Displaying 3,361 To 3,390 Of 19,504 Comments The End is Near…for John Boehner and the GOP Sally, the thing is, slavery was the key issue for the Southern states to be railing against the federal government and insisting on states rights, it is inextricably tied into that agenda. As for the recent heritage of today’s Tea Party, they are the resurrected Christian Coalition, a group that also was exploited and cynically pandered to by Republicans so they could use them to win elections and then, once the Christian Coalition realized how much power it had gained, took over the GOP and in doing so, devastated the party and itself. The parallel to today is remarkable and history sure seems to be repeating itself. Can they continue to do real damage to the nation even after a shutdown? Yes but come 2014 and even more so, 2016, as they are fully exposing who and what they are, the GOP will have a heavy price to pay. » Posted By AdLib On September 30, 2013 @ 8:11 pm Sue, that is something that bothers me too, the level of disconnection so many people have to their society and government. The distractions of personal communication and personal entertainment has allowed people to curl up into their own little personal bubble and stop being good citizens in a country that needs citizenship to function properly. I too lost a lot of faith in people after the 2010 election but I also have seen a lot more social activism since then after Voter ID, Trayvon Martin, immigration reform, etc. So, though there are way too many Americans obsessed with trivial things, there do seem to be more conscientious people rising up out there. » Posted By AdLib On September 30, 2013 @ 3:36 pm agrippa, there’s a 10% approval rating for Congress, I have a feeling that winning back the House might not be as much of an uphill struggle as it might have been before. GOTV will indeed be the key for Dems to take it back. » Posted By AdLib On September 30, 2013 @ 3:29 pm Hey Sue, I think what happened in 2010 was a unique confluence of things that can’t really happen again, especially not in 2014. We had the first black President in office for not even two years and many people were unsure about him for that reason alone. We had the PTSD from the crash that had happened the year before and the continuing shock as more and more people suffered joblessness and losing their homes. We had the ACA just passed, a major change in our society and change frightens many people no matter how it may help them. We had the Tea Party crashing the nation and town halls, further frightening people and whipping up fear against all the change associated with the first black President drastically changing health care in America. And of course, you had the rest of the GOP cynically attacking Obama as a threat to white people and America as well as aggressively lying about how Obama and Dems were failures for not fixing the economy overnight and promising that if they got the majority, they would be the party of jobs and unicorns. Well, they got their power and Americans haven’t seen them pass one jobs bill. Ad being wholly out of power, they had the advantage of blaming the Dems and Obama for everything. They can’t say that anymore, the approval of the Tea Party is at a record low and a shutdown will only hammer that more, they have not only not fixed anything or added jobs but have proven themselves as frauds and liars when it comes to their campaign promises in 2010…it’s an election that just can’t be duplicated. For all those reasons, I don’t believe 2014 will be a good year for Repubs, especially if there is a shutdown and if they are insane enough to refuse to raise the debt ceiling. They may hang onto The House by the skin of their teeth thanks to gerrymandering but they can’t pretend again to be the White Knight (in every way) that will come from the outside to rescue of the nation. And they will have a horrible, dysfunctional track record instead, people will have to consider that before pulling the lever for them…do voters really like what they’ve seen from the GOP and want more of it? I really doubt that people can be convinced to eat more rotten eggs after having had a bite of them, no matter how much Right Wing propaganda is hammering them, “Don’t believe your taste buds, those eggs taste great! Have more!” » Posted By AdLib On September 30, 2013 @ 10:34 am Patsy, I think you’ve got a great theme there for a music thread!
