Fighting for "Freeload and Liberty," Conservatives Won't spend Hard earned Money on Health Care Insurance.

OPINION:

It's only just the beginning, but the frivolous lawsuits to stop health care reform in its tracks became a real possibility yesterday, when a George W. Bush appointed judge decided:

U.S. District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson (said), "While this case raises a host of complex constitutional issues, all seem to distill to the single question of whether or not Congress has the power to regulate -- and tax -- a citizen's decision not to participate in interstate commerce. Neither the U.S. Supreme Court nor any circuit court of appeals has squarely addressed this issue," Hudson wrote in his 32-page opinion.

Think about it, if the conservative activist Supreme Court Justices decide against the interstate commerce argument for universal health care, not only will it call into question all interstate regulations but create an entire nation of "Freeload and Liberty patriots" getting emergency room health care from everyone else. Not only will they not feel the price increases the insured will be asked to pay, but it justifies the long held idea that emergency room treatment IS universal health care.

President Bush even said once everyone has access to health care simply by going to the nearest emergency room. It sounded crazy at the time, but the impact of that mind numbing revelation is taking root in the tea party movement, and the GOP's platform of repeal and replace.

I know, the thrust of the argument is really based on the overall idea that reform violated the constitution, and was example of government overreach. But not having to buy insurance is now part of being "free." Or a "freeloader" as like to call it.

What it really suggests is that buying health care insurance is great if that's what you decide to purchase, but in the big picture, isn't necessary if you don't feel like having it or can't afford it. After all, there's always the emergency room.

So far, the conservative activist Supreme Court is making these pocketbook constitutional scholars look good, a sad and disconcerting sign we're in for a dramatic shift in this country to the far right.

Amd as long as younger adults believe the rhetoric that they won't have Social Security and Medicare when they are older, as many Republicans continue to suggest, they won't fight to prevent these New Deal programs from being dissolved.

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Republicans Set to Hold Up Middle Class Tax Cuts...and they're still in position to win?

Am I dreaming? It appears the Democrats have a PLAN...an offensive action against the Republicans in the run-up to the midterms. It's a good one. According to the WSJ:

So Democrats already are planning to turn the issue into a campaign theme—by blaming Republicans if the legislation fails. The looming battle over taxes and spending is likely to be a dominant one in Washington, stretching into next year, as the government begins to address chronic budget deficits.

"The Senate will move first, and it will be a test to see whether Republicans filibuster" to block the bill in a bid to also win tax cuts for higher earners, said Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, head of the House Democrats' re-election effort.

"If you can't get it out of the Senate, then you take it to the election," Mr. Van Hollen said in a recent interview. "You say to the American people that Republicans want to continue to hold middle-class tax relief hostage for an extension of tax breaks for [the well-to-do]. That will be the debate."

A battle royale. After checking out the chart above, you'll notice only a slight increases in taxes under a million. The GOBP is willing to defend that?

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Batman City of Scars, the short movie.

It's amazing how good this looks for the tight fan based budget. The guy looks great as Batman.



CITY OF SCARS
Uploaded by Batinthesun. - Watch feature films and entire TV shows.

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Ryan votes against protecting elderly from fraud. At their Age, don't they know how to take care of themselves yet?

Would it come as a surprise to anyone following the Paul Ryan story that he would leave seniors at the mercy of the free market of thieves? We can't rely on government for anything, especially when we're old and frail.

The House of Representatives passed the Senior Financial Empowerment Act. Introduced by Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), the legislation aims to protect seniors targetted by fraudsters and financial criminals ... nearly one in five seniors are defrauded each year. Additionally, according to a report by MetLife Mature Market Institute, "the annual financial loss by victims of elder financial abuse is estimated to be at least $2.6 billion dollars."

With strong bipartisan support ... But 79 Republicans, nearly half of the caucus — including (Paul Ryan)— voted against the legislation.

It's not altogether surprising that Republicans would spurn such federal initiatives — even important and uncontroversial ones — on pure anti-government principles. But sometimes, it leaves many of us scratching our heads. What exactly is the principle behind opposing legislation aimed at protecting seniors from fraud? Do they see it as a government takeover of the "avoid fraud industry"?

Perhaps the "no" votes reflect the firmly-held belief of many conservatives that if someone is swindled, that's just too darned bad; it's not the government's job to protect people from their own mistakes.

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Slime Trail leads to former Republican Assembly leader Scott Jensen. Conservatives are never wrong, Laws are.

I find it odd that so many former conservative crooks can get right back into politics without being tainted by their criminal past, while their liberal counter parts are run out of town for a paper they wrote 30 years ago in college or because of a friend with a questionable history.

Take the eternal case of former Republican Assembly speaker Scott Jensen. His actual defense is that the Democrats were doing it too. No, really. The best analogy is getting stopped for speeding, even though everyone around you was too. The thing is, you’re the one that got caught. Jensen got caught. So what. Dan Bice of the Milwauke Journal Sentinel writes:

Scott Jensen is back. Once one of the two most powerful figures in the statehouse … Jensen was one of several Capitol lawmakers from both parties charged with running campaigns with taxpayer resources. But unlike the others caught up in the scandal, he avoided a plea deal and took the matter to trial, where he was convicted of three felonies and one misdemeanor ethics violation. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison but was allowed to remain free while appealing the case.

In 2007, an appeals court threw out the felony convictions and granted him a new trial, saying Jensen's legal team should have been allowed to argue that Democrats also had long used legislative aides as campaign workers.

Jensen's friends think he has a good chance of being cleared. "They had to cheat to get a conviction," said a GOP political observer. "Captain Ahab (DA Brian Blanchard) isn't prosecuting the case, it won't be in Dane County and it's no longer a highly partisan Department of Justice (Republican partisan AG J.B. Van Hollen)."

A few readers left the only kind of response you would expect from such an absurd case.

The idea that Mr.Jensen did not know his caucus staff was campaigning on the taxpayer's dime in violation of the law is absurd. His defense seems to be "yes" but the Democrats did it too so there was no unfair advantage?

Jensen continues to act like he did absolutely nothing wrong. He was a victim just
doing what everyone else was doing. Poor guy.

Someone else has noticed that "Paul Ryan is an Idiot"

I've taken my reasoned, fact based shots at Paul Ryan, now it's time to take turns. Here's Jon Taplin from TPM Muckracker:

Paul Ryan is an Idiot, By Jon Taplin

This is supposedly the smartest economist in the Republican Congressional delegation, Paul Ryan on what we need to do to increase lending.

"We need to do things to free up credit. We need regulatory forbearance
there. Right now, the policymakers and regulators are doing opposite things. So you're right that there's a lot of capital parked out there, and we need to coax it out into the markets. I think literally that if we raised the federal funds rate by a point, it would help push money into the economy, as right now, the safest play is to stay with the federal money and federal paper."

This is just plain stupid. You raise the rates banks pay for overnight deposits, the return on Federal paper; then banks will keep more in Federal Paper and lend less to the economy. If this is the best the Republicans have got, we're in for trouble.

Ryan also raises the myth of a "Capital strike" by big business when he raise the trope heard here from our libertarian friends--"I know uncertainty is a new economic buzzword, but for good reason: If we can reduce it, we'll unlock capital." This is so stupid in light of the GDP report yesterday.

"The crucial driver of growth in the second quarter was business investment in such things as office buildings and equipment and software. Such activity rocketed up at an annual rate of 17 percent in the second quarter, compared with a 7.8 percent increase in the first. The equipment and software category alone grew at an annual rate of 21.9 percent, the fastest pace in 12 years."

There is no capital strike because of uncertainty. Business is investing at the fastest
pace in 12 years.

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Republicans looking to the guy who oversaw the massive Debt/Deficit Accumulation for Bush to be next president!

Keep this video in mind as Republican pundits toss the name Mitch Daniels into the presidential mix for 2012. Kent Conrad points out the insanity of the Bush tax cuts, appearing with know-it-all Daniels, who is silently objecting to Conrads right-on assessment. Daniels is the governor of Indiana, and it looks like the press is having its usual case of amnesia:

CBS News: Enter Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who worked as director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush. Daniels has beenbuzzed about by political insiders all year as a strong candidate against Mr. Obama, in part because his charm lies in his very lack of it. "He is the un-Obama. Republicans--notably some wealthy and powerful ones who have decided he should be president--seem to like that."
That line comes from a flattering cover story on Daniels that seems designed to generate buzz for a possible candidacy; it casts the popular governor as an unflinching fiscal conservative willing and able to take on government waste.

If your wondering if Mitch Daniels would be a good candidate for president, check out this interview from the spring of 2001 with Meet the Press' Tim Russert about the Bush tax cuts, despite economists warnings (a video tape clip I no longer have):

RUSSERT: Mr. Daniels, we've had nearly a million layoffs since George Bush became president. The Dow Jones slipped below 10,000. The surplus is vanishing quickly. How long will we be in this recession?

MR. MITCH DANIELS: Hard telling, Tim. But it remains the president's first concern and obviously was one motivation for the tax cuts that he pushed through
Congress, which now we can all see were very, very well timed and well conceived.

MR. RUSSERT: But as CBO pointed out, if you look out for 10 years, the surplus is more than $2 trillion less than projected. Many people are suggesting scaling back on the tax cut, or scaling back on government .... Bottom line, Mr. Daniels, where are you going to find a way to keep the budget out of deficit? … Where do you find the money?

MR. DANIELS: Tim, another penalty flag. You're a smart guy. When you take in $158 billion more than it costs to pay all your bills, including interest, that's called a
surplus. And we are going to run gigantic surpluses as far as the eye can see.

Our next president? Oh, there's more. According to the Washington Post:

In his 29 month time in the Bush administration, Daniels oversaw a $236 billion annual surplus turn into a $400 billion deficit. Daniels also leased out Indiana's toll way, for a one time payment, and the promise of higher tolls for drivers who then can't blame government. Daniels also knew this dirty little secret about the AMT, where it would eventually start taking away middle class tax cut savings"

CNN, May 27, 2001: Tax experts said the new bill (Bush tax cut) gives families with children the largest tax breaks. At the same time, they said, it makes more taxpayers subject to an additional tax designed originally to keep the very wealthy from avoiding their fair share of the tax bill. The tax cuts in the new bill will bring many taxpayers closer to the threshold that would require them to pay the AMT -- and as more cuts are gradually implemented, more taxpayers will have to pay it.

Now as a way to do away with entitlements, Republicans want to repeal the AMT and blow a gigantic hole in the budget, and increase the already high national debt.

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Plumbing Ad Makes Unsettling Comparison with Parachuting!

This is a weird commercial for plumbing, comparing your parachute malfunctioning to an over flowing toilet. I'm still feeling a little traumatized by the whole idea.

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Proof: Republicans to Hold Off Recovery, to Anger Voters and Win Elections. It's Working...

Example 1: Rejecting the small business tax cuts offered by the Democrats. Only their "magical" policies will work.



Example 2: Rejecting medical help to 9/11 volunteers. All the Republican talk of idolizing those 9/11 heroes turns out to be just that, talk. It's almost unthinkable during an election year to be so hostile to our fellow Americans. Still, it's working for them.

Schlafly Picks on Unmarried Women with Children. Conservatives giving everyone the impression they're Hideous People.

Conservatives hate helping people so much, they hate and distrust everyone. For instance, what's there to like about unmarried women with kids. They knew Obama would take care of them with other peoples money so they could live the life of ease without a man around. My head is hurting now...

Phyllis Schlafly: One of the things Obama’s been doing is deliberately trying to increase the percentage of our population that is dependent on government for your living.

For example, do you know what was the second biggest demographic group that voted for Obama? Obviously the blacks were the biggest demographic, you all know what was the second biggest? Unmarried women. 70% of unmarried women voted for Obama. And this is because when you kick your husband out, you’ve got to have Big Brother Government to be your provider. And they know that. They’ve admitted it. And they have all kinds of bills to continue to subsidize illegitimacy…

The Obama administration wants to continue to subsidize this group because they know they are Democratic votes.

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The DNC's video of the Republican Contract on America

Tapping into the mythical excuse for Trickle Downs Failure, Economic "Uncertainty," Ryan Claims Republican Reform is Immediate, Certain.

In this interview with Ezra Klein, Paul Ryan is revealed to be living in some alternate universe where persistent Republicans can simply get what they want by complaining, without ever compromising.

Paul Ryan: I would advance different solutions with an eye toward international competitiveness and … encouraging certainty.

Klein: The National Federation of Independent Business’s surveys have shown the main concern of their member businesses is that they’re not going to have customers for their products. So do Republicans have any demand-side solutions, even if they’re just tax cuts? Is there talk of a payroll tax holiday, or anything similar?

