JPMorgan Chase Argues Against Mortgage Modifications, Citing Sanctity Of Contracts

Well, the Banks aren't thinking clearly here. The properties are no longer worth the fraudulently inflated prices they were originally sold for. The desire of the mortgage holder to renegotiate the mortgage, even by reducing principal, indicates a desire to continue paying on what was a Bank backed con to start with. The only logical alternative for the underwater mortgage holder, if the Bank refuses to negotiate, is to abandon the property, and leave the Bank to deal with it. What is it now? One out of four American Mortgage holders is underwater? It was an Institutional Fraud that put these individuals into their homes in the first place. If the Banks don't want to renegotiate the mortgage, I see nothing immoral about the homeowners just walking away. A contract is just a glorified piece of paper, and lawyers make as much money breaking contracts as making contracts.



For those with sympathy for the Banks, I'm sure they will recover the original value of the properties in 40-50 years or when hyperinflation renders a million dollar mortgage a bargain.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Don Blankenship: Investors, Politicians Begin Calling For Massey Head To Resign

Finally someone is showing some common sense and humanity. We need to eliminate miners dying as part of the "just one of those things" management mentality of the mining profession.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

It's Official: Tiger Woods Has Learned Nothing

"The best golfer in history. And an asshole."



When you consider the deals made on golf courses around the world that have destroyed people's lives, I would only have to say that Tiger should represent golf without apology. He's perfect.
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Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster: Should Investigation Be Public?

"[As of now, the hearings] won't be open to the public ... Almost certainly, the investigative interviews will occur behind closed doors. Members of the press and the public will be shut out from this terribly important government task."



Of course, it would be silly in a free society to allow the information revealed during this investigation to be shared with the public.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Recession Over? Not So Fast, Says The Organization That Tracks Downturns

There has been a major push to declare the Recession over since Government and Business Leaders reluctantly acknowledged there was a Recession to start with. I think the reasons for this are twofold.



First, to promote a lemming response amongst the American Consumer. If people think the economy isn't as bad as it is they may return to the behavior of spending on things they really don't need and can't afford. Exactly what our international trade partners require from their economic relationship with the United States.



Secondly, the individuals who had the most influence on the economic crisis are extremely wealthy with tremendous leverage over elected officials in both political parities. These individuals don't want to be exposed to any legal ramifications ... even if you could find a court that wasn't rigged in their favor in the first place. Furthermore, the fraud that is in the process of collapsing has made them richer and powerful beyond their fondest aspirations and they have no intention of allowing any changes in the current economic model.



So, the rest of the US and global population are along for the ride as this sliver of avarice driven humanity mandates their madness as our reality.



So, sure, the Recession is over ... or it isn't ... same difference.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Arianna Suggests Elizabeth Warren As A Candidate To Replace Justice John Paul Stevens On The Supreme Court (VIDEO)

I think Warren might be too conservative ... ehem.



I can't see supporting her.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

16 Porn Parodies Based On Beloved Sitcoms (NSFW Video)

I can see "The Brady Bunch", but "The Partridge Family"?



I mean, come on, is nothing sacred?
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Daniel Gross: America's Amazing Comeback

More happy talk, nothing has fundamentally changed with the structural problems of the global economy since the crisis in 2008. Massive amounts of stimulus money have been dropped into the global economy to buy time for this economic "Prague Spring" we are experiencing. When the impact of multinational stimulus intervention wears off then lets talk the wonder of the American economy.
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Interest Rates: The Era Of Cheap Credit Is Over

The world needs the American consumer. No other culture on earth would allow itself to go bankrupt accumulating Fred Flintstone Chia Pets like Americans.



Without jobs, without cheap credit, there is no American Consumer.



Maybe the US Government or the IMF should just start cutting all of us weekly checks to keep us spending on crap we never needed in the first place, otherwise the Anglo/American vision of a global economy is done for.
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Wal-Mart Cutting Prices On EVERYTHING

"THE REASON: Analysts say the cuts are Wal-Mart's way of responding to toughened competition. The company's fourth-quarter report showed store traffic dropped."



The reason is we are in a Depression, people don't have jobs, are afraid of losing their jobs, and have experienced wage stagnation for decades ... in short, Americans are finding themselves tapped out and don't have the resources to blow in WalMart's Emporium of Chinese Made Kitsch they once had.
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Glenn Beck Believes Gay Handicapped Black Female Immigrant Will Be Obama's Supreme Court Nominee

Beck would probably prefer a pale, semi-literate, refugee from The Morning Zoo, with bad hemorrhoids, a White Board, and a cretinous following that inspires within him delusions of grandeur ...