» Posted By AdLib On September 30, 2013 @ 10:13 am Ted Cruz – The Miley Cyrus of Politics agrippa, hmm…maybe they got drunk toasting the end of the GOP’s control of the House and viability as a majority party for a long time to come. I wonder if there were choruses of Auld Lang Syne being sung while the alcohol flowed? » Posted By AdLib On September 29, 2013 @ 10:01 am agrippa, after seeing the news that the Baggers in the House have voted again today to send a CR to the Senate that includes delaying/defunding Obamacare AND a shopping list of other Bagger BS, I think it’s 100% that there will be a shutdown. I don’t see how it’s avoidable now and as I’ve said previously, I think it’s a necessary evil now if we are to have the chance of ridding ourselves of Bagger control in The House in 2014. Americans have to see how insane it is to have these political terrorists in control of a branch of our government and how destructive they are. Also, to avoid a debt ceiling default, the Baggers will need to learn on the CR that the public will hate them and attack them for their radicalism and pursuit of anarchy. Next week I think the real nosedive for the Baggers and the GOP begins. There are still competitive districts in The House that Repubs hold and even in marginally safe districts for Repubs, if Repub voters are discouraged by the actions of their reps and Dem turnout spikes, we could indeed turn around enough seats to take back The House. And if that happens and Americans see once again how government becomes functional and devoid of manufactured disasters under Dems, the GOP could become a minority party for a very long time. » Posted By AdLib On September 29, 2013 @ 9:58 am Kalima, I may be pressing the point at how they are both reflective of a disintegration of our society’s integrity but I am with you on this. She is trivial with regards to anyone’s life and following in the egomaniacal footsteps of other egomaniacal entertainment figures before her. They’re just entertainers and they don’t really matter. Cruz has always had a screw loose and is using the Congress and the nation’s economic stability all as a tool for his public masturbation. I used the word obscene before and due to the metaphor above, I will again, what he is doing is an obscenity to the character of the Senate itself, our democracy, the American people and our Founders. And the destruction of millions of American lives that he glibly threatens all to destroy the legacy of America’s President, because he is a black Democrat, is IMHO, traitorous. Politicians on either side can bluster and haggle and negotiate for whatever they want but threatening the security of our nation and its economy is crossing the line. He is a very dangerous man but his power is limited. It won’t take long after a government shutdown for the tide of public opinion to drown him in his hubris. I’m afraid that it’s looking more likely that this is the path we’re more likely to take but it’s a necessary one in bringing him down and the Baggers along with him. » Posted By AdLib On September 28, 2013 @ 9:11 pm Kalima, well…you are grading on a big curve using Ted Cruz as a basis. I do think that media censoring words most Americans use is a ridiculous pander to the minority of religious extremists in the country but Miley really just cares about herself and her reference to ecstasy/Molly being censored. Even in this quote, where she is trying to show some awareness of the world, she is self-serving. And BTW, I have watched every episode of Breaking Bad thanks to Netflix and no, it does not teach you how to cook meth. They also didn’t show a guy disintegrated by acid, they only showed the barrel and a liquid being poured in that was supposed to be acid but no body. Hitchcock did no differently. Of course there is a point about killing being so permissible on tv but not swearing (or Miley promoting ecstasy) but that’s the thing about the religious extremist types, the Bible has lots of killing in it so they seem to be just fine with the graphic portrayal of that but the expression of anger using four letters is what’s horrible to witness. Cyrus is undeserving of the attention she receives, she is a mediocre singer who is more about whipping up attention shamelessly than music. So, those who want to waste their time with another marketing product, so be it. As for Cruz, he needs to be taken down big time by the media, after they’re threw elevating him for hosting a circus in our capitol that threatens America’s and the world’s economies. He may be a clown but he’s not funny and a clown shouldn’t be legitimized as someone who is deserving of power over a nation. » Posted By AdLib On September 28, 2013 @ 6:34 pm CL, as you say, Miley Cyrus is trivial, she doesn’t impact anything important in our lives so she is not deserving of much concern or attention. However, she is a reflection of how those who are the most calculating and blindly self-serving use the exploitation of the lowest instincts to further their self-centered agendas. The issue I’m addressing is how our media and many in our society raise up people like this, who are hacks and egocentric jerks just because they are aggressively obnoxious. Society used to understand the concept of shame, that people who aren’t good people and display that, should be identified as such, not turned into rock stars. Today, our society and media seem shameless, they show no discernment between giving attention to those who do crass and outrageous things to get it and those who achieve something meaningful. What Cruz is doing is far more obscene since his pursuit of fame and power requires doing harm to the nation. But how should we regard a society that elevates Ted Cruz onto the front pages of newspapers and the lead story on every news channel? » Posted By AdLib On September 28, 2013 @ 6:10 pm Weekend Music Thread – Sickness and Health Doctor Robert – The Beatles » Posted By AdLib On September 28, 2013 @ 6:19 pm Happy – The Rolling Stones » Posted By AdLib On September 28, 2013 @ 6:18 pm Behind Blue Eyes – The Who » Posted By