Anthony Weiner Resignation Calls Mount From Both Sides In Wake Of Photo Scandal (VIDEO)

2011-06-09T15:17:00.001-07:00

I find it amusing that it seems the "Democrats" that are running to condemn Weiner are the same usual suspect Vichy Dems that always pile on when a progressive is in trouble. The same Koch-Funded DLC Dems that had to disband the DLC after its funding by the Koch Brothers was revealed. Now many of them are part of the "No Labels" movement ... I wonder who funds that?

I am sure that the Vichy Dems are happy about Weiner's plight, because it will allow them to side with Republicans on Medicare and the Budget fight and when they get wiped out in 2012 they can blame Weiner's "Progressive Controversy" as the cause.

We're onto you Vichy Dems ... We're watching you. Kaine, do you want to face a Progressive contender in your Senatorial Primary? ... ask Blanche Lincoln how that helps your general election prospects.

I have the same disdain for Vichy Dems I have for Republicans. The Vichy Dems know that in 2010 they lost 40% of their caucus ... and that didn't break my heart.

Don't be cute, Vichy Dems, you're being watched.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Lawmakers To Press For Strong Afghanistan Drawdown In Coming Weeks

2011-06-07T10:53:00.001-07:00

Nobody wants this war? Come now. The Military Contractors and Politicians getting kickbacks from this war absolutely love it. All those civilian and military casualties translate into a nice spread in the Hamptons, or a summer retreat in the South of France. There might even be a few Greek Isles up for sale at a reasonable. or unreasonable price in the not too distant future.

Folks, there are people who love this war, they love the Taliban, they love Al Qaeda, they loved Saddam, because they are rich beyond their wildest dreams because of them. And from the perspective of their accountants ... these are just wars.

Pass the Dom Pérignon Peaceniks.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Anthony Weiner Twitter Scandal: New Photos Emerge (VIDEO)

2011-06-06T14:09:00.001-07:00

Congressman Weiner is a disappointment, but he committed no crime. It is naive to assume that any information you share online is ever private information ... be it in chat-logs, twitter, Facebook or emails. The Internet is the domain of the Mr Hyde of our natures. It is an amoral place. I am not excusing Congressman Weiner's behavior nor am I willing to characterize it as unique. Anyone who has been in an online chatroom knows what is possible ... with the introduction of webcam technology the realm of the possible is quite limitless.

Anyone remember Chat Roulette? Where you would be linked up with a random webcam ... and most were connected to naked people? I mean. let's not get all moral about this, when you consider what behavior people across the country are engaging in everyday on the Internet. Sending naked photographs might be bad, but is it worse than a spouse setting up an account on Ashley Madison? There is no shortage of members on that site ... check it out sometime for yourself.

I guess kudos have to go to Andrew "Peter Pettigrew" Breitbart, but then even a stopped clock is correct twice a day.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Debt Ceiling Debate Hinges On Medicare: Can Democrats And Republicans Make A Deal?

2011-06-05T14:33:00.001-07:00

Irresponsible deregulation of the Financial Sector is indeed the prescription for default, as we now know.

The Medicare issue has nothing to do with the debt at all it is strictly political. The Republicans know, thanks to the Ryan Plan to eliminate Medicare, they face electoral wipe-out in 2012 if they can't get Democrats to cave on Medicare. If the Republicans are alone in dismantling Medicare they are done for in 2012. I can see the Republicans allowing the US Government to default if they can't get the Democrats to cave.

Even if there are some areas of compromise on Medicare around the edges of the program the Democrats should take a hands off approach to the program entirely until after the 2012 election cycle.

The Republicans put their neck in the noose and are on the scaffold ... don't give them a way out.

Hands off the entitlements entirely.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Anthony Weiner Sees Media Strategy Backfire In Wake Of Twitter Photo Scandal

2011-06-04T07:09:00.001-07:00

This is a dirty tricks game. The Republicans are engaging in good old fashioned Nixonian RatFu*king. Brietbart was behind this operation to smear Weiner because he is an effective Progressive with fight in him and since the Republicans are nothing but a bunch of Invasion of the Body Snatcher pod-lings, they lack the intellectual capacity to keep up with him in the political argument. So the corporate media in collusion with Andrew "Peter Pettigrew" Brietbart's smear squad peddles a crotch Photo Shop controversy at a time Weiner's voice is needed ... loud and unencumbered ... in this budget fight.

Is there not one LBJ style politician in the Democratic party that can counter this BS? One merciless S O B that can bring a member of Republican leadership out to dinner at a fancy DC restaurant and drop a package of compromising evidence that would signal the end of his career, family, and maybe Federal Incarceration? We're talking about arrogant Republicans here. A target rich environment of felonious and immoral behavior. When are Democrats going to start exploiting this weakness and putting the screws to them?

Weiner did nothing wrong here, but we know that isn't the case for the Republicans, someone in the Democratic Party, PLEASE, drop the hammer!!
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Let's Focus on Creating Jobs, Not Playing Chicken With the Debt Ceiling

2011-06-03T18:40:00.001-07:00

Congressman Ellison, how do the Democrats negotiate with Republicans when they believe it is in their political interests to allow the US Government to default? It doesn't seem negotiation is even feasible.

Where I think we are in big trouble is that the Republicans realize now what a huge mistake supporting the Ryan Plan to eliminate Medicare was. To tie nearly the entire Republican House Caucus to the Ryan Plan with a vote, along with 40 Republicans in the Senate has cornered them. Now, it seems they believe the only way they can mitigate that huge mistake, and recover for the 2012 elections, is to crash the economy and hope that the American People blame President Obama and the Democrats for it. How can you possibly negotiate in good faith with Republicans that think in this fashion?
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Our Crumbling Infrastructure: This Time, It's Personal

2011-06-02T19:38:00.001-07:00

Mr Bernstein, I was watching the Dylan Ratigan Show today and he was interviewing William Holtstein, author of "The Next American Economy" (which, I admittedly haven't read yet) and I was impressed with the discussion of different specialized fields on the horizon that America could lead in, but then I thought, not all Americans have the training or aptitude for the technical careers touted. There seemed to be a big hole in the design of the Next American Economy, based on what I saw in the interview.

Then your discussion of infrastructure struck me as an incredible opportunity for job creation for Americans for whom the rarefied fields aren't attainable. We need a hybrid approach to the future economy that includes excellence in innovation and dedication to the infrastructure required to empower it. All Americans have a seat at that table.

We need a full court press on infrastructure revitalization and it should start immediately. If we can get idle Americans into jobs improving infrastructure we can revitalize the economy in the short term as well as the long-term.

Congressman Cantor might not recognize the economic benefits of infrastructure revitalization, but the American people can't wait until he does. We must press on, now!.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Paul Ryan Hesitates On Question Of Run For President

2011-06-02T17:06:00.001-07:00

There is always more room in the Republican 2012 Clown Car.

"Hi, I'm Paul Ryan, and I want to end Medicare and render your retirement years sickly and destitute ... Vote for me and I will gladly flex my gluts for you!"
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Mitch McConnell Slams EPA During Speech To Coal Group

2011-06-02T09:52:00.001-07:00

Anyone aware of what the Coal Industry has done to southern West Virginia realizes that the head honchos of that industry should be rotting in a Federal Penitentiary ... so, in other words, McConnell is addressing a pack of unindicted criminals, who, of course, want the cop on the beat. the EPA, reigned in if they can't buy it off..
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Note to Congress: Stop Screwing Around and Raise the Debt Ceiling

2011-06-01T17:13:00.001-07:00

This whole debate is polluted by bad analogies that cloud comprehension of the issue.

