Sunday, October 31, 2010
Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear draws up to 250,000.
Here's how Fox News covered the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, and some of the creative signs.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
It's hard to find fault with God's Candidates.
As we are being told now by the likes of Christine O'Donnell and Sharon Angle, God, the ultimate conservative authoritarian, has decided to take America back from the liberal tax and spend thieves. Guess he made a mistake calling so many Democrats out the last two elections.
Ron Johnson will do nothing. NOTHING, but collect a taxpayer check to add to his millions.
So what will Ron Johnson do if he becomes our next senator? No one really knows. But if the following comment on home forclosures is any indication, NOTHING. That's how the free market works, despite it's tragic consequences for families. What an election.
The Outsourcing Facts about Offshoring.
Not sure about the Democratic whining about outsourcing?
Ed Schultz talks to Scott Paul, of the American Alliance for American Manufacturing, who reveals a few important facts. Is he liberal, and can you believe him? Want to take your chances and gamble with American jobs?
Ed Schultz talks to Scott Paul, of the American Alliance for American Manufacturing, who reveals a few important facts. Is he liberal, and can you believe him? Want to take your chances and gamble with American jobs?
Murkowski on Losing Social Security Money in Private Account: "You have made that choice, not the government."
In this Rache Maddow interview, Sen. Lisa Murkowski bandies about all the reasons why we really shouldn't privatize Social Security, yet strangely, doesn't find any of those issues troubling.
Hey fact check organizations, still think there's no proof Republicans will privatize Social Security?
Maddow: "No matter how savvy you are, if you opted for it, and you had your money in there before the crash, then no matter how savvy you are as a person ...the safety nets gone."So it's better to have lost your safety net in old age if you do it yourself, than if the government does it, which is not even a remote possibility. Republicans actually believe Social Security won't be there, that it will really go bankrupt. Amazing. It's not just a rhetorical scare tactic after all.
Murkowsi: "It is, but you have made that choice, not...not your government telling you, well...sorry your on your own. I think that's the difference."
Maddow: "Ooh, that's the difference of being a safety net and not..."
Hey fact check organizations, still think there's no proof Republicans will privatize Social Security?
Friday, October 29, 2010
Tax Cuts for the Wealthy, Benefit Cuts for everyone Else. What a plan.
PolitiFact continues to ignore the available "facts" about Rep. Paul Ryan's plans for Social Security. I've emailed them about the missing data, but got back this holier than thou response:
Again, you are doing a massive disservice to the public who will in the end, be surprised when the conservative agenda to kill the New Deal is implemented and succeeds.
You are certainly free to disagree with our conclusion. However, our conclusion in this item was not based solely on the question you cite – the group making the statement did not provide any evidence, beyond guilt by association, that the candidates in question back privatizing Social Security. What’s more the state Assembly has nothing to do with Social Security.My response;
Thanks for reading.
Greg Borowski, Senior editor projects and investigations, Editor -- PolitiFact Wisconsin
It looks as though the tea party movement, the "I can take care of my own money" conservative Americans, don't want to put their money where their mouths. Go ahead, invest your Social Security cash with no government guarantees or bailout, and see what happens?Thanks for the response, but again, you’re cherry picking your facts. You didn’t “solely” base your decision on my TWO points... you chose not to use those facts when “fact checking.” Those two points are:
1. We would be bailing out private government controlled accounts for those rugged, free market individuals, if they stupidly lose money.
2. Survivor inheritance of those private accounts would take money out of Soc. Sec.!
Small items? I don’t think so. When a candidate makes the statement that those 55 and older will not see any changes, isn’t just using coded language anymore, they mean specifically to raise the age to receive benefits (reduced benefits), create personal government accounts susceptible to losses and deplete the trust fund by withdrawing the account at death (Ryan's plan).
Again, you are doing a massive disservice to the public who will in the end, be surprised when the conservative agenda to kill the New Deal is implemented and succeeds.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
The Rand Paul Stomp? Both Sides Do It-Chris Cillizza/Washington Post
Chris Matthew goes ballistic when Chris Cillizza blames the Rand Paul stomping incident, on the end of a heated election, and everyone is doing it. This is what's wrong with the press, and the one glaring moment I'll remember for a long time.
Milwaukee Democrat Sachin Chheda handles Fox News.
Milwaukee Demoratic Party leader Sachin Chheda proved liberals have a different way of dealing with the opposition. No thugs, no violence, no brownshirted security guards. Ed Schultz had the story.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Christine O'Donnell is running for "Public" Office, right? Threatens to Sue Station after interview.
I've pointed out over and over how overwhelmingly authoritarian conservatives are and got a yawn. Now, as we watch candidate after candidate avoiding public accountability for their positions and comments by not doing debates or personal appearances, some tea party candidates are going to extremes to control their message, positions and public image. Take Christine O'Donnell:
Washington Post:
Washington Post:
Christine O'Donnell's Senate campaign has apologized to a Delaware radio station for threatening to sue if the station did not destroy videotapes of an interview with the candidate, the station reported Wednesday.
