The Party of Michael Moore

But when Moore returned with his next film in 2007, O’Reilly was still very much on the warpath.  Read more 

Single-payer is good for business

My growing software company’s health-insurance premiums have more than doubled over the past four years. This is not sustainable and the governor’s bill would do nothing to change it; rather, it would preserve the status quo of the failed “market” system, which actually provides more of a monopoly than a competitive market. SB 300, in contrast, would ensure full coverage for all Pennsylvania residents, regardless of their employment or social status.

Say it with me, health insurance is not healthcare.

Thanks to my beloved, who repaired the radio in my truck.

In what is being heralded as one of the most momentous and politically astute moves of this extended primary campaign, Hillary Clinton’s Communication Director, Howard Wolfson, has signaled that the Clinton Campaign will be withdrawing from the North Carolina contest and focusing all of their efforts on the other May 6th primary in the state of Indiana.  Read more 

and because I found this at the 527 formerly known as DailyKos, it took a minute for the shock to wear off.

The Senate Commerce Committee is holding a hearing on the future of the Internet, and a big part of that equation is net neutrality. I know net neutrality is important to a lot of you here, but Senators haven’t heard from you in a while on the issue, and I want to make sure we keep this front and center - it’s that important.

Go read John Kerry’s Diary

You can be a Democrat if you’re First Nations, Hispanic, Asian, Caucasian, or African-American. You can be a Democrat if you’re a woman or a man, old or young, wealthy or not.
All you have to be is for decency. Examples:

 Read more 

Since Barack Obama likes Jay-Z so much, and songs like “99 Problems (But a Bitch Ain’t One)” and “Dirt Off Your Shoulder,” I think it’s only fair that we help her pick out some theme music.

Some suggestions:  Read more 

In truth, has there ever been a war fought to protect women? Against those who hate women for being womanly and who abuse/kill/hurt them especially because they are women? War happens for a lot of reasons, and people explain them away with even more. But I find myself wondering, for all the bravado of those who advocate bloodshed and killing, is it ever because lots of women are being mistreated? In truth, I mean, not in rhetoric. This post made me have such thoughts, I’m not sure they are profound but I do wonder.

In the end, war and invasion and occupation seem mostly to be about penis-measuring, at least to me. Which stands in strong contrast to many of their stated aims, which since ancient times, frequently include, “protecting women.” Whatever.  Read more 

The topic of WTDAMAF?(What To Do About Michigan And Florida?) has been discussed ad naseum , and I’m not trying to rehash them out here. But one argument that is always brought up, by someone supporting Obama, is that Clinton’s entire stance is politically motivated. But, that is as that may be. The underlying point to me is that Obama is not. Period. End of discussion.

The right to vote is fundamental to democracy. Any candidate who can not stand up for that principle, in a primary, does not deserve my vote in that primary.  Read more 

Recent concerns in Canada about increasing health care costs being unsustainable are based on flawed analyses. The Conservative Federal government has asserted that the rate of cost increase is more than can be paid out, and that a move towards privatization will increase competition for services and market forces will hold down costs - an assertion based on an erroneous report.  Read more 

Good Morning, snowbunnies! Yes, I’m looking at an inch or two blanketing my lawns, mocking all the work in the gardens I did yesterday. Michigan! Don’t like the weather? Wait a minute, it will change! The boxed daffodil and hyacinths seem fine this morning, I unboxed them so they could see the sun that’s returned to us today. But I guess I’ll be indoors this weekend, grumblemumble. So let’s cook!

In honor of the Return of the Goddess of Spring, and all those other religious holidays that happen this week, I’m making a nice dinner for family tomorrow. and guess who isn’t coming! yeah! I’m going to make: spiral glazed ham, deviled eggs, a toasted bread with grated cheese and herbs, some stuffing/dressing and a gravy, candied sweet potatoes, a spring herb salad, and a very naughty “skookie” that someone in the family says is just perfect under ice cream. Haven’t made one of those before. I’m also going to try doing crab-stuffed deviled eggs, for the first time. I’m even going to make the mayo from scratch. Here’s the recipie I think I’m going to try:  Read more 

Boo tells an interesting story about an encounter he had after the speech:

I had a sad experience yesterday that, while anecdotal, gives saliency to the point. I had just left the Constitution Center after watching Obama’s uplifting speech. I was walking through The Gallery, which is an urban shopping mall on Market Street. I decided to sit down on a bench and see if I could get a wireless signal. An elderly white woman sat down next to me and was silent for a little while. Then she said, “That’s where my tax dollars go.”

I looked up at her, not knowing what she was referring to, and asked, “excuse me?”.

She nodded at a group of young early-20’s black people (some with a baby carriage) walking by, and repeated herself.

