Shame On DeMint!

Right wing nutcase, Sen. DeMint, has been holding up the confirmation of the director of the TSA (Transportation Safety Administration). If something, God forbid, would have happened to that Christmas Day flight, would DeMint be responsible?

CSMonitor.com:

...After President Obama named Erroll Southers, an ex-FBI agent and top law enforcement officer at the Los Angeles World Airports, in September as his pick to lead the TSA, Sen. Jim DeMint (R) of South Carolina moved to block his appointment over concerns that Mr. Southers would allow airport screeners to unionize.

"The attempted terror attack in Detroit is a perfect example of why the Obama administration should not unionize the TSA and allow our airline security decisions to be dictated by union bosses," Senator DeMint said in a statement Monday...

DeMint's concerns sound absolutely crazy. His hold on this nomination is endangering the flying public. If you'd like to contact DeMint and tell him to withdraw his hold on the TSA nomination, check here for his contact link. DeMint and the Republicans like to play games with our health and safety.

Take Away Health Care? The GOP Wants It

* Looks like Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell and the Republicans would work to repeal health care reform if they take back the Senate and the White House. (ABC News) This seems like a good reason not to vote for the Republicans. If people actually learn to enjoy health care, why would anyone vote for the Republicans who plan to take it away?

* Raw Story is reporting that Sen. Joe Lieberman believes that the U.S. should act "preemptively" and attack Yemen. If Lieberman thinks we should engage in another war, I think we should let members of his family participate in the attack. Too many of other people's kids in our military have died in wars promoted by war hawks like Lieberman.

After Christmas...

Thank goodness we got through and survived the holiday. Now I will be happy to rest, stop eating junk food, and turn my attention to what really matters.

We got our grandson one of those little coupes (red and yellow plastic cars). He had a great time riding in it and I even enjoyed pushing him in it.

Thank God David Goldman got his son back.


We may not have gotten all that we wanted in a health care bill--- but at least it is a start.

Always Something....

*** MSNBC is reporting on the TV right now that the U.S. Senate has cleared the last procedural vote on health care reform.

* When negative things are said or written about the Obama administration or Democrats, why does it seem that these horribe things come from Fox News and the Wall Street Journal? Could it be that their published materials are just from their planned right wing propaganda?

* Pleeeeeeeease! Let David Goldman take his son Sean out of Brazil and back to the USA. This custody disaster has gone on too, too long. Sean belongs with his father, David Goldman.

* U.S.News.com is suggesting that Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin's might each be preparing for a run for the Presidency. So what? They are both idiots.

* Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC-R) is a putz. I'm sure most of you already knew that. Here is what Sen. Lindsey said why he opposed the health care reform bill---
RawStory:

"We've got it tough," he adds. "We're on our knees. 12 percent of our people are unemployed and 31 percent of our people are black."

Graham later says: "My state, with 30 percent African-American citizens, a lot of low income people in South Carolina is going to cost my state a billion dollars, that's the same old stuff that I object to. That's not change we can believe in. That's sleazy."

Shame on Lindsey Graham for his statement. He is the sleaze.

**** According to the Dispatch, Republican State Sen. Jon Husted of Upper Arlington (and Kettering for voting purposes) has a proposal to show the source of campaign money. Fabulous. Does that mean that he'll reveal the huge amount of money he gets from the charter school owners? Is he willing to discuss why he thinks that campaign money has convinced him to sell out the entire public school system to those same charter school owners? Just asking.

Another Honor?

PolitiFact has announced the "Lie of the Year."

PolitiFact.com:

Of all the falsehoods and distortions in the political discourse this year, one stood out from the rest.

"Death panels."

The claim set political debate afire when it was made in August, raising issues from the role of government in health care to the bounds of acceptable political discussion. In a nod to the way technology has transformed politics, the statement wasn't made in an interview or a television ad. Sarah Palin posted it on her Facebook page....

Wow! What an honor for Palin! I still cannot understand how anyone can look at her and think she is qualified to be President. Heaven forbid!

Thank you, Sen. Al Franken!

I love Sen. Al Franken. I live in Ohio and he represents Minnesota, but I've followed Franken's TV, writing, and radio careers. Franken has aptly expressed how many of us feel about some of the tactics used by the Republicans.

YouTube:



I'd love to see Sen. Franken as the Senate Majority Leader.

New Game?

