Great Day for America

How do you get angry, hateful, recalcitrant, petulant Republicans to get anything done in Congress? Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) knows.

You threaten to take away their vacation.

"No Christmas vacation until you get your homework done," is essentially what Harry told them. Oh, they balked and whined and complained (and I think John Boehner cried) all over cable TV.

But this week, the Senate passed three important bills:

• The 9/11 First Responders bill
• The Repeal of Don't Ask / Don't Tell
• The Nuclear Arms Control Treaty (The START Treaty. "START" stands for Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.)

President Obama signed the second one today (photo above).

This means that:

• Congress will provide up to $4.2 billion in new aid to survivors of the 9/11 terrorism attack on the World Trade Center and responders who became ill working in its ruins
• Patriotic Americans in the US Armed Forces fighting for freedom and liberty will no longer have to deal with institutionalized discrimination against themselves
  
• The US and Russia would restart onsite weapons inspections Republicans should have endorsed all along, since Ronald Reagan's edict of "trust, but verify." (Reagan also spoke of his dream of a world without nuclear weapons at all. He would be a Democrat today.)

Republican Jackass of the Week

Tom Coburn.
Republican Jackass.
From Oklahoma.

This Jackass threatened to be the one to hold up funding for the American firefighters, cops and rescue workers -- the First Responders -- in the days and weeks following 9/11. Yes, the very people who Republicans held up as heroes and exploited in every campaign with flags waving in the background since 9/11, are the ones they refused to help with hospitalization, even though many of these heroes are now dying of cancer, lung diseases, etc, all related to 9/11.

Why would Republican Jackass Tom Coburn object? Because, he claims, the bill was "fast tracked" through Congress and didn't get heard in a committee first. But that's a lie. Fact is the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held a hearing on the bill in June -- and Tom Coburn, who is actually on that committee, didn't bother to show up for it.

Jackass.

Regressive Senate Republicans

Today the Regressive Republicans in the US Senate blocked two important bills from passing. It was a spiteful move by Senate Regressives, keeping their promise/threat to not allow anything to pass until they get their bonus tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires.

The first bill would have funded the health needs of ailing 9/11 responders and survivors. The second bill would have ended "Don't Ask Don't Tell."

So the Regressives continue to act like spoiled brats, holding their breath and refusing to vote on any issue until their ultra-rich campaign contributors get their additional tax breaks. Meanwhile, Americans who put their own lives on the line -- and are still suffering the consequences -- to help in NYC on 9/11 will not get funding.

And at the same time, "Don't Ask Don't Tell" will not be abolished, even though the Commander in Chief, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Secretary of Defense all have repeatedly said they were in favor of ending it. In addition, polls show that 70% of the American public, and 70% of active service members also want it to end.

How ironic that patriotic American soldiers, fighting for "freedom, liberty," and all that, still have to deal with institutionalized discrimination.

Fox Noise Internal Memo

A memo leaked to Media Matters from an insider at the foreign-owned, Saudi-financed Fox channel shows, once again, that their on air people are instructed on which specific words to use -- and which to avoid -- to shape the news and promote their rightwing agenda.

From Media Matters:

At the height of the health care reform debate last fall, Bill Sammon, Fox News' controversial Washington managing editor, sent a memo directing his network's journalists not to use the phrase "public option."

Instead, Sammon wrote, Fox's reporters should use "government option" and similar phrases -- wording that a top Republican pollster had recommended in order to turn public opinion against the Democrats' reform efforts.

Sources familiar with the situation in Fox's Washington bureau have told Media Matters that Sammon uses his position as managing editor to "slant" Fox's supposedly neutral news coverage to the right. Sammon's "government option" email is the clearest evidence yet that Sammon is aggressively pushing Fox's reporting to the right -- in this case by issuing written orders to his staff.

Two months prior to Sammon's 2009 memo, Republican pollster Frank Luntz appeared on Sean Hannity's August 18 Fox News program. Luntz scolded Hannity for referring to the "public option" and encouraged Hannity to use "government option" instead.

Luntz argued that "if you call it a 'public option,' the American people are split," but that "if you call it the 'government option,' the public is overwhelmingly against it."

And here's the memo:

From: Sammon, Bill
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 8:23 AM
To: 054 -FNSunday; 169 -SPECIAL REPORT; 069 -Politics; 030 -Root (FoxNews.Com); 036 -FOX.WHU; 050 -Senior Producers; 051 -Producers
Subject: friendly reminder: let's not slip back into calling it the "public option"

1) Please use the term "government-run health insurance" or, when brevity is a concern, "government option," whenever possible.

2) When it is necessary to use the term "public option" (which is, after all, firmly ensconced in the nation's lexicon), use the qualifier "so-called," as in "the so-called public option."

3) Here's another way to phrase it: "The public option, which is the government-run plan."

