Jack & Jill Politics

EVENING OPEN THREAD IS UP

Weiner calls on GOP against PO to give up their Medicare.
by The Erratic Synapse [Subscribe]
Thu Oct 22, 2009 at 05:08:52 PM PDT

Fuck. Yes.

A new study by Representative Anthony Weiner (D – Queens & Brooklyn), member of the Health Subcommittee and Co-Chair of the Caucus on the Middle Class, revealed that 151 members of the House and Senate currently receive government-funded; government-administered single-payer health care - Medicare.

On the list of recipients are 55 Republicans who have steadfastly opposed other Americans getting the public option, like the one they have chosen.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/10/22/796111....

ESPN Analyst's Mistress Taunts Wife

Sandra Rose writes about EPSN baseball analyst Steve Phillips' sexscapades with 22-year-old ESPN production assistant Brooke Huntley (both pictured). His jumpoff got Fatal Attractionesque with his wife of 19 years, who has now filed for divorce. Apparently, in 1998, Phillips admitted having sex with a team employee, who sued for sexual harassment. That case was settled out of court. The conservative blogger writes: "According to online reports, ESPN analyst Steve Phillips has taken a leave of absence from the sports news network after admitting to an illicit affair with a 22-year-old ESPN production assistant. The first mistake that Marni Phillips made was not leaving her husband when she found out he cheated in the workplace. Marni Phillips made the mistake so many women make when their husbands cheat in the workplace: she gave him a second chance. As I wrote in an earlier post, most men will cheat if they have the time and opportunity, and most affairs occur in the workplace. Men don’t cheat by accident — they cheat by nature. If they did it once, they will do it again."

She continues: "Police say Phillips’ mistress Brooke Hundley began calling Phillips’ wife on Aug. 5, taunting her with text messages describing his birthmarks. Hundley also messaged the couple’s 16-year-old son on Facebook, posing as another teen to get information about his family life. Marni Phillips called police Aug. 19 when she came home to find Hundley standing in her driveway. Hundley had tacked a letter to the Phillips’ front door just before Marni Phillips drove up. When she saw Phillips, Hundley put her car in reverse, smashing into a stone column and then driving across the front lawn to escape. 'I knew instinctively that this was the woman Steve was involved with and I was terrified,' Phillips wrote in a statement to police. 'I’m a real person in his life and I care deeply about his happiness,' police say Hundley wrote in the letter. Steve Phillips claimed his affair with Hundley was “three meetings that all took place in July.”

More: "ESPN, which no doubt has a no fraternization policy, said it took 'appropriate disciplinary action' when the affair came to light back in August. But it wasn’t clear what that disciplinary action was. Police plan to interview Hundley when she returns from vacation next week. But here’s the best part: Marni Phillips filed for divorce Sept. 14, according to court records."

Booker Rising response: I couldn't find a picture of the wife (which is a hot Internet search topic right now) to add here. Your whorish ways are gonna cost you big time, Stevie. I thought ESPN guys attracted the model or cheerleader types? And hell no to some jumpoff being on my property, after having approached my child (if I had one). Mrs. Phillips is clearly not a Scorpio. A Scorpio would properly be plotting revenge....if not a beatdown right there. Then we'd get busy plotting and planning against Lying, Trifling, Low-Down Husband LOL

http://www.bookerrising.net/2009/10/espn-analys...

-------------------------------------------

heard about this on the Doug Banks show..

this woman was in Fatal Attraction territory...pimping the couple's child online, pretending to be a teen as you did it...

crazy and creepy

That guy's mistress looks like a tranny. He risked his whole life and reputation for some breezy who I wouldn't give the business to even after having a dozen henny and cokes. Sex with that woman almost qualifies as bestiality. SMH

Historic Day: Obama Signs Advance VA Funding into Law
Since 2004, Rey Leal has been fighting. He's fought on the streets of Fallujah; for mental health care in south Texas; and in Washington, for a solution to years of late veterans' health care budgets.

Today, Rey and millions of veterans have won their fight.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-rieckhoff/hi...

Congress Passes Hate Crimes Bill

Included in the Defense Authorization bill that the Senate just passed by a vote of 68-29 is the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill -- named in memory of the man beaten to death in Laramie, Wyoming in 1988.

