Ever since I expanded my blogging connections to the MadMike community, finding original subjects has grown increasingly difficult. MadMike told me this isn't a competition. But still, if a blogger does the work of researching and posting on a subject, I think he/she should have the opportunity to control the debate for a day or so at least.
That being said, most of the topics of the day are pretty well covered by my fellow bloggers of The Swash Zone and MadMike Community. Other than the Leno, O'Brien late night stuff which is really insignificant when you think of the shit that's happening.
One common theme I see that Righties and Lefties can agree upon is that things are fucked up. Blame whomever you want but shit is bad and getting worse.
A big earthquake devastates a small country that's not that far away from us and Jesus freaks blame the Haitians for a deal with the devil or some such horse shit. I think the Haitians have suffered enough without God's wrath. Pat Robertson's a fucking idiot.
President Obama is realizing what every president realizes shortly into his term. Economically there really isn't a whole helluva lot a president can do. So they all turn to foreign policy as way to build a legacy. For the most part, I think economic doldrums will cease when human nature sets in and Americans get tired of tightening their belts. I've tightened the hell out of mine but soon enough the lure of the 42 inch flat screen TV will be too much for me and millions of others. The economy will improve shortly. All the bad news will make people want to treat themselves to nice stuff to forget about the bad stuff.
The race between Coakley and Brown in Massachusettes doesn't seem to be going well for Coakley if polls are to be believed. I want the Democrat to win of course. But in the end, I also think at least one republican will cross over and vote for health care reform if Brown wins. Republicans hold a few seats in Democratic leaning states. Just as Nelson and a few others have to act like republicans sometimes to keep them happy in their home states, Republicans have a few that will have to do the same. And if it ends up being fillibustered anyway, we've waited generations for a national health care plan. We just go to work in 2012 to rid Congress of obstructionist bastards and try again. As Ted Kennedy said "The dream lives on." We owe it to him and our Country to not give up because 40 people are assholes that care more about corporate profits than the health and well being of America's Working Families.
Happy weekend my friends.
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29 comments:
Quite a survey of the day's hot poli topics. Now about Jay and Conan ...
Nah, fuck it. I don't really care.
Truth, these are the dame subjects I have covered, but I disagree on health care. If Brown wins there will be only two choices. If the house passes the Senate Bill as is, it will become law. Otherwise, no republicans in the Senate will cross the line. They have pinned their hopes to retake power on causing a major failure for Obama. They are undivided in this. They even admitted that all their negotiation was just stalling for time.
I'm trying to make a positive out of a negative TomCat. Which is difficult for me due to my overwhelmingly cynical attitude towards humanity thanks to the neocons that run the republican party.
We all bitch about the bill. If Brown wins and we can start over that's not a bad thing when put in that context. Plus, we work even harder to get more Democrats n the Senate in 2012.
Thanks to the republicans, America has become shit pie. I'm just trying to put some whipped cream on it to make it more palatable till we can eventually get things right.
It really does feel like we are pushing a rock uphill and stopping to smell the roses is out of the question. The mean spirited groups that distract us with their phony rhetoric have no burden, no rock to push, they just don't want us to get to the top of the hill. The topics never really change, the important ones anyway, Leno and O'Brien is just fluff, the hard thing is finding an edge or a different angle on a familiar topic. Like you say "the dream lives on" and if we get to the top of the hill, time for a new dream, until then, keep pushing.
"A big earthquake devastates a small country that's not that far away from us and Jesus freaks blame the Haitians for a deal with the devil or some such horse shit. I think the Haitians have suffered enough without God's wrath. Pat Robertson's a fucking idiot."
Followed right away by Danny Glover of the religious left blaming the quake on the wrath of an earth deity of some kind.
Truth said: "bill. If Brown wins and we can start over that's not a bad thing when put in that context."
Not a bad idea at all. Start over, but with good ideas (coverage despite pre-existing condition, carrots to encourage people to get health insurance) and no bad ideas (encouraging medical equipment to increase what they charge, fines or jail for those who do not spend money on things they might not need, all the pork).
