Up until yesterday, I didn’t really know much on what this was all about…un
But now, it’s just plain ol’ hilarious to see rightwingers getting punked on this issue. They thought they had captured disgruntled lefty insider who would spill all the juicy stories on their time. But instead, they got nothing but stories about tickle-fests and gropings. Heeelarrious!!!
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
I will agree with Dan Rather on one point in this piece: Journalism was definitely different – better – back in his day. There’s a reason why the media was labeled “the liberal media” – because it was based on very high journalism standards – it was based on FACTS. Today, it is sadly considered the “norm” to see news anchors blissfully showing off their ignorance, pretending to seem as dumb as they believe their viewers to be.
It’s nothing less than insulting to listen to a self-proclaimed journalist or news anchor treat his readers or viewers like a bunch of Fox News watchers, who know absolutely nothing about what is going on in the world.
Take a lesson from today’s most admired journalists – like Rachel Maddow, for starters – try to be as well read, accurate and informed about the topic you are covering. It is the highest form of respect you can give your audience.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
Lawrence O’Donnell sat in tonight for Keith Olbermann and made a complete ass of himself, trying to shame Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich into believing that he might be sorry for having voted against the first House version of the Health Care Reform bill. Kucinich clearly explained his reasons – which were extremely admirable. For starters, it was because the bill did not include a robust, liberal public option, and that it did not contain cost controls that would prevent health insurance companies from continuing their excessive rate increases. Obama refused to listen to allow Single Payer proponents to come to the table – and Sen. Max Baucus even had them arrested when they showed up to protest.
O’Donnell kept claiming that Kucinich was alone in his vigilant fight, and that no one will be willing to vote for him, or stand alongside him if he votes against this bill.
OMG!! So, it’s all about vilifying those who speak out against what’s wrong – and praise those who go along with you??
So, O’Donnell thinks it’s completely reasonable to throw him under the bus even though Kucinich is right to vote against this bill??
Kucinich needed to be praised – not scolded – for being so bold. If he had been praised, more than likely, others would feel the need to stand alongside him.
I felt like I was watching Fox News or Rush Limbaugh. Villifying a man who was the only one to *repeatedly* push for a single payer system. He’s the only guy who isn’t a sell-out to the health insurance companies. He’s the only one who has ever *repeatedly* pushed to have Cheney impeached. Who else can you ever claim to have come close to acting so bravely for the public good??
What about those other heroic senators who voted from the heart and head – who were brave enough to “go it alone” — like Sen. Byron Dorgan who voted against repealing the Glass Steagal Act, which would’ve kept our economy in tact and banks in check. If the other senators had listened and taken his lead, he wouldn’t have been the only one, and we might have ended up without the bank bailouts we got from Bush (and Obama).
And remember former Georgia Senator McKinney? If only we had listened to her instead of the rightwing pundits who shouted her down. She was the only one was brave enough to say that 9/11 was an inside a job. I have since always believed that it was, and have seen very, very little to prove otherwise. I used to work in the WTC South Tower, 104th Floor, back in the 90’s. I knew people who died that day. I don’t believe what I’ve seen or heard from the so-called “investigations”, which Bush refused to allow for too long.
And what about the stolen Florida and Ohio elections? What about the lies pushed onto the American people about WMD’s in Iraq? What about the outing of a CIA agent by a sitting President and Vice President? What about the illegal firings of 18 U.S. attorneys? What about the illegal wire-tappings?
Where were those Senators when we needed them? We NEED them to be brave – to go up against Fox News, Rush Limbauh, and the Lawrence O’Donnell-ish pundits!
How can we rely on a representative who refuses to put people in jail?? It’s like trying to put your faith in a police force that simply refuses to do its job and protect you.
I mean, seriously.
A massive number of crimes were committed under Bush, and no one wants to talk about it.
We had the most wreckless administration in the history of this country – and no one on either side of the aisle wants to prosecute anyone!??!
