He Can Do No Right

Look, I know that if you're a Republican, to agree with anything that President Obama has to offer is a political risk. I know that everyone in the GOP has pretty much taken the Mitch McConnell tact of making President Obama a one-term president as its main and major goal, even at the risk of US economic collapse. I know that the Republican Party likes to tout itself as the party of national security. But these latest comments from Republican Senator John McCain and his personal Renfield, Senator Lindsey Graham are absolutely laughable.

"Americans can be proud of the role our country has played in helping to defeat Qaddafi," their statement reads, "but we regret that this success was so long in coming due to the failure of the United States to employ the full weight of our airpower."

This statement comes from the same two Senators that were part of a delegation that considered selling nonlethal defense equipment to Gaddafi's Libya (with a little McCain bow to boot in his meeting with Gaddafi).

McCain wanted the US's "full weight" of the military airpower, and yet his own members of Congress were losing their shit just a few weeks ago, stomping their feet with a House vote to admonish the President for continuing America's role in the NATO operation and claiming a violation of the War Powers Act, and threatened to cut off funding for the operation. Does that mean that McCain and Graham would have been fine with a unilateral US strike against Libya with the "full weight" of our airpower had it only taken 89 days?

The bottom line is that the Republican Party has lost their "strong on defense" moniker and they don't like it.

The Obama administration was successful in taking out the Somali pirates that captured Captain Richard Phillips and held him hostage, but immediately afterward came the email smear campaign that the President was hesitant in authorizing lethal force.

President Obama made capturing or killing Osama Bin Laden a top priority as soon as he was sworn into  office and said so during the campaign. This was something George W. "Wanted Dead Or Alive" Bush couldn't bother with just six months after 9/11. Yet again, right wingers went to the Internet and created another smear email to claim something about which they knew nothing.

And now, with a war in Afghanistan and in the process of a methodical withdrawal from Iraq, and the President deciding to honor the US's obligation to NATO and the UN in the Libya conflict, and here are the Republicans making sure to criticize the widest range possible just to confirm they cover everything, from acting without Congressional authority, or berating Obama for letting France and England take the lead in the action, to now McCain and Graham whining about not acting quickly enough and that it took six months to ouster a dictator who held power for 42 years. Even the Wall Street Journal editorial page is praising the efforts while criticizing the the naysaying GOP.

The fighting continues in Tripoli, and Moammar Gadhafi still hasn't been captured, but the triumph of the U.S.-backed Libyan rebels seems to be only a matter of time. Though you wouldn't know it from the reaction at the Council on Foreign Relations or among some GOP Presidential candidates, this is a victory for freedom and U.S. national interests.

A dictator with American blood on his hands is about to be overthrown by a popular revolt invoking democratic principles. Not a single American has died in the effort, and the victory would not have been possible without U.S. air power, intelligence and targeting as part of NATO. A long-oppressed people now has a chance to chart a freer future, a fact that is clear from the rejoicing in Benghazi.

What would we prefer: That Gadhafi stay in power?

...Yet some of the same people who said we shouldn't help the rebels now want the U.N. to send "boots on the ground," including U.S. troops. It's not clear that the Libyans want or even need such help, especially from Americans, which could complicate their own nascent attempts at self-government.

...President Obama was right yesterday to urge the rebels to pursue "reconciliation." But America's foreign policy elites have also so far misjudged the rebels, who have shown impressive persistence and coordination in maintaining a six-month military campaign.

...One disappointment is the reluctance among Republicans to praise the rebel success, perhaps for fear it will somehow help Mr. Obama.

...U.S. intervention has succeeded in preventing a bloodbath in Benghazi and soon in deposing a long-time U.S. enemy who could have re-emerged as a terrorist sponsor.

Michele Bachmann, who played the al Qaeda tune, now looks partisan to a fault.

...The U.S. military is stretched at the current moment and we can't take sides in every civil war. But the Libyan intervention shows that when the cause is just and the means are available, the U.S. can make a moral and strategic difference.

U.S. support for the rebels won't be lost on a Middle East still undergoing its own upheavals, not least on the people and governments of Syria and Iran. NATO showed it will finish a military task it started, and soon Gadhafi will take his place with Saddam in the ranks of Arab despots who will terrorize their people no more.

I believe everyone has forgotten (including Michael Steele and the Morning Joe pundits this morning) that the initial intervention is Libya was a humanitarian one, with NATO acting on the information that Gaddafi was about to unleash hell on his own people in Benghazi.

And yet, President Obama can do no right. He doesn't even read the right books on vacation. I suppose he would have gotten a reprieve on the reading list criticism if he'd included Ayn Rand's ATLAS SHRUGGED and Rick Perry's FED UP!, both also works of fiction, by the way.

Comedy Break! Louis C.K.

Must Reads

Allison Samuels: The Black War Over Obama

Eric Dolan: Kathy Griffin asked Bachmann: 'Were you born a bigot?'

Warren Buffett: Stop Coddling the Super-Rich

Ben Smith & Jonathan Martin: Michele Bachmann's Bouncers: Unnecessary Roughness

Hadley Freeman: Proof of Republican 'Doublethink'

Jonathan Martin & Jake Sherman: Rick Perry’s Loose Lips Worry Hill Republicans

Allison Kilkenny: President Red Herring

Bob Cesca: Rick Perry is a Socialist in a Secessionist Costume

Steve Benen: How About a Bachmann-Inspired Stimulus?

T.P. Pratt: Stop Coddling The Poor

President Obama's Weekly Address - August 20, 2011

Putting Country Ahead of Party

A Vacation From Perspective

I'm kind of disgusted with the constant MSM drum beating about President Obama's vacation in Martha's Vineyard. He should cancel his vacation and sit in the Oval Office and wait for what? For Congress to come back to Washington in September? The bottom line is, no matter what the President does, it is Congress that creates and votes on legislation.

Now I thought I might be teetering on hypocrisy because back in the "good ol' days" I complained about Bush's vacation time, but it's time for a little perspective. In President Obama's 31 months in office, he has taken 61 vacation days. At the same point in their presidencies, Ronald Reagan had taken 112 days off and George W. Bush had taken 180 days off. In fact, it's laughable for a "news" outlet like Fox to whine and moan about Obama's time off when their guy took a combined THREE YEARS off out of his eight years in office. So, no. No hypocrisy. And I may be wrong, but don't remember seeing Bush's vacation time scrutinized nearly as much as what's happening now.

I'm not begrudging anyone their time off to recharge their batteries, especially when you have one of the toughest and most important jobs in the world. But what would your boss say if you took 6 months off in your first 2½ years of employment. Or the equivalent of 10 weeks of vacation time per year? It looks like President Obama's average of about 2½ weeks off per year is more in line with the rest of us plebeians, doesn't it?