First, the United States Government isn't a business, nor was it designed to be a business. Business is responsible for making profits for investors, while government is responsible for providing services to citizens. Two different animals entirely.

Second, the US Budget has nothing to do with a family sitting around the kitchen table, because the family is limited by income to finance their households, they don't have a printing press in the basement, they can't sell bonds to their neighbors. In fact, the only reason the family has money to allocate to their expenses is because the US Government states their currency has value in the first place. No US Government, no US Dollar.

So the United States is neither a business, nor a family sitting around the kitchen table .. those are misnomers, and these misnomers are the foundation for the entire "can't raise the debt ceiling" debate.

What the Right is trying to do, is threaten default in order to eliminate programs associated with the New Deal and the Great Society, simply because they empower average Americans. Social Security is a safe haven for the poor from the rich, so is Medicare. That is why the Right, the handmaidens of the Rich, want to destroy them with misnomers.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Huntsman Signed Bill Requiring Utah To Study Mandate

2011-06-01T09:26:00.001-07:00

Why are we even talking about Huntsman? First question on the 2012 Republican Presidential Survey.

"Who was your last employer?"

"I was appointed Ambassador to China."

"You were appointed to China by whom?"

"The President."

"Which President?"

"President Obama."

"oh, the Anti-Christ ... next."

"but ... wait ..."

"NEXT!"
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

FreedomWorks Gives Freshman Republicans Tips For Dealing With Medicare At Town Halls

2011-05-31T09:07:00.001-07:00

The way to save Medicare is to expand it to Medicare-for-all. Medicare is used by For Profit Health Care companies as the place to abandon patients that are expensive to treat. By cherry picking their client base the For Profit Health Care establishment is able to maximize profits at the cost of Medicare. The best way to solve that is to allow all Americans to be covered by Medicare. The mix of low-risk patients and high risk patients will bring down the cost for the program and provide a robust Health Care solution for all Americans.

Beside the donut hole that is being addressed through Health Care reform, the people with Medicare love the program. Veterans are just as happy with their single-payer health care plan.

We need to stop pretending there is a viable private sector solution for American Health Care ... there isn't. The vicious attack on Medicare exposes that fact, for the Private Health Care industry wants Medicare done away with so the American people have no alternative to their hyper-expensive, low quality offerings.

Medicare is fine ... give it to all Americans and it will be even better.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Obama Gives 2011 Memorial Day Speech, Lays Wreath At Arlington National Cemetery (VIDEO)

2011-05-30T11:53:00.001-07:00

The obligation of the American people is to ensure that our men and women of the Military are sent into war, at risk of life, limb and psychological well being, for a cause that is worthy of their efforts and sacrifice. The last time our Military was committed in such a way was WWII. The American people have allowed their military to be commandeered by designs of multinational corporate interests for decades now and have betrayed their troops in the process. Our troops languish in places like Iraq and Afghanistan to promote a business model, not to defend liberty and principles of the United States of America. The American people have failed their troops by allowing this dynamic to take hold.

The fighting men and women of America are there to watch our backs and defend our freedoms, the people of the United States of America, though rarely reminded, have a solemn duty to watch the backs of their troops as well, and guarantee their many sacrifices are warranted and justified.
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Rick Perry 2012? Texas Governor Says He'll Consider Running For President

2011-05-27T10:52:00.001-07:00

Considering Governor Rick Perry, by musing about Texas secession, breached Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, Congress would have to vote to allow him to run for President at this point.

Section 3.

"No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability."

http://topics.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv
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Chris Christie, New Jersey Governor, Plans To Pull Out Of Greenhouse Gas Initiative

2011-05-26T22:06:00.001-07:00

What was the greatest benefit for US Military Officers in WWII compared to Japanese and German Officers? The dynamic for US Military Officers in WWII allowed for improvisation in the field. If orders were given for a specific action and the Officers in the Field found that the conditions on the ground warranted a different approach they could modify the strategy. For the Japanese and Germans and order from the top was an order to follow ... even into complete calamity.

An example was in the Battle of Manila after MacArthur's return. General Yamashita ordered his troops into the mountains and declared Manila an open city, The Japanese Marines, however, were not given the same order by their superiors and made a stand, resulting in Manila flattened in fighting with American forces, Manila ultimately fell to the Americans, and every last Japanese Marine was killed. The order to pullout wasn't given to Japanese Marines and they were wiped out needlessly.

The point being, the mindset of Republicans is like the Japanese and Germans of WWII. Regardless of the conditions on the ground, they will stand and fight. Whether it is on Global Warming, Medicare Elimination, the Debt Ceiling, what have you.

Republicans have taken a foolish position on many things, and their commitment to doctrine and following the orders of the chain of command regardless of the political realities they are facing on the ground, puts them on the same course, politically speaking, as the Japanese Marines of Manila.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Fox News Calls Out Ed Rendell (VIDEO)

2011-05-25T07:26:00.001-07:00

-"It strips away any thin veneer of impartiality that Fox may have, simply because it admits that this was a proving ground, sort of a training ground for presidential candidates," he said. "... It really damaged their credibility."-

Gee, Governor Rendell, isn't the fact that Fox "News" is a Right Wing Corporate Propaganda Mill, a Joseph Goebbel's Wet Dream, if you will, enough to have forfeited Roger Aile's Ministry of Truth its credibility?
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Harry Reid: 'Clean' Debt Extension Vote Could Spook Markets

2011-05-24T15:46:00.001-07:00

The Republicans got their majority because of a tantrum by low information voters ... and the low quality representatives that the Republican voters sent to Washington DC are going to default on the US Debt and create an economic situation beyond the capacity of their constituents to comprehend. Behind the scenes Wall Street mavens must be beside themselves ... they know exactly what's going to happen when the US Defaults.

Speaker Boehner, this is not the time for a symbolic vote on the debt ceiling. Investors are already growing pale. You do not get a do over here, Speaker.

It's going to be brutal when the GOP crashes the global economy ... absolutely brutal.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Rob Woodall On Medicare: 'When Do I Decide I'm Going To Take Care Of Me?'

2011-05-23T15:48:00.001-07:00

How many people here realize that the goddess of these fools, Ayn Rand, took her Social Security benefits and Medicare when she reached retirement age?

Not Ayn Rand the self-righteous ideologue, Ayn Rand the retired American.

Think about that for a moment.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

'I Played By The Rules' -- 'The Rules Have Changed'

2011-05-23T14:51:00.001-07:00

The United States Government is the only entity capable of putting Americans back to work, whether our Corporatist Leaders want to accept it or not. Giving tax breaks and perks to "American" Corporations that then spit in the American people's face by providing employment opportunities abroad is not addressing the nation's issues.

The notion that meeting the needs of global investors is more important than meeting the needs of the American people is unacceptable. No American was asked if they wanted to be victims of a global economy that puts the needs of foreign investors ahead of their own families and communities.

We are told "The Rules Have Changed" or that our current economic nightmare is the "New Normal" ... actually, these are untrue statements, that presuppose that the current conditions are part of the natural order, like an earthquake in Japan dropping the coastline below sea level at high tide permanently. This isn't the truth. Decisions by man put us in this economic mess ("Economics" being a creation of the human imagination to start with) and decisions of man can pull us out of our crisis as well.

