Time For Joe To Go

81% Of Dems Want Lieberman Punished For Health Care Filibuster

"Eighty-one percent of Democrats said they would like to see the senator's chairmanship -- which he was allowed to keep despite campaigning for Sen. John McCain in 2008 -- taken away should he sustain a filibuster. Only 10 percent of Democrats said there should be no punishment. Even fewer (nine percent) said they had yet to make up their minds, underscoring just how divisive Lieberman is within the party.

An additional 43 percent of independents agreed that Lieberman should lose his post..."

I'd actually like to see it taken away regardless. Let stop kidding ourselves about this 60 vote super-duper majority. It was never 60. Not with Lieberdouche in the mix.  Not with Ben Nelson in the mix.  Not with weak Senate leadership at the helm.


ADDING... Just three months ago, Holy Joe thought a Medicare buy-in was a great idea.

Love Life Problems? Ask A Hooker

Whatever happened to Dear Abby? The New York Post is usually pretty reprehensible, but even this move pales in comparison to their usual hackery and takes them to a low of print journalism quality equalling the National Enquirer or Weekly World News.

The New York Post has hired Ashley Dupre, the former call girl whose tryst with former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer led to his resignation last year. The 24-year-old will write a weekly advice column dealing with sex and relationships.

Ann Landers must be spinning in her grave... and writing something nasty about it.

Citigroup To Pay Off TARP Loan

“We are pleased to be able to repay the U.S. government’s trust preferred securities and to terminate the loss-sharing agreement,” the chief executive, Vikram S. Pandit, said in a statement. “We owe the American taxpayers a debt of gratitude.”

How about thanking us by lowering your credit card rates to something a little less akin to a loan shark?

You Can't Make This Shit Up

Copenhagen climate talks were suspended when "the G77, a group which represents 130 developing countries, walked out because it is concerned the existing Kyoto protocol will be abandoned."

Many countries at the UN climate summit want a brand new treaty to tackle climate change, but the developing world wants the Kyoto protocol to continue as well.

-------

The UN international climate change conference in chaos as the G77, which represents 130 developing countries "pulled the emergency plug" suspending the talks over wealthy countries' reluctance to discuss a legally binding emissions treaty.

It's chaos! CHAOS, I TELL YOU!!! Meanwhile, during a live television debate a global warming denier had a heart attack. What the fuck?!

Jack Rose Dies at 38

NY Times: Jack Rose, whose complex improvisations on 6-string, 12-string and lap steel guitar earned him a devoted cult following, died Saturday in Philadelphia. He was 38.

His death, apparently of a heart attack, was announced by Three Lobed Recordings, which released Mr. Rose’s album “The Black Dirt Sessions” this year.

Healthcare Killers

If years from now, you're wondering what went wrong, remember this.

Two key senators criticized the most recent healthcare compromise Sunday, saying the policies replacing the public option are still unacceptable. Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) both said a Medicare “buy-in” option for those aged 55-64 was a deal breaker.

“I’m concerned that it’s the forerunner of single payer, the ultimate single-payer plan, maybe even more directly than the public option,” Nelson said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Lieberman said Democrats should stop looking for a public option “compromise” and simply scrap the idea altogether.

Yeah, yeah, I know, but Obama this, Obama that. Someone explain me how threatening these shameless motherfuckers with stripping them of their chairmanships would have done any good if they have the fucking balls to go on the Sunday talk shows and basically go on the record saying that anything even remotely close to helping citizens with any form of a public option is a deal breaker.

And Lieberman takes offense at being called the "Senator from Aetna"?! FUCK YOU!!!

Texas? Really?!

I'm expecting Texas to break off and float away into the ocean.

Houston became the largest city in the United States to elect an openly gay mayor on Saturday night, as voters gave a solid victory to the city controller, Annise Parker.

Cheers and dancing erupted at Ms. Parker’s campaign party as her opponent, fellow Democrat Gene Locke, a former city attorney, conceded defeat just after 10 p.m. when it became clear he could not overcome her lead.

Adding... Mr. Locke called Ms. Parker to concede and congratulate her but could not be heard over the trio of celebratory bands, Melissa Etheridge, Indigo Girls and The Village People, hired for the campaign afterparty.

Singling Out ACORN Unconstitutional

Well, we all knew that was the case. And so did Rep. Alan Grayson when he dressed down Rep. Paul Broun on bills of attainder and the ACORN witch hunt.



Now the judicial system agrees with Grayson as well.

A federal judge today issued an injunction preventing the implementation of a congressional ban on funding for ACORN. Judge Nina Gershon concluded that the ban amounted to a “bill of attainder” that unfairly singled out ACORN.

“[The plaintiffs] have been singled out by Congress for punishment that directly and immediately affects their ability to continue to obtain federal funding, in the absence of any judicial, or even administrative, process of adjudicating guilt,” Gershon wrote in her decision.

Gershon said ACORN had demonstrated “irreperable harm” from the ban, while “the potential harm to the government, in granting the injunction, is less.”

Must Reads

Matt Osborne: Climategate and the Life-Cycle of Nontroversy

The Rude Pundit: Limbaugh Doctored Jesse Jackson Quote to Make It Look Like Jackson Opposes Obama and From Oslo, Barack Obama Wasn't Talking to You

Karoli: Tell me again: What was the public option supposed to do?