Ryan: There are some who do. Where I come from, I think certainty and long-term solutions are better. Temporary stuff doesn’t work.

Klein: But to just push you on this one more time, even under the best circumstances, that will take a long time. What Congress produces won’t be what’s in your white papers. So best-case scenario: Replacing them takes awhile, and there’s going to be natural uncertainty as banks, for instance, now have to wait to see what the new rules will be on them. And so what do you do in the interim to unlock this capital?

Ryan: If Nancy Pelosi came to me and said I’ve been wrong, you’re right, what do you want to do immediately, we could put caps on spending, maybe make a good dent on future spending through the [fiscal] commission, and extend the tax cuts two years. That, in and of itself, would really help the economy.

Ryan could also imagine himself as president of the world, or wave his wizards wand over the country and have everyone obey his every economic imagining. Criminality and con artists will disappear in a Randian landscape of Dickensian workhouses. As for those trough eating “public employees,” doing the peoples work:

Klein: A report released by the National League of Cities, the National Association
of Counties and United States Conference of Mayors said they’ll have to lay off
500,000 people in the next few years if they don’t get some fiscal relief.
That’s 500,000 people on the unemployment rolls.

Ryan: I’ve always believed we need automatic stabilizers. We need a safety net. But … I also think it’s a bad idea to bail out states from making the necessary decisions they need to make to increase and fix their structural deficit problems. All you’re doing then is putting their liabilities on the federal books.

How easy was that? He's so smart.

Public Beginning to Forget Lies and distortions about Health Care Reform. Suddenly, they like it.

It looks like more Americans are getting a better idea of what health care reform will mean to them, and liking it. Kaiser Foundation poll above.

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Breitbart's New Brand of "Journalism" Catches on in Right Wing World.

See the whole comic HERE

Thank you E.J. for writing what I haven’t had the time post myself over the insanity of the “debate” on economics.

We can blame the media for allowing the party of NO to get away with policies that don't make factual sense. The "fair" thing to do is have a debate.

E.J. Dionne Jr.: The simple truth is that the wealthy in the United States -- the people who have made almost all the income gains in recent years -- are undertaxed compared with everyone else.

Consider two reports from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. One, issued last month, highlighted findings from the Congressional Budget Office showing that "the gaps in after-tax income between the richest 1 percent of Americans and the middle and poorest fifths of the country more than tripled between 1979 and 2007."

The other, from February, used Internal Revenue Service data to show that the effective federal income tax rate for the 400 taxpayers with the very highest incomes declined by nearly half in just over a decade, even as their pre-tax incomes have grown five times larger.

The study found that the top 400 households "paid 16.6 percent of their income in federal individual income taxes in 2007, down from 30 percent in 1995." We are talking here about truly rich people. Using 2007 dollars, it took an adjusted gross income of at least $35 million to make the top 400 in 1992, and $139 million in 2007.

The notion that when we are fighting two wars, we're not supposed to consider raising taxes on such Americans is one sign of a country that's no longer serious ... studies showing that the stimulus created or saved as many as 3 million jobs are very hard to refute. It's much easier to pretend that all this money was wasted, although the evidence is overwhelming that we should have stimulated more.

When our republic was created, the population ratio between the largest and smallest state was 13 to 1. Now, it's 68 to 1. Because of the abuse of the filibuster, 41 senators representing less than 11 percent of the nation's population can, in principle, block action supported by 59 senators representing more than 89 percent of our population. And you wonder why it's so hard to get anything done in Washington?

I'm a chronic optimist about America. But we are letting stupid politics, irrational ideas on fiscal policy and an antiquated political structure undermine our power.

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House Republicans to 9/11 Heroes suffering lasting Health Complications: Pay for your own Doctor Bills, Freeloaders! Rep. Weiner Pissed.

If only every Democrat had Rep. Anthony Weiner's fire when it came to believing in their own ideals.

Washington Post: Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) literally lost it on the House floor Thursday over his Republican colleagues' procedural objection to an amendment to the Public Health Services Act. The amendment would extend and improve health care benefits for 9/11 victims suffering from lasting health complications.

Weiner is given to House floor drama. The New York Democrat is known for his often passionate and attention-grabbing remarks. He screamed for more than a minute Thursday, calling on Republican colleagues to vote 'no' against the bill, rather than object on procedural grounds.

