11.07.2009

Xenophobe Tom Tancredo walks off when called on his draft-dodging past

On MSNBC last night, former Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo walked out during a discussion about health care with Markos Moulitsas and David Shuster (who was filling in for host Ed Schultz).

As Tancredo railed against health care reform, Shuster raised the question of whether the Veterans Administration -- a single-payer system -- is also a "threat to our freedom."

Tancredo's responded that there are problems in the Veterans Association's system and said that his liberal counterpart in the debate should talk to more veterans. Moulitsas, a veteran himself, swung back. The Daily Kos founder brought up the fact that Tancredo -- a Republican student activist during Vietnam -- got out of serving in the war.

"I did not get a deferment because I was too depressed to fight in a war that I supported in Vietnam," Moulitsas said.

When Tancredo didn't get his apology, he left the set.


Andrew Sullivan on Obama via Colbert

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11.06.2009

Beyond the pale

Pictures of piles of dead Jews, victims of the Holocaust, used as props to oppose healthcare. This is what it's come to for the right?



This is beyond indecent. GOP members of Congress were there. John Boehner stood there while these signs were displayed. So did Eric Cantor, the only Jewish Republican in the House. This is adisgrace, and that more Americans are not sickened by this shows how low we've sunk as a culture and a nation.

Just to remind as well, this rally was sponsored by Michelle Bachmann and the GOP. They didn't just attend, they SPONSORED it.

And just in case you needed reminding, Fox is fair and balanced and does nothing to contribute to this atmosphere.

Jon Stewart's 11/3 Project: Being Glenn Beck

(Huff Post)
We knew Jon Stewart was a talented comedian, but until last night we didn't know he had missed his true calling: Being Glenn Beck. Yes, the "Daily Show" host spent an entire segment acting like, talking like, crying like, dancing like, and gesticulating like Glenn Beck. He was inspired by the fact that Beck recently had his appendix removed to create the 11/3 project--taking America back to a time before Beck lost his vestigial organ.

"Apparently the medicine that was good enough for our founding fathers is now considered politically or medically incorrect," Stewart said employing both air quotes and crazy voice registers that left the viewer wondering who and what he was quoting. "I'm not saying this is a plot by Hitler to steal Glenn Beck from all of us internal organ by internal organ by internal organ and then reprogram him to use as a weapon. But isn't it fascinating that I'm the only one with the courage to ask these questions?" He proceeded to jump up from his seat and run over to a chalk board that had the human anatomy scrawled on it alongside Che, acorns and the Russian flag. It only got better from there.

11.04.2009

Krugman: The story so far, in one picture

(NYT)
World industrial production in the Great Depression and now:

Basically, we started out with a year that matched the Great Depression, but have since pulled back a bit from the edge of the abyss.

Jon Stewart on inane election coverage

Catholic pastors directed to distribute anti-health reform materials at mass

(Colorado Independent)
This past weekend the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops instructed pastors at parishes across the country to distribute material urging Catholics to oppose the health reform bills making their way through Congress for allowing public funding of abortions. Priests were to insert the Bishops Conference pdf leaflets and letters into parish news bulletins, distribute them at church doors or place them in pews. They were also directed to read a statement at mass to reinforce the message.

The Conference of bishops reportedly sent the orders out last Thursday, the same day Speaker Nancy Pelosi presented the mammoth 2,000-page House reform bill to lawmakers and the public.

CNSNews reports that the Catholic Church has a “major stake” in the legislation:

A little over 100 million Americans are treated through Catholic hospitals and health centers. There are 624 Catholic hospitals in America. Also, 11 of the nation’s 40 largest health care systems are Catholic, such as Ascension Health, Catholic Health Initatives and Trinity Health.
So it's ostensibly about abortion, but - conveniently - the Catholic church's health arm has billions of dollars at stake.

Easy solution: revoke their tax-exempt status and let them say whatever they want.

Olbermann rips Beck; O'Donnell tears into Steele

Keith Olbermann tore into Glenn Beck during Worst Persons for his quote that derailing health care is tantamount to preparing for 9/11.

Beck said the 9/12ers, as they are also referred to, "are reading 2,000-page healthcare bills on the weekend. [They] are willing to stand in line and take our shoes off before the plane actually hits the tower."
Beck, you and the 9/12ers have the nerve to exploit 9/11 for your lousy TV raitings? You cannot make light of 9/11, nor bandy about as if your petty political grievances are comparable to it and still be an actual, patriotic American. In short, Glenn, 9/12ers, if you're invoking 9/11 just to oppose health care reform, go to hell.


Lawrence O'Donnell had some tough words for RNC chairman Michael Steele this morning regarding the GOP's loss of the 23rd congressional district in New York for the first time in history. O'Donnell accused Steele, along with Sarah Palin and others, of leading the Republican party to defeat in the 23rd by ousting the Republican candidate Scozzafava from the race in favor of a more orthodox conservative who proved too orthodox for the voters. An incredulous O'Donnell asked Steele how such a stunning defeat could happen.

Steele responded with some humor: "Lawrence, I'll start by apologizing for letting you ask me a question in the first place... I don't apologize for anything. Last night was a great night for the Republican Party." The RNC chair argued that there wasn't much significance in the GOP losing that seat because it will have to be defended again in 2010, and he is confident the GOP can pick it back up.

It was here that O'Donnell got aggressive:

O'Donnell: Michael, you made the 23rd the most important congressional district in the country. The Democrats didn't do it. You did it. You lost it. You led your party to a disastrous loss that it has never experienced in that district before. Congratulations, nice work.

Steele: Hey Lawrence, if it makes you feel good, baby, then have at it. Just lay it on me. I'll shut up and listen to you. Because clearly you've got your talking points from the DNC. You roll them out and have fun with them. You're not going to spoil my juice right now; you're not gonna take this high away from me."

We would be remiss in not mentioning Steele's brilliant introduction in which he expressed his joy with yesterday's results by simulating the Heisman move and saying "assume the Heisman position." Co-host Mika Brzezinski was mortified enough to bury her hands in her face. A screenshot of Steele's move and Mika's embarrassment is below.



11.03.2009

Joe Lieberman: Drama Queen

(Bob Cesca)

Good news. Lieberman won't be filibustering healthcare reform and the public option.

Or...

Yes he will.

First, we heard he'd reached an agreement with Reid to not filibuster. Then Lieberman's office said there's no such agreement. Another triumph for anonymous sources.

The thing is -- Lieberman probably won't filibuster. This is all about being an attention whore.
All this coming on the heels of this craziness:
"Well, the truth is that nothing is better than that..."

Joe Lieberman on healthcare reform with a public option, on today's Face the Nation

Victim in fatal car accident tragically not Glenn Beck

Brilliance from the Onion

Victim In Fatal Car Accident Tragically Not Glenn Beck

Shame on us: No opposition to spending 7x health care cost for weapons

"Anyone notice that the pres signed a $680 BILLION defense approp bill in the midst of our debates about $90b a yr for hc?"

The Nation's Chris Hayes via Twitter

$680 billion for ONE YEAR, versus $900 billion for TEN YEARS. And the $680 billion doesn't even include the cost of the two wars.

Harry Reid's testicles

What's remarkable isn't that I wrote "testicles" in a title, but rather that Harry Reid has them. Of course, it's always been assumed that he had a pair, but his actions lately haven't really shown the proclivity to demonstrate their existance.

Harry delivered the following to GOP leadership today regarding health care:
While the two health care reform plans that are serving as the main building blocks for the merged bill have been publicly available for quite some time, I would note that the Republican leadership’s health care plan remains a secret, unless perhaps it does not exist.
Needless to say, I fully understand if your plan is still under development, and would not presume to suggest that you publicly share draft legislative text for even an individual element of your plan, let alone an entire bill, before it is finalized.

However, as soon as a comprehensive Republican alternative is complete, I hope you will be willing to immediately make it public. I am sure you agree that the American people deserve the opportunity to fully review both parties’ health careform plans before we begin this important debate.
*************UPDATE*************
Nevermind. Check that last entry.

Harry casts doubt, just when it seemed he might have a pair.

Health care might not be finished this year.

11.02.2009

Just because Fox gave Rush a free 30 minutes doesn't mean they're biased

Fox handed over 30 minutes of their Sunday news shows to a softball interview with Rush Limbaugh by Chris Wallace. Wallace let Limbaugh rant on, largely uninterrupted, about the evils of the Obama administration.

for a network trying to refute charges of being the media wing of the Republican Party, this wasn't much of a counter-argument. I wonder when they'll give Rachel Maddow her 30 minutes?

Drunk forklift driver totals $150K worth of vodka

Yikes! Epic fail.