During the interview, which was broadcast live and streamed on the Web on Tuesday, the Delaware Republican candidate and tea party favorite "answered a variety of questions from listeners as well as the host," according to the station, WDEL.
At the conclusion of the interview, a representative from the campaign who had been in the broadcast studio with O'Donnell asked that the video be turned over to the campaign and not released. He stated that the videotaping had not been approved by the O'Donnell campaign.
O'Donnell also told show host Rick Jensen that she would sue the radio station if the video was released. [...]
O'Donnell's campaign manager, Matt Moran, called WDEL and demanded that the video be immediately turned over to the campaign and destroyed. Moran threatened to "crush WDEL" with a lawsuit if the station didn't comply.
The station reported that an attorney representing the O'Donnell campaign contacted WDEL's law firm "to apologize for charges made by their campaign manager. The attorney agreed that there was no legal issue with the video and expressed regret for the incident."
We Don't Deserve our Entitlements, but Corporate America Does. The Odd Argument from the Right.
Corporate tax horrors have gotten a lot of traction by Republican candidates this year, again. Is zero too much? ZERO!
While we're being asked to "man up" and sacrifice entitlements that have been too generous, we're all supposed to believe that corporations should have their entitlements increased. Think about it. Rachel Maddow offers proof:
While we're being asked to "man up" and sacrifice entitlements that have been too generous, we're all supposed to believe that corporations should have their entitlements increased. Think about it. Rachel Maddow offers proof:
Republicans Prove their Campaign of Fear a Winner.
Rachel Maddow provides video clip proof there really is an effort by Republicans to sell fear. It's fear of "the other." It's a fear campaign that seems overtly obvious when you see a montage of video examples with your own eyes. And as powerful as fear mongering is, the news media seems to have a hands off policy to the very idea, treating fear as if it were completely normal response.
Rove a Washington Elite-Fmr. Gov. Mike Huckabee
I would say that there is a struggle to capture the heart and soul of the new Republican Party, but that assumes they have the former or latter.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Mitch McConnell has warned us, but will anyone notice or care?
Sen. Mitch McConnell's biggest issue, if given the chance by the American people, make Obama a one term president. That's a job creator.
Moveon.org protester Stomped by Angry Tea Party Mob. Now that's the America I remember.
Carrying a "Republicorp" Moveon.org protest sign outside the Rand Paul/Jack Conway debate, a woman activist was pushed to the ground and manhandled by angry anti-government Paul supporters. Understandable when you consider that after just two years, Democrats have destroyed the country and threatened our freedom, by providing health care to everyone.
To give you an idea of who we're dealing with in the tea party movement, the true believers, here's a couple of responses I received on YouTube in regards to the woman in this video:
It should be noted, as Thom Hartmann wrote at his site:
To give you an idea of who we're dealing with in the tea party movement, the true believers, here's a couple of responses I received on YouTube in regards to the woman in this video:
"Lauren Valle is a known street walker in Washington D.C. She is known to be infected with STDs and AIDs. Her parents could not be reached for comment as the prison was holding a count at they time they were contacted."
"She is a socialist agiprop from Moveon dot org.. "
Here's a nine minute compilation of clips, including Moveon.org, Rand Paul, and the victim Lauren Valle that pretty much tells the whole story.Washington Post: The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that a female MoveOn.org supporter was attacked by backers of Kentucky GOP Senate candidate Rand Paul on Monday when she attempted to approach Paul outside his final debate with Democrat Jack Conway in Lexington.
At one point, violence broke out when Lauren Valle of MoveOn.org approached Paul and tried to give him an "employee of the month award" from Republicorp. Republicorp is a fake business MoveOn created to symbolize what it says is the merger of the GOP and business interests controlling political speech. Television video shows Valle, of Washington, D.C., being pushed to the ground and at least one foot stepping down on her head.
In the video from Fox41.com, Valle is forced to the ground by a man as another man holding a Rand Paul sign steps forcefully on her head.
It should be noted, as Thom Hartmann wrote at his site:
I know Glenn Beck irresponsibly throws around the word "Nazi" - he did it again yesterday - to describe liberals. But it's worth noting that Hitler's early supporters, during his beer-hall days when he was running for office, were famous for beating up supporters of his political opponents.
If you read William Shirer's "Rise And Fall of the Third Reich," you'll find eerie parallels - from the authoritarian candidates like Paul and Miller, to the violent rhetoric of Palin and McCain, to the brutal supporters of these candidates - with Hitler's early unpaid volunteer supporters who proudly called themselves "the Brownshirts."
Monday, October 25, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Electing Political Outsourcers...because we're angry.
