Congress decides to defund everybody!

In condemning ACORN, and passing HR 3571 IH, the government inadvertently subjected the entire military/industrial complex, as well as any entity doing business, under contract, with the government to the process passed in the bill. That means Blackwater, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Gumman and pretty much everybody. No doubt they didn’t mean to do it, but it just goes to show just how inept congress has become. BTW, it’s against the Constitution to write and pass a bill targeting a single entity, such as ACORN, but that ain’t going to stop congress:

Immediately after the bill passed, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), a constitutional whiz, noted that the measure appeared to be a “bill of attainder” — specifically targeting a company or organization or individual — and is therefore specifically barred by the Constitution. If it’s not targeted at one group, then Northrop Grumman is in trouble.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/22/whoops-anti-acorn-bill-ro_n_294949.html

Like the commercial says, “Very funny.”

The portion of the bill to defund ACORN:

The Unedited Writing of Sarah Palin…

I am not sure this is a gag.  What do you guys think?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ben-wyskida/exclusive-the-first-excer_b_302442.html

We are on track to set a new record in regard to the number of views in a day.  Maybe Sarah will help us get there.

Supreme Court To Debate Local, State Handgun Laws

Well, well, this will give the gun nuts some more fuel for their fires!  Should keep them busy with all kinds of conspiracy theories — the case won’t be argued until next year.

The Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to decide whether strict local and state gun control laws violate the Second Amendment, ensuring another high-profile battle over the rights of gun owners.

The court said it will review a lower court ruling that upheld a handgun ban in Chicago. Gun rights supporters challenged gun laws in Chicago and some suburbs immediately following the high court’s decision in June 2008 that struck down a handgun ban in the District of Columbia, a federal enclave.

The new case tests whether last year’s ruling applies as well to local and state laws.

fnord

Glenn Beck and left-right confusion

A fascinating article by Glenn Greenwald, at Salon.com, not only attempts to categorize (not an easy endeavor) Glenn Beck. Along the way, Greenwald has much to say about the political climate in the states today. To say the bulk of the protesters (teabaggers, etc.) don’t have a clue about what exactly they’re protesting is oversimplification.
—————————————————————————————————–

Last night during his CBS interview with Katie Couric, Glenn Beck said he may have voted for Hillary Clinton and that “John McCain would have been worse for the country than Barack Obama.”  This comment predictably spawned confusion among some liberals and anger among some conservatives.  But even prior to that, there had been a palpable increase in the right-wing attacks on Beck — some motivated by professional competition for the incredibly lucrative industry of right-wing opinion-making, some due to understandable discomfort with his crazed and irresponsible rhetoric, but much of it the result of Beck’s growing deviation from GOP (and neoconservative) dogma.  Increasingly, there is great difficulty in understanding not only Beck’s political orientation but, even more so, the movement that has sprung up around him.  Within that confusion lies several important observations about our political culture, particularly the inability to process anything that does not fall comfortably into the conventional “left-right” dichotomy through which everything is understood.

Some of this confusion is attributable to the fact that Beck himself doesn’t really appear to have any actual, identifiable political beliefs; he just mutates into whatever is likely to draw the most attention for himself and whatever satisfies his emotional cravings of the moment.  Although he now parades around under a rhetorical banner of small-government liberty, anti-imperialism, and opposition to the merger of corporations and government (as exemplified by the Bush-sponsored Wall Street bailout), it wasn’t all that long ago that he was advocating exactly the opposite:  paying homage to the Patriot Act, defending the Wall Street bailout and arguing it should have been larger, and spouting standard neoconservative cartoon propaganda about The Global Islamo-Nazi Jihadists and all that it justifies.  Even the quasi-demented desire for a return to 9/12 — as though the country should be stuck permanently in a state of terrorism-induced trauma and righteous, nationalistic fury over an allegedly existential Enemy — is the precise antithesis of the war-opposing, neocon-hating views held by many libertarian and paleoconservative factions with which Beck has now associated himself.  Still other aspects of his ranting are obviously grounded in highly familiar, right-wing paranoia

Continued here:

jammer5

Wednesday, 09/30/09, Public Square

Got allergies (sniff, sniffle)…?

I tell you — what those weanies on the Senate Finance Committee did yesterday almost took my mind completely off my runny nose!

fnord

First “Public Option” Amendment Defeated

From left to right, the U.S. Senators pictured are:  Max Baucus (D-Montana), Blanche Lincoln (D-Arkansas), Kent Conrad (D- North Dakota), [Second row] Bill Nelson (D-Florida), and Tom Carper (D-Delaware).  What these five democrats have in common is that they joined the Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee and defeated the Public Option Amendment authored by Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virgina).  The amendment failed by a vote of 13 to 8.

Of the two public options amendments being considered by the Senate Finance Committee, Rockefeller’s was considered the most robust.  Interestingly, ” the more liberal amendment offered by Rockefeller is also more fiscally responsible according to the Congressional Budget Office” (more here).  Let see.  Helps more people, and is more cost effective – Good reasons to vote against it!

