It really is a Health Care Solution

There are some sobering dollar amounts listed in Dennis Cauchon’s “Bill for taxpayer’s swells by trillions” in USA TODAY. “The federal government's long-term financial obligations grew by $2.5 trillion last year, a reflection of the mushrooming cost of Medicare and Social Security benefits…Taxpayers are on the hook for a record $57.3 trillion in federal liabilities to cover the lifetime benefits of everyone eligible for Medicare, Social Security and other government programs. That's nearly $500,000 per household.”


Instead of giving up, or solving these shortfalls with tax cuts (hey, it’s the Republican answer to everything) Economist Dean Baker says, "If we fix health care, then our deficits can be easily dealt with."


Health care is the solution. The introduction of a single payer system in this country would put more money back in the pockets of Americans than any GOP tax cut.

The fact is nearly 70 percent of the public wants a government health care plan.

Framing the issue; a more accurate description would be a government insurance plan. Taking the focus off of medical providers and focusing on insurance for all, Republicans will have a difficult time defending insurance company profits and administrative costs. Because it’s an insurance plan, one could make the argument that a national program would free up 20 percent or more of administration costs, or 20 cents out of every dollar; a fact that would not go unnoticed by taxpayers.

New GOP Manifesto

So how did Newt Gingrich’s “Contract with America” work out?

Well here comes part two, the GOP’s “Get to Know Us Again” manifesto.

You’ll like their 7 point fresh message:

1. A constitutional limit on federal spending. Hey, Colorado did it, dropped it. It was a dramatic economic failure, so let's try it on America. It’ the old is fresh idea of The Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR.

2. A new “voluntary” simplified flat income tax alternative. Wow, two tax systems instead of the complicated one we have now. And I’m sure it would cost nothing to make the partial change, right?

3. A proposal to require recipients of food stamps or housing aid to meet work requirements, “so that those who are not old, young or disabled are either working in the private sector or serving in their community.” Work or don’t eat. Don’t you love getting tough with the homeless and hungry during down turns in the economy? “Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?”- A Christmas Carol.

4. Tax credits for buying health insurance. Ah yes, a handful of dollars compared with the actual cost of your insurance premiums. That will help. I hope it's indexed to inflation.

5. More domestic energy production. So many mountain tops, so little time.

In what might be the understatement of the year, one Republican proudly proclaims, “We have to get back to our core identity.”

A rotten to the core identity, that is.

The Conservative Myth: Strict Constructionists, Party of Law and Order

The Republican media machine claims it’s all true: they are the law and order party and unwavering strict constructionists of the Constitution.

Disputing these assertions is easy. Simply mention the suspension of Habeas Corpus, the disregard of international treaties, presidential signing statements claiming Congressional law as advisory, military force, warrentless wiretaps, , the politicazation of the Justice department and the “unitary executive” -where a U.S. President in the exercise of his Constitutional war powers cannot be restrained by any law national or international. This is a partial list of course.

The few conservatives I know who advocate the passage of a concealed carry law in Wisconsin tote one around with them anyway for the simple reason they don’t agree with the current legal ban. Bad laws can be ignored, especially if you assign blame those big government left wing liberals.-Me

In combination with the concept of justifiable lawlessness, they have now done away with the moral and ethical arguments once advocated by such books as…oh, the Bible.

Just look at how Republican’s work their magic with political ads. They deceptively mislead the public through omission and ambiguous terminology. Conservatives are quick to point out they did nothing illegal, never mind the moral and ethical bankruptcy of their tactics.

One lawyer representing a few right wing advocacy groups responsible for the defeat of a liberal Wisconsin Supreme court Justice said, in “the vast majority of ads they could find nothing untrue-they just thought they were unfair. The thing they need to get into their heads is, life is unfair.” He’s got a point. It might be unfair to mislead the voters, but certainly not illegal. Get over it.

Just for fun, I’ve included some classic statements from the former stars of the Bush administration.

Pentagon Neocon and now a professor at Georgetown University Douglas Feith: “’The problem with moral authority, was ‘people who should know better, like yourself, siding with the a**holes, to put it crudely.”

Feith and his reason for the attack on Iraq, as written in his memoir, "War and Decision: "anticipatory self-defense."

Feith on whether the war in Iraq was the right decision; "I think the president made the right decision given what he knew. And given what we all knew. And to tell you the truth, even given what we've learned since." 60 Minutes

Karl Rove, formerly of the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, White House Office of Strategic Initiatives, now political analyst and contributor for Fox News, Newsweek, and the Wall Street Journal, on his feelings about a confrontation with a college student objecting to how he shredded the constitution: “He had no question, he just wanted to accuse me of undermining the Constitution and blah-blah-blah-blah-blah.” GQ Magazine

I rest my case.

'In God We Trust' Motto Part 2

In our continuing series (who would have thought) of "In God We Trust" stories, the new wedge issue is born. I wish I were making this up.

“Porterville city officials plan to ask voters to put God back into local
government -- or at least on city stationery -- with the words 'In God We
Trust.' A measure on the June 3 ballot would declare those words the city's
official motto. There is one public opponent.”

