Archive for December 6, 2010
Obama Bought the Lie That the Media is Liberal
Check out some of the headlines from this afternoon, after President Obama tried to convince us that he was looking out for the unemployed.
This would (obviously) be Fox:
Yep. Republican won that one.
The CBS Evening News: “Obama: Deal with GOP on Tax Cuts:“
Republicans won that headline too.
The ABC Evening News:
Yep. The GOP and the Bushies win there as well.
So, why did Obama expect anything different? Does he buy the propaganda (Stockholm Syndrome anyone?) that the media is “liberal?” I.e., that it will tell his side of the story?
It isn’t and it won’t and it didn’t.
Obama Favors the Rich Over Working Folks
We’re awaiting Obama’s press conference during which he will talk about the “deal” he has reached with Republicans on the “tax plan.” Part of what he is going to say has been leaked: a 13-month extension of unemployment insurance (but he’ll say “benefits”) and a two-year extension of tax cuts for the rich.
Obama, I think you’re wrong to extend Bush’s tax cuts for the rich but putting that aside, do you mean to tell me you’re so weak you couldn’t get a two-year extension of benefits for the unemployeed to match what you’re giving to the rich?
My. God.
UPDATE: Obama is confirming the info above, while repeatedly using the word “compromise,” “compromise,” “compromise,” and “I’m looking forward to working with members of both parties….” to see that this gets done.
So, did I miss something? Did Republicans elect Obama?
Reaction from Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the leader of the House Progressive Caucus on MSNBC: “It’s horrible that Republicans would put this on the table.” Democrats are blaming their “compromise” on the Republicans. Now that’s the mature thing to do!
Excuse me while I take another blood pressure pill.
Right Wing Pundit: “Dems Rolled Over Easier Than We Expected”
Gosh, just makes you so proud to be a Democrat:
Want a Visual on the Republican Tax Cut Plan (For the Rich)?
Check this out:
It’s time, I think, to repost this chart showing how much taxpayers at different income levels would get from the Democratic plan, which was to simply extend the cuts for income under $250,000, and the Republican plan, which was to extend the cuts for everyone:
Gosh, golly, gee. Look who benefits the most from the Republican plan. What a shocker.
The 2010 Lie of the Year
PolitiFact has compiled a list of eight entries for its annual lie of the year. Here they are. (Sarah Palin’s “death panels” won last year.) They will announce the winner later this month but meanwhile, we all can vote on them — the “Readers’ Choice” award — here.
Geez. I can’t decide between Michele Bachmann’s lie: “The president of the United States will be taking a trip over to India that is expected to cost the taxpayers $200 million a day,” or Charlie Rangels’ lie: The ethics report “exonerates me.”
Sad News About Elizabeth Edwards
This from Bret Baier’s Facebook page:
Elizabeth Edwards’ cancer has spread, and her health has deteriorated, multiple sources told WRAL-TV News (Raleigh) Monday. Edwards, 61, the wife of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, was briefly hospitalized recently, but she is now at home, and her family and friends are lending their support.
My thoughts are with you Elizabeth.
UPDATE: Elizabeth has apparently stopped the cancer treatments.
She released this statement:
“You all know that I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces – my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope. These graces have carried me through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the good times than I ever could have imagined. The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And, yes, there are certainly times when we aren’t able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It’s called being human.
“But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that I am grateful. It isn’t possible to put into words the love and gratitude I feel to everyone who has and continues to support and inspire me every day. To you I simply say: you know.”
I have so much respect for her.
More on How Awful Obama’s “NAFTA-Style” Trade Deal With South Korea Is
From Jane Hamsher:
It’s been over 48 hours and the only union response on Obama’s NAFTA-Style Korea Free Trade agreement has been a thumbs up from Bob King and the UAW.
But the thundering silence from the other unions is not indicative of what’s going on behind the scenes. At the AFL-CIO’s weekly Monday morning legislative meeting, the UAW tried to sell the deal to their fellow unions in the federation.
The unanimous disapproval from all the other unions was summed up in a 10 minute invective by Matt McKinnon, the Political Director of the Machinists, who said:
- UAW President Bob King threw every other union under the bus, and did not even bother to call his fellow AFL-CIO union presidents who are most affected and involved in the trade debate before announcing to the world their shameful, betraying position (no doubt why Leo Gerard took a jab at King over the weekend).
- It takes a fat load of nerve for the UAW to be asking others to abandon their long time positions just because the UAW went “yellow belly flip flop”
- The UAW got nothing it wanted, and the auto provisions they got in exchange for their support are “worth a bucket of warm spit”
- The deal will be the demise of not only UAW, but the 35% “rule of origin” provisions will be the China duty-free death knell for all US manufacturing – unless the other unions do the work to kill it. Such provisions require that only 35% of products coming into the US duty free be of Korean origin — the rest can come from parts made in China.
- The deal replicates everything in NAFTA that they have all opposed forever
- It’s vicious slap in the face by the White House – they do NOTHING to help labor, and then they do THIS?
- It’s a suicide mission for the 2012 election
There was not one AFL-CIO union at the meeting who did not vigorously oppose the deal. But they have all remained silent so far, giving the White House three free days to whip support for the bill as if the UAW position represents them all.
[...]
In the mean time Sherrod Brown, Mike Michaud, Linda Sanchez, US Chamber Watch, Friends of the Earth, Public Citizen and the Sierra Club have all been stars, working overtime this weekend to push back against the Chamber-generated propaganda. But we can’t carry this kind of heavy lift alone. Every hour that goes by, the narrative of the deal’s “glorious achievement” locked in, and it will be harder and harder to move people once they’ve already committed to support it. All the while, those out in front of the opposition become sitting ducks for the Chamber’s formidable resources.
Why aren’t Americans outraged over this? Oh, that’s right. I forgot. We’ve all been dumbed down to the point of being comatose.
If the Chamber of Commerce, the CEO of Citigroup and the CEO of JPMorgan Chase are For it, I’m Against it
Late last week the Obama administration announced that they had reached a NAFTA-style trade agreement with South Korea.
Anything that is referred to as a NAFTA-style” agreement sends chills up and down my spine because we all know how, ahem, “successful” the real North American Free Trade Agreement has been, not at creating jobs but at sucking jobs out of the country. So while I haven’t had time to read a whole lot about this new deal, I note that the United States Chamber of Commerce, Vikram Pandit, the CEO of Citigroup, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, and Chevron think it’s a wonderful thing. If those guys think it’s a wonderful thing, I’m against it; it can’t be good for Joe and Jane America.
Interpol Issues Wanted Poster for Julian Assange
Interpol has issued a “wanted” poster for Julian Assange:
The world’s governments are sending everyone on the planet a message: Don’t you dare do what Julian Assange did.
Good Morning?
It isn’t a particularly good morning because, right off the bat, Chris Hayes reminded me of this:
