ThinkFast: May 27, 2009
ThinkFast: May 27, 2009
Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said in response to Judge Sotomayor’s nomination yesterday that Republicans need to be “very cautious and careful” about criticizing her as it could damage their “standing with Hispanics.” Former Bush adviser Mark McKinnon remarked, “If Republicans make a big deal of opposing Sotomayor, we will be hurling ourselves off a cliff.”
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) said yesterday that he would carry out the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding Prop. 8 but that he also believes in same-sex marriage. “I think he was hoping it would go the other way,” said spokesman Aaron McLear. The governor added: “While I believe that one day either the people or courts will recognize gay marriage, as governor of California I will uphold the decision.”
Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey said yesterday that the “Pentagon is prepared to leave fighting forces in Iraq for as long as a decade despite an agreement between the United States and Iraq that would bring all American troops home by 2012.” “He said his planning envisions combat troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for a decade as part of a U.S. commitment to fighting extremism in the Middle East.”
Conservative groups are set to launch ad campaigns attacking the Democrats’ proposed health-care reform plan. Americans for Prosperity Foundation’s TV ads will negatively liken the Democrats’ plan “to Canada’s publicly administered system” while Conservatives for Patients’ Rights plans to air 30-minute segments featuring doctors and patients from the UK and Canada “detailing what they describe as failings in their health-care systems.”
“Consumer confidence soared to the highest level in eight months in May, trouncing analysts’ estimates, as Americans grew optimistic that the job market and business conditions will improve before year’s end.” Though consumer confidence is still weak by historical standards, Lynn Franco of the Consumer Research Center says that Americans now think “the worst is now behind us.”
Economist Nouriel Roubini warned today that we “are not yet at the bottom of the U.S. and the global recession.” “A more sober analysis suggests we’re closer to the bottom; there is light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s going to take a while longer, and the recovery is going to be weaker than otherwise expected,” he added during a speech at the Seoul Digital Forum.
Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) “can be heard on an FBI audio recording promising to make a campaign contribution to then-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich at the same time he was pressing the governor for a Senate appointment.” Talking to the governor’s brother, Burris promises to help fundraise for Blagojevich, adding, “And tell Rod to keep me in mind for that seat, would ya?”
Former New York police commissioner Bernard Kerik was indicted yesterday “on charges of making false statements to White House officials vetting him” to be the secretary of Homeland Security in 2004. Kerik, who was recommended for the job by Rudy Giuliani, allegedly “received and concealed benefits of about $255,000 in renovations to his home from contractors seeking to do business” with NYC.
In a move aimed at integrating the White House national security apparatus, President Obama announced that “will merge the staffs of the Homeland Security Council and the National Security Council to speed up and unify security policymaking inside the White House.” “The combined national security staff, about 240 people, will report to national security adviser James L. Jones.”
And finally: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) came out swinging yesterday against President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor. He said that she “comes from the far left and will likely leave us with something akin to the ‘Extreme Court‘ that could mark a major shift.” The only problem? His attack was directed at “Maria Sotomayor.” Politico’s Ben Smith notes that the error was quickly corrected on Huckabee’s website.
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Conservative groups are set to launch ad campaigns attacking the Democrats’ proposed health-care reform plan.
And I hope the Dems launch a counter attack portraying America’s health system as the ultimate “Pay to Play” scam. If you don’t pay, you don’t get access!
PEACE
May 27th, 2009 at 9:06 amConservative groups are set to launch ad campaigns attacking the Democrats’ proposed health-care reform plan. Americans for Prosperity Foundation’s TV ads will negatively liken the Democrats’ plan “to Canada’s publicly administered system”
A friend of mine from Canada wrote me yesterday that he’s ‘ready to scream’ every time he hears the American Taliban suggesting Canadians are unhappy with their health care system.
May 27th, 2009 at 9:09 amIt’s a lie.
This shouldn’t be news to Progressives, as that’s what the Republic Party does…lie.
The plain fact is, Canadians are happy with their system. Health care CAN be provided without an insurance company deciding who you see & ‘how much’ they’ll pay.
The first rule of American health care coverage with the insurers is ‘deny all first claims’.
Insurers should recognize that they’re part of the problem; not the solution.
When did health care for all become a bad idea? It’s time to stop letting insurers & big pharma decide who they can ‘afford’ to cover.
Let’s link #1 and #4.
Hey Hispanic America, you all don’t have to wait for Republican or even “Centrist” smears. They happened right after Souter retired! They derogated a sitting federal judge, a public servant. Nothing new, it’ll happen again, just assume so and save the time.
