Saturday, March 20, 2010

Barney Frank Responds...

...to gay slurs by Tea Party protesters on Capitol Hill today.

“If this was a movement that I was part of, I’d be doing more than I think the Republicans are, to differentiate myself,” Frank said in an interview with The Hill that afternoon.
...Any movement in which the intellectual leader is Michele Bachmann is obviously going to be problematic.” 
BOOM! goes the dynamite!

But It's Not About Racism (The Teabagger Edition)

So here's a "real American" (How do I know he's a real American? He's wearing an American flag polo, godammit!) - a "tea party patriot" - a protester against health care reform proudly standing with his signs on the Washington Mall depicting a donkey excreting a Shepard Fairey Obama head, complete with Hitler moustache; his other sign threatening violence if health care reform passes, because, you know, that's how the tea party rolls. And that's how they'll continue to roll until the politicians they support have the courage to stand up to the idiots in the crowd and tell them it's not okay to bring guns to rallies, or depict the President of the United States in a Nazi Schutzstaffel uniform, or spit on civil rights leaders and call them "niggers."
"This afternoon, [Congressman Emanuel Cleaver] was walking into the Capitol to vote, when one protester spat on him.
...This is not the first time the Congressman has been called the "n" word and certainly not the worst assault he has endured in his years fighting for equal rights for all Americans. That being said, he is disappointed that in the 21st century our national discourse has devolved to the point of name calling and spitting. He looks forward to taking a historic vote on health care reform legislation tomorrow, for the residents of the Fifth District of Missouri and for all Americans. He believes deeply that tomorrow's vote is, in fact, a vote for equality and to secure health care as a right for all. Our nation has a history of struggling each time we expand rights. Today's protests are no different, but the Congressman believes this is worth fighting for."
How many people of ethnicity do you see in this photo?



Now I know that painting with a broad brush, especially one dipped in "whites only" paint, does a disservice to misguided members of the Tea Party whose protestorial intentions have nothing to do with race whatsoever, but until they disavow those who walk around with Obama as witch doctor depictions, insist he's an undocumented worker or refuse to believe he's actually an American citizen, they're losing their message to the crazies.

You'd better learn what Socialism, Marxism and Communism are before assuming Glenn Beck is correct in whatever he happens to spew in any particular hour, or else you confirm your status as a moron.

Looking back at that "I didn't vote for the Socialist" sign, I can't help but wonder what the word "socialist" was a substitution for?

UPDATE (10:25pm): Rob Tornoe reports on fellow cartoonist Steve Hill's visit to the Longworth Building in DC today.

Let's Get It Done

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Cartoon of the Day

Must Reads



Rev. Adam Carl: The Perfect Enemy

Dennis Kucinich: Why I'm Voting 'Yes'

Michael Moore: My Congressman, Bart Stupak, Has Neither a Uterus Nor a Brain

Christopher Brauchli: Reading and Writing and 'Rithmetic

Quote of the Day

"My personal position: I don't get to have a position -- I don't have a uterus. If a Senate that was 90% female told me I couldn't have a vasectomy or made it a crime to leave the toilet seat up, I guess I might object."

~ Michael Moore's position on abortion

The Final Push

I wish the President had been more vocal earlier on. Perhaps we'd be looking at a vote for a stronger bill. But this first step is an important one, and while I'm not completely happy with the bill, millions will be helped. How can anyone be against that, despite t being a boondoggle for insurance companies? Millions will be helped, despite the lack of a public option (which isn't dead yet). Millions will be helped. And I have to trust that fixes to the bill/law will be adopted over time, just like Medicare was, just like Social Security was.

This is a good first step.

More like this, please.

President Obama's Weekly Address - March 20, 2010

Time for Action on Financial Reform for the Economy

Thursday, March 18, 2010

How Much?!