Democrats were unable to pass the bill in 2007 when they controlled both houses of Congress; President Bush had threatened a veto.

It now goes to the President’s desk and President Obama will surely sign it.

The measure extends federal hate crimes law to include crimes motivated by a victim's gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

Sen. John McCain argued against the hate crimes bill on the Senate floor earlier today, saying: “It would create new federal crime for willfully causing bodily injury to any person due to the actual or perceived race, national origin, religion, or gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability of any person."

http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/10/congres...

Two men are expected to be released Friday after spending 12 years in prison for a murder they did not commit, the latest in a string of exonerations in Dallas County. Like most of the other wrongful convictions, these cases also hinged on faulty eyewitness identification.

2 men wrongly convicted in 1997 Dallas murder to be exonerated

---

CNN should include Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins in their next Blacks in America series.

Tyler Perry isn't just angered by Spike Lee's criticism of his work, he believes such an attitude - saying his comical black characters are "coonery and buffoonery" - dismisses a huge black audience which Hollywood has largely ignored but has flocked to see his films.

Tyler Perry Rebuffs Spike Lee's Criticism

that link isn't working for me morphus, can you post it again please? Thanks in advance! :)

Sorry, Disqus strikes again

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/22/60min...

I freely admit that I've seen all of Tyler Perry's movies. I've never seen any of his plays, and had never heard of him until Diary of a Mad Black Woman. I think Meet the Browns is hideous and couldn't make it through one episode. House of Payne started weak, but he's actually built a show with ok storylines.

I don't think that Spike is 'hating', he's just telling the truth as he sees it. Spike is a serious filmmaker. He went to school for it, and maybe he's being sort of a snob about Perry, who wrote plays and then jumped into movies.

No doubt I'm scared about Perry getting “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf.” if he butchers that...it might turn me into a Perry hater.

The real question is this, why are black folks flocking to his movies? If it's "connery and buffoonery" is that what black folks want to see? I know a lot of black folks who love his movies. Just something to think about. I haven't see one of his movies because his shtick isn't really my thing.

Just because a hugh black audience flocks to his films does not mean that the work is not itself "coonery and buffoonery." Hugh numbers at the box office doesn't equate to high art or great movie making. It reflects tastes.

In fact, if the post is an accurate statement of what TP said, he doesn't deny that his work is "coonery and buffoonery." He points to the large black audiences that have been ignored. In other words, he points to his power to rope black folks in to see his brand of "coonery and buffonery." Funny, because if the major studios consistently put out TP like movies, AAs would be razing Hollywood. Amazing what we will take from our own.

Snowe: I Do Not Support Opt Out Compromise, Would Likely Filibuster Public Option Bill
Brian Beutler | October 22, 2009, 12:38PM

In a huddle with reporters moments ago, I asked Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) for her thoughts on a public option compromise that would allow states to opt out of a national government insurance program, and her answer could slow down the proposal's considerable momentum.

"I don't support that," Snowe said.

Asked further whether she would participate in a filibuster on a bill with a public option, she went almost all the way.

"I've said, I'm against a public option...yes...it would be difficult" to support allowing the bill to proceed to a vote.

Snowe and other centrists say they'll withhold their support on a motion to proceed to the bill on the Senate floor (which will require 60 votes in and of itself) until the legislation is fully pieced together and the CBO has weighed in. She and other centrists want to ensure that the bill meets their specifications before it goes to the floor, so that they won't bear the burden of rounding up the 60 votes needed to change the legislation during debate.


http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/10/snow...




Let me say it....

FUCK, OLYMPIA SNOWE.

If the Dems had their shit together they wouldn't if kiss Snowe's ass in the first place. We want a public option not some compromise bullshit that Snowe would vote for because she wants to be seen as "bipartisan."

now remember, someone got PAID to do this 'STUDY'.

Thursday, October 22, 2009
ABC: Testosterone of McCain Voters Dropped Post-Election
by John Aravosis (DC) on 10/22/2009 12:14:00 PM

Oh, the jokes just write themselves on this one. Please do have at it with your best jokes in the comments. From ABC:

The lowered testosterone levels the study found in Republican men after the election matches what other researchers have found when men are involved in face-to-face competition. Scientists have shown that more often than not in showdowns such as sports competitions or physical fights the loser ends up with a drop in testosterone....

