Monday, January 31, 2011

VIDEO, Hollywood Hypnosis with Entertainment and War, Chris Hedges : "Our empire is imploding. It, itself, is an illusion,. If we don’t face that illusion, we’re finished" - Also Michael Moore and Oliver Stone in a panel of movie critics

.
At the beggining of this VIDEO, General Patton ( in a biographical movie ) says that "America has never lost and will never lose a war"

Please, Listen to Chris Hedges appearing on a ( see video, minute 16 ) program on Aljazeera this week: “Empire – Hollywood and the war machine.” - In this video you hear a panel of critics including Michael Moore.

Empire examines the symbiotic relationship between the movie industry and the military-industrial complex.

Christopher Lynn Hedges (born 1956 ) is an American journalist, author, and war correspondent, specializing in American and Middle Eastern politics and societies.His most recent book is 'Death of the Liberal Class (2010).

Hedges is also known as the best-selling author of War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning (2002), which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction. A quotation from the book was used as the opening title quotation in the critically-acclaimed and Academy Award-winning 2009 film, The Hurt Locker. The quotation reads: "The rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug."


Chris Hedges says this in minute 16 of this video :


"The difference with a dream, as articulated by Martin Luther King, is that you strive towards it. You live within an illusion. And that illusion of who we are, where we’re going and what we can become is… there’s a wider and wider gap between that and the reality. And the problem with living within illusions is that it allows you to perpetuate a kind of eternal infantilism… childishness, where reality is never an impediment to what I want. But as the walls break down, when it’s your house that is foreclosed, when your job and your neighbor’s job are not coming back, when you go bankrupt for your medical bills, then you react as a child. Which is to call for a savior, a demagogue, someone who promises moral renewal, vengeance and new glory. And we are already seeing these proto-fascist movements leaping up around the fringes of American society. And this is because our empire is imploding. It, itself, is an illusion,. If we don’t face that illusion, we’re finished. ."




AlJazeeraEnglish | December 23, 2010

Empire - Hollywood and the war machine

James Zogby : Democratically elected Arab leaders : the new Hizbullah-backed government in Lebanon, the Hamas-led Gaza Strip and the emergent Sadrist bloc currently at the center of the Iraqi government. Anti Arab Hypocrisy in Washington - Racism in the Media

.
Lots of anti Arab Racism and Hypocrisy in Washington and the Mainstream Media - The failure of the most stupid "Mainstream" pundits to guide American Foreign Policy.


I am an admirer, fan and frequent reader of Dr. James J. Zogby




Huffington Post
Limited Options in the Face of Turmoil
January 30, 2011

By James J. Zogby
Dr. James J. Zogby is the author of Arab Voices: What They Are Saying to Us, and Why it Matters (Palgrave Macmillan, October 2010) and the founder and president of the Arab American Institute (AAI), a Washington, D.C.-based organization which serves as the political and policy research arm of the Arab American community.

Limited Options in the Face of Turmoil


Some excerpts :

What has been unnerving during this entire period has been the contradictory and in some instances hypocritical way some in the U.S. have seized upon these rapid-fire developments. In Congress and the media, new champions of Arab democracy have been born overnight. In too many instances, however, I suspect this celebration of the "Arab street" is born more of an anti-Arab animus, than of a real commitment to Arab democracy.

Those, for example, who call on President Obama to break with the Egyptian government and suspend U.S. assistance to Egypt's military, would recoil in horror should a new Egyptian government emerge and, following the will of the people, cancel the Camp David Peace Accords with Israel and/or open ties with Hamas in Gaza. And what would the reaction be were the new Tunisian government to suspend anti-terror cooperation with the U.S?

Evidence that this support for revolution is based more on what these folks don't know mixed in with a dash anti-Arab sentiment can be seen in how they deal with the democratically elected Arab leaders or governing groups they do know. There is no cheering, for example, from Congress or the Washington Post editorial pages for the new Hizbullah-backed government in Lebanon, the Hamas-led Gaza Strip or the emergent Sadrist bloc currently at the center of the Iraqi government. In the case of Lebanon and Gaza there is a taboo placed on any engagement with these groups and calls to suspend all American assistance programs -- all of which appears to undercut the professed commitment to democracy.
......................

Recognizing this is important since it establishes the reality that the U.S. has diminished credibility, capacity, and few good options. Critics, both liberals and conservatives, who are demanding "bold leadership" from the president, ought to remember their earlier support for "deposing the Iraqi dictator." Not understanding the consequences of that move or the factors driving Iraqi society in the post-Saddam era and having little ability to control the disasters that followed (despite having 150,000 troops on the ground), should give these pundits pause. Therefore, it is advisable for policy makers to dismiss the critics and proceed, as they have, with carefully calibrated messages that affirm both principles and interests.
.

VIDEO, Associated Press : The State Department is prepared to evacuate thousands of U.S. citizens from Egypt on chartered planes - This is Prudence and Common Sense, no unnecessary risks !

.

AssociatedPress | January 30, 2011


The State Department is prepared to evacuate thousands of U.S. citizens from Egypt on chartered planes, but it is relying largely on friends and families in the U.S. to relay that information to stranded Americans. (Jan. 30)


US Set to Fly Thousands of Americans From Egypt

Sunday, January 30, 2011

The Jerusalem Post : "Cairo: Anger starting to focus on Israel, US" - "protestors hold signs saying: "Go Away Mubarak, you are from the Americans!; others blame Israel for backing government"

.

The Jerusalem Post 
Cairo: Anger starting to focus on Israel, US

As change fails to come, protestors hold signs saying: "Go Away Mubarak, you are from the Americans!"; others blame Israel for backing gov't.

By BY MELANIE LIDMAN,  JPOST CORRESPONDENT IN CAIRO
January 30, 2011

Cairo: Anger starting to focus on Israel, US


Some excerpts :


CAIRO - Saturday’s optimism on the streets of Cairo for imminent political change gave way to anger on Sunday, as thousands of demonstrators became increasingly frustrated with the lack of response from major world leaders, especially the US.

During the main protest on Sunday in downtown Cairo, one man painted a 20-meter long message in flowing Arabic cursive that echoed across the square: “Go Away Mubarak, you are from the Americans, and you’re working for them!” Egyptians understand that the world is waiting to see if President Hosnei Mubarak falls to popular pressure before major leaders decide which side to support. But this is infuriating for the demonstrators, who realize that six days of unrest has not accomplished their goals, and they need united international pressure in order to topple Mubarak.

The protests have lacked a clear leader to unite them and provide an alternative president to Mubarak. As the major street protests enter their sixth day, demonstrators are beginning to focus their anger not just on the widespread corruption and Mubarak, but also on the United States, and to a lesser extent, Israel. They blame Israel and the US for supporting a government because it is convenient for them, not because it is good for Egyptian people.

“The USA does not support democracy, they’re supporting Israel, which is like their baby,” said Ahmed, a 26-year-old Cairo resident. “They think Egypt is functional because it’s in favor of their considerations.”

“I don’t care if we have peace [with Israel] or not,” Ahmed continued, echoing the indifference of many demonstrators who don’t have a clear agenda for what they want a future Egypt to look like, as long as it does not include Mubarak. “But will Israel allow us to have a real president? For example, Turkey elected an Islamic government, but it was their choice. Will Israel give us the freedom to make the same choice?” he asked.