4) When newsmakers and sources use the term "public option" in our stories, there's not a lot we can do about it, since quotes are of course sacrosanct.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's not a holiday celebration if there's a slaughtered, tortured bird on the table. Here are some interesting articles from all over the country on celebrating A VEGAN THANKSGIVING!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/15/AR2010111507286.html

http://www.pbpulse.com/dining/holiday-dining/2010/11/17/a-vegan-style-thanksgiving-meal-rich-with-the-flavors-of-autumn/

http://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/index.ssf/2010/11/save_a_turkey_eat_vegan_this_t.html

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/08/health/20101108_thanksgiving.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/avital-binshtock/how-to-green-your-thanksg_b_785499.html

http://www.inthisweek.com/view.php?id=2428013

http://www.stargazette.com/article/20101119/VIEWPOINTS03/11190306/1121/Spare-the-turkey-this-Thanksgiving

The Quitter's Ratings Plummet

"What's that? Another precipitous drop and I'm cancelled? But what does 'precipitous' mean?"

Sarah Palin, the part time politician who aborted her own governorship halfway through her first term, has lost almost HALF the audience on Sarah Palin's Alaska, the so-called reality show that's really a long form campaign commercial seen on The Learning Channel.

From CBS News:

The show fell 40 percent on Sunday night, to 3 million viewers, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The premiere drew 5 million viewers, setting a ratings record for a TLC show debut.

Only 885,000 of those viewers were in the coveted 18-49 age bracket, dropping 44 percent from last week. The report states that the show's median age is 57 -- fifteen years older than TLC's average.

Corporate Profits Hit Record Highs

According to Commerce Department report, U.S. companies turned in record profits for the third quarter — nearly $1.66 trillion, the highest amount of profit ever!

"American businesses earned profits at an annual rate of $1.659 trillion in the third quarter, according to a Commerce Department report released Tuesday. That is the highest figure recorded since the government began keeping track over 60 years ago."

Much to the chagrin of the rightwing blowhards on Fox and AM radio, this managed to happen with a Democratic House, a Democratic Senate and a Democratic President.

And yet, the Obama-hating Republicans in Congress and in the media continue to push the lie that the President is somehow "anti business" or "against corporations."

And the Regressive Republicans in Congress STILL want to give special tax breaks to these corporations -- the very same ones that outsource American jobs overseas. Apparently making record-breaking profits never seen before is just not enough.

GUILTY of Corruption!

Tom DeLay, former Republican House Majority Leader, was found guilty of illegally funneling corporate money to Texas candidates (money laundering) in a Texas court today. He may find himself in prison for life.

Here's what he did: He conspired with two associates to use his Political Action Committee to send almost a quarter million dollars to the Republican National Committee, which, in turn sent the same amount back to 7 Republicans in Texas. The money helped the Republicans take control of the Texas House, set up new districts allowing even more Republicans to be voted in, making DeLay even more powerful.

Compare this to the story about Charlie Rangel of NY, which fox and the rightwing radio blowhards love to scream about. Rangel, a Democrat, recently was found guilty of ethics violations resulting in a censure (basically a "stern talking to") because -- are you ready for this? -- while raising money for an educational center charity, he used House stationary to solicit donations and filled out certain forms incorrectly, and improperly reported rental income. Heavens to Betsy!

DeLay, on the other hand, engaged in money laundering to corrupt the entire political system in Texas to make himself more powerful.

One filled out forms incorrectly while raising money for a charity; the other laundered a quarter million dollars to corrupt the system for personal gain.

Enjoy your time in prison, Tommy! No more dancing with stars for you.

Republican Jackass of the Week

His name is Andy Harris. He's from Maryland. And he's a Republican freshman Congressman.

He staunchly campaigned against "Obamacare," yet had a hissy fit when he found out that HIS health care benefits, furnished by the US taxpayers -- the same kind he rails against YOU having -- wouldn't kick in for 28 days.

"This is the only employer I've ever worked for where you don't get coverage the first day you are employed," he was quoted as saying.

Kinda brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it? Guy runs on repealing health care for millions of people who haven't had any kind of health care for years, yet has a temper tantrum because he has to wait a whole 28 days before his free health care takes effect.

Perfect Summary of the Recent Election

Couldn't have put it better myself, written by an anonymous blog poster in the Sun Sentinel:

Making the statement that the "voters have spoken," based on, lets be kind, a 60% vote from 18% of eligible voters is delusional. Americans stayed home in droves, choosing to watch TV instead.

[In 2006] the republicans were chucked because they let wall street bankers run the financial system into the toilet, and waged two wars -- supposedly to "keep America safe" while enriching their buddies -- and supported big corporations who owe NO allegiance to America. Their fearless leader thought the Constitution was only a piece of paper, and that whatever the president does is legal, just because.

The democrats got chucked because they couldn't do anything to change that in the face of a filibuster machine in the senate. Now we are back to republicans, in some insane attempt to fix the problem by doing the same thing again. Except now, in their win-at-any-cost drive for power, the republicans have mobilized the wingnuts, racists and armed militias. What's next, torchlight parades?

RadioVegan Blog is ONE Year Old Today

President Obama's Zillion Dollar Trip

Have you heard that President Obama is going to India for ten days at a cost of $2 BILLION dollars! That's $200 million a day! Unbelievable!