David Michael Green: America's Race To The Bottom

Paul Krugman: Bernanke’s Unfinished Mission

Laura Bassett: Networks Still Hosting Military Analysts Without Identifying Massive Conflicts Of Interest

Jane Hamsher: Letter to Susan B. Komen Foundation: Donations Shouldn’t Go To Hadassah Lieberman

Mike Stark: Russ Feingold, Ninja

President Obama's Weekly Address - December 12, 2009

Learning from History to Reform Wall Street



Read the transcript here.

Something Happened...

...while everyone was too busy worrying about Tiger Woods' lust life and Sarah Palin's global warming denying op-ed.

On December 8th, a memorandum on the topic of Open Government was issued by the OMB per the directive of the president:

In the Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government, issued on January 21, 2009, the President instructed the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue an Open Government Directive. Responding to that instruction, this memorandum is intended to direct executive departments and agencies to take specific actions to implement the principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration set forth in the President’s Memorandum.

...In addition to the steps delineated in this memorandum, Attorney General Eric Holder earlier this year issued new guidelines for agencies with regard to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). With those guidelines, the Attorney General reinforced the principle that openness is the Federal Government’s default position for FOIA issues.

One step at a time.

Seriously, Oh Fair & Balanced Ones?

A question on a Fox News Poll: "What do you think President Obama would like to do with the extra bank bailout money -- save it for an emergency, spend it on government programs that might help him politically in 2010 and 2012, or return it to taxpayers?"

As TPM notes:

The basic assumption here, of course, is that the only reason Obama would want to spend money on the economy is to use the cash as a sort of political slush fund -- not simply saying that one disagrees with spending the money or thinks it's a bad idea, but that it is inherently illegitimate -- while saving the money or cutting taxes have purer motives.

I don't know about you, but anytime I see the words "Fox News" in front of "Poll" I chuckle and dismiss it with the rest of the trash.

The Steelers Suck

That is all.

Ridiculous

It is amazing to me that the supposed leaders in the Republican party have absolutely no sense of cohesiveness in the reasons for their opposition besides a kneejerk "No" when in opposing... well, everything, not only among themselves but sometimes even within the same person.

Take Senator Mike Enzi. For months, all we've heard about the health care reform bill was how long it was. Boy, how are we ever going to get through all this paperwork?! It's soooo long. Look at all these pages? They spent more time bitching about the length of the bill than they did actually reading it. But not Sen. Enzi. He pulled a little GOP jujitsu.

And we talk about 2,074 pages, which seem like a lot, and it would be for a normal bill that you could debate in a limited period of time, which is what we’re being asked to do. But 2,074 pages isn’t nearly enough to cover health care for America. So why is it only 2,074 pages?

Not long enough?! I suppose they ran out of pages to count.

But in a stunning turnaround that would give anyone whiplash, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was able to encompass the entire GOP platform on Medicare within 24 hours. They've been trying to destroy it for years, and are now feigning protection of the senior's plan when health care reform includes streamlining the Medicare system of ridding it of fraud and abuse to the tine of $500 billion. But what does the Incredible Mr. Limpet say when the opposition wants to expand it?

...Mitch McConnell (R-K.Y.) sent out a press release on Sunday, titled: "Cutting Medicare is not what Americans want." That was followed by a new press release on Monday. Its title: "Expanding Medicare 'a plan for financial ruin.'

You'd think that he has a point, if it weren't for the fact that those between the ages of 55 and 64 would buy-in to Medicare and pay the full premiums, thus adding funds into the system, not subtracting from it. Oh, Mitch... what will you be for/against tomorrow?

Music Break! Aaron Copland

The Promise of Living

President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize Speech

The Wrong Side of History

For anyone who still believes the Grand Obstructionist Party is stalling the ongoing health care debate and doesn't want reform to pass for the right reasons instead of their own self-serving ones, comes word that no matter what emerges from this debate, no matter how much the Democrats compromise, they're going to hold their breath and their votes.

Senate Republicans predicted on Wednesday that the 40 members of their caucus would unanimously oppose health care reform despite changes made by Democratic leadership to make the product more palatable to conservatives.

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) told the Huffington Post that he did not think the dropping of a public option for insurance coverage from the bill would be enough for Democrats to win even the support of moderate Republican Senators Olympia Snowe or Susan Collins, both of Maine.

So even before the Congressional Budget Office scores the current bills sent to them, the GOP is saying no way. Even without any form of public option, the bill makes rescission illegal, outlaws insurance denial due to pre-existing conditions and ends caps on what insurance companies pay out for care.

And still 30% of the population identifies with this sorry excuse for a political party. A party that cares more about the profits of corporations than the constituents they are elected to represent.

ADDING... The Republican party is rudderless. And while Sen. Harry Reid's slavery comparison may be a little over the top, although in my opinion it was apropos since Reid's emphasis wasn't the issue so much as the consensus around the issue, isn't it ironic that the leader of the RNC should call someone else an "incompetent leader?" And good job by Donny Deutsch in calling out Michael Steele and not letting him get away with a simple dismissal.

Holy Joe Lieberman Strikes Again!

He opposes any form of public option, even one with a trigger. And now, Lieberdouche is fretting while poised over the Medicare buy-in idea, ready to take a dump on it, even though he thought it was a good idea when he ran for Veep just eight years ago.