“The motto idea started with Council Member Pedro ‘Pete’ Martinez. While the words ‘In God We Trust’ are already on display in the City Council chambers, Martinez wanted to go a step further, letting voters make the phrase an official motto. Many…like the idea of having a motto that reflects the faith of Porterville's Christian citizens.”

I hate to state the obvious, but these insecure “politicians of faith” have an apparent self esteem problem.

“Council Member Eddie Hernandez said, ‘We need to show we believe in
a higher being."

Yes, the need “to show you believe” is what’s behind this shredding of, and dangerous ignorance of, the Constitution and the rights of others. And the best way to pass something so exclusionary is to leave it up to the majority in the form of a ballot measure, bypassing the elected representatives who were sworn to uphold the constitution. Porterville’s faith was so strong that they were willing break the law (not God’s law).

“(In a)City Council meeting in 2005, residents urged officials to continue
the practice despite a state court ruling against sectarian prayer.”

We should note, that the courts have already determined the phrase as generic enough not to violate the establishment clause of the Constitution.

Sure there are people in this country that don't have a belief in God, and are most certainly considered citizens, but not if this country slowly and inevitably changes public opinion. It bares repeating from a previous post on this very “In God We Trust” issue.

“Bakersfield Council Member Jacquie Sullivan’s organization ‘In God We Trust
America,’ has signed up more than 30 California cities like Porterville to display the phrase in their council chambers. Sullivan said ‘It's the highest form of patriotism. I feel that it is committed to the values our country was founded on.”

God is patriotism.

Canadian Government Works, Reports Surplus, Ours Doesn't

Our liberal northern neighbor, Canada, must be doing something right. And we must be doing something wrong. How would you explain this from the CBC:

“Canada’s government surplus for its latest fiscal year came in around $10.2 billion, the finance department said. The government said its budgetary revenues for the year that concluded on March 31 increased by $10.6 billion, or 4.6 per cent, driven by gains in income tax revenues and other revenues.”

And to think, they didn’t have the Bush tax cuts to help. Hey wait, we do, and we’re in a recession.

How’d they do that?

Creating Jobs in a Slumping Economy, Blame the Unemployed

The economic downturn nationally has hit all the states hard, especially those that just got their budgets back in order from the last recession. So it wasn’t surprising to see the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Headline, “Need for food stamps rising.”

I want to highlight just why the Republican Party cannot be trusted to solve the problem of human suffering. The weak economy along with state program changes increased foodstamp enrollment nearly 10%.

The change removed a requirement that people enroll in a job-training program. The point of the program is to feed people and families, so who would object to that? A Republican of course. In a wild display of convoluted logic, even the hungry are to blame for their joblessness.

Here’s Rep. Kitty Rhoades (R-Hudson), co-chair of the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee, with her mean spirited attack on the needy, suggesting the state withhold food stamps until the unemployed get job training in a jobless market.

"Especially in a down economy, we want to be creating jobs and putting people to work, not re-creating welfare,' Rhoades said."

It may seem like a dumb conclusion, but Republicans have been relentless pushing this mumbo jumbo in the Wisconsin state legislature for years. They hate it when poor people get something for nothing, especially people with nothing.

It never occurred to Rep. Rhoades that businesses create jobs, and in a down economy, they typically lack the demand to “put people to work.” How hard is this to understand anyway?

I think it might be this; Commerce loves the Republican Party because they lack the business sense to realize they’re being played for suckers. Republicans run up debt, spend money supporting special interests and sabotage their own children’s future salaries so they can freeload off the taxpayer while transferring responsibility and power to private for profit interests.

How do they sleep?

McCain Doesn’t Trust Our Troops

Its simple isn’t it? John McCain doesn’t trust our troops to serve out of respect to our country. Instead, he worries that Americans will join and fight, to game the system and reap huge benefits, paid for by U.S. taxpayers. Here’s what Sen. McCain said, as reported by AP:

"John McCain used a Memorial Day appearance to defend his opposition to
Senate-passed legislation that would provide additional college financial aid to
veterans…'I feel just as he (Democratic Sen. Jim Webb) does, that we owe
veterans the respect and generosity of a great nation"...However, McCain said he
opposed Webb's measure because it would give the same benefit to everyone
regardless of how many times he or she has enlisted. He said he feared that
would depress reenlistments by those wanting to attend college after only a few years in uniform.”

It’s clear that some of our more dishonorable troops would enlist just so they could fleece the hard working taxpayers of their hard earned money. Imagine giving up just 3 years of their life for their country; maybe even fight a war, and get an all expenses paid college education. McCain won’t let these patriotic crooks make out like Republican lobbyists.

Just to be clear, here’s how the two bills differ:

“The McCain-Graham-Burr legislation creates a flat education benefit, not taking
into account the cost of state colleges where veterans live. This would mean
veterans in states where the cost of education is higher than the benefit would
have go to into debt to get an education, or uproot themselves and their families to move to a place where the benefit would cover college. The Webb-Hagel Bill determines the education benefit based on the highest state college tuition in a veterans' home state, allowing veterans to come home and attend college, without upheaval in their lives.


