Yesterday I fell further behind in replying to comments and visiting blogs. That is because I spent the day yesterday at Oregon State Prison doing volunteer work for 7th Step. I could not have felt more proud of my guys. 120 prisoners, who earn an average of $40 – $45 per month each, raised $1,000 to donate to a local charity. This is the bus I took yesterday morning.
This is me in my motel room.
If I look tired, it’s because I am.
Therefore there will be no short takes today and I do not expect to answer comments or return visits as I won’t be home until this afternoon. I should be caught up by Monday.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today it took me 3:51. To do it, click here. How did you do?
Tuesday was a great day for Teabuggery, but none of the Republican winners has such a vile past as the surprise Republican nominee for the Florida Governorship, Rick Scott, who astroturfed Tea Party events so that he could profit from uninsured Americans. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Business executive and political newcomer Rick Scott narrowly defeated Attorney General Bill McCollum in the Republican primary for Florida governor, the Associated Press reported late Tuesday.
Scott accepted the GOP nomination in a Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina hotel ballroom filled with supporters, and set them chanting his campaign slogan, "Let’s get to work."
Moments earlier, McCollum refused to quit, rallying supporters and urging them to prepare "for a long night."
As of 11:30 p.m., Scott had collected 592,346 or 46.4 percent of 1,275,458 votes cast, compared to 553,631 for McCollum.
The Democratic primary for governor, however, was not as close. Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink pulled away early and was declared the winner shortly after 9 p.m. by the AP…
Rachel Maddow does a fantastic expose on this Republican monster, who avoided prison only by hiding behind his corporation, and discusses how the polls could have been so wrong with Nate Silver.
Republican Congressman Mike Pence proved once again that the GOP only has one plan for the economy: No Millionaire Left Behind!
Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) went on Fox News last night to back up House Minority Leader John Boehner’s (R-OH) over-the-top call for President Obama to sack his entire economic team, including Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and top adviser Larry Summers. “The President ought to ask for and accept the resignation of the Secretary of the Treasury and Larry Summers, and he ought to bring a new team,” Pence said.
But beyond that, Pence, like the rest of his GOP colleagues, didn’t offer any ideas of his own that would help the ailing economy. When host Greta Van Susteren asked what, besides tax cuts, he would do to turn the economy around, Pence at first dodged, but then said tax cuts for the rich would be the way to go [Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda delinked]:
VAN SUSTEREN: What — besides the sort of the usual — the — you know, the tax program, extending the Bush tax cuts that I know the Republican Party want, what is it that you could do to turn it around?
PENCE: Yes, look, the enemy of our prosperity is uncertainty. … the greatest uncertainty right now is — and you just heard — you heard the Vice President again kind of defend it in passing, their tax cuts — their tax increases on the rich — is this administration actually thinks that it would be a good idea to allow a tax increase on job creators on January 1st, 2011. You know, higher taxes never got anybody hired.
Watch it:
In addition to creating massive deficits, extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans would do little to help the economy and create jobs. In fact, the evidence suggests that if the GOP got their tax cuts for the rich, the economy could get worse. After the Bush tax cuts were enacted, the country “registered the weakest jobs and income growth in the post-war period.”… [emphasis original]
Even in the soft-ball atmosphere of the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise, Pence was unable to come up with one more thing. As much as pundits say that Democrats can’t run against the past, they fail to point out that the past is the only future the Republican Party offers. We know where eight years of No Millionaire Left Behind took this country. For that reason:
Every Republican in office is one Republican too many.
Alan Simpson put his foot in his mouth big time, and in the process provoked rage from women across the country. However, he deserves anger from all of us, not just women.
Former Sen. Alan Simpson needed only a few ill-chosen words to udderly [sic] infuriate a lot of Americans.
He compared Social Security to "a milk cow with 310 million t-ts."
The barnyard boo-boo by the cochairman of President Obama’s fiscal commission outraged feminists, Social Security recipients and many liberal Democrats.
Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Peter DeFazio, a Democrat, called the comments "beyond comprehension" and asked the President to remove Simpson from the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.
The National Organization for Women said Simpson was unfit to lead the reform effort.
Simpson, 78, quickly apologized for his not so bons mots.
The Wyoming Republican, known for his biting sense of humor, goofed-up in an e-mail earlier this week to Ashley Carson, executive director of the Older Women’s League.