Presidential Protection

I'm trying to remember when the last time anyone questioned the Secret Service's actions as it pertains to protecting the president... I think the answer is never. That is of course until this president.

The latest smear tactic of the rabid right wing is to try and pin "wasted tax dollars" on President Obama for two tour buses at a cost of $2.2 million that were used for his 3 day bus tour; vehicles that were commissioned by the Secret Service over a year ago and actually SAVE the country money as part of the permanent Secret Service fleet, as opposed to retrofitting leased buses every four years. Vehicles that the future GOP presidential nominee will also use. But that doesn't stop hacks like Sean Hannity and Eric Bolling from blaming Obama for yet another thing that he's not responsible for. David Shuster takes the hacks down handily filling in for Keith Olbermann.



After a 400% increase in presidential threats since Obama took office, I suppose Hannity or Bolling would prefer him ride around in a convertible... maybe in Dallas... and wave to passersby in Dealey Plaza.

Cartoon of the Day

Christie Running For President? FAT CHANCE!

Earlier today, Jonathan Alter reported via the Twitters that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was conducting focus groups for a possible 2012 presidential run. I mean, hell, if know-nothings like Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry can get into the act, why not lovable, straight talking, education fund blowing, job killing Chris Christie?

Well it seems to have been a misguided rumor.

A top adviser to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie insists the big name Republican is not exploring the possibility of running for president in the next election cycle despite rumors swirling that he could jump into the GOP primary mix...
"It’s completely untrue -- one hundred percent that is not true,” Christie adviser Mike Duhaime said in response to the suggestion, according to The Hill. “Nothing’s changed. I’m not sure who [Alter’s] source is or what they are saying, but nothing’s changed."

... and Alter concurs.

It's a good thing too, especially considering that it was only seven months ago that Christie said he wasn't ready to be President. But hey, he now has the same amount of gubernatorial experience as half termer Sarah Palin, so anything's possible.

Nothing Happened Before January 20, 2009

It's the only reason I can think of that Sean Hannity would blame Obama's policies for the mortgage crisis that began four years before he became president. Or, you know, he's a disingenuous hack.



As Media Matters' Jeremy Holden reports, economists noted as early as the summer of 2005 that the bursting of the housing bubble cause an economic recession.

It's amazing how Hannity reaches new levels of buffoonery on an almost daily basis.

Paul Ryan's Pay To Play Town Halls

I suppose Paul Ryan learned his lesson. After revealing the Ryan plan and the idea of making Medicare a voucher system, he got quite an earful of angry constituents at subsequent town hall meetings and realized no one as buying what he had to sell. So to alleviate that problem, Paul Ryan decided to now charge admission for his town hall meetings.

...Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and other Republican members of Congress have chosen to charge admission to their home-district appearances.

Ryan will speak September 6 to the Whitnall Park Rotary Club in Greenfield, Wisc. Admission to the event is $15 per person and includes lunch.

Ryan has no free public town hall appearances scheduled during the recess.

What a coward.

If anyone who reads this blog happens to be nearby a Ryan event in the next few weeks (maybe the September 6th event) or knows of anyone who does, and would like to continue to give Mr. Vouchercare a piece of their mind but can't afford it, please contact me. Maybe we can strike a deal and I'll try to help you pay the price of admission. I'm not a wealthy man by any means, but I don't want this chickenshit to get away with this type of tactic without some pushback.

He's Got Our Back, Now Get HIS!

Posted by JHW22

I just watched Democratic Representative Marcy Kaptur on The Rev Al's show (video later) basically second-guess why the President is choosing the towns and states he is visiting on his bus tour and saying he needs to talk about infrastructure jobs.

Well, Representative Kaptur, I now have you in my Sanders column. That column is where I am putting Democrats who are working AGAINST President Obama rather than with President Obama.

Here's the deal, Representative, unless I am mistaken, you haven't won a national Presidential campaign. Am I right? Let me check. Yep, I'm right, you haven't. Maybe you are the next David Plouffe and I missed the Obama for America memo. I get emails from them every day, but I am pretty sure I didn't get one that says you are the new mastermind behind the amazing machine I call Team Obama. So, questioning where the President is speaking, really, should be left to those who actually know how to run a national campaign. Okie doke?

Second, I suggest you Google "Obama, infrastructure bank". Go ahead, I'll wait. Now, I will also suggest that you actually leave your schedule clean whenever the President has a town hall, no matter what town he's holding it in, and listen to the entire thing. I recommend you watch it at the White House site or CSPAN because the MSM will cut away for the most valuable portion -- the Q & A. You'd be amazed at the great questions average Americans ask and the wonderful answers he provides. If you would listen to the President directly, you'd hear him talking about the jobs you don't seem to think he's talking about.

Your comments today remind me of right after the debt ceiling deal was made and I read Luke Russert's report that

A source close to the House Progressive Caucus tells NBC News that after reading media reports about a potential debt deal between the White House and Senate Republicans, many members are, "sufficiently spooked."

MEDIA REPORTS. I do NOT want my members of Congress basing their votes on MEDIA REPORTS! Why? Because of what I just posted above. Someone told someone who told someone that a member of the Progressive Caucus said that. But I didn't hear it said, did I? So, should I base a crucial vote on a game of hearsay? No. And you shouldn't form your judgment of the President on what is clearly not his first-hand speeches, statements or memos.

Here's my beef:

President Obama is constantly second-guessed, Monday Quarterbacked and hindered by his VERY OWN PARTY! STOP IT! STOP NOW!

Here's what you need to do, Representative Kaptur and Senator Sanders and all the other Democratic members of Congress who fall into my column of jackasses: you need to listen to the President, support what he says and focus on how the GOP is saying the opposite. You need to get your own damn House and Senate on board working WITH the President to get the best deals possible instead of fracturing into a left-wing version of the right-wing critics. How about when Al Sharpton asks you how Congress can pass the utopian policies you answer what YOU can do to get those policies passed rather than passing the buck onto the President who you just hindered and doubted and treated like a naive, stupid child.

I have accepted that the liberals in the MSM are going to twist and ignore and analyze based on tidbits when it comes to the President. But I expect far more from elected Democrats.

It is LONG PAST TIME for Democrats to start standing shoulder to shoulder with our President instead of twisting the GOP knife in his back.

Quit expressing disappointment and begrudging support of the President who has been going it almost alone in every battle. Democrats have been chicken shits when the big fights come and have been so easily distracted by their own fears that they have turned on him, requiring his energy to be divided between the GOP and his own damn party.

