Stop Treating Conservative Activism Like it Doesn’t Exist.

The press allows the talking point “activist judge” to float out there unchallenged. Democrats have steered clear of pointing out how ridiculous “activist” sounds when applying it to only one party, while Republicans pretend to have some divine right to Constitutional interpretation. Stop it. Stop it NOW. After watching the video clip of Bush 41 tout Clarence Thomas as an empathetic candidate for the Supreme Court, one would have thought the whole idiotic and embarrassing issue would have come to a screeching halt for Republican ideologues. Not in the wedge issue world of conservatism. This story has pushed me over the line, again:

USA Today: The top Republican on the Senate committee, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., reviewing Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court said Monday that he is concerned President Obama is driving federal courts "far to the left" bychoosing "activist" judges for the bench.

(Sessions) said Obama's judicial nominees, including Sotomayor and three others to the U.S. Court of Appeals, raise questions about what role a judge's background should play in deciding cases. “When he talks about wanting a judge to show empathy, that's very troubling to me."

Sessions appears to be repulsed by the human response “empathy.” Sessions would much rather ignore the more humanistic qualities of our founding fathers, and “actively” replace their Constitutional musings with a more sterile robotic reading, along the lines of Hal the computer from 2001 a Space Odyssey. After all, conservatives are devoid of ideology, sympathy, outrage and a sense of philosophical victimization.

But a strict constructionist view of the Constitution, a specifically conservative theory, is pure and unquestionable. Approaching the Constitution as though it were a living document, influenced by time and citizen attitudinal changes, is not what time traveling Republicans claim Madison and the others meant when they drew up their unbendable laws and etched them in stone tablets.

As far as the stone tablets are concerned, I further dispute the idea that God ordered Christ to do the etching, thus making our country a Christian nation. For those conservatives scrambling to search Google for more information, I just made this last point up.

Rep. Scott Suder is an Idiot. There, I’ve said it.

The anti-education State Rep. Scott Suder has got to be one of the biggest idiots in the legislature. Sorry about being so blunt, but time after time, this numb skull hammers out inane press releases that defy reality. Because I don’t want to waste my life responding to everything Suder tears off his toilet paper roll of platitudes, I will briefly address his most recent media dump. Suder quotes himself in his press release:

“For my part, I offered a number of amendments to make Wisconsin a safer state. I don’t think you can put a price tag on public safety, and in a budget that actually increases government spending by about 6 percent ($3.68 billion) over the previous budget, there should be more than enough to go around.”

The 6 percent spending Suder complains about is all federal stimulus money. And if Suder would have taken the time to read the news or federal plan, or even play politician, he would have been familiar with the rules and regulations tied to the targeted stimulus dollars. To prevent waste and increase accountability, politicians were prevented from thinking “there should be more than enough to go around.”

Suder instead plays on the public's deep seated fears, the dark side in everyone’s personality, where criminals and child molester’s can be found around every corner, plotting in every neighbors house and lurking in every work place parking lot.

… making our streets less safe for children; the Democrats plain and simple dropped the ball at the worst possible time for our state. “I offered separate amendments to drunk drivers who've killed someone while behind the wheel, drug dealers, and murderers behind bars, in addition to maintaining real-time GPS tracking on the worst of the worst sex offenders, and one by one, the Democrats voted for the criminals, not the victims.”

Suder makes the “crazy as a loon’ claim that the above offenders will be set free. Like frightened little children who never out grew their fear of thunder, Suder’s supporters seem to buy into the “sky is falling” politics of their representative while opening their wallets for new prisons.

The bottom line; Rep. Scott Suder is a big idiot.

Why Would Everyone Drop Private Health Insurance for a Government Plan? Why Worry about Universal Care When No One Wants It?

There are some truths even Republican can't obscure from public view:

NY Times: Republicans on Sunday continued to express strong concerns over the Obama administration’s plan to reform health care and its call for a public insurance option.