Republican men nationwide may have experienced a drop in testosterone levels the night Barack Obama was elected president, according to the results of a small study that found another link between testosterone and men's moods.

By taking multiple saliva samples from 183 young men and women on election night, researchers found that the testosterone levels of men who voted for John McCain or Robert Barr dropped sharply 40 minutes after Obama was announced the winner.

http://www.americablog.com/2009/10/abc-testoste...

This explains the penis envy.

Hmmm....

So... this explains the increase in gun sales?

Dont forget Viagra.Hell, they need something to get buggered

Roomy Khan: Informant In Galleon Insider Trading Scandal REVEALED
First Posted: 10-22-09 08:42 AM | Updated: 10-22-09 09:12 AM

The name of the informant who tipped off authorities to one of the largest insider trading cases in history has surfaced.

According to The New York Times, Roomy Khan, a former employee of the Galleon Group hedge fund, ratted out her former boss, Raj Rajaratnam, after authorities learned of illegal trades Khan was making.

Here's the NYT on Khan:

She taped conversations with him and told prosecutors that she had provided inside information about Google and other stocks. She has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud and is working with law enforcement in hopes of receiving a lighter sentence, according to the criminal complaint.

Ms. Khan, who was identified by people close to the case, has a legal past that may present a hurdle for federal prosecutors. In a lawsuit settled last month, a housekeeper for Ms. Khan and her husband, Sakhawat, said they had violated minimum wage laws by paying her about $250 a week for 80 to 90 hours of work. The lawsuit was settled after a judge said the Khans had fabricated evidence.

According to what seems to be her LinkedIn profile, Khan is currently employed at Trivium Capital, where she is listed as a "consultant."

Yesterday, with its founder free on a $100 million bail, Galleon announced that it was winding down its massive hedge fund. Here's more on Khan from the WSJ (in the below, the informant is Khan):

The informant sought to rejoin Mr. Rajaratnam in late 2005 when facing financial difficulties, the SEC complaint said. Mr. Rajaratnam asked if the applicant had inside information about any public companies, the complaint alleged. According to the complaint, she said she could get access to inside information regarding Polycom Inc., a San Jose, Calif., maker of audio and data-conferencing products. Investigators say the informant and Mr. Rajaratnam both traded shares of Polycom multiple times, as well as shares of two other companies where the informant allegedly got inside information: Hilton Hotels and Google Inc.

The returns generated by Rajaratnam and Galleon appear to be almost hard to believe - and its unclear how much Khan contributed to those gains during her time at Galleon. Earlier today, the Pragmatic Capitalist blog, suggests Galleon was trading on insider information for many years: "I have run the risk adjusted returns on hundreds if not thousands of portfolios throughout my career and I have never seen numbers like these. NEVER. There is virtually ZERO downside volatility in these figures."


Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/22/roomy-...

Maine get rid of her.That is all
Snowe Job, Part 7
Posted by Zandar
Senate Majority Leader In Her Own Mind Olympia Snowe is out of the Obamacare race, as I called from the beginning.

Senator Olympia Snowe said she won’t support the immediate creation of a government-run insurance program and raised the possibility that legislation overhauling the health system won’t be completed this year.
“A public option at the forefront really does put the government in a disproportionate position with respect to the industry,” Snowe, the only Republican so far to vote for health-care legislation, said on “Political Capital With Al Hunt,” which airs this weekend.

Snowe’s vote is crucial because her support would decrease the chances of Democrats such as Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson and Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln bucking their party. She might also bring along more Republican backing, from fellow Maine Senator Susan Collins or Ohio Senator George Voinovich.

With so many complex issues to parse, lawmakers may need more time to finish the legislation, Snowe said.

“Christmas might be too soon,” she said. “We should give it the time it deserves.”

Snowe's entire Snowe Job raison d'etre is to sabotage the plan from within. There's a reason the GOP threatened to bury her should she vote for the Baucus Bill in committee, then they changed their mind 48 hours later. It was a trap from the get-go in order to try to kill the bill from the inside. Democrats aren't biting, however.


Today we now know the truth: It's the Party of S-NO-we. The GOP will never let a bill with a robust public option pass. They will destroy this bill even if it means going all in on all out war.

The battle lines have been drawn. Now the real fight for health care reform begins in earnest.

http://zandarvts.blogspot.com/2009/10/snowe-job...