From The HillThe comprehensive health reform legislation will cost $940 billion over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said Thursday.
The nonpartisan budget office told lawmakers that the health bill set for a vote this weekend would cut the deficit by $130 billion over the next decade, and $1.2 trillion in the second decade of the plan's implementation.
...Wow. This is the part where the GOP calls the CBO a bunch of partisan hacks... that is until they get a set of numbers from the same nonpartisan group more in line with what they think the numbers should show, namely blow the deficit out of the water to the point that we'll be living in grass huts within five years. (AAARRGH! FEAR! RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!)  But that's never going to happen.  Republican "fiscal conservative" heads explode in 5... 4... 3...

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Kucinich To Vote 'Yes' on Health Care Bill

Thank you, Dennis.

"This is a defining moment for whether or not we'll have any opportunity to move off square one on the issue of health care. And so even though I don't like the bill, I've made a decision to support it in the hopes that we can move towards a more comprehensive approach once this legislation is done," [Kucinich] said.
Now if only more progressives could see the forest for the trees instead of working with teabaggers in trying to kill the bill.

I like Dennis Kucinich, but before he decided to vote in favor of the bill, I thought he was wrong. As I think progressives are wrong to throw him under the bus after his years of service because of this one vote.
Jane Hamsher: Dennis Kucinich has called a press conference for tomorrow. Howard Fineman is reporting that Kucinich will vote “yes” on health care...
If... he settles for some worthless reassurances that “Obama will work toward it in the future” (which nobody but Lynn Woolsey is dumb enough to actually believe), or a meaningless symbolic vote that achieves little more than 15 minutes of futile grandstanding, good luck to him. A thousand people have donated over $16,000 to Dennis since yesterday to thank him for standing up for what he believes in. We’ll be asking him to return it.
During the presidential campaign, I donated $50 to Dennis Kucinich when he ran with an idea that he could finance his entire campaign with $50 million. He was looking for $50 from one million donors. He didn't get anywhere close. Are you telling me there aren't a million progressives willing to give $50? Or two million to give $25?

And yet Jane Hamsher gets all crazy on this? Wanting money back from the most liberal representative in the House and working with Grover Norquist to kill the health care bill, under some delusion that they'd what? Start over again next month?  Pathetic.

Dennis Kucinich fought hard, but he's smart enough to know that killing this bill will kill any attempt at expanding health care for at least another decade.

ADDING...  Meanwhile, MoveOn.org has already raised $1 million in just a few days to challenge anti-Health Care Democrats in their primaries. I know they're a much larger organization than FDL, but more and more it just makes it look like Hamsher has jumped the shark.

Light Blogging

Sorry for the light blogging these last few days. I'm in the middle of house hunting and all my energies are scattered to the four winds to the point that I can't formulate a thought. I'd jotted down some notes on the subway regarding the "deem and pass" rigamarole when I first heard of it, but as I was doing some research to make sure I wasn't an idiot, I found out I was. So no post. At least not in its current form. I'll try again later, but no promises.

In the meantime, let's dance!

Telephone - Pomplamoose Music

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Re-emergence

posted by Armadillo Joe

Hey, Blog-O-Maniacs, been gone a while. Been busy, but the sched is easing up so I hope to resume posting here with some greater frequency. In the meantime, I've been exercising my re-awakening debate skills on some folks on a friend's page at Facebook.

I enjoy reading all the lefty blogs, but rather than join the "fuck, yeah!" tone of most comments sections I'm more and more drawn to engaging on Facebook because I have come to believe that, apart from our calls-to-arms phoning of Congress at key points, we aren't doing much to actually change minds out there. By focusing on each other, we're ignoring the millions who never meet a liberal in their daily lives, and only hear a steady stream of FOX and Limbaugh and Hannity. They never ever have their assumptions challenged. I increasingly think Facebook might be the only place to really do that, since most of us want to keep the family peace and don't engage when cranky Uncle Ray starts talkin' about the uppity niggers and them wimmin-folk having abortions for fun and sport.

