GOP: Congrats on your Pyrrhic Victory

Posted on August 25, 2009 by 40andover

So, scare tactics work (see below article). Great. Thanks for that information.

Pyrrhic victory, don’t you think? No reform now — let’s leave the disaster to our children.

Thanks, Glenn Beck, Dick Armey, GOP leaders. I hope your children and grandchildren remember that, at this critical juncture, you chose to support big business profits over better medical services and economic stability.

From Yahoo:

67 percent of respondents believe that wait times for health care services, such as surgery, will increase (91 percent of Republicans, 37 percent of Democrats, 72 percent of Independents).

About five out of 10 believe the federal government will become directly involved in making personal health care decisions (80 percent of Republicans, 25 percent of Democrats, 56 percent of Independents).

Roughly six out of 10 Americans believe taxpayers will be required to pay for abortions (78 percent of Republicans, 30 percent of Democrats, 58 percent of Independents)

46 percent believe reforms will result in health care coverage for all illegal immigrants (66 percent of Republicans, 29 percent of Democrats, 43 percent of Independents).

54 percent believe the public option will increase premiums for Americans with private health insurance (78 percent of Republicans, 28 percent of Democrats, 58 percent of Independents).

Five out of 10 think cuts will be made to Medicare in order to cover more Americans (66 percent of Republicans, 37 percent of Democrats, 44 percent of Independents).

There were exceptions.

Fewer participants believe “myths” regarding the impact of proposed changes on current health insurance coverage. For instance, less than 30 percent think private insurance coverage will be eliminated. And just 36 percent think a public insurance option will put private insurance companies out of business.

In addition, only three out of 10 respondents believe the government will require the elderly to make decisions about how and when they will die.

Ooh la la la, GOP Hammer Goes Dancing

Posted on August 17, 2009 by 40andover

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Some of us may remember former Representative Tom Delay, affectionately known as “The Hammer” for his role as GOP whip in the Congress, as an aggressive, partisan operator.

In a move the proves that politics and game shows are alteregos, The Hammer has announced that he is auditioning for a place on TV’s “Dancing With the Stars”. I haven’t decided whether I am more embarassed for him or the show.

This raises some very complex issues:

Will he be paired with a dancer of little fame or a Democrat with star power?
Will he make suggestive dance moves that would alienate the conservative right and delight the left leaning tangoistas?
Will we be able to read into his dance what he thinks of health care reform by just how much he struts his 60+ year-old body around?
What if he is voted off? Will the right wing picket the show and accuse it of being un-American, commie and pro-health care reform?
Will sitting members of Congress be in the audience wildly cheering him on? Will they neck dance?
Will Sarah Palin draw an example from this and audition to be a contestant on the Amazing Race? I just realized how ironic that would be.
Will the GOP release a statement that The Hammer was in no way following the example of disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich?
Will The Hammer wear effete dancing shoes and tight sequined clothes, signalling a softening on gay issues? Will John Ashcroft, our former US Attorney General and lounge lizard, join him behind the piano with a Liberace candelabra on it?
Will Delay appear with Donny Osmond, a famous Mormon, and will that give Mitt Romney the needed boost to go for the 2012 GOP Presidential nomination?

(P.S.: 40andYoungerForNow — is this less depressing? Tom Delay today was a gift.)

Another GOP protest instigator gets caught

Posted on August 14, 2009 by 40andover

Dick Armey hasn’t used his given name, Richard, in a long time because, well, Dick really fits the man he is.

Let’s see, he is stoking and organizing faux protesters to spread baseless rumors and instill fear of health care reform in order to serve the health care industry. Well, I am not going to quarrel with his not using Richard.

From Politico:

Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) is resigning from DLA Piper law firm amid a wave of negative attention his grassroots organization, Freedom Works, has drawn for helping to organize protesters at health care town hall meetings with members of Congress.

In an interview with POLITCO Armey said that he was concerned about the media scrutiny the health care protests were drawing to the firm he has been associated with since retiring from Congress.

On Aug. 7 MSNBC host Rachel Maddow raised questions about the law firm’s potential role in the protests.