How the Media Treat Murder
Why isn't the story of several missing women in North Carolina getting attention?

Ten women have been found slain or have been declared missing in Rocky Mount, N.C., in recent years. But the rest of the country hasn't heard about a possible serial killer stalking the young women in this Southern town of 60,000. The latest victim, Elizabeth Jane Smallwood, was identified on Oct. 12. Why have the Rocky Mount homicides been largely ignored?

"When you think about the famous missing-person cases over the last few years it's Chandra Levy, Natalee Holloway, and Laci Peterson," notes Sam Sommers, associate professor of psychology at Tufts University. All these women had a few things in common—they were white, educated, and came from middle-class families. The victims in Rocky Mount—which residents describe as a "typical Southern town," and is about 40 percent white and more than 50 percent black—were different. They were all African-American, many were poor, and some had criminal histories including drug abuse and prostitution.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/218911?GT1=43002

Sounds like business as usual with networks. It's all about ratings with them. If you are not barbie or a cabbage patch toddler forget about news coverage.

Remember Vaughan Greenwood. Serial killer targeting blacks made headlines after capture?

this is absolutely no surprise. you gotta be blonde, blue-eyed and of a certain socio-economic status to warrant wall-to-wall coverage.

a Black victim has to be damn near PERFECT, if a teen or older.

of course,our missing children aren't guaranteed any coverage either.

Thursday night is the LIVE season premiere of Basic Black (7:30 EST on 2, or www.wgbh.org/basicblack). You know what that means--go to the website and comment! And send questions! It's about racism and opposition to Obama--I know you have opinions!

From COATES

How Does It Feel To Be A Problem?

22 Oct 2009 03:07 pm
There's a thorough discussion of this piece claiming to expose the lack of "diversity" (read: Negroes) in progressive cities in the Open Thread. I find the piece to be pretty ill-considered, and insulting to Latinos and Asians, in particular. But more than that it repeats an unfortunate trope among writers tackling race--it treats African-Americans as agency-less automatons, awaiting the right programming from white policy-makers.

We begin with:

Among the media, academia and within planning circles, there's a generally standing answer to the question of what cities are the best, the most progressive and best role models for small and mid-sized cities. The standard list includes Portland, Seattle, Austin, Minneapolis, and Denver. In particular, Portland is held up as a paradigm, with its urban growth boundary, extensive transit system, excellent cycling culture, and a pro-density policy. These cities are frequently contrasted with those of the Rust Belt and South, which are found wanting, often even by locals, as "cool" urban places.

But look closely at these exemplars and a curious fact emerges. If you take away the dominant Tier One cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles you will find that the "progressive" cities aren't red or blue, but another color entirely: white.

And end with:

This trail has been blazed not by the "progressive" paragons but by places like Atlanta, Dallas and Houston. Atlanta, long known as one of America's premier African American cities, has boomed to become the capital of the New South. It should come as no surprise that good for African Americans has meant good for whites too. Similarly, Houston took in tens of thousands of mostly poor and overwhelmingly African American refugees from Hurricane Katrina. Houston, a booming metro and emerging world city, rolled out the welcome mat for them - and for Latinos, Asians and other newcomers. They see these people as possessing talent worth having.

This history and resulting political dynamic could not be more different from what happened in Portland and its "progressive" brethren. These cities have never been black, and may never be predominately Latino. Perhaps they cannot be blamed for this but they certainly should not be self-congratulatory about it or feel superior about the urban policies a lack of diversity has enabled.

There is so much wrong here. But leaving aside the fact that the author starts out by disqualifying New York, L.A., and Chicago, leaving aside the blinding whiteness of dubbing Atlanta "un-progressive," leaving aside that most of these "progressive" cities have more black people than their surrounding states, I think the implicit argument that these cities should be "doing more" to assure that their black population meets the national average is odious.

Man listen--Negroes like Atlanta. Negroes like Chicago. Negroes like Houston. Negroes like Raleigh-Durham (another area that doesn't make the cut, for some reason.) Negroes like Oakland. Negroes have the right to like where they live, independent of Massa, for their own particular, native, independent reasons (family? great barbecue? housing stock?) Just like Jewish-Americans have the right to like New York--or not. Just like Japanese-Americans have the right to like Cali--or not.