I think I have had enough.  Worse than us not getting reasonable health care, if we don’t start getting off of our butts, Michael Moore is going to stop making his movies (WashPo).  So in the interest of saving our chances of getting reasonable health care, and preserving our rights to good political comedy, I am recommending that we form a PAC that should be titled something like “Ousting the Enemies From Within”.  We need to collect funds and deliver them to the primary opponents of the above pictured Senators.  It is time to get serious, but have some fun, at the same time…

the more liberal amendment offered by Rockefeller is also more fiscally responsible, according the Congressional Budget Office

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/29/first-public-option-amend_n_303228.html

Tuesday, 09/29/09, Public Square

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

FAMILY DAY, 2009
– – – – – – –
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Our family provides one of the strongest influences on our lives. American families from every walk of life have taught us time and again that children raised in loving, caring homes have the ability to reject negative behaviors and reach their highest potential. Whether children are raised by two parents, a single parent, grandparents, a same-sex couple, or a guardian, families encourage us to do our best and enable us to accomplish great things. Today, our children are confronting issues of drug and alcohol use with astonishing regularity. On Family Day, we honor the dedication of parents, commend the achievements of their children, and celebrate the contributions our Nation’s families have made to combat substance abuse among young people.

On Forgiveness. . .

See these thoughts on the health benefits of forgiveness at MayoClinic.com.  I used to consider the benefits obtained by the “forgiven” outweighed those received by the “forgiver” – this articles suggests a much different view.

Somewhere here down in my basement, I have a book-length treatment on forgiveness – I need to get it out and re-read it.  I have been thinking about this subject a lot here lately.

Interestingly, as I am writing this, NPR has a story on how Roman Polanski was swept up in Switzerland this weekend for a charge of having sex with a thirteen year old girl in the 1970’s.  I guess the victim, now in her 40’s, has favored dropping the charges for some time.

iggydonnelly

12 Principles to Use in Conducting Flame Wars

1.  Accuse the other party of your worst faults.

2. Insist that you are an avator of the Truth and that the other person is Falsehood incarnate, or at least “misled.”

3. Dwell on errors.  Correct them in others at every opportunity.

4. Never apologize unequivocably.  If forced to apologize, justify yourself in a way that makes it sound like the other party was responsible for your actions.

5. Write in such a way tht the other party looks stupid if they don’t respond.

6. Try to be many things at once, so that you can deny everything that is said about you.

7. Say the same thing over and over again.

8. Always strive to get the last word.

9. Never let a debate rest.  Never allow the other party to withdraw without making it clear that they have lost.

 10. Insist that you are misunderstood.

11. If you can’t find something to flame the person about, make something up.  Convince yourself that you see the “real” motives.

12. Remember: Winning is everything

Rule for those who do not want to get into Flame Wars:

IGNORE THEM.

The source for these pearls of wisdom.  If I did not know better, I’d swear this writer was personally acquainted with the poster formerly known as J.M.

Monday, 09/28/09, Public Square

Was your weekend great?  Are you revived and ready to start a new week?  What would you like to discuss?  This is your thread, make it interesting — OR FUN.  🙂

fnord

Sunday, 09/27/09, Public Square

Hope today is free of lies, exaggerations, and all things troublesome.  Enjoy a peaceful Sunday!

fnord

A child shall lead

I am humbled.  There aren’t words — this girl said them all better than I will ever be able to.

“This is the famous speech by Severn Suzuki when she was 12 years old in 1992 to United Nations.”

And still, nothing has changed.

fnord

Saturday, 09/26/09, Public Square

What makes a perfect autumn Saturday for you?  It should be a crisp morning with daytime highs in the upper 70s in Kansas — PERFECT!

We were a quiet bunch yesterday!  Wonder what today will bring?

fnord

Do the American People Shape the “American Culture”?

Harold Meyerson has a must read editoral here.  Meyerson cites a CBS/New York Times poll which found that when asked about the adoption of a Medicare-like option for everyone, 65 percent of respondents indicated they favored such a plan, while 26% opposed it.  You could not tell it from the endless news coverage that such a resounding majority favor a public option.

Meyerson continutes, “…Ezra Klein asked North Dakota Democratic Senator Kent Conrad yesterday why he didn’t support the public option, Conrad replied, ‘I don’t think a government-run plan best fits this culture.’”  Then Meyerson delivers this killer line: “In Conrad’s mind, such as it is, American culture doesn’t seem to be shaped by the American people.”

The media’s coverage of  idiots, who show up at a rally with guns straped on, may give some people the false sense that these folks represent our culture.  They most surely do not.

iggydonnelly

Friday, 09/25/09, Public Square

See the yellow button near the top that reads, “Republicans Are People Too”?  Do you think that’s still a true statement.  🙂

Friday has rolled around again!  How does that happen so quickly?

When are we all getting together to go to PrairiePond’s place?  Ya know, it doesn’t have to be a weekend!

fnord