Archive for February, 2010
On Unemployment Benefits? The GOP Likens You to a “Hobo.”
Millions of Americans are unemployed and living (barely) on unemployment benefits — mostly due to no fault of their own — but House and Senate Republicans apparently think they’re a bunch of lazy, whining, welfare-queen-types and they are fighting an extension of those benefits:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is trying to pass an extension of unemployment benefits, but is facing resistance from Republicans who are throwing up procedural hurdles and trying to use the extension as leverage to push through a tax cut for the wealthiest families in the country. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) today questioned the necessity of an extension on the grounds that “we intend to have some immediate impact on the economy through what we’re doing.” And discourse in the House isn’t any better, with Rep. Dean Heller (R-NV) positing that extending unemployment benefits may be creating “hobos.”
The deal with Republicans is that their attention and effort centers on corporations and the rich (yes, Democrats, unfortunately, are trending that way too). They literally don’t care about average Americans; they just kind of get in the way.
Break Time — Miniature “Food”
Wow, one of my favorite Break Time finds ever. Look at these amazing miniature foods by artist Kim Burke. Here’s just one example:
Look at how tiny those grapes are. Incredible.
I don’t know precisely what you’d do with them — put them in a dollhouse? — but they sure are fun to look at.
Rush Limbaugh’s Health Care Plan: Eat Applesauce
From Rush Limbaugh’s radio show today: “If you don’t have any teeth, so what? What’s applesauce for?”
The guy knocks me over with his compassion and empathy.
A Dispassionate “Summit” on Life and Death
Insofar as this “Health Care Summit” is, in the end, about life and death and suffering and paying for insurance or food or medicine or the mortgage or college, the lack of urgency and passion on the part of the participants has been pretty astonishing.
Beware of Senators Talking “Tort Reform”
Beware of senators talking about the glories of “tort reform.” “Tort reform” benefits big business and the power elite. It means that the powers that be want to “reform” the law so that — in the case of health care reform — if a doctor leaves a staple gun inside your belly after he performs surgery on you, you (l) either can’t sue him, or (2) the government places a limit on the amount you can sue for.
Or, in the case of big business, say a loved one dies when their Toyota crashes because of a sudden exceleration. Tort “reform” would do the same there — either limit the amount you can sue for or limit your ability to sue in the first place.
Be careful about being for “tort reform.” In the end, it screws you and me.
And there are big questions as to whether “tort reform” even works.
Ben Stein Wages Class Warfare on CNN
Oh my God. Ben Stein is on CNN with Donna Brazile and Wolf Blitzer. Blitzer just asked him why so many Republicans are against a public option. Stein said, “Because a much higher percentage of Republicans are taxpayers and Republicans are going to be paying for it while Democrats are going to be receiving it.”
Remind me to turn the channel as soon as I see Ben Stein’s face.
U.S. to Build New, $1 Billion Embassy in London
Do we really, really need to spend $1 billion (yes, that’s with a “b” folks) on a new embassy in London? That would be more than the $850 million we spent on a super-fortified embassy in Baghdad for God’s sake.
Decision to Stop Making Hummers Saddens Assholes
Read the always spot-on Andy Borowitz: Decision to Stop Making Hummers Saddens Assholes.
Love that title.
When You Hear Republicans Whine About Reconciliation — Remember This
Between 1981 and 2009, 22 bills have been passed through reconciliation. Eight of the bills were initiated by a Democratic-controlled Congress. The rest, 14, by a Republican-controlled Congress. So the Republicans have used reconciliation almost twice as much as Democrats. And they’re whining?
It’s an act. Period. End of story.
Now let’s move on.
In Case You’re Interested…
PolitiFact.com fact checks 100 statements made about health care.
The “Health Care Summit”
Looks like all the cable “news” channels are carrying President Obama’s opening remarks at the health care “summit.” Can’t imagine they’ll air all six hours. From the looks of it, there’s going be a whole lot of speechifying. Wish Obama had come out and started with nothing but, “Okay, Boner*, McCain, what are your ideas?”
* I refer to John Boehner as John Boner which I’ll keep doing as long as he refers to the Democratic party as the DemocRAT party.
Full Text of PETA Statement Regarding SeaWorld Tragedy
Here is the text of PETA’s statement regarding the tragedy at SeaWorld today:
Earlier this afternoon, another trainer at SeaWorld in Orlando was killed after being pulled into the tank by an orca named Tilikum (or Telly, for short). According to a witness, the whale, who has been involved in two previous fatal incidents involving human beings and who our captive wildlife director, Debbie Leahy, describes as “12,300 pounds of sheer rage,” leapt out of the tank and grabbed the trainer by the waist, pulled her into the water, threw her around like a rag doll, and then held her underwater until she drowned. SeaWorld officials canceled the dolphin and whale shows for the rest of the day, but SeaWorld remains open (have they no shame?!) and will continue to exploit and abuse these captive animals despite the many horrific injuries and deaths of trainers and animals that have occurred throughout the theme park’s history.
PETA has long been asking SeaWorld to stop taking wild, ocean-going mammals from their families and ocean homes and confining them with no semblance of a life to an area that, to them, is the size of a bathtub. No wonder these huge, intelligent animals, like the beaten elephants in the Ringling Bros. circus, lash out after being forced into subservience and forced to perform stupid circus tricks for their food for so long. For years, PETA has been calling on SeaWorld to switch to hugely popular robotic replacements like those used in the amazing “Walking With the Dinosaurs” exhibit. The public needs to stand up now against this cruelty and stop patronizing aquariums and whale and dolphin shows. Please join us in saying, “Enough!”