This particular Negro loves Denver--and Chicago too. But the notion that black people are pawns on a chess-board, which conservatives and liberals move around in order to one-up each each other, has got to go. Sometimes--just sometimes--a black dude isn't a problem. He's just a dude trying to marry a beautiful woman, raise a decent kid, retire to an tropical island, smoke some good herb, and drink some good rum.

Let Portland be Portland. And let black folks be themselves. We're getting along fine.


http://ta-nehisicoates.theatlantic.com/archives...

Type your comment here.Oct 22 2009, 3:31 pm by Marc Ambinder
Another Celeb Quietly Takes An Administraton Position

Hunky Korean-American actor/lawyer/consultant Yul Kwon is now the deputy chief of the consumer and governmental affairs bureau of the Federal Communications Commission. His appointment has little to do with his 2006 Survivor win -- it's that the guy actually has extensive experience dealing with tech legislation and policy, having served as an aide to Sen. Joe Lieberman and worked on tech policy while a consultant at McKinsey. Kwon also has his J.D. from Yale Law School. He was a regular volunteer in Obama's campaign, much like Kal Penn, the actor, who is now a deputy public engager in Valerie Jarrett's White House shop.

http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/10/another...

ABC: Public Option Will be in Senate Bill, Baucus "Apoplectic"
by mcjoan
Share this on Twitter - ABC: Public Option Will be in Senate Bill, Baucus "Apoplectic" Thu Oct 22, 2009 at 01:32:04 PM PDT
This from ABC's Jonathon Karl is fun:

I am told that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is leaning toward including the creation of a new government-run insurance program – the so-called public option – in the health care reform bill he will bring to the full Senate in the coming weeks.

Democratic sources tell me that Reid – after a series of meetings with Democratic moderates – has concluded he can pass a bill with a public option.

This is not because there has been a new groundswell of support for the idea. In fact, there are still a handful of Democrats who -- along with Olympia Snowe and every other Republican – oppose the idea. As recently as this morning, Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), for one, dismissed recent polls that show public support for the idea, telling NPR, "I think if you asked, do you want a public option but it would force the government to go bankrupt, people would say no."

That would appear to be a problem because Reid needs 60 votes to pass a health care bill and there are simply not 60 Senators who support a public option. But Reid is now convinced that Democratic critics of the public option will support him when it counts – on the procedural motion, which requires 60 votes, to defeat a certain GOP-led filibuster of the bill. Once the filibuster is beaten, it only takes 51 votes to pass the bill.

...

This is not a done deal. I am told that Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) – who worked for months to get Olympia Snowe’s support for the bill and has consistently said a public option cannot pass the Senate – was apoplectic when Reid told him he wanted to include the public option. "Baucus went to DEFCON 1," said a source familiar with the negotiations, referring to the alert level the military uses for an imminent attack on the homeland.

Mary Landrieu, who obviously doesn't read the news and is unaware of the most recent CBO scoring of the public option aside, this is guardedly good news, depending on who the "Democratic sources" are. But it does bolster a TPMDC story that consensus is emerging among moderates and in the White House toward the public option in the form of an opt-out, which is what Karl is reporting Reid wants to include.

Two high profile conservative Democrats are saying they hear that Senate and White House health care negotiators are leaning toward including the public option in the base bill that they bring to the Senate floor.

"I keep hearing there is a lot of leaning toward some sort of national public option, unfortunately, from my standpoint," said Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE). "I still believe a state-based approach is the way in which to go. So I'm not being shy about making that point."

"What I'm hearing is this is the direction of the conversation," said Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND).

Carper, who had the original opt in idea, also says this is where the bill is headed. And the left flank of Senate Dems, Jay Rockefeller has indicated that he's not entirely opposed to an opt out. The outlines that Carper and Rockefeller have given for their understanding of it--that it would be a national plan that states could only opt out of a year or two after implementation--makes it more attractive for the majority of Dems who want the strong public option. If saying that down the road states can leave is enough to get moderates on board--and the public option in the Senate bill--it seems that many of them will be able to live with that
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/10/22/79...

anyone else going to watch White Collar on USA tomorrow?

Yep. I get a kick out of Burn Notice.

Especially when Weston does the narration, and there's captions under the people being introduced in the scene.

Other than that, I watch USA for Law and order repeats.

I will.USA network has some of the best written shows on the tube today.