"'Regarding the 'Medicare buy-in' proposal that is being discussed, we must remain vigilant about protecting and extending the solvency of the program, which is now in a perilous financial condition,' Lieberman said. Back in 2000, Lieberman ran for Vice President on a platform of allowing people under 65 to buy into Medicare."

Well That Didn't Take Long

A couple of weeks ago, after almost daily embarrassments due to inaccurate information that they'd then have to apologize for, Fox News decided to implement a "zero tolerance" policy for on-screen errors, complete with possible termination for offenses.  I commented then that it would be two or three days max before FNC went out of business for firing it's entire staff. Well, I was wrong... but not really. If they make a mistake, they'll just deny it was a mistake.  Problem solved!

... Lauren Petterson, executive producer of Fox & Friends, told POLITICO that she sees no error in the graphic. And for that reason, there will be no reprimand of staff under the "zero tolerance" policy.

"We were just talking about three interesting pieces of information from Rasmussen," Petterson said. "We didn't put on the screen that it added up to 100 percent."

[...]

While Petterson maintains that Fox & Friend's didn't err in displaying the information from Rasmussen, she acknowledges that the presentation wasn't perfect. "The mistake I do see is we could have been a little clearer here," she said.

Right.  A poll showing 94% of respondents favoring an outcome that Fox News prefers with totals equalling 120% would never be misconstrued as manipluating the data, especially in a poll about manipulating data.  As usual, Jon Stewart and his finely honed staff eviscerates the mistake and takes no prisoners on Fox & Friends.

When Is Enough Enough?

Leave it to the Senate to take a good idea and turn it into a pile of shit within the blink of an eye.

A gang of ten Democratic senators, five progressive and five conservative, worked their asses off over the last few days in an attempt to hash out a system whereby they could agree on a form of health care that would be a fair compromise instead of the bastardization the public option has become, including lowering the Medicare age eligibility to 55 in order to buy in. And just when everything starts to look a little rosy, the Wicked Witch of the North sticks her fucking nose in and starts the ball rolling to derail the whole, goddamn thing.

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) says a Medicare buy-in approach will be a hard sell with her. She told reporters this afternoon that she's notinclined to support the idea, currently being discussed by liberal and conservative Democrats seeking a compromise on the public option.

Of course, if she doesn't throw a wrench in the works, we can always count of douchebags like Ben Nelson to cup the balls of the insurance companies. Nelson said he'd take his ball and go home if his abortion amendment failed, which it did this afternoon.

And now it looks like they're starting to cut and slash this Medicare option to make it more palatable for the same fuck-os who castrated the public option. When does this stop? No more fucking compromises! The sabotage has to end.

(H/T Cesca)

GOP Douchebaggery Backfire

These oh so smart GOP Senators really stuck their heads in their asses this time, and I don't mean that as a kinky call girl sex act for Vitter. Republican Senators David "Diaper Boy" Vitter and Tom "C Street Negotiator" Coburn concocted an evil little plan in which they'd kill the public option by offering an amendment to the health care bill requiring Congress to enroll in the public option if passed. MWWAHAHAHAHA! There's only one problem: it's a good fucking idea.

So good in fact, that Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) wanted to co-sponsor the bill. But Vitter and Coburn wouldn't let him.

“They’ve not said yes to allow me to be a co-sponsor,” Brown told The Hill on Thursday. “I’ve called their office four times. I’m proud of the public option, I think it would be great and we ought to join it and show the country how good it is. I think my interest may be more genuine than theirs, but I’d like to work with them if they’ll let me. If they just want to score partisan points, I still want to work with them.”

If this was a serious attempt to make the bill better, why not allow co-sponsors? Because we all know this was a serious attempt, not at health care reform, but to shame health care reform proponents into backing away from the evil public option. It's a legislative poison pill. But instead of scaring away Democratic senators, they've been called on their bluff.

Okay, so Vitter and Coburn didn't want to allow Brown to co-sponsor. So what did he do instead?

Sen. Brown asked to be added as a co-sponsor to the Coburn/Vitter amendment by unanimous consent. The motion was approved.

Senators Mikulski, Dodd and Franken quickly followed suit.

Another GOP FAIL.

Quote of the Day

"Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all the Republicans can come up with is, 'slow down, stop everything, let's start over.' If you think you've heard these same excuses before, you're right. When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said 'slow down, it's too early, things aren't bad enough.'"

- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

On This Date in 1941

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad, Fear Mongering, Profiling, Flight 297 Viral E-Mail

I received a forwarded e-mail (the worst kind) today from a friend's mother who usually sends me these kinds of e-mails in order to debunk them. Being as she's a reasonably liberal older person in a conservative town, she's more often than not a target for such fear mongering, smear e-mails. This one was a great read, complete with heroic feats and amazing courage. It's almost a shame it wasn't true.

It seems that a man named Theodore Petruna took it upon himself to tell the real tale of the reason Air Tran Flight 297 from Atlanta to Houston was delayed on November 17th, 2009; the full story that the media wouldn't tell (that "media" being Fox News).  And the proof is in the brown-skin hating pudding because Mr. Petruna says he was on the flight.

The real reason the flight was delayed? Muslim terrorists on a dry run!

►Continue reading The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad, Fear Mongering, Profiling, Flight 297 Viral E-Mail◄

Must Reads

Nathan Newman: Progressives (and Obama) are Doing Better Than We Think -- and We Won't Know What We've Got 'Til It's Gone

Elvis Dingeldein: Guns, Butter and Suck

Brian Katulis: A Surge of a Different Sort for Afghanistan

The Rude Pundit: Glenn Beck's Christmas Sweater Live Broadcast: A Rude Review

Elizabeth Warren: America Without a Middle Class

Jason Linkins: HuffPost, TPM In White House Pool: Newspaper Reporters Gripe

Eric Burns: If I Still Worked at Fox News...

William K. Wolfrum: America: Land of the Free, home of the Penis-Gazers

Peter Baker: How Obama Came to Plan for ‘Surge’ in Afghanistan

What's the Difference Between Tiger Woods and Max Baucus?

Tiger Woods is great at his job.

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus’ office confirmed late Friday night that the Montana Democrat was carrying on an affair with his state office director, Melodee Hanes, when he nominated her to be U.S. attorney in Montana.

According to a source familiar with their relationship, Hanes and Baucus began their relationship in the summer of 2008 – nearly a year before Baucus and his wife, Wanda, formally separated in April. The Senator has since divorced his wife.

Hanes ended her employment with Baucus in the spring of this year.

(H/T Cesca)

President Obama's Weekly Address - December 5, 2009

Pushing Forward on Jobs



Read the transcript here.

Cartoon of the Day

Oh, The Humanity!

From the "Too Crazy To Be True" archives, a Tennessee Mayor named Russell Wiseman was outraged at the pre-emption of A Charlie Brown Christmas on Monday night due to President Obama's West Point speech on Afghanistan. Not only was he upset at the programming bump but felt that our "muslim president" did it on purpose because he hates Jeebus, ranted about it on Facebook and then continued his outrage when it was made public.

"Ok, so, this is total crap, we sit the kids down to watch 'The Charlie Brown Christmas Special' and our muslim president is there, what a load.....try to convince me that wasn't done on purpose. Ask the man if he believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he will give you a 10 minute disertation (sic) about it....w...hen the answer should simply be 'yes'...."

...In Wiseman's extensive thread that attacked the president, his supporters and Muslims, he stated "...you obama people need to move to a muslim country...oh wait, that's America....pitiful."

At another point he said, "you know, our forefathers had it written in the original Constitution that ONLY property owners could vote, if that has stayed in there, things would be different........"

Yep, an elected official in this country is more interested in a 44 year old cartoon Christmas special that he could've bought on DVD than in one of the most important decisions the nation's president happens to be making on the same night. He thinks President Obama looked through the programming schedules of every local outlet in the United States and picked a night where he could deny Charles M. Schulz the opportunity to spread the Gospel through a two-dimensional drawing of a six-year old, blanky toter named Linus. And most of all, Obama did it to fuck up his family's night in front of the television.

These are the people we choose to represent us. Oh, the humanity!

(H/T Linkins, HuffPo)

Birther Palin Suppressing The Media

She's getting nuttier by the day, as if that were possible. Sarah Palin was interviewed by conservative radio show host Rusty Humphries (that's a porn star name if I ever heard one) and said she has no problem with freakizoid birthers doubting the citizenship of Presdient Obama.

The comments came [when asked] whether she planned to “make the birth certificate an issue” if she runs for president in 2012.

“I think the public rightfully is still making it an issue,” Palin said. “I don’t have a problem with that. I don’t know if I would have to bother to make it an issue, because I think that members of the electorate still want answers.”

So she's a birther at heart but given the chance is too cowardly to make it an issue herself. And as Bob Cesca points out, this from the same woman who moans about the "loony conspiracy theory" that Trig was not her son in the book that she didn't write. So, Palin not Trig's mom? Lunacy! But the President a Manchurian candidate born in Kenya? Feasible and worth a look.

And now comes word that the traveling freak show that is Palin's book tour has a set of media regulations should anyone decide they'd like to cover her magical book signing events.

Via Wonkette:

For Palin’s appearance at the Mall of America next week [WCCO of Minneapolis] received a list of seven media guidelines, including one stating there can be no foreign press — only English-speaking press and another that said media must address Palin as “Governor.”

The other rules include no interviews — but if the media want one, a request must be submitted to her publicist — plus no microphones, only background sound and pictures and only the first 10 minutes of her appearance can be taped.

No foreign press? Fool me once, or twice, can't get fooled again. Only addressed as "Governor?" Don't you have to actually be a governor to be called governor? No interviews? Well after the Katie Couric gotcha interviews, Sarah's a little leery of getting questions on whether or not she's read her own book. And no microphones, because she doesn't want to get caught saying anything stupid, and when a mic is on near Palin, you're bound to catch a doozy.

And you want to be my latex salesman...

Good News

NY Times: U.S. Economy Lost Only 11,000 Jobs in November

The Labor Department reported that the United States economy lost 11,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate fell to 10 percent, down from 10.2 percent in October.

The government also significantly revised its September and October job loss estimates. September’s data was adjusted to show a loss of 139,000 jobs instead of 219,000, and in October 111,000 jobs were lost, instead of 190,000. Even allowing for the November loss, the revisions added 148,000 people to the list of those employed in the United States in November.

How soon before Fixed News declares that the stimulus had nothing to do with it and that this is just the natural upturn in any recession? You know, just like climate change is in a natural cycle and 150 years of industrial revolution CO2 has nothing to do with it.