“The McCain-Graham-Burr legislation leaves the National Guard and Reserve out in the cold.”

Gag order Issued: Military Chief Warns Troops About Politics

Oh sure, now they tell us.

In a blatant attempt to silence the growing number of war critics in and out of the military, just in time for the presidential election I might mention, the New York Times abdicated its fourth estate responsibilities by falling in line with a runaway war policy.

Like a deer in headlights, the Times printed without question or scrutiny an
“open letter to all those in uniform, warning them to stay out of politics as
the nation approaches a presidential election in which the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan will be a central, and certainly divisive, issue. The U.S. military
must remain apolitical at all times and in all ways,” wrote the chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, the nation’s highest-ranking officer. “It is and must always be a
neutral instrument of the state, no matter which party holds sway.”

It’s no coincidence that this messaged was meant to blunt the Defense Department investigation of a Pentagon public affairs program that sought to transform retired military officers who work as television and radio analysts into “message force multipliers” who could be counted on to echo Bush administration talking points about Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantánamo and terrorism in general.

I’m not alone with what I’m sure Republicans would say is a mischaracterization of the Admirals message.

“Veteran officers said they could not remember when a similar “all-hands” letter
had been issued to remind military personnel to remain outside, if not above,
contentious political debate.”

In fact, the military point blank admits its intention to censor.

“Members of the Joint Chiefs have expressed worries this election year about the
influence of retired officers who advise political campaigns, who have publicly
called for a change in policy or who serve as television commentators on the
war. Among the most outspoken were those who joined the so-called generals’
revolt in 2006 demanding the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald
H. Rumsfeld, as well as former officers who have written books attacking the
Bush administration’s planning for and execution of the war in Iraq.”

Try and pull that statement out of context. Adm. Mike Mullen follows that up with the “fear frame.”

“While retired officers have full rights to political activism, their colleagues
still in uniform fear its effect on those trying to carry out the mission”

The fear card continued with the suggestion that a Democratic president will lose the war for us and abandon the mission. Just look at the “troubling questions” he received from military personal;

“…he was inspired to write the essay after receiving a constant stream of
legitimate, if troubling, questions while visiting military personnel around the
world. He said their questions included, “What if a Democrat wins?” and, “What will that do to the mission in Iraq?” and, “Do you think it’s better for one party or another to have the White House?”

I nearly dropped the newspaper after reading those comments. Thankfully, I was inspired enough to explain my first, second and third impressions of this article, coming each time to this same conclusion;

We are living under a dangerous administration right now, and I don’t believe it will end soon enough.

Which Came First, Higher Wages Or Skilled Workers?

After reading the AP story, “Wisconsin workers' wages less than national average,” I was struck by not what has been obvious for years for those of us who have worked here, but by the solution touted by corporate executives and free marketers.

First the bad news: “In a Department of Labor report released last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the average weekly wage earned across the United States is $818. But no counties in Wisconsin matched that figure…Residents there average $814 week.”

For example, the menial job of a morning weather anchor at a local Madison television station had to move to a market similar in size, South Bend Indiana, to double his salary. I knew that to be true of radio wages as well from my days as a political talk host. From that experience, I concluded that because Wisconsin provided more entry level jobs in media, once these novices honed their skills, they moved on and up into higher paying markets. In this case, states that had higher wage averages.

What struck me was this well accepted point of view from this same article;

“Alec Loftus, a spokesman with the Department of Workforce Development, says the state is working to raise wages by training a highly skilled
work force.”

But if you have a highly skilled work force in a state with low pay, no matter how much training you provide, those workers will leave for greener (money) high wage pastures.

The “great sucking sound” of jobs moving overseas we know now are the high wage positions moving to markets where they can do the same job for less, while the U.S. cuts wages and benefits for current and future skilled labor. It’s a no win situation for citizens of this and other countries that have bought in to the neo liberal policy of trade.

The solution is now a lost opportunity; Instead of trade deals that forced developing global markets to establish a wage floor under threat of tariff equalizers, raising the boats of all, the allure of dollar-a-day labor proved too strong and profitable to resist.

Bush, Ice Cream, Ethics and the Authoritarian Elites

The President's Council on Bioethics former chair, Leon Kass, was small potatoes amid the reported stories of misconduct and corruption within the Bush administration. The fact that he didn’t break any laws might even be a plus, except for his bizaar world view as the one person in charge of scientific medical advances not reliant on God’s gift of miracle making.