I love
Monk, Psych, Burn Notice and Royal Pains.

Love all of the above except for Burn Notice.

Never got a chance to get into it. Does Hulu have the previous episodes?

don't know

Psych fan right here!

Love the 80s flash backs and references...

I love the outtakes at the end of the show.

I still luv GLEE.

I am so going to buy this when it's on DVD.

It's definitely an adults type show...

Gets a bit raw sometimes, and I love it.

I miss Drop Dead Diva and Army Wives.

me too.

finally getting around to watching that 40's flashback Army Wives on my tivo.

Oh I remember that one. Watch the role reversal for the Joan and Roland (black couple). Touches on racism a bit.

ok, I'm in Target, and I see the first displays for The Princess and the Frog. I was soooo tempted to buy the little Black Princess for my Peanut. I know..I know...why perpetuate such stereotypes, right...but, doesn't every little girl go through her Princess phase, and why shouldn't I get her the Black Princess....right?

Get it! I did! My 2.5 year old granddaughter loves princesses. I could not resist.
A black princess too---it is way past time. I can't wait to see the movie!

did you get the cheaper or the more expensive one?

The more expensive one---you know how grandmas are.

LOL

I was looking at the packaging and couldn't figure out why there was a difference in price between the two.

if society is going to say Princess is the defintion of a woman having it all buy all means buy it. If that doesn't work I know some BAP's.....
yeah yeah yeah bad chair

Get it.

Get it ... or you'll regret it.

State budget cuts are forcing some school districts to decide if they'll stop running buses as soon as Nov. 2, when the legally required Michigan State Police inspection program ends.

Michigan State Police informed school administrators by letter this week that all 11 state school bus inspectors will be laid off as of Oct. 31. Without certification from inspectors, school districts cannot legally operate buses.

State cuts school bus inspections: Move forces districts to consider halting transportation

---

Conditions in Michigan are bad, it seems the children are being hit the hardest (school closing, school privatizing) now this.

just think about it...how are these children going to get to school?

Wow. Just, wow.

I work on the PBS show "Basic Black," which has been covering the black community in Boston and beyond since 1968. Tonight is our season premiere, which you can watch online and comment LIVE at 7:30 p.m. at www.wgbh.org/basicblack. We will have a panel discussion of racism and opposition to President Obama.

Today, National Security Network Senior Adviser Gen. Paul Eaton (Ret.), who served more than 30 years in the United States Army and from 2003-2004 oversaw the training of the Iraqi military, responded to Dick Cheney's accusations on Afghanistan from last night:

"The record is clear: Dick Cheney and the Bush administration were incompetent war fighters. They ignored Afghanistan for 7 years with a crude approach to counter-insurgency warfare best illustrated by: 1. Deny it. 2. Ignore it. 3. Bomb it. While our intelligence agencies called the region the greatest threat to America, the Bush White House under-resourced our military efforts, shifted attention to Iraq, and failed to bring to justice the masterminds of September 11.

"The only time Cheney and his cabal of foreign policy 'experts' have anything to say is when they feel compelled to protect this failed legacy. While President Obama is tasked with cleaning up the considerable mess they left behind, they continue to defend torture or rewrite a legacy of indifference on Afghanistan. Simply put, Mr. Cheney sees history throughout extremely myopic and partisan eyes.

"As one deeply invested in the Armed Forces of this country, I am grateful for the senior military commanders assigned to leading this fight and the men and women fighting on the ground. But I dismiss men like Cheney who inject partisan politics into the profound deliberations our Commander-in-Chief and commanders on the ground are having to develop a cohesive and comprehensive strategy, bringing to bear the economic and diplomatic as well as the military power, for Afghanistan -- something Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld never did.

"No human endeavor can be as profound as sending a nation's youth to war. I am very happy to see serious men and women working hard to get it right."

Gen. Eaton: Dick Cheney Was "Incompetent War Fighter"

Maybe if the coward didn't use 5 deferments to get out serving his country he would have some credibility.But the asshole would still be incompentent.

remember...

he had better things to do.

EVERYTIME, I think about that he actually SAID THIS....

the mind boggles..

WHAT IF....a DEMOCRAT had said that?

That's the fault of the media.Their meme is Democrats are weak and they run with that.Remember what they did to John Kerry.A decorated Veteran and they smeared him but no mention of bush running away to the National Guard or cheney's cowardice.