No Nuance

I've been doing a little more reading than writing on the blogs today, when my internet and cable wasn't out (DAMN YOU, TIME WARNER!!!) and it's pretty interesting, the blackness and whiteness of it all. No, I'm not comparing President Obama to the Senate. I'm reading the left ripping their hair out over the fact that they were duped by Mr. Hope and Change and this Afghanistan decision proves it. I'm reading the right throwing their feces at the arrogance of the Manchurian Candidate's timeline that includes a withdrawal date, because the enemy will just wait us out, even though since they live there, there can always wait us out.

Nuance has never been a forte of the far left or right. I had a conversation with someone regarding the President's speech and ultimate decision after almost three months of planning and thought. I expressed how I didn't like the idea, hated that we'd have to stay, how we've done nothing substantial there for eight years but that leaving now would be like the early 80s all over again, when we funded the Mujahideen in Afghanistan in their fight against the Soviets and then cut and ran when we needed to help them rebuild. I thought that a timetable for withdrawal was a good thing, making sure Pakistan's nukes didn't fall into Taliban hands was a good thing, how it's really no surprise as Obama has characterized Afghanistan as "the good war" as opposed to Iraq and how he voiced his opinion while still Senator to expand there.

And the response I got?: "So you're for the expansion of the war then?"

Fuck! No, I'm not for war expansion, who is? But what other choice does President Obama have? Are others privy to information behind closed doors at the White House that I am not, and can make a better decision than the President? I wasn't happy about President Bush's escalation when he decided to surge troops into Iraq either, but it seems to have worked out there and I was wrong. Obviously they know more than we do. And yet I see the left calling Obama a sellout and caving to the Pentagon. The same Obama that rejected every initial plan from the Joint Chiefs and told them to come back when they included an exit strategy.

Were they not paying attention when the President, then Senator, said he would escalate in Afghanistan during his campaign run? Or were they "duped" then too? And anyone supporting the President on this most difficult of decisions is now an Obama apologist, or has drank the Obama Kool-Aid. That seems to me to be the old Bush, "you're either with us or against us" black and white ideology. Has anyone been happy with the policies of a politician they voted for 100% of the time? Can't it be possible to still support a president for the things he's doing right and take a "wait and see" attitude with things on which you disagree?

I read things like, "This is not what I voted for" or "He's supposed to please his base." Well he's not supposed to please anyone, he's supposed to do what he thinks is right and what's best for the nation. It wasn't his base that won him the nomination, it was the independents. His base, who is now calling him worse than Bush and a sellout, were whining back them about how he was blowing the campaign by not addressing Rev. Wright immediately or letting the "pallin' around with terrorists" fester. And he kept showing us that he was smarter than any of us.

The title of David Sirota's column today made me wince. "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a president's political image?" Pretty clever, rephrasing John Kerry's question in front of a Congressional hearing during Vietnam, and in my opinion, pretty shallow to suggest that this decision was made based on Obama's image. But I would submit to Mr. Sirota that the same question could be asked had the President ordered an immediate withdrawal.

Now, if the President backs off on the withdrawal date, whether the situation on the ground dictates it or not, then I believe he may be in trouble. We might then see a one term President and I'm sure that Obama knows this. The real thorn in Obama's side isn't Afghanistan, but slow job recovery and the economic downturn. If those factors don't turn around by mid to late 2011, it might be one and done.

But there is one thing I can believe: this decision from this President was not made lightly. And I believe he made it because he thinks it's the best decision for the country.

President Obama on the Way Forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan

Here's the video of last night's speech, in case you missed it (like I did).

BREAKING NEWS! Man Cheats on Woman

Woods says he lets family down: THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Tiger Woods said he let his family down with transgressions he regrets “with all of my heart,” and that he will deal with his personal life behind closed doors.

His statement Wednesday follows a cover story in Us Weekly magazine that reports a Los Angeles cocktail waitress claims she had a 31-month affair with the world’s No. 1 golfer.

I am so happy this is out in the open now. I don't know how I could have gone on with my life had I not known all the sordid details. (Here endeth the snark.)

The Problem With Afghanistan

I haven't blogged about this subject because there's really not much to say about it. I can't imagine that anyone is happy that the United States is committing another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. Anyone sane, that is. I'm not speaking about chickenhawks like Dick Cheney or war profiteers like Halliburton. And it's easy to say "withdraw" when you're not the President of the United States. I personally would like to see a withdrawal from Afghanistan as soon as possible but we know that that isn't going to happen.

And think about the situation the Obama administration finds itself in. Put yourself in the President's place and really think about not just the ideological stance but the political ramifications of this decision. It's damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Either A) Commit more troops and anger the liberal Democrats, although this shouldn't come as a surprise since President Obama did say during his campaign that we took our eye off Afghanistan and that he would finish the job.

B) Decide to withdraw and you're labeled as soft on national security. That combined with the terrorist trials being held in New York City and the "Obama love terrorists" meme continues.

C) Commit less troops than the request of the generals and be ridiculed for not listening to the commanders on the ground; not that former President Bush listened to his commanders when they asked for more troops in Afghanistan as he was playing Stratego™ in Iraq and Osama bin Laden was reenacting The Great Escape in Tora Bora.

