"America has lost a patriotic veteran" - Chris Van Hollen
It’s not just that he was a 37 year veteran of the United States Navy Marines. It not just that he was the Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. It’s not just that he was the first Viet Nam combat vet elected to serve in Congress. He loved his job. He loved his fellow veterans and he loved the men and women in uniform that he did his best to support to the bitter end. He loved his constituents and his home state. By all reports, he was a good husband and family man. According to Chris Van Hollen, of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, he was the longest-serving Representative for the State of Pennsylvania. While the Washington Post may paint him as a master of pork barrel politics, so what? Isn’t that part of the job for any congressman, to bring home the bacon? Dead at 77 from complications after gall-bladder surgery, this blogger is calling for an investigation into his death. People just don’t die after having their gall bladders removed.
John Murtha will go down in history as the man who said,”No!” in a voice that was loud and clear to George W. Bush and his fiasco of a war in Iraq. He was the man with the credentials, clout and respect on both side of the aisle to say to Bush2, “Enough is enough. Time to call it quits.” Hopefully his death will shake some sense into Obama, Pelosi and Reid, and remind them why so many elected them into power; that is, to end this fiasco of a war that has torn our country apart with partisan politics and dragged our economy into a sink hole. Speaking of Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, what I like to call the People’s Chamber, she owes her career to him. He nurtured her and showed her the ropes. When it came time to pass around the leadership positions under Speakership, Steny Hoyer of Maryland got Majority Leader, snubbing Murtha because of the sound of skeletons bumping into each other in Murtha’s closet. He took it with grace. He one of a dying breed. Career politicians who bring a passion for governance with them when they swear that oath to protect the Constitution and to serve their constituents in the People’s Chamber. John Murtha, you remind me why I would never serve in the Senate. It’s too lofty for the likes of folks like us. May the wind always be at your back. May the road rise to meet you.
But I’ll be back, to borrow a phrase from my Governator, Arnold Schwartzeneger. I’m like a dragon in its den. When I emerge, I’ll be spitting fire and brimestone on the GOP, aka the Party of No. So watch out, yea tea-bagging SOBs. I’ve got you in my cross-hairs.
The political landscape is too depressing for me to participate anymore. Dialogue is dead, replaced by invectives, insults and lies. I blame Fox News for a major portion of this downfall in political discussion. When I was a kid, I used to watch Agronsky and Company. Nobody shouted each other down. It was an example of what “Fair and Balanced” means. Fox puts those words on its masthead in the same way that the main news outlet in Soviet Russia was named Pravda, the Russian word meaning “truth.” One should take it for granted that a news outlet is doing its best to be fair and balanced.
Before the show was called Agronsky and Company, it was called “Look Here.” The format was different…more like Barbara Walters but with real content.
This is a clip from the old days. It’s funny how Martin Agronsky asked if the baby was “a son” would he encourage the child to play a role in politics? Kudos to YouTuber WeSawThat. Please subscribe to his site. He’s one of the good guys.
Watch this CNN sound bite where the Republican Senator from Idaho quotes an imaginary poll that says America is 2 to 1 against “this bill.” Of course he is talking about the health care reform bill that the Senate just passed, sadly down strictly partisan lines. To watch Mike Crapo get caught with his pants down, please follow this link.
The truth is that CNN conducted a poll that shows a 6% jump in support of the President and an equal number who support the Senate bill. Unlike many right-wing “think tanks” and noise outlets, CNN is giving the public free access to the wording of the questions, the answers and their methodology. It’s in a nice pdf file: only five pages long, including the cover page.
Christmas dinner
The nice thing about being a blogger, especially a nearly invisible, Liberal blogger, is that it gives me the leeway to admit mistakes, and even change my mind. Yesterday while I was waiting to go over to my delightful (no satire) in-law’s for Christmas dinner, Robin was cooking in the kitchen. She contributed to the feast by making stuffed zucchini and cranberry sauce. So delicious! She was wearing her iPod and listening to an audiobook. In other words, she was in the zone, and not to be interrupted with my political blathering. The cats were asleep and they are all fully armed with 20 claws. So in other words, it was up to me to find amusement. It was then that I went to one of my favorite sites on the web, Truthdig, and read an op-ed piece that made me think twice about my Young Turks induced rant, It’s all over but the crying. The op-ed was written by Bill Boyarsky and called, The Deadly Cost of Blocking Health Care Reform.