No, we are not going to write off American workers because someone in the Private Sector said the "Rules Have Changed", in fact, if the American people decide it is in the best interests of themselves, their families and communities to throw Wall Street's vision of Globalism into the wood chipper, so be it.

The American people decide the Rules.
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Mitch Daniels Not Running For President In 2012

2011-05-22T09:02:00.001-07:00

My guess is that Mitch Daniels, being a Bush Family insider, is getting out of the way so Jeb Bush can run in 2012, but Jeb Bush doesn't have a chance. Outside of being a Bush, which is the kiss of death in itself, in order for Jeb Bush to have a successful run at the White House, in the current anti-Hispanic climate the Republicans created, he would have to dump his Latina wife and distance himself from his own kids. Jeb would have to pretend he doesn't know how to speak Spanish either. The Republican party has devolved to the point where Republican elected officials muse about using helicopters to track and kill illegals (Hispanics) like they were feral pigs. You have states run by Republicans passing draconian anti-Hispanic laws with consistency now, even though those new anti-Hispanic laws don't get coverage in the Corporate Press to the degree they should. The Republican Party is an Anti-Hispanic Party, and proud of it.

The Democrats can run a Latino President, or have a candidate with a Latina wife, but the Republicans in 2012? No way.

So Jeb, if you want to run for President as a Republican in 2012, dump your wife and kids.
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Mitch McConnell Avoids Endorsing Medicare Changes In Paul Ryan's Budget Plan (VIDEO)

2011-05-22T08:37:00.001-07:00

If the Republicans in the Senate vote against the Ryan Plan after the Republicans in the House voted for it in near uniformity it will be sending a message to the Republican base that there is no cohesion in their party at all. Republicans that vote against the Ryan Plan will be seen as turncoats and probably face Primary Challenges if they are up for election in 2012.

Anything but a bloc vote for the Ryan Plan by the Senate Republicans sends a message to the Republican faithful that they lack spine, generally the knock on Democrats.
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Beck On Obama: 'You Are Not Like Him' (VIDEO)

2011-05-20T16:29:00.001-07:00

It's fun watching Beck play his dime-store mind control games on his viewers.

"You are not like him ... you are like a dancing persimmon ... singing 'God Bless America' in Latvian ... when I snap my fingers."
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Sarah Palin Says She Has 'Fire In The Belly' Ahead Of 2012 (VIDEO)

2011-05-20T07:22:00.001-07:00

-During an appearance on Fox News' "On the Record" on Thursday night, Sarah Palin insisted she has "fire in the belly" when pressed on whether she plans to run for president in the next election cycle.-

Does she need some Tums?
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Afghanistan War: Troop Morale Plummets, Report Says

2011-05-19T19:35:00.001-07:00

I think the mission needs to be clearly defined or we should pull our personnel out. We got Bin Laden. Al Qaeda is not a popular movement in Afghanistan, so the residue of this scourge isn't worthy of maintaining thousands of based troops to confront them. The Karzai government is a corrupt disaster not worthy of our troops efforts. The tribal nature of Afghanistan makes forcing some sort of democratic model on the nation a pipe dream. If the only reason our troops are there is to babysit oil infrastructure for Texas Oil Billionaires the oil industry should be made to foot the bill out of pocket for the whole endeavor ... send them a bill.

Let's just get our troops out. They have done their jobs, enough is enough.
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Republicans Question Debt Armageddon Warnings On Debt Ceiling

2011-05-19T10:58:00.001-07:00

Return tax rates on corporations and the wealthy to pre-Reagan levels and the debt and deficit problems are solved.

On the Republican part this is Shock Doctrine full bore. Now they are demanding that US assets be sold off ... including the gold in Fort Knox and the Grand Canyon to mining firms ... this is Piracy pure and simple. The Republicans are no different than the Somali pirates ... wait, let me correct that ... the Somali Pirates have character.
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Jon Stewart To Bill O'Reilly: I'd Vote For A Republican, Against Obama (VIDEO)

2011-05-18T09:33:00.001-07:00

Existence is a constantly evolving dynamic without respite. Perspectives and presumptions always undergoing evolution. The moment, therefore, an idea, any idea, is committed to the crypt of a tome it is dead.

I can cite no philosophers or scholars with which I wholeheartedly agree on everything. A leftist who committed his ideas to paper in the the 1800's is reduced to kindling for a contemporary fire not the inferno itself.

That said, it is the way the idea is made manifest in action that matters not the musings of the dead.
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Santorum: McCain 'Doesn't Understand' Interrogation

2011-05-18T00:31:00.001-07:00

There are quite a number of unindicted War Criminals from the Bush Administration running around, arguing that they really shouldn't be tried and hanged for the evil they have done ... and toadies like Santorum are merely carrying water for them.
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Debt Ceiling: The Sky's Not Falling -- Yet

2011-05-17T12:06:00.001-07:00

No negotiations. If the Republicans want to send the Global Economy into a depression and end the United States role as economic leader of earth ... the role it has held since the end of WWII ... so be it.

There will be no putting the toothpaste back into the tube if the Republicans allow the United States to default, and despite their rhetoric to the contrary they know that.

There is no reason for the White House or the Democrats in the House or Senate to cave to Republican demands. The Democrats and the White House hold all the cards.

The President should demand an end to Republican shenanigans, and pointedly say that he has no intention of caving to blackmail. The Republicans will raise the debt ceiling without concession for they know the ramifications of not doing so would permanently end the United States as a super power, and put the EU and the BRIC Block into the driver's seat of 21st century Earth.

"American Exceptionalism" will become the punchline of a very bad joke,

Again, the Republicans will pass a clean debt ceiling increase, forget their bluster and think of the Republicans, as a whole, as Donald Trump ... dishonest windbags without a spine.
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John Boehner Stuck Between Tea Party And A Hard Place

2011-05-17T09:44:00.001-07:00

No negotiations, and no concessions on raising the debt ceiling. The Republicans have two choices, raise the debt limit or crash the global economy and wipe out their wealthy patrons ... that's it.

In fact, the Republicans have the votes in the House to unilaterally raise the debt ceiling and they should be forced to do so ... the Democrats should all vote "present" when the vote comes up.

In the Senate, if DeMint or Paul don't filibuster the raising of the debt ceiling they have stabbed their supporters, unambiguously, in the back. Reid will need 61 votes to overcome the necessary Tea Party Filibuster. Some Republicans will have to throw their careers in the dumpster to prevent a total wipe out of the rich and corporations.

Again, Democrats, no concessions, no negotiations ... force the Republicans to overcome hypocrisy and raise the debt limit. Don't help them. Don't give them cover.
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Medicare, Social Security Finances Worsen In Bad Economy

2011-05-14T23:21:00.001-07:00

Eliminate the contribution cap on Social Security and its financial problems are solved.

Transition Medicare to Medicare-for-all and its problems are solved.

With two sentences I just solve the problem.
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Health Insurance Companies Make Record Profits As Many Americans Postpone Care

2011-05-14T00:38:00.001-07:00

For Profit Health Care in the United States needs to be eliminated ... it is a detriment to the nation.
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Finance Professionals Eye Detroit And Other Strapped Michigan Cities For Emergency Manager Takeover

2011-05-12T11:13:00.000-07:00

Are these Emergency Managers bound by a clause that prevents them from making profit out of liquidating Michigan cities, thereby eliminating any possible conflict of interest in their actions?