The people she was referring to were nicely dressed and appeared to be enjoying themselves as they window shopped in the mall. I think I just mumbled something like “Mmmn” and returned my attention to my laptop. Then the elderly woman said, “Do you know that Hillary is coming here today?”

I nodded, “Yes. I just came from seeing Obama.”

She frowned at this news and then said, “I’m very excited to see Hillary. She knows how to deal with [she swept her hand around to indicate the mall crowd] this.”

I excused myself.

Race is going to be an issue in this race, and we can either worry about it or we can go to work to make sure tolerance and enlightenment prevail. Obama’s speech accomplished a lot, but he is no miracle worker. Let’s not forget that.

This confuses me. Why did you “excuse yourself,” Boo? I mean, if we shouldn’t forget that Obama alone can’t overcome the racism of millions, isn’t what you did passing up a golden opportunity? Here’s what I would’ve said:

“How can you be sure they receive gov’t aid? That’s pretty racist of you. And anyway, more white people receive welfare than Black or other minority groups, and even so, spending on aid to poor people is not even a drop in the bucket compared to what we’ve spent on the war or worthless programs like Star Wars. The difference between them is billions vs. trillions. That’s an order of magnitude, and if you care about waste, look there.”

I’m sure it’s occured to all of us that Obama’s run is “historical” and presents us with wonderful opportunities to make racism and race a conversation topic like never before.

But Dood- ya gotta speak out, yo? I’m a Black, gay woman, and I’ve learned: Silence = Death. Mumbling and walking away are NOT effective techniques for social change.

I like Boo a lot. We disagree on candidates this year, but I still read his work and respect his efforts a lot. However, I think that this anecdote of his is really, really telling of the progressive community and many Obama supporters. You love him, you believe he’s “transformational,” but the only people whom you will yell at and get all “here’s my detailed argument, bitch!” with are…progressives who support another candidate. Racists get a free pass.

That’s just not right. It’s certainly not going to help combat racism.

Doctors, Prices and why I’m still happy we live in France

Each of these candidates deals with the press, they have to, and each of them do it in their own way. I’m not at all suggesting that the treatment they have received has been equitable, it has not. The Clintons have been subject to relentless smear and innuendo far outside what we in America consider fair treatment, although it would be everyday journalism in the rest of the free world. McCain, on the other hand, has been given a pretty free ride his whole life and like other press favorites including, to be fair, FDR and JFK, gets to skate along while his inconsistencies and foibles are only briefly mentioned if at all.

This isn’t fair, it isn’t reasonable, and it isn’t right, but it is reality. For Hillary to succeed, either as a candidate or as President, she will have to find a way to manage her relationship with the press in a manner that improves her coverage. I suggest that there are things she could be doing better than she is, and that while she is certainly not responsible for the behavior of the press, she is responsible for her own behavior. As examples, here are a couple of recent occurrences.  Read more 

Update: Don’t want to take my word for it? Lady A in the Morning over at Big Blue is on the same page reading the other paragraph. Spooky!

Look people: no one is going to care about all this in a really short time. You know what I’m talking about. In a few months, perhaps even before the election, the saner among us will look back at this moment and say, “wow, why did I get so upset about that?” Brand-wise, nothing is more tired than “My dem candidate is the Best, and yours is the Devil.” Nothing.

I’m making another pledge today. I’m not going to trash other bloggers, except to politely disagree and use logic and fact to explain why. I’ve read some really harsh words about other bloggers; here, around the blogosphere. I don’t like it. I’m not going to make a career of trashing the movement I’ve been working to build up for almost the last 8 years. There are some good, passionate, intelligent people in the blogosphere, lots of slightly unbalanced ones with good hearts, and not a few Freaques. That’s a good thing, and we shouldn’t always agree. I’ll never make a good winger maingly because I enjoy our diversity too much. And I don’t take disagreement over a policy or candidate to be so important, that I’m willing to throw away years of good effort by the person currently acting stupid and wrong.*

Let’s give up bashing each other for a while. It’s tiresome, and stupid. The reputation we’ve finally begun to enjoy is very hard won. Why are we helping the SCLM and our detractors, by acting as Digby says, like 7th graders?  Read more 

I guess I’m just old-fashioned. The answer is “no,” both practically and theoretically. No one seems to be talking about a revote here in MI, yet. Do we count (again)? Or is it just FL, where we all know they know how to count votes, and when those counts matter. This whole nightmare is just annoying the hell out of me. But I guess that’s life in a banana republic- what a fun show your elections become! Honestly, part of me is really rebelling at the thought that Serious People are seriously considering, during a race that is too close to call a “revote.” WTF. Is that like “second virginity?” The whole point of a staggered primary is that some races are different. If/when I vote, again, I still won’t get to cast my ballot for my choice. When it could’ve made a difference, I was denied that right.* Now that I don’t care, I get to “choose?” History is laughing at you, DNC. And anyway, the whole idea of a Republican gov doing the Dem party “favors” is just stupid, but I guess our leaders have never read about Trojan Horses or that sort of thing.  Read more 

This campaign is playing out through what on the surface seems to be farce, but it would be a mistake to blame the campaign staff or the media for this exercise in rabid name-calling and apparent trivialization. All of the candidates are running for the same office, an executive position with extraordinary power and responsibility. If they cannot dominate their own staff and manage their own topical agenda, if it truly is the media and the hired help who are controlling the tenor and substance of the campaigns, why should anyone believe that any of the candidates can handle the Presidency?  Read more 

Pause for a moment in the candidate wars, and send thoughts, prayers, or wishes to this man’s family.