Keith Olbermann and another expose' on outsourcing. (Chamber donations above)
China's trade end game ignored by Republicans, who'll act surprised when our corporate economy with fewer jobs crashes again.
Dylan Ratigan had this great segment on China, and how it's looking out for its own best interest, while American business would prefer government get out of the way and NOT look out for the best interest of the country. This is must see stuff, and easy to understand. We lost 10 million jobs to China, and another 10 million that could have been created had it not been for unfair trade.
Giving business free rein, as advocated by Republicans, is an irrational business plan for America.
Giving business free rein, as advocated by Republicans, is an irrational business plan for America.
Karl Denninger, Tea Party Founder, Bashes Tea Party Transformation; "Go Screw Yourself."
Keith Olbermann holds up the mirror to the co-opted tea party movement, the one about to take control of a great number of seats in Washington. It says a lot about the Republican Party and the future economic interests of average American workers.
And where is the tea party on the big issues? No where. Why? Check this out from the Washington Post presented by Ed Schultz:
And where is the tea party on the big issues? No where. Why? Check this out from the Washington Post presented by Ed Schultz:
The Constitutional Chaos Party's New America.
This is a compilation of news coverage of the Coons/O'Donnell first amendment debate, a turning point and revealing look at how well the tea party understands the constitution, and who the public will put in charge of the congress and the senate. The arguments are here, by a Constitutional law professor, as well as pundit commentary. A fascinating look at the conservative movements hardening radical interpretation of our founding document and the slow acceptance of their fictional rendering by Americans.
Scary stuff.
Scary stuff.
Republican Anger Trumps Everything. Fear is Currency.
Peddling fear is a notion perfected by Republicans and a campaign the public appears to support right now, so get ready for a two year disintegration of our economy and world image, the just rewards of an easily swayed gullible public. It will also be interesting to see if business will find this frighteningly unstable reactionary climate a money maker or a dystopian loser. Rachel Maddow plays the highlights.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Creator of "Don't Vote" ad urging latinos not to vote claims that wasn't his message.
Never has voter supression been more in your face and truthful. Not much to debate here, unless you're the crazy group trying to explain yourself to the press.
Lawrence O'Donnell interviewed Robert De Posada, of Latinos for Reform, and got him to twist himself into a pretzel claiming viewers have to look at the substance of the whole ad. It's incredible.
The Las Vega Sun wrote this about a possible backlash:
Lawrence O'Donnell interviewed Robert De Posada, of Latinos for Reform, and got him to twist himself into a pretzel claiming viewers have to look at the substance of the whole ad. It's incredible.
The Las Vega Sun wrote this about a possible backlash:
The message behind a short-lived but highly publicized ad was clear: Latinos, stay home. Voter suppression isn’t usually marketed as voter empowerment. But in the ad by Latinos for Reform, an independent campaigning group led by career conservative Robert de Posada, the paradox was presented as plain sense: Because the Democrats haven’t delivered on immigration, exercise your right to vote by not doing so.
But the fever-pitch backlash to this advertisement suggests the message could bring
about just the opposite effect, by energizing a Hispanic voting bloc that may have been lethargic with a new and compelling reason to get out and vote — by and large, for Democrats.
More Fact-Dreck Bulls**t!!! Would Republics Make Cuts to Social Security? NOT SURE!!!
I am so tired of all the PolitiFact nonsense the media and campaign ads have suddenly embraced as the final word. Take this vacuous analysis devoid of real world coded language and known political party platforms:
Summing up their clueless conclusion:
"Fiorina's plan would mean slashing Social Security and Medicare." Barbara Boxer on Friday, October 15th, 2010 in a campaign ad Fiorina isn't terribly specific … She does say often that she does not want to cut benefits for current retirees or those nearing retirement.But that does mean she will cut benefits for everybody else? This rhetoric isn’t even coded language anymore, and has been a Republican party target for over a half century. But these fact check organizations refuse to consider this indisputable fact. Oh, and it's that old BOTH PARTIES ARE DOING IT…:
We should note here that most of the candidates from both parties … say we shouldn't cut benefits for current retirees or those nearing retirement. You might call these generic talking points.Democrats aren’t saying, as a party, that cutting benefits is a consideration. It isn’t . It’s a Republican talking point, along with a few Blue Dog Democrats in very conservative districts. It’s not BOTH PARTIES.
Summing up their clueless conclusion:
We certainly don't like it when candidates refuse to give specifics about their plans. Fiorina has indicated she would accept some form of cuts to Social Security and Medicare for younger workers, but time and again she has refused to be specific, and only speaks about curtailing future spending for the programs in vague generalities. Still, that does not give the Boxer campaign the right to fill in the blanks. We do know that Fiorina supports slowing the growth of such programs to rein in government spending, but we don't know what specific proposals would look like, and whether they would constitute "slashing." And for this reason, we rate Boxer's statement Barely True.So will Fiorina cut Social Security benefits? How crazy is that.