Didn't think so.
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John Boehner, GOP Seek Leverage In Talks Over Raising Debt Ceiling

2011-05-12T07:18:00.000-07:00

No matter how much the Republicans kick, scream. and wet their pants while flailing about on the floor in a rich man's tantrum ... the United States has a revenue problem. If we want to address the debt and deficits we need to cut subsidies and raise taxes.

We have the debts and deficits we have because Republicans have been irresponsibly cutting taxes for thirty years. It doesn't take a genius to note that, starting with Reagan, as tax cuts began to take effect for Corporations and the Wealthy the National debt and yearly deficits began to rise. It is a direct, observable correlation.

This debt ceiling tantrum of the Republicans isn't heroic, it is petty. If the Republican's were really serious about addressing the debt and deficits (which they aren't) they would be talking of increasing revenue by raising taxes on those groups that have gotten pass on paying their fair share, for the last thirty years, at the Nation's expense.
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GOP Cries Of 'MediScare' Prompt Democratic Shout of 'Hypocrisy'

2011-05-11T18:14:00.000-07:00

-Complaining that Democrats were using "Mediscare" tactics, they touted a letter signed by 42 members of the 2010 GOP class to President Obama, asking him and his party to stop using Medicare to score political points.

"We ask that you stand above partisanship, condemn these disingenuous attacks and work with Congress to reform spending on entitlement programs," reads the letter, orchestrated by Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.)-

The House Republicans are on record voting to end Medicare. The argument is over.
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Mary Landrieu, Mark Begich Defend Oil Companies Against Democrats

2011-05-11T14:28:00.000-07:00

Until we eliminate quid pro quo political corruption via campaign contributions from consideration as a form of First Amendment protected speech this is the nonsense we are going to have to deal with.
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Why Obama Should Play the Blame Game -- Like FDR

2011-05-10T18:07:00.001-07:00

What an honor to have a Roosevelt sharing with us.

I have the deepest admiration for TR and FDR. It is hard to imagine two Presidents who had more beneficial influence on the United States than your relatives.

I wish that Obama would channel the Roosevelt Spirit more frequently. I think that the mission to eliminate Bin Laden echoed Operation Vengeance, when the US Navy tracked down and killed Admiral Yamamoto. The words of your Grandfather to Secretary of the Navy Knox "get Yamamoto", must still have influence as they echo within the White House.

I wish President Obama would stop playing patty-cake with the Republicans, and I wish he would marginalize Wall Street and try to blast away the hubris and level with Business Community on how they have let America down ... for they have.

I understand that Obama came into office with challenges on multiple levels, and that he felt the need to mend fences and build bridges with his opponents. That tack hasn't seemed to work for the President. So now it is time for President Obama to think like a Roosevelt and say to himself:

"The country comes first."

And confront the opposition boldly, allowing the chips to fall where they may.

Thank you for visiting us here, Mr Roosevelt.
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John Cornyn: 'There Is No Incentive At All' For GOP To Increase Debt Limit

2011-05-10T15:24:00.001-07:00

I say, the Democrats should make the Republicans pass the debt ceiling increase. The Democrats should sit on their hands in the House and let Boehner rally his troops there to raise the debt ceiling with no concessions, and in the Senate, Jim DeMint or Rand Paul have to filibuster the debt ceiling raise or they are turncoats to their cause. Harry Reid will need sixty one votes to pass the debt ceiling raise or it won't happen, meaning some Republicans will have to defect to pass the increase. Which Republicans will throw themselves into the volcano for their wealthy patrons who are facing wipe out if the debt ceiling isn't raised? Who will get the short straws?

The Democrats should be ruthless with the Republicans over this. They have them checkmated. No concessions! And tell the Republicans to pass the debt ceiling increase themselves. The Republicans will ... they have no choice.
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John Boehner: 'Trillions' In Spending Cuts Loom On Debt Ceiling Vote

2011-05-09T18:52:00.001-07:00

"It's true that allowing America to default would be irresponsible," Boehner said. "But it would be more irresponsible to raise the debt limit without simultaneously taking dramatic steps to reduce spending and to reform the budget process."

Let's see, the Republican Party in the wilderness for 50 years for crashing the global economy and rendering destitute their wealthy patrons? Cool. Go for it Boehner. Crash it!
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Primary Election 2012: Conservative Fears Of Permanent Welfare State May Create Wild Ride

2011-05-08T17:04:00.001-07:00

I think Americans are recognizing that a sociopathic Conservative Agenda, drawing on the economic fantasies of Ayn Rand, and a contaminated version of televangelist Christianity, which only issues a clarion call of hatred towards minorities and advocates the empowerment of the Wealthy and Transnational corporations at the cost of American principles, is a dog that won't hunt.

We need an American America not a "Conservative" America.
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2012 Hopeful Jon Huntsman Addresses His Obama Connection Head On In His First Speech

2011-05-07T09:54:00.001-07:00

Here is a freebee for Huntsman's Republican primary challengers:

"Ambassador Huntsman, if you disagree with the policies of the Obama Administration, why did you agree to work for it in the first place? President Obama was clear all along on his agenda. Did you just miss it?"
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Tim Pawlenty Knocks Congressional Republicans On Emerging Debt Ceiling Deal

2011-05-06T10:51:00.001-07:00

"Tim Pawlenty will soon be here to discuss his problems with the Republican's approach to the debt ceiling negotiations."

"I'm here."

"Once Mr Pawlenty arrives he will explain that the Republicans are not being bold enough in this fight."

"I'm here,"

"I guess there must have been some traffic issues that delayed Mr Pawlenty."

"I'm here."

"This debt ceiling fight is extremely important Mr Pawlenty. I am certain you will appreciate what he has to offer."

"I'm here."

"Anytime now, I'm sure."

"I'm ... here."
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Condoleezza Rice Discusses Iraq With Lawrence O'Donnell: 'Saddam Hussein Was A Threat' (VIDEO)

2011-05-06T07:33:00.001-07:00

Even if the various personalities from within the Bush Administration have an abiding hatred for one another, they will support the narrative on Saddam Hussein's imminent and existential threat to the United States until the end of their days. The reason for this is clear ... the invasion and occupation of Iraq by the Bush Administration resulted in the death's of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians. The Bush Administration already looks like a coven of War Criminals, if any of the major players, including Dr Rice, go off message on the threat of Saddam Hussein, that suspicion of the Bush Administration as War Criminals is confirmed.

So the narrative of Dr Rice, and the other conspirators of the Bush Administration will never change, This mangling of history is the only reality they can afford.
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First Republican Presidential Debate Pulled Off Course But Pawlenty Emerges Relatively Unscathed

2011-05-06T07:15:00.001-07:00

-The nation is $14 trillion in debt,” Duncan told HuffPost after the debate. “We’ve got a lot of other problems that we need to focus on, stop the fiscal insanity in this country. I think we’ve got a lot of work to do. The candidates who talked about that were on message. The candidates that got off of that were not on message.”-

I think the Republicans message for 2012 can actually be summed up in two words:

"Oh, crap."
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The Bin Laden Bounce: How Will Obama Use This Moment of Unexpected Unity?

2011-05-05T09:54:00.001-07:00

I've seen no unity. I see Republicans giving credit to George W Bush for the success of President Obama. I see Right Wing media undermining the successful elimination of their own Public Enemy Number One ... (let me correct that, Bin Laden was the Right Wings public enemy number one until President Obama was elected).