Demonstrators are relying on the foreign press to get their message to Obama. “Isn’t this democracy?” they asked me over and over when I said I was a journalist from America, incredulous that the country held as the pinnacle of world democracy could ignore such widespread popular sentiment.

“Obama has to be on our side, where is your democracy?” asked Osam L, who works at a foreign bank in Cairo. “You say Arabs are just donkeys, but the USA is supporting the system, not the people.”
.

Slate.com : "Obama's Sha Problem" : "No post-Mubarak government, and certainly not one populated with Muslim Brotherhood members, will tolerate the continued blockade of their Hamas cousins in Gaza. Israel will thus be faced with additional strategic incentives to end its occupation of the West Bank"

.
"The end of the Mubarak era will also spell an end to Egypt's cold peace with Israel."



Obama's "Shah Problem"
President Obama is doing what Jimmy Carter did with Iran in 1978. Uh-oh.
By Kai Bird
Sunday, January 30, 2011

President Obama is doing what Jimmy Carter did with Iran in 1978. Uh-oh.


Some excerpts :

President Barack Obama has a "Shah problem" in Egypt. Recent events in Egypt recall the street protests of 1978 in Tehran when President Jimmy Carter had to decide whether to remain loyal to the Pahlavi regime, a long-standing American-backed dictatorship—or whether the time had come to abandon the Shah and support a popular uprising demanding human rights and democracy. Carter tried to have it both ways, modulating his support for the Shah, calling for political liberalization, and warning the Shah against the use of state violence against unarmed protesters. Obama seems to be following the same script, and the results may well turn out to be equally fraught with unintended consequences.
................

That speech really said it all. But now the moment has come when President Obama must demonstrate that his words were not just words. One way or the other, hard consequences will follow. The end of the Mubarak era will also spell an end to Egypt's cold peace with Israel. No post-Mubarak government, and certainly not one populated with Muslim Brotherhood members, will tolerate the continued blockade of their Hamas cousins in Gaza. Israel will thus be faced with additional strategic incentives to end its occupation of the West Bank, dismantle its settlements and quickly recognize a Palestinian state based largely on its 1967 borders. But as the recent leak of Palestinian-Israeli negotiating transcripts demonstrates, the detailed contours of a final settlement are all in place.

Change is coming to the Arab world. It can no longer be held back. So the pragmatist and not just the idealist in Obama would be wise to make it clear that he really is on the side of the protesters in the streets of Cairo. It is time to stop hedging our bets.
.

British Guardian Editorial : "Take inspiration from the brave people of Egypt. They have shown the way. In five days of rage, they overcame their fears, broke with the old ways and made a glorious, chaotic yet purposeful lunge for a future full of hope for all. They made a reality of democracy

.
British Guardian Newspaper
The Observer - Editorial
Mubarak's dictatorship must end now
It is in the interest of autocratic Arab nations to note the mood in Egypt and effect change
Sunday 30 January 2011

Mubarak's dictatorship must end now


Some excerpts :

Days of rage in Egypt signify the end of days for Hosni Mubarak's repressive and bankrupt regime. For 30 years, the president has held his country down through fear, secret police, emergency laws, American cash subsidies and a lamentable absence of vision and imagination. His crude, Gaullist message: without me, chaos. Now the chaos has come anyway. And Mubarak must go.

Five days of rage on the streets of Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and dozens of other cities have transformed the way Egypt sees itself. For years, they said it was impossible. The regime was too powerful, the masses too apathetic, the security apparatus too ubiquitous. Like eastern Europeans trapped in the Soviet Union's cold, pre-1991 embrace, they struggled in the dark, without help, without hope. Movements for change, such as Kefaya (Enough!), were brutally suppressed. Courageous dissidents such as Ayman Nour were harassed, beaten and imprisoned.

Yet all the time, pressure for reform was rising. Every day, higher prices, economic stagnation, poverty and unemployment, political stasis, official corruption and a stifled, censored public space became less and less tolerable. Every day, impatience with the regime's insulting insouciance bred more enemies. Hatred seeped like poison through the veins of the people. Until, at last, in five days of rage, as if as one, they cried: "Enough!" And now, Mubarak must go.
...............

Courage and vision are required in Washington as well as Cairo. The US, Britain and other western governments that have wrongly valued stability above freedom should take inspiration from the brave people of Egypt. They have shown the way. In five days of rage, they overcame their fears, broke with the old ways and made a glorious, chaotic yet purposeful lunge for a future full of hope for all. They made a reality of democracy. Now they must make their choice freely. So, first, Mubarak must go.
.

Egypt : I have always preached my interpretation of Modern History as the "DeWesternization and DeWhitenization of the World" - I picture myself as a Historian of year 5,000 after Christ

.
Perhaps one year in the future and in another planet, Mars perhaps ( just kidding ! ), you will read the History of the 20 and 21 centuries. I have no doubts that we will see a lot of DeColonization in what we can live of the 21 century until our own death ( yours and mine ).


I should be very humble and very moderate and avoid arrogance while watching my prophesies being fulfilled every year and every day.


After the Sha of Iran, and Anastasio Somoza of Nicaragua, it was very easy to see that the USA has been playing with fire in Egypt, and kids that play with fire always get burned. - "Piece of Cake", these easy predictions.


Look at the History of Mankind after the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria ( Empress of India ) in year 1896 : The Second Boer War (1899–1902) started the decline of the British Empire. Lots of Torture, Murder, Assassination, Cruelty and Inhumanity, performed by the Britons, later to be learned by their apprentices : the Communists and Nazis.


The Boer Wars, the First and the Second World Wars have been called "White Race Civil Wars", not by me, poor and humble soul, miserable cockroach of me, but by the Worst and Fiercest Racists that this poor world produces.


So I kneel every day at 5 AM to pray and beg to God that He gives me some little and very much needed humility as events unfold as I predict them.


Vicente Duque
.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

VIDEO, Tear Gas Canisters In Egypt Stamped 'Made In The USA', MSNBC's Rich Engel in Cairo shows the "Made in the USA" Gas Canister : Egyptian revolt partly fueled by US-Cairo ties.

.
Anti American Sentiment in Cairo :

FiredoglakeTV | January 28, 2011


Engel, reporting from the streets of Cairo, holds up a spent tear gas canister, labeled 'Made in USA'.


Rich Engel in Cairo: Egyptian revolt partly fueled by US-Cairo ties - tear gas 'Made in USA'

Egypt : Fall of Mubarack, the next Sha - The USA is losing a Great Bet of many billions of dollars during 30 years, 2 billions a year, buying enemies with billions.

.
Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden should be extremely happy now and the king of Saudi Arabia is shitting in his pants, or in his robes, because he dresses like a nun.



I would like to speak with the language of Humanity and Empathy, I would like to say that Egyptians are Human Beings like you and me - Egyptians are not cockroaches to be exterminated - But that is not the language that People in Power use or understand, or those drunken with power, jingoism, nationalism, chauvinism and militarism. ( Like the Republican Leadership ! )


Those jingos only understand the language of Money, of dollars, of spending useless billions upon billions of dollars in supporting useless despotic and corrupt governments like those of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.


Investing billions in Despotism, I guess Thomas Jefferson would not like it.


But the language of Gamblers, Bettors and Bookies is best understood by those in power :

U. S. Government, you are losing a big bet, change your horses in the middle of the river because your wallet gets very thin supporting the losers.


Egyptians are as human as you and me, they also want freedom and dislike despotism and foreign intervention, even if it is intervention with 2 billions of dollars a year to support brutality and dictatorship.