Got a post up on Cheney's punk ass - go read it.

YEAH....what he said.

Attorneys will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review an Arizona program that diverts tax revenue into private-school tuition scholarships.

A federal appeals court refused Wednesday to change its decision calling for a full court trial to determine if the state's private-school tax-credit scholarship program is constitutional. Attorneys who are defending the credits said they will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stood by its April decision that the private-school scholarship program could pressure parents who need help to pay tuition to choose religious schools. The program may not meet the criteria for more secular tax-credit scholarship programs already approved as constitutional by the Supreme Court justices, the decision states.

An analysis of 2008 scholarships by The Arizona Republic showed religious schools received 93 percent of the $54 million given to school-tuition organizations that year. Some religious schools are closely linked to a school tuition organization, with most of each non-profit organization's donations going to one school or schools of one faith.

Attorneys to ask high court to review Ariz. tuition tax credits

---

More states may need to follow their schools' money trail.

Initially, in my hometown, the voucher program lead many AA families to private schools run remotely by, of all places, Bob Jones (no interracial marry or dating) University. Many AA families knew nothing about Bob Jones Univ. Some of the schools were managed poorly. When students left these schools they were immediately placed in remedial and special education training before returning to public schools' curriculum.

posted a story awhile back about this program - it's a complete SCAM, with the taxpayers footing the bill for well-to-do kids private school tuitions.

Michelle practices what she preaches. Could you imagine another First Lady running around like that getting her fitness on? She doesn't just tell kids to exercise and play, she does it herself. 45 and outrunning the kiddies! Go 'head, Mrs. Obama!

And POTUS said she's an expert hula hooper! He's talked about how she can get down her her knees and still keep the hoop rollin'! LOL. He's nasty!

Apparently she did 142 swirls before the hoop fell and she was involved in a conversation as well. I think he knows what he's talking about when it comes to her skills.

One thing I must say I welcome is the sense that we ought to as a nation give a fuck about our own kids.

Yes we can help the kids of the world, drafur and the like. However, we must put our kids in top priority too. We've got to get these kids to realize there is a competition going on and having the latest technology or record deal ain't gonna cut it. Being in the latest gang or knowing the latest gang sign ain't gonna cut it either. We have got to focus on the kids, from parental involvement to resources for education and YES lou fuckin Dobbs eating healthy!

I was impressed with MEXICO when they realized they had obesity problem coming up, stepped up and said you all will have to exercise. How about CHINA, hell they built a fat camp to get people to learn to eat probably and exercise.

Our kids matter and ought to be treated like they matter. When I talk about Kids , I am talking about all colors of kids in this nation. They matter and they ought to be a priority. That to me is a breathe of fresh air because I believe you have to take care of your home before you can save anybody. Yes continue with our foreign aid and awareness of kids of the world [keep aiding and protesting] but Got to keep our kids closer. Problems affecting our kids have to be a priority. Hell when I say OUR- talking about white, black, native american, green, yellow, red American children. They are our present and future.
Go Michelle [I know she got to start small by small before they accuse her of trying to be president or something]

Dylan Ratigan was today talking about The First Lady taking on the food industry (paraphrase) because she wants healthy food in the White House, a garden is at the White House, and she talks to kids about not eating junk food, and she has her staff reading a book critical of the food industry (by former FDA head David Kessler). So Ratigan has this guy on, and the guy says he doesn't know what the First Lady is going to do!

It's all good, because I've always given Dylan Ratigan the side eye, anyway.

Anyone who saw the segment I'm talking about, please chime in.

I didn't see it. That's why when folks say oh she should do more and more and more, i give them the side eye. I think to myself they just want to add her to the list of things they criticize the administration for. Its not enough that the criticize what she wears daily. My view is she ought to do what makes her comfortable and just go step by step. But I am just glad that kids are a focus again, especially in our nation. They are our present and future period.

What is wrong with eating healthy? No one is saying don't eat what you want just do it in moderation, hell i could stand to loose more pounds. Another thing is that both Obamas are down to earth and they cannot hide it, no matter how hard they try. Its just them, they are people persons and it shows. You know what I am saying, some people just click with others and others like to be alone.