“In addition to fronting [FreedomWorks], Dick Armey is a senior policy adviser at a law firm called DLA Piper. DLA Piper just happens to have received $830,000 this year, so far, from a giant pharmaceutical firm called Medicines Company. This after the $1.5 million Medicines Company paid Mr. Armey’s firm last year.

“The fact that Dick Armey and FreedomWorks are standing alongside regular Joes like Rick Scott to lead the charge against health care reform could be just a coincidence. Or it could be a stark reminder of who we’re dealing with here. Who is actively organizing the campaign against health care reform? Scaring real Americans with increasingly paranoid and kooky lies about health care and then providing a script for how to express that fear.”

The reason why I watch Jon Stewart

Posted on August 14, 2009 by 40andover

Dan Rather wrote a book entitled, “The Camera Never Blinks”. Now, with the Internet, nothing is ever lost.

Last night, Jon Stewart showed Glenn Beck railing against the health care system when he was a CNN host and now saying that health care is awesome as a FOX News host. During Glenn’s time at CNN, he experienced the health care system first hand, with a botched hemorrhoid procedure. Hypocrisy revealed.

Jon Stewart took aim at Hillary Clinton’s outburst and Blagojevich’s downfall, so he is not a Democratic partisan hack. In fact, I understand that he would have voted for McCain in 2000. But let’s face it, Republicans are doing such stupid things these days that dumb Democrats rarely get any coverage.

I know, I know, Jon Stewart is just a comedian. A political satirist. And so funny.

Cheney is writing a tell-all book

Posted on August 13, 2009 by 40andover

Wow, isn’t he the man who believed in secrets and disparaged those former insiders who wrote books about their time in government?

Actually, it makes sense in Cheney-think.

Rules don’t apply to the self-anointed Nietzsche uber-mensch, except that Cheney has all of the hubris of the “overman” but lacks the essential element of one who risks all for the sake of enhancement of humanity. (Hint: waterboarding doesn’t advance humanity.)

In real-world-think, he is just another egomaniacal hack.

Did Glenn Beck really say it is all about reparations?

Posted on August 12, 2009 by 40andover

We all knew that Glenn Beck is a fear-mongerer who has called Obama a racist. Now he says the whole basis for the health care reform is Obama’s desire to pay reparations for slavery.

Ok, there are so many things going on in that STUPID thought that we have to dissect it:

Glenn Beck thinks only African-Americans will benefit from health care reform.
Glenn Beck thinks health care reform that doesn’t benefit only Caucasians is not really reform.
Glenn Beck thinks only true Americans are Caucasian (psst, Glenn, “whites” are not NATIVE Americans (remembered, our nation massacred them), and your family has probably been here only three or four generations).
Glenn Beck thinks President Obama’s only attribute relevant to this debate is that he identifies as an African-American.
Glenn Beck thinks President Obama by virtue of this single attribute cannot govern for the betterment of the entire country.

GLENN BECK IS A DUMB ASS.

Glenn Beck, you are a sad, twisted guy. I bet Bill O’Reilly is scared you have your eye on his time slot on Fox News. Which makes you even more evil — you are doing this for money and power and not because you believe it.

But there is a place for everyone. For you, Glenn, that place is 1930s Germany.

SUUURPRISE !!!!!!!Rove involvement in US attorney firing detailed

Posted on August 11, 2009 by 40andover

Yes, Virginia, the government DOES lie, cheat and steal.

I don’t even need to go on my usual rant — res ipsa loquitir.

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press Writer Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 35 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Former White House political adviser Karl Rove played a central role in the ouster of a U.S. attorney in New Mexico, one of nine prosecutors fired in a scandal in 2006 over political interference with the Justice Department, according to transcripts of closed-door testimony released Tuesday.

Harriet Miers, then White House counsel, said in testimony June 15 to House Judiciary Committee investigators that Rove was “very agitated” over U.S. Attorney David Iglesias “and wanted something done about it.”

The committee released more than 5,400 pages of White House and Republican National Committee e-mails, along with transcripts of closed-door testimony by Miers and Rove. Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., said the documents reveal that White House political officials were deeply involved in the firing of Iglesias and the other U.S. attorneys.