Just a guess.
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Alan Grayson Confronts GOP For Spying On Democratic Gathering (VIDEO)

"Politics and Poker, Politics and Poker

Shuffle up the cards and find the Joker.

Neither games for children

Either game is rough

Decisions, decisions ... Like

Who to pick? How to play? What to bet?

When to call a bluff."



Fine hand Mr. La Guardia ... er ... Grayson.
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Obama Administration Missed Chance To Get Tougher On Unsafe Mines

A strong, decisive President who didn't feel the need to capitulate on every issue ... like, say, Theodore Roosevelt, or FDR ... would have mine owners and managers lawyered up or diving out of windows right now.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Two-Party System at Risk

Excellent post, Sir. May I say that the only thing that will save the GOP at this point is the influence of actual Republicans. I don't think these ideologues have any interest in what the Republican party actually stands for and only uses it as a vehicle to further their myopic aims.
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Gingrich: Obama 'Most Radical President In American History' (VIDEO)

Gingrich wastes so many syllables trying to get his message across. Why doesn't Newt just say what he means.



"The President is black and that is bad."



I hear the dog whistle associated with "the most radical president in American history". Playing the race card is all the GOP has left to corral the denizens of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh who comprise what remains of their party's base.
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Michelle Bachmann: Tea Party And GOP Are 'Merging'

Merging into an orgy of idiots.
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The Confederacy: Kill the Myth Once and For All

Mr. Schweitzer, to put a fine point on it, there is no difference between the Confederacy and the British of 1814 who burned Washington, the Imperial Japanese of 1941 who bombed Pearl Harbor, or Al Qaeda of 2001 that destroyed the World Trade Center. I prefer not to romanticize American enemies in anyway. The Confederacy was an enemy of the United States of America not worthy of anymore commemoration than the Viet Cong. As for saluting Confederate Generals, Yamashita, the Japanese "Tiger of Malaya", was a fine General as well, but we still hanged him.
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Harry Reid Tells Nevada Voters: 'I Need Your Help'

Harry Reid's predicament is due to the problem with mortgages and the drop off in the entertainment economies of the two key Democrat strongholds in Nevada of Reno/Sparks and Las Vegas/Paradise ... the rest of the state is basically John Birch territory. Had Reid championed and strong-armed through the Senate consumer friendly mortgage legislation forcing Banks to write down principal and renegotiate mortgage terms then he wouldn't find himself with his back against the wall now. I understand that the Senate represents corporations more than people, but people, currently, elect the Senators. Reid should have been Machiavellian and thrown the Banks and Wall Street under the bus to save his skin and didn't.



Don't tell me it was Reid's stand on Health Care Reform that sank him, he forgot that all politics is local, and it was no secret that the very areas he relies on for re-election were suffering the worst during the economic crisis. I'm sure the Democrats of Reno/Sparks and Las Vegas/Paradise who have lost their jobs, homes or are heading towards that condition are wondering what the upside of Reid as Majority Leader of the Senate was for them. Therein. lies Reid's problem.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Bernanke: Financial Crisis 'Largely Behind Us'

I don't think we can trust any information coming from the Fed, because the institution is culpable in what occurred with the economy. Any information coming from Bernanke should be considered as biased as that of any trade organization spin.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Privatization or Public-ization?

"There's a lot of talk these days about the growing support for a privatization of America's public school system, and what it augurs over the long haul. "



It's bad enough the influence the State of Texas has on school curriculum nationally. I can't wait to see the future of America's students when the US Chamber of Commerce is deciding what they learn.



The push for privatization intimates that the US Government is incompetent to run major enterprises, and that Teachers Unions are the problem with US Education when the fact is the poor state of public education rests primarily on poor American parenting skills.



It maybe the goal of your piece to build a bridge between factions, but how is "Public-ization" of school systems, in essence taking public funds to underwrite private enterprise, any different than mandating people to buy a for profit health insurance policy from private industry? What these trends signify to me is that the "Free Market" from the corporate perspective is dead and the business model now requires raiding public coffers in order to meet investors expectations.



In other words, "public-ization" has nothing to do with the education of America's children.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Giuliani's Obama-Nuke Critique Defies And Ignores Reagan

Giuliani's rhetorical technique resembles a toddler reaching into its diaper, grabbing a fistful of content, and hurling it about its playpen.
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Greenspan Testifies To Financial Crisis Commission, Blames Fannie, Freddie For Subprime Crisis (LIVEBLOG, VIDEO)

Greenspan is in CYA mode, pointing fingers in all directions. The bottom line is the economic system that he and his buddy Milton Friedman advocated for was a fraud. These guys made their fortune telling rich and powerful people exactly what they wanted to hear to the detriment of the rest of the US, and arguably global, population.
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A Sinking Ship of State

Since the patriots of Afghanistan now seem to be the Taliban it seems that Karzai is reading the tea leaves and playing politician to save his skin. Karzai was put in power due to his western appeal, former VP of Unocal and all, and as President of Afghanistan has never had much influence outside of the area of Kabul in which he resides. I wouldn't blame Obama for turning the Taliban from outcasts to major players after 9/11 attacks ... that was the Bush Administration's doing.



Karzai is hearing footsteps and there is nothing the United States can do to change that. The President of Afghanistan is definitely a problem for Obama, but not one of his own making.
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Greenspan Testifies To Financial Crisis Commission, Blames Fannie, Freddie For Subprime Crisis (LIVEBLOG, VIDEO)

"My experience has been, in the business I was in I was right 70 percent of the time, but I was wrong 30 percent of the time and there are an awful lot of mistakes in 21 years."



If a surgeon displayed same degree of excellence he would find himself on the Christmas lists of a whole lot of undertakers.
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Adam Carolla Angers Philippines With Rant About Pacquiao, Sex Tourism (AUDIO)

Question 1 - Who is Adam Carolla and why does anyone care what he has to say?



Question 2 - Why should the Filipinos care anymore about what an American has to say about their country than a Spaniard has to say about their country? Same difference.



Question 3 - Why is American Floyd Mayweather Jr afraid to fight Manny Pacquiao?
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Heidi Montag's Plastic Surgery Prevents Her From Hugging, Jogging

"Ms Montag, Madame Tussauds on line two."
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Tiger Woods Masters Press Conference: 'I Lied To Myself'

Professional Golf deserves Tiger Woods as its spokes model.
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U.S. Troops Killed Afghan Women, Then Dug Bullets Out Of Their Bodies To Cover It Up

I am a cynical person. My commentary on humanity tends to be dark. I knew the stories of Marines removing the gold teeth from their Japanese kills in the Pacific during WWII. I know about My Lai. This is so disgusting and soulless an act that it is beyond comprehension.



The wise thing would be for the United States to exit Afghanistan swiftly. Americans, however, aren't wise. We are incapable of doing good in Afghanistan. We are incapable of winning hearts and minds in the Islamic world. We are incapable of depriving Al Qaeda of safe havens and new recruits



We have failed. We should leave.



We won't.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Geithner Delays Congressional Currency Report To Avoid Insulting China

China holds all the cards because the US Government of Wall Street marked the cards and gifted China with them and a blank rulebook.



I think whether the US or Iceland released a currency report China would act with the same public bluster, while understanding it holds the reins in the situation.
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Talx Corporation: Contesting Jobless Claims Becomes A Boom Industry

People have to think about what "Safety Net" really means. The "Safety Net" applies to the stability of society in general not to bailing out individuals who are down on their luck. In order for societies to function, especially ones with highly developed economies as the United States has, it is imperative that people continue to acknowledge and follow the rules and stay within the social boundaries. If you cutoff people form even a minimal source of income in order to pay for the bare necessities of life you imbue the dispossessed with a sense of desperation that it is difficult to control. People may think that the 2nd Amendment will protest them from transgressors, but if violence becomes commonplace then people with income are going to become less likely to risk trips into public, and even people going to work are going to have second thoughts ... how does that aide an unstable economic situation?



The "Safety Net's" purpose is to keep society civil, not to provide charity. No policing apparatus on earth is going to be successful keeping a lid on armed, desperate citizens with families deprived of food and shelter. Americans need to get down off their high horse and recognize human condition for what it is. If the US Government lets the stability of the country get away from them it is not going to lead to a return to prosperity anytime soon.
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iPad Goes On Sale

The long term impact of this tablet technology, especially in the areas of application in education, is profound and may signal the death of hard copy textbooks, and domination of K-12 educational curriculum developed for and by Texas, and inflicted on students across the country. In terms of personal use, however, I believe it to be an expensive novelty item.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Top Fed Official Wants To Break Up Megabanks, Stop The Fed From Guaranteeing Wall Street's Profits [EXCLUSIVE]

"Called the idea that the U.S. needs megabanks to compete globally a "fantasy";"



The baseline problem is that in the era of globalism there are no "American Banks." There are banking brands that are historically associated with America, but are really no more American than Toyota is.
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More Evidence Emerges That Pope Benedict Helped Shield Pedophiles Before He Became Pope

None of this stuff is new. It was the abuses of the Spanish Friars in the Philippines that cost Spain its colony there in 1898. Inside the Vatican they are probably saying "What's the big deal?"
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Jamie Dimon: The Most Dangerous Man In America

Power is a Drug and Wall Street is a regular shooting gallery.



I doubt any American would allow a heroin addict to run their household, but we allow individuals of the same character and motivation to run our society.
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Obama Should Channel Roosevelt To Battle Wall Street

I had high hopes that Obama would emerge as a TR type President, but in reality it seems for Obama pragmatism trumps vision. Theodore Roosevelt was a visionary, who fought for what he perceived was necessary to manifest his vision for the United States. I think TR would view the Health Insurance 'Reform" debacle as an abysmal failure. When it was obvious that there was a problem with health and quality standards at American meatpacking plants, after reading Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle', he didn't ask permission of the industries' corrupt leaders to change things ... he pushed through the Pure Food and Drug Act over their screams and protests. When TR felt the need to protect America's dwindling natural frontier, he signed millions of acres into protected status, over the protests of industrialists, and until Congress voted to take the pen from his hand in terms of his right to protect lands. When JP Morgan came to the White House with a list of demands, TR stared him down and reminded him that the United States of America wasn't a junior partner to US Steel.



As I said, I had high hopes for Obama, but, like Bill Clinton, I fear he is more of a Grover Cleveland than an Theodore Roosevelt. Although Obama and TR both attended Harvard, I think that is where the similarities end.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Media Drills Vapidity On Drilling Into Our Faces (VIDEO)

My problem with Obama is despite his marketing as a "Change President", practically speaking, he has only displayed interest in reinforcing and further entrenching the status quo. Furthermore, polls of Americans on oil drilling or any issue of importance to the United States are meaningless to me, because, to put a fine point on it, Americans are some of the most ignorant people on Earth, and while they might be for this or that odds are they can't explain to you why.



All that an expansion of oil drilling means is that there should be no expectation of any but the most cosmetic of innovations coming from then United States in terms of energy, This is sad, for without innovation America reverts to a pre-Spanish American War footprint in the world.



And why, at this point, we are expecting any coverage of value from the Private Press, and still respond as overawed when they blow yet another story's areas of relevance boggles me. We act as though the media works for us ... they don't.
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Rachel Maddow's 37th Birthday: What's Your Favorite Maddow Moment? (VIDEO)

Giving Rachel a show was one of the best moves MSNBC ever made.
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Are Moderates No Longer Welcome In The Republican Party?

I think the United States would be better off with multiple parties and a coalition style government. The two-party system freezes out new ideas and limits the influence of the population in favor of maintaining the status quo. There probably should be a Conservative Party in addition to the Republican Party, and, for that matter, there should probably be a Progressive Party in addition to the Democrats.
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Lieberman: "Nothing" Better Than Public Option (VIDEO)

Lieberman is a real piece of ... work.
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Geithner On Meet The Press: Worried Banks May Be Too Timid

"A bright spot in the recovery identified by Geithner is the banking system, which he said is "dramatically more stable" because of the government bailout."



As long as you ignore the trillions of dollars in bad paper the Bank's are holding but aren't required to report as part of their bottom line.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

"TARP on Steroids"

David, Wall Street and the US Government are responsible for a fraud cloud of 500 trillion plus dollars in derivatives infecting the Global Economy ... a bubble that they can't afford to allow to pop because it would indiscriminately wipe out fortunes and Government treasuries around the world. Even in a best case scenario where they could deflate that cloud in a controlled fashion ... with the help of US Taxpayer dollars ... there will be some huge losers. Currently the situation is like having ten thousand people thinking they have the same right to bite of a ham sandwich.



The cynic in me thinks that Wall Street, the Fed, and the Treasury know that there will be some monumental losers, but they want to use Taxpayer dollars as a sort of throttle in order to insure that payouts are made to a chosen few before the whole Ponzi Scheme collapses.



A scary thought, but then this is Halloween ... Trick or Treat?
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Ed Schultz: Obama Would "Sell His Soul" For GOP Support On Health Care (VIDEO)

How President Obama handles this will determine whether or not he will be a one or two term President. I see Rahm has got him moving into full DLC Triangulation mode and that is not what won the White House for Obama. I don't recall the campaign slogan being:



"The Audacity of Capitulation".