Let me reiterate, invoking American Unity as the response to the taking down of an individual responsible for the deaths of over 3000 Americans is poetic, but has nothing to do with the America we now live in.

The United States of America isn't.
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Eric Cantor: Private Health Care Rationing Better Than Government Rationing

2011-05-04T08:13:00.001-07:00

The United States needs to dismantle the for profit medical system and replace it with a Comprehensive Universal Single Payer Health Care system (Medicare for All). The goal of a health system in the United States is to keep Americans healthy, not enrich the stock portfolios of international investors. The investors can go under the bus in this fight.

Cantor's babble has no value, but then I don't need to explain that to anyone who is rational.
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Right To Work: Senate Republicans Pick Fight With Labor Board

2011-05-03T17:22:00.001-07:00

Business needs to be reined in and muzzled. The interests of the people of the United States is not served by our elected officials constantly caving to the interests of Business. If the interests of Business are the only interests worthy of addressing, if the majority of the American people who work for a living are seen as an enemy of the US Government, because elected officials, bought by Business, only see their service in terms of winning the next election, and therefore favor the unreasonable demands of Business over those who actually elect them to office ... then the American Democracy is a failure.

We need to divest Business of its stranglehold over our elected officials by instituting public financing of elections and ending quid pro quo corruption as free speech protected by the First Amendment ... only then will this nation return to being "of the people, by the people. for the people".
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Osama Bin Laden Killed While Firing At SEALS: Reports

2011-05-02T14:28:00.001-07:00

I'm guessing SEAL Team 6 earned the President's confidence to take out Bin Laden with their successful rescue of captives from the Somali pirates in 2009. I would be curious to know if the President requested that team personally for this mission.
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Rush Limbaugh: 'Thank God For President Obama' (VIDEO)

2011-05-02T12:03:00.001-07:00

I think the WikiLeaks release of documented information on the Gitmo detainees pretty much dispels the value of their interrogations leading to Bin Laden's identification and assassination. How can detainees picked up prior to the constriction of the Abottabad compound in 2005 have any actionable intelligence on Bin Laden's whereabouts? Not to say that interrogations in other CIA black sites didn't aid in this event, but I doubt Gitmo had anything to do about it.

I must say I enjoy Rush's discomfort at Obama's success ... his entire performance on this tape points to a deep unhappiness at this outcome.
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America's Poor Twice As Likely To Say U.S. Is In A Depression: Gallup

2011-05-02T10:02:00.001-07:00

The United States has been in a Depression since 2008. There is no reason to believe that the stock market's rise has anything at all to do with the actual global economy, more likely securities kiting drives the market more than anything tangible. The reason "Depression" isn't used is because it is a loaded word ... a taboo word. Calling the economic state we are in a "Great Recession" doesn't create the need for dramatic regulatory action that "Depression" does. Pushing the "Great Recession" meme has sidetracked necessary regulatory changes ... for now. But a Depression doesn't simply correct itself without intervention. As economic conditions worsen, outside of rosy economic statistics hailing recovery, the American people are going to demand meaningful economic intervention. And that intervention does not include raiding the Social Security Trust Fund in order to lend temporary buoyancy to sinking investment values.
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Sarah Palin At West Hills College: Government Should 'Get Out Of Our Way'

2011-05-02T09:44:00.001-07:00

I think California is too complicated an economy for Sarah Palin to understand. We have an agricultural industry and a fishing industry as well. The use of resources has to be balanced between the two and it always results in claims from both sides that their needs aren't being met.

Sarah Palin is over her head in this conversation. She should stop pretending she understands what California needs. The State of Alaska is a far less complicated state to govern than California, and the population of the entire State of Alaska itself is less than the City of San Francisco. If Sarah Palin couldn't handle being the Governor of Alaska, understanding the dynamics of California is certainly beyond her.
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Terrorism Concerns After bin Laden

2011-05-02T07:29:00.001-07:00

Terrorism is a tactic not an entity. I don't believe one ever defeats a tactic. However, you can address the dynamics of the human condition that make the tactic of terrorism attractive. Poverty, ignorance, marginalization, greed.

Let's also remember also that Islamic Extremists don't have the market cornered on the use of the tactic of terrorism either. Terrorism by any other name is still terrorism, and always provides a reason for response, for it creates a quid pro quo dynamic.
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White House Correspondents Dinner: Obama Takes On Trump, Birthers, The Media, And More (VIDEO)

2011-05-01T12:10:00.001-07:00

A couple of things ...

First, the way Trump was tormented, embarrassed, and humiliated publicly at this event guarantees he will run for President either as a Republican or independent. My guess is he will have broken any contract for an extension of Celebrity Apprentice he signed with NBC by the end of this weekend. Those comments were too personal for Trump to walk away from. Whether it destroys the Republican Party or not he is all in for 2012. All in.

Second, congrats to Meat Loaf and Gary Busey for being invoked by the President of the United States. I like both of them so I viewed it as quite cool.
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Glenn Beck Mocks Kate Middleton (VIDEO)

2011-05-01T09:28:00.001-07:00

Beck is not amused. Kate Middleton not suited to be a Royal in Beck's eyes. It further curdles Beck's rancid spirit to imagine Kate Middleton as the future Queen of England, for Beck harbors a Dark Secret that is obvious to all casual observers. Can't you see? The only appropriate future Queen of England, is Beck himself.
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The Party's Over: What America Needs Now

2011-04-30T09:40:00.001-07:00

The United States' problem is that for the last thirty years the two political choices Americans have had have been a Right Wing Corporate ideology represented by the Republicans, and a Center Right Corporate agenda furthered by the Democrats (the DLC "No Labels" faction). That isn't a meaningful political choice for the American people.

What the United States needs, and currently doesn't have, is a vibrant Progressive Party the furthers populist issues that have real world benefit for the 310 million people that call the United States home. Our current political construct is weighted for the interests of the wealthy and transnational business, two groups who have been greatly empowered by the corporate path taken by the Republicans and Democrats for the past thirty years ... that is not America to me.
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Jon Huntsman Returning To United States Amid 2012 Speculation

2011-04-30T09:25:00.001-07:00

Huntsman's first ad:

"Hi, I'm Jon Huntsman, and if you can get past the fact I was a Republican turncoat who opportunistically took a job in the Obama Administration, I would like you to consider me to be your Republican nominee for President of the United States in 2012."

Paid for by FoolsGold for Huntsman PAC
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Rick Snyder Recall Election Effort Clears First Hurdle In Michigan

2011-04-29T20:22:00.001-07:00

"DETROIT, April 29 (Reuters) - A group seeking to force new Michigan Governor Rick Snyder into a recall election cleared a first hurdle on Friday when an election panel approved the proposed wording on petitions seeking voter support."

Right on. It's time for the people of Michigan to tell Governor Rick Snyder:

"You're Fired!"
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Russ Feingold: Priorities USA 'Playing With The Devil'

2011-04-29T19:36:00.001-07:00

I understand Senator Feingold's point of view, but I must respectfully disagree with him. In an ideal world the United State's would have public funding of elections, which would excise the special interest money from all sides of the equation, that, however, is not the current reality. Citizens United has changed the whole game and until a law is written to change the dynamic set in motion by the ruling, or a rational Supreme Court exists that can limit the damage of Citizens United with followup rulings, the election financing game is what it is.