Weiner: "This is not something that got rushed through. This is nine years in the making. Nine years worth of people getting sick and dying when the only thing they did wrong, so to speak, was to come to Ground Zero and helping dig out neighbors." "Stop whining and the get bill passed," Weiner said.

King: "They wanted to make a chief political point."

Weiner: "We made the point," interrupting King. "We support it, Your guys don't. That's outrageous."

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Running for Governor, and Running from a Flood, that's our Scott Walker.

Looks matter most for Republicans. Wearing flag pins, waving flags, carrying a pocket constitution, standing for the pledge, being seen praying in public, having fireworks, looking tough on crime and terrorism, not wearing a helmet or seat belt, smoking around people that don’t, carrying guns, dressing like the founding fathers, complaining a president doesn’t appear and a boy scout event or national cemetery…you get the idea.

So it is a BIG DEAL when a Republican blows a chance to “LOOK” concerned.

Wisconsin State Journal: After heavy rainfall and flooding caused millions of dollars in damages to Wisconsin - even triggering a sinkhole in Milwaukee big enough to swallow a Cadillac Escalade - Democratic candidate for governor and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett toured areas damaged by the rains over the weekend. And Republican candidate Scott Walker, the Milwaukee County executive, made campaign stops in places like Wausau, Eau Claire, and Pulaski.

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin was quick to point out the difference, releasing a video about the two candidates and their weekend activities. "Tell Scott Walker that a real leader is there for his constituents, not his own career," the Dem's ad reads.

In a horribly concocted response, "refudiated" by local news:

Walker's campaign promptly accused Democrats of trying to use the storms to boost Barrett's campaign. "Scott spent all Friday touring flood damage, visiting with victims, issuing a disaster declaration, actively seeking state and federal assistance, and is receiving constant updates on flood relief efforts," Walker campaign manager Keith Gilkes said.

Yes, he was right there, as the video clearly reveals, from BagScottWalker?

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Green Bay has No Chance of Hosting Super Bowl, says Goodell. Try and find a hotel...

The sad part of this story is that many will never see or be a part of the Lambeau experience. It really is a great community (a few too many conservatives, but they have a nice brew pub).

Jsonline: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell didn't come right out and say it, but if you do the math he presented, it's clear Lambeau Field has almost no shot at hosting a Super Bowl. Goodell was in town to attend the Green Bay Packers annual shareholders meetings … said it would be inaccurate to characterize the cold as the biggest deterrent, especially given the decision to play in New York in 2014. "It's not about weather as much as it is infrastructure," Goodell said. "You need 25,000 hotel rooms within 60 miles. It's an extraordinary undertaking."

Given there only about 3,000 hotel rooms in the greater Green Bay area, odds probably aren't good the big game will ever be played here. He would not categorically dismiss the idea of a Super Bowl at Lambeau, but you get the picture.

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Crime Continues to Go Down in Milwaukee, Where No One can Carry a Concealed Weapon. Defies Logic?

Guns deter criminals! So what would explain the lower crime rates in Milwaukee, where no one is allowed to carry concealed weapons and we don't have broad crazy "Castle" laws allowing you to shoot anyone you think might harm anywhere outside your home? I guess the answer is there is no relation at all between carry laws in states that allow it, and states that don't, like Wisconsin and Illinois. Huh oh:

Reported crime in Milwaukee has decreased for 10 consecutive quarters … Milwaukee has continued to mirror a national trend that has seen crime decrease across the country for three consecutive years, according to statistics released by the Police Department. Reported crime in the eight major categories tracked by the FBI is down 7.6% in Milwaukee through the first half of this year … Violent crime - homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault - is down 12.3%

Statistics don’t support the idea that carrying guns, concealed or not, contributes one bit to the downward national trend of crime. Yet, in-home gun ownership hasn’t statistically reduced burglary:

Burglary is the only crime among the eight major offenses tracked by the FBI that has increased, jumping 3.7% compared with the first half of 2007 and 1.4% compared with the first half of last year, according to the department's statistics.

Again, home gun protection doesn’t seem to deter someone from breaking in…how curious. Will any brave gun crazy advocate please explain how that is possible.

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Essence Attacked for Hiring White Editor. How odd is this Protest?

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