First, the Republicans need to re-establish credibility as the party of fiscal responsibility, and supporting Porkulus is antithetical to that effort. No matter how big a tent the Republicans need to pitch, they still need to stand for core values — and among them should be fiscal responsibility and smaller government for greater individual liberty. Porkulus fails on both counts, which is why the House GOP maintained a solid wall of opposition to it. Specter, Snowe, and Collins apparently don't share those values.
About those core values- how well are they holding up to the test of time? Not very well, it seems. A couple graphs: http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=17325
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In the latest show of strain between the allies in a seven-year war against Islamist militants, Karzai told CNN President Barack Obama's description of the Kabul government as "very detached" from its people reflected the new U.S. government's immaturity....At the same time, U.S. criticism of Karzai has grown as the Taliban insurgency steadily gains ground more than seven years after U.S.-led forces toppled the hardline Islamist Afghan government.
David Waldman has a very useful blast from the GOP's lunatic past for you:
I have with me a hard copy of a collection of Republican quotes predicting doom and disaster in the wake of the 1993 Clinton economic stimulus plan, and much of the rhetoric is eerily similar to today's. Of course, that should come as no surprise, since the point of the compilation was in fact to point out that the 1993 rhetoric -- particularly on health care, which was still a live proposition at that time -- was itself eerily similar to Republican doom and disaster rhetoric during the debate on the original Social Security and Medicare legislation.
I figure this is what I've been saving this crazy thing for, after all these years. So I'm just going to type them all up here for your enjoyment. And I sincerely hope that they retain their entertainment value forever, and in particular that we all get to laugh -- not nervous tittering, but really have a carefree laugh -- at this exercise very, very soon.
Please take the time to read them all, if not all at once. And bookmark that page. You will want to have quick access to it during the imminent battle the insurance industry will wage openly to save itself from regulation and to preserve/extend the pipeline that channels our money into their bank accounts.
My favorite quote is in opposition to Medicare:
Raymond E. King, Jr., National Association of Life Underwriters, 5/65:
The Medicare bill would set up a health care program which served little or no necessary social purpose and which would be a direct, unwarranted and completely unfair intrusion in private enterprise.
Get ready to beat back nonsense like that and much worse in the months ahead.
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Bad source of iron
Texas beef producer recalls beef containing metal fragments: Story here.
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Just in case you needed more bad news: The war in Iraq isn't over. The main events may not even have happened yet
Whatever you do, don't ask what all this is going to cost. Money spent for useless meat grinders is exempt from fiscal responsibility. It would be unpatriotic and a sign that you don't support the troops to even ponder why we should keep spending trillions on a war that was fought for no good reason. "Fiscal responsibility" only applies to government programs that directly help Americans.
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Truckloads of cash and dead bodies so they can have elections like ours
The Associated Press reports today from Iraq that there was some fraud in last month's provincial elections but not enough to force a new vote in any province.
From Reuters a couple of days:
Before leaving Washington last week to deliver a major foreign policy speech in Germany, [Vice President Joseph] Biden chided Baghdad for failing to settle disputes over the city of Kirkuk and to enact a law dividing oil revenue, among other issues.
"I think our administration is going to have to be very deeply involved. We are going to have to get in there and be much more aggressive in forcing them to deal with these issues," Biden said.
Asked about Biden's remarks on Tuesday, [Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-]Maliki, an increasingly assertive leader whose followers won surprise victories in provincial elections last month, fired back.
"I believe talk about applying pressure on the Iraqi government or taking hard measures against it no longer works," he said at a news conference in Baghdad with visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
How many trillions must one spend and how many soldiers must die before we are allowed to apply any pressure?
The New York Times version is even more blunt:
"The time for putting pressure on Iraq is over," Mr. Maliki said in answer to a reporter's question about Mr. Biden's remarks. "The Iraqi government knows what its responsibilities are." [. . .]
According to political advisers, Mr. Maliki is intent on changing the nature of Baghdad's relationship with Washington, shifting Iraq's role from a client state to a more equal partner.
Well if your government knows what its responsibilities are, then freaking carry them out already.
Anyone on the U.S. side who imagines we're still in a position to impose our will on Iraq, whether it's Biden, Obama, or Petraeus and his cronies, is likely to spend the coming months finding out how irrelevant their plans are.
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Cherie Blair to Michelle Obama: You shouldn't be seen to have power
Mrs. Poodle has some degree of expertise on this subject. She and her husband went to the Bush Obedience School, graduating first in their respective classes:
Cherie Blair has been dishing out advice to First Lady Michelle Obama - and warned her she faces having hr views silenced.
In an article entitled 'Memo to Michelle', the wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair dispenses her views on how the First Lady should act now that she is in the White House.
She tells Harvard-educated Mrs. Obama that she cannot be seen to 'have power' and that her primary role is to support her husband.
Excuse me? What century are you living in?
In a series of questions for US magazine More, Mrs Blair is asked: 'So the spouse is discounted even though your marriage was originally one of equals?'
Mrs Blair replies: 'Yes.' You have a partnership, and the man and woman are equally educated, but that dynamic changes suddenly when one of them is elected. [...]
'Your husband comes home at the end of the day, and the kids have been fractious and they've gone to bed and he hasn't seen them.