There are so MANY other reasons to banish the Repubs. Health care reform will never happen with them! Does anyone think the health “care” companies or insurance companies are going to go broke in this system? They’re the ones receiving health maintenance, quality care, open access (to Congress), etc.
And they don’t give a damn about education. They’d probably privatize the schools with daily admission fees, and the kids and maybe even parents have to show their damn passport to keep out “illegals” or some scheme. Meanwhile for the war spending every kid in America could come out of functional schools years ahead after HS (middle of college level) rather than years behind.
May 27th, 2009 at 9:14 amThe Pentagon is prepared to leave fighting forces in Iraq for as long as a decade despite an agreement that would bring all American troops home by 2012.
TROOPS OUT NOW!
Not tomorrow
not next month
not next year
butt NOW!
Hey, Hey, USA
May 27th, 2009 at 9:15 amHow many kids
did you kill today?
Gee, another day and right wingers are still ignorant, dishonest, and cowardly.
May 27th, 2009 at 9:17 amBy the way, where is Darth Cheney? After days of watching him and his daughter defend his dubious record, they are nowhere to be found. As for the Repugs trashing Sotomayor, bring it on.
May 27th, 2009 at 9:26 amCheney has been hiding ever since Mancow proved that waterboarding is torture, therefore setting Cheney up for war crimes prosecution since he has bragged about it on TV.
May 27th, 2009 at 9:31 am“The G.O. P. has to make a stand,” said Scott Reed, manager of the 1996 presidential campaign of Bob Dole. “This is what the base and social conservatives really care about, and we need to brand her a liberal with some out-of-the-mainstream positions. Forget about cosmetics and ethnic heritage, and focus on her record.”
By all means, Repubes, listen to the campaign manager who ran a campaign worse than McCain’s.
May 27th, 2009 at 9:31 amRanting@7, I STILL can’t believe how MSNBC allowed his daughter not only try to defend him, but literally had her as a guest host on the ‘Morning Joe’ I watched in disbelief as she stood next to all the hosts, smiling like she didn’t have a care in the world. My stomach literally turned over. WTF?
May 27th, 2009 at 9:34 amSomeone should pull the curtain on the whole thing. Health care reform is brought to you by America’s for-profit health care sector.
http://stateofthedivision.blogspot.com/2009/05/for-profit-health-care-reform-club.html
Many of the people at the reform table stand to profit handsomely from their “advice”. Yet none declare their conflicts of interest.
CPR ads and Axelrod word smithing are part of the Democratix, a false world designed to hide the truth.
May 27th, 2009 at 9:39 amRe: health care, does anyone know if there is a spot on the web compiling audio records, transcripts, etc, of awful and bizarre conversations with insurance companies?
What I simply don’t understand is that I have really good insurance (and always have) but I have to wait for appointments and I have bean counters telling my doctors what they will or won’t approve. And I’m healthy and damn paranoid that I remain that way because they suck enough when nothing is wrong. So what can not-for-profit health care possible do to me that would be worse than that?
I think we should organized some sort of documentation demonstrating that all these boogey-man-worst fears about government health care are features of the current system and buy ad space during Nascar. Long lines, check. Meandering red-tape, check. Suits telling doctors what to do, check.
May 27th, 2009 at 9:54 am“He said his planning envisions combat troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for a decade as part of a U.S. commitment to fighting extremism in the Middle East.”
There is no way to fight and win against “extremism” anywhere with bombs, tanks, war planes and guns.
May 27th, 2009 at 9:55 amGeneral Jones solidifies power. This is the same man who approved a change in strategy on Gaza in mid December. Tony Blair spilled the beans in an Israeli newspaper.
Up next? Cyber security and America’s National Labs. Look for them to land under the General.
May 27th, 2009 at 10:00 amAs to health care reform, why don’t the Dems put out an ad showing Americans the simple math? Line one- total money paid into insurance by individuals throughout America. Line two- total amount paid by corporations throughout the Country. Line three- subtract operating costs. Line four- the remainder-total amount in dollars kept by the industry as profit. Let that number sit on the screen for a few seconds while the narrator explains that THIS number is the only number concerning Republicans, Pharmaceutical Co.s and HMO’s while the number fades into the total number of uninsured in this Country. The narrator then points to THIS number as the concern of the President.
May 27th, 2009 at 10:01 amDr. Hussein Matt Says:
It’s been 48 hours since Dead-eye Dick made a television appearance on the librul MSM. What’s going on?!
May 27th, 2009 at 9:36 am
____________
This doesn’t surprise me. How long do you think Darth Cheney can survive with his mask off?