Ice cream part one:

“Worst of all from this point of view are those more uncivilized forms of
eating, like licking an ice cream cone --a catlike activity that has been made
acceptable in informal America but that still offends those who know eating in
public is offensive. I fear I may by this remark lose the sympathy of many
reader, people who will condescendingly regard as quaint or even priggish the
view that eating in the street is for dogs…and in many quarters complete
shamelessness is treated as proof of genuine liberation from the allegedly
arbitrary constraints of manners. To cite one small example: yawning with
uncovered mouth. Not just the uneducated rustic but children of the cultural
elite are now regularly seen yawning openly in public (not so much brazenly or
forgetfully as indifferently and "naturally"), unaware that it is an embarrassment to human self-command to be caught in the grip of involuntary bodily movements…But eating on the street -even when undertaken, say, because
one is between appointments and has no other time to eat -- displays in fact
precisely such lack of self-control: It beckons enslavement to the belly.
Lacking utensils for cutting and lifting to mouth, he will often be seen using
his teeth for tearing off chewable portions, just like any animal. This doglike
feeding, if one must engage in it, ought to be kept from public view, where,
even if WE feel no shame, others are compelled to witness our shameful
behavior.”– Leon Kass, The Hungry Soul, pp. 148-149. University of Chicago
Press, 1994, 1999,

Who is this Leon Kass, Wikipedia offers this short bio:

Leon Kass, best known as a leader in the effort to stop human embryonic stem cell
and cloning research as former chair of the President's Council on Bioethics from 2002–2005.[1]Kass places "special value on the natural human cycle of birth, procreation and death", and views death as a "necessary and desirable end". As such, he has opposed most kinds of interference in the reproductive process—including birth control—as well as all deliberate efforts to increase human longevity.

In his essay, “The End of Courtship" he sees as obstacles to a lasting marriage,
feminism. Kass treats modesty in women as a very important element of sexual
morality. "The supreme virtue of the virtuous woman was modesty, a form of
sexual self-control. Kass argues that when women behave with modesty, they are
better able to achieve their own "genuine longings and best interests," and that
female modesty also helps men to control lustful desires in favor of love and
"real intimacy." Kass attacks the use of birth control technology, and states that any woman's destiny is motherhood. The essay contains one explicit reference to homosexuality, as one of the "sexual abominations of Leviticus—incest, homosexuality, and bestiality". A footnote also mentions aging bachelors and their "self-indulgent" ways.

This is just another example of the conservative mindset, whether extreme or moderate, that is festering below the surface in what I believe to be a failed ideology. It breeds a new group of zealot elites, fast tracks them into the circles of power, and hands authoritarian power to control the wayward masses; Us.

Ice Cream part Two: Mark Russell writes:

“The dairy lobby holds an annual ice cream party for Congress, but under the new
lobbying restrictions, attendees will get no more than a single scoop. This
should end any doubt as to whether they are serious about ethics. Congress'
acceptance of the ban on double-scoop cones is every bit as praiseworthy as
President Bush's giving up of golf for the duration of the war. And they say we
Americans are not willing to sacrifice.”

Franken’s Humorous “Porn-O-Rama” Over the Heads of GOP Women

Who would have thought that Al Franken’s political career would go down in flames because of “robots that look like women?” Thank you ABC News for uncovering this news shocker.

Al Franken's candidacy for the United States Senate is hanging by a chad because he wrote in 2000 a Playboy magazine column called "Porn-O-Rama!" in which the former Saturday Night Live comedian wrote about visiting a made-up sex institute where he takes part in sexual acts with humans and machines..

Recognizing the importance of this issue to the American public, and while others get sidetracked with the economy and health care, “The Minnesota Republican Party released a letter, signed by six prominent GOP women, including a state senator and state representative, calling on Franken to "Denounce this article and apologize immediately."

The “denounce and apologize Party” has found yet another way to show how humorless, petty and strangely bizarre they can be;

“The words and descriptions you write about are beyond vulgar. While you may
attempt to defend your writing as satire, we hardly find anything defensible
about your finding humor in your desire to have sex with women or robots that look like women simply to give yourself a good time….we are horrified to believe that someone running for the U.S. Senate could have written them."

Frankly, I’m horrified that they didn’t notice the subtle nuance in his Playboy article, the contributions robot women have made in society and at the prestigious sex institute like Porn O Rama?

“We Get It!” Evangelicals, Don’t

In the ongoing attempt to blather on about anything, Christian leaders have come up with another canard to keep the faithful distracted. And with this lunatic list of names, like Focus On the Family’s James Dobson, Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the Family Research Council, Institute on Religion and Democracy and Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation, how could you possible question the sincerity of their convictions.


Just when we thought the religious right “Got It” back in 2006 acknowledging the fact that humans cause global warming, a “coalition of conservative evangelical leaders wants to enlist 1 million Christians to sign a statement questioning whether human-caused global warming is a real threat and arguing that restrictive environmental policies harm poor people(AP).”

The "We Get It!" campaign is filled with nutty contradictions, like this example
from this zany statement: "Our stewardship of creation must be
based on Biblical principles and factual evidence."

With a belief in minimal factual evidence in the Bible, they’ve chosen to apply a much higher standard of evidence in their own current history, the one they see and read about daily.

“The campaign's materials argue that "recent, slight warming" is an unproven
threat that could lead to restrictions in energy use and drive up the cost of energy and food for the world's poor.”

They have got to be putting us on? Besides not answering the question about how much of the Bible has been proven, as opposed to the body of evidence proving global climate change is real, wouldn’t unrestricted use of energy drive up the cost of energy? Weaning ourselves off of consuming energy would lessen demand and drive down prices…Wait, now they’ve got me blathering on about nothing. The saner voices are fewer in number:

“More than 110 backers, has endorsed legislation to decrease carbon dioxide
emissions…saying the threat of global warming is too grave to wait for perfect
knowledge about whether, or how much, people contribute to it.”