Quit putting your principles in front of your principles and MAYBE you will actually HELP the President get closer to your damn principles. Each time you treat him like he's not lifting heavily enough as you step back from the lifting to criticize how he's bending his knees, you weaken this party and this country.

Support this country by supporting this President. AND I MEAN NOW, GODDAMMIT! NOW!

Iowa Loves Them Some Crazy, Hates Milquetoast

CNN: Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann won the Ames Straw Poll Saturday, besting eight other Republican candidates in a nonbinding but politically significant vote in the first caucus state of Iowa.

"This is the first step toward taking the White House in 2012," Bachmann told the crowd. "And you have sent a message that Barack Obama will be a one-term president. This is a wonderful down payment on taking the country back -- and it started in Iowa."

Once again, Iowa shows its irrelevancy by dismissing any possible legitimate candidate for the GOP presidential nomination in their Ames Straw Poll and instead choosing Michele Bachmann as the person they'd like to represent Iowans, closely followed by Ron Paul.

The vote tallies were:

Michele Bachmann: 4,823
Ron Paul: 4,671
Tim Pawlenty: 2,293
Rick Santorum:1,567
Herman Cain: 1,456
Rick Perry: 718
Mitt Romney: 567
Newt Gingrich: 385
Jon Huntsman: 69
Thad McCotter: 35

Of course, this poll means practically nothing if you look at past winners. I mean, Pat Robertson won the thing in 1987, the same Pat Robertson that said Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment because of America's abortion policy.

The real winners of this Straw Poll were Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, who didn't even have to spend any time in Iowa and let Bachmann knock off Tim Pawlenty, a more legitimate but intensely boring candidate, who decided to call it quits after coming in, not second, but a distant third behind Ron Paul.

I suppose when you shoot yourself in the foot by coining "Obamneycare" and then show you have no balls by walking it back the next day in Romney's presence during the GOP's first primary debate, have no money and no support, it's probably the smartest thing you can do. No Pawlenty can go back to being irrelevant and ignored on the local level.

Must Reads

Timothy Egan: Rick Perry’s Unanswered Prayers

Bob Cesca: The Case for Republican Economic Sabotage

Jason Easley: Iowa Publicity Stunt Fail: Sarah Palin Gets Super Congress Wrong

Ezra Klein: Three Possible Futures for Health-Care Reform

John Nichols: Can We Have Health Reform Without an Individual Mandate? Yes, It's Called 'Medicare for All'

President Obama's Weekly Address - August 13, 2011

Putting the American People First

Bachmann's Newsweek Cover

Yes, folks. She IS that crazy. John Wayne Gacy crazy.

Cover via HuffPo

Liberals vs. Christianity

POSTED BY DESERT CRONE

I am taking a long and winding road in this post because I think it is important to understand my spiritual journey and beliefs to understand the message in this piece. Little did I know that this post would have its roots in something my Twitter friend @JKelton1 tweeted the other night. Basically, she said that if she made the same derogatory statements about Muslims that many liberals make about Christians she would be called out as a bigot. Yet many liberals think those same kind of statements about Christians are acceptable. What an amazing observation. My wheels started turning, and so many thoughts and ideas sprung from her statement. The criticism of Christians comes from liberal Christians, atheists, and followers of other faiths. I frequently see on my tweeter timeline other liberals questioning the intelligence of those of us who believe in God. I see Christians calling out other Christians for their hypocrisy. I think if many of us were honest our faith or lack of faith has taken a long arduous path through uncertainty, questioning, guilt, and enlightenment. The truth is that Christians are different in their own beliefs, in their definition of God, and even how they view the Bible. Yes, there are many liberals who practice the Christian faith, and we need to rejoice in the fact that in our political party we have people who actually walk the walk of Christ instead of talking.

As for myself, my faith is personal. I rarely debate anyone about faith or lack of faith. I am making a rare exception in writing this post. One reason I refuse to debate is because usually civil discourse disappears 5 minutes into the discussion. Faith or lack of faith is a very intimate decision often times based on emotion, although I’m sure there are many exceptions. If someone asked me if I were a Christian, I could not answer yes or no, but that is the kind of answer many people expect. To some the Bible is the literal Word of God, and we all worship the same God. They believe that folks are saved by God’s Grace and by accepting Christ as Lord and Master. So if that is the standard for Christianity, then I would say no, I’m not a Christian. However, I believe the Bible is the most beautifully written book in literature—and believe me, since I have both a BA and MA in English, I have read some magnificent literature. I do not take the Bible literally, but I follow the teachings of Christ. Well, at least I try to follow them. The Bible is filled with contradictions and possibly propaganda, but this is my opinion about which I could be wrong. For example, one reason I believe this is that the same creation myth appeared long before the story of Adam and Eve as well as the virgin birth in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Yet, I do look to the Bible for guidance. After the loss of my wonderful father and the onset of one health problem after another, I read the story of Job. Job is about faith, not patience, and my faith was taking a beating, not because I blamed God but because I couldn’t feel God’s presence. I also don’t believe in magic, and of course, the Bible is filled with what I call magic. However, many of my friends do believe in miracles, and I totally respect that. I do not listen to them with skepticism. Faith is faith, period. You can’t argue someone out of faith with logic or reason or facts. If you do, then what they had was not faith.

I grew up in a small Southern Baptist Church in the Bible Belt of southeastern New Mexico. My dad taught Sunday school, and we religiously attended church. My mother, not my dad, was the biblical scholar in the family, and every Saturday night she taught my dad the lesson he was going to teach Sunday morning. As long as I can remember, my mother was a self-proclaimed agnostic and possibly an atheist by the time she died. One Sunday after church when I was in high school, my dad, sister, and I walked out of church never to return again. My dad said, “I’m tired of walking out of church feeling worse than when I went into church.” Although I was baptized in that church, I vowed I would never set foot in that Baptist church or any other Baptist church again. I went off to college and drank myself right into alcoholism.

I’m not recounting my story other to say I got drunk, acted like an ass, felt like crap, and then started the process over again. Eventually, my husband, daughter, and I moved to a northern New Mexico town where they attended a small liberal church. They were always trying to get me to go to church with them, and I eventually acquiesced. We struck a deal that when I went to church, my husband would take us out for Sunday dinner. I attended church with them as I continued my downward spiral into both alcohol and drug addiction. Spidery veins covered my face and my stomach was distended. I looked 50 although I was only 38 years old.