May 27th, 2009 at 10:15 amA Patriotic Anopheles Acting Says:
As to health care reform, why don’t the Dems put out an ad showing Americans the simple math?
I like your idea, but maybe we should take a page out of Luntz’s book and not make it about the uninsured. Make it about the insured:
* Show how the amount people pay has been rising every year.
May 27th, 2009 at 10:17 am* Show how the number of people who had a health plan that went into bankruptcy as a result of a medical crisis.
* Show the number of claims denied.
* Show the number of countries with higher life expectancies than the U.S.A., lower infant mortality, and lower costs.
stateofthedivision Says:
General Jones solidifies power. This is the same man who approved a change in strategy on Gaza in mid December. Tony Blair spilled the beans in an Israeli newspaper.
May 27th, 2009 at 10:00 am
___________
Perhaps, but then doesn’t it also make administrative sense to have “National Security” and “Homeland Security” under the same roof?
May 27th, 2009 at 10:17 amA Patriotic Anopheles Acting Says:
As to health care reform, why don’t the Dems put out an ad showing Americans the simple math?
May 27th, 2009 at 10:01 am
___________
If Americans were capable of understanding simple math there wouldn’t be any Republicans in public office.
May 27th, 2009 at 10:18 amAnother point about Sotomayor:
Her appointment wouldn’t actually change the political makeup of the SCOTUS.
The only difference she could make would be through the strengths of her arguments to her colleagues.
May 27th, 2009 at 10:20 amArmy Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey said yesterday that the “Pentagon is prepared to leave fighting forces in Iraq for as long as a decade despite an agreement between the United States and Iraq that would bring all American troops home by 2012.” “He said his planning envisions combat troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for a decade as part of a U.S. commitment to fighting extremism in the Middle East.”
If you frame the issue as “How long should our troops stay to ‘complete the job’?”, the answer is always going to be “years.”
If you frame the issue as “How long will our troops remain after illegally invading and occupying another country?”, the answer would undoubtedly be “Months.”
We have to re-frame the wntire issue of Iraq. We don’t belong there.
May 27th, 2009 at 10:25 amAll the re-pukes and their shilling for the health care industrial complex will not work.This country needs a public program to to chose from because private health care is all about money.While other industrialized country`s around the world have health care that runs at a 3 to 5 percent of overhead we have health care that exceeeds 25 percent for overhead due to high salaries and the ripping off of the gov`t for reimbursements for medicare and medicaid.The right is dead set against public health care because of the money they gey from the industry,this will only level the [playing ield for the 98 percent of this country that are struggling with cost in this rough economy.Puuck ths right along with Mr.luntz and Mr.Scott who had ripped us off through $1.7 billion in over charges thru his Columbia health care and had to repay it and the SOB had the nerve to say he wasn`t guilty.This has come down to profits over peoples lives and it has to stop.
May 27th, 2009 at 10:26 amGeneral Jones performed less than spectacularly in his Sunday AM political talk show debut. He continues the trend with his comment on the security change:
Jones said the biggest pitfall for the new structure will be if he and Brennan “don’t achieve this degree of collegiality that we’ve achieved,” adding: “If we don’t do this well . . . that will contribute to instability.”
Pure blather, did Rahm coach him on that?
May 27th, 2009 at 10:44 amThe devil in health care reform is in the details and they aren’t out yet:
http://www.reuters.com/article/smallBusinessNews/idUSTRE54P71D20090527?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0
However, the players at the table and floated options provide disturbing clues.
May 27th, 2009 at 11:09 amIsrael considers several laws worth noting:
Calling for the end to Israel as a Jewish and democratic state would end someone in jail for one year.
http://arisfreedomswitch.blogspot.com/2009/05/israel-should-stop-building-settlements.html
Banning protests over the country’s founding and requiring a loyalty oath for citizens.
http://arisfreedomswitch.blogspot.com/2009/05/name-that-country.html
Recall, the U.S. calls Israel the shining democracy in the Middle East.
May 27th, 2009 at 12:06 pmChiroptera, it may well make sense for the two councils to be combined. However a close read of the article indicates a remaining division of function, one that needs to be managed:
Instead, Obama will preserve the Homeland Security Council’s role as the main forum for government policymaking on issues such as terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, natural disasters and pandemic influenza.
As for General Jones, he bears watching:
http://stateofthedivision.blogspot.com/2009/05/general-james-l-jones-banner-day.html
May 27th, 2009 at 12:13 pmThank you for the feed.
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May 27th, 2009 at 9:32 pm