Kerfuffle

The fear-driven gold market, as explained by Jon Stewart

Glenn Beck is not only a success in his own right (or Right, as in Right Wing morons who believe the shit that comes out of his mouth).  Beck also contributes to the success of people like Jon Stewart, who merely need to watch Beck's program for an abundance of material. 

Honestly, the jokes are just there for the taking...

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Beck - Not So Mellow Gold
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Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Known tech expert John McCain wants your Internet bill to look like your cable TV bill

The Republicans are ever so skilled at mis-branding (some would same lying about) things so their sheeple will side against something that is actually in their best interest.  The latest shameful effort is John McCain's "Internet Freedom Act."  As in "freedom for the Internet service providers to esentially create tiers of service, and then charge accordingly."

From PC World via Reuters...

McCain's bill, the Internet Freedom Act, seeks to do the opposite of what its name implies by ensuring that broadband and wireless providers can discriminate and throttle certain traffic while giving preferential treatment to other traffic. Basically, those in power or those who pay more will have better access. Apparently we have different definitions of 'freedom'.

According to the text of the McCain bill, the FCC "shall not propose, promulgate, or issue any regulations regarding the Internet or IP-enabled services." Isn't that what the FCC does? Isn't that sort of like introducing a bill to prohibit the Treasury from printing money, or a bill to prohibit the IRS from collecting taxes?

This bill comes from a man who proudly claimed he is neither a PC or a Mac when asked about his computer preference during the campaign.  He's more or less a self-admitted computer Luddite.  Great.  But it's not like he's completely without some perspective.  He is on the receiving end of more tel-com lobbyist cash than any other senator, and more than double the next closest recipient.  This from the guy who was supposedly all about campaign finance reform.  Tell me you aren't surprised this guy is all about the money.  Maverick, my ass.

Consider what might happen in the marketplace if the big tel-coms are allowed to play favorites with content.  For example, if you have Time-Warner as your ISP -- the same Time-Warner that owns CNN -- how will you feel when they speed up any CNN video feeds and slow to a crawl video from MSNBC and FNC?  Or if Comcast gts their wish and buys NBC Universal, it will be the NBC comedies that come down the Internet autobahn, and the ABC videos that get the dial-up speed dirt road.

In a worst-case scenario, Gizmodo suggests this unfortunate promotional piece from your ISP...

John McCain's Internet Freedom Act is another attempt by Republicans to reward big corporate donors with laws that enrich stockholders and screw consumers.  And these same Republicans count on the electorate being stupid enough to believe the "freedom" in the bill's name means this is a good thing for citizens.  No shame, these Republicans.

This whole health care debate just makes me... wait for it... sick!

It's an easy pun for a complicated situation.  What at face value, health care for everyone, seems like such a noble and moral thing has become the political cage match we all knew it would.

Few people are opposed to health care as a concept.  Sure, some religious beliefs eschew modern medicine... which could in itself be considered a kind of mental illness.  And there are a lot of people who look at sickness and disease as god's will or some kind of heavenly punishment for bad behavior. (Again, see mental illness.)

What amazes me is how a significant part of my fellow Americans don't seem to mind -- and in some cases prefer -- that health care is a for-profit enterprise.  Senator and crackpot Jim DeMint of the very modern and progressive South Carolina has said health care is a privilege.  Is that like the "getting ice cream if you finish all your spinach at dinner" kind of privilege?  Or is it more like the "being able to take an expensive vacation because you can afford it" kind of privilege.  It apparently, for Senator DeMint, is not the "we're a great country with high moral values so we take care of our citizens' health care needs" kind of privilege.

Oddly, many of the very same politicians and pundits that shit on the idea of health care reform are the same ones that think government has a right to tell a woman what she can do with her own body, that homosexuals are of a lesser class, and that all people of Middle Eastern heritage are terrorists.  Religious fundamentalists who are about as un-Christlike as I can imagine. ("Not covered?  Screw him; let him die."  Oh, yes, Jesus would be sooooo proud of you.)  