The documents show that staffers in Rove’s office were actively seeking to have Iglesias removed after Republican figures in New Mexico complained that he was not pursuing voter fraud cases they wanted. In 2005, Rove aide Scott Jennings sent an e-mail to another Rove aide saying, “I would really like to move forward with getting rid of NM US ATTY.”

Miers testified that Rove relayed to her complaints about Iglesias from political figures in New Mexico but added that she could not recall whether Rove told her specifically that the prosecutor should be fired.

“My best recollection is that he was very agitated about the U.S. attorney in New Mexico,” Miers testified. “It was clear to me that he felt like he had a serious problem and that he wanted something done about it.”

Rove’s aides kept him apprised of complaints about Iglesias in other e-mails released Tuesday by the committee.

In a 2006 e-mail, Jennings told Rove that then Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., wanted Iglesias fired. “You are aware of the issues, I believe,” Jennings said in the e-mail to Rove.

Rove issued a statement Tuesday saying the documents “show politics played no role in the Bush administration‘s removal of U.S. attorneys, that I never sought to influence the conduct of any prosecution, and that I played no role in deciding which U.S. attorneys were retained and which were replaced.”

He added, “Rather than relying on partisans selectively quoting testimony or excerpting e-mail messages, I urge anyone interested to review the documents in their entirety.”

A subsequent Justice Department inquiry into the firing of Iglesias and other U.S. attorneys concluded that political considerations played a part in as many as four of the dismissals. A political uproar led to a series of damaging revelations about the Bush administration’s political meddling with the Justice Department and the eventual resignation of then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Iglesias said in an interview Tuesday he was nauseated by the whole affair.

“It’s exactly what I feared. Over two years ago, I said that all roads lead to Rove,” Iglesias said. “I’ve said consistently that he was highly involved, and now the evidence is there.”

Iglesias said there wasn’t enough evidence to pursue the voter fraud cases that Republicans wanted.

Conyers said he provided a copy of the documents to acting U.S. Attorney Nora Dannehy, who questioned Rove earlier this year to determine his precise role in politically tinged firings.

“After all the delay and despite all the obfuscation, lies, and spin, this basic truth can no longer be denied: Karl Rove and his cohorts at the Bush White House were the driving force behind several of these firings, which were done for improper reasons,” Conyers said.

Rove, who was interviewed by the committee on July 7 and again July 30, has told reporters in recent interviews that he acted simply as a conduit for other Republicans’ complaints about the job performance of specific U.S. attorneys.

Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said the documents show no evidence of wrongdoing. “Democrats need to stop wasting taxpayers’ time and money on political investigations that are nothing more than the politics of personal destruction,” Smith said.

___

Associated Press writer Deb Riechmann contributed to this report.

Protected Speech or Tyranny?

Posted on August 10, 2009 by 40andover

There are groups of “protesters” at town hall meetings to discuss health care reform. These protesters are paid by organizations that wish to defeat health care reform and shout lies and half-truths intending that those who hear these sounds bites or see the “groundswell of opposition” will be swayed.

These are not grass roots organizations but a roving pack of operatives paid to invade local areas to cast doubt and sow seeds of fear. This is not democracy as some in the GOP claim. This is tyranny by big corporations and those politicians supported by big corporations. This is paid-for speech.

What is astounding to me is that the news organizations are staying away from the story. This is reminiscent of the passivity of the press in the run up to the Iraq War. Maybe those in the news corps are too busy digging deeper into Michael Jackson drug dependencies. Ah, journalism at its best.

I’ll wait until 11pm to get my news from ComedyCentral. G-d bless you, Jon Stewart. And you, too, Rachel Maddow (although I am usually putting my son to bed or eating dinner when your show is on).

Glenn Beck — the unhinging of the right

Posted on August 10, 2009 by 40andover

Ok, this is apparently a real book. It is so ironic since Mr. Beck is one of the biggest idiots ever and you can’t argue with him because he will scream you down. He looks like Nazi-esque on the cover, which I am sure is intentional and intentionally offensive.