So if the “We Get It” campaign could just get one million instead of the mere 110 greenies, then they will have to proved that the current list of environmental disasters is an “unproven threat.”

It’s good to see the hysterical right taking on the global warming myth and defending the First Amendment by getting city councils to adopt “In God We Trust” as their city motto.

Propaganda and the Pentagon's Message Force Multipliers

I finally put this story together, I'm done with my kids birthday party and I watched the Nicktoons Speed Racer episode. If you have a chance, and the time, the NY Times has an incredibly detailed video on the propaganda pundit generals you really should see (below).

"The inspector general’s office at the Defense Department announced that it
would investigate a Pentagon public affairs program that sought to transform retired military officers who work as television and radio analysts into “message force multipliers” who could be counted on to echo Bush administration talking points about Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantánamo and terrorism in general. The Defense Department suspended the program last month(April 2008).

“The G.A.O. said it…would give a legal opinion on whether it violated
longstanding prohibitions against spending government money to spread propaganda to audiences in the United States.”

Since we’re a healthy democracy, it would be a no brainer to reject any program that would intentionally lie or mislead the citizens of the U.S., right? Not if you’re a fear mongering conservative (name calling or the truth?), willing to give up a little freedom to your trusted government authority.

Representative Paul Broun, Republican of Georgia, said: “Of course Americans
engage in propaganda. It’s a vital part of the mission of the United States to promote democracy and protect our country from harm.”

This is the Party that hates our big intrusive government. Perhaps Rep. Broun is unaware that it is illegal to carry out domestic propaganda. Foreign programs are permissible, but here at home, a no-no.

But if lacking common sense and any historical perspective wasn’t enough, maybe the most outlandish possibility of all will spark another needless debate.

“Representative Duncan Hunter of California, the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, objected to the amendment, arguing, ‘The idea that somehow Don Rumsfeld got these people in a room and told them what to say, if you believe that you don’t believe in the independence of these general officers,”

Why the very idea that military officers would do what they were told is….probable, and another crazy rant from former presidential candidate Rep. Duncan Hunter.


The stakes are high: If the investigation determines the Pentagon did have an active domestic propaganda program in place, then laws were broken and those accountable would be charged.

But if the G.A.O. decides the Pentagon did not break any laws, the bar would be set so low we would no longer be insulated by law from being told anything the governments what’s us to hear.

It would be all over.


Watch Video Here.

Guess Who’s Wasting Taxpayer Money Again-the GOP

For all the boastful proclamations about watching over government spending, and need to stop wasting taxpayer money, we now know it’s nothing but meaningless tough talk and framing. Is there any other explanation for our sending our taxes to unaccountable private schools in the form of vouchers?

We’re hearing again that they just don’t give a damn about wasting taxpayer dollars as long as it’s on their own “bridge to nowhere” boondoggles.

The NY Times reported that:

“A Pentagon audit of $8.2 billion in American taxpayer money spent by the United
States Army on contractors in Iraq has found that almost none of the payments followed federal rules and that in some cases, contracts worth millions of dollars were paid for despite little or no record of what, if anything, was received.”

While Republicans might pare $400,000 or $100 million dollars from the tight educational funding in states across the country, it appears to be too much trouble to get a receipt for $8.2 billion dollars from army contractors.

"The audit also found a sometimes stunning lack of accountability in the way the
United States military spent some $1.8 billion in seized or frozen Iraqi assets,
which in the early phases of the conflict were often doled out in stacks or
pallets of cash."

"$11.1 million of taxpayer money was paid to IAP, an American contractor, on the
basis of a voucher with no indication of what was delivered."

"But perhaps the masterpiece of elliptic paperwork is the document identified at
the top as a “Public Voucher for Purchases and Services Other Than Personal.” It
indicates that $320.8 million went for “Iraqi Salary Payment,” with no explanation of what the Iraqis were paid to do. The Pentagon’s deputy inspector general for auditing (said) that the absence of anything beyond a voucher meant that ‘we were giving or providing a payment without any basis for the payment. We don’t know what we got.’ Expenditures lacked other information required by federal regulations governing the use of taxpayer money — things like payment terms, proper identification numbers and contact information for the agents involved in the transaction."

i.e. school vouchers, faith based initiatives and outsourced federal and local government contracting.

“The Pentagon report, titled ‘Internal Controls Over Payments Made in Iraq,
Kuwait and Egypt,’ also notes that auditors were unable to find a comprehensible
set of records to explain $134.8 million in payments by the American military to its allies in the Iraq war. 'It sounds like the coalition of the willing is the coalition of the paid — they’re willing to be paid,' said Mr. Waxman, who later in the day introduced what he called a “clean contracting” amendment to a
defense authorization bill."

As insane as the conservative agenda has been since the mid 1990’s, like borrowing money to support two wars while depleting the governments general fund with tax cuts, they are pleading with voters to give them another chance to get it right.