If the Left is honorable while the Right isn't the Left will not be able to compete in elections economically. That is the bottom line. Like it or not.

Honestly, it would be wise for Progressives to read Theodore Roosevelt's autobiography or a biography about him and see how a confrontational Progressive that consistently won battles operated. How he was able to bend the playing field in his direction to move his agenda.

Progressives have promise, but are still too timid. The Conservatives furnished the campaign battlefield with the Citizens United ... now it is incumbent on the Progressives to defeat them on that battlefield.
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Why I'd Rather Not Speak About Torture

2011-04-29T12:28:00.001-07:00

After reading the section at the beginning of Naomi Klein's "Shock Doctrine" on the work of Dr Ewen Cameron, I realized that torture has more than one potential "benefit" to the torturers. In the weakened aspect it can be used to extract dubious confessions and information from the subject of the torture. But the real value, and the value it has in its application dozens of times on an individual, such as the high value Al Qeada detainees in US Custody, is one of destroying the individual's sense of self and rendering memories useless. When you hear that Khalid Sheikh Mohammad was waterboarded over 100 times, the question is this: Was the goal to extract critical information, or to destroy memories?
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Daily Mail Launches Weird Attack On Obama's Father

2011-04-29T09:20:00.001-07:00

Whoa! What a freaking scoop!

The Daily Mail just reported that President Barack Obama was the product of an interracial marriage and that his father was an African from Kenya.

I'm completely blown away. I mean, shouldn't we give them a Pulitzer for such groundbreaking work? What an exalted day for the field of Journalism. I'm speechless.
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Royal Wedding Coverage: LIVE Updates, Streaming VIDEO

2011-04-29T09:03:00.001-07:00

All the pageantry of a Walt Disney Wedding, without the singing woodland creatures.
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EU CDS Probe Targets 16 Large Banks Over Alleged Collusion

2011-04-29T07:34:00.001-07:00

The scuttlebutt that was floating around about the WikiLeaks Bank Data ... that no one is talking about anymore along with Julian Assange (complete cone of silence) was that at least one US bank was fabricating loans to be securitized and invested in the market.

The nature of CDS/CDO contracts is murky as well, with one bank being able to say "I have this THING that is worth $500 million" to another Bank or Hedge Fund, that then says "Okay", and becomes its counter party ... in essence fabricating $500 million dollars of wealth between two, supposedly, independent sources without any or regulation or oversight whatsoever. I would say the creation of Fiat Wealth through securities fraud could be considered collusion. I wonder if that is what the EU has uncovered?
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How Much Longer for the "Royals"?

2011-04-28T22:13:00.001-07:00

"It's a very good time to be rich. The global trading system is benefiting those who manage huge capital flows. But unstable systems have a way of collapsing. And you can hear the creaking, even above the media circus of the royal wedding."

I was talking with a friend recently who was saying he believed that the next major hit to the Global Economy is going to originate in England. He had an interesting and plausible reason for his outlook. This Royal Wedding is going to cost England a pretty penny, but not as much as the upcoming 2012 Olympics. With the world economy pretending it isn't in a depression the British, as any host of the Olympics before them, are going to spend lots of money on infrastructure in preparation of the games. An upside to that is a short term employment boost for England at a time it really needs it, but again, that is short term employment. Once the games are on those construction jobs end to be replaced by service industry jobs in support of the games. That will be the first hit to the English economy, The second hit will occur when the games end and the service workers are laid off. Then, the really harsh reality hits, because, besides the Beijing Olympics, the games haven't been very well attended over the last few cycles, causing host countries to walk away from the games with a loss. A loss England will confront in 2013.
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...And in Other News

2011-04-28T12:03:00.001-07:00

My watching of Network News ended when Dan Rather was released for political reasons from CBS. I had always been cynical about America's "Private Press", but that one action sealed the deal for me. What the MSM has been reduced to is little more than a corporate newsletter. I don't think that is what the Founding Fathers had in mind. When an American investigative journalist like Greg Palast has to go exPat and work for the BBC in order to get to the bottom of important stories, it is easy to recognize that whatever is being served up to us by the MSM has little nutritional value from a journalistic perspective.
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Donald Trump Should Receive The Same Scrutiny He Sought For Barack Obama

2011-04-28T10:49:00.001-07:00

Didn't Trump say he would reveal his Tax Returns as soon as Obama produced his birth certificate?

Where is Trump's Tax Returns?

In fact, that comment is exactly what every interviewer should bring up when Trump wants airtime. I'll even provide the question for Trump myself gratis:

"Mr Trump, you said you would release your Tax Returns when the President provided his birth certificate. The President did just that. Being a man of your word, Mr Trump, when will you be releasing your Tax Returns to the public?"
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Obama Hits Familiar Target In Debunking Birthers: The Media

2011-04-27T19:42:00.001-07:00

What an embarrassment for the media. When the President of the United States has to force a reality check and remind the anointed MSM representatives that their focus on reconciled tabloid pulp at a time of multiple serious national concerns amounts to journalistic malpractice, a serious spanking has occurred. I bet a lot of foreign journalists got quite a laugh at our broods expense.

Now, I don't expect the methodology employed by America's Private Press to improve or change, but at least their failings have been thoroughly exposed. With very few exceptions, America's press has become a haven for privileged glad-handers with no sense of professionalism. I really doubt that is why the Founding Fathers singled out the profession of Journalism for special protections in the Constitution.

Sharpen up, ladies and gentlemen of the press and stop embarrassing yourselves.
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GOP Town Halls: Reps Forced To Screen Questions, Duck Out Of Meetings In Secret

2011-04-26T21:50:00.001-07:00

"On Tuesday night, Rep. Allen West’s office (R-Fl.) reportedly screened questioners during his town hall event by requiring individuals to fill out index cards which were then vetted by his staff. This was, the Boward County Sun Sentinel noted, different from “his usual practice at previous town hall meetings, where West took questions from people who lined up at microphones.”

Representative Alan West is a coward who has no problem shooting off his mouth when it doesn't count, but hides behind his staff when it does. Hah, the measure of a "Man".
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Late Returns: Paul Ryan 2012?

2011-04-26T18:04:00.001-07:00

I can just see Presidential Candidate Ryan's first ad:

"Hi, I'm Paul Ryan and I'm running for President of the United States. If you are under 55 years old, you probably know me from my budget plan that eliminates Medicare, and Medicaid and guarantees you will be homeless, sickly and penniless in old age, but are you aware of the amazing workout I do every morning? Here, let me take off my shirt ..."

Winning.
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A Double Dip Recession for 2012?

2011-04-25T10:01:00.001-07:00

Mr Kuttner, we should expect a deepening of the current Depression the United States is in. The problem is that the TARP Bailout and Stimulus implementations were mishandled.

TARP should have been the carrot to keep the Banks from collapse, with the stick being the reinstatement of the Glass Steagall firewall between Commercial Banks, Investment Banks, and Insurance Companies, along with other draconian measures implemented, including prosecutions of Wall Street, and Governmental figures responsible for the collapse, to prevent the Financial Services Industry from crashing the Global Economy again. That didn't happen, so TARP was a missed opportunity to secure the stability of the US economy into the future.

The Stimulus would have been a bridge to future prosperity had a massive WPA program been implemented to reduced the rosters of the unemployed and begin needed work on the United States failing infrastructure. In the case of the Stimulus it was too heavily weighted in the area of Tax Breaks, that didn't result in the creation of jobs, to be of any long term value.