Mubarak is a hot potato burning the hands of the USA



Vicente Duque
.

Friday, January 28, 2011

VIDEO, Rachel Maddow : "The Nasty Taint of Porn" : Mitt Romney falls between hotel porn and conservative demands - The Great Hypocrisy of Republicans - We are accustomed to that !

.

Republican Hypocrisy ?? - Nothing to be scandalized !




StartLoving4 | January 27, 2011


Rachel Maddow- Romney falls between hotel porn and conservative demands

POLITICO.COM : Representative Jim Moran( Democrat, Virginia ) : "Racism fueled Democrats' midterm losses" - "The slaveholding states, didn’t want to see a president who was opposed to slavery" ( Abraham Lincoln ), hence the Civil War

.
It can be perfectly argued that the poor state of Employment produced by the Economic Downturn was the main cause of Obama's Shellacking - But Racism is another important cause of Obama's misfortunes in November 2010.




POLITICO.COM
Jim Moran: Racism fueled Democrats' midterm losses
By JENNIFER EPSTEIN
January 27, 2011

Jim Moran: Racism fueled Democrats' midterm losses



Some excerpts :

A Democratic congressman is attributing his party’s losses in the 2010 election cycle to the fact that President Barack Obama is black.

Speaking to Arab television network Alhurra, Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) said Republicans made big gains in November in part because “a lot of people in this country … don’t want to be governed by an African-American.”

Even more objectionable to some Americans, he said, is that Obama is a black president “who is inclusive, who is liberal, who wants to spend money on everyone and who wants to reach out to include everyone in our society — that’s a basic philosophical clash.”

Moran’s remarks came Tuesday in an interview conducted after Obama delivered his State of the Union speech. Democrats, Moran said, lost for “the same reason the Civil War Happened in the United States … the Southern states, particularly the slaveholding states, didn’t want to see a president who was opposed to slavery.” Virginia, of course, is one of those Southern, formerly slaveholding states.
.

VIDEO of Felix the Cat Original Theme song - "Ample Room" to smile lately with the last events and adventures of President Obama - "Ample Room" for storage of Smiles, because Mr Obama is going to win in year 2012 by "Ample Room" - Obama has nine lives like Felix

.
All the Zodiac Constellations, All the Crystal Balls, All the Tarots and Gipsy Old Ladies are telling me that President Obama is going to win in 2012.


What a poverty of Republican Candidates : The Palin - Bachmann ticket ( Ha Ha Ha ! ), one million times Ha Ha Ha. Obama will defeat the Republicans because they are no more than a bunch of "Whining nasty brats"....


There is going to be a competition or race between Obama that is now a Ronald Reagan Incarnate, or the second smile and Great Communicator made flesh and descending from Heaven to Help Old Barack. And the preachers of doom and pessimism in the Republican side.


Because after all the dirty tricks that Republicans have played on Barack and offenses to the President of the USA, Barack is now Old Barack - And the devil knows more because he is old than because he is the devil.


And Barack also has a bag of tricks and it is better than the "Magic Bag" of "Felix the Cat" :


Whenever he gets in a fix, he reaches into his bag of tricks!!!!




TheWoodpeckerWoody | July 19, 2010 | 13 likes, 0 dislikes


Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in the silent film era. His black body, white eyes, and giant grin, coupled with the surrealism of the situations in which his cartoons place him, combine to make Felix one of the most recognized cartoon characters alongside Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Popeye, Betty Boop, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo and Woody Woodpecker.


Felix was the first character from animation to attain a level of popularity sufficient to draw movie audiences. Felix's origins remain disputed. Australian cartoonist/film entrepreneur Pat Sullivan, owner of the Felix character, claimed during his lifetime to be its creator. American animator Otto Messmer, Sullivan's lead animator, has more commonly been assigned credit by Americans in recent decades. Some historians argue that Messmer ghosted for Sullivan although Messmer's creation claim has not been proven.


The art and lettering in Feline Follies have been identified as Pat Sullivan's work, whereas Messmer's claim completely excluded Sullivan from the animation. What is certain is that Felix emerged from Sullivan's studio, and cartoons featuring the character enjoyed success and popularity in the 1920s. In the early 1920s Felix enjoyed enormous popularity in popular culture. He got his own comic strip (drawn by Messmer) beginning in 1923 and his image soon adorned all sorts of merchandise such as ceramics, toys and postcards. Several manufacturers made stuffed Felix toys. Jazz bands such as Paul Whiteman's played songs about him (1923's "Felix Kept On Walking" and others).


By the late 1920s with the arrival of sound cartoons Felix's success was fading. The new Disney shorts of Mickey Mouse made the silent offerings of Sullivan and Messmer, who were then unwilling to move to sound production, seem outdated. In 1929, Sullivan decided to make the transition and began distributing Felix sound cartoons through Copley Pictures. The sound Felix shorts proved to be a failure and the operation ended in 1930.


Sullivan died in 1933. Felix saw a brief three cartoon resurrection in 1936 by the Van Beuren Studios. Felix cartoons began airing on American TV in 1953. Meanwhile, Joe Oriolo, who was now directing the Felix comic strips, introduced a redesigned, "long-legged" Felix in a new animated series for TV. Oriolo also added new characters, and gave Felix a "Magic Bag of Tricks", which could assume an infinite variety of shapes at Felix's behest. The cat has since starred in other television programs and in two feature films. Felix is still featured on a wide variety of merchandise from clothing to toys. Oriolo's son, Don Oriolo, now controls creative work on Felix movies.




Felix The Cat Theme Song (One True Media)

Thursday, January 27, 2011

VIDEO, Rachel Maddow and New York Times columnist Frank Rich - "Republican message takes dark tone", "Republican Response of Paul Ryan was apocalyptic and pessimistic" - Obama seems like a Ronald Reagan Optimist

.
The Republicans as Cassandras, that is prophets of doom and failure of America.


Cassandra foresaw the destruction of Troy (she warned the Trojans about the Trojan Horse, the death of Agamemnon, and her own demise), this is in the Iliad of Homer.


StartLoving4 | January 26, 2011


I am a super admirer of Frank Rich of the New York Times - I always look for his editorials and opinions - This writer is superb, always interesting.



Rachel Maddow- Republican message takes dark tone

VIDEO, Ed Schulz and Wendell Potter, analyst at the Center for Public Integrity : Repeal of the new Health Care Law won't happen, - Potter resigned from executive in Insurance and became a whistleblower when he saw a free clinic

.

From Wikipedia :



Wendell Potter is former Vice President of corporate communications at CIGNA,one of the United States' largest health insurance companies. In June 2009, he testified against the HMO industry in the U.S. Senate as a whistleblower.

Potter began his journey towards resigning and becoming a whistleblower in July 2007, when he saw a touring free clinic run by Remote Area Medical in rural Virginia.

"What he saw appalled him. Hundreds of desperate people, most without any medical insurance, descended on the clinic from out of the hills. People queued in long lines to have the most basic medical procedures carried out free of charge. Some had driven more than 200 miles from Georgia. Many were treated in the open air. Potter took pictures of patients lying on trolleys on rain-soaked pavements."

Potter resigned in 2008 and became an active voice on health care reform in 2009, as it became clear to him that the insurance industry and its allies were having a distorting effect on the national debate.