One Sunday I, who had denounced God or declared Him dead, prayed for help with my drinking. No, I didn’t want to quit because I was not an alcoholic. I just wanted to drink without getting drunk and feeling like crap the next day. Why I thought of prayer as an answer I do not know. Well, one week later I was in a rehab center in Oklahoma City and on my way to 25 years of sobriety thus far. In my journey through the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, reading what we call the Big Book, and attending meetings, I began an amazing spiritual quest. That quest was only intensified when I helped other drunks find their way to AA. About now, you may wonder what this has to do with my topic—well, a lot actually.

A young man named Steve whom I taught in both junior high and high school got clean and sober not too much longer after I did. I adored that child. He helped me facilitate the recovery group for students. In that group we shared our strengths, hopes, fears, and experiences. Needless to say, I heard stuff that would make most people’s hair curl. One snowy day a friend called me with the tragic news that Steve had died in a car crash on a slick Colorado pass. He was clean and sober. His death was so devastating to me that I cannot write about it now without tears running down my face. His funeral was to be held at the First Baptist Church in this northern NM town—not my church, but a Baptist church, nonetheless. Of course, I attended with hundreds of others from the recovery community. I learned in AA that if I heard only one good thing in a meeting, then it was a good meeting. I just instinctively listened and heard one of the most beautiful sermons I have ever heard in my life. It was a good meeting.

My epiphany that day was that if I open my heart and mind to any spiritual message, I will hear what I need to hear. And so now I come full circle. Do I believe in Jesus Christ? Yes. Do I believe that He is the Son of God? I just don’t know because that is part of my continuing journey. Do I believe in Heaven? Again, I don’t know, but I believe in Heaven on earth. When I do something good for the underprivileged, when I bring someone into AA, when I look at my husband, my children and grandchildren, I experience Heaven. My Higher Power is not a cruel, angry, vindictive God so I don’t believe in Hell. He didn’t take Steve from me or his loved ones because He wanted him in Heaven. Steve died because the driver took an icy curve much too fast. I don’t believe my Higher Power works that way.

I cannot think of a faith in the traditional sense of the word that doesn’t practice love and compassion, and yet, throughout history, those religions have been held captive by extremists at some point. Followers have also committed countless acts of unimaginable cruelty. Sometimes we liberals who are so quick to point out the failings in Christians overlook those same failings in people who practice other religions. And yes today, as in other religious faiths, we have extremists who have captured the Christian faith.

It’s not my place to question anyone’s faith or lack of faith because you can see I’m a pretty unconventional Christian. I have believed what Christ admonished us to do in Matthew 6:5-6 long before Rev. Al read the passage on MSNBC in context to the Rick Perry revival meeting. I believe my relationship with my God is personal and private, and I will not denigrate that relationship by proselytizing to all around me. I won’t refer to the Rick Perrys of the world as hypocrites since I am a practicing hypocrite. I don’t want to be nor try to be, but I’m a human with all the accompanying weakness and character flaws.

So I tell my story about my spiritual journey to demonstrate that we are influenced by our experiences and individuality. Also, to illustrate that Christian thought is probably as varied as Christians themselves. It is a mistake to condemn Christianity and its believers for the unconscionable way some who profess Christian faith behave. Instead, judge them by their actions and words. If you do that, you will see neighbors, friends, and family who help others on a daily basis without the need for praise or recognition.

Perry's Texas by the Numbers

POSTED BY JHW22

As a Texas resident and mother of a Texas native, I am consistently calling for fellow Democrats to put aside the "Go ahead and kick Texas out" crap. Seriously. We are more purple than people think. And now that our governor is running for POTUS, we need your support and you need our resources and knowledge.

Can you imagine if Texas voted for Obama instead of our own governor? It IS possible IF all of America works with Texans to make sure the state goes blue. So, now that Governor Goodhair is officially inferring that he is officially running, I will start regular posts about him. After all, I have a special knowledge of the man and the state.

So join me in informing voters about his true record. Join me in educating voters on what he really has done to the state. Let's make sure he doesn't move from his $9,000/month rental mansion into the White House. Okay, y'all?

And with that, I give you this report issued in February of 2011 by members of the state legislature. I can say, without hesitation, that one of the members, State Representative Lon Burnam is a fantastic liberal and deserves as much support as he can get. He is a consistent voice for Democratic values in this state.

So here y'all go. Texas by the numbers. It ain't pretty. Make sure your friends and family know it.

Texas On The Brink

Entitled

POSTED BY JHW22

I am reading a lot lately about people mad about the word, "entitlements" and in the same breath, a raging disrespect of members of Congress who use the word and at the same time have great benefits on the job. So here's my rebuttal to that:

An entitlement MEANS something we have a right to. SO, they are entitlements and we should call them entitlements. Because we have the right to them.

What's happening lately, is people are wanting to change the meaning of the word and their purpose. And we shouldn't. We should embrace the word and the purpose. Some people are trying to change the meaning of the word to imply something undeserved. We can't let people change the meanings of words for political purposes.

Now, as for how much people pay in and get out, TECHNICALLY, most Americans will get back more in benefits than we ever paid in no matter when we started working. For the most part, you will get back, in social security and Medicare, benefits very early into retirement. If a person has a lot of health conditions, they will likely get what they paid into Medicare back within a couple of years of their 20+ years of receiving the entitlements.

Now, my last point, some in Congress totally suck. Some are idiots and racists and homophobes and just plain bad for America. BUT we have some amazing members of Congress who work their asses off, don't see their families for weeks at a time, have to have a home in their state AND one in D.C. (which is not a cheap place to live) travel constantly, meet with angry constituents, work with asshole coworkers, fight for the best policies against completely obstinate ideologues, and have very little respect from Americans.

I can name at least 30 members of Congress, off the top of my head, who I believe earn every penny and benefit. And it's because of those, and the even more I could think of if I really thought about it, that I don't lump them all into a bucket. And that is WHY we need to be active citizens, stay informed, counter crap that is false and meant to mislead, communicate, and VOTE. When we find junk in Congress, we need to get it out of there.

WTF Wisconsin?!

Democrats gained two state Senate seats in Wisconsin last night, falling short of the three wins needed to gain control of the state's upper chamber.

...Voter turnout was high for the recalls, although not as high as election officials and news reports initially predicted. Overall, about 43% of eligible voters came out for the recalls, compared to about 50% turnout in last year's gubernatorial election.

That second paragraph is really a killer. 43% voter turnout is considered high? Just shows another American attribute made clear: we take voting for granted and are just too damn lazy to go out and make our voices heard. You had a chance Wisconsin Democrats, but 43% just doesn't cut it. Guess your citizens aren't as union friendly as you thought.

You'd better turn out in droves next week for the recall elections against Democrats to keep what you won last night, or else all this was for naught.

Recharging Batteries

I'm out of town for a wedding and a vacation, so there'll be very light blogging here for the week. For a while I kind of felt guilty about it and then I thought, "Hell, if Rachel Maddow can take a vacation, than so can I. And I don't even get paid for this shit!" ...Not that I'm comparing myself to Maddow, but you know what I mean.

Hopefully JHW22 and Desert Crone will pick up the slack while I'm gone. Until we meet again, but judging by the Dow maybe I should say IF we meet again.

This is Awful

Washington Post: Kabul, AFGHANISTAN - A NATO helicopter was shot down during an overnight operation against the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan, killing 30 U.S. service members, including about 20 SEALs from the elite SEAL Team 6 counterrorism unit that carried out the mission to kill Osama bin Laden, the coalition said.

...A U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter said the aircraft was most likely brought down by a rocket-propelled grenade.

Must Reads

Nicholas Schmidle: Getting Bin Laden

Jonathan Capehart: The Tea Party Isn’t Interested in Governing

Steven Leningston: Beware of Dangerous Politicians

Extreme Liberal: The Debt Hostage Crisis And Paul Krugman’s Political Naiveté

Michael Muskal: Two Republicans Rethink Racially Tinged Remarks

The New Deal: Thank a Union: 36 Ways Unions Have Improved Your Life

Jason Whitely: Slave Cemetery Revealed by Texas Drought

The Rude Pundit: Why Michelle Malkin Should Be Caged Like a Rabid Shih Tzu (Teacher Edition)

Chez Pazienza: Fight or Flight

President Obama's Weekly Address - August 6, 2011

Getting the Economy Growing Faster

School Districts Must Implement Multiple Intervention Programs for the Sake of Our Children, Parents, and Society - Part II

POSTED BY DESERT CRONE

In Wednesday’s post I discussed some of my own background and that of the Student Assistance System (SAS). Also, I explained how the program was financed. This post will take you through the creation of a SAS school-based assessment and intervention teams. Subsequent posts will also discuss the nuts and bolts of other aspects of a SAS. My hope is that parents, teachers, administrators, school board members, or anyone interested in the welfare of children will be able to use these posts as a guide to creating a SAS in their districts.

As I stated in the first post, I was prompted to write this series by the decision of the Obama administration to investigate and possibly eliminate disciplinary policies that prevent students from receiving an education, punitive actions such as expulsion from school or extensive stays in detention or in-school suspension,. The Dept. of Justice refers to these disciplinary actions as “Schools to Prisons.” My impression after reading the report is that it lacks an early intervention piece, a method to identify students well before the serious misbehavior begins. The beauty of the SAS is that at-risk students are identified early and receive prevention services. Another benefit of an SAS is the reduction of discipline problems in the classroom, allowing the teacher to focus on academics rather than classroom management. Most importantly is the fact that countless lives of children and teens will be saved and families healed.

Before any SAS is put into place, CARE Teams need to be trained and established at every school. These teams are not to be confused with academic assessment teams. While the CARE Teams are drawing up the most effective referral, assessment, and intervention plans for their schools, other staff should be going through the SAS training so every school has a handful of SAS advocates. Eventually, every single person on the staff, from the principal to the custodian should be trained.

Once the CARE Teams are in place and the faculty educated on the purpose of the team, every staff person should be given blank referral forms. The referral form should focus on risky behaviors only, not speculation about students’ alcohol/drug use. Referrals can come from any staff member. They simply fill out the referral form and give it to a team member. In the meantime the CARE Teams need to identify and train staff who would make good student group facilitators.

Additionally, each team needs to identify all the referral services in the community and the school district. Remember that the function of the CARE Teams is not to serve as a referral system for students with learning difficulties but only for students with behavioral problems. Of course, both issues do go hand-in-hand more often than not. Frequently, the two different teams should meet and discuss the students who have been referred to both teams and assign students to one team or the other or work jointly on particular students. Again, training of staff should continue, but I will discuss the details of the training in Part III. Initially many teachers on the staff who will complain about the extra paperwork (and who can blame them) will experience a complete turnaround after the training. Garnering support of 90% or more of a school’s staff guarantees the success of the SAS at every school.

Soon student referrals will come into the CARE Team, and members will hand deliver the one-page behavior check list to every one of the student’s teachers plus school secretaries, nurse, counselor, aids, and custodians. Secrecy about the referrals is repeatedly stressed to the staff as well as the need to avoid speculation about reasons for a referral. Other members will check current academic progress as well as checking on the history of the student’s academic performance. Others will look into the disciplinary records of every referred student and interview the school counselor, nurse, and principal for family history and insights into the student’s behavior, attitude, etc. Students who are referred are assigned a case manager within the team so it is likely that team members will certainly have more than one student.

After as much personal information is collected, a file is opened on the student and a case manager is assigned. The CARE Team has a locked, fire-proof file cabinet, and the key is in the possession of the team leader. Absolutely no one but team members will have access to the files. If a student leaves the district, the file is shredded. Otherwise, the file moves from school to school as the student moves until s/he no longer needs SAS services or graduates from high school. Team members strictly follow HIPPA guidelines and never discuss students outside of the team meetings. In fact, one difficulty team members will face is questioning by staff about progress of the student’s referral or the final referral decision. Balancing between the staff’s need to know and the student’s right to privacy can be like walking a tight rope.

When a decision is reached about where to refer a student—to an outside mental health program, addiction program, school-based support group, etc—the parents and their child are invited to attend a conference (some might say an intervention) with the case manager and team leader. The team members are careful to explain that the SAS is not a punitive program, but a support system. After the history and current behaviors/academic progress or lack thereof is discussed, a recommendation is made to the parents. The recommendation might be to outside counseling service, the school’s social worker, or school-based support group. The process from beginning to end should never take longer than a month.

Some students will simply be put on hold because there is not enough information to make a referral; however, the students’ behavior and grades will be monitored by occasionally asking staff to fill out another referral form. Other students find their way into the SAS because of discipline problems, which is the topic of another post.

That is the basic structure of the CARE Teams, their function, and training. Creating CARE Team at each school is a school district is the essential first step in establishing an effective SAS. I’m sure I’ve omitted many details, but I hope those details will be brought to light in the comments section. In Part III, I will discuss what the training is like, and how the training can serve as an intervention on a school’s entire staff.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President

Born 50 years ago today... in Hawaii, by the way.

School Districts Must Implement Multiple Intervention Programs for the Sake of Our Children, Parents, and Society

POSTED BY DESERT CRONE

This is the first post in a series on why the Dept. of Justice and Dept. of Education must do more than just end schools rules that expel students who misbehave and what school districts can do to keep kids in school.

Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced the launch of the Supportive School Discipline Initiative, a collaborative project between the Departments of Justice and Education that will address the “school-to-prison pipeline” and the disciplinary policies and practices that can push students out of school and into the justice system. The initiative aims to support good discipline practices to foster safe and productive learning environments in every classroom.

While I admire their initiative to keep kids in school, their action must be accompanied by multiple intervention programs. This is a very long post, so I do hope you will hang in there and read it in its entirety because I think it will be very enlightening.

First, to understand why I believe in interventions as an essential companion piece with ending expulsion, I’ll tell you a little bit about my life. I was a teacher for about 12 years when I attended a three-day training to help teachers identify students who have addiction issues. What I had to look at, however, during the training was my own alcoholism and addiction. I came home from the first day and told my husband I was an alcoholic and asked him to pour out all the booze, which he did. He said to me, “You damn well better be an alcoholic because I just poured out $300 worth of booze.” I discovered later that the Director of the Student Assistance System (SAS) put me and my girlfriend/drinking buddy in the training, knowing we were drunks and hoping the training would serve as an intervention. Well, damn him, it worked. We both celebrated our 25th sobriety birthday together in April.

It’s about this place in my story when folks congratulate me, but I will not take any credit for my recovery. My 25 years is due solely to my Higher Power and Alcoholics Anonymous. Prior to my epiphany, every Sunday my family dragged me to small liberal church, hangover and all. One Sunday morning I prayed to God for help with my drinking. I didn’t want to stop drinking, just stop the hangovers. Two days later I was in the training and one week later, almost dead, I was sitting in a treatment center saying, “Hi, I’m Desert Crone, and I’m an alcoholic. (Words of wisdom: Be careful for what you pray for and never ever pray for patience.)

Anyway, after the director resigned a few years later, I was appointed to his position. I left the classroom and ran the program for five years. Dealing with addicted kids and their broken families is physically and emotionally draining, so I eventually went back into the classroom, knowing my experience would make me a better, more compassionate and empathetic teacher. (BTW the first students I taught are now 56 years old. Eeeek!) When you have battled alcoholism, nothing much else scares you. So when I went back into the classroom, I was a loud, persistent advocate for students. I took on fellow teachers who weren’t teaching, principals, and school boards. After I retired, I was elected to the local school board where I continued my advocacy for students, My missions as a student advocate is one of the reasons I decided to write this post.

But I digress. I went all out in making the SAS a formidable program that served as many students as humanly possible. Sometimes I went all out with reckless abandon, which generally got me in all kinds of trouble. Looking back on my directorship, I realize now I probably went into it too new in my sobriety. Water under the bridge . . . .

To give you an example of what is possible within a school district, let me explain the financing. First, the district had the most amazing superintendent for whom I have ever worked. He taught me how to write grants so I was able to secure $500,000 dollars to run the program. Most came from state grants and Drug Free Schools, but a small portion came from the district budget and the training and consulting fees I charged other school districts. From 1987-1993 I trained aides, teachers, secretaries, custodians, and administrators from southern Colorado to NM districts and even Oklahoma. I charged $400/day plus expenses. I also trained almost every single staff person in our district over a period of five years.

My staff consisted of one secretary and a therapist, my friend who shares my sobriety birthday. All three of us were and still are in recovery. In AA we believe in sharing our experiences, strengths, and hopes, qualities that made us effective with kids and their parents. They always knew we were not critical of them because we were like them. (Of course, an SAS program can be capably run by people in recovery.) I was able to operate with a staff of two plus myself because we trained staff to assess and place students in support groups and facilitate groups. The SAS was a K-12 program in a school district with over 4000 students so running it with three people was an extraordinary challenge, but it can be done.

By the fifth year, the program had identified and placed 750 students in support groups, such as Children of Alcoholics, prevention, anger, rape victim, recovery, in-patient and out-patient programs, and parents in parent support groups, and multi-family therapy groups with their children. Also, we had implemented K-8 prevention curriculum and peer training in all secondary schools. Whew! What a task to keep those going, but we did we enthusiastic help from a majority of district staff. After the first year as director, drug use had dropped by 18%, the only NM district that actually showed a drop in drug use rather than an increase. The drop-out rate dropped from 17% to 11%. By the fifth year the District showed even more significant drops in both.

Programs that prevent students from dropping out generally pay for themselves in just a few years. Since most states have student-based funding, the more students that stay in school the larger the overall budget. But, more importantly, such a program saves kids and their parents. Believe me, once you have saved a child, his/her parents become the greatest advocates for the district.

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Frank Foster Dies at 82

I've been meaning to put this up for a week now. We lost another jazz giant.

NY Times: Frank Foster, a saxophonist, composer and arranger who helped shape the sound of the Count Basie Orchestra during its popular heyday in the 1950s and ’60s and later led expressive large and small groups of his own, died on Tuesday at his home in Chesapeake, Va. He was 82.

Sigh...

"Loosing?" "Fredoms?"  ...sigh... Morans.

(Via GottaLaff)

Shameless

Another shameless for-profit "educational" children's video from Mike Huckabee.

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Oh Noes! RWNJs Angry at Birthday Celebrating President!

It really can't get any more petty than criticizing a man for celebrating his 50th birthday. But that's exactly what the right wingers are doing regarding President Obama's birthday.

President Obama turns 50 tomorrow, but that isn’t stopping him from celebrating early.

Fresh off a bruising debt ceiling debate, and an announcement that the administration is pivoting back to a focus on jobs, Obama heads to his hometown Chicago tonight for a birthday-themed fundraiser at the historic Aragon Ballroom.

...Republicans have unleashed a barrage of criticism against the president for making the trip, accusing him of hypocrisy during tough economic times.

“With 9.2 percent unemployment, he could work on creating jobs, but I suppose the White House is thinking he should stick to the part of his job he really likes,” said RNC spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski in an email statement.

GOP presidential front-runner Mitt Romney also took a swipe at Obama for the trip, publishing an online video Tuesday that highlights a spike in Chicago’s unemployment rate and falling housing prices over the past three years.

Kirsten Kukowski is right! I mean, I'm sure that if President Obama skipped the fundraiser that will take him out of town for the evening, he could easily solve the unemployment crisis. If only he weren't so callous, inconsiderate and just plain lazy. Just sit at your desk in the Oval Office and do your job, Mr. President! You'd have a plan to lower the unemployment rate to 4% by tomorrow if only you'd put in a hard night's work.

How dare the President of the United States celebrate a birthday during a national crisis!!!

Did you know...

POSTED BY JHW22

I have no idea who started this but my sister-in-law sent it to me and I feel it must be shared. If anyone discovers the originator, please give them my thanks and let me know if I can give them the credit.