The anemic approach to getting the United States economy back in a stable state smells of Wall Street influence over our elected officials. The Government did not react in a responsible way to the Crash of 2008, and, with the economy already hobbled, has set us up for a worse crash in the future ... one with the Fed and Treasury being in a diminished position to lend support.

In short, the Depression continues.
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Republicans Downplay Urgency Of Raising Debt Ceiling

2011-04-24T12:41:00.001-07:00

Really it comes down to this. If the Republicans aren't allowed to decimate progressive policies and programs from the Square Deal, the New Deal, and the New Frontier/Great Society eras, they will crash the global economy. That is the long and the short of it.

I'd say, let the Republicans crash global economy ... it's worth it to save the programs of TR, FDR, JFK and LBJ.

The Republican's long nightmare began when McKinley was assassinated by an Anarchist, and Theodore Roosevelt became President, ushering in the era of 20th Century Progressive policies. TR was NEVER meant to be President. TR was put on the ticket with McKinley as VP as a gimmick, and in order to end Roosevelt's national political career, for the Vice President position was seen as the dead-end of national politics.

So, in essence, what the Republicans are trying to do with this debt ceiling extortion is put the bullet back in Leon Czolgosz's gun.
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Republicans Downplay Urgency Of Raising Debt Ceiling

2011-04-24T11:39:00.001-07:00

When I see the way the Republicans are approaching the raising of the Debt Ceiling I am reminded of the demagogue gorilla General, Ursus, in the movie "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" when he, and his troops, burst into the underground mutant chamber in nuked, New York, and are confronted with the mutant's god, an atomic doomsday bomb. Not understanding the implications of tampering with the bomb, Ursus orders his troops to attack it ... much in the same way the Republicans want to tamper with the debt ceiling increase.

Not a wise idea for the militant Gorillas nor the Tea Party/Republicans, for if they get this debt ceiling increase wrong the ending voice over in "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" could be uncomfortably correct. To paraphrase:

"In one of the countless billions of galaxies in the universe, lies a medium-sized star, and the economy of one of its satellites, a green and insignificant planet, is now dead."
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Obama Now Owns Libya

2011-04-22T11:02:00.001-07:00

"To connect with the Arab world and to connect with those protesters around the region, speaking through Al Jazeera to them would be an important step forward."

I agree in theory but not in practice, Steve. I think the calculation of Obama's soft boycott is quite clear in its reasoning. Even though it would be wise for Obama to go on Al Jazeera and overcome the Cultural Iron Curtain that divides the United States from the Middle East and hampers the building of necessary bridges to confront the enemies of both the United States and the vast majority of Muslims that are reasonable people, the minute the President appears on the network the Right Wing in the US will go off like a Roman Candle.

"See! See! What did we tell you? Obama is appearing on the Terrorist Muslim Network!!!"

President Obama appearing on Al Jazeera is both overdue and reasonable ... but the United States is not currently enjoying an Age of Reason,
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Remembering Ayn Rand

2011-04-21T20:37:00.001-07:00

My stepfather once used the restroom at the same time as John Steinbeck in Pacific Grove ... I think that was a more laudable meeting than yours was with Ayn Rand.

I have to thank you for your piece, however, Ayn Rand lived down to all my expectations. Oh the damage she has done with her works of fiction. All the pain and misery she caused. Let's hope Ayn Rand was right and their is no God ... she belongs in a null state.
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Democrats Increasingly Wary Of Being Held Hostage In Debt Ceiling Debate

2011-04-21T12:27:00.001-07:00

The Democrats are on notice. Since the DLC takeover of the party it has been migrating to the Republican position with consistency. While waving around a couple of token liberal members in the Media, the core Vichy Dem majority has been quietly goosestepping to the Corporate Right's siren song for decades now.

If the Democrats cave again the United States has officially become a one party political system, just like the USSR before it.

Does the Democratic Party exist as an entity independent of the Republicans or not? The outcome of this standoff determines that without question.

I can support an independent Democratic Party, I cannot support a Democratic Party that is merely a whithered appendage of the Republicans.
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Trading Down: Taking A Pay Cut After A Layoff -- HuffPost Readers' Stories

2011-04-21T09:05:00.001-07:00

The United States needs to develop an entirely new inclusive economic model that serves the needs of all 310 million members of US society. The Reagan/Milton Friedman Market Fundamentalist model has failed the nation, it has made a few lowly mortals wealthy beyond imagination, but it has betrayed American principles in the process.

The post war Socialist/Regulated Capitalist model brought prosperity to the United States for decades until Reagan derailed it. We need to return to that model, rediscover the benefit of tariff, reject global trade deals that turn people into slaves both here and abroad for the benefit of a the relative few, and reawaken the United States as a Nation "Of the People, By the People, For the People" once more.

Let's get back to being Americans again, and abandon this foolish obsession of building a golden stairway to heaven. That is the path of degradation.

Reverting the United States to an inclusive economy from an exclusive economy can be done ... and must be done.
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Lobbying Push Targets New House GOP Lawmakers On Debt Ceiling Vote

2011-04-20T23:14:00.001-07:00

If the GOP Freshman vote to raise the debt ceiling they will lose their jobs.

The Republicans can not raise the debt limit under any circumstance ... it will be seen as caving to Pelosi, Obama and Reid. Let the Lobbyists sing. THIS is the Republican base:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77rtyQf6Hwk

No WAY the Republicans can raise the debt limit. No way.
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iPhones Secretly Track Your Every Move, Researchers Say (VIDEO)

2011-04-20T15:09:00.001-07:00

I think I brought this concern up before and was accused of being a conspiracy theorist ... again.

Look, this isn't just an Apple IPhone thing, any cellphone can be triangulated on, and I am certain that the accuracy of the position is far more precise than is let on. The great thing for Law Enforcement and the NSA is that Cell Phones are a vanity item. People tend to carry them with them all the time, and leave them on so they won't miss a call. Via Cell Phones people can be tracked with a certain degree of confidence, for Cell Phones aren't generally shared.

One Number = One Person.

I'm not sure if Law Enforcement even needs to get permission from a Judge to track a persons movements via their cell phone. It's not like they are listening in on a phone conversation. it is merely passive observation.

The article only talks about the IPhone storing data, not sharing it, but I think there is a distinct possibility that position data is being distributed. Here's why. There is an IPhone app that tracks the actual position of Transit Buses via GPS, so a commuter can know how much time they have to get to the Bus Stop. Now, this app gets your location and compares it to nearby buses. There is no way it can do that if it isn't using a remote server to correlate user/bus location data.

Now lets discuss your computer's webcam/microphone.
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Higher Taxes or Smaller Entitlements: What Should Voters Choose?

2011-04-20T12:32:00.001-07:00

It really comes down to two choices:

1) A United States the serves the interests of its citizens.

2)A United States that serves the interests of Transnational Corporations and their investors.

I believe the majority of Americans will agree that the first choice is the appropriate choice.

I understand that investors are terrified they will take a haircut if the United States doesn't adopt draconian austerity measures and eliminate the Social Safety net in order to funnel more taxpayer dollars into the coffers of their business interests, but that is completely acceptable. The markets are a casino, and no investor is entitled to come away the winner. I don't think the United States needs to undergo a dramatic transformation just to prevent investors from losing their shirt. And that is really what this entire "budget" debate is about.
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Extortion Politics: Why Won't American Business Stop the GOP From Threatening to Blow Up The Economy?