Friday, October 22, 2010
The Poster Guy for Really Disgruntled Employees: The Grotesque Mr. Juan Williams
Having been in the media for 25 years, I know firsthand that what happened to Juan Williams is not unique or unusual, but it is a revealing look at Williams character. He’s a disgruntled ass raising his conservative cred because of his newly signed deal with Fox News. In fact, his $2 million deal should make him less likely to lash out at his former employer. But that would be classy. Not when you can exploit it, and portray yourself as a victim of the “liberal press.”
For years, conservatives have called NPR a liberal network, a characterization was not true. In their attempt to be fair to both sides, NPR did the right thing, staying in the middle and exorcizing outrageous commentary.
But let’s get back to the ungracious multimillionaire Juan Williams. Whining about his misfortune, and energizing the conservative knuckle draggers who want to defund public radio, Williams is the poster victim of the month:
The typical Republican response and a preview of what a GOP congress will spend its time on:
For years, conservatives have called NPR a liberal network, a characterization was not true. In their attempt to be fair to both sides, NPR did the right thing, staying in the middle and exorcizing outrageous commentary.
But let’s get back to the ungracious multimillionaire Juan Williams. Whining about his misfortune, and energizing the conservative knuckle draggers who want to defund public radio, Williams is the poster victim of the month:
MSNBC: Ousted NPR analyst Juan Williams said Friday that he believes his former employer had been looking for a reason to fire him and used comments he made this week about Muslim airline passengers as an excuse to do so. Williams said on ABC's "Good Morning America" that he believes NPR had wanted to fire him for some time because they disapproved of his appearances on shows by his other employer, Fox News. "I think they were looking for a reason to get rid of me," he said Friday. "They were uncomfortable with the idea that I was talking to the likes of Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity." Hannity hosts another Fox show.As a former radio guy with a long list of my own firings, I have never heard a more insipid display of crying. Here's Toure', the host of Fuse's "Hip Hop Shop," and his commentary on Juan that hits the mark:
The typical Republican response and a preview of what a GOP congress will spend its time on:
In response to the firing, South Carolina Republican U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint announced Friday that he will introduce legislation to end federal funding for public radio and television. "These programs should be able to find a way to stand on their own," he said in a statement. "With record debt and unemployment, there's simply no reason to force taxpayers to subsidize a liberal programming they disagree with."Liberal programming? Hardly.
Policy against 'punditry and speculation' -In a memo to her staff and affiliate stations, Schiller said the comments violated NPR's code of ethics, which says journalists should not participate in media "that encourage punditry and speculation rather than fact-based analysis."Unless Republicans would rather have NPR start providing commentary?
Under no pressure from the news media, Republican doom and gloom rhetoric winning believers.
This interesting analysis is missing in action when it comes to Democratic campaign ads, and conveniently omitted from the Republican story line.
While there is this notion that Obama is destroying the country, over half the states are experiencing a reduction in unemployment.Huffington Post: If you happen to be a swing voter who's considering the Republican slate next month, you're being tricked. Let's start with "Obamacare,"
1) The health-care-reform bill will help working and middle class Americans to afford quality health insurance via hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies. For example, families of four earning $54,000 will see their insurance premiums reduced by around $10,000 per year. That's a lot. Who in their right mind would turn down a government check for $10,000? Every year. That's a full semester of state university tuition, among other things.
2) Contrary to the "Obama-is-spending-too-much" meme, the bill does not increase
the deficit. According to the nonpartisan CBO, the bill cuts the deficit by $130 billion over ten years. Put another way, all that scaremongering about the cost of the bill is just that: scaremongering.3) There are no enforcement mechanisms for the super-duper terrifying individual mandate. If you choose not to buy insurance when the mandate takes effect in 2014, and are consequently fined $695, there is no means of actually enforcing the payment of that penalty. Nothing. So, you know, chill out about the mandate.
4) Deficit: Republicans are lying to voters about the Democratic handling of the deficit as well. It turns out the Democrats and the Obama administration cut the deficit this year. Cut it. The 2009 Bush-approved budget was $1.416 trillion and the 2010 Obama-approved budget was $122 billion less.
Meanwhile, the Republicans are admitting to increasing the deficit by $4 trillion by making the Bush tax cuts permanent. Actually, the only spending cuts that appear to be on the table are the Social Security checks, the Medicare reimbursements and the veteran's benefits that will stop when the Republicans gleefully shut down the government. (Any senior citizen who votes Republican is voting for their Social Security and Medicare checks to stop -- indefinitely. Just thought I'd mention that.)
And then factor into the mix that $288 billion out of the $800 billion cost of the
recovery act was composed entirely of tax cuts. Tax cuts! As a matter of history and taken as a lump sum, this was the largest American middle class tax cut ever. So it's not a stretch to suggest that the Republicans are suddenly against the largest middle-class tax cut in American history. The Republicans, meanwhile, are running on some sort of Mobius Loop of backwards logic and flimsy, if not totally destructive, policy positions.