According to the BBC, a game at an arcade in England, called "Whack-a-banker," has become so popular that the inventor has had to replace the mallets:

Inventor Tim Hunkin introduced "Whack a Banker", which is based on the older "Whack a Mole" game, at his arcade on Southwold pier in Suffolk.

Instead of players hitting pop-up moles with a mallet, within a set time, the target is pop-up bald figures....

I'm sure that many Americans would love to play this game considering how bankers created the financial mess we are experiencing. I wonder how people in Ohio's 15th district will feel about a Republican candidate for Congress who worked for years as a bank lobbyist. The Republican candidate, Steve Stivers, is a former bank lobbyist and former state senator. As a state senator, Stivers voted against a bill to crack down on predatory lenders. Who has Stivers represented? Banks? Predatory lenders?

Watch this video on VideoSurf or see more Steve Stivers Videos or Mary Jo Kilroy Videos

What?

I saw this story over at the Democratic Underground and I just had to comment on it. As a former teacher, I know what those teachers are experiencing in those schools in Detroit. Here is the original story from mlive.com:


After it was revealed that students in Detroit Public Schools placed abysmal scores on national math and reading exams -- with math being at an all-time low -- administrators and parents are looking for answers as to why this happened, and solutions as to how it won't happen again....

...Some parents think that teachers should be held accountable for failing Detroit's students, even suggesting jail time for school employees who don't meet their expectations. During a Saturday forum hosted by the Detroit Parent Network just after the test results were released, upset parents expressed such concerns to Bobb:

The Detroit News, Dec. 12: Sharlonda Buckman, CEO of the Detroit Parent Network, called for jailing and civil lawsuits against anyone in the city's educational system that is not doing his or her share to help properly educate children. "Somebody needs to go to jail," she said in a tearful address to 500 parents gathered Saturday for the organization's annual breakfast forum. "Somebody needs to pay for this. Somebody needs to go to jail, and it shouldn't be the kids."

I guess this woman is suggesting that teachers go to jail if her son or daughter doesn't pass exams. I wonder how often this mother sits down with her child and reads to them, helps them with homework, or shuts off the TV so that the child can have some quiet time to read. Many parents could not last a day trying to teach a classroom full of 30 thirteen year olds or even first graders. These parents don't have the guts to be a teacher.

It might be time for parents and teachers to work together on solving problems in the schools. If the current administrators are unable to help, perhaps they need to go. It might be time for their governor to step in and fix this situation.

What else is new?

* I refuse to buy the Wall Street Journal. I did read the Journal many years ago, but the new owners have added some politics to the financial news. The Journal has always been a little to the right, but now it is to the extreeeeeeeeeeeeme right. The story by The Guardian just confirms it.

* Guess what has been found? The 22 million e-mails from the George W. Bush administration have been found!!!! I'm glad I don't have to go through those e-mails! These e-mails went missing because of some glitch, but luckily someone will have access to them. CBS News:

Computer technicians have found 22 million missing White House e-mails from the administration of President George W. Bush, according to two groups that are settling lawsuits they filed over the failure by the Bush White House to install an electronic record keeping system.

The two groups made the announcement as they settled lawsuits that they filed against the Executive Office of the President in 2007....

...The two private organizations — Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and the National Security Archive — say there is not yet a final count on the extent of missing White House e-mail and there may never be a complete tally....

In a related story that I heard on NPR Radio, the specific information investigators are looking for involve the Valerie Plame case and the controversy surrounding the firing of the U.S. Attorneys during the Bush administration.

Lazy Republicans

Oh. Some Ohio legislators have found a loophole to get bigger deductions. Ohio.com has the ugly story:

Last week, this column mentioned that state lawmakers, who are paid a little more than $60,000 a year plus up to $5,000 to 7,000 for committee assignments, are afforded a lucrative federal income tax write-off.

This tax break is made even more attractive due to the way lawmakers manipulate their legislative session schedules....

....the legislative perks debate was intensified this week when state Rep. Jennifer Garrison, D-Marietta, introduced a bill that would change the calculations to reimburse lawmakers for their mileage to and from Columbus....

I'm sure she was met with resistance. According to the article, some state senators and members of the Ohio House, have taken tens of thousands of dollars in tax deductions. I think that the IRS needs to look at some of these outrageous deductions. Some of theses elected officials are clearly milking the system.

*** Thomas Suddes has an opinion piece in the Dispatch where he compares the Republican-controlled Ohio Senate to a bunch of "clowns."

The only differences between the Republican-run Ohio Senate and the Ringling Bros. circus is that the Senate doesn't charge admission (unless you lobby), and Ringling clowns are professionals...