Loose cannon
After I read the piece, I sat back and thought. Then I thought some more. “Hey!” I said to myself. “This Boyarsky fellow may very well be on to something. Do I want to stand shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Crapo? Or even worse, Michael Steele and Sarah Palin?” Howard Dean often comes across as a likeable fellow, say when he’s guest hosting the Rachel Maddow Show. But he is also the proverbial loose cannon. When he looses his temper and starts running his yap, duck and cover immediately; otherwise, you are bound to be sprayed with a shower of venomous spittle. The Senate bill has flaws. So did the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960 signed into law by Eisenhower. But they were start. A good start.
Happy New Year!
Passing this legislation will save lives. As more of the provisions kick in, the American people will realize that, while flawed, this bill is actually a good piece of legislation. This will be the first substantive health care reform passed since 1965. Think about that for a minute. If this bill isn’t signed into law in 2010, then we can kiss change good-bye in our lifetime. Back to the CNN poll. Time is on the side of those who want change. Those who oppose change are mostly old. Those in favor of change are mostly young. That demographic element speaks morbidly for itself. Those who favor change are poor, while those who oppose it are rich. As more and more Americans slip into poverty, the GOP will have much to answer for. All they’ve done is to throw everything but kitchen sink at this bill in a desperate effort to kill health care reform. Their strategy has been short-sighted, as it always is. All they are thinking about is 2010 and winning some seats in Congress; or, 2012 and stealing the White House away from President Obama.
Now is the time I prophesy! Before the end of 2010, the economy is going to bounce back stronger than ever. Rather than lose seats in the Senate, the Democratic Party will gain seats, one or two. The Dems may lose five or six seats in the House, but not enough to make any substantial difference on the dynamics of power in the People’s Chamber. As for 2012, look for a landslide victory for Obama! He will claim a mandate from the American people to continue the work of undoing all those years of Republican misgovernment. Look for the withdrawal of American troops from the Arab Nation. More on the demilitarization of the U.S. on my next post.
Our only hope now is Pelosi and the progressives in the House. I am so pissed off at Obama that I may back anybody against him in the primaries. He just handed the White House over to the Republicans in 2012. Unless the House of Representatives remove the deficiencies and boondoggles of the Senate version, the GOP will point at Obama and say – See how he screwed up health care. I have to call my representative now, Diane Watson now to report my outrage!
Diane Watson
Follow up: Well, at least we know that Congresswoman Diane Watson, my Top 10 list of living heroes, is not a Grinch. She’s given her staff a week off for the Holidays. I must wait until January 4 to get through to her.
Here one thing that people can do. Below is the address and phone number of the Republican Party of Los Angeles. Start demonstrating in front of their office today and every day until they stop trying to screw the American people. This is the party that fought child labor laws, environmental protection, and everything else that takes pennies out the pockets of millionaire Executives. This is the party that killed health care reform.
Republican Party of Los Angeles County
1903 W. Magnolia Blvd
Burbank, CA 91506
Phone: (818)558-7600
Fax: (818)558-6717
Here’s a picture of their Leader, Ms. Jane Barnett:
Another face of evil
Remember if you see her on the street, or driving in her mega-giant SUV, to ask her why she doesn’t care about her children and grandchildren’s futures. Maybe she doesn’t have any. Maybe that is why she doesn’t care if women’s reproductive rights are stolen from them.
INTERNATIONAL EDITION
Look at Romainia’s new President. It’s funny how the collar of the man behind him makes him look like he has horns. The Anti-Christ, as foretold in the Book of Revelations? You decide.