“I think that, for virtually every Republican, a government plan is a non-starter,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “We know that, if the government gets in this business, pretty soon nobody else will be in the business.”

McConnell thinks people will hear that and be afraid.

Most people will think: The government option for health care must kick ass if everyone would want to drop high priced private insurance.

Is it really that easy?

Republicans: High Health Care Costs Caused by Lazy People. No, by People who Exercise, no...

Republicans really want to have it both ways, and never have to commit to anything. It's like being in an Alice in Wonderland world of opposites. With Humpty Dumpty word games, unbirthdays and authoritarian characters screaming off with their heads.

Rush now blames health conscious individuals for rising health care costs. I guess that memo didn't get out to the ditto head Republican Party still blaming lazy unemployed freeloaders happy with poverty and no future for themselves or their kids. Who wouldn't want to live in squalor?

Republican Recession: Waupun Wisconsin schools closed, teachers fired and class sizes doubled.

Similar to the Draconian budget cuts in California, listed here from an earlier blog, we are now seeing a similar trashing of Wisconsin's K-12 educational system. These are cuts long advocated by past Republican legislatures. After 16 years of slashing budgets, the devastating economic depression now requires the dismantling of our public education system, where there's nothing left but closing school, firing teachers (they call it layoffs) and doubling class sizes.

WPT's Here and Now, and host Frederica Freyberg, featured the gut wrenching story below. For families with kids in elementary school, and I have two, this nightmarish reality will be hard to stomach. This really is happening.



Minority Republicans are still not happy about the lack of deeper cuts. This is just a glimpse of our society if conservatives were in charge. But that might happen sooner than later when the uncharacteristically brutal cuts by the Democrats take effect. Families will be fuming. Forced by a Republican economic meltdown, Democrats have no choice but to take drastic action against everything they have stood for and protected.

GOP Apology Sincere about Conflating an Escaped Gorilla with Michelle Obama!

Here's another story proving Republicans are not racists. Their just victims of out of context statements. Courtesy of Crooks and Liars (link below).

Note to racist Republican: Everything you post on the internet can be spread around the globe in a matter of seconds.
COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - A state Republican activist has admitted to and apologized for calling a gorilla that escaped from the Riverbanks Zoo Friday an "ancestor" of First Lady Michelle Obama.

Check out the whole story at Crooks and Liars.

Rep. Paul Ryan Compares Insurance Industry to "my daughters lemonade stand." Have you Hugged Your Premium Increase Notice Lately?

Is Rep. Paul Ryan is so consumed by free market capitalism that he's out of his raving mind? Or is he cynically trying to convince people that health insurance companies are like loving little enterprising daughters standing along side their lemonade stands. On WPT's Here and Now, with Frederica Freyberg, Ryan said this about health care reform:

Ryan: "A government plan option being set up, it's kind of like my daughters lemonade stand competing against McDonald's."

I know, I had to sit down a few moments just to stop myself from driving nails through my skull. I've included below more bizarre revelations from the twisted mind of Ryan concerning competition and the unfortunate consequences of citizens being forced to save money by buying into the low overhead, not for profit public option.

Physician and Rep. Steve Kagen offers a steady, no nonsense, well thought out plan for health care reform. For most adults familiar with the real world health care debacle, not a publicly paid Congressional health benefit, there's no comparison between the two politicians.

It's also apparent there is "No Saving Corporate Ryan."




If you thought a public plan would have forced insurance premiums down in order to compete, killing the private sector, you would have been wrong. According to the upside down spin meister Paul Ryan: A government plan will force private insurance companies rates up.

While the rest of the Republican Congress argues insurance companies will be forced to lower premiums so much that is will kill their profitable business model, Ryan claims just the opposite to keep the public in a state of confusion, and to keep the "debate" going.

Ryan is right to claim many people will leave the private insurance market, for lower prices and similar coverage, but he spins it in a way that makes it sound like an unthinkable injustice. Like when he claims 120 million people will lose their private health insurance and go on the public plan. Oh no, not that. He sadly states that 7 out of 10 Americans will end up losing the private health insurance they have at their jobs, while being FORCED upon the government plan. Oh the inhumanity of it all...

So lets get this right about Rep. Paul Ryan: He was for the Wall Street bailouts and for the Wall Street take over of social security (he's still for it), against the auto bailouts (now a closed GM plant in HIS district), expanded deregulation that encourages off shoring, and now a complete privatization of health care so he can save the insurance industry with a non-indexed tax credit that pays for (right now anyway) a third of a families health care cost.

Isn't it about time we "See Through Corporate Ryan."

Republican Nuke Energy Obsession Will Tax American’s during “these difficult times” Too, Just like Obama’s Cap and Trade.

Nuke baby, nuke!

But it will cost taxpayers big time.

What happened to the recent big oil win leading up to the elections, when everyone including Democratic wieners, took to the streets shouting “drill baby drill?” That came to a halt when oil prices fell again, making new exploration a costly expense that didn't provide a big enough return on the investment.

Then Sen. John McCain wanted to build 100 costly nuke plants all over the country. McCain even tried to push through an amendment the other day that would classify nuclear power as renewable energy. It was soundly rejected. But all this hasn't stopped the GOP from making misguided proclamations:

AP - "During these difficult times, the American people don't want a national energy tax out of Washington, D.C.," said Indiana Rep. Mike Pence. Republicans on Saturday slammed a Democratic bill before the House that seeks to address climate change, arguing that it amounts to an energy tax on consumers. In the GOP's weekly radio address, Pence said Congress should ease regulatory barriers for building new nuclear power plants.

Like everything else teetering on the edge calamity, conservatives claim that it is always the wrong time to do anything.

The GOP not only has the balls to include no mandatory limits on greenhouse gases, but they also insist on “doubling the number of nuclear reactors over the next 20 years.” But at what a cost?

While Republicans don’t want people to pay higher energy taxes, they still want to double the number of nuke reactors in the next 20 years, estimated to be around 100 plants. That will force people to pay higher energy prices. For example:

AP May 3, 2009- A wave of new reactors now in the works is intended to solve at least part of the nation’s energy problems … But cost is likely to plague every upcoming nuclear project.

In Missouri, the first of the next generation of reactors recently was put on hold because of the $6 billion price tag. Some states have altered laws so consumers begin footing the bill now, even before construction begins.

Construction will undoubtedly play out on your utility bill. Residential electricity rates would have risen (in Missouri) 1 to 3 percent annually for customers, up to 12.5 percent during construction.

Sounds like an energy tax to me. A really, really big one. Are Republicans unaware of the rate payer costs? Yes.

Republicans … want more government funding for nuclear power. In a weekly radio address, Sen. Lamar Alexander said the U.S. should build 100 more nuclear plants rather than spend “billions in subsidies” for renewable energy.”

So when is a subsidy not a subsidy? Alexander wants U.S. taxpayers to pay for nuke plants, but not green energy? Never mind the taxpayer cost of insuring every nuke plant in the country, since private insurers won’t touch them.

When will the public learn that the Republicans are still barreling down the road of fiscal mismanagement?

Conservative Columnist Rick Berg-Frontier Justice Redefined: "Harsh Judgement?"

Isthmus's Daily Page exposed another off hand comment that for me can be added to the list of what I call the Assassination agenda. It's a minor infraction, but it still works its magic. Conservative columnist Rick Berg responds by "redefining" a term that will leave you scratching your head. Here's the letter that brings Berg's comment to light.

H. Bregman-Rick Berg writes: "The time has come to put the brakes on unbridled government speinding and administer a little frontier justice on those responsible." I would like to hear from Berg a credible definition of "frontier justice" that does not involve violence. If indeed he is recomending violence against elected officials, let's hear it in clearer terms.