...Unemployment is worse in Ohio than nationally, and -- remarkably -- is even worse in some bedrock Republican counties (such as Huron, Crawford, Van Wert and Williams) than it is in some once-industrial counties in northeastern Ohio or the Miami Valley. No surprise, poverty and hunger are rising everywhere. Meanwhile, an $851 million hole yawns in Ohio's budget, though the state constitution requires a balanced budget.

The response of most of the 21 Republicans in the state Senate: Hm. We'll think about it (and, meanwhile, we hope Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, up for re-election, gets blamed for the fallout our senatorial slacking guarantees).....

Suddes has it right. The Republicans in the Ohio Senate don't give a damn about anyone but themselves. They'd rather let the whole state go down the toilet than lift one finger to help get it back on track.

This and That...

*On my honor, I will only buy Mac computers forever. End of story.

*I've been following the Heisman hype on http://www.stiffarmtrophy.com with their own projections of the winner. It is very interesting. I really don't care who wins as long as it is not Tebow.

*According to the Dispatch, Gov. Strickland has asked state legislators to fix the budget or schools will suffer:

...A fiscal doomsday analysis released yesterday projected that a failure by lawmakers to close an $851 million budget hole by year's end could trigger the loss of more than $5 billion to education coffers during the next 18 months....

....The Democratic-controlled House approved Strickland's plan to delay this year's 4.2 percent rollback of the state income tax to shore up the budget.

The Republican-controlled Senate, however, has refused to vote on the Democrats' plan or any alternative....

If schools have to close in the state, we can point to Republicans for causing problems. It might be a good idea for Republicans to stop trying to raise their campaign funds and start working on solutions to fix the budget. Once again we see that the Ohio Republicans only care about themselves and their rich contributors.

I'm tired of .......

.....Republicans putting down the President. The GOP hasn't had a new idea in decades.

......getting e-mails for male enhancement products. Who sends this stupid spam?

.....the Tiger Woods story. Let Tiger and his wife work it out on their own. If the entertainment and gossip media want to trail someone they should start looking at some of the "holier than thou" Republicans.

.....Democrats trying to be bipartisan. Get the work done. If Republicans don't want to vote for it, forget about them.

Facts

* I found this speaker's bureau website that touts John Kasich's background----
DynamicSpeakers.com

....Popular speaker to national organizations and corporations throughout the country
Currently an Investment Banker on Wall Street. He maintains responsibilities across a range of industry groups including retail, power and utilities, technology, media and communications, industrial, and financial institutions

Serves on the corporate boards of companies in the manufacturing, and health care sectors....

Is he still an investment banker? How much is Kasich pulling in while he serves on those boards? In his run for Governor of Ohio, Kasich has aligned himself with far right teabaggers, while he paints himself as a regular guy. Puh-lease!!!!

Just a word or two....

* Note to Tim Tebow: There is no crying in football.

* The Columbus Dispatch seems to have a clear agenda to defeat Gov. Ted Strickland in the upcoming election. In the past, the Dispatch has supported Republicans, but this time the paper seems as though it has a definite plan to smear the Governor. Stories appearing on the front page about the Governor seem to blame him for the state's economic woes. The banking crisis caused by the hear no evil, see no evil Bush administration, is hardly talked about by the owners of the paper.

* According to Cincinnati.com, Republican leader, John Boehner's campaign's financial reports are "....plagued with errors...":

....Since 1996, Boehner's congressional campaign committee has received 63 letters from the Federal Election Commission requesting "additional information" to correct seeming errors in reports the committee submitted.

That total surpasses similar FEC requests to Ohio's 17 other representatives. Rep. Steven LaTourette, R-Bainbridge Township, is second with 40.....

Hmmmm. What do you think?

What?

In my humble opinion, Sarah Palin is an idiot. Here is more evidence to add to my case----

Huffington Post:

Sarah Palin declared on Thursday that the legitimacy of President Obama's birth certificate is "rightfully" an issue with the American public, and that it is "fair game" for politicians to question Obama's citizenship.

The comments came during an interview with conservative radio host Rusty Humphries, who asked Palin whether she planned to "make the birth certificate an issue" if she runs for president in 2012.....

Add these comments from Palin to the fact that English only reporters were let in at her recent appearance at the Mall of America (TPMLiveWire). Sarah Palin's intelligence should be questioned. She did not know that Africa was a continent and she seemed to be uninterested and ignorant about Latin American issues during last year's campaign. The only reason that her book has sold so many copies is that right wing websites and organizations are giving away her books.