And before the Democrats think they can win in 2010 and 2012 without the Left, which is what the situation will be if the President caves on the Public Option, the White House better remember that in terms of grass root participation and energy "Moderate Activism" is an oxymoron.
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Dierdre Scozzafava Drops Out Of NY House Race

The Cockfight is over? Too bad. Now the Republicans of NY-23 have to decide if they want a Right-Wing Carpetbagger, with his Conservative Clown Cortege, who doesn't understand their District, representing them.



Do the Republicans of Upstate New York really have the mindset of those from South Carolina?
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A Sad Day for Californians: Gavin Newsom's Withdrawl from the Race for Governor

I think California really needs Jerry Brown at this point, primarily because having been Governor before he understands how to work with the unique challenges of the State's political process. We don't need a novice who is going to spend their whole term complaining about the system, we need a Governor who understands how to make the system work.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Brian Williams From Afghanistan: How Kabul Changed Overnight, What The Troops Think, & Why He Had To Go

Excellent interview. I'm glad Huffpo was able to score it.



My instinct is that the United States would like to get to a state similar to South Korea, Japan or the Philippines in terms of occupying Afghanistan an Iraq. That would be that you keep troops in the countries for decades so that both the citizens in the occupied countries can't remember a time when they weren't occupied by the United States and the people of the United States forget they are occupying the country. Occupation becomes status quo for both sides. The US has an occupation force of 47000 in Japan. and 25000 in South Korea. There are only a few hundred stationed in the Philippines now, but from 1898 until 1992 the United States occupied the Philippines with multiple bases and tens of thousands of troops.



I'm sure the US Government wants to just create a situation in Afghanistan that isn't perfect, but is tolerable enough so the American people to put much thought into the situation any longer, and they can settle in for a decades long stay.
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Dennis Kucinich Wants His Single-Payer Provision Reinstated In Health Bill

The States should have the right to decide the best approach for their citizens, put Kucinich's Single-Payer provision back in ... why are the Democrats having such a hard time meeting the needs of the citizens who elected them to office?



If our elected officials would rather be Prostitutes than Public Servants let them move to Nevada and set up shop ... but if you are talking Evan Bayh, Ben Nelson, Max Baucus, or Joe Lieberman in fishnets, don't expect me buzzing the Cathouse doorbell anytime soon.
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Jeb Bush: Obama Trying To "Attack Capitalism"

The Bush Family has no sense and no shame.
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Fox News Ratings Undamaged By White House War

Let me get this straight here.



The millions of viewers of Fox "News", who hate the President of the United States to start with and likely represent the voters who didn't vote for him last November, are suddenly going to stop watching Fox "News" when the White House of the President they hate suddenly calls them on their Right Wing Propaganda? I mean, Fox "News" viewers are watching BECAUSE of the Right Wing propaganda. I doubt the opinion of the White House is going to change their viewing habits.
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Pelosi To Dems: Time To Take A Stand On Public Option

As far as the Public Option is concerned we simply can't accept "No" for an answer ... We should be fighting for Single Payer right now, but the President and the Democrats already ceded that ground to the opposition. Also, the Democrats have do understand that the excuse "We did the best we could" holds no water. If the Democrats cave on the Public Option the party becomes no more relevant than the Republicans.



And I am pretty sure I won't be the only Progressive taking note of Democrats that vote against the Publc Option. I will support any candidate from either party that delivers the "Vichy Dem" backstabbers their Pink Slips their next election cycle..
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Senate Finance Committee Health Care Vote Today

I think Senator Snowe did herself a favor. Even if she votes against the final bill she can say to her constituents that are pro Health Care Reform that it was her support that got the Bill out of committee (for how long do you think Baucus would have stalled the process trying to get a Republican to vote with him so he could claim it was a bi-partisan effort?).



And when she votes against the final Bill she can tell her constituents that are anti-reform that she just couldn't go through with supporting a Final Bill she couldn't believe in.



I don't think Senator Snowe is going to be much of a story on this going forward ... she already covered all her bases.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Rahm: Dems Attacking Other Dems Are "Fucking Stupid"

Rahm is just being silly.