(AP) - Nearly half of U.S. states reported drops in their unemployment rates last month, the best showing since June. But job creation was weak in most areas of the country. Unemployment fell in 23 states and Washington, D.C., rose in 11 states and was unchanged in 16 during September.
A survey of employers found that payrolls decreased in 34 states and increased in only 16 states and Washington, D.C.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Juan Williams firing Riles GOP to ask for Investigation, defunding Public Radio. Defending free Speech?
This is ridiculous.
In broadcasting, getting fired is never pretty or fair. Juan Williams is whining now, but he should ask his conservative friends if they want public radio disseminating controversial political opinion. How can they complain about public radio's attempts to present a balanced view? They can't have it both ways. And what about the free market? Just because it has public support, doesn't mean that it's not competing with the private sector. Another phony issue.
Cooler heads defended Williams from the left:
In broadcasting, getting fired is never pretty or fair. Juan Williams is whining now, but he should ask his conservative friends if they want public radio disseminating controversial political opinion. How can they complain about public radio's attempts to present a balanced view? They can't have it both ways. And what about the free market? Just because it has public support, doesn't mean that it's not competing with the private sector. Another phony issue.
And yet polls indicate Americans are willing to give congress back to a bunch of reactionary, wedge issue, petty authoritarian Republican politicians. Only Fox News would solicit the following reactions from their pundits:
News analyst Juan Williams' firing from National Public Radio for comments he made about being nervous when flying alongside devout Muslims has sparked a public outcry that includes calls for investigations and a cut in public funding to the broadcaster.
"I think the U.S. Congress should investigate NPR and consider cutting off their money," said Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is also a Fox News contributor. Gingrich called the firing "an act of total censorship." "This isn't the first time we have had serious concerns about some of Juan's public comments," she wrote.
Republican Rep. Peter King went further, calling on Congress to nix any federal money NPR gets "because of its indefensible bias."
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, called on Congress to stop cutting checks to NPR and said he will no longer accept interview requests from NPR ... "NPR has discredited itself as a forum for free speech and a protection of the First Amendment rights.
NPR President and CEO Vivian Schiller sent an internal memo claiming that the remarks he made on Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" weren't the only problem -- he was canned because he's become a pundit rather than an analyst.
Cooler heads defended Williams from the left:
"I don't think he should have been fired, because, in fact ... lots of people have this idea," said host Whoopi Goldberg. Host Barbara Walters said Williams perhaps should have been chastised, not fired because he was on the show to give his perspective. "I think they were very wrong," she said of NPR.
Free Press, a nonprofit advocating media reform, denounced the calls to defund NPR. "It is time to stop playing politics with our nation's public media system," Free Press President Josh Silve said in a written statement. "Calling for Congress to defund NPR is nothing more than political opportunism by public figures who have built a career on such shenanigans," he said. "Regardless of what you think about Juan Williams' dismissal, calling for the defunding of NPR is like asking for the death penalty in small claims court."
Rep. Raul Grijalva threat with Toxic Substance comes right after racist poster.
From an outragiously racist poster to a threat. Big surprise? Keith Olbermann has the Grijalva interview.
Will the real Ron Johnson, just go away.
It looks like Ron Johnson's "campaign of no details" is suffering a well deserved back lash. He just lost the endorsement of THE conservative paper of choice, the Green Bay Press Gazette. It's so bad, that even Keith Olbermann raised an eyebrow.
TPM: That didn't take long. The Wisconsin newspaper that had Republican Senate hopeful Ron Johnson at a loss for words over how to help the middle class has just endorsed his opponent, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI). What's more, the paper cites stumping Johnson as a key driver of their decision.
"Oshkosh businessman and political newcomer Ron Johnson, also has voiced his support for spending controls and fiscal responsibility in Washington," the endorsement reads.
"His plan for righting the U.S. economy, however, comes across as one-note: establish a hard spending cap, reduce government interference and allow businesses to flourish."
Just for context, the Green Bay Press Gazette is not reflexively friendly to Feingold. This is the first time they've ever endorsed him, having always supported his opponents in previous races.
Why the comments featured in Feingold's ad below didn't sink his chances with voter concern over jobs, I'll never know.
Check out this MotleyCow dissection of Johnson's Ayn Randian preoccupation.
Tea Party backs Outsourcing Jobs.
So why is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce spending so much money to get Republicans elected, after the Democrats bailed out big money on Wall Street, and saved their ass? Outsourcing.
Keith Olbermann follows the money, and Rep. Barney Frank fine tunes the message with the unspoken truth about the activist conservative Supreme Court.
Keith Olbermann follows the money, and Rep. Barney Frank fine tunes the message with the unspoken truth about the activist conservative Supreme Court.