Berg Replies:-The term "frontier justice" is commonly used to describe a harsh judgment. Use of that term to describe actions taken by California voters seems consistent with that meaning. It was not an endorsemnet of violence.

Rrrriight Rick. That's it. That's the ticket.

Here are a few meanings:

Urban dictionary: Frontier justice is to take justice in to your own hands regardless of the possible legal ramifications it may entail.

Scott Ritter's book-"Frontier Justice: Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Bushwhacking of America"

The topic at Allacademicresearch: Resisting "Frontier Justice": Medical Torture, U.S. Global Terror Prisons, and the Black Panther Party-This paper connects three historical terrains of "frontier justice": 2) the medical and CIA origins of torture and brainwashing in U.S. prisons and jails from the 1960s and 70s; 2) the torture at Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo, and other military prisons; and 3) the re-indictment of 8 political activists, tortured in the 1970 by New Orleans police officers.

Harsh judgement...Rick? If you say so.

Simpsons take a shot at Apple

I couldn't resist taking another shot at the idiots who buy into the "Apple elitism" mumbo jumbo. It has abused iPod owners, over priced iPhones and won't allow the software market from contributing to iPhone owners application libraries. Steve Jobs is a greedy jerk, despite my sympathies for him in dealing with his health care problem. Thank you Simpsons for showing us the true state of mind of iDrones.

Boehner: "Bush-Cheney, Iraq War, Sacrificing Fiscal responsibility to hold Power." Wants a Second Chance?

According to Think Progress:

"In an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) pinned the blame for his party’s current failures on the Bush presidency:"

“We’re digging ourselves out of a deep hole,” he admitted. “We took it in the shorts with Bush-Cheney, the Iraq War, and by sacrificing fiscal responsibility to hold power.”

An absolutely breathtaking admission, and a revealing list of reasons why the Republican ideology failed. I especially liked thinkprogress's take on the messenger:

"Boehner has only to blame to himself. He voted to authorize use of military force against Iraq, and voted against a House-approved Iraq withdrawal in 2007. He also voted for the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts, which were largely responsible for turning our nation’s surplus into a massive deficit. As Boehner himself said in 2006, “I think that Republicans ought to stand up and support George W. Bush for the job that he’s done.” (HT: Political Wire)"

Milton Friedman's Failed Voucher Theory. Pure Intellectual Dishonesty.

In Milton Friedman's article, Public Schools: Make Them Private, it is clear to most of us now that he was out of his mind.

The Milwaukee voucher experiment has brought to light one unmistakable truth; Vouchers have not resulted in either an improvement in public or private schools. While private schools are half the cost of public schools, which is just the opposite of Friedman's "high quality education," they have fallen short or only matched public education. To understand Friedman's flawed thinking, a quick look at his voucher theory says it all. Here’s what he wrote in 1995, and my counterpoints.

"The most feasible way to bring about such a transfer from government to private enterprise is to enact in each state a voucher system that enables parents to choose freely the schools their children attend. The voucher must be universal, available to all parents, and large enough to cover the costs of a high-quality education. No conditions should be attached to vouchers that interfere with the freedom of private enterprises to experiment, to explore, and to innovate. About 90 percent of our kids now go to so-called public schools, which are really not public at all but simply private fiefs primarily of the administrators and the union officials."

Friedman pretends that we will never see the development of large private chains, or fiefdoms, gobbling up the smaller schools. He pretends that corporate influences would never enter into the privately developed curriculum's with their own set of agendas, free from local parental input and accountability. And what if "innovation" doesn't happen at all, or worse, is simply a word used in their sales pitch?

"We all know the dismal results: some relatively good government schools in high-income suburbs and communities; very poor government schools in our inner cities with high dropout rates, increasing violence, lower performance and demoralized students and teachers."

Friedman is oblivious to his own admission that “very poor government schools are in inner cities, while “good government schools” are in the “high-income suburbs.” Maybe economic factors play a more important role in education than Friedman would like to admit. If he did admit it, he couldn't blame government schools exclusively for not keeping up.