He took issue with a column Carson wrote accusing him of "ageism and sexism" for weighing Social Security cuts… [emphasis added]
To answer Simpson’s false claim, the way to deal with Social Security is to eliminate the income cap, but Keith is right. Social security has nothing to do with the deficit. The only possible reason to cut benefits or raise the retirement age is to set the system up for stealing the trust, over $2 trillion in T-Bills. Social security should be placed off the table, period. Find the savings in war spending and corporate welfare. As for Simpson, he should be fired immediately. Obama appointed him early when bending over backwards to be bipartisan.
Also, Simpson personifies the Republican attitude that Social Security is a form of welfare. It is not. I may be sucking on the … never mind …, but I spent a lifetime buying the damn cow!
Yesterday I fell behind. Because I won’t have my usual ride to Salem for my volunteer work in the prison, I’m taking the bus today, spending the night in a motel, and taking the train home tomorrow morning. When I emailed the staff advisor to remind him to include my O² tank, he replied that I was not on the attendees list, and it was too late to put me on it. Now, I had advanced purchased my tickets and motel room to get a discount, so those are non-refundable. Making this trip is a big sacrifice for me. It took the rest of the day to get them to correct the mistake and put me back on the list. So I did not reply to comments or return visits yesterday. I will not today, for obvious reasons. I may not tomorrow, because I’ll be tired out when I return home. I will catch up this weekend. I may not post tomorrow morning, and if I do, it will be later than usual.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today it took me 3:55. To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Washington Post: Ken Mehlman, former chairman of the Republican National Committee and the former campaign manager for George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election bid, has told his family and colleagues that he is gay.
This is the same guy that courted the rabid religious right for Potomac Pinocchio with hateful homophobia in the Republican platform. While I applaud his present honesty, he owes the LBGT community a major apology.
From USA Today: Wal-Mart (WMT) asked the Supreme Court Wednesday to throw out a class-action lawsuit against it that the retailer says is the largest employment suit ever.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in April that Wal-Mart should face charges in court that it pays women less than men for the same jobs. The lawsuit, which covers all female workers at Wal-Mart since 1998, could cost the company billions if it loses.
Given the current makeup of SCOTUS, I’m not holding my breath, but few things could be sweeter than a $multi-billion judgment against Wal-Fart.
From Public Policy Polling: There continues to be very little change in the state of the Louisiana Senate race. PPP finds David Vitter leading Charlie Melancon by a 51-41 margin, similar to the 9 and 12 point spreads he showed in our previous two polls.
I wonder if Diaper Dave would be doing as well if Neocon Nero had not fiddled in Crawford while New Orleans drowned and whitened the city by leaving the minority areas derelict.
FYI, I’m not ignoring the story of the GOP inspired hate crime against a Muslim taxi driver. I’m holding off until I have enough background to do quality analysis.
John Boehner took a rare vacation from the tanning beds, the golf course, and the Washington bar scene to give what he called a major economic address. If this is the best the Republicans have to offer we have reason to celebrate.
Rep. John Boehner, the perpetually tanned House Minority leader, unveiled his plan to get the economy going today in a speech [Boner delinked] before the Cleveland City Club. Hold on to your job — if he becomes Speaker, things will get worse.
Understandably, Boehner said not a word about the policies that led to the Great Recession. In fact, he said not a word about the economic collapse. Instead, he argued only that America’s economy was in trouble because business was scared to death. It isn’t the worst recession since the Great Depression, the lack of demand and customers that is plaguing businesses; it is the fear of tax hikes and regulation.
In response, Boehner detailed a five point plan to "break the ongoing economic uncertainty."
Three of the five points are basically rhetorical. He calls on Obama to pledge to veto any future tax increase. He calls on Obama to fire his economic team. And he pledge to eliminate the 1099 tax return mandate that requires small businesses to report any expenditure on goods and services over $600, an aggravation that Democrats are intent on reversing also.
The last two points have greater substance. Boehner would keep tax rates where they are, opposing Obama’s plan to let the Bush tax cuts expire for couples making more than $250,000 a year, or the top 2% of Americans. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities estimates this would add about $1 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years.
Second, he would impose an immediate cut of about 25% on domestic discretionary spending, returning it back to 2008 levels, repealing any further recovery spending. Later, he suggests that the cut with a "hard cap" (presumably for 3 years) would save $340 billion, recouping a little more than a third of his proposed top end tax cut.
That’s it. (Later in the speech, Boehner promises to unveil a more complete agenda in the future, and suggests possibilities, including the conservative standards — less spending, more tax cuts, less regulation, and more corporate trade treaties. Details to come later.)… [emphasis added]
Keith Olbermann covered this with two video segments. In the first, he goes over the plan, and Biden’s response, and discusses it with a small business owner in Boehner’s district.
#1. This cannot be part of a Republican plan, because Republicans lack the power to institute what Obama may and may not veto. This just became a four point plan.
Second #1. I agree with Boehner that Obama should fore Geithner and Summers. I would add Bernanke to that list. However, that cannot be part of a Republican plan, because Republicans lack the power to institute it. This just became a three point plan.
Third #1. Democrats proposed reversing the 1099 mandate, before Boehner did. It’s part of the Democratic Plan. This just became a two point plan.
Fourth #1. Less taxes for the uber-rich. What a surprise! This will do nothing to stimulate the economy.
#2. A 25% cut on discretionary spending is not a plan unless it includes what to cut and by how much. This just became a one point plan: No Millionaire left Behind.
Are you surprised that the great new plan is the same as the old plan that drove this nation to the bring of financial collapse?
Although I am a Democrat, my positions and ideas remain my own, and when my party is wrong, I say so. Sadly, this is one of those times.
The Senate’s yearlong failure to pass a food safety overhaul has hampered the ability of the Obama administration to quickly recall the 600 million eggs connected to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened nearly 2,000 people, experts and lawmakers say.
The House approved its version of the food safety bill in July 2009 — that was more than 60 recalls of Food and Drug Administration regulated products ago, according to a report by the Make Our Food Safe coalition. But the Senate has continued to drag its feet.
The pressure is now on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who has consistently pushed the bill to the back burner. Lawmakers, aides and analysts say Reid must bring the bill to the floor when the Senate returns in September in light of the major deficiencies in a nearly century-old regulatory system —- and one of the worst food-related outbreaks yet.
“Without the muscle of an updated law to actually carry out these rules, we’re afraid of more outbreaks like these,” said Erik Olsen, deputy director of the Pew Health Group’s Food Portfolio.
“This is really an object lesson in why we need the food safety legislation.”
Current law is so weak that it does not permit the FDA to authorize recalls. Instead, the government must rely on the responsible parties to issue recalls themselves — a loophole that often translates into weeks or months of negotiations between the government and companies afraid of losing profits before contaminated food gets called back.
The pending legislation not only gives the FDA recall authority but also imposes stricter rules on mandatory inspections, trace-back protocol, access to company records and whistleblower protections — all of which are lacking in the current food safety law, which is more than 70 years old… [emphasis added]
My instinct was to stop right here. The Nevada Leg Hound, Harry Reid must be too busy humping Republican legs to get this done. But I dug a little deeper and learned that he has been humping Democratic legs this time. One belongs to Dianne Feinstein. She wants the bill modified to add a ban on BPA in food and beverage containers. Byron Dorgan wants the bill modified to include drug reimportation from Canada. Feinstein has backed off and is now willing to offer her BPA ban as an amendment. I support the ban, but it’s a poison pill to the Chamber of Commerce, which owns the Republicans. They will filibuster the amendment. Dorgan is willing to do the same, and it will have the same results, because it’s a poison pill to Big Pharma, which owns the Republicans. I support drug reimportation, but oppose Dorgan’s amendment on the principal that amendments should be directly related to the bills to which they are attached. I screamed when Republicans packed necessary bills with unrelated amendments and will not change my tune, just because my party is in the majority. For these Democrats to have stalled this bill for a year while piddling over these modifications, and for the Leg Hound to have allowed it are shameful. Lives are at stake. lets get this done.
Yesterday I replied to comments and returned visits before the heat hit. It is now 94° at my desk, but it will only last one more day. I hope to stay caught up today, but I am sleep-short, have errands to run, and have volunteer work to do in preparation for my volunteer day in prison tomorrow.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today it took me 3:49. To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Washington Post: Shirley Sherrod politely declined to return to the federal government weeks after she was forced to resign amid a race-laden political controversy.
That’s a shame, but who can blame her after the way Vilsack caved in to Republican criminals and their media minion.
From Think Progress: This weekend, Glenn Beck will hold a rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial that is being billed as a “non-political event that pays tribute to America’s service personnel and other upstanding citizens who embody our nation’s founding principles of integrity, truth and honor.”
It it’s not political, it must be religious, with Beck casting himself as messiah. Beyond doubt, integrity, truth and honor will not be welcome there.