Bankruptcy a new qualification for the post of Economic development director for Milwaukee County. So says Scott Walker.
Image via Wikipedia When you’re county executive, who do you put in charge of economic development? You give it to a guy in bankruptcy, of course. A guy who is sticking taxpayers with the bill. No, really.Not only will Scott Walker make more bone headed appointments, but the media will yawn as he’s doing it. When you thought it couldn't get any worse than having a report declaring Milwaukee County bankrupt, held up until after the election because it might influence voters, (the media yawning again), it got even crazier.
I kid you not, that was the reason given.
So one of the top qualifications for the director of economic development is someone who made a bad business decision and went bankrupt? Any wonder why Republicans have no faith in government; they make bad hiring decisions.Jsonline: Milwaukee County's new director of economic development and his former business partner filed for bankruptcy after accumulating debts of more than $430,000 from the City of Milwaukee and the State of Wisconsin to help finance a failed central city custard stand, leaving taxpayers potentially on the hook for … well over a half-million dollars for a restaurant that closed in November 2008 after operating for less than a year.
Damon Dorsey, who received federal bankruptcy protection in June 2009 and was cleared of his debts in the project, was appointed to the county post in August by Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker.
Dorsey said he didn't think the failure of his business came up during his interview with Walker.
In a statement, Walker's campaign spokeswoman Jill Bader noted … "He has firsthand knowledge of what business owners are going through."
And don’t forget: Democratic candidate and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett … questioned why Walker, his Republican opponent, closed the economic development office in his 2009 budget and only recently reopened it.
Johnson: How to help the middle class? Improve the economy!!! Brilliant.
The often repeated Republican mantra of repealing health care should start ringing hollow by now, as the public starts catching on to how it will effect them in the long run, and the little covered innovations being made by insurers and providers to improve the system while cutting costs. Reform appears to have motivated everyone to change.
The middle class has a lot to lose too, if they continue to believe that giving free rein of economy over to business is going to somehow make their lives better. WITI-TV in Milwaukee caught up with Sen. candidate Ron Johnson, Russ Feingold's opponent, along with the Green Bay Press-Gazette's scorching interview about helping the middle class. For Johnson, business comes first.
Johnson's Ayn Randian perspective of business and money rings hollow as well, as we discover how he has benefited from government assistance, including health care:
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ron Johnson said Wednesday he was not aware
of the circumstances in which five of his employees at Pacur, his plastics manufacturing company, were enrolled in BadgerCare, the state's health insurance
plan for the poor.During the campaign, Johnson has repeatedly said that his own health insurance plan at Pacur is the same one other employees have.
"Depending on the particular situation, if it's less costly for them to take
BadgerCare, they may choose that option," he said. "They have that freedom."U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) criticized Johnson, saying the Republican
challenger couldn't have it both ways."When somebody runs on this notion that government can never assist business, it kind of gets embarrassing," Feingold said.
Earlier in the campaign, it was disclosed that, shortly before Johnson joined Pacur in 1979, the company had received a $75,000 federal grant for a rail spur. In addition, the company has participated in a government program that gave Pacur an estimated $4 million in low-interest loans from a private lender, and has hired prison workers whose health care plan is paid for by the state.
"I'm not saying any of these things are wrong, but you can't have it both ways," Feingold said. "He's gotten all kinds of government help. He didn't do it completely on his own, yet he criticizes those who got help from the Recovery Act. And it's completely phony."
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
President Obama “the Angel of Death”
I've seen over the top anti-abortion ads before, but this really does top them all.
Think Progress: Personhood Colorado is a radical right-wing anti-choice organization supporting Amendment 62 on the ballot this November, which if passed, would define a fertilized egg as a “person,” thus essentially outlawing abortion in the state. Personhood CO has put out some disturbing adsBut Right Wing Watch notes that the group has upped the ante a bit this week, releasing a new ad that calls President Obama “the Angel of Death” and those who presumably support him as lurking from the depths of hell:
Political Fact checking the fact checkers on Scott Walker’s “small government” support for allowing pharmacists to refuse to sell contraception.
I dare you anyone reading this to find a blanket statement from Planned Parenthood that insinuates Scott Walker would allow pharmacists to block contraception in ALL CASES!!!
PolitiFact starts with this setup:
The final paragraph’s quote from Planned Parenthood, "tried to pass a law to allow pharmacists to block...birth control" does not suggest, as they claim, to "blocking it in ALL cases." It ALLOWS a pharmacist to refuse the sale, it isn’t a total block.
Their "Barely true" conclusion is wrong, based on all the statements of proof supplied by supporters of the failed Walker bill, and the exact language of Planned Parenthood.