But whether we stay in Afghanistan, escalate or withdraw, the real problem is that it only legitimizes Hamid Karzai's tainted election, and a corrupt, drug profiteering government. So no matter what the President announces tonight, and from all indications it looks like an escalation of 30-35,000 troops, there is no upside except for the possibility of outlining a definite exit strategy with a specific timetable. Of course, there will be talk of benchmarks, but with the new administration, I'm expecting said benchmarks to be specific and attainable, as opposed to nebulous and fishy. You can move the goal posts only so many times.

At this point, there really is nothing to do except to hope that the new strategy works, and give President Obama the benefit of the doubt and the time to make it work. Otherwise, we should take to the streets in protest with the same vigor as the wingnut teabag contingent, but I don't see that happening any time soon.

We'll find out tonight.

Haven't We Heard This Excuse Before?

AP: Afghan officials hope President Barack Obama's address on Afghanistan won't be weighted too heavily on an exit strategy – even though that's the message many Americans and Democrats in Congress want to hear.

If he talks extensively in his speech Tuesday night about winding down the war, Afghans fear the Taliban will simply bide their time until the Americans abandon the country...

1 - The whole point of an exit "strategy" is to leave the country in a favorable position for them to defend themselves. It's the complete opposite of abandonment.

2 - Do they think we live in a fish bowl and have no short term memory? This is the same fucking excuse we heard from the chickenhawks about leaving Iraq before we won something or other. Al-Qaeda would just wait it out.

3 - Afghan "officials" (yeah, I'm talking to you, Hamid Karzai) might want to worry a little more about their country not supplying the world with 95% of its heroin and a little less about our exit strategy and what President Obama might say in his address tomorrow.

I don't know about you, but I'm getting pretty tired of everyone looking for the United States to be the policeman of the world, especially when  don't see anyone too eager to dig into their pockets and pony up the dough to do it. I think those guys in the light blue helmets should step in and make with the peacekeeping while we should step out and get our shit together.

Another Sarah Screw Up

I know, I know. Like shooting dead fish in a barrel. Sarah Palin is the gift that keeps on giving. The Moose that lays the golden egg. But just as she runs her publicity (on Facebook) and her book signing tour (leaving before the job is done) and her half term governorship of Alaska (like her 5K race) it seems that Sarah's minions are taking stock and probably quit fact checking the book that she didn't write before the task was done.

Here's a doozy from Geoffrey Dunn:

There have been so many lies and distortions pointed out in Sarah Palin's Going Rogue since it was released last week that her memoir has already become something of a gag line.

But perhaps the most embarrassing gaffe so far is her mis-attributed quote to UCLA basketball legend John Wooden.

As the epigram to Chapter Three, "Drill, Baby, Drill," Palin assigns the following remarks to the Hall of Fame hoops coach:

Our land is everything to us... I will tell you one of the things we remember on our land. We remember our grandfathers paid for it--with their lives.

Only the quote wasn't by John Wooden. It was written by a Native American activist named John Wooden Legs in an essay entitled "Back on the War Ponies," which appeared in a left-wing anthology, "We Are the People: Voices from the Other Side of American History," edited by Nathaniel May, Clint Willis, and James W. Loewen.

Now misquoting something is bad enough, not checking it for accuracy is even worse, especially when you're publishing a book. But misquoting a Native American and attributing it to a college basketball coach (you know, because you're such a down to earth, one of us, hockey mom) who probably wasn't advocating land redistribution is even beyond the pale for the normal wingnut activity we've gotten used to seeing around here.

Here's John Wooden Legs' full quote:

Our land is everything to us. It is the only place in the world where Cheyennes talk the Cheyenne language to each other. It is the only place where Cheyennes remember the same things together. I will tell you one of the things we remember on our land. We remember our grandfathers paid for it--with their life. My people and the Sioux defeated General Custer at the Little Big Horn.

Man, is she stupid. Read the rest of the Dunn post for his lesson to Ms. Wasilla.

Music Break! John Pizzarelli

Avalon

Indistinguishable From Aristocracy

posted by Armadillo Joe

Mrs. Joe and I are fans of the show House Hunters on HGTV, including its offspring House Hunters International. Last night, we watched an episode called Londoners Seek a More Leisurely Life in France. A synopsis:

Stephanie and Charlie May have lived in the fast lane in London for four years. Now, they yearn to slow down and spend more time with their two-year-old son Finn. They've begun a search for a home in the Jarnac region of France, which has everything they are looking for: good schools, beautiful landscapes, great food and a relaxed pace of life.

And as much as we were both ready to hate them, we actually had quite the opposite reaction. She works as a defense barrister and he works as a carpenter/joiner/cabinet-maker. The rather modest home they showed the two owning in South London was nothing spectacular and overall, my impression was of a more or less straight-up middle class couple who married for love, she from the bourgois-merchant class on down and he from the working class on up. We liked both of them and they seemed like the sort of people who we would count among our friends if we knew them.

They were moving to a rural part of western France to open a bed-and-breakfast, their plan being to find and spruce-up an old French farmhouse, retro-fitting the unused portions of the house and the out-buildings into gîtes for Brits on extended holiday in the late spring through early fall. The price range of the homes they were looking at in France were actually rather comparable to what me and Mrs. Joe would be seeking were we ever in a similar position and, if you've ever seen the show or plan to watch this specific episode (spoiler alert!) they choose House #2. That made us happy because it needed the most work but also had the most potential.