"Nothing else will destroy or even greatly weaken the power of the current educational establishment--a necessary pre-condition for radical improvement in our educational system. And nothing else will provide the public schools with the competition that will force them to improve in order to hold their clientele."

Did you get that? Friedman wants to “destroy or even greatly weaken” public schools to “force them to improve.” Not only would that would be a nice trick, but demonstrates the down-the-rabbit-hole logic of this free market huckster.

"No one can predict in advance the direction that a truly free-market educational system would take."

Another words, “I could be wrong.” But it would take a generation of experimentation to find out how wrong or right he might be, and I doubt there are many parents willing to test Friedman’s theory and use their kids as “free market” guinea pigs. And those adults that are willing to throw away their kids only chance for a good education on an ideological whim, well, we can’t do much about bad parenting can we.

"Vouchers can promote rapid privatization only if they create a large demand for private schools to constitute a real incentive for entrepreneurs to enter the industry. That requires … that the voucher, though less than the government now spends per pupil on education, be large enough to cover the costs of a private profit-making school offering a high-quality education. If that is achieved there will in addition be a substantial number of families that will be willing and able to supplement the voucher in order to get an even higher quality of education. As in all cases, the innovations in the "luxury" product will soon spread to the basic product."

First, requiring that vouchers be “large enough” for a “high-quality education,” which runs counter to our current half price vouchers, is the exploitable flaw in the system. Just as we’re hearing now that higher taxes penalize those who are successful, we will also be told that holding back voucher increases will stifle innovation and quality. Before long prices will sky rocket, and parents will be advised to open education accounts to pay for K-12 education. If you don’t have the money, you can always go to the cheaper lower rated, less desirable private schools. Or, as Friedman puts it, you can go to a “destroyed or greatly weakened” public school. As for the crazy idea that a “luxury product” will spread to the basic product; does a typical $16,000 car have the same “luxury” features of a $30,000 to $40,000 car? Didn't think so.

"For this image to be realized, it is essential that no conditions be attached to the acceptance of vouchers that interfere with the freedom of private enterprises to experiment, to explore and to innovate."

Like all corporate and free market advocates, accountability is not a desired requirement. Friedman again mines the endless amount of falsehoods from his rabbit hole of ideas and assumes private enterprise will never cut a corner or game the system. In this case, gaming the system at the expense of a child’s education should be a none starter.

It's time to throw out Friedman's old business theories.

Kucinich Nails Canadian Doctors Flawed Straw Man Complaints About His Countries System

Check out this section of the House Committee hearing on single payer health, and the snotty know it all doctor from Canada, bad mouthing his countries plan to the delight of Republican lawmakers. Keep in mind that statistical quality of care only applies to those receiving it, not the 50 to 60 million people who are going without, and not a part of any data base. Only partial statistical data is available for those with inadequate coverage.

No one is really debating the quality of health care. That's not the problem. What we need is universal insurance to deliver it. The straw man created in the hearing would blame lower positive outcomes in other countries, if for example, you remove all homicides from life expectancy rates that effect a nations health care rating (I'm not sure this data is considered, but the the Canadian doctor here said it was). He also deals with quality of care, and yes we have great care in the U.S., but that side steps the issue; universal access of each American to get care.

The snotty Canadian doctor falls back on the idea of the talking point "rationing," as if we don't already have that in this country. The simple answer to the problems other countries have in their systems; fix the problem when designing our own single payer plan.

Check out the video for the riveting no nonsense Kucinich remarks to this arrogant anti-singlepayer ass wipe.

The Health Care Rationing Nation. It's Already Here!

This crazy debate about the evils of universal coverage, you know like all the other industrialize countries have, is surreal Republican show biz. This clip from MSNBC's The Ed Show is all you need to see to get a good taste of upside down logic of the conservative mind.