The response from PolitiFact for drawing the wrong conclusion:
PolitiFact starts with this setup:
jsonline: Planned Parenthood Advocates, the lobbying and political action arm of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, is painting Barrett’s rival, GOP nominee Scott Walker, as "just too extreme." In a flier mailed to voters, it frames Walker’s views this way:My own fact checking says yes. PolitiFact even confirms it's true, but then after a convoluted analysis, claims Planned Parenthood is saying Walker would allow a total block on contraception. That's just not true, according to their own research:
"Scott Walker tried to pass a law to allow pharmacists to block women’s access to birth control."
Is that really the case?
PolitiFact is “Pants on Fire” wrong.Planned Parenthood Advocates spokeswoman Amanda Harrington said her organization’s statement about Walker is based on Assembly Bill 168, a measure Walker sponsored in 2001 while serving in the state Assembly. It would have applied to pharmacists and other health care providers … But both Harrington and Matt Sande of Pro-Life Wisconsin say the protections for pharmacists in Walker’s bill would have applied to the dispensing of all types of birth control. Planned Parenthood says flatly: Pharmacists would have been able to block women from getting birth control. Walker says he supports allowing pharmacists to refuse to fill emergency contraception prescriptions on moral grounds.
The claim by Planned Parenthood is still off the mark. In an effort to paint Walker as extreme, the group’s lobbying arm says in a direct mail piece that Walker "tried to pass a law to allow pharmacists to block women’s access to birth control." That bill might have made it more difficult for some women to get contraceptives at some pharmacies, depending on who was on duty. But words matter -- the possible narrowing of access to birth control in some cases isn’t the same as blocking it in all cases.We rate the claim as Barely True.
The final paragraph’s quote from Planned Parenthood, "tried to pass a law to allow pharmacists to block...birth control" does not suggest, as they claim, to "blocking it in ALL cases." It ALLOWS a pharmacist to refuse the sale, it isn’t a total block.
Their "Barely true" conclusion is wrong, based on all the statements of proof supplied by supporters of the failed Walker bill, and the exact language of Planned Parenthood.
The response from PolitiFact for drawing the wrong conclusion:
The statement in question provided no mitigating words … such as “limit access” to birth control or “block access in some cases.” I’m sure you understand that the approach of campaign ads and literature is to make the strongest statement possible.
The role of PolitiFact has been, and will continue to be, to help readersThe sad fact is these “fact check” gimmicks are deceptive and are removed from reality. Maybe they should try a new category like "In your Face Obvious."
understand the full context of the matter. You are free to disagree with our
conclusion, as are others.
Angle first Asian Legislater?
Nevada is in a bad economic shape because of STATE government and Republican control. When your entire economy is based on gambling away discretionary money, it doesn't take a genius to figure out why the state is in debt and losing tourism dollars.
Sharron Angle has made the mess state government has created an election year national issue. So it's understandable that when she makes comments like, canadians illigals are the real danger, her followers would give her a pass.
Sharron Angle has made the mess state government has created an election year national issue. So it's understandable that when she makes comments like, canadians illigals are the real danger, her followers would give her a pass.
Republicans aren't Stupid, they just look that way by eveyone else.
In the conservative Bizarro world of opposites, nothing says stupid like the following commentary from by S.E. Cupp from the Daily News, who never quite justifies why this is a Jerry Springer like mid-term election for Republicans. My commentary is in red.
Many of you are going to vote against Democrats this November, restoring Republicans to a majority in the House and maybe even the Senate. And if we're to believe the Democrats and the liberal media, the reason is because you're too stupid to know any better. I know, I know. For those of you who can actually read this, it bruises the ego. But it also boggles the mind - more than half the American population cannot be trusted at the ballot box? (A lie, since Democrats have never said conservatives “can’t be trusted.” In fact, it's conservative leaders who have proposed keeping clueless Americans away from the voting booths.)
People who've somehow managed to start their own businesses, matriculate from top colleges, raise successful families in trying times, balance their own household budgets and master the maddening mental mousetrap that is the NASCAR point system are simply too dumb to understand today's political talking points? (Which assumes Democrats, a third of the electorate, have never done any of the above. Thank god conservatives own all the businesses and raise only successful families.)
In Newsweek, Andrew Romano writes that the backbone of this opposition of
dumb-asses, the Tea Parties, are uninformed constitutional "evangelists," who
have "frequently misunderstood or misrepresented the Constitution," despite
clinging to it as "their sacred text" - you know, the way some hicks cling to
guns and religion. (Guilty as charged. Check the list of scholarly issues on the t-shirt below)
S.E. Cupp doesn’t dispute the above or Romano’s observation, but instead points out something even more important:
One thing has become unquestionably clear: We are more politically engaged right now than we have been in decades. But there's something else going on here. And his name is Glenn Beck, the left's favorite right-wing lunatic and patron saint of idiots everywhere. Or so they think. (“Or so they think?” Apparently we’re just imagining Beck is a paranoid fear monger.)
What the left doesn't get is that Beck isn't playing on nativism, racism or any other scary "ism" … He's a hit because he plays on our insatiable desire to know stuff. Some call it "intellectual curiosity" … Beck is routinely called an "anti-intellectual" in the left-leaning press … The truth is that the left is skeptical of intellectual curiosity because it's convinced that Beck is a panderer to the wild, uncultured masses that refuse to accept the Obama doctrine as sacred. (I don’t know anyone who thinks Obama’s doctrine is sacred, do you? In fact, what is the doctrine?)
Here come the Beck “followers.”
No, he is not always polished in his delivery. No, he doesn't have an Ivy League degree. Yes, he looks goofy sometimes. But none of this matters to his followers, because, unlike detractors on the left, they see past his appearance to his ideas … It's a thirst for knowledge that Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow, with their smug condescension, are not quenching.So say what you will about President Obama's critics and the skeptical masses. And say what you will about Beck. But blaming November on ignorance only makes the left look stupid. (Astonishing!!)
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Republicans notch new low: Don't Vote ad to Hispanic Americans!!!
Republican landslide election? Only if everything they throw against the wall of BS sticks.
Washington Post: A new ad from the conservative group Latinos for Reform is passing along a clear yet controversial message to Hispanic voters: Don't vote.
Washington Post: A new ad from the conservative group Latinos for Reform is passing along a clear yet controversial message to Hispanic voters: Don't vote.
What this Election is About, by Rachel Maddow.
This is an example of real reporting. I saw that Crooks and Liars is also saying that this is a must see Rachel Maddow segment. It is, and I have it too, below:
Sen. Candidate Carnahan challenges every hypocritical Republican supporting health care repeal to give up theirs!!!
At least one Democrat gets it, Missouri Sen. Candidate Robin Carnahan, and isn't afraid to make this health care challenge to Republicans hell bent on repealing reform.
Rocknetroots put it best this way:
Rocknetroots put it best this way:
This challenge should be given to every House republican incumbent since every one of them voted against Health Care Reform and also every "repealer" candidate who voiced their support for Paul Ryan's "Roadmap."
Johnson, Duffy, Sensenbrenner, Lee, Ribble and Ryan just to name a few from Wisconsin, should make the commitment to purchase their own health care insurance without any employer or government assistance, whether they are elected or not, or forever shut their lying two-faced hypocritical mouths.
Tea Party Constitution a Work of Fiction.
We should have been tipped off by the name "constitutional conservative," which for conervatives, typically means just the opposite. The epiphany for me was the opposition to the NY mosque. Conservatives agreed the group building it had the freedom to practice religion, but not if a majority of Americans oppose your activity, at which point you're cast as the enemy.
Now it's the Fourth Estate, the press and lame stream media, that will never get it right. Enter constitutional convolutionalist Joe Miller.
According to Michael Keegan at the Huffington Post:
Keegan summed it up perfectly with this dire warning:
Now it's the Fourth Estate, the press and lame stream media, that will never get it right. Enter constitutional convolutionalist Joe Miller.
According to Michael Keegan at the Huffington Post:
Here's a compilation of clips telling this appalling story of the tea parties own distinct reading of the First Amendment from the group of pocket Constitutionalists.Yesterday, Miller took the law into his own hands to enforce that rule when he had his personal security guards handcuff and detain a journalist who was trying to ask him about those ethics charges at an event on public property, in an Anchorage middle school. Miller's campaign dismissed the journalist as an "irrational blogger" and tried to act the victim of an overly aggressive press corps.
The incident is appalling, but maybe we shouldn't be surprised by it. Led by the notoriously "Lame Stream Media"-averse Sarah Palin, Tea Party candidates like Miller, Nevada's Sharron Angle, and Delaware's Christine O'Donnell have been shunning both progressive and ideologically neutral news outlets in favor of conservative media mouthpieces whowill tell only their side of the story, and ask only the questions they want asked.But with the rise of the Tea Party and in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United, right-wing candidates have been promoting a curious inversion of the right of free speech in a democracy. While they refuse to be held accountable by an independent press corps, they enthusiastically defend the newly declared right of corporate special interests to spend extraordinary sums of money from vast treasuries to help them get elected -- all while avoiding accountability from the public.
We're living in a world where candidates don't speak, but corporations do.
Keegan summed it up perfectly with this dire warning:
While right-wingers promote conspiracy theories about a supposed Obama-led
totalitarian regime, incidents like this one reveal the truth behind their view
of democracy.In a world where the right to "free speech" doesn't protect the rights of citizens to ask questions, find accurate information, and hold those in power accountable, what we get instead is the kind of free-for-all where Joe Miller's hired goons can restrain a reporter and where big corporations can fund attack ads without ever being held accountable by voters.
What we get is free speech for the wealthy and powerful and tough luck for the rest of us. It's the First Amendment turned on its head, and democracy gone dangerously awry.
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