2011-04-19T17:17:00.001-07:00

The Republicans can't allow the Debt Ceiling to be raised under any circumstance. The only way the Debt Ceiling can be raised is if the Republicans allow it. the Democrats can't do it on their own. Some Republicans in the House will have to vote with Democrats in order for the Debt Ceiling to be raised there ... the Republicans will be betraying their base if they do so.

In the Senate, the only way the Debt Ceiling is raised is if the Republicans allow it. Senator's DeMint and Paul are in a position to filibuster the Debt Ceiling Increase, if they don't they are frauds. The Republicans have found a way to block almost every Democrat bill via Filibuster, if they suddenly don't do the same thing to prevent the Debt Ceiling being raised then the Republicans have allowed the Democrats to raise the Debt Ceiling ... a victory for Obama, Pelosi, and Reid.

Oh, and it really doesn't matter if the rabid Republican Base understands the catastrophic dimensions of not raising the debt limit ... this is the same crowd that was screaming "Keep your dirty government hands off my Medicare!" not so long ago. For them there is no difference between "Death Panels" and "Raising the Debt Ceiling" ... they don't live in a fact based world.

So the Republicans have painted themselves into a corner they can't escape. Under no circumstance can the Republicans raise the Debt Ceiling and not face revolt.
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White House Deficit Talks Coming Apart At The Seams

2011-04-19T15:51:00.001-07:00

All you need to know is that the Ryan budget has built in yearly debt ceiling increases to avoid it becoming a political issue in the future. Out of sight out of mind. The Corporate Republicans want to dismantle Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, they have no serious interest in addressing either the long term debt or deficits. The Republicans only interest is to undo over 100 years of Progressive reforms that have greatly empowered and benefited the Nation and American people at large in the interest of making the multinational rich, richer.

This is an ideological war not a budget battle. Better to let the economy crash than to cave to Fascists.
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Shep Smith Blasts U.S. 'Lies' About Middle East, Praises WikiLeaks (VIDEO)

2011-04-19T12:42:00.001-07:00

I'm pretty sure it has been the policy of the United States for decades to support despots at the same time it supports opposition groups, military or political, that confront the despots. With that strategy you can create an environment in which you can influence the despot by turning up the heat from the opposition, and conversely support the despot in cracking down on the opposition, should the opposition become problematic from the US perspective. With that type of political throttling mechanism you make both the despot and the opposition dependent on overt or covert support, and through that dependence the United States can guide the nation in question in a direction that suits its geopolitical aspirations.

These cables regarding US support of the Syrian Opposition at the same time we are attempting to reach out to Assad, as Bush did with Gaddafi, is the way the United States plays ball, and sincerely shouldn't come as a shock to anyone.

There are people who view the world as Black and White, good or bad, while there are other people who only see amoral opportunities to be exploited. The latter group tends to be the ones who come to power.
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Trading Down: Laid-Off Americans Increasingly Taking Pay Cuts - And Kissing Their Old Lives Goodbye

2011-04-19T08:59:00.001-07:00

Business destroyed the United States economy. Due to the money candidates need to win and keep their elected offices, Business controls both political parties, the House, the Senate, the President, the Justices on the Supreme Court ... the entire legislative process. As we saw in the Health "Reform" debate, it was a lobbyist from Wellpoint that wrote the legislation that Senator Baucus furthered. The lobbyist's name remained on the circulated PDF file as "Author". No entity has more influence on the direction of the United States than Business. So while we blame the Democrats and the Republicans we overlook the puppet masters behind them ... Business.

As long as Business is allowed to run the United States of America the American people will have a bleak future. Bottom line.
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Liberalism's Uncertain Fate

2011-04-18T16:33:00.001-07:00

"And out of the moral cowardice that marks today's liberalism we will have imperiled the future of our children and grandchildren."

The Republicans didn't care about the future of America's children and grandchildren when they adopted Milton Friedman's Ayn Randian fraud of an economic model during the Reagan Administration. It's the fruits of Ronald Reagan's labors that the nation is "enjoying" currently.

It's nice to see your concern for the state of Liberalism, especially when Conservatism finds itself on such a rational, and solid foundation ... what with its focus on Birtherism, Tea Party Mania, and decades of the "Deficits Don't Matter" philosophy of success. I can truly see how inferior a rational, fact based world presented by the Left is when compared to the fore-brain denuded, carnival sideshow the American Right offers the nation today.

That said, and not to break the hearts of any conservatives, the American Left will be around to step on conservatives' shadows and exploit their missteps for decades to come. It should be fun.
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Tim Geithner Confident Congress Will Raise Debt Ceiling: Not Doing So Would Be 'Catastrophic' (VIDEO)

2011-04-17T11:23:00.001-07:00

There is absolutely no way the Republicans can allow the debt ceiling to be raised. No way.

Geithner is correct, not raising the debt limit would be catastrophic.

That said, there is no way the Republicans can allow the debt ceiling to be raised. The Republicans have all the votes they need to prevent the debt ceiling from being raised in the House, and in the Senate the Republicans can filibuster the raising of the debt ceiling as well.

In fact, if Rand Paul allows the debt ceiling to be raised without him filibustering to prevent it ... HE IS A FRAUD.

But then, the Republicans always intended on throwing the Tea Party under the bus. How many Tea Party members noticed that the austere Paul Ryan Budget ... the "courageous" budget that ends Medicare and turns the fate of America's seniors over to the For Profit Health Care System ... also includes automatic debt ceiling increases within it so there would no longer be a public debate, like we are currently having, on whether or not to raise the debt ceiling. Out of sight out of mind, Tea Party.

Again, automatic raising of the debt ceiling is part of the Ryan Austerity Budget ... look it up. Seems like someone has been sold out
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Ed Schultz And Michael Steele Have Shouting Match On Bill Maher (VIDEO)

2011-04-16T16:12:00.001-07:00

Can you imagine in Right Wing Think Tanks across American the roaring silence that struck them when Michael Steele answered he didn't know what would happen to seniors in rest homes that exhausted their $15,000 Paul Ryan Health Care Allotment?

Before one in attendance said.

"He said, WHAT!?!"
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Air Traffic Controller Falls Asleep In Miami; New Schedules Coming

2011-04-16T13:41:00.001-07:00

I have to laugh about this. When this was being reported on MSNBC yesterday afternoon the anchor brought up the meme that the Unions are telling Air Traffic Controllers to fall asleep on the job in order to support the claims of Unions that the current scheduling of Air Traffic Controllers is causing the risk of them falling asleep during their shifts, and especially dangerous possibility in Control Towers that are only staffed with one Controller on the over night shift.

Let's diagram this ... The Unions warn that staffing and scheduling of Control Towers are causing over-fatigue for Air Traffic Controllers and the possibility there might be instances of Controllers falling asleep at their post because of it. Management of the Airports balk at this. Cases of Air Traffic Controllers falling asleep during their shifts start being reported across the country. Management accuses the Unions of telling the controllers to fall asleep during their shifts to further the Union agenda ... putting the flying public at risk in the process.

So, in essence, Management is willing to accuse Unions of potentially premeditated murder in telling their Union Controllers to purposefully fall asleep on the job, rather than admitting the fact that had Management addressed the Union's concerns in the first place there wouldn't be Air Traffic Controllers falling asleep on their shifts, putting the flying public at risk.
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