That could happen if the Democrats don’t mention, every time they open their mouth, that we got to where we are right now in this country because of Republican economic bungling. But since they haven’t made that point, the public in a recent poll didn’t know who to blame for the countries disastrous direction.

For any political party, missing a chance to pass along that one simple message is first; irresponsible, and second; pathetic. And it appears the Democratic numbskulls qualify in both categories.

Good day sir.

Florida "feeling lucky?" Health Care Gamble

Feeling lucky? Well do you punk?” A memorable quote from Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry films. Now, Florida's governor has taken the line and not only made it his own, but makes Dirty Harry look weak-kneed. Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law the most dangerous health care solution on the planet, next to not providing any coverage at all. They are crazy loco down there in Florida, where government is run by those "go it alone" Republicans. It’s also fun watching Republicans pass laws that throw tax dollars at private schools with no accountability and their deliciously perilous “take your guns to work” law.

According to AP, ‘The new law lets insurance companies offer scaled-back health plans without all the usually required coverage’s.’ That might make insurance available to some people for as little as $150 a month, Crist said.”

Can you say, “You get what you pay for?” Hold on, because you won’t believe how the “feeling lucky?” health care plan works.

"Some insurance companies (after joining) a state program will be required to
cover many basic health care needs, such as drugs, emergency care and
hospitalization, but won't be required to pay for many treatments that insurers
generally must cover.”

Those costly treatments:

"certain screenings or coverage of certain transplants. Insurers said those
requirements contribute to rising health care costs.”

You know how it is when you have to pay for a persons treatment that might reduce your profit margin? Costly.

Gov. Crist had the brazenness to say "It will take away a lot of worry."

Why would anyone worry that they, or a family member, might need treatment not covered under their plan? We can live (maybe die) with that, if you get my meaning?

The state program, "Cover Florida," will also allow insurers who don't
participate in the program to make changes…(to) provide
cheaper policies."

This is the “screw you, you’re on your own” plan.

“Under that part of the law, organizations and insurance companies would be
allowed to offer scaled-back plans that have even fewer requirements than the
ones participating in the state program."

If you thought it couldn’t get more dangerous or irresponsible, hold onto your 911 call centers.

According to supporters, “plans that don't cover everything are better than no
insurance at all.”

(Have we fallen into the rabbit hole?)

Florida has done away with troublesome transplants requirements and the number of days a women must be allowed to remain in the hospital after child birth.

Crist said "One in five Floridians goes to bed at night worrying about how to
pay for medical care."

Thanks to their barbarous Republican legislature and a remorseless Gov. Crist, now five of five Floridians will go to bed worrying that they might have to go bankrupt paying for uncovered medical expenses and pray they’ll still have a roof over the heads.

These sadistic fiends should be ashamed of their inhumanity. But they won’t be, because they’re cutthroat Republicans. They saved insurance companies money at the expense of human suffering.

Monsters.

Authoritarian Rule under Wisconsin Attorney General Van Hollen

Wisconsin’s Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen had a rocky electoral road to office. For example, his...

Pro Gun, No Brain agenda: A flier from the Van Hollen campaign attributed this quote to Waukesha District Attorney Paul Bucher: "I would feel safer, in a perfect world, if there were no guns." Van Hollen, was pictured himself holding a dead deer on the campaign piece. Efforts to find its source were not successful.

War Against Liberal Agenda: In September 2005 Van Hollen successfully convicted Chai Vang of killing six deer hunters and wounded two others in Madison, even though he argued that Madison liberals might be more likely to go easy on Vang, or wouldn't understand deer hunting issues. Of course, lawyers and judges said such notions were simplistic.

Fear and War on Terror Agenda: J.B. Van Hollen said in a Capitol news
conference; "We have in Wisconsin terrorists who are training and raising funds.
We don't need to be paranoid, but we need to be vigilant." His conclusions were
based on information he had access to as U.S. attorney, but Mike Johnson, a
supervisory special agent for the Milwaukee FBI office said Van Hollen's comment
about the FBI were "completely inappropriate"

The Nonexistent Voter Fraud Agenda: Van Hollen wants to set up a special Justice Department unit to enforce state elections law and create teams to monitor the polls on Election Day.

As crazy as all this appears, Van Hollen won the confidence of the voters and swept the election. Would it surprise anyone that there are now problems in the AG’s office?

War On Wasted Taxpayer Money Agenda: On May 23, 2008, the Wisconsin State Journal reported “the head of the state Department of Justice's public integrity bureau was demoted just weeks after she questioned (in an email) whether Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen could legally receive taxpayer-funded security at the Republican National Convention in September.” As another conservative guardian against wasting taxpayer money, Van Hollen would be using state resources for his own personal political activities.

If that weren’t bad enough, sprinkle on this little falsehood; “the Attorney
Generals office said no determination has been made as to whether Van Hollen
will need taxpayer-paid security in Minneapolis during the GOP convention in
September.” (But) “an April 21 e-mail obtained by the State Journal and
not released by DOJ, (the demoted employee actually gave this order), ‘Agents
are to provide 24/7 security detail for the AG at the Republican National
Conference September 1-5."