Oh, wait, I forgot. Yes, you’ll be kicked out of office if you’re caught cheating on your wife with an intern, a hooker, or with a gay guy. And if you’re a coward, you’ll simply resign on your own the moment someone hints at your wrongdoing.
It’s more than likely you’ll enjoy job security if you agree to shut up about any other kind of criminal activity. Lie about a war or steal an election, you get voted back into office. Expose corporate crimes? Get kicked out of office.
It’s so sickening.
All we have in congress is a bunch of corporate-loving lobbyist-licking Dems, and a handful of unspeakably evil Republicans. Every single one of them – on both sides of the aisle seem way too interested in putting the goal of bigger profits for CEO’s *BEFORE* the goal of helping fellow Americans, who are jobless, homeless, and sick, unable to pay for any kind of medical care.
On a side note — This morning, Thom Hartmann talked about a visit he had to the White House a few weeks ago. He had a discussion with someone there (my guess is it was Press Secretary Robert Gibbs), explaining the urgent need to stop practicing the economic policies of Milton and Thomas Friedman – the economic politics of “flat earthers” who simply refuse to accept putting reality before ideology (an ideology of trickle down economics – where the wealthiest are worshipped, and the poor are kicked down even lower). When Hartmann fully explained how much damage Reaganomics has done to us, the only response he got was: “We’re not interested in protectionism“.
I was stunned when I heard this.
Protectionism isn’t something the White House is interested in?
OMG!
Protectionism is the ONLY thing that will protect our country’s jobs right now!!
You’d think Hartmann had just proposed some rightwinger’s wackjob idea, like “close down the borders” or “get rid of all these illegals”.
But that wasn’t it all. He simply explained that we are heading for another horrible economic bubble – that we need to be building jobs in the U.S. – RIGHT NOW — and that too little is being done to fix what’s wrong with our economy.
Stimulus jobs are being created **outside** of our country — with export of major contracts – like the new bullet trains, and the contracts to build green energy products, etc, we have basically given our tax dollars to China, instead of insisting on keeping stimulus projects within our borders.
It’s nothing less than insulting – a slap in the face to all unemployed U.S. workers – that the White House has chosen to reward other countries with job-creation instead of keeping those dollars inside our country.
I don’t think a single person cares one bit what U.S. corporations do with non-U.S. based jobs — but we sure as hell care when it’s our tax dollars that are being used to create jobs somewhere else.
**WE** ARE THE ONES WHO NEED PROTECTIONISM — NOT THE COROPORATIONS.
Anyway, it all simply infuriates me.
I think we all expect to get screwed by our elected officials and even employers…but not by our own political pundits.
So, back to my original point:
Lawrence O’Donnell, you were an IDIOT today.
I still love Obama…but I feel like he’s like one of those parents that lets their kid(s) terrorize others, running through the aisles at Wal Mart and Target, pulling merchandise off the shelves, etc, while the parent pretends not to know what’s going on – and is actually too frightened to punish these monsters for their bad behavior. Someone who is literally so afraid of being called a poor leader, that they in turn become exactly what they’re afraid of. The bad behavior continues, while the frightened parent continues to offer candies and bribes to make the little monster shut the hell up.
The Republicans scream and yell the most dishonest, offensive, and outrageous statements, repeating them ad nauseum, even going as far as calling the mainstream media “liberal” whenever it tries to correct them on their lies. (The media is in fact right wing and extremely corporate-owned, which is why their lies constantly go unchallenged). Obama and the Democrats seem to simply ignore these screaming imbeciles as if they were nothing more than white noise, while the rest of us in the real world have to put up with the result of their lies. The results usually turn up in casual conversation with neighbors and friends repeating the lies as if it were doctrine.
Obama needs to take the Republicans in the back room and let the beatings begin. There is absolutely NO excuse for allowing such unforgivable behavior from the right wing to continue.
On a side note…
The Dems need to cull the herd in their own party and start demanding real progressive action.