It's funny, though. Note that I said "were we ever in a similar position." It occurred to me as I watched the show last night that we could never, ever be in a similar position. Ever. Not just because in the epilogue we found out that the two of them after the fact wound up splitting time between London and rural France in order to continue to draw income while they made the transition -- much easier across the Channel than from across The Pond, though my actual point isn't about distance -- but because even if Mrs. Joe and I decided to flee this crazy New York City lifestyle and raise goats to make artisanal cheeses in Vermont, we couldn't because we'd have no health-care.

Read more...

Must Reads

Susie Madrak: Tweety Gets To The Heart of the Abortion Matter With Bishop Tobin

David Leonhardt: Budget Hawks Have a Buffet of Options With Health Bill

Chris Kelly: A Rogue Thanksgiving

Glenn Greenwald: Tough-guy John Bolton, hiding under his bed

Karoli: Bill Bennett: Whitewashing Terrorism

Harry Shearer: "Reality Stars": Sign Us Up Before We Kill Again

Christopher Brauchli: The Passenger and The Airline Ticket

Armadillo Joe recommends...

Matt Taibbi: Yes, Sarah, There is a Media Conspiracy

Rants, GinAndTacos: Going Rogue

Lance Mannion: Pickett's Charge

Pandagon: You’re not fooling anyone with this stunt, Banana Man

DaveJ, Open Left: Concentration of Wealth = An Influence Lock On Our Politics

President Obama's Weekly Address - November 28, 2009

On This Thanksgiving: Family, Turkey ... and a Weekly Address
(Released November 26)

Security Breach

NY Times: WASHINGTON — President Obama and his wife, Michelle, had a face-to-face encounter with the couple who sneaked into a state dinner at the White House this week, White House officials acknowledged on Friday. The revelation underscored the seriousness of the security breach and prompted an abject apology from the Secret Service.

...That disclosure coincided with a statement from the director of the Secret Service, Mark Sullivan, saying that his agency was “deeply concerned and embarrassed” by the events. Secret Service officials said the agency wanted to interview everyone connected with the episode, including the Salahis, and had not ruled out criminal charges.

This is completely unacceptable. Luckily nothing adverse took place, but I'm dumbstruck that something like this could happen with all the precautions of modern day presidential protection. Death threats to the President have increased 400% since he took office, and although investigations into this incident are taking place, there has to be accountability for such shoddy security. Something of this magnitude shouldn't be brushed off as a minor because of who these people are.

I'm also thinking it's time to tone down these awful reality shows. You'd think that Bravo would have double checked that these people were invited to the state dinner instead of taking their word for it. Had it not been for the lure of the cameras, I don't know if they would have been this ballsy.

Dithering? McChrystal Doesn't Think So

In what I would categorize as an ultimate 'fuck you' to Dick "Five Deferments" Cheney and the bang up job the Bush administration did in Afghanistan while playing that new board game Build A Democacy™ in Iraq, McChrystal had a different take on the time President Obama is taking to make his decision.

Via GottaLaff:

Gen. Stanley McChrystal told lawmakers that President Obama had engaged in a "thoughtful process" on Afghanistan and refused to criticize the president for delaying his decision to send more troops.

Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.):

Some of the lawmakers pressed McChrystal on Obama's lengthy decision-making, but the general described it as a "thoughtful process and wouldn't go any further," Price said. "I was a little surprised he didn't voice frustration with the delay."

More like disappointed, right Tom?

Strange Story of the Day

Definitely a WTF moment:

Two fingers and a tooth removed from Galileo Galilei's corpse in a Florentine basilica in the 18th century and given up for lost have been found again and will soon be put on display, an Italian museum director said Friday.

But here's my favorite part:

Galileo, who died in 1642, was condemned by the Vatican for saying the Earth revolved around the Sun. Church teaching at the time held that the Earth was the center of the universe. In the early 1990s, Pope John Paul II rehabilitated him, saying the church had erred.

It took til the 19-fucking-90s for the Vatican to say, "Oops. Our bad."?!?!

Palin Runs In Turkey Trot, Doesn't Finish

Oh Sarah, is there nothing you won't quit?

TriCityHerald.com: ...Palin had announced on Twitter that she would be running the 5k race organized by the Benton-Franklin Chapter of the Red Cross.

She didn't finish the race, opting to leave the course early to avoid more crowds at the end. About 40 minutes into the run, word started trickling out to people gathered at the finish line that she was gone...

Something To Be Thankful For

While we've been losing out collective shit over health care refrom these last few weeks, something interesting happened that I have yet to hear from the "liberal" mainstream media.

Washington Post:  Lobbyists pushed off advisory panels

...Under the policy, which is being phased in over the coming months, none of the more than 13,000 lobbyists in Washington would be able to hold seats on the committees, which advise agencies on trade rules, troop levels, environmental regulations, consumer protections and thousands of other government policies.

"Some folks have developed a comfortable Beltway perch sitting on these boards while at the same time working as lobbyists to influence the government," said White House ethics counsel Norm Eisen, who disclosed the policy in a September blog posting on the White House Web site. "That is just the kind of special interest access that the president objects to."

(H/T Bob Cesca)

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day, Novermber 27, 1959

President Obama Pardons Turkey

BRILLIANT!

The Muppets do Bohemian Rhapsody.

Dana? Get. Out.

Dana Perino: "We did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush's term..."



Well, in Perino's defense, she wasn't the Press Secretary on 9/11. I can only assume she didn't know about it considering she didn't even know what the Cuban Missile Crisis was either.