Ouch! Guess that was a blatant lie from the AG’s office. These Republicans really are the “law and order Party.”

Note: All of this comes after the recent news that Van Hollen “demoted Carolyn Kelly, director of the special assignments bureau and state fire marshal, for sending e-mails he said threatened his staff. Earlier this year, Jim Warren, (long time) administrator of the Division of Criminal Investigation…was forced out and that his year under Van Hollen was "very difficult."

Activist Justices Now Rule U.S.

Much has been written about judicial activism and the deliberate attempts by unelected judges to legislate from the bench. Conservatives have created another phony issue and methodically “framed” the liberals with this powerful brand. It’s not that judges don’t make biased decisions, they do, it’s just that such activism is only coming from the Democratic side.

Not every Republican feels this deceptive scheme should go unnoticed. In the New York Times story, “At Supreme Court, 5-4 Rulings Fade-but Why?” federal appeals court judge and now author points out what should be obvious, there is a problem.

“Indeed, much of the commentary on the court’s performance during the last
term was harsh, and it came not only from liberals. Judge Richard
A. Posner, the conservative icon who sits on the federal appeals
court in Chicago, offers some pointed and unusually personal criticism of Chief
Justice Roberts in his new book, ‘How Judges Think,’ published this year by Harvard University Press. The chief justice’s self-description during his
confirmation hearing as a simple baseball umpire might have been a ‘tactical
error’ for one who evidently ‘aspires to remake significant areas of
constitutional law,’ Judge Posner writes, adding: ‘The tension between what he said at his confirmation hearing and what he is doing as a justice is a blow to Roberts’s reputation for candor and a further debasement of the already debased currency of the testimony of nominees at judicial confirmation hearings.”

“Such words from Richard Posner would cause any member of the court, let alone a relatively new and young chief justice who undoubtedly admires him, to swallow hard.”

It was a tough, but welcome acknowledgment, from someone with street cred. One outrageous decision is rarely brought up, and I’m mentioning it here after a recently shopping trip for a handheld gaming devise like the DS or PSP. They were all the same price. NO SALES?

I have a sneaking suspicion that it might have been the following ruling that caused this quirk in competition;

The Supreme Court overturned a 96-year-old rule of antitrust law that prohibited retail price fixing. Manufacturers can set a fixed price and forbid stores from offering discounts. For nearly 100 years, “the nation has had an unusually competitive retail market, in part because antitrust laws made it illegal for sellers or manufacturers to agree on fixed prices. Justice Anthony Kennedy noted that retailers that offer displays and service for customers can be undercut by discounters.”

To combat fixed prices, stores have implemented price point cards that can be used to get a specific dollar amount or a percentage off. But since it was just another hoop for consumer to jump through, many would just as soon skip the hassle and buy at retail.

For me though, one thing was clear; this was not that free market capitalist utopia I was told worked so well. I’ve been gamed.

“Ryan's plan a 'roadmap' for the future” IN HELL

The Wisconsin State Journal editorial 'The status qua in not an option,” praised Rep. Paul Ryans "Road Map to America's Future", a plan so hideous that it boggles the mind and puts each of us at the mercy of insurance companies and banks. I can hear it now, "But he's a respected Republican, we trust them with our money, and they know how to be 'fiscal conservatives.” How's the country doing right now after being under the control of a Republican Congress and White House for the past 7 years?

Let’s start with the hyperbole.

“Rep. Paul Ryan is generating excitement among conservative circles for a bill he introduced that would reform Social Security, Medicare, the health care system and the tax code. "

"I call it a roadmap for America's future," said Rep. Ryan. Insiders… say Ryan's measure represents the kind of fresh thinking the party needs to turn itself around.”

Fresh? Privatizing Medicare and Social Security, and make the public pay out of their meager incomes health care premiums with a small tax deduction, when employers once payed and got 100 percent deductability?

“Republican strategists say …might help the party recast itself as the party of limited government and fiscal restraint.”

Yes, and stick all the risk in the publics lap with no safety nets.

“Ryan's bill would offer more transparency in health care costs; provide more flexibility for state-sponsored high-risk pools for insurance.”

More "state-sponsored" flexibility means states pay more, squeezing Wisconsin taxpayers. Insurance is supposed to spread the risk, thus lowering the cost of coverage, this plan does the opposite. This also puts everyone out there alone, removing any possible group discount. The bill would also set up medical savings accounts to pay for out-of-pocket costs. Sorry Rep. Ryan, these savings accounts have been analyzed and discredited by economic experts. I should know, I've had one for six years and it's wiped out my kids college savings accounts.

We already know that insurance companies suck up 20 to 30 percent of every health care dollar, so why not let them do the same for Medicare? A gift to the “for profit from illness” industry of gluttonous racketeers. Bravo!

Ryan would reform the Social Security program, giving workers the option of investing a third of their current Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts. A gift to investment companies and banks holding the retirement accounts, while draining the standard plan. Just like health savings accounts, which have already been roundly criticized by everyone except conservative ideologues, personal retirement accounts would only benefit the wealthy.