Open minded people, they are not.  But, in fairness, they are fiercely looking out for one group.  They have the interests of large and oh-so-profitable insurance companies at the top of their lists, far ahead of the well-being of their average constituent.  I'm sure that has something to do with the relative campaign contributions from big insurance compared to little constituents.  Nice.

And then there are the outright lies.  Death panels.  Long waits for basic procedures.  Freeloading illegal aliens getting care on Joe the Plumber's dime.  Socialism.  Government takeovers.  Fascism. 

The Democrats... the majority, as one could almost have predicted, are losing to this crap.

I have to give it to the Republicans.  They stick together.  And when your only position is "No!" it is easy to stay on message.  Democrats all have their own variations of similar ideas, but seem to focus a lot on the individual points rather than the common goal.  Add in a Democratic White House that is either incredibly crafty or woefully inept at managing their message strategy and the "herding cats" visual comes to mind.

To further complicate things, there are some Democratic Senators (talking to you, Max) representing small-population states who seem to be far, far more concerned with representing big campaign donors from the business world.  How very, umm, Republican of you.  Throw in the so-called Blue Dogs in the House, who are really moderate Republicans in blue clothes that were able to beat freakishly conservative Republicans to get their seats, and we have the mess we're in right now.

Heath care is big business... for-profit big business.  The thing is, most of that profit isn't going to doctors or nurses or physical therapists.  It's going to insurance companies and their stockholders.  Just imagine if the US Army was all turned over to Blackwater.  Or your local fire department was a for-profit business.  Your house would burn down while the requisite proof of coverage paperwork was being filled out.

Health care for all people is, to me, a moral obligating... not a privilege that poor people or people with pre-existing conditions should be denied.  That is about as immoral as it gets.  We'll let people die because they are not profitable for the industry.  And this position from the people who yammer on about so-called death panels.  These are the same ones who shriek about getting some government person between them and their doctor.  As if the insurance company worker who is rewarded for boosting profit (by denying coverage) is not coming between you and your doctor?  How fucking stupid are you people? 

Political butt-wipes like Jim DeMint may well be correct.  If the Republicans can kill health care -- doing so for purely political reason in spite of what is best for the citizenry -- it may be President Obama's Waterloo, and lead to losses in the next election.  It's all about power and control for Republicans.  It's all about empathy and doing what's best for the average person (whether the average person realizes this or not) for Democrats.  Kind of like the bullies (R) vs the nerds (D).  And in these kind of playground battles this has become, we know who usually wins.

It doesn't have to be this way!

The President needs to stop dicking around with bipartisan hopes once and for all.  The Senate Majority Leader has to either grow a pair or get out of the way.  And anyone with a D after their name needs to remember they represent the voters that elected them, and what that D means.  And we all need to keep up the pressure n any and all of the Democrats that want to make googly eyes at Republicans and their corporate benefactors.  The time for talk and compromise has long passed.

Whether this makes sense or not, I had to express it.  Pollyanna as it may read, I am so fucking frustrated with all this. 

[cross-ranted on Daily Kos]

Yes, Virginia, "death panels" already exist, courtesy of United Healthcare, CIGNA and the rest of Big Insurance

Sad. But true.  People go off about how they don't want some government bureaucrat coming between them and their doctor.  As if some insurance company bureaucrat who gets rewarded for denying coverage coming between you and your doctor is somehow better?

Wow.  I mean WOW.  P.T. Barnum was right.  A sucker IS born every minute.

The problem in getting health care reform through Congress, explained in pictures

 

Matt Davies, New York Journal News

Matt Wuerker, Politico

Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune

Tony Auth, Philadelphia Inquirer

:::

It's about the money... the BIG money.  When Sarah Palin, nincompoop that she is, spews lies about "Obama's death panels," she seems to oblivious to the fact that insurance companies have de facto "death panels" right now.  Every time they drop someone or deny coverage, they are making a decision about someone's future based on cost.  How many of those decisions end in death, I must wonder.

The search is on for some area -- any area, regardless of how small and insignificant --in Illinois government that isn't corrupt.