Who’s to blame for the death of health care reform? Perhaps this obituary is being written too soon, but Politicogogo is not holding its breath for a substantive bill that changes anything. The Republican Party, with its obstructioninst tactics? President Obama for not showing enough leadership? The Senator for Aetna (Lieberman) who promised to do all he could to kill it? Ben Nelson, Senator from Nebraska because of his anti-woman stance on abortion? There’s a lot of blame to go around. I’m afraid that when the chips are down, the political landscape will change since Obama’s presidential victory. Oh, how happy we all were on that evening on November 2008 when the results were in, McCain conceded the race and Sarah Palin got on her broom and flew back to Wasilla to stir her cauldron.
The more I research this question, the more I point my finger at the Senator from Aetna. His Political Action Committee (PAC), during the 2008 Presidential race gave $5,000 to the McCain campaign. Not bothering to hedges his bets, Obama didn’t get one thin dime. Interesting, no? Now one might say, 5K? That’s peanuts. Yes, but that’s the most a PAC can contribute to a candidate and it shows where Lieberman, supposedly a Democratic Party member, threw his support. Just click on the image below and see for yourself.
Do you want to be heard by the officials who represent you in the Senate? Save yourself the aggravation; don’t try to call ANY Senator’s office. All you will get are busy signals, or the most irritating of all, the all-ciruits-are-busy message. Interestingly, the only Senator thus far to make an attempt at accessibility is good ol’ Senator Byrd, who personally left a message on his voicemail system, asking me to leave my name, phone number, etc. God bless the Senator from West Virginia
Senator from Aetna
The way money changes hands in Washington is Byzantine, to say the least. My hats off to Open Secrets dot-com for their tireless work in exposing who is giving what to whom. But the situation changes from day to day and hour to hour. Now the party of obstruction is threatening a filabuster against funding the wars they started in Afghanastan and Iraq. According to the Washington Post, the Republican Senator from Kansas Brownback said just this evening (Dec 17) “I don’t want health care.” Unfortunately I’m only six younger than Brownback, so its a toss up if I’ll ever outlive him, but I want to be in that room when he’s on his deathbed and scream in his face, “Do you want health care now, you son of a bitch?”
At the end of the day, I blame our President. Mr. Obama, you did not get your priorities right. First of all, you should have pulled us out of these disasterous wars that continue to drag our economy into the gutter and only serve to profit our creditor nations (China and India for the most part) and war profiteers like Halburton (Cheney’s little neck of the haunted forest). Once these distraction were out of the way, then you could have used the peace dividend to help fund health care reform. I voted for you because I want peace. Peace in Iraq and Afghanistan, the second of which is a theater of war nobody has ever won, not the ruthless redcoats of the Raj, nor the stinking Soviets of the Seventies.
Like the maker of this video, I don’t consider Sarah Palin a joke. I think she is dangerous. America is on the brink of falling into totalitarianism. Such a pretty face to plaster on the sides of buildings, she’d make the perfect American version of the cult of the personality. Cheney is an intelligent man who easily shredded our Constitution. Using his behavior as a template, even this bimbo should have no trouble doing the same with even more disastrous results. What I particularly love about this video is that it shows her medieval philosophy in bold : God is on my side; therefore, I shall prevail. Then when she loses the election, she shrugs it off, still holding up God as her banner. Isn’t that why our ancestors fled Europe in droves, to escape this fusion of the state with religion? Near the end of the video, she reveals her sore loser mentality. The interviewer asks if she will address Obama as Mr. President, she says all this crap about supporting him, etc. but she never comes out and says, “Yes.”
At the end of the video, the viewer should note that she is wearing a pin that reads, Alaska. I wonder how many weeks this was before she resigned as its governor? Her political fund-raising campaign, disguised as a book tour, rolled through key battleground states for the 2012 presidential election. Her multimillion dollar book advance in pocket, insiders from her camp reveal that she is receiving approximately $200,000 for speechifying. That’s right, for every five speeches, she’s pocketing another million. Money equals power. She’s already said that in the upcoming elections, she plans to do her best to support candidates that share her worldview. Unless something drastic happens between now and next Autumn, look for packs (forgive the pun) of desperate neocon candidates begging her just to show up at a fund-raiser. SarahPAC will also be dolling out dollars, not to any charities, but to ultra right religious zealouts. I mention the charaties because Governor Palin did say that she would donate proceeds from the book to charity. She never named any and I haven’t heard anybody shout, “Oh, wow! Sarah Palin just helped feed all these hungry children!”