Its like a prerequiste to be President or First lady is to be snobby or look down on people. There is being elegant and there is elitism. The two of them are just elegant and treat people like they would like to be treated. That is one thing no matter how much I disagree with Obama is that he treats people with respect even when you expect him to belittle them. That is what drives me crazy about this so called bible republicans -- there is a way to disagree without venom or acting unchristian.

I could imagine other first ladies standing on the side line and just clapping. And note its not because some of these ladies don't want to join in but because we have said you have to turn your nose higher than the common folk in order to exhibit power. Sometimes its just good for people to be regular, it helps the public recall they are just like me and don't place them on pedestals.

Real Americans want Real American Presidents and Real American First Ladies to look down on them.

Real Americans can't look up to Negroes.

That is all.

you nail it everytime.

The Federal Reserve for the first time would police banks' pay policies to ensure they don't encourage employees to take reckless gambles like those that contributed to the financial crisis, according to a proposal unveiled Thursday.

Unlike a Treasury plan to slash pay at certain companies that were bailed out with large sums of taxpayer money, the Fed proposal would cover thousands of banks, including many that never received a bailout.

The Fed would not actually set compensation. Instead, the central bank would review — and could veto — pay policies that could cause too much risk-taking by executives, traders or loan officers.

Its the Fed's latest response to criticism that it failed to crack down on lax lending, irresponsible risk taking and other practices that many blame for contributing to the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.

Fed proposes to police bank pay for 1st time

I honestly wished this would mean something because it will not. They are attacking the wrong problem. The problem is the cost of speculation, the instruments of speculation, the realtionship of the instruments to the economy and the nature of the companies that speculate.

We all speculate w/ money. Who here hasn't filled at a football parley, a church rafffle, a bingo card for charity, pulled a one armed bandit. If we lose we effect only our families and our budget. So we can't stop it but we can control the other inputs.

So starting with the nature of companiesI think if a company wants to speculate that's fine but it can't do it with money that is guaranteed by taxpayer. You can be like Susquehanna and put only your firms money on the line. If you win it yours to do as you want and if you lose outside of the parameters of the firm your fired. I've no problem it is the other aspects that are disturbing.

Banks should not be engaged in this. Their purpose is to collect deposits and make loans. To protect the depositors, cause s@#$ happens, we have the FDIC It's a quiet low margin business. Even the large banks till the nineties did not engage in foreign currency trading, bond trading, currency forwards et al except for their clients.

The next issue to be confronted is that most speculative trading is done a a basis that is too inexpensive. If you buy a stock you have two ways to do it; margin or all cash. Most speculators use leverage and pay 50% of the value. They pay interest on the money. If anyone buys up 5% of the float(outstanding shares) they have to report it. If you speculate in most other instruments you can pay anywhere from 2% to 20% and the reporting rules are extremely vague.

Many of these instruments are fundamental to a full fledged economy, i.e. manufactoring and services. Corn, wheat, oil, gasoline, butter, platinmum, gold silver, et al. Now ask youself if you buy 5% of IBM(1.32billion share) at a price of $100/share(it's $122+ today) it will cost you $3billion+ upfront and you will not effect the economy. Oil on the other hand trades at $80 today. The contract is for 1,000 barrels or $80,000. It costs you as a non member $6100($6000 for the math here) to hold the contract(+ or - changes in the intial face value) that is 7.625% of the value.

For $3billion you can control 500,000 barrels of oil because you can buy all over the world and not be accountable. If you go to 50% it reduces your control to 7200+ barrels. What does each dollar in value cost the world in output and production? Which is more important to the economy oil or IBM? Which has more effect as the price goes up or down? We haven't even begun to discuss CDS or 30yr US Government bonds.

So do you think a taxpayer supported institution should be speculating in the real economy? Should the cost of speculation be so inexpensive it effects the real economy? If you control these three inputs you can have speculation, keep it off the back of the American taxpayer and out of the real economy.

PS

The first argument you are going to hear is that it will go elsewhere. The governments of Europe and the PRC will suppor these changes without question. They believe in much more control than we do. Any country outside of Europe does not have the legal infrastructure guranteeing that the contract will be honored so it isn't going to go to the Cayman Islands, Thailand or Russia.

And, the little people do not have friends in Congress who will suspend accounting rules that allows their businesses to claim assets have value where there is none.

My First Lady--She's A Bad Mama Jama.