StartLoving4 | January 27, 2011


Ed Schultz No deal on the repeal

Bush, out of bullet after shooting Raul and Gina, stood there calmly reloading his weapon as Brisenia ( age 9 ) demanded to know why he had shot her father and why he had shot her mother.Ignoring Brisenias pleas, Bush put the gun to the childs face and pulled the trigger. Gonzalez testified she heard the shot and saw her daughters body go flying across the room. That was followed by a second shot which blew out the back of the child’s head.

.
Shawna Forde is the Founder and Executive Director of MAD ( Minuteman American Defense ) - There was never a better acronym for an organization than MAD, there was never a better set of letters to describe an organization of Murder, Robbery, Hate, Racism, Brutality, etc ...


Immigration Clearinghouse
Day One – Shawna Forde Murder Trial – Gina Gonzalez Testimony
By Porter Corn
Januare 26, 2011

Day One – Shawna Forde Murder Trial – Gina Gonzalez Testimony


Some excerpts :

Up next, defense attorney Eric Larsen told the jurors the state’s case is essentially a donut, with circumstantial evidence all around, but nothing to put Shawna Forde in the middle. He went on to say his client, Shawna Forde is a “big mouth” and an ”exaggerator extraordinaire” for boasting of her plans to rob drug smugglers. Nothing more than a woman who wants to be more than she is, but she wasn’t in the house that morning.

Gina Marie Gonzalez, widow and mother of the murder victims disputes that.

The highlight of the day was the testimony of Gina Gonzalez and we got a glimpse of what transpired on the morning of May 30, 2009.

Gonzalez testified that as she lay on the floor pretending to be dead, in hopes that the shooter would ignore her and leave, listening to her husband dying, the shooter, who evidence will identify as Jason “Gunny” Bush, interrogated 9 year old Brisenia Flores about the whereabouts of her sister. Brisenia told Bush her sister was with her grandmother and Bush demanded to know where she lived. Earlier, Bush had said to Raul, ”Don’t take this personal, but this bullet has your name on it,”

“She was really scared. Her voice was shaking. I know she’s crying and really scared,” Gonzalez cried.

Bush, out of bullet after shooting Raul and Gina, stood there calmly reloading his weapon as Brisenia demanded to know why he had shot her father and why he had shot her mother.Ignoring Brisenias pleas, Bush put the gun to the childs face and pulled the trigger. Gonzalez testified she heard the shot and saw her daughters body go flying across the room. That was followed by a second shot which blew out the back of the child’s head.

Gonzalez testified that the woman in the house looked like Forde, but she said she couldn’t definitively say it was her “because I don’t know her personally.” She failed to identify Forde in a police lineup after the shooting. Some have considered that Forde might have been wearing a brown wig when she entered the house the first time, which would explain Gonzalez confusion in the identifying Forde completely.

More tomorrow as things develop.
.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

VIDEO, Bill O'Reilly and Lou Dobbs say that "Hispanics may very well decide the Presidential Election" - Are these two guys more humble ?, more quiet and less Racist than they used to be ?? - Are they sad or changed ?? - What is going on ??

.
A discussion on the possible dangers of Latinos to the Republican Ship, by two super Conservatives that work inside Fox News.


Some racists like these two guys, and Newt Gingrich, seem less virulent, wicked and malignant, lately. They have become less injurious and pernicious. Why ??




lovefoxnews1 | January 24, 2011


Bill O'Reilly and Lou Dobbs discuss Immigration



O'Reilly Factor's top story

VIDEO, Chris Matthews : Michele Bachmann shows her total ignorance of American History with respect to Slavery and said that the "Founding Fathers worked tirelessly to abolish slavery" - What a fool !

.
Michele Bachmann,  Minnesota Republican and House Representative, called slavery an "evil" and "scourge" and "stain on our history."


Michele said : "But we also know that the very founders that wrote those documents worked tirelessly until slavery was no more in the United States," Bachmann added, claiming "men like John Quincy Adams... would not rest until slavery was extinguished in the country."




HotAirPundit | January 25, 2011



Chris Matthews Attacks Michele Bachmann Calling Her 'Balloon Head'

President Obama's State of the Union - Obama is a winner that has thrown down the Gauntlet to issue a Challenge to Republicans for Election Year 2012 - Obama will be a nut hard to crack for Republicans - Read : New York Times, David E. Sanger

.
The New York Times
Obama Sets Stage for Clash of Governing Ideals
By DAVID E. SANGER
January 25, 2011

Obama Sets Stage for Clash of Governing Ideals


Some excerpts :

WASHINGTON — At a moment when the momentum in Washington is driving toward slashing budgets and shrinking government, President Obama argued on Tuesday evening that the politics of austerity, mindlessly applied, would amount to a pre-emptive surrender to China, India and a raft of smaller competitors who are investing while Americans are cutting.

It is a theme Mr. Obama has struck repeatedly since the Democrats’ devastating losses in the midterm elections exactly 12 weeks ago. He warned soon after that America must “step up our game,” and on Tuesday night he told Congress and the nation that this is “our generation’s Sputnik moment.”

With those words, Mr. Obama was defining the ideological battle of the coming year: strikingly different views of the role of government, even as both sides agree that cuts will be necessary.

To the new Republican majority in the House, the path to restoring American “competitiveness” — the word itself is something of a Rorschach test — includes slashing taxes and getting the government out of the way. To Mr. Obama, even a leaner federal government must play a central role in guiding the country’s economic future, helping the United States to confront the rising economic powers that ate away at America’s lead while the country was distracted in the post-Sept. 11 decade.

“South Korean homes now have greater Internet access than we do,” Mr. Obama said, ticking off the list of how America had fallen behind. “Countries in Europe and Russia invest more in their roads and railways than we do. China is building faster trains and newer airports.” He noted at another point that the world’s biggest private solar research facility and fastest supercomputer were now in China.
.

Excerpts from Obama's State of the Union speech - Paragraphs referencing Education, Immigration and Hemispheric Relations : "Let's stop expelling talented, responsible young people who can staff our research labs, start new businesses, and further enrich this nation"

.
Some excerpts from Obama's State of the Union speech, 
Tuesday January 25, 2011 :


If we take these steps - if we raise expectations for every child and give them the best possible chance at an education, from the day they are born until the last job they take - we will reach the goal that I set two years ago: By the end of the decade, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

One last point about education. Today, there are hundreds of thousands of students excelling in our schools who are not American citizens. Some are the children of undocumented workers, who had nothing to do with the actions of their parents. They grew up as Americans and pledge allegiance to our flag, and yet they live every day with the threat of deportation. Others come here from abroad to study in our colleges and universities. But as soon as they obtain advanced degrees, we send them back home to compete against us. It makes no sense.

Now, I strongly believe that we should take on, once and for all, the issue of illegal immigration. And I am prepared to work with Republicans and Democrats to protect our borders, enforce our laws and address the millions of undocumented workers who are now living in the shadows. I know that debate will be difficult. I know it will take time. But tonight, let's agree to make that effort. And let's stop expelling talented, responsible young people who could be staffing our research labs or starting a new business, who could be further enriching this nation.


....................................................................

On Trade with the Western Hemisphere including Colombia and Panama :
......................................................................

To help businesses sell more products abroad, we set a goal of doubling our exports by 2014 - because the more we export, the more jobs we create here at home. Already, our exports are up. Recently, we signed agreements with India and China that will support more than 250,000 jobs here in the United States. And last month, we finalized a trade agreement with South Korea that will support at least 70,000 American jobs. This agreement has unprecedented support from business and labor, Democrats and Republicans - and I ask this Congress to pass it as soon as possible.