Truth,
Never worry about covering the same topic as other bloggers. EVERYONE has a unique as well as a shared perspective on most topics. You always put a lot of thought into your posts, so please don't hold back, my good man! The world needs more Truth101s!
DOWN WITH BROWN!
Jack: I agree but sometimes I feel I'm preaching to the choir and sometimes, after reading about the same subject in blog after blog - while they may or may not have different slants - I long to see something unique. But when something is "hot" nobody seems interested in what else may be happening in the world.
I like Truth because he does put thought into his posts and not a lot of cut and paste, of which I can be guilty. I even like most of the conservatives who come here - at least the ones who articulate their thoughts well and who don't just spew a lot of vitriol about liberals or repeat the s.o.s that comes out of Fox.
But I think he's right about the competition thing. While it can be healthy, it can also get boring. The team players are at a huge advantage - while one post is published another team member is working on a new one - giving them a little space and time between their individual posts - plus they have the added benefit of different brains coming up with different topics.
Having been a researcher, mostly in newspapers, I enjoy the chase but get a little discouraged when I find 15 blogs with the same subject ten seconds after I post something, i.e., Robertson. If it's not really "big news," I'll take the time to see if it's already covered. But I enjoy the blogs which have unique subject matter.
Please don't interpret this as the Complaint Dept. Having the blog is an extension of my career and is something I love and enjoy more than anything else. I'm still kind of new and am trying to get things figured out.
The beat thing about it all is the friends I've made.
The Author of this blog said: The race between Coakley and Brown in Massachusettes doesn't seem to be going well for Coakley if polls are to be believed.
Well, HALLELUYA!
If you look at the 2004, the 2006, and the 2008 elections you notice that Americans are a real unhappy bunch: there is a real dissatisfaction with Washington!
As far as the economy goes, well Wall Street is doing well, but Main Street is still losing jobs, retail sales are down, home buying is down, and it looks like it could be a double dip recession.
Americans want healthcare reform but it isn't an issue in Massechusetts because they already have their reform and to support a national solution is going to mean that the folks in MA. are going to end up paying more in taxes so people in the other states can have what they already have...
Americans have watched as the Wall Street bunch got rich with TARP and they see the Insurance companies benefit from the heatlhcare reform...
They are tired of watching the special interests get rich while they struggle...
Somebody on the liberal side of the aisle better start making heads roll or it is going to be nasty!
Its time for a little populism with that liberalism!
TREXPRESS: Don't get too excited just yet. On Jan. 10, the Boston Globe gave Coakley a 15 pt. lead. The Public Policy Polling people gave Brown a 1 pt. lead. Today's Washington Post reported that new polls show a tie.
@Truth,
I hear you. But the nagging sense of repetition you feel is less about your imagination, originality or perceptiveness, -which I would say are not lacking or I wouldn't be reading this blog- than it is about the fact that there is a lot of stonewalling and obstructing going on across the board in our civic life today.
Your blog like many others are accurately reflecting the state of things: "Slow"
The last phase of many legislative initiatives in Washington are often engaged as if they were games in which one side is trying to run down the clock.
The trouble is, that scenario only benefits the lobbyists and the industries they represent, and it invariably always screws the people.
I'm beginning to think that no reform, (on healthcare or of any other kind) is possible unless we outlaw the lobbying activity that has been buying our Senate and House out from under us for decades.
'til then?
Keep writing.
-SJ
SJ: I'm beginning to think that no reform, (on healthcare or of any other kind) is possible unless we outlaw the lobbying activity that has been buying our Senate and House out from under us for decades.
I don't think you'll get much argument there. My only question is, if the HC bill has been so chewed up and spit out because of the GOP, would there be a chance of getting such legislation passed? Actually I think it's a procedural issue, but still . . .