Did you know the words "race car" reversed spells "race car"? and "eat" is the only word that if you take the first letter and move it to the last, spells its own past tense, "ate"? If you rearrange the letters in "Tea Party Republicans," and add a few more, it spells: "Shut the fuck up you free-loading, progress-blocking, benefit-grabbing, resource-sucking, violent hypocrites, and deal with the fact that you nearly wrecked the country under Bush and that our president is black, so get over it."

A story

POSTED BY JHW22

He was a happy guy. Not much bothered him, mostly because not much made sense to him. He didn't let details drag him down and he was more than happy to let others make decisions for him. His outlook on life boiled down to not sweating the little stuff, and by God, he was going to apply that to every aspect of his life.

In 2001, he started a new job. It was a pretty big job with a pretty big company. He enjoyed the job, worked with most of his friends and had all he could need. Life was grand. He enjoyed his job so much, that a handful of months after starting the job, he went to his boss and said, "Ya know, I really don't need one-thousand dollars a month for my salary. Why don't ya just pay me nine hundred a month. I have all I need and you could spend that better than I could." His boss was confused. No one had asked for a pay decrease. His boss encouraged him to re-think things, "You may not need this one hundred now, I know you have a good chunk in savings, but don't you have some repairs on your house or someone in your family who needs some help with medical bills or education?"

But the man, in his typical easy-going self said, "Nope. It's all good. I don't need more than what it takes to get by day to day. Keep it. Enjoy it."

So instead of $1000 a month, the man made $900 a month. And he was happy. His boss was happy to have a little extra in his pocket, but still felt a tad uneasy.

Then, several months later, a horrible thing happened. Violence like he'd never seen took place within his life and it shook him to the core -- emotionally, structurally, financially. Not only did this event cost lives and physical losses, it created a financial burden on him.

He had new expenses associated with the tragedy. And for the first time, he wasn't happy. He was shocked and sad and ANGRY. He wanted revenge and decided to go after the people who perpetrated the violence. And that cost money. But because he was living month to month, after asking for a pay decrease, money was tight.

But he was still angry and not finding the perp so decided to take out his anger on another person. This other person was a real asshole, to be sure, but was an empty target of the man's rage. And acting on his rage cost the man even more. More that he didn't have, after asking for the pay decrease.

His boss went to him and begged him to take a pay increase, "You need this money to fight your battles. Take it, please. Your family needs to you have this money." But the man declined.

Then the man remembered his boss once asking if someone in his family needed help with health care. Yes, he did have a grandmother who was having a hard time paying for prescriptions, so he decided to start paying for her medicine, at full cost. Again, he didn't have the money for it. And again, his boss offered -- and was rebuffed -- a raise.

All of this added up and he had no choice to charge these expenses to his credit card. He was only able to make the minimum payments each month, so his interest was stacking and piling and mounting.

In the meantime, he sent out generous Christmas gifts to friends and family, trying to cover his financial stress with gifts.

And then his bank was robbed and all the money he had access to, and his bosses money, was stolen. It was going to take time to recoup the money, so for a short time, he wasn't going to get paid. This created a financial disaster he never saw coming. His mortgage was due and he couldn't pay it. His credit card bill was due and he couldn't pay it. His boss came to him and said, "Some of my wealthy investors have cash-on-hand and I could ask them to help fund a raise for you." Again, the man said no.

He was so upset. So frazzled and unsure of what to do. So he went for a long drive to clear his mind. He wasn't happy anymore, he was feeling so low that he just couldn't figure out how to resolve the situation. And his damn boss wouldn't stop bugging him about a raise. He started thinking about his boss and got so angry that his boss would dare question his finances and try to give him a hand-out. The rage grew and the next thing he knew, his uninsured car was wrapped around a tree. He felt severe pain in both legs and arms. They were all broken.

A passer-by found him and called 911. An ambulance came for him and took him to the nearest hospital.

Not only did he not have car insurance, he didn't have health insurance. The car repair and medical bills were going to hurt as much as the four broken limbs.

His injuries required immediate surgery and a wonderful doctor, a patient and wise man, operated quickly and with the best information he had at the time. It would take a few days to know if there were any unseen injuries and infections. But the doctor stayed by the man's side, watching closely, thinking about six months out, one year out, ten years out. He knew the injuries would take years to fully heal. There would be financial, emotional and physical burdens on the man. But, for the man to recover and get back to work, the doctor had to prescribe therapy and pain medication. And, possibly, more surgeries.

And all of that cost money.

When it came time to pay the bills, the man grew furious with the kind doctor. He refused to pay the bills and ranted and raved to his boss about the greedy doctor who wasted and spent on frivolous surgeries and therapies. The man didn't think it was HIS fault or responsibility that the doctor chose the procedures he chose. And now that doctor was wanting to recoup his payment.

The man's boss told the man, "But the doctor was saving you from yourself. Why can't you just accept a raise and take care of all that YOU chose to spend? Your choices led you here. Your choices have created interest on debts that were unnecessary debts. I offered you ways to fund all the things you wanted but you refused. And now you are angrier at the doctor than you are at yourself? This isn't right."

But the man refused to listen. He refused to accept personal responsibility. He refused to acknowledge that his choices, all along, led him to this place and only he could have made choices differently.

And instead of taking the time to reflect and find ways to make amends, and still refusing to accept a salary increase, the man sat down in front of the T.V. and had a cup of tea.

And still he sits.

Lawrence O'Donnell and Matt Damon on Teachers and the Attack on Teachers

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You can watch Damon's full speech here.

It's Time For MSNBC to Fire Pat Buchanan

David Shuster was suspended from MNSBC for expressing Hillary Clinton's use of her daughter during her presidential campaign as "pimping out" Chelsea. He was suspended again for tweeting about that yellow faux journalist douchebag James O'Keefe. He was suspended yet again and eventually fired by MSNBC for filming a pilot for CNN. Keith Olbermann was suspended by MSNBC for making campaign donations to politicians without first asking permission. His continual conflicts with his bosses eventually led to his release.

So what will MSNBC do with conservative pundit Pat Buchanan for referring to President Barack Obama as "boy" not once, but three times? Will they suspend him or fire him for his racist code words?

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Calling the African-American President of the United States "boy" three times is three times too many. Time for Pat to go.

(H/T GottaLaff)

Tea Party Crazies, Scarborough Asshattery and Jon Stewart Nails It Again

I've been out of the loop for personal reasons (good personal reasons) the last two days or so and missed the finalization of the debt deal and yesterday's votes, occasionally checking an email here and a tweet there. But listening to today's morning news, you'd think absolutely nothing got done. Is no one happy with this deal? Or at least relieved that we didn't go down the default drain? Apparently not.

Democrats are angry because there are no revenue increases in this deal and only spending cuts (which in my opinion were inevitable anyway). But they got the debt ceiling raised a significant amount and don't have to deal with more GOP hostage taking bullshit until 2013. Republicans are angry that there weren't any entitlement cuts, that they didn't magically privatize Social Security or gut and voucherize Medicare or didn't throw the poor down the sewer by dismantling Medicaid, but according to that stalwart "leader" John Boehner, he got 98% of what he wanted. And yet Boehner couldn't get the Tea Party to join in. 66 "No" votes on the Republican side. So apparently no one is happy.

And yet this morning, if you were to listen to Morning Joke™'s Joe Scaroborough, you'd think it was only Democrats that were angry and were speaking in hyperbole. Scarborough was extra cranked today, on his fourth cup of Starbucks Venti Caramel Macchiasshole while sidekick Mike Brzezinski expressed her disgust for the trigger mechanism in the bill with a look that could easily be confused with her eating a few too many Activia yogurts.

The mocking tones were a new low, even for Scarborough, mimicking voices of disgruntled opponents of the passage of the deal (only on the Democratic side mind you), while Mika giggled like a wet-pantied schoolgirl at the sight of Senators Tom Coburn and John Thune appearing on their show. Then in a complete 180, Scarborough looked at the votes and expressed that the adults in the room were actually the Democrats and praised Senators Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid for their willingness to compromise.

Panelist John Heillman's jaw hit the floor and took Scarborough to task: "You can't sit there and praise McConnell and Reid for compromising without simultaneously criticizing Tea Party for not compromising," said Heillman. Joe's answer: "Yes, I can. You know why? Because I feel like it." And there in a nutshell, is Scarborough's very serious punditry.

The Republicans got 98% of what they wanted and it still wasn't good enough for the Tea Party? Both sides, Democratic and Republican, have to marginalize the emergence of these people. The Democrats need to for the danger they pose to the country, and that's not hyperbole. The rogue Tea Party members of the House pushed the country to the brink of default and the world to the edge of economic ruin when they continued to defy any deal that their own House Speaker could muster. Not until after Boehner's own plan was rewritten three times and a balanced budget amendment was added, was there enough support to pass a bill which everyone knew would die in the Senate. A purely symbolic vote that wasted a week.

And the Republicans need to take care of Tea Party rogues for the danger they pose to the demise of their own party. If 80 members of the Republican party can hold up all legislation (only 13 bills have been passed in Congress since January) what does that say for the strength of "real" Republicans? At this pace, they'll become 21st Century Whigs.

Meanwhile, Jon Stewart nails it once again.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Dealageddon! - Angry Tea Party
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Congressional Rule No. 1

When speaking in any context, whether radio or television interview, the written word, on the floor of the House or Senate, well, anywhere really, it's best not to use the name of the first African American President of the United States and "tar baby" in the same sentence.

Appearing on the Caplis and Silverman radio show last Friday, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) said, “Now I don’t even want to have to be associated with [Obama], it’s like touching a tar baby and you’re stuck, you’re part of the problem now. You can’t get away.”

Indeed, the term has such a derogatory history that the Oxford American dictionary revamped its definition to reflect the word’s racial undertones.

Any questions?

More Krautlogic

Another week, and another example of Charles Krauthammer defecating on perfectly good paper. What a waste.

Earlier this week, Krauthammer wasted our time with his twisted logic on why the House should pass the John Boehner plan - mind you this was the original plan that Boehner couldn't garner support for from his own party, long before it actually passed on it's third incarnation which included a balanced budget amendment necessary for getting the votes needed, only to die a quick and merciful death in the Senate a short two hours later. All totaled, Boehner spent the entire week trying to pass a bill that he knew would be rejected in the Senate, while the clock is ticking down to D-Day. ("D" for "Default.")

The basis for Krauthammer's column:

...The distinctive visions of the two parties — social-democratic vs. limited-government — have underlain every debate on every issue since Barack Obama’s inauguration: the stimulus, the auto bailouts, health-care reform, financial regulation, deficit spending. Everything. The debt ceiling is but the latest focus of this fundamental divide.

Sigh... must I go over each of the supposed examples in that last paragraph? I must, I must.

Well, we can't really start off with a "limited government" lie posed as a fact so I'll refer you to a chart broken down by presidential terms showing federal spending and national debt. You'll immediately notice something when comparing the numbers:

Economist Mike Kimel notes that the last five Democratic Presidents (Clinton, Carter, LBJ, JFK, and Truman) all reduced public debt as a share of GDP, while the last four Republican Presidents (GW Bush, GHW Bush, Reagan, and Ford) all oversaw an increase in the country’s indebtedness.

So you can take that limited government bullshit and shove it. Reagan tripled the national debt. George W. Bush doubled it. So the next time some conservative starts with the myth that we somehow were completely fine until that no good Obama got his hands on the credit card, punch him in the neck.

The stimulus that Krauthammer wets his pants on wasn't some kind of socialist spending spree. It was necessitated by a nosediving GDP to shore up the continual loss of jobs (700,000+ per month by the time Bush left office), and not because of some imaginary European style socialist agenda.

Had President Obama not bailed out the auto industry, a bailout that began under Bush, but Obama honed into a reorganization to make the American auto industry profitable again, we would have been more than another million jobs in the hole.

Had President Obama truly wanted a European model of health care in the United States, he would have shot for a single payer system at the beginning of negotiations. And let's not forget that practically every president since Teddy Roosevelt has tried to pass some kind of health care legislation. Don't begrudge Obama for getting it done.

And Krauthammer's complaint about financial regulation is laughable considering the 2007 financial collapse brought on by the deregulatory decisions of both Presidents Clinton and GW Bush. Should we just forget all that's happened and assume the banks and markets can police themselves after a lesson learned?

And finally, deficit spending. I didn't know our country operated in the black until January 20th, 2009. Oh, wait. It didn't.

"The lesson we should have learned [from the Reagan years] is that deficits have little or no short-term economic impacts," said William A. Niskanen, a member of Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers.

...The fiscal shift in the Reagan years was staggering. In January 1981, when Reagan declared the federal budget to be "out of control," the deficit had reached almost $74 billion, the federal debt $930 billion. Within two years, the deficit was $208 billion. The debt by 1988 totaled $2.6 trillion. In those eight years, the United States moved from being the world's largest international creditor to the largest debtor nation.

So is Charles Krauthammer at risk of being shot in the face by disagreeing with Dick Cheney's now famous, "Reagan proved deficits don't matter" line?