Now, before I took office, I made it clear that we would enforce our trade agreements, and that I would only sign deals that keep faith with American workers and promote American jobs. That's what we did with Korea, and that's what I intend to do as we pursue agreements with Panama and Colombia and continue our Asia Pacific and global trade talks.
..................

This March, I will travel to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador to forge new alliances across the Americas. Around the globe, we're standing with those who take responsibility - helping farmers grow more food, supporting doctors who care for the sick and combating the corruption that can rot a society and rob people of opportunity.
.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

VIDEO, Rachel Maddow and Dahlia Lithwick, Slate Legal Correspondent, talking about the Big Infection of Conservative Judicial Activism inside the Supreme Court - The Ugly actions of the Justices

.


StartLoving4 | January 24, 2011

Rachel Maddow- Politics threatens to infect Supreme Court

VIDEO, Ed Schultz and Mike Papantonio : Horrible Sins and Ugly Conservative Judicial Activism of the Supreme Court - Bad Actions and Relations of the Justices - Supreme Sins and Supreme Failures

.
Laugh or Weep at what the Justices of the Supreme Court are doing - The Ugliest Actions and Relations of Conservative Judicial Activism - There is no delicacy, no Fineness or Elegance in what they do. No refinement but lot of Political Impurities and unacceptable friends and events.



StartLoving4 | January 25, 2011


Ed Schultz Supreme failures-

Monday, January 24, 2011

New York Mag : Obama is an introvert that suffers : : "It is hard to describe how personally upset he was at some of the members we lost, how terribly he felt, especially about the ones that were in the tough districts who’d voted with him down the line"

.
Obama is an introvert, very much dedicated to analysis, reasoning and logic, and he listens a lot to good advice : he is able to surround himself with the best experienced brains in the Art of Government, with Wise Old Men, and that may lead to Big Success.


New York Magazine
The West Wing, Season II
Almost overnight, Barack Obama overhauled his White House and rewrote much of the script. Now all he needs is a happy ending.

By John Heilemann
January 23, 2011

The West Wing, Season II


Some excerpts :

The midterms, however, slapped the president upside the head—and shattered his sense of complacency. “It is hard to describe how personally upset he was at some of the members we lost, how terribly he felt, especially about the ones that were in the tough districts who’d voted with him down the line,” says someone who knows Obama well. “It was a really tough time for him.”

Obama trusted Rouse’s judgment about what needed fixing but wanted more data. So in November and December, on his own initiative, he did something out of character: He let the outside in. Scheduling the appointments himself, sometimes on the sly, he invited a passel of Washington wise men to meet with him in the Oval Office with no staff present. Some of the names have been reported: former Clinton chiefs of staff John Podesta and Leon Panetta; former Reagan chief of staff Ken Duberstein; former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle and centrist jack-of-all-trades David Gergen; and, of course, Bill Clinton. But others have not. Longtime Clinton consigliere Vernon Jordan is one. And another, more surprising, is Matthew Dowd, who served as chief strategist for the 2004 Bush-Cheney reelection campaign. (Dowd declined to confirm the meeting, but the White House did.)

The grandees, being grandees, had no paucity of advice for Obama. They told him that he could and should get business done with John Boehner and Mitch McConnell. They counseled him, in the words of one, on “the social power of the presidency”—building relationships with friends and foes alike by inviting them to Camp David or aboard Air Force One, even (or especially) when he wanted nothing from them. Most pertinent, they reinforced Rouse’s tripartite diagnosis: Obama and his White House had to be less cloistered and more strategic, and employ the bully pulpit better.

Obama knew that the hardest change for him to make would be shattering his self-circumscription, but resolved to push himself to do so. “He’s got an enormous capacity to do what he has to do when he recognizes he has to do it,” the Democratic bigwig says. “During the campaign, he did a lot of things he didn’t like to do, and he actually got pretty good at it. A lot of it was just the bullshit—the receptions, the glad-handing, all the stuff you have to do to be political. You have to be extroverted plus, and he will never be extroverted, much less plus. But he’ll get better at this, because he knows he has to, and he will work at it.”

The lame-duck session let Obama put other elements of the advice he was hearing into practice. Extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans was not an outcome he relished, but he believed he had no choice—that digging in would lead nowhere good. “It would have demonstrated that nobody in Washington heard the message coming out of the elections about working together,” observes Gibbs. “Secondly, we would never have gotten START, ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ the 9/11 bill, and food safety. And thirdly, those initiatives plus the tax deal would have been, in essence, dead for the next two years. Look, in some ways it was good strategy, but we didn’t have a lot of options. We could have done, like, the Alamo, but that didn’t work out real well, either.”
.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Amazing VIDEO, August 28, 2008 - Glenn Beck and prominent Republican and Former Congressman Bob Barr, Presidential Candidate - Now in 2010 Bob Barr says that "Baby Doc" is a "Hope for Haiti" - Talk about "Civilization", against Taxes and praising the NRA

.
See Glenn and Bob  talking about EVIL, Evil is something that is always outside of America. And they talk about "Civilization" ...


Glenn and Bob do not like income tax, only consumption tax ( for the poor ! ) - And they seem to love the National Rifle Association ( NRA ).


********************


See this message of Bob Barr for all of us :


Haiti's Former President Brings Message of Hope to People
Barr, Marger, Puglise to Represent Duvalier


Friday, January 21, 2011 at 5:00 PM


Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, January 21, 2011 -- Former Congressman Bob Barr, with Attorneys Ed Marger of Jasper, Georgia and Mike Puglise of Snellville, Georgia, joined former Haitian President Jean-Claude Duvalier in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as Duvalier issued his first public statement upon returning to Haiti for the first time since he left the country in 1986.


Duvalier explained that the love for his country and the heartbreak he shared with all Haitians over the devastation wrought by last year's massive earthquake, overcame the risks he knew he would face by returning to Haiti at this time. He also urged all Haitians, but especially the young people, to take leadership and raise the country from the ashes like a Phoenix.




Read more here in BobBarr.org


http://www.bobbarr.org/default.asp?pt=newsdescr&RI=1284




***********************




Bob Barr in Wikipedia :


Robert Laurence "Bob" Barr, Jr. (born 1948) is a former federal prosecutor and a former member of the United States House of Representatives. He represented Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Republican from 1995 to 2003. Barr attained national prominence as one of the leaders of the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. Barr joined the Libertarian Party in 2006, and served on its National Committee. He was the Libertarian Party nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 election. He is also noted for his austere demeanour.








BobBarr2008 | August 29, 2008

Bob Barr, 2008 Libertarian Presidential nominee, visits with Glenn Beck

Saturday, January 22, 2011

VIDEO : Representative Lois Capps ( Democrat, California ) tells the story of a Little Brave Girl in Santa Barbara California, that has suffered a horrible disease and is saved by the New Health Care Law - Don't repeal Obamacare

.
A beautiful little brave and courageous Girl saved by Obamacare :

The true "Death Panels" are the U. S. House Republicans trying to kill Obamacare, this will kill millions of patients around the nation, patients that are saved by the New Health Care Law, the crowning achievement of a Great Man and a Great President.


For a hundred years since Teddy Rosevelt, presidents of the United States fought to implement a Health Care System like ObamaCare. Obama should be proud that the fools and haters have named his law as ObamaCare.