But, on Facebook, we have a real audience and not just the person we're locking horns with, but all your common friends and family and all their friends and family. For many of the silent lurking readers, it might be the first time a lib-ruhl wasn't a burned-out 1960's era relic (a Grateful Dead-ender, if you will) or Alan Colmes. Smart, strong and engaged liberals who don't back down are a rarity throughout most of the country and our recent political history is a testament to the extent we've disengaged our fellow Americans, allowing FOX to fill the void. I urge you, all of you, to go out and give them an example and win their respect or, failing that, their silence.

As a re-introductory post, I thought I'd cross-post and get your reactions, to gauge how I did.

This is long, but worth it, I think.





Armadillo Joe’s high-school friend - Can we just portray history? Dear God.

Texas Hearing Considers Deeper Conservative Stamp on Textbooks - NYTimes.com www.nytimes.com
The Texas school board held hearings on proposed changes to the state’s social studies curriculum that would portray conservatives in a more positive light.

Thu at 8:12am · Comment · Like · Share

Armadillo Joe’s high-school friend
What a bleeped up mess. Feel free. Add some of this. I'm not a Reagan fan, but to not emphasize him in a curriculum is dumb. BUT to no longer use the term American "imperialism"? Seriously people? Or to talk about how the Civil War set up unrealistic expectations? Ah man, I have a raging headache now.
Thu at 8:18am


Armadillo Joe
K, the only way these people can support their political agenda is to make up a glorious history chock-full of "facts" to support it. Since reality has a well-known liberal bias, they have to make up their own facts, just like authoritarians always have from the Nazis to the Soviets, and implant them in the unformed minds of the young. Its called indoctrination and its the only way the GOP can hope to have a coherent political party in the coming decades, by cultivating a whole generation of mis-educated nitwits.

Orwell said it best: "Who controls the past, controls the future; who controls the present, controls the past."

This post from one of my favorite bloggers sums up the whole ugly recent history of things very nicely -- http://driftglass.blogspot.com/2005/09/depraved.html
Thu at 9:06am

Armadillo Joe’s high-school friend
Aaaahhhh - deep sigh of relief. Missed you!
Thu at 9:42


Wingnut Douchebag's wife
I love starting the morning being called a nazi.
Thu at 9:46

Armadillo Joe’s high-school friend
You could've chosen the Russkie analogy. I'll admit you and B are on remarkably different sides of the spectrum, but I guarantee he was not intending to call you a murderer.

I think anything history is a difficult world because years away give you different perspective. But I think some of the things they are trying to push through on textbooks here is truly damaging.

More importantly, I missed B because I have a couple other threads with my nut job conservatives.
Thu at 9:58

Armadillo Joe’s high-school friend's husband
Erica, didn't you only convert to Judaism after you met Dan? Are you a sleeper agent?!?
Thu at 10:14

Armadillo Joe’s high-school friend
Ok, I'm hoping she enjoyed that as much as me. I laughed out loud!
Thu at 10:16


Wingnut Douchebag's wife
Nice. You're really gonna hit the fan when you find out i also used to be liberal
Thu at 10:36

Armadillo Joe’s high-school friend
Ah shit! Guess my request to get the families together is going to have to be flushed. D is obviously a brainwasher!
Thu at 10:38


Armadillo Joe
I wasn't calling anyone a murderer. Nor was I calling anyone a Nazi. Or a Soviet. I was calling them authoritarians and likening their strategy and tactics to those of the Nazis and Soviets. Anyone who signs on for this program of school book purification in Texas is an authoritarian with an agenda, less interested in creating a generation of well-educated citizens able to join in the give-and-take of our participatory democracy than churning out fact-averse robots, making the whole population adhere to their private system of religious and political beliefs. That's authoritarian.
Thu at 11:53am

Armadillo Joe’s high-school friend's husband
I'm gonna hit the fan? Are you calling me shit? Freakin' Nazi....
Thu at 12:06pm via Email Reply


Wingnut Douchebag
There's really nothing suspect in having kids read Jefferson Davis's inaugeral address...



[***Editor's Note:  Continue reading the fireworks between Armadillo Joe and Wingnut Douchebag here.] 

 
ShareThis