Glenn Beck called President Obama a racist, Sarah Palin calls his health care initiatives evil, Lou Dobbs stokes the birther conspiracy and Rush Limbaugh, well, he just stirs the pot. This is the Republican think tank. Septic tank, more precisely.

But, Glenn, you are leading the pack with this book. You are the star of the septic tank.

Palin says Obama’s health care plan is ‘evil’ [but she is the DEVIL]

Posted on August 7, 2009 by 40andover

Is this Sarah Palin’s America? Fear-mongering and power-grabs? Did she read the various committee bills? I don’t think so.

The premise is so ludicrous that one doesn’t know where to begin. Today, in the current system, health care and coverage are rationed and claims denied all of the time. And all the bill says is that people should have health care proxies and end of life directives so doctors and family know their wishes. I have a great plan and my partner and my sister have my proxies and my directives. My mother was dying of cancer and gave us proxies and directives about what she wanted and did not want done at the end. This is called planning ahead and having a say in your care. This is NOT about euthanasia. This is about individualism and choice.

Does anyone’s health insurance cover a 95 year old who wants a heart transplant? No. Cataracts? Sure. The government is not taking away a right that exists.

In fact, GOP took health insurance away from CHILDREN, so stop touting your special needs child. I have a child with special needs, too. So, I know that is a photo-op and I am appalled.

Americans cannot cheat death. But we can live healthier and longer with a health care system that covers more wellness programs so that there is less need emergency surgeries or long hospital stays.

And, Sarah, preying on the fears of Americans who don’t have the resources or the time to understand the issues is UNAMERICAN and CRIMINAL. There are too many people in this GREAT country who have no insurance and we the taxpayers pay their entire bill when they show up in the emergency room at a critical stage THAT COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED had they access to health care professionals. But, hey, those ideas are mavericky and we all know you are not the real deal.

You say that Obama’s health care plan is “evil”. That is proof enough that it is a good plan. Why? Because you are the Devil.

*********************************************************************************************

By MARK THIESSEN, Associated Press Writer Mark Thiessen, Associated Press Writer – 7 mins ago

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – In her first communication since leaving office, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin described in an Internet posting Friday that President Barack Obama‘s plan to overhaul the health care system was evil.

“Who will suffer the most when they ration care? The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course,” the former vice Republican presidential candidate wrote on her Facebook page.

“The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society,’ whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil,” Palin wrote.

An e-mail sent to Palin’s spokeswoman to confirm authorship was not immediately returned Friday.

Obama, a Democrat, campaigned on a promise of offering affordable health care to all Americans, as the United States is the only developed nation that does not have a comprehensive national health care plan for all its citizens.

He has proposed a system that would include government and private insurers. Republicans say that private insurers would be unable to compete, leaving the country with only a government-run health program. They warn that could leave Americans with little control over their health care.

Republican criticism has included claims that the reform plans will lead to rationing, or the government determining which medical procedures a patient can have. However, millions of Americans already face rationing, as insurance companies rule on procedures they will cover.

Denying coverage for certain procedures might increase under proposals to have a government-appointed agency identify medicines and procedures best suited for various conditions.

In the posting, Palin encouraged her supporters to be engaged in the debate. “Nationalizing our health care system is a point of no return for government interference in the lives of its citizens. If we go down this path, there will be no turning back,” Palin wrote.

“Let’s stop and think and make our voices heard before it’s too late,” the posting said.

Palin resigned as Alaska governor on July 26 with nearly 18 months left in her term. She cited not only the numerous ethics complaints that had been filed against her also her wish not to be a lame duck after the first-term governor decided not to seek re-election next year.

Palin, popular with conservatives in the Republican party, has said she wants to build a right-of-center coalition, and there is speculation she will seek the presidency in 2012. In the two weeks since she resigned, Palin has made only one public appearance, giving a Second Amendment rights speech last Saturday before a gun owners group in Anchorage.

Palin also has been largely silent before Friday’s post. She was a voracious user of the social networking site Twitter, and promised to keep her supporters updated with a new private account after she left office. But that hasn’t happened, leaving some of her fans begging for updates in the past two weeks.

40 — oh wait, yikes!! 50 — andoverblog

Aging and living in urban US

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