Posts from — November 2010

Coughs up a hair ball.

The New York Times releases suggestions from a press conference of the co-chairs.

Speaker Pelosi responds: On the Proposal Released by Co-Chairs of the Fiscal Commission. [You have to imagine associated hand gestures on your own.]

The Newsbiscuit responds with the British view of our system: US Republicans disband after voters still don’t get the joke.

You have to admit that their timing is impeccable – there’s nothing like suggesting increases in co-pays for the military and veterans on the eve of Veterans Day.

This is for all of the people who have complained that liberals-progressives are too negative about Obama.

Via Sean Paul, Stephanie Vallejo of the Boston Globe noted from the CBS 60 Minutes interview that President Obama compares his health care plan to Romney’s

“We thought that if we shaped a bill that wasn’t that different from bills that had previously been introduced by Republicans, including a Republican Governor in Massachusetts who’s now running for President, that we would be able to find some common ground there,” said Obama. “And we just couldn’t.”

OK, now that Obama has told you that he introduced the Dole-Romney health care bill that was edited by a Wellpoint vice president, rather than a Democratic plan, do you see why people are angry. Again, you don’t work for Democratic candidates and provide them with majorities in both houses of Congress and the White House so they can pass Republican plans.

This wasn’t a compromise, this was a surrender, and the Republicans wouldn’t even accept the surrender.

United States Marine Corps

1775

Dave Johnson of Seeing the Forest looks at the numbers: Catching The “Swing” Vote

Here is what is very important to understand about the “swing” vote: No voters “switched.” That is the wrong lesson. There are not voters who “swing” there is a segment that swings, depending on who turns out.

The lesson to learn: You have to deliver for YOUR part of that swing segment or they don’t show up and vote for you. That is what makes the segment “swing.”

Dave links to Greg Sargent of Plum Line: Progressives and centrists battle over meaning of indy vote

Now a leading liberal group is set to push back on that argument with a counter-intuitive case of its own: Independents are not a monolith, and what really happened is that indys who backed Obama in 2008 stayed home, because they were unsatisfied with Obama’s half-baked reform agenda, while McCain-supporting indys turned out in big numbers.

Elections were, are, and always will be about turning out your voters, not trying to appease the voters of the other side. Again, when given the choice of a “Democrat” claiming to support Republican policies, and a real Republican, the Republican wins. This is why the number of Blue Dogs in the House was halved.

As Lambert of Corrente notes Obama just doesn’t understand. He obviously doesn’t have anyone reading the polling on policy, and doesn’t know what Americans want. He is assuming that the conventional wisdom that he shares with the Village is true, and it isn’t. People didn’t vote for a Democratic Congress and a Democratic President to see Republican policies enacted. The Democratic “swing” voters stayed home and Democrats lost seats.

People are talking about the video taken from a news helicopter that shows what many people think is a missile launch off the coast of California at around sundown yesterday.

At sundown yesterday the surface wind was out of the North at about 15 miles per hour. Do you see that contrail being pushed South [to the left of your screen]? No you don’t because the aircraft that is making the contrail is probably above 30,000 feet approaching the coast from the West. The contrail stretches back to the horizon indicating relatively calm air at its altitude.

Because the aircraft is flying towards the camera it looks like it’s raising.

The setting sun and the elevated camera add to the illusion of something launched from the sea, but a check of the radar logs will show a flight approaching the coast at that time.

So NPR has a project it is calling Memos To The President, and today in the car I heard Kathryn Jean Lopez, Editor-at-large, National Review Online, read hers.

Of all the gall, the unadorned brass – she talks about having a moral position about abortion‽

What about the immoral war of choice that she and her employers pushed, including the lies used to support it? What about the torture that they justified as necessary? She doesn’t think tax money should pay for abortion, well I don’t think that tax money should be spent on murder and torture, even if she believes they are necessary.

If she was so concerned about this issue, why didn’t she push it when Republicans controlled the White House and Congress? Why is this suddenly and issue when Democrats win elections?

Of course, the answer is simple – she has no concern for morality, she only cares about keeping her job and doing what her bosses want. Deficits, fraud, waste… none of those things are problems when Republicans are in charge, only when Democrats take control.

I brook no claim of morals from the whited sepulchre that is NRO.

Both Mustang Bobby and Echidne are celebrating their seventh blogiversaries™ today.

They are among the paleo-bloggers.

The Newsbiscuit explains the US mid-term elections: Mad Hatter, dormouse elected to Congress in Tea Party landslide.

For Ellroon, who watches all squirrelly things.

Carl Hiassen of the Miami Herald looks at Florida’s new fraudster-in-chief: Scott wants to clean house? Lotsa luck

“Today is the end of politics as usual in Tallahassee.”

So said Gov.-elect Rick Scott in his victory speech, confirming a severe disconnection from reality.

He won’t change Tallahassee, but Tallahassee will change him.

Nobody who knows Florida believes that last Tuesday’s vote marks the end of politics as usual. It’s just another chapter of politics as always.

The Republicans have controlled the state Senate for 18 years, the state House for 14 years and the governor’s mansion for over a decade. The election changes absolutely nothing.

[Read more →]

Position: 26.1N 69.1W [ 3 PM CST 2100 UTC].
Movement: North-Northeast [020°] near 3 mph [ 6 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 60 mph [95 kph].
Wind Gusts: 70 mph [115 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 200 miles [320 km].
Minimum central pressure: 997 mb.

Currently about 500 miles [805 km] South-Southwest of Bermuda.

Tomas is unlikely to pose a threat to land again, but this storm has done a number of unlikely things, so I continue to watch it. As it stands now, this is the last official advisory on the storm.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Turn Back Your Clocks!

Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs

One of the most annoying blindspots of the White House is the belief that if you make a good faith effort to reach out to the other side, common ground can be found and a compromise can be reached. This desire for a “win-win” solution is unrealistic and shows an amazing lack of understanding about Republicans.

The diagram represents a reality in groups. Any individual may be at variance with the model, and some who were have received honors and medals, but in general the model explains the behavior of a majority of people.

[Read more →]

Basically, the Keith Olbermann thing will rest on whether his contract is with NBC News or MSNBC, and if MSNBC, a separate and distinct company, is there a similar policy. So far the only policy stated has been the NBC News policy.

Obviously the solution is to set up one of those totally bogus non-profits that the Chamber of Commerce and other Republican groups use to hide donors, and have the wealthy news people donate through it. It should be non-partisan and accept money from any overpaid media personality so they can hide their political affiliations in accordance with the whims of their corporate masters.

All it needs is a catchy name. so Political Money Laundering R Us, is probably out, although it works as a mission statement. Of course the application for incorporation and IRS non-profit status will say something about working for “good government” just to make the bureaucrats happy.