For the record, I posted this earlier today, which was all I could find at the time re PETA’s reaction.
Again, this is horribly sad for everyone — including Tilikum.
Countdown w/Keith Olbermann Delayed for Curling?
MSNBC is delaying the start of Countdown w/Keith Olbermann until an Olympic curling match ends. Curling? Really?
PETA Blasts SeaWorld Over Trainer’s Death
Per a Google search, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has been screaming at SeaWorld for years over the way it treats its animals. Today, in response to the death of a trainer there, PETA issued the following statement:
A People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) spokesman said the attack was “a tragedy that didn’t have to happen”.
“For years, PETA has been calling on Sea World to stop confining oceangoing mammals to an area that to them is like the size of a bathtub, and we have also been asking the park to stop forcing the animals to perform silly tricks over and over again,” spokesman David Perle said.
“It’s not surprising when these huge, smart animals lash out.”
Additionally,
Whale expert Nancy Black told Local 6 Tilikum [the name of the whale who killed the trainer] could have been playing in the latest attack and did not intend to hurt the trainer.
“They are very intelligent creatures,” Ms Black said.
“They have emotions, and feelings. Maybe it was unhappy in the situation, maybe it was bored.”
Amen.
My heart goes out to the victim and her family, and to those close to her and to those at SeaWorld who witnessed this tragedy, but it goes out to Tilikum too.
The Hummer is History!
General Motors issued a press release today saying that the deal to sell its Hummer division to Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co., Ltd. of China fell through, so the Hummer is now officially dead.
Hallelujah! Producing a gas hog like the Hummer had to be one of the dumbest, most poorly timed business decisions ever.
Female Trainer Killed by Whale at Florida’s SeaWorld
Note to the media: Please don’t turn this into a three day rant about how vicious killer whales are. Per this 2005 article, there had never been a documented killer whale attack on a human as of that year, so this is a very isolated incident.
C-SPAN Sucks
The folks over at Second City, Inc. are just about as pissed off as I am that tomorrow’s health care summit will be carried on C-SPAN3 — available only to premium cable subscribers — instead of on C-SPAN or C-SPAN2, channels available to far more people. As the video says, this huge event, important to every single citizen of the United States, might as well be a pay-per-view event.
Break Time
Check out this site called “Bones & X-rays,” where you can get a premade or a customized cover for your cast (that is, if you’re unlucky enough to break something).
Cute.
The “Liberal Media” Adopting Republican Talking Points on Reconciliation
Here’s a good article explaining how common and simple the reconciliation process is (i.e., don’t buy the hysteria being put forth by the “liberal media” — that’s all coming from hypocritical, lying Republicans).
There’s nothing wrong with the media reporting that Republicans oppose the use of reconciliation to amend the healthcare bill. Of course they do. But they owe it to their audience to explain that reconciliation does nothing more than allow a simple majority vote to pass budgetary issues and that it’s been used routinely by both parties for decades. That’s just the simple truth.
Cleavage in Cartoon Image Too Racy for Sensitive Eyes in Colorado Springs
The Lamar Advertising agency in Colorado Springs, Colorado, recently rejected a bus shelter advertisement that would have revealed the character “Lucy the Slut’s” furry pink cleavage. “Lucy the Slut” is a Muppet-like character in the touring 0ff-Broadway show “Avenue Q.”
In other words, the delicate people of Colorado Springs — a city built on waging war and killing people — need to be protected from this:
The Haves and the Have Nots When it Comes to Health Care
Undoubtedly you all have already thought about this but if not — regarding Dick Cheney’s fifth heart attack — if he was an average Joe he’d have lost his insurance coverage after his first heart attack. He would have been rejected as a candidate for a new policy because of his “pre-existing condition.” And chances are, he would have died after his second, third or fourth heart attack. Living through five is unheard of without a tremendous amount of medical support and follow-up which, of course, our average Joe wouldn’t have had access to because his insurance was canceled after his first attack.
The special privilege afforded to the likes of Dick Cheney speaks to a fundamental unfairness that we must change in our society: If you’re rich and of a certain class, you have a far better chance of living a good long life than average Joes and Janes.
Nah, We Don’t Need Health Care Reform
Wellpoint Raising Premium Rates by Double Digits in at Least 11 States.
Mark Your Calendar: March 16 Is Going to Be a Big Day
Yesterday the ultra-conservative “journalist,” Andrew Breitbart vowed to destroy the “institutional left” by March 16. He wants history to show that,
I took down the institutional left and I believe it’s gonna happen within the next three weeks.
Here’s video, courtesy of Media Matters.
Good luck Andrew.
Why, Oh Why, Can’t We Have a Better News Media?
Woke up this morning to CNN’s “Top Stories.” For a second here I thought I was watching my local tin cup, if-it-bleeds-it-leads channel but no, it was CNN. The “Top Stories?” (1) A guy trying to evade the police by running through a field but they got him anyway; (2) an NBA star sentenced to prison, and (3) “Cop nearly crushed” by a car that plowed into a car he was standing next to.
Again, those were the “Top Stories” on CNN. CNN!
Really, really pitiful.