The Blue Dogs keep putting up with the lies from the right… and then they won’t take action until the damage has been done and corrective actions become laughably ineffective.
I don’t mean to be so rough on my beloved Dems.
Afterall, the Dems don’t have the power of a mainstream media to support their statements. The Republicans scrubbed all of the FCC regulations which once required news media organizations to actually tell the truth. Clinton helped the Republicans when he allowed giant media conglomerates to take over smaller media outlets – thus creating the stronghold that Fox News has today. We went from having tons and tons of independent media news outlets – like newspapers, radio stations, etc that were privately owned – to media outlets that are all owned by less than a handful of different organizations — ABC, NBC, Fox, etc. In the end, you end up with a vacuum where facts go to die – and info-tainment is the norm.
But back to my point… The Dems need to grow a set and help Obama find a spine…because you certainly can’t expect anything good to come from a screaming eight year old monster child Republican.
It turns out that he didn’t come to the U.S. for it’s “world class” health care, but instead for the sunny Florida weather where he could recuperate after his mitral valve surgery, at his luxury winter vacation condo.
The surgery he needed to have done is typically done in an open-heart method (where they have to crack your chest open to get to the heart), but he wanted a riskier, less popular method, which few doctors perform. He was concerned about scar tissue, and chose to have a laprascopic method, instead. While it might not be the best method for what he wanted done, it would indeed leave the least amount of damage in order to access the surgically sensitive area.
Canada’s Newfoundland Premier came to the U.S. to have mitral valve surgery on his heart. But the procedure he wanted is also available in Canada, where some of the best mitral valve heart surgeons exist. He defended his decision by saying that he preferred to come to the U.S. to have it done.
So, why the U.S.?? It turns out that he had access to a very nice condo not far from the doctor’s office, and would’ve been far happier recuperating in a sunny location like South Florida, instead of a cold, wintery location like Quebec or New Foundland.
Poor baby. I hope the right-wingers who tout this guy include this interesting bit of detail in their mantra of “we’ve got the best health care in the world”. Yes, we do…but only if you’re a billionaire or foreign dignitary.
Read the full news story here:
Most states by now have “At-Will” employment laws, versus “Right to Work” laws. “At will” laws prevent you from suing your employer for what might be considered an unlawful termination (discrimination, whistleblower, etc). In the old days, “Right to Work” laws meant you could not be fired by your employer on a whim. Proof of incompetence along with documented warnings is usually required to show your termination was justified. You were usually given a week or two notice (like a pink slip in your paycheck envelope). But now, most employers (depending on the laws in your state), your boss can get rid of At Will, without any reason or warning.
But under Reagan and both Bushes, because companies were generously rewarded with huge tax breaks if they sent jobs outside the U.S., At Will employment rules became the new tool to help destroy unions and fair labor standards.
One of the things the Obama administration needs to push forward is an agenda that requires or rewards states that recognize “Right to Work” rules or laws.
It basically gives an employer the right to fire anyone he wants for no legal reason, without being liable for any potential lawsuit. For example, if someone is discovered to be gay or Muslim, or refuses the unwanted advances of a boss who is sexually aggressive, that employee can be fired without any explanation. An employer is given unlimited rights to fire someone, regardless of the quality of job performance or contractual obligations. The only thing that employer is liable for is outstanding unpaid wages. And for some reason, this is still not enough for many employers.
Nowadays, you keep your product on the shelves for as long as possible (and maybe even throw in a discount, thus preventing a potential refund/return). I’ve worked for a number of companies that did this all the time. They kept up an appearance of feigned innocence and ignorance, swearing they didn’t know that there was a reoccurring problem. One place I knew of even re-sold the rejected products at a steep discount, regardless of the number of times it had been returned.