RepLoisCapps | January 06, 2011


Rep. Capps speaks against repealing healthcare reform because it has put in place critical protections to help families across America. The Strong family, of Santa Barbara, CA has been dramatically helped by healthcare reform. (1/6/2011)


Don't Repeal Healthcare Reform -- One Family's Story

Friday, January 21, 2011

VIDEO, David Pakman, It is very easy to be a Demagogue of the Right Wing - David Pakman feigns to be a Tea Party extremist - --Arizona Republicans are resigning from their posts as a result of the Gabrielle Giffords shooting

.

MidweekPolitics | January 07, 2011


--The David Pakman show temporarily becomes conservative and David Pakman goes on an anti-healthcare reform rant.


The David Pakman Show Turns Right-Wing, and It's Sickening







MidweekPolitics | January 18, 2011


--Arizona Republicans are resigning from their posts as a result of the Gabrielle Giffords shooting, and we are confused by some claims that all elected officials and government employees should be ready and willing to take bullets at any time.




Arizona Republicans Quit After Giffords Shooting, Tea Party Criticizes

VIDEO : Keith Olbermann and Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post - Some Republican Bigots want to kick out Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords from the House of Representatives, due to her Health Condition after shooting

.
This is the Topmost in Republican Bastardy ( Bastardy as the behavior of Bastards and Scoundrels ! )




thevirtueallliberal | January 21, 2011


Yep, the right wing blogosphere are some great bunch of sub-humans aren't they ? In a recent letter on a Republican web site, a regular contributor to Republican Bob McDonnell wrote a blog demanding that Gabby Gifford, who was recently shot in the head step down . His blog didn't bring much attention until David Frum distastefully, ignorantly, and stupidly posted it on his website Frum Forum .


This is only 13 days after Sen. Gifford made a miraculous recovery from the brink of death due to a armed anti-government piece of shit that killed a little girl as well . You know the most outrageous thing I heard a few days after this shooting was " It's liberals fault " WTF ?!


It's not Progressives that are advocating for weak gun laws . It's not Progressives who are under funding hospitals for people with mental issues like Reagan did . It's not Progressives who have continually used gun analogies against politicians . This is how fucking detached the right wing base is from reality .


They're dangerous only in the fact they are susceptible to propaganda, they think they are morally justified, and they have easy access to guns . It's a very dangerous mix . Should Obama get elected for 4 more years ( And I think he will ) , I would like him to concentrate in these areas . To be fair, I am a gun owner too . I own a few guns . However, I am also reasonable . There is no reason for assault weapons other than to kill a large amount of people at once . Something needs to be done or this type of situation will only become common place as they are in third world violent countries .




RIGHT WING BLOGGERS DEMAND GIFFORDS WHO WAS SHOT IN THE HEAD RESIGN

The AP poll found that just 26 percent of respondents wanted Congress to repeal the Health Law completely. A recent Washington Post poll found support for outright repeal at 18 percent; a Marist poll pegged it at 30 percent - The will of the tea party is not "the will of the people - Washington Post

.
Republicans pretend that they are the only owners and also the perfect knowers or apprehenders of "The Will of the People", but polls contradict them.




The Washington Post
It's Repeal That's Ailing
By Eugene Robinson
January 21, 2011

It's Repeal That's Ailing


Some excerpts :

A recent Associated Press poll found that 41 percent of those surveyed opposed the reform law and 40 percent supported it. But when asked what Congress should do, 43 percent said the law should be modified so that it does more to change the health care system. Another 19 percent said it should be left as it is.

More troubling for the GOP, the AP poll found that just 26 percent of respondents wanted Congress to repeal the reform law completely. A recent Washington Post poll found support for outright repeal at 18 percent; a Marist poll pegged it at 30 percent.

In other words, what House Republicans just voted to do may be the will of the tea party but it's not "the will of the people."
.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

VIDEO : Racist Cretin, Hater and Idiot Rush Limbaugh mocks the Chinese Language, the clownish behaviour of a Hypocrite without Culture and Respect for the "Other" and the "Otherness"

.
The Hate Merchant at his best :

Rush Limbaugh is very attractive for millions of Fools, Ignorants, Losers and Failed Lives that need his aggressive behavior against others to make up for their inferiority complexes.


Thanks to Lawrence O'Donnell for presenting this embarrassment and shameful behavior in his TV program :

cia5000 | January 19, 2011 |


Limbaugh Mocks Hu Jintao, Chinese Language


Rush Limbaugh Mocks Chinese President Hu Jintao's Language

Two VIDEOs : Super Horrible : Oregon Health Care Horror Stories : Many hours waiting in Emergency Rooms, problems of family with Insurance, being Uninsured, Underinsured, denial of Service even if insured, Permanently Disabled

.

The True Death Panels are the Republicans in the U. S. House of Representatives - If they succeed they will kill millions of people.


Lack of Seriousness and Coverage from Insurers, Astronomical Costs of Insurance.


Paige Shumway wants more Seriousness and Universal Coverage with the Insurance and Health Industry


healthcarestories | October 19, 2007


Paige, a small business owner, discusses her family's health care status as sometimes insured sometimes uninsured.



Oregon Health Care Story, Paige Shumway







healthcarestories | October 08, 2007


Shelley, a Corvallis, Oregon resident and retired RN shares her health care story from the perspective of a health care professional living with a debilitating chronic illness.



Oregon Health Care Story, Shelley Ries

VIDEO, Heed the words of Great Hero Lady Pat Maisch that helped to save Gaby Giffords - The speech of Florida Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz - Pat wanted to ask Gaby to fight for ObamaCare but a violent shooter stopped her free speech

.

RepWassermanSchultz | January 19, 2011


On Wednesday, January 19, 2010 Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-20) took to the floor of the House of Representatives to urge her colleagues to heed the words of Patricia Maisch and protect health insurance reform:


Mr. Speaker, I rise to share the story of Patricia Maisch.


Pat, as her friends call her, lives outside Tucson, and has been fittingly hailed as one of the heroes during the tragic shooting of our colleague Gabby Giffords'.


Pat actually knocked the second gun clip out of the shooter's hand as he was attempting to reload, very likely saving the lives of more innocent people.


She was in line to talk to her Congresswoman, to share that she thought that the title of the repeal bill was disingenuous and because Pat and her husband own a small business north of Tucson.


One of their employees has a pre-existing condition and they've been unable to find insurance for this employee.


Pat wanted to tell Congresswoman Giffords that the health reform law will help them provide insurance for this employee. She wanted Gabby to stand up to attempts to repeal health reform.


Pat was unable to deliver her message to her Representative, but asked that I share it with you now.


Heed the words of Pat Maisch.


Heed the words of millions of Americans needing health care.


Thank you, and I yield back the balance of my time.






Heed the words of Pat Maisch

House approves repeal by 245-189 - Stupid Partisan Politicking and Ugly Maneuvering - Big Waste of Time and Money in the U. S. House - They are destrucive and bickering instead of proposing realistic and practical reforms

.
House Republicans do not want to work for Jobs and the Improvement of the Economy - Only Politicking and Grandstanding Foolishness to satisfy the most ignorant electorate and those moved by Hatred and Prejudice.




POLITICO.COM :
Health Care Repeal Passed By House GOP: Now For The Hard Part
AP Special Correspondent David Espo
January 20, 2011

Health Care Repeal Passed By House GOP: Now For The Hard Part


Some excerpts :

WASHINGTON — House Republicans redeemed a campaign promise to repeal President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, but now must march against the headwinds of a Democratic-controlled Senate and the specter of a White House veto.

