Capitol Aisles Unable to Keep Political Corruption So the Republicans are all for a good Economic Stimulus bill, meaning one that would stop taxing the rich and stop any corporate taxes and also, somehow, further ruin the environment and whatever. As a result of this clear "small government" philosophy the big-spending corporate-welfare closeted homosexuals adopted last week, GOP congressional leaders have found the parts they just can't tolerate in the Economic Stimulus legislation: the parts that would create jobs and build American infrastructure. Yes we can't!
Look, whatever anybody's uninformed opinions about this Rescue the Economy package, you should at least be able to reconcile "support for economic stimulus legislation" with "support for legislation that will throw a bunch of money at the economy, in the form of money paid for goods and services, manufacturing and labor, and other traditional uncontroversial gears of Capitalism."
So, here are some specific things the GOP will not condone in this bill they're not going to vote for anyway: http://wonkette.com/405954/gop-against-stimulus-part-of-stimulus-bill#more-405954
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John [Bellinger] and I had to work on the 9/11-commission testimony of Condi. Condi was not gonna do it, not gonna do it, not gonna do it, and then all of a sudden she realized she better do it. That was an appalling enterprise. We would cherry-pick things to make it look like the president had been actually concerned about al-Qaeda. We cherry-picked things to make it look as if the vice president and others, Secretary Rumsfeld and all, had been.They didn't give a shit about al-Qaeda. They had priorities. The priorities were lower taxes, ballistic missiles, and the defense thereof.
Ballistic missiles. Interesting that this seems to have been one of "their" two top priorities. Probably we can trace this back to Reagan and his Star Wars dreams. Reagan, like so many conservative Republicans, was a magical thinker. Their magic is Science. Ice cap melting? No problem, Science will take care of it. Peak oil? Relax and keep drilling, Science will turn sewage into electricity pretty soon. You'll see.
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A nurse on a home visit decided to offer her services as a personal intermediary to a deity and pray for her patient. The patient objected and complained to the health organization — after all, the patient may not like the same god she likes, and she has every right to refuse.
Anyway, poor suffering Nurse Petrie, martyr of the Baptist faith, is currently under disciplinary review for springing hare-brained mysticism on a patient in her care. Good. I don't think she should lose her job over one infraction (although apparently she's done similar things before), but she ought to be disciplined and taught what is appropriate. And forcing prayer on someone isn't appropriate.
Deranged dingbat Melanie Phillips declares that "This is the way society dies".Yeah, whatever.
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It seems to me that there may be another way to look at this dire economic melt down. In light of yet another monstrous corporation laying off nearly 7K people, perhaps there is a positive way to spin this.
We need to break the frame of business as usual, and the only way to do it is to free up the talent to concentrate our efforts. If we really do need new green and sustainable businesses, perhaps now we see the nexus between the opportunity and creativity to invent. That is, instead of looking at all these lay offs as negative, we may want to view it as freeing up the talent to move toward inventing better and smarter new businesses. These people who were shackled by their old jobs, now have both the time, the motivation, and perhaps, the energy to do so.
If the many tens of thousands of people that are now freed from their old employment now move to creating green and sustainable operations, we may have to thank George Bush and his cronies for causing this madness. After all, out of adversity, opportunity emerges.
For one example, let's just say, the big three auto companies are left to hang by their own petard. Those laid off have now have the smarts and the training to ply their energies to inventing the cars of the future. Perhaps we may see bands of ex GM employees working together to make automobiles that help rather than hurt our planet. I don't want to be Pollyanna, but it's only through the dust that the phoenix can rise.
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Steve Benen comments on Joe the Plumber/Joe the Journalist/Joe the Economist: "This is what it's come to for Republican staffers in Congress. In the midst of an economic crisis, and after balking at a stimulus package, the GOP is turning to an unlicensed plumber/campaign prop to discuss legislative strategy on economic policy."
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For a video of New York police officers ransacking a bar, smashing gambling machines, and pocketing cash, click here.
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Margaret and Helen have been friends for 60 years and have a hilarious blog: http://margaretandhelen.wordpress.com/
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Tell me, what exactly makes New Hampshire GOP senator Judd Gregg so essential for the Commerce Secretary position that Barack Obama would agree to not backfill him with a Democrat?
Is Gregg the only person in the United States who can do this job? Does his selection guarantee 20-25 GOP votes in the Senate for Obama's agenda? Is he so much better than any Democrat? Is he even better than Susan Collins or Olympia Snowe for the job?
Of course the answer to all of these questions is "no". And yet in Obama's quest for a bipartisanship that doesn't exist, he is doing this. And to think it was necessary to throw Bill Richardson under the bus.
You'll recall that Blago got indicted for attempts at selling Obama's seat, and yet it's ok to influence the appointment of the seat in this manner (as long as no tape recorded bribe money was involved) and to make this sort of agreement with the Governor prior to his selection?
What's up with that?
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Morford: Life Without Bush: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2009/01/30/notes013009.DTL
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Remember: When the GOP was in charge, they flew $12 billion in cash into the Iraq war zone and lost it all
It is nothing less than astounding that Pres. Obama and the congressional Democrats have allowed themselves to be put on the defensive about stimulus spending by the same Republicans who, with George Bush, took just six years to add trillions to the national debt.
It does not bode well that the president and the Democrats can't find the cojones to cram the Republicans' hypocrisy on spending back in their faces.
In particular, this would be a good time to remind Sen. McConnell, Rep. Boner and the rest that it was they who sat idly by while Bush's men shrink-wrapped $12 billion in U.S. currency — 363 tons of $100 bills — loaded it onto pallets and flew it on transport planes into the Iraq war zone in mid-2003.
That money vanished into thin air, and Republicans have stonewalled Democrats' efforts to find out what happened to it ever since.
This defensive behavior by the president and the Democrats is dangerous. It emboldens the Republicans, backed by their new Dear Leader, Rush Limbaugh, and his noise machine, to rewrite the history of their own decadent behavior when they ran the world just two years ago.
Just 15 days into Obama's first term, the Republicans are in the ascendancy, in part because the new president reached out to them. That was a foolish mistake. If Obama wants to hold onto the Democratic majority in Congress in 2010 — and especially if he wants a second term — he should stop with the post-partisanship and do what needs to be done, which is to drive a stake through the undead heart of the GOP's corpse.
To do anything less will just encourage them.
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IBM is offering laid off workers jobs in other countries, and will pay moving expenses, provide immigration support, such as visa assistance, and other support to help ease the transition (but wages will be just a fraction of what they made here): InformationWeek.
We used to outsource jobs. Now we're outsourcing Americans.
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A boy called David, still high from dental drugs, wants to know: "Is this real life?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqiwrbYGrs&eurl=http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/
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The Whole World Is Rioting as the Economic Crisis Worsens -- Why Aren't We?
Because we're brainwashed.
Americans are among the most propagandized and gullible on earth. As such, most actually believe they live under a "democracy" and "capitalism". U.S. citizens have believed virtually every deliberate sting including 9/11 coverup into bogus 9/11 "war on terror" straight into the national looting of nation sold as "Wall Street Bailouts". They also more or less suck up what the Organized Corporate Criminal media tells them about their phony Washington circus leaders in stooge felon GW Bush and the latest puppet to play-act at the White House, "change we can believe in" Obama.
Keep reading: http://blondesense.blogspot.com/2009/02/why-arent-americans-rioting-because.html
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It's a happy day for Maureen Dowd - now she doesn't have to be nice to Barack Obama anymore:
On 9/11, President Bush learned of disaster while reading "The Pet Goat" to grade-school kids. On Tuesday, President Obama escaped from disaster by reading "The Moon Over Star" to grade-school kids.
That's just great, Maureen, because after all, sitting dumbfounded in a third-grade classroom while over 2500 people burn to death or jump out of 100-story windows is EXACTLY THE SAME as just wanting a taste of the real world that doesn't have anything to do with people like.....you.
Well at least now we know for certain what makes the Beltway gasbags tick - they're still the dumbass jocks and cheerleaders who think the smart kids with good grades are just a bunch of wussy-ass goody two-shoes.
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Haggard beans-spiller Grant Haas on Mike Signorile Show
Michelangelo Signorile's interview today with the man paid hush money by Haggard's former church, Grant Haas, was unreal, folks. The level of drugs and kink going on among the evangelicals at New Life was mind-blowing, considering the PR rounds Haggard is making to shill the sympathetic Alexandra Pelosi documentary airing on HBO.
I watched the documentary on Haggard, and actually ended up feeling sorry for him. Now I'm going to have to rethink that.
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Obama is imposing a cap of $500,000 on the compensation of top executives at companies that receive significant federal assistance in the future.
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Alberto Gonzales was interviewed by CNN's Campbell Brown or, as he called her when she insisted on bringing up the US attorneys scandal, "Campbell, Campbell, Campbell."
He expressed a forlorn hope that "history will reflect the fact that during my tenure both at the White House and at the Department of Justice we did a tremendous job in protecting our country," but complained that "many people are focused on the little negatives that occurred". Yes, Gonzo, that's exactly how history will remember you: as one of the little negatives that occurred.
So why can't you get a job, Gonzo? "With respect to employment, listen, I can understand in a very tough economy, some employers are going to be very hesitant about bringing someone like me on when you have ongoing investigation."
Little Negative says, "I feel like I still have a lot to contribute to our community and to our country and I want to do so." Such as what, license plates?
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Blagojevich appears on Letterman, who wonders why he would appear on his show with 2-ton bindles of bullshit slung over his shoulders: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhtdBMOorDk&eurl=http://wonkette.com/
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Let's talk about about another recall - the recall of the president of Peanut Corp. from the Peanut Standards Board
The president of the peanut company linked to a nationwide Salmonella outbreak serves on the advisory board that helps the USDA set quality standards for peanuts.
Stewart Parnell, president of Peanut Corp of America, based in Lynchburg, VA., was first appointed to the USDA's Peanut Standards Board in July 2005 and was reappointed in October for a 2nd term that runs until June 2011, according to the USDA. atlanta journal constitution
The Daily News tells us:
One rat, dry roasted, was found at the Georgia peanut plant blamed for a sweeping salmonella outbreak that has killed eight people across the country and sickened hundreds more.
Jonathan Prather, who was laid off last month when the Peanut Corp. of America plant was shuttered, told CBS News on Tuesday that roaches also ran rampant.
"Roaches get up there in the dry roast," Prather told the Early Show. "Some of them blend in with the peanuts. You'd never know they're there."
And this: people could die from salmonella poisoning from eating the company's products, but the federal government had to wait until their PR and legal departments were happy with the wording before the public recall of the tainted, dangerous product could be made.
Could someone please explain how this makes any sense whatsoever?
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