Help the Marines of Lima Company

Rich the Lube Guy is looking for your help. On Wednesday, December 2nd, and December 9th, the Marines of Lima Company will be at the Quaker Steak and Lube (8500 Lyra Drive in Columbus) to collect toys for TOYS 4 TOTS. Can you help them?

Monday Morning

What does Mike Huckabee have to do with the man who killed the four police officers? The Seattle Times has this:

Maurice Clemmons, the 37-year-old man wanted for questioning in the killing of four Lakewood police officers Sunday morning, has a long criminal record punctuated by violence, erratic behavior and concerns about his mental health.

His criminal history includes at least five felony convictions in Arkansas and at least eight felony charges in Washington. That record also stands out for the number of times Clemmons has been released from custody despite questions about the danger he posed.

Mike Huckabee, while governor of Arkansas, granted clemency to Clemmons nine years ago, commuting his lengthy prison sentence over the protests of prosecutors.....

Most people remember the controversy surrounding another prisoner released by Huckabee--- Wayne Dumond. The Washington Monthly has the horrid details about Wayne Dumond and the clemency that was granted by Huckabee.

>>>> Sarah Palin quit again. Palin, who famously quit her job as governor of Alaska, has been accused of quitting something else. According to Think Progress, Palin quit a 5k race before it ended.
Doesn't Palin know that "...quitters never win..."?

Every Year

Every year I tell my husband that next Thanksgiving I want to go far, far away from a kitchen. Cooking, cleaning up, and putting up with the few Republicans in my extended family has made Thanksgiving unpleasant.

If you were planning on getting a deeply discounted TV at Target this morning, you missed it. If you didn't walk through the store's doors at 5am, they are sold out. I know because I got there at 5:05am and they were gone. I realize that the economy is bad, but the check out line that snaked through the entire Target store in Dublin didn't indicate that.

It is now just after 8am and we're headed to Macy's......

They Said It

* Sarah Palin doesn't seem to know much about Latin America, Hispanics, or issues they care about, according to a story posted at Politico. We'll just add that to her list of things about which she doesn't know.

* Why does Sen. Lieberman refuse to budge on voting for health care reform? He should be a mensch and support the legislation.

* Oh. Keith Olbermann just called former Vice President Cheney, Dick "Five Deferments" Cheney. Sounds appropriate to me. Cheney, who avoided going to Viet Nam 5 times with those deferments, somehow thinks he speaks for our men in women in uniform. What does Cheney know about going into battle?

NY Times (May 1, 2004):

...It was 1959 when Dick Cheney, then a student at Yale University, turned 18 and became eligible for the draft.

Eventually, like 16 million other young men of that era, Mr. Cheney sought deferments. By the time he turned 26 in January 1967 and was no longer eligible for the draft, he had asked for and received five deferments, four because he was a student and one for being a new father...

...Away from the hearing room, he told the Washington Post that he had sought his deferments because "I had other priorities in the 60's than military service."....

There are thousands and thousands of our men and women in uniform who have spouses and children, and yet they serve. Cheney had no interest in serving but he willingly participated in sending our military into a war without proper equipment and even a plan. Yet Cheney thinks he speaks for our service members?

News Notes

* Calling hours for Stefanie Spielman, wife of former OSU and NFL player, Chris Spielman, will be today from 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Longaberger Alumni House. The Longaberger Alumni House is located at 2200 Olentangy River Road, on the Ohio State campus. Our deepest sympathy to the Spielman family.

* Three Mile Island is in the news again.... There was a tiny leak on Saturday. This is not like a leak from from a paper cup. Three Mile Island is a nuclear plant. ABC News has the info.

*** Shaq, the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball player, showed his big heart.
Dispatch:

Cleveland Cavaliers center Shaquille O'Neal has used a day off to help distribute holiday toys and turkeys.

He handed out boxes with Thanksgiving meal fixings on Sunday at the Cleveland Boys & Girls Club headquarters. O'Neal also posed for photos with about 400 families.

Plus, he made a stop at a suburban Toys "R" Us store, where he donated $1,000 to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.....

Many people will benefit from his gifts.

The Far Right

* A frightening event is unfolding on Sawmill Road at the Borders Bookstore in Dublin----- people have already formed a line to see Sarah Palin. Palin will sign books tomorrow at 6pm, but campers and others have claimed their place in line as of this afternoon. Even though Palin doesn't seem to be able to tell the difference between Iraq and Iran, she still has her followers (see Huffington Post).