Of course it is. Because it's not true.

Who's been repeating this outlandishly bizarre story? The usual suspects: Drudge, Fox, Michele Bachmann, rightwing AM radio blowhards, etc.

Where did it begin? An unnamed source.

Any truth to the price tag? None whatsoever.

The Seattle Times and AP report, "Among the dubious claims: Obama will be accompanied by 3,000 guests, 34 warships (including an aircraft carrier) and 40 planes, including two Marine One helicopters that will be dismantled, flown overseas and reconstructed there to fly the president and his family around India. The Obamas reportedly booked the entire Taj Mahal Palace hotel for their entourage."

A Pentagon spokesman laughed off the outlandish claim.

"I will take the liberty this time of dismissing as absolutely absurd this notion that somehow we were deploying 10 percent of the Navy ... in support of the president's trip to Asia," he said Thursday at a Pentagon briefing. "That's just comical. Nothing close to that is being done."

Even the very conservative Wall Street Journal -- owned by none other than Rupert Murdock -- said, "The report is demonstrably incorrect. It says the White House had blocked off the entire Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai – it hasn’t – and that the press traveling with Mr. Obama will be staying there. We won’t. Besides, the press pays its own way at considerable cost to the media outlets, not the U.S. taxpayer."

For the record, American presidents' trips generally cost between $10 million and $40 million (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2013350380_tripcost05.html), for a typical 10-day trip.

Another example of the Republican Hate Machine cranking out the lies.

By the way, the purpose of the trip is to open up more markets for trade with the US. Shouldn't Republicans be thrilled over that? Not if President Obama is the one who accomplishes it.

Keith Olbermann Suspended

The more you think about this, the more ridiculous you realize it is.

It was discovered that Keith Olbermann, host of msnbc's Countdown with Keith Olbermann, had donated the legal amount of $2,400 to three Democratic candidates just before Election Day of this year. Apparently this violates NBC's rules against contributing to political campaigns, which msnbc's president claimed was the reason for his suspension. Yet, other political commentators (Joe Scarborough and Pat Buchanan) at this same network have done the same in the past, but donated to Republican candidates. And GE, the corporation that owns NBC and msnbc, has given millions to political campaigns for years.

Rightwingers who revile Keith are giddy at the suspension. Yet they have no answer when reminded that one of Fox's hosts, Sean Hannity, has given over $5,000 to Michele Bachman's political committee this past summer.

It’s a good thing Fox doesn’t have the same journalistic standards as msnbc, or they wouldn’t have been able to give ONE MILLION DOLLARS to the Republican Governors' Association this past summer.

It’s a good thing Fox doesn’t have the same journalistic standards as msnbc, or Bill O’Reilly wouldn’t have been able to pay off Andrea Mackris to the tune of 2 MILLION DOLLARS to make his sexual harassment suit disappear.

Seems like Keith's measly $2,400 donations would be the last thing to worry about. But hey, look how much free publicity he's getting on the Fox Noise Channel and CNN.

Hey Keith, CNN's new 8:00 show is doing horribly in the ratings. Looks like there may be an opening there soon...

Elections 2010

It's not as bad as expected.

This “tsunami” of Regressives and Teabaggers some have predicted just hasn’t been as “overwhelming” as had been predicted. Yeah, we’re stuck with Rick Scott as governor and Marco Rubio as senator in Florida, and Regressives took back the House, but not in the huge, massive numbers they all expected and bragged about.

The Republicans now have 4 more governor seats; they have 54 more House seats.

Good for them.

But they didn’t win back the Senate! And they don’t have ANYTHING close to a veto-proof majority in Congress. This means that the day the new Congress takes office, it will be business as usual.

Regressives have a majority in the House and the Democrats have a majority in the Senate. But now Republicans can’t sit on their hands and scream "no" on every bill like petulant children. If things don’t get better soon, it will, in part, be THEIR fault.

If the few extremist Teabaggers who actually won think they’re gonna get their radical agenda through with the run-of-the-mill Republicans in Congress, and the Dem-controlled Senate, and have it signed by the President, they’re in for a rude awakening. Ain’t gonna happen. All those threats of eliminating the Dept of Education, the IRS, Civil Rights Legislation, etc are not gonna happen. And since NOT ONE OF THEM has ever been specific about what they’d cut, now they’ll have to deal with reality. Quite a sobering day coming up for them.

In addition, none of the most extreme fringe far rightwing nutjobs won.

• The Delaware meatball-eating witch with mouse brains was soundly defeated.
  
• So was Palladino, the guy who threatened the NY Post reporter.
  
• Angle, the one who thinks it’s not a bad idea to use “second amendment remedies” on congressmen she disagrees with was soundly defeated (thank goodness for her, since the second amendment remedies would therefore be applied to HER as well).
  
• And the guy who needs a shave in Alaska (whose rented thugs fake arrested and illegally held a reporter) was not elected either.

“I am not a witch.” Well guess what, honey? You’re not a Senator either.