AdLib On September 28, 2013 @ 6:16 pm Thanks pal, you made a lot of great picks too! Great theme! » Posted By AdLib On September 28, 2013 @ 6:14 pm Sick Again – Led Zeppelin » Posted By AdLib On September 28, 2013 @ 12:58 pm Doctor, My Eyes – Jackson Browne » Posted By AdLib On September 28, 2013 @ 12:55 pm Bad Case of Loving You – Robert Palmer » Posted By AdLib On September 28, 2013 @ 12:52 pm Doctor Jimmy – The Who » Posted By AdLib On September 28, 2013 @ 12:51 pm A Ramones double header: I Wanna Be Sedated – The Ramones Teenage Labotomy – The Ramones » Posted By AdLib On September 28, 2013 @ 12:47 pm Feelin’ Groovy – Simon and Garfunkel » Posted By AdLib On September 28, 2013 @ 12:44 pm I Feel Fine – Beatles » Posted By AdLib On September 28, 2013 @ 12:42 pm I Feel Good – James Brown » Posted By AdLib On September 28, 2013 @ 12:40 pm Curing Obamacare Fever – Part Three: What The Public Really Thinks About the ACA Got this graphic in an email today from the Democratic Party, does a simple and direct job on communicating what the ACA is: [img]https://planetpov.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Obamacare-graphic.jpg[/img] » Posted By AdLib On September 26, 2013 @ 4:45 pm CL – Boiling down what the GOP really wants is, let the poor and middle class go without reliable or available health insurance. What a platform to stand on! They mouth the words of “affordable insurance” and “We should look at ways to deal with pre-existing conditions after repealing Obamacare” but it’s such an obvious dodge. What they’re really afraid of is that Americans will finally know for certain that Republicans really do prefer that they suffer, die or go bankrupt if they get ill because it’s better for big business and the health care corporations…not to mention that their dream of drowning our democracy and government in the bathtub requires that Americans are abandoned by their government, not helped. The word is bandied around so much it may have lost its meaning but I can’t think of a more accurate word to describe Republican politicians, as they work against the people and the future of the nation, than “traitors”. » Posted By AdLib On September 26, 2013 @ 4:34 pm Murph, thanks back to you for writing all three of these articles, well done! » Posted By AdLib On September 26, 2013 @ 4:27 pm agrippa, that is undeniably the case since the ACA is essentially the GOP health care plan with some Dem ideas grafted on. It’s openly based on Romneycare which was based on the Repub’s counter-proposal to Hillarycare back in the 1990’s (wonder if she’s just a tiny bit jealous that Obama has his name on US universal health care forever instead of her?). So, what we’re seeing are Republicans voting against their own plan simply because the black Dem President supported it. Change is scary to most people but I do think a majority not only wanted this change but would be happier if it went farther, to Single Payer. I don’t know that the opposition to it is genuine. The 1% have been working to strip the 99% of a social safety net to put the savings in their own pockets so we know why they’re “protecting America” from it. Otherwise, the racism and maniacal jealousy against Obama being President seems to explain the rest of the opposition. I still haven’t heard one legit, fact based criticism of the ACA…and I would suggest that it’s because that’s not what any of this opposition is about. » Posted By AdLib On September 26, 2013 @ 12:03 pm Curing Obamacare Fever – Part Two: The Top 5 Myths About The ACA Sue, considering how the average hospital visit costs thousands, we will all be better off when the uninsured are covered since $750 still sticks the rest of us with the costs of an uninsured person’s hospital visit. If younger people at least get a Bronze plan, which should be in that $100/mo range Obama talked about so $750 put towards insurance instead of a penalty means they’re covered into August…and if they bail on a hospital bill, they’re not going to have their credit ruined and collection agencies after them. » Posted By AdLib On September 26, 2013 @ 4:25 pm Sue, you’re not going crazy, it did accidentally list me as author due to my oversight when editing and contributing to this post. I corrected it so it appears correctly now. I think the whole campaign by the Kochs et al to convince young people not to sign up for the ACA is amazingly ignorant. First, most people in college are younger than 26 and are likely carried on their parents’ health insurance…thanks to Obamacare! For those in their late 20’s, 30’s and onward, most have jobs that provide insurance and if not, they may be married or have children and would have the strong desire to protect them and their finances by acquiring insurance. It sure looks that there would be a small section of 20-somethings, those that aren’t going to school and don’t have their parents insuring them, that all the GOP hopes are counting on to sabotage the ACA. However, many of them would qualify for subsidies and tax credits so the cost to them, as Obama has said, could be less than their cell phone bill. And after any scofflaws get dinged for not having insurance, an amount that would cover most of a year of having insurance, their numbers will greatly decline. » Posted By AdLib On September 26, 2013 @ 11:39 am The Weekend Music Thread-Friends, Memories and Lovers That’s why I was up all night, the site was up and down which is why you couldn’t get on and why I took the precaution of scheduling the backup thread. In any case, all is well now! So back to this weekend’s theme… Brotherhood of Man – How To Succeed In Business Kind and Generous – Natalie Merchant » Posted By AdLib On September 21, 2013 @ 3:04 pm Hey KT, sorry about the mixup! Was up all night with some issues on the site and scheduled the other music post as a backup. My bad! Thanks for this thread! In My Life – The Beatles You’re My Best Friend – Queen I’ll Stand By You – The Pretenders » Posted By AdLib On September 21, 2013 @ 2:34 pmComments Posted By AdLib
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