Contradiction ALERT: Ryan says "the government" will guarantee a minimum in those personal accounts. What, rely on big bad government promises? Sounds a lot like another taxpayer bailout for the go-it-alone personal account risk takers if things don't pan out.

Much of Rep. Ryan's plan would be unnecessary with the implementation of a single payer health care system in this country. European countries spend less than we do. It is stunning to think we haven't culled the best from of their plans for ourselves. In fact, Rep. Ryan even acknowledges how much more we spend in the U.S. than in Europe, while completely ignoring the obvious: Europeans style health care is the solution.
In his own words,from WTMJ Radio, listen and weep....





Think it might have something to do with ideology?

With Friends Like This...

This is a difficult post to make, because it involves an old friend and room mate of mine. We have taken starkly different paths in the last fifteen years. I’ve mentioned him before as this gun toting (though it is illegal to carry a gun in Wisconsin) born again, conservative ideologue. We’ve had lucid conversation in the past, but since this blog, he has apparently seen me for what I am, a Marxist. What I found out a few days ago was that Rush Limbaugh has been pushing the Marxist label heavily, and through that conservative filter, influenced my friend’s ability to have a rational conversation.

I have learned a lot about conservatives through my nameless friend here, and a former Republican radio host at WIBA-AM Vicki McKenna. Surprise, she’s still there, I’m not. What I’ve learned is that no matter how well you make your case, their minds are made up. Only on a rare occasion will you find a conservative change their pattern of thought? Through their own propaganda and myth making, a whole new world has been created. It’s a reality where liberals and Democrats are enemies of the state, and all problems stem from their implementation of the New Deal and war protests of the 60’s.

These are the unedited email responses to my blog postings and some protracted phone interactions. I’ll start with his reaction to a point I made about the NSA’s warrantless wiretaps.

“John, How can it be a scare tactic, maybe there right. Did you ever think about
that? I think you to dam syndical. We need to protect our country period. I
can't argue about this with you because I don 't believe you get it. After 911 I
said "how can this have happed" and then we learned about fire wall and that the
cia could' not' and didn't share information about terrorist. There were the 911
committee after committee to show the debacle that inside. I would rather error
on the side of being protected and give the phone company's immunity for helping
protect there country. Everyone asked why we didn't connected the dot's before
911. Now we have the ability to connected the dots and the dems won't lets us.
Moreover, lets be sure about this. If not when there is another attack on US
soil. You libs will be the first to point fingers at the same people that were
trying to fix the problem.”

“Instead of looking under your bed to see it
your phone is taped start looking at your absurd and ridiculous paranoia
conclusions that you might be being taped or being listing to. To be reaching
that this is Orwell's 1984 is just plane stupid. Don't forget John my boy, you
said your not good at gambling. This would be a hell of a thing to loose. Oh by
the way, I think the other thing you sent me way is propaganda. They simply just
don't get it. GET WHAT YOU SAY! That America has enemy's and they want to kill
us! Us is meaning you and your family. My jaw did drop by the way, that the dems
are so irresponsible on this, and to say that the constitution was saved when it
was never in jeopardy in the first place. Iam sending you links/ Maybe I should
book a flight to Denmark. “

“John yoiu used to have something to say and
I thought you did however you have gone off the deep end with your socialisum
(not spelled right) I mean your really really scaring me. I think your left of
carl max on most or some of your opintions.”

There is not a lot of room to negotiate with someone who holds you in complete contempt.

The hope is that soon, and similar to the 20 or 30 percent approval ratings of the Bush presidency, these small percentages represent a declining number of unwavering extremists. It’s a time to wake up, and a time to pool our best intentions.

OOOPS! FBI War Crimes File Says It All

After reading the NY Times story “Report Details Dissent on Guantánamo Tactics,” about the FBI war crimes file, I couldn’t help but wonder what I would write if I were say, Jonah Goldberg or David Brooks. It would probably go something like this: “Often times you’ll hear the wacky liberal fringe accuse the Bush administration of war crimes and how they should be prosecuted for them. These terrorist appeasers would rather let a U.S. city burn to the ground before they take the threat seriously…”

That was way too easy to write, simplistic, but kind of fun.

Here’s the background story: “In 2002, as evidence of prisoner mistreatment at Guantánamo Bay began to mount, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents at the base created a ‘war crimes file’ to document accusations against American military personnel, but were eventually ordered to close down the file, a Justice Department report revealed. The report says that the F.B.I. agents took their concerns to higher-ups, but that their concerns often fell on deaf ears… the ‘war crimes’ label showed just how seriously F.B.I. agents took the accusations. Sometime in 2003…an F.B.I. official ordered the file closed because ‘investigating detainee allegations of abuse was not the F.B.I.’s mission. F.B.I. officials…believed the physical pressure being used by the C.I.A. was less effective than traditional noncoercive methods, that it would ‘taint’ any future effort at prosecution, and that it ‘was wrong and helped Al Qaeda in spreading negative views of the United States,’ the report says.”

I don't know about you, but when I think back over the entire 8 years, it really takes my breath away. A nation on edge is not a free nation but an affraid one.

And Republicans, the law and order party, just another myth down in flames.