Recently in Politics Category

Whatever happened to the land of the free and the home of the brave? In the aftermath of the failed attempt of the Christmas Day underpants (Fruit of the Boom?) bomber will we become the land of the strip-searched and the home of the paranoid? Apparently so. Let the overreacting, pantswetting, and cowering in fear commence. And let the newer, simpler Bill of Rights be written, "Whatever it takes to keep us safe."Under the new...

Today will be my final post of 2009, but I'll leave you with some recommended reading on where we are now and one view of what 2010 may hold in store. First from The Huffington Post, The Cash Committee: How Wall Street Wins On The Hill. Excerpt:"In the fall of 2008, Democrats took the White House and expanded their Congressional majorities as America struggled through a financial collapse wrought by years of deregulation. The public...

Following up on last week's post about the excise tax on the so-called "Cadillac" health plans, Bob Herbert has some new information in an op-ed piece in yesterday's New York Times. I'm not surprised that there's a lot of smoke and mirrors involved in the supposed cost-cutting and deficit reduction figures coming from the Senate, the CBO, and the White House. Smoke and mirrors seems to be the SOP when it comes to selling this...

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and that Santa brought you everything you wanted. He certainly was very good to Fannie and Freddie. Only in their case, Santa is the American taxpayer, you and me. One thing is clear, the plutocracy never sleeps, or takes a holiday. How about this for a Christmas Eve news dump?"The Obama administration pledged on Thursday to back beleaguered mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac no matter...

I suppose everybody has a particular portion of this alleged health care "reform" bill passed by the Senate which they find the most objectionable. For some it's the individual mandate, for some it's the lack of a public option. For me it's the 40% excise tax on the so-called "Cadillac" plans. Better known as the 'screw organized labor and the middle-class' tax, in my opinion. It's not in the House version, they propose an income...

Two items of recommended reading this morning, both pointing to underlying problems which have surfaced in the health care debate but greatly affect the passing of any legislation containing substantive changes. First, Paul Krugman in yesterday's New York Times about the filibuster rule in the Senate:"...Democrats won big last year, running on a platform that put health reform front and center. In any other advanced democracy this would have given them the mandate and the...

December 20, 2009   Representative John Culberson, 7th District514 Longworth Building Washington DC 20515-4307   10000 Memorial Drive, Suite 620 Houston, TX  77024-3490   Dear Representative Culberson:   Thank you for your response to my letter expressing my opinion on health care reform with another of your empty, partisan, form letters written by someone on your staff. I truly appreciate the time it took one of your minions to add me to the distribution...

Many of you may remember when Bob Geldof got a group of musicians together on behalf of Africa in 1984 and recorded a song whose proceeds went to famine relief in Ethiopia. (http://www.bobgeldof.info/Charity/bandaid.html)I don't know a group of musicians that I can get together, but I have written some new lyrics that are apropos this year.Check out this link to the original recording, but read along with my lyrics as it plays and see...

Ben Nelson is on board as of this morning:"Sen. Ben Nelson (Neb.), the final Democratic holdout on health care, was prepared to announce to his caucus Saturday morning that he would support the Senate reform bill, clearing the way for final passage by Christmas. ...Democratic leaders spent days trying to hammer out a deal with Nelson, and worked late Friday night with Nelson on abortion coverage language that had proved the major stumbling block. But...

From Move On, a great portrayal  of Joe Lieberman and his self serving flip flops.  Posted for your entertainment without further comment:...