@tnlib,
At the end of it all getting rid of "pre-existing conditions" as a legal justification for denial of coverage and outlawing rescission would be huge just by themselves... even though its far from what the country and big and small business need across the board, but my issue isn't that legislation would necessarily have to run a GOP gauntlet to get whipped into shape... it's the motives of this specific, this current class of GOP politicians, and let's face it some Democrats too (Senator Max Baucus and others) who are trying to water the bill down to its most ineffectual form to protect the interests of the Healthcare industry.
The opponents of Healthcare Reform, specifically the front-and-center leadership that spews all the talking points like Eric Cantor said they'd oppose it before it even took shape.
-That's my problem.
If we had more Republicans who weren't marching in lockstep opposition and if we had less Democrats like that crook Ben Nelson (who should've gotten charged with extortion the second he opened his mouth) we the people could count on the shaping of a bill that incorporated the progressive ideas of medial coverage as a basic human right, but built with the Conservative principles (read: real fiscal Conservatives: not the recent Bush-era Republicans who expanded government for eight years and now cry about it and complain about pork and all the overspending they committed as if someone else was in charge during that time)
that insist you get the best price while insisting on the best service, that you not spend more than you are getting, and that real competition is the only thing that's going to drive costs down.
But single payer, and the public option were killed to protect the porfits of the very industry everyone agrees needs to be reformed and brought to heel.
The bottom line is, we can do this (healthcare reform) now, -or in another 15 years when we're forced to overnight: when healthcare costs finish destroying the automotive industry, and then the insurers and HMOs move on to the point where only our politicians will have medical coverage, we'll then be forced to nationalize medical coverage in a panic.
-SJ
Right on about health care costs destroying the auto industry SG. And the other employers that provide health insurance to employees.
Single payer removes that burden from them.
oit is amazing how far the health care debate has fallen off the cliff - from reality - i think the dems over-reached and also handled it SO poorly. the repubs used their typical fear tactics, which work all the time -- and who suffers - all of us
i disagree on one point - NOT ONE republican will cross over, - not Lugar, not Collins, not Snowe, not Voinovich - the only four halfway human republicans in the senate - besides even if one did, rest assured Tricky Joe from Connecticut is sure to mess things up again.
Truth: If Brown wins and we can start over that's not a bad thing when put in that context. Plus, we work even harder to get more Democrats n the Senate in 2012.
SJ: The bottom line is, we can do this (healthcare reform) now, -or in another 15 years when we're forced to overnight
It's taken blood and guts just to gain the few baby steps we may now have to get any HC reform at all. To drop it and start over would take us back to where we've been for decades, which is essentially nowhere. And who's to say the Repubs won't be any less obstructive than they are now? I don't see Dems working harder to get more senators - most are too discouraged (based on false perceptions) and too apathetic.
We've all talked about the bias in the MSM these days. I just heard an interview on NPR, which in my opinion is becoming less and less objective. They asked "people on the street" what they thought about Obama's presidency so far. There was one "maybe" and the rest were negatives. NPR didn't even bother to question someone who might be satisfied - or they edited it out. Having lived in Denver, I can tell you that this is a load of bull.
So, what can we do to have a reasonable chance in 1012? Start writing letters to the editors emphasizing Obama's accomplishments and calling the media on their biases "with" examples.
If we're going to do what Truth suggests, we really need to start now. BTW, there is a Boycott Limbaugh and sponsors on FB. Join.
Truth,
I'm glad you pointed out what healthcare costs have done to the auto industry.
The reality-challenged prefer to blame unions and present fake statistics. Not that the UAW is blameless. I'm no expert on them but assume they're much like our CWA but in both cases they're all we got.
The other thing a possible loss of the health insurance reform battle could di is turn Rahm and Obama into the pricks I know lives inside of them.
How many senators and congressmen have states with big defense contractors. Be a darn shame if D.O.D. had to cut a few programs with contractors in states that had senators and congressmen who obstructed health care reform.
Yeah. Darn shame
Be a real tragedy if that new highway or mall that an obstructionist republican inserted into an omnibus spending bil got somehow left out or not funded because of "budgetary constraints." That's an easy sel folks.