Good luck with that.

Illinois, my home state, continues to demonstrate that if there is a way to work the art of the political favor, bribe, or gaming of the system, they are all over it.  And usually, they are fumbling the ball.

Take, for example, this jowly face:  Niranjan Shah, the chairman of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.  He just became the latest Illinois public official to resign in disgrace.  Seems he had a penchant for getting his kids and the kids of friends and business associates green-lighted into the University of Illinois even when they didn't exactly deserve it.  And while he was "helping" the university system with admissions, he also "helped" them allocate scholarship money and create jobs for those (family and friends) most deserving.

Grades not good enough?  Test scores sub-par?  Forgot to apply?  Need a job that you aren't qualified for?  Hey, No matter, "Uncle Niranjan" has got you covered!

Well, that is until the pesky media shined some light onto Mr. Shah's creative application of admission policy...

University records reveal that Shah, more than any of his fellow board members, sought advantages for his relatives and friends in admissions, housing and employment matters.

In 2007, for instance, Shah parlayed his connection with Chancellor Richard Herman to secure a high-paying university job for his future son-in-law, a Dutch citizen seeking work in the United States.

University records and e-mails detail how U. of I. officials created a position without conducting a routine search, secured a work visa and paid Maarten de Jeu $115,000 - more than other employees with the same title. Herman dipped into campus reserves to pay the salary because the position was not funded by the university department that ultimately hired him.  [Chicago Tribune news service]

Oh, Illinois. Silly Illinois.  You are not learning from your own star player:  Chicago.  If you are going to get creative with rules and policies and law and stuff, don't fucking get caught.  Somewhere, the original "Da Mare," boss Richard J. Daley, is shaking his own jowly head and mumbling:  "Look at deez guyze over der.  Dey're fucking amateurs."

I wish Robert Greenwald would try to make the messages in his political films even remotely clear

Take a look at this video from Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films.  It's pretty hard to tell, but I think they want Bank of America's CEO, Ken Lewis, fired.  At least that's my take.  Something about a Christmas bonus and the bank having to be bailed out by the US government.

When I was 17, I opened a my first checking account with Northbrook Trust & Savings.  Years later it was bought out and became Lakeview Bank.  The it was bought out and became LaSalle Bank.  Then it was bought out and became Bank of America.  I still have that checking account.  And believe it or not, since I am back in school, I have the student deal with no fees or service charge.  (But I bet if I bounce a check it will cost me like a thousand dollars.)  So I'm a customer (a non-revenue customer but a customer just the same).  And I think this Lewis guy is up to no good.

So count me in.  Fire Ken Lewis.

Your seat cushion may be used as a floatation device... or a sponge. UK carrier Ryanair considers charging passengers to use the lavatory

From ABC News...

Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said on a BBC morning show that the airline is looking into charging its passengers £1 (about $1.43) to use the loo. The airline would install devices on toilet doors to accept both coins and credit cards.

Are you f***ing kidding me?  Apparently not.

Ryanair's spokesman Stephen McNamara said his boss slightly exaggerated, and the coin slots on the toilets will not be introduced anytime soon. "However, is it not a strange measure, because customers are already paying in bus and train stations, so why shouldn't we do the same?

You know the day they start this is the day you'll have to start bringing something to sit on in case your seat is a bit moist from a previous passenger who chose not to spring for the pay toilet.  As if those seat cushions weren't already super-charged with beer farts already.

The Man behind the Peanut-Salmonella fiasco pleads the Fifth. Same asshat was a Bush Administration appointee to the Peanut Standards Board. How completely NOT surprising.

The man who is president of Peanut Corporation of America {the fine folks who brought you peanut-delivered salmonella, a ton of product recalls, and a body blow to peanut product manufacturers whose businesses are now in the tank, pleaded The Fifth today before a Congressional hearing board...

From MSNBC:

"Turn them loose," Parnell had told his plant manager in an internal e-mail disclosed at the House hearing. The e-mail referred to products that once were deemed contaminated but were cleared in a second test last year
...
"Did you or any officials ever place food products into inner state commerce you knew to be contaminated with salmonella?" asked Rep. Bart Stupak, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee.

"Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, on advice of my counsel, I respectively decline to answer your questions based on the protections afforded me under the U.S. Constitution," said Parnell.

Moments later, as Parnell sat stiffly, his hands folded in his lap at the witness table, as Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., held up a clear jar of his company's products wrapped in crime-scene tape and asked if he would eat them.

Again, Parnell invoked the Fifth Amendment.

Charming.

I realize that going this route is directly afforded by the Constitutional right against self-incrimination in the Bill of Rights, specifically within the Fifth Amendment...thus it's name.  And I agree that everyone is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.  That said, I also think that when a guy allegedly responsible for at least eight deaths and hundreds of cases of serious illnesses is nailed by a Congressman using the guys very own words, and then reminded he ius under oath, takes the fifth, he is freakin' guilty.  I guess saying that means I'm out of the potential jury pool.

Jeez, what kind of a person knowingly ships products that he knows may make people sick.  Peanut and peanut butter products are especially popular with kids.  Nice going, you tool.  And now you take The Fifth because you either have to commit perjury or admit wrongdoing in a big way.  Too bad for you.  Not as bad as the eight poor peanut lovers who died as a result of your greed and lack of moral compass.

It comes as no surprise that this is the same clown that, as recently reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other places, was a Bsh Administration fox appointed to keep watch over the peanut safety hen house...

The president of the peanut company linked to a nationwide salmonella outbreak serves on an industry advisory board that helps the U.S. Department of Agriculture 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 second term that runs until June 2011, according to the USDA.

Heck of a job, Stewey!  People DIED as a result of your malfeasance.  What's the word for that again?  Oh, right.  Manslaughter.  I think that's a crime.  So is conspiracy.  Uh oh.

Last I checked, there is an H & R Block storefront office in every town. Politicians might want to look into that.

For fuck's sake, why is it that people who should know better suddenly have little -- or in Tom Daschle's case, huge -- tax problems that only come to light during intense vetting?  Are they so stupid they just don't know how to do taxes?  Doubt it.  Do they figure it will slide?  Not in today's hyper-partisan, instant media culture.  Are they, umm, crooks?  Maybe so.

Way to go, Mr. Daschle.  Nice job making the new President of the United States look bad.  Thanks.  Thanks so much.  Bye bye, now.

Many years ago, when I could no longer file a 1040-EZ tax form, my boss and mentor advised me to find a good accountant, and hooked me up with the firm that did his taxes.  Twenty years later, "Honest Pat" O'Malley is still my guy. I call him Honest Pat because the first year he did my returns, he included some deductions I didn;t know I could take.  Like a doofus, I asked him, "Are you sure this is legit?"  He smiled and said, "Dave, please understand that as much as I like you, I am not about to risk my livelihood to get you a couple hundy off your taxes."  I've trusted him with everything ever since.

Some may think accounting to be a boring profession.  I find it to be an invaluable service.  Too bad politicians like Daschle apparently don't see it that way.  Or they have really bad judgment in selecting an accountant.  Or, they are, umm, crooks.

As for our sterling crew of Washingtonians and others wishing to be there, I defer to Trapper John over at DK for his suggested memo to all comers:

MEMORANDUM

To: Anyone who sent his or her resume to my transition team
From: The President of the United States
 
Please pay your taxes. We kinda need them, what with the financial crisis and the massive stimulus spending and whatnot. Thanks.

____________

PS: In case you're confused -- personal gifts are things like sweaters and bottles of wine, or -- if you're really lucky -- maybe a Wii or Sox-Yanks tickets or something. If you're honestly deluded enough to believe that daily use of a goddamn Town Car and a goddamn chauffeur is a "gift," you're probably too divorced from everyday reality to work for the people of the United States.

kthxbai, POTUS

Well said, TJ.

Honestly, some days it is really hard to be a Democrat.  But is sure beats the alternative.