The GOP owes its newfound control of the House in part to its appeal last fall to voters outraged about the new health care law. And when the roll call was taken, they prevailed by a lopsided 245-189 margin.

But given the solid wall of opposition among Senate Democrats and the certainty that the president would veto any repeal legislation that reached the White House, Wednesday's House floor vote had to be considered largely symbolic.

In fact, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., might even prevent such repeal legislation from getting to the Senate floor.

In the meantime, House Republicans will follow the House floor vote with work on proposals to replace what critics have derided as "Obama care."

Out with mandates, the requirements in the law to carry health insurance coverage. In with special purchasing pools for people whose medical conditions render them uninsurable.

Out with cuts to Medicare Advantage, the private alternative to the traditional health program for seniors and disabled people. In with limits to jury awards in medical malpractice cases and stricter restrictions on taxpayer funding for abortions.

The House will vote Thursday on a measure directing four committees – Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, Education and Workforce, and Judiciary – to work out the Republican vision for health care.

Like the repeal bill itself, the "replace" part would require the acquiescence of the Senate. Democrats still in charge there say they plan to simply ignore the House. The prospect is for months of maneuvering.
.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

VIDEO, Ed Schultz, January 18, 2011 : Analysis of the Fallacies, Lies, Exaggerations, and Hypocrisy of House Republicans that try ( unsuccessfully ) to repeal the New Health Care Law. - Representative Joseph Crowley, Democrat, New York, speaks out

.
A Lady Stacie Ritter, with a Child that is a Cancer Patient, that family has used the New Health Care for the survival of the Child, she testifies and speaks out against the Republican Repeal. 

Katrina Vanden Heuvel from "The Nation" explains how destructive the repeal of ObamaCare is. 

"Republicans are discriminating, denying, preventing Health Care patients from a cure." 
"The Hypocrisy of Republicans", denying life to patients but cashing Big Fat Tax Cuts. And financing useless stupid unnecessary wars.


StartLoving4 | January 18, 2011




Ed Schultz GOP Boehner Destroying YOUR Health

POLITICO.COM : The Arena : Most Participants, Political Consultants and Strategists tell us about the Utter Stupidity of the House Republicans in pushing for Repeal of Obamacare ( Yes, "Obamacare", Obama should be proud of his accomplishments ) - Few antiObama repealers

.
I choose the most intelligent opinions, commentators, and commenters, These "pundits" are sympathizers of the Democratic Party of course - But you can read the republicans here too :


POLITICO.COM : The Arena : The Utter Stupidity of the House Republicans in pushing for Repeal of Obamacare



Some excerpts :

Kavita Patel Director, Health Policy Program, New America Foundation :

Here are a couple of facts: the Republicans will repeal health care reform in the House. The Senate will not. And the administration will continue to implement the many facets of the Affordable Care Act which millions of patients desperately need. Beyond that, Republicans probably have not done much to hurt themselves by discussing repeal without any alternative, mostly because as we have seen, the country is frustrated with partisan politics and has largely given up on expecting much from either party.

The real story will be beyond today's vote -- once the elected officials go back to their home districts and face people struggling to pay bills and overcrowded emergency rooms, families going bankrupt from rising medical costs -- that is when we will know what the success is beyond a vote that is largely symbolic.


*****************



Timothy Stoltzfus Jost Law Professor at the Washington and Lee University :

The Arena is about politics, but for just a moment can we focus on policy? The problems the Affordable Care Act addresses are real. We now have over 50 million uninsured and the number is growing steadily. Health care is rapidly becoming unaffordable; to the government, to employers, to ordinary Americans. The quality of American health care is inadequate. The ACA addresses these issues; the Republicans do not.

The Republicans are not offering an alternative because, frankly, they don’t have one. They put forth an alternative in 2009 during the ACA debate, and the CBO scored it as having no effect on the percentage of Americans who are uninsured and as reducing the deficit by only half as much as the ACA. The primary ideas the Republicans offer are making it more difficult for malpractice victims to sue and deregulating health insurance by allowing interstate sales.

Real malpractice reform, which would allow the victims of malpractice to recover while protecting doctors from unfounded litigation, is important. The malpractice reform the Republicans support would, according to the CBO, only reduce health care costs by one half a percent and do nothing to improve access. Deregulating health insurance would make insurance less expensive for healthy people, but less accessible to those who really need it.

In fact, the best ideas that Republicans have put forward historically for health reform — managed competition, tax credits to make insurance more accessible, and individual responsibility requirement — are all in the ACA. While the Republicans object to the fact that the Democrats have co-opted their ideas, they have no new ones to offer.


*****************

State Sen. Tim Mathern North Dakota State Senate (D) :

Republicans not offering a specific replacement for “Obamacare” shows their vote to repeal it is an empty political stunt. I suspect someday the term “Obamacare” will signify a successful program of caring for all Americans.

I suggest Congress get to work creating jobs. Right now, we have soldiers in war protecting our freedoms and they come home to no job and no health care for their family. It is time we fight for the freedom from the fear of not having health care.

**********************

Christopher Hahn Democratic consultant :

Here we go again. The GOP is going to make a symbolic stand and accomplish nothing for the American people. Clearly a repeal is going nowhere and they are wasting time that could be better spent on a variety of issues.

If they truly have a problem with health care, they should negotiate with the president and Senate Democrats to fix provisions of the bill that they find objectionable like the 1099 provision. They could have done this during the initial debate but they decided to hold their breath and stand

'''''''''''''''''''''''

****************************

Celinda Lake Democratic strategist :

They will pay a price. Voters, especially women don't want a symbolic debate nor do they want to start all over again. The Democrats are doing exactly the right thing highlighting what insured and uninsured Americans will lose and turning health care back over to insurance company abuses.

*******************************

John Anzalone Democratic consultant, Anzalone Liszt Research :

We all know this is a political stunt that is a dead end and a sop to the red-meat eaters in the Republican Party and tea party sympathizers. The Republicans have overplayed their hand here and have helped Democrats finally find a voice on health care that they were afraid to do before the elections. This vote offers the American people not only a great contrast on what the two parties stand for – one for protecting people from pre-existing conditions and dropped insurance coverage, the other for doing the insurance industry’s business – but it also exposing the Republicans for being overtly and shamelessly political in a time where voters want problems solved in a bipartisan way.

Even Republicans secretly just want to get this vote over with and move on because they have figured out that it is of no value to them.

*********************

Charles Walcott Professor of Political Science, Virginia Tech :

As the new health care law gradually becomes less unpopular, the Republicans are taking a risk in adopting their "party of no" stance toward it. The Democrats did a poor job of explaining and selling the law the first time. With the debate reopened, they have another crack at it, and they seem likely to do better this time. That said, the current GOP ranks contain so many members who have promised to try to repeal the law that they really have no choice but to at least go through the motions. In the long run, this will play well with their base, but may well hurt them a bit with the rest of the electorate.

**************************

Dean Baker Co-director, Center for Economic and Policy Research :

If the Democrats are prepared to speak up for their bill then the Republicans will likely pay a price in the next election. After all, they are voting to allow insurance companies to discriminate against people who are sick -- denying insurance to the people who actually need it. They are also voting to allow insurers to impose lifetime caps so that people with severe medical conditions like cancer will suddenly find out that their insurance no longer covers them.

These are not popular positions. If the public realizes that their representatives in Congress voted for these positions, it is not likely to help them on Election Day.