He knows this isn't about "Dems attacking other Dems", this is about a corporatis­t-conserva­tive DLC Chief of Staff to the President (Him) trying to intimidate Liberal/Progressive Activists into backing down on their obviously successful attack ads against his kennel of Blue Dog Vichy Dems. I'm sure Rahm believes that by dropping the F-Bomb he will be able to frighten the effete Libs into backing down and cowering in the corner with their glasses of Chardonnay ... but I don't think it works that way with the current batch of progressives. That's not the MO of MoveOn.



See, Conservative is Conservative whether it is of the Democrat or Republican variety, I feel Conservative Democrats and Republicans have done enough damage to this Nation over the last 30 years ... my guess is the Progressives Rahm was swearing at feel that way too.

I doubt they back down from his tantrum.



And just to make Rahm happy, I plan on sending a donation to the Republican opponent of Blue Dog Democrat Mike Ross of District 4 Arkansas who was just crowing with pride over killing Single Payer in the House Bill. See, Congressman Ross doesn't share my values so a Republican might as well have his seat.



Talk dirty to me, Rahm.
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Tampa Town Hall On Health Care Reform Disrupted By Violence (VIDEO)

America the Beautiful



"O beautiful, for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain!

America! America! God shed His grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.



O beautiful, for pilgrim feet

Whose stern, impassioned stress

A thoroughfare for freedom beat

Across the wilderness!

America! America! God mend thine ev'ry flaw;

Confirm thy soul in self control, thy liberty in law!



O beautiful, for heroes proved

In liberating strife,

Who more than self their country loved

And mercy more than life!

America! America! May God thy gold refine,

Till all success be nobleness, and ev'ry gain divine!



O beautiful, for patriot dream

That sees beyond the years,

Thine alabaster cities gleam

Undimmed by human tears!

America! America! God shed His grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea!"





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_the_Beautiful
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Limbaugh: "Adolf Hitler, Like Barack Obama, Ruled By Dictate" (AUDIO)

Double Think:



"The power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them....To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies — all this is indispensably necessary. Even in using the word doublethink it is necessary to exercise doublethink. For by using the word one admits that one is tampering with reality; by a fresh act of doublethink one erases this knowledge; and so on indefinitely, with the lie always one leap ahead of the truth."



Rush Limbaugh is a master of it.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doublethink
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DC Tea Party Protest Shut Down By Secret Service, Package Thrown Over White House Fence (VIDEO)

For those on the Right that thinks President Obama is such a Socialist/Fascist/Communist/Terrorist/Muslim/ Dictator ... let me give you a reality check.



I once met an Iraqi Exile who told me of an incident when Saddam was in power that is illustrative of how brutal dictators operate. According to this gentleman there was a well paved thoroughfare surrounding Saddam's Palace (one of the only smoothly paved roads in Baghdad, and the only road with stop lights as well). There was a driveway that led through the gates and up to the Palace. So the story goes a car turns off the road onto the driveway, past the guard station heading towards the palace. The guards at the gate start riddling the car with machine gun bullets, to be joined by guards on the palace roof that unleash on the unauthorized car with 50 caliber machine gun bullets. The smoking car, Swiss cheese at this point, slows to a stop in the middle of the driveway and a wounded individual exits the car and is quickly dispatched. Incident over.



The guards reward for their actions? The guards at the gate were ordered executed for allowing the car past them. The guards manning the 50 caliber machine guns were ordered executed because despite the number of bullets they pumped into the car someone was still capable to exit it.



This is an example of how a Brutal Fascist Dictator handles disturbances at his home.
About Tax Day Tea Parties
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The Problems of Nationalizing the Banks Remain

Hale, my problem is that off book toxic assets are not factored into the true health picture of the banks, and without that data it makes it hard to gauge the proper approach to their fate. I mean, the Banks may seem to be in good shape sans the toxic assets data, but that is an unreasonably rosy picture.



I was for Nationalization of Banks initially, but your arguments adjusted my opinion on that. William K Black, in his interview with Bill Moyers, mentioned that receivership, which I believe the FDIC engaged in twice this weekend alone, never ceased to be an option for the Big Banks as well. I do not believe a prolonged period of Government Control would be appropriate for the Banks because of issues you raised, but going forward in the current approach isn't feasible in the long term either.



How about this? What if the Government were to take these big Financial Services Corporations into receivership long enough to split them up into their Banking, Insurance, and Investment lines and then relinquish control? Currently we have a situation where money is given to aid the banks but is finding its way into the Investment loss area ... I'm thinking that is why we aren't seeing the kind of success from TARP we had hoped. If we split the Banking units off, money given to the Banks will stay with the Banks.
About Economy
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