But again, in the hopes Democrats watch this clip too, memorize the Nation magazine's John Nichols simple explanation and repeat it over and over. I would like to think he saw my rant on this months ago explaining how this country is rationing health care already, and for decades.



John Nichols: I find it fascinating that people are talking about rationing health care. Roughly 50 million Americans have rationed health care in the form of NONE.

Another 50 million have rationed health care in the form of inadequete, and basically the rest of us have rationed health care in a real sense that if we got very sick, we're not sure our health care would cover us.

See, we have a rationed system already.

Republican Senators Fake Outrage over Sotomayor's "Shortest Timeline" Hearing. Not Shortest...Wrong again.

Let's start with the phony outrage staged again by Senate Republicans. I know, here we go again...

AP-The top Senate Republican accused Democrats Wednesday of moving too hastily on Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination, warning that their decision would have unspecified "consequences."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., criticized Democrats for scheduling mid-July hearings for the federal appeals judge.

"They want the shortest timeline in recent memory for someone with the longest judicial record in recent memory," McConnell said. "This violates basic standards of fairness and it prevents senators from carrying out one of their most solemn duties."

Rachel Maddow breaks down the "shortest timeline" claim by McConnell, and other facts the Republicans we're hoping no one would mention. Again, they look the fools.

Newt Blast Obama for Reagan Quote. Smart.

It's hard to imagine so many missteps and botched statements hitting the GOP fan lately, so to speak. With the media catching on and calling these conservative cons out on their mistakes, we're now seeing how hollow the party politic is. Newt Gingrich, the GOP intellectual, couldn't have made a bigger historical mistake. He blew his credibility in one fell swoop criticizing President Obama for being a "citizen of the world," a known Reagan quote.

Boycott GM? Are the Republicans Serious?

...now the hardcore 17 percent of Republicans support radio host Hugh Hewitt's call to a boycott GM. Now that's a good way to get back at hard working blue collar Americans.

Media Starting to Wake Up to Republican Radicalization. Welcome to Frank Gaffney & Jon Voight.

I've never understood how the major news networks, this includes MSNBC's Hardball, allowed a monster like Frank Gaffney on the air. I'm referring to Gaffney's hate mongering message and loco talk. And he worked in the Bush administration.

More surprising were the comments from actor Jon Voight. "We and we alone are the right frame of mind to free this nation from this Obama oppression...to bring an end to this false profit Obama."

He's not suggesting anything, is he?



For more, look up "assassination agenda" on this blog.

High Times on the Family Guy

There's a small part of me from the sixties that still gets a cheap thrill about anything having to do with "weed." This Family Guy song "Bag of Weed" is a wonderfully over produced "high" point.

On Health Care, Howard Dean: "They (Republicans) want to make the choice for you."

One of the more amazing tricks by the Republicans is to sell Americans on the idea that we need to protect the insurance industries profitable business of health care rationing. How is it possible for Sen. Richard Shelby to unabashedly claim the U.S. has the best health care system in the world, when at least 50 million citizens are uninsured, more are under insured and a majority of those covered are an illness away from bankruptcy? If that's success I can see why they aren't really concerned about having caused the global economic crisis and fixing it. These are free market success stories.

Shelby is unmoved by our own health care horror stories and is instead, protecting the most inhumane health care business model of any industrialized country. Shelby says of Democrats, "They will destroy the market place for health care." That's because it's been so good to us, right Sen. Shelby?

Sen. Chuck Grassley whines that so many people will want to save money by dropping out of the "market place for health care" that the few who remain with private plans will have to pay even more to make up for the losses. Gee Chuck, how unfair.

Howard Dean said it best with these two points:

"You get the choice...that's why they're (Republicans) in trouble here. They want to keep the choice for themselves. They want to make the choice for you."

"I thought the Republicans were interested in giving more choices to the American people, but apparently not."



Howard Dean just gave the Democrats their two major talking points. Now let's see if they use them.

Clips provided by MSNBC.