What was that Fox zero tolerance policy for on-screen errors again? Yeah... nevermind. Something tells me Perino isn't going to last long in her new position.

(H/T Bob Cesca)

Music Break! Ben Folds

Landed



(Notice the cameo by "sound mixer" William Shatner?)

Palin: Leave Canadien Healthcare To Private Sector

“Canada needs to dismantle its public health-care system and allow private enterprise to get involved and turn a profit.”

-Sarah Palin at a book signing event

(H/T GottaLaff)

Quick Question

Tonight is President Obama's first official State Dinner. Who will be the first Republican or wingnut talking head to make a racist comment about what they'll be serving?

Ronald Reagan Fails Ronald Reagan Test

Oh, the dangers of revisionist history.

The RNC has proposed a resolution, a limtus test, a "purity" test to deny any funding to GOP candidates didn't agree with 80% of their 10 point list of Republican principles. Why 80%? Because their icon, Ronald Reagan said that anyone who agreed with him 80% of the time was his "friend." The problem? Ronald Reagan would have failed in 6 of their 10 points.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Oh what fools these Republicans be.

A Fox Zero Tolerance Policy for Errors

Hannity mixes 9-12 protesters video with the less impressive footage of Michele Bachmann's loon parade? Oops, we made a mistake. Robo-anchors claiming "pictures coming in just now" of huge crowds at Sarah Palin book signings when those "pictures" were 2008 Republican campaign rallies? Yeah, our bad. But the final straw was when a mistake wasn't in their favor.

During the umpteenth debate about whether Sarah Palin is a savior or a stooge, the producers flashed up the book cover not of Palin's "Going Rogue", but of Richard Kim and Betsy Reed's "Going Rouge", the counter argument brought to us by the editors of The Nation magazine, and had to air yet another apology.

So, in an effort to reduce or even eliminate careless mistakes maligning one of their own instead of their intended Democratic or liberal victim, mistakes that an eight year old wouldn't make, the powers that be at Fox have issued a "Zero Tolerance for On-Screen Errors" memo, describing immediate consequences, including possible termination, for gaffes like these in the future.

My guess is that these sorry producers got this memo and realized that they have to unlearn everything they've learned at FNC, because really, this isn't just a recent problem. This kind of stuff have been happening for years. How many times have we seen screwed up chyrons of disgraced Republican politicians with a "D" next to their name? And now that the White House has called them anything except a news organization, they're under the gun to avoid stupid mistakes, which have been ingrained in their psyche as just a little conservative tweaking to drive the point home. Now they must make a half-hearted effort at being "fair and balanced."

And this is just the producers' faux pas on the "news" sections of their programming. This doesn't even address the blatant Sean Hannity lies, or Bill O'Reilly misinformation, or the Glenn Beck lunacy that will continue unabated on Fox "News" Channel. That's still fine with them.

I wonder if this came about after the great Sean Hannity blew a gasket for having to apologize to a peon like Jon Stewart on his show, something I doubt he's had to ever do before with anyone or anything. There sat Hannity in his dressing room rehearsing an apology, probably like watching Happy Days' Fonzie admit he was wrong, before he was able to get through the whole thing without dry heaving.

So this now begs the question, if a FNC producer can get fired from their "news" division for a mistake, how soon before the entire Fox News Channel shuts down? Two or three days tops?

(H/T GottaLaff)

Wide Receiver or Tight End?

Cartoon of the Day

Lou Dobbs: Public Office?

Political Wire: Now that he's left CNN, Lou Dobbs said he is considering career options including possible runs for the White House or U.S. Senate, Reuters reports.

Said Dobbs: "I am ruling nothing out... I have come to no conclusions and no decisions. Do I seek to have some influence on public policy? Absolutely. Do I seek to represent and champion the middle class in this country and those who aspire to it? Absolutely. And I will."

Maybe he's bucking for head of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement? Which is very possible judging by President Obama's latest choice. He's taking this "team of rivals" thing way too seriously.

Quote of the Day

Frank Rich: "The fact-checking siege of 'Going Rogue' — by the media, Democrats and aggrieved McCain campaign operatives alike — is another fruitless sideshow. Palin’s political appeal has never had anything to do with facts — or coherent policy positions. The more she is attacked for not being in possession of pointy-headed erudition, the more powerful she becomes as an avatar of the anti-elite cause."

Lyin' Joe Lieberman

This dirty motherfucker has to be exposed as the lying scumbag he is on the Senate floor for all to see and stripped of any senior positions and chairmanships in the Democratic Caucus. Preferably as soon as this health care reform vote is over, not that he's going to vote for it anyway. ENOUGH ALREADY!

Via Jed Lewison, Daily Kos:

Joe Lieberman is accusing President Obama of executing a bait and switch when it comes to the public option:

"It’s classic politics of our time that if you look at the campaign last year, presidential, you can’t find a mention of public option," Lieberman said. "It was added after the election as a part of what we normally consider health insurance reform — insurance market reforms, cover people, cover people who are not covered.

Nice line, Joe, except it's based on a flat-out lie. President Obama backed the public option during the campaign. For example, the Obama-Biden health care plan proposed a new public plan...

I guess you "can't find a mention of a public option" if you don't bother to listen, don't bother to look for it in the public record and are too busy explaining the difference between Sunni and Shia to the candidate you backed for President. Great foreign policy expertise, that one.