The time begin punishing these clowns is long past. They need to learn there is a price for their despicable actions. I hope my party leaders agree. The republicans will only be bipartisan when we force them.
Truth,
I'm sorry for being absent from the debate. My server has been haywire for the past couple of days. As for this health care debate etc., this is lawmaking at its worst.
Both parties are guilty of pork and giving out benefits to buy votes. It's the worst of the worst and it spreads across party lines. There have been precious few times in our history when congress went above party orthodoxy to pass legislation that was truly in the best interest of all Americans.
My theory is that we need to have spasms of absurdity to get to the time where we pass good legislation. It would seem that both parties need to have their butts kicked to get the message.
I'm working toward that goal and I hope that both parties will soon get the message: Listen to the people.
Good day sir.
LAOT: "My theory is that we need to have spasms of absurdity to get to the time where we pass good legislation."
"spasms of absurdity." Like that. There's certainly been plenty of it this year, and as you say, on both sides.
You probably know this better than I do but I can't remember a time when there has been so much acrimony. It's gone way beyond "politics as usual." I would think that any astute person would think twice about jumping into the political arena.
Glad to see you back up and running.
I'd love to see a history discussion betweeen LaOt and Handsome B. Wonderful of The Political Junkie. That would be blogging at its finest.
tnlib,
I suggest you read a book titled "A Magnificent Catastrophe", by Edward J. Larson. It is about the 1800 election pitting the sitting president John Adams against Thomas Jefferson. Talk about a battle of the titans.
That election was one of the dirtiest in American history. Can you imagine that? In this election the first mention of Sally Hemmings and Thomas Jefferson as a pair was brought out. Jefferson won and Adams and Jefferson did not speak for years until in the 18teens they finally reconciled.
In the irony of ironies they both died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. There were others, for instance the 1824 and 1828 elections, both between Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams.
Jackson's wife Rachel died shortly after his election in 1828 and he forever blamed her death on the rigors of the campaign. There are many others.
So do I think this is the worst, regrettably no. This time is just more accessible to those of us with TVs and computers.
Good day.
Adams vs. Jefferson was a real good book also.
Thanks for the input LaOT.
truth - I'd like to take this opportunity to say that I totally agree with you about Pat Robertson.
And whatever donkey he rode in on.
Why is Pat Robertson evidence of things being "fucked up"? The big story there is the tremendous outpouring of aid from all over the world, not the isolated blatherings of a few senile religious cranks.
I also think at least one republican will cross over and vote for health care reform if Brown wins.
On what grounds do you think so? Not a single Republican voted for the current reform bill, even though the argument about having to keep less radical home-state voters happy applied just as much last month as it will next month.
If Brown wins and the current bill fails, most likely we'll simply get nothing; if Congress does "start over", we'll get a bill even more skewed toward the moneyed interests the Republicans represent than the current one is, because it will have to accommodate a Senate with 41 Republicans rather than 40.
Of course, the proper way to deal with this problem is to pass Tom Harkin's proposal to change the un-democratic Senate filibuster rules so that legislation can be passed by simple majority. But for some reason nobody seems to want to talk about that.
The "gang of fourteen" stopped the nuclear option when the republicans tried it Infidel.
I've already explained how to get a vote or two from the republicans also. Up to now, republicans have been able to play it safe and not vote with Dems.
Personally, from my Illinois perspective, if health reform doesn't go through, let's start cutting some republican nuts. Wish I knew why that hasn't been done already. We tried being nice and positive at John Edward's insistence in 2004. Lost then too.
LAOT: Thanks for the suggested reading. Will check it out - from the library. Am a little familiar with all this but am always game for more.
I've just finished "Founding Mothers" by Cokie Roberts. I think a lot of people picture the ladies of that time as merely sitting around doing needle work, when in fact they played and integral role in the founding of this country.
Rachel Jackson was the victim of a virtual witch hunt carried on by the press - due to questions about her first marriage and subsequent divorce. She already had a history of heart problems before Jackson was elected but died before the inauguration.
Michelle Obama Watch.
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