Thus when 2012 rolls around, there will be a phenomenal base of support for the lady who brought winking to a new level. So is Sarah Palin a Nazi?
You betcha!
"Sieg Sarah"
p.s. I saw recently that Newsmax is giving away copies of the book, Going Rogue, authored by Lynn Vincent - senior writer for the conservative Christian publication World Magazine. For those who are unaware, Newsmax is a neoConservative news aggregator, shall we say?
Republican faux outrage: John Boehner, Virginia Foxx, Eric Cantor, Jean Schmidt
It never ceases to amaze me how much raw power Rush Limbaugh exerts over the Republican Party. After the Michael Steele fiasco, he’s got them all running for dark corners like roaches in the light of day! Whenever someone confronts them with one of his more outrageous remarks, they scuttle off with the speed of six legs. Gone are the days when our representatives were accessible. God forbid that they answer one question that isn’t scripted. They might say something to piss off Rush.
You really have to hand it to Stark. He really knows how to stroke the egos of these hare brained neocons. You can see Boner’s head swell like he’s got hydrocephalus when Stark refers to him as the “most powerful republican in the country right now.” Good show. I can’t imagine how hard it must be to get any kind of access to the Cowardly Congressmen.
The vote was close, but Al Franken won the election to the U.S. Senate. And thank God he did. Every time I hear him speak, I am more impressed.
Sen. Franken delivered his second speech on the Senate floor. The topic was the urgent need for comprehensive health care reform. As the Senate prepares to bring a health care reform bill to the floor, Sen. Franken delivered his first speech on the issue to define his priorities as he participates in this debate.
Watch Senator Franken hand the despicable Ann Coulter her hate, I mean to say, hat. Her remark about skin color I find the most disgusting and disturbing part of this clip. I wonder if those “brown paint chips” she pointed out were similar to Timothy McVeigh’s skin color? Look at her face around 4:40 in this video. Her rebuttal, “I’m not prepared to talk about Ann Coulter!” is about the most moronic response I’ve ever heard when one’s been called out on a blatant lie. Then of course, she falls back on the same lame excuse every time someone calls her on her shit. “That’s taken out of context!” Note my use of exclamation points every time I quote this stupid bitch. Well, I think her manner of speech is hyper-emotional, to say the least. Let’s take a look, shall we?
But Ann Coulter is not as smart as some might think. I’m guessing she’s just another C student spouting lies from the hole where she should be inserting pies. Yes, we all know that she went to law school, but if Bush2 can get an MBA from Harvard, that rather downgrades a law degree from anywhere, including Harvard. Without being facetious, I would not be surprised if she died from complications due to anorexia nervosa. Not that that would be any loss to the world.
I wish this guy would die today! Horribly abusive behavior. Jesus freaks abound the world over. Fight back! Don’t let strangers harrass you and call you names! Here this man with an Australian-like accent abuses this young, impressionable woman who clearly grew up in the projects. So what if her Mom thinks she was reincarnated? It’s no business of Mr. Microphone. I wish and pray that one of these guys would try that on me. “Have you ever lied?” etc. He might find himself in the ER with a team of doctors debating the best way to remove that microphone from his rectum. The insults he tosses the poor girl’s way are sick making. Clearly she’s under-educated, insecure and not too bright; so he exploits her in the worst way.
PoliticoGoGo is an opinion blog. Based in the United States of America, its worldview is global. Politics - dirty, gritty, mud-slinging and distasteful is unwelcome at polite cocktail parties. This isn't a cocktail party. This is survival - global warming, public health and media-opolies are just a few of the issues we address.