Police identified the officer killed during Senator Hillary Clinton’s motorcade in Dallas today as Senior Cpl. Victor Lozada, 49, a 20-year veteran of the department.

The officer’s motorcycle was near the rear of the motorcade as it headed south on the viaduct when the accident happened about 9:15 a.m.
After news of the accident reached her, a somber Mrs. Clinton expressed sorrow over the officer’s death.

“We are just heartsick over this loss of life in the line of duty,” she said.

Mrs. Clinton said the accident should serve as a reminder of the sacrifices law enforcement officers make. She said it is important that people respect and appreciate their service.

Mrs. Clinton canceled a Fort Worth rally planned as part of her race for the Democratic nomination for president. Her motorcade briefly returned to Dallas where she planned to meet with Cpl. Lozada’s family.

About 30 motorcycle officers who had parked in formation outside the hospital filed inside about that time, helmets in hand, to pay their respects to the family.

WFAA-TV helicopter pilot Troy Bush, who flew over the scene shortly after the incident, estimated that the officer had been thrown about 20 yards by the impact.

Here is the full story from the Dallas Morning News, quoted fairly liberally above  Read more 

Bill Pucko today gets something right in comparing accredited basketball referee Michelle Campbell to suffragist Susan B. Anthony, and lauding the actions of Darin Putthof and Fred Shockey, a couple of male refs who refused to join a Kansas school’s misogyny at a recent game. Unfortunately, right after that he reverts to his normal crapheadedness  Read more 

to allow me to repost a wonderful essay from DailyKos comments here at corrente.

(Hat tip to DKos poster BeninSC.)

Of COURSE we can lift the discourse!

We do it every NIGHT here in Top Comments. Every night.

(Spoiler alert: this is a LONG comment. ;x )

The idea that we are too ’small’ or too ’few’ to make a change is the greatest challenge to democracy that we face in this country (I am certain it is not a feeling exclusive to here). It is a thought which builds depression consequences. Democrats, particularly in red states, ask themselves the same question, come voting time, and all too often the answer is, my vote isn’t going to matter, my vote is too small, too insignificant, too inconsequential … those voting like me are too few …

If you regard conservatives as a terrible political adversary, that is nothing compared to the inner adversary of the idea that there isn’t much we can do.

Please take time to read it all in its original glory here:
BeninSC.

I have taken the liberty of reproducing it just  Read more 

Handing national security softballs to the Republicans so they can hit them out of the park, like MoveOn’s mocking of General David Petreus or the Berkeley City Council’s assertion that their town is too good for a Marine recruiting office, needs to stop. The Republican Party has destroyed the armed forces, killed hundreds of thousands of people and squandered hundreds of billions of dollars in fruitless foreign adventurism, all the while doing nothing to improve the security of Americans from another terrorist attack.  Read more 

I’m sorry.

I wish we could all just let it go, truly, just let it go, sometimes. There are so many better, more worthy targets. Thus: when I’m down, and been in a fight without clear Victory, and feeling blue, I look at kittenz.

Racism and Sexism are stupid. Being a blogger of late, I’ve found the need to look at kittenz, a lot.

D-grrl: I understand. I’m sorry I doubted your decision.  Read more 

[Cross posted at Kos. Recommendations appreciated.]

[I’m going to leave this sticky for awhile exactly because the answer seems to be No. At least we can put this “Constitutional professor” crapola to rest, now, though. “Those that can, do; those that can’t, teach,” eh?]

[Via Digby, call Professor Obama’s campaign at (866) 675-2008 and tell them you want to see Obama on the Senate floor doing the right thing.]  Read more 

**From a tip by alert reader bringiton: “The American People Deserve To Know Where We Stand, and What We Want to Do.” Tell ‘em, John.

So I’m going to change tactics here, perhaps this will become a series. Obama people, religious people: let me say to you that you probably think I hate him/you because he’s a Christian and has Christian supporters while I am an angry atheist. But you’re wrong. I hate Christianists, who I define as people who claim to share your faith but don’t. I’d like you to join me in saying publically: they don’t follow Christ.

I’ve known some terrific Christians in my life.  Read more