******************************

Greg Dworkin Contributing Editor, Daily Kos :

The House approach is unhelpful and unwanted gamesmanship. Views on health care are very partisan... a good summary of attitudes are here: fix it, don’t repeal it, or make it stronger. Why does it even need fixing? Republican intransigence at the time of passage along with changing economic conditions and insight as implementation begins.

But the major point is something anyone outside of Washington will tell you... stop with the ideological games, and get to work on jobs. Since repeal loses jobs and increases the deficit, and since new data shows that half of Americans under 65 have pre-existing conditions (protected in the health care bill we now have), and since Americans aren’t committed to repeal (unless you are a Republican), the gamesmanship will fail. And the House will still be tasked on creating jobs. That’s something they can’t afford to fail on.

Of course, they don’t know what to do about any of our real problems, which is why the gamesmanship. They’d still rather blame Democrats than actually do something useful, like cooperate with the majority party on anything. And that is entirely the fault of the uncompromising tea party.

****************************

Arthur 'Jerry' Kremer Chairman, Empire Government Strategies; former member, New York State Assembly :

The concept of repealing without a replacement highlighting the positive elements of the existing law makes the action hypocritical and empty. What started out as a clever political tactic now gives the Democrats talking points against the new majority. The Republicans will have scored zero points on this efforts even with the tea party crowd.

*************************

Thomas J. Whalen Professor of Social Science, Boston University :

The problem for Republicans is that "Obamacare" is steadily gaining public support, not losing it. The more time people get to understand the underlying benefits of the law, the more likely they are to embrace it. And time is on the president's side as there is no realistic way the Republicans can overturn the existing legislation in the near term. Overall, this is a lose-lose political proposition for John Boehner and Co.

*********************

David Biespiel American poet, director, Attic Institute :

As former Republican Sen. Bill Frist noted the other day, the health care law is the "law of the land," and the current congressional Republican Party's repeal effort is unserious.

In the meantime, the Republican repeal will fail. The Senate and the White House are not going to advance the bill. Next week, the media will be focused on a different story. By next month, individual Republicans will be announcing their intentions to run or not for the Republican presidential primary --and the media will be blitzing with those stories, all far from shouts of repeal. Then, the battle to repeal will be rejoined within the Republican Party as early as this spring when Republican presidential candidates stand shoulder to shoulder for their first debate. Every candidate will call for repeal. None, or few, will offer an alternative because it would not win base votes. By the general election of 2012, the Republican standard-bearer will offer a meek "adjust" policy. Both repeal and replace will be dead.

******************

Brad Bannon President, Bannon Communications Research :

I hope the repeal vote in the House makes the tea party types happy because it will make life miserable for GOP members who have to run for reelection in 2012 from swing districts.

Most parts of the new health care reform law are popular. Americans don’t like the individual mandate but they are very supportive of the provisions that prevent insurance companies from abusing their customers. The new law prevents insurance companies from denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions and stops the companies from limiting payments to people who have serious illnesses.

As a Democratic campaign consultant and pollster, I am licking my chops to get a crack at one of these new GOP House members next year. I can see it now. Bill Teaparty's first big vote in Congress was to allow insurance companies to screw you over.

And that was just the first big vote. God only knows what other damage, these crazy kids will do in the next two years.

*********************
.

POLITICO.COM : "GOP hiding true costs of repeal" - By pushing this repeal House Republicans are preparing a massive tax increase for America’s small businesses - Snatching the insurance of millions of people - An assault on the Sick, Weak and Poor

.
In these Republican low and base actions there is also a lot of Racism against the President of the Nation and against Minorities. Many of the "Lower Race" Individuals and Children  would lose the benefits of Health Insurance or it won't be available for them in the coming years. Consequently Minorities and Poor Whites would be subjected to horrible Health Risks to please the Racist Masters in the U. S. House of Representatives.

Republicans are wasting the Time, Money and Resources of the House of Representatives in foolish, impossible projects of Ugly Partisan Politicking and Despicable Politickering. The U. S. Senate and the President would stop this foolish bill in one tenth of a second.

This is nothing but a circus of ridiculous clowns, pointless chatter.. An exercise in Futility ! - Poor Whites have to understand that their fate is tied to that of Minorities : that is everything that harms Minorities harms the Poor and Old Whites as well.

And I tell you this will all due respect : There are many Old Whites, more than Old Minority Persons.



POLITICO.COM
GOP hiding true costs of repeal
January 19, 2001

By TIMOTHY STOLTZFUS JOST
Timothy Stoltzfus Jost is a professor at the Washington and Lee University School of Law. He blogs on POLITICO’s Arena and at Health Affairs.

GOP hiding true costs of repeal


Some excerpts :

It is ironic that the first order of business planned for the new Republican House is a massive tax increase for America’s small businesses. They may not know it, though.

The percentage of very small businesses offering health insurance to their workers increased in 2010, despite economic hard times. Several reports attribute this increase to the health care tax credit, which covers 35 percent of their costs in providing health insurance to employees.

If the Republican repeal bill passes, small businesses that paid to insure their employees through 2010, counting on this tax credit, will have to pay a substantially larger tax bill in April.

Many large employers, including state and local governments, will also lose the retiree reinsurance coverage they have relied on for the past year to cover 80 percent of expenses of their high-cost retirees. For employers, the loss of this assistance may mean the end of their retiree programs.
......................

More than a million Americans under age 26 would lose health insurance with the repeal, but Republicans clearly don’t want this information broadcast. If health care reform does not remain in place, how many millions of Medicare beneficiaries will likely have to send back the $250 check they got last year because of their high drug costs? How many hundreds of millions of dollars more will beneficiaries spend this year for brand-name drugs that would otherwise cost half as much or for preventive care that would be offered without cost?
..........

If hearings were held, Republicans would have to explain to cancer survivors why they think cutting off life-preserving treatment when an annual or lifetime limit is reached is good public policy. Why are private insurance death panels a good idea, while the imaginary government death panels are so frightening?
.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

American Admiral James Stavridis : "More Hispanics live in the United States today than there are Canadians in Canada or Spaniards in Spain". "The purchasing power of our Hispanic population is pushing toward 1 trillion dollars, annually"

.
Admiral James Stavridis wrote a book : "Partnership for the Americas: Western Hemisphere Strategy and U.S. Southern Command" - How a high level military official views Latin America.


This is about U. S. Foreign Policy for Latin America and the Caribbean - The Politics and Policies for the Western Hemisphere.


The admiral underlines the fact that the Latino population in the U.S. comes into the equation to explain Latin America's importance:



Two Weeks Notice : A Latin American Politics Blog
James Stavridis' Partnership for the Americas
January 18, 2011

James Stavridis' Partnership for the Americas


Mr Greg Weeks ( from Two Weeks Notice ) excerpts from the Admiral's book :

Continuing with this human metaphor, one might argue that the most important linkage between a nation and the nations around it and around the world is demographics. According to the August 2008 U.S. Census Bureau report, about 15 percent of us—just over 46 million—are of Hispanic descent. When undocumented Spanish-speaking workers are added to the count, it is fair to assume that the United States is now the second-largest Spanish speaking country in the world, only after Mexico. For added perspective, more Hispanics live in the United States today than there are Canadians in Canada or Spaniards in Spain. Meanwhile, the purchasing power of our burgeoning Hispanic population is pushing toward 1 trillion dollars, annually (p. 3).
.