'And you want to say, "Look, I've had a hard day too, but I manage to get everything done and be here for you."
'And he says, "You know I've been on the phone to the president of China." There is no answer to that.'
Mrs Blair, 54, goes on to tell the February issue of the magazine: 'You know I'm a career woman. But I think in the end Michelle's primary role is to give her husband support and succour."
If by 'support' you mean allowing your husband to start an illegal war that has left millions dead and wounded, then you have succeeded, Mrs. Poodle.
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Juan Cole
The demonstrating crowds have gone home. The blog postings have tapered off. The pundits have moved on. Congress is back to its old tricks, ignoring public opinion in favor of the lobbyists and money men. The US public is worried about losing its job or getting back the one it lost. Gaza here is a dimming memory, a momentary nightmare now past.
But the Palestinian children wounded and charred by Israeli bombings are still screaming, their physicians unable to get hold of enough pain killers to still their yelps of pain. Some 5300 Palestinians, most of them children, women and noncombatants, were wounded in Israel's savage war on the Gaza population.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EicbgiOsD4o&eurl=http://www.juancole.com/
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Historians: Dubya actually THE WORST president, but 'ranking' affected by steroids
"Bush actually broke ALL of the records for the biggest fuck-ups, but we had to discount some of his reckless stupidity due to 'roid' rage. Don't forget, he came directly out of the culture of Major League Baseball."
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"Republicans want to continue the same fights that we've been having over the last decade. The American people, on the other hand, realize that we want something different; hence, the results of the election. And, if you look at (the economy) and how the Republicans have responded to a great deal of overtures by me, it's pretty clear that the American people would like to see a different way of doing business. But old habits break hard so we're going to keep on reaching out and eventually, I have confidence that it's going to pay off." Obama Link
Bartcop says: Obama has a great big brain and a big heart, but he's missing that bartcopian, smart-mouthed street sense. Maybe he's laying some longterm trap, and I hope he is, but he seems naive about how to handle a bully.
Sure, you can reason with the bully - again and again - and, as time goes by, possibly someday make a breakthru, but I've found that they're a lot easier to connect with once they have a bloody nose - or a broken back.
Please Barack, don't waste 2009 and 2010 trying to reason with the dog with the foaming mouth. Ten percent of America is on Food Stamps.
Will you still be placating the foamy dog when that figure hits twenty percent?
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While President Obama was busy kissing Republican ass, many of them were seeking his autograph - but voted against his bill anyway: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/16/obama-sends-subtle-digs-a_n_167383.html
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Change I can't believe in
The AP notes that Obama's Department of Justice has already sided with "half a dozen" Bush administration claims of secrecy over spying and interrogations. http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Increasingly_Obamas_Justice_Department_standing_by_0216.html
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Republicans not just playing political games in California
In Kansas, income tax refunds, state employee paychecks, payments to Medicaid and schools could be delayed after Republican leaders and the Democratic governor clashed Monday over how to solve a cash-flow problem. http://www.kansas.com/735/story/701750.html
Kansas is also the home of this obstructionist:
Brownback said the embryo was asking the Senate, "Are you going to kill me?" Watch it
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In the Washington Post yesterday, conservative columnist George Will chastised Energy Secretary Stephen Chu for "doomsaying" about global warming, arguing that concerns about climate change are just "eco-pessimism." As evidence to support his point, Will claimed that "according to the University of Illinois' Arctic Climate Research Center, global sea ice levels now equal those of 1979." But, as TPMmuckraker notes, the Arctic Climate Research Center (ACRC) quickly disputed Will's claim:
We do not know where George Will is getting his information, but our data shows that on February 15, 1979, global sea ice area was 16.79 million sq. km and on February 15, 2009, global sea ice area was 15.45 million sq. km. Therefore, global sea ice levels are 1.34 million sq. km less in February 2009 than in February 1979. This decrease in sea ice area is roughly equal to the area of Texas, California, and Oklahoma combined.
In its statement, the ACRC added that "It is disturbing that the Washington Post would publish such information without first checking the facts." Washington Post editorial page editor Fred Hiatt told TPMmuckraker that "he'd try to respond to questions about the editing process later today." They have yet to hear back from him.
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The Republicon Problem Solver.
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Praise Jesus and pass the ammunition.
The Arkansas House on Wednesday approved a bill allowing concealed handguns in churches, despite hearing arguments that lawmakers should put their faith in God, not guns.
The bill, which passed on a 57-42 vote and now heads to the Senate, removes churches and other houses of worship from the list of places where concealed handguns are banned. Currently, the only private entities where concealed weapons are banned are churches and bars.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Beverly Pyle, R-Cedarville, said she introduced the measure after a series of church shootings across the country. She said it would be up to each individual church whether to allow the concealed guns.
"It is time we changed our concealed-handgun law to allow law-abiding citizens of the state of Arkansas the right to defend themselves and others should a situation happen in one of our churches," she said.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the lord because he is heavily armed?
Blessed are the Peace makers for they shall exert superior fire power?
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Here is Japan's beloved finance minister, Shoichi "Slurry Joe" Nakagawa, performing his hilarious "drunken finance minister" routine at some G7 press conference. Now he must resign! That's how they roll in Japan.
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