As we look forward to the inauguration of the first democratic president of our young century, we are perhaps just as eager to evict the current office holder from "our house" as we are to install the new one.
Given George W. Bush's disastrous record and poll numbers, we can expect the culmination of his service--if we can call it that--to be greeted with significantly subdued fanfare. But we nonetheless face a bit of a conundrum that may significantly affect political debates for at least a decade. Some will attribute the failure of our 43rd president to his culture of incompetence. Others will emphasize the failure of his conservatism to address both domestic and international challenges.
After ten days of aerial attacks and rocket salvos, the conflict in Gaza has now become an all out ground offensive. During that time, Obama, Hillary and Biden have maintained a studied silence.
Is this just pre-inauguration protocol? Or does it signal an approval of the Bush administration's policy towards Hamas and Israel? If so, is this a good thing?
Consider this an open thread on the mounting conflict in Gaza.
"Now might be a good time to crack open your neighbor's skull and feast upon the goo inside."
You heard it right folks! MSNBC has the story. Seems like that two trillion in new debt, on top of the eight or nine trillion already existing, comes at a hefty price:
But about 40 percent of the debt held by private investors will mature in a year or less, according to Treasury officials. When those loans come due, the Treasury will have to borrow more money to repay them, even as it launches perhaps the most aggressive expansion of U.S. debt in modern history.
Forty percent? FORTY PERCENT?!?!? Jesus H. Tapdancing Christ on a Pogo Stick! By my calculations, that's something akin to 25-33% of every tax dollar goes to simply repaying that interest. Good God, why didn't we just fund the bailout through American Express?
Someone remind me why it is we haven't risen up as one to smite these assholes?
Serious government spending on public works and infrastructure projects is what's required in times like this. Problem is, during the good times, the Republicans' guiding philosophy has been "CUT TAXES!" and "Kill brown people!" instead of "Direct the surplus towards repaying the debt!"
Thanks again, Gee Dubya. What would we ever have done with all that extra money anyway?
The IDF said that a large amount of troops from the Armored Corps, Engineering Corps and Infantry Corps entered the territory with the purpose of destroying Hamas infrastructure and preventing rocket fire by taking control of launching pads "in order to greatly reduce the quantity of rockets fired at Israel and Israeli civilians."The IDF warned that terrorists using civilians as human shields would bear full responsibility for their fate. The IDF spokesperson emphasized that "anyone who hides a terrorist or weapons in his house is considered a terrorist," adding that "the residents of Gaza are not the target of the operation."
As if Americans needed any more reminders of how closely aligned with the Republican party the Fox News network is, New Year's Eve brings us this new tidbit.
During it's broadcast from New York City, the network encouraged viewers to send in text messages which, if approved by moderators, would scroll across the Fox ticker at the bottom of the screen.
Moderators, however, let this one slip: "HAPPY NEW YEAR AND LET'S HOPE THE MAGIC NEGRO DOES A GOOD JOB. LOVE JEN AND JOHN C."
I realize that it was a viewer comment that "slipped by" a moderator, but still... c'mon, guys. Way to perpetuate your own stereotype!
I have been watching Morning Joe again. For better or worse, I am hopelessly addicted to that show. Perhaps I am a bit masochistic to subject myself to such a blowhard fool as Joe Scarborough each morning, but I will admit that the show is fun, and they have a wide variety of interesting guests each morning.
I do find myself screaming at the tv, telling Mr. Scarborough what an idiot he is on a regular basis. Today I received a late Christmas gift from Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski who did my bidding this morning. Please watch this hilarious clip of the esteemed Dr. Brzezinski laying a fabulous smack down on a very silly little man.
Single Payer health care means that there is one entity that pays for all healthcare. Typically, it also means that the single payer is also the single entity that collects the money to pay for health care. Since the early 20th century, the AMA and (later) the health insurance-hospital industry (collectively, the medical-industrial complex) have labeled this form of payment "socialized medicine." That is an untruth.
Socialism is when the government owns the means of production--as in, for instance, when the government buys stock in a big insurance company (AIG) or a bank (Citibank) or an auto maker (GM??). Therefore, "socialized medicine" means that the government owns the hospitals, the doctor offices, and employs the doctors, etc. As a matter of fact, we have a very large "socialized medicine" entity in theUS now--it is called the Veteran's Administration. We have long had other forms of "socialized medicine" such as county, city and state hospitals. We have clinics run by various governments. All of these are "socialized medicine.'
Recently a friend from D.C. came to visit me, and among the things he wanted to know about was local politics; somehow it led to a discussion on Homeland Security, its impact on local politics, and how the local community felt about the rapid building [and subsequent ugliness] of the Border fence.
But I told him that we couldn't just talk about it, we had to go see it.