In the good old days – back in the 60’s and 70’s – drug companies and such were so concerned about bad press about their products (like the Bayer and Tylenol scares over poisonings and tamperings), that they would immediately pull items off the shelves to prevent any kind of accidental death or injury from their product. Sales would literally plummet the moment anyone worried about an irresponsible manufacturer’s product on the market. But now, people seem to shrug it off, because the media tends to blow things out of proportion too often – thus numbing your senses into oblivion.
In the movie, The Insider, Russell Crowe, who plays a whistle blower for a cigarette company, expresses his disgust at how his bosses actually manufacture addictive poisons to be put into cigarettes. He then goes on to express how impressed he was with his former employer’s immediate response to news reports of deaths from tainted aspirin tablets, back in the 70’s. Back then, some companies actually went out of their way to make sure their products were 100% safe for consumption. Now, you’re lucky if they even tell you what’s in it.
Sigh…
I **LOVE** this!!! We need more Democrats like this! Representative Anthony Weiner (from New York) tells it exactly like it is. And the House tries to say that he’s being offensive. It’s such a shame that telling the truth is deemed “offensive” by the House. Ugh.
So, let me get this straight… you hate paying taxes and you want to privatize everything? You want schools, police and fire privatized? And you want your healthcare to remain private, too?
Okay….Here’s what you’ll get from a government office – and won’t get from a corporation:
Under the Consitution…
I’m not against corporations. I’m just against replacing governments with corporations. I don’t believe we should be allowing corporations to write laws that benefit them at our expense – like the kind of legislation that created Medicare Part D. I don’t believe in allowing oil companies to donate huge amounts of money to lawmakers or to pay for high-priced lobbyists who are only interested in helping corporations gain more power (i.e. by obeying fewer regulations).
We are at the mercy of the corporation — an entity that only once existed for the benefit of stockholders, investors, and people who wanted to gain greater tax benefits. Now, there is absolutely nothing that is sacred anymore. Not even our constitution or our government.
Please be wary when you hear anyone talk about getting rid of “big government” by “privatizing” it with big corporations. It might sound glitzy and secure. But it has proven to be nothing less than our worst nightmare.
The moment we let the Republicans control the arguments, we let them place doubts in our heads about who we are as a party.
We let them doubt ourselves on abortion, single parenthood, genderhood, homosexuality, infidility, spending, taxes, you name it, they control the argument.
Hell, I’m surprised we haven’t started scratching our heads on evolution and global warming.
The media might be on the Republicans’ side of the argument – but that doesn’t make them right about ANYTHING.
Yelling louder doesn’t make you correct. You can have your own opinions but you can’t have your own facts.
Clinton really dropped the ball when he kept denying his affair with Monica Lewinsky. If he had only said “so?” or “it’s private, my family and I are dealing with this”. In other words, if we had simply separated the job from the private life, we would’ve all been better off.
It’s not hard for them to control the argument, even when they are wrong. They own and control 90% of all domestic media – print, radio, television, etc. If you want to find out anything about what’s going on, factually, you have to go to the liberals for information
If you want to be pounded to a numb, mindless, non-thinking neocon, well you simply turn on any “news” channel in any part of this country, and you’ll hear what THEY want you to hear.
Politically, they are masters.
But they are not academics or experts in any field, except deception.
It sounds crazy to say it, but it’s true.
If you don’t fight off the nonsense, you end up finally backing down and forcing yourself to somehow agree with them.
I have been fighting this for the past decade – and I keep wondering when everyone else will, too.
The rightwing conveniently creates arguments that favor their point of view. In their mind, if they didn’t see it happen, it never existed. With that kind of thinking, you end up with flat-earthers who refuse to believe anytyhing other than what the simpleton idiot on TV said, then it must not be true of an “expert” challenged it.
It’s really easy to dumb someone down if you yell at them long enough.
They’ve proven this point over and over again.
What we need is to finally wake up and take back our dignity.
Refuse to be bullied – and start sticking up for ourselves.
If you don’t stick up for what’s right (which in this case, is the left!), then you won’t have anyone left to stick up for you.