* The Columbus radio scene is just awful. We lost liberal talk radio a year ago. Now all we have left is sports, right wingers, religious programming, and the same music in the same rotation, day after day.
Today, I hit the scan button and I could not believe my ears.

Some right winger named Bryan Fisher, said that the Constitution of the U.S. clearly does not prevent the country from barring Muslims from joining our armed forces. The more Fisher talked, the more I remembered that Rachel Maddow had mentioned an article from Mother Jones Magazine. Fisher was so full of hate and intolerance, and yet he represented a Christian group called American Family Association. He also went after Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. Fisher then called Graham a "traitor."

Mother Jones:

The American Family Association, a conservative Christian group, has published an article on its website calling for Muslims to be barred from military service. Bryan Fischer, AFA's Director of Issues Analysis, argues that the Fort Hood shootings are a signal that "It it is time to stop the practice of allowing Muslims to serve in the U.S. military":

[T]he more devout a Muslim is, the more of a threat he is to national security. Devout Muslims, who accept the teachings of the Prophet as divinely inspired,
believe it is their duty to kill infidels....

.
..If you're looking for a more reasonable view, here's Gen. George Casey, the Army's chief of staff, who definitely knows more about the Army than this clown:

"Our diversity... is a strength. As great a tragedy as this was, it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well."

Why We Can't and Shouldn't Send More Troops to Afghanistan

There is a very interesting story in the Washington Independent (Rachel Maddow talked about it tonight.):

If President Obama orders an additional 30,000 to 40,000 troops to Afghanistan, he will be deploying practically every available U.S. Army brigade to war, leaving few units in reserve in case of an unforeseen emergency and further stressing a force that has seen repeated combat deployments since 2002.

According to information compiled by the U.S. Army for The Washington Independent about the deployment status of active-duty and National Guard Army brigades, as of December 2009, there will be about 50,600 active-duty soldiers, serving in 14 combat brigades, and as many as 24,000 National Guard soldiers available for deployment. All other soldiers and National Guardsmen will either be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan already or ineligible to deploy while they rest from a previous deployment....

....The shortage of available combat brigades means that an escalation of between 30,000 and 40,000 troops is “not realistic,” said Lawrence Korb, a former senior Pentagon official in the Reagan administration who now studies defense issues for the liberal Center for American Progress. To send practically all available soldiers into one of the two wars would leave the U.S. with “no reserve in case you had a problem in Korea.”....

No matter what President Obama decides about troop deployments to Afghanistan, the Republicans will complain about it. The President needs to bring everyone home.

Changes

* This recent suggestion that women skip mammograms in their 40's has definitely shocked a lot of women. I am concerned that some health insurance companies will start denying claims to women under 50 who want a mammogram. These insurance companies might justify not paying for the test by citing this recent announcement. I find it very troubling, but I suggest that women continue with their exams and mammograms and follow their own doctor's orders.

* Some local stores that are closing have take a different approach to announcing reduced prices and clearance items. Instead of putting ads in the newspaper, managers have resorted to hiring people to stand on corners with large signs to advertise the store's closing. Obviously, if the store is still open and unable to sell off their items, this method of advertising is completely ineffective. Example: IDG has had a "Going Out of Business Sale" for months.

* Have you looked inside the want ads in your local paper? Apparently, employers with job openings are placing their ads on Craigslist. Here in central Ohio, there are more help wanted ads on the Columbus.Craigslist.org site than in the Columbus Dispatch. Perhaps employers feel they have more control over when their ads appear and they have more control over their descriptions of the jobs. They may also be saving money by using Craigslist.

Tuesday...

I confess. I watched part of the Oprah interview with Sarah Palin. I don't think the audience gave her a warm reception.

*** Some Columbus area churches and organization are collecting food for the the needy for Thanksgiving. The need is great. If you can drop off some food, at these locations, I'm sure it would be appreciated:

St. James Episcopal
3400 Calumet Street
Columbus, Ohio 43214

St. Francis of Assisi Church
386 Buttles Avenue
Columbus, Ohio

Mid-Ohio Foodbank
3960 Brookham Drive
Grove City, Ohio 43123

You may also want to check your local church or local foodbank.

Cheney Palin in 2012? Are you kidding?

* Raw Story is reporting that Liz Cheney has suggested her father, Dick, and Sarah Palin as the Republican ticket for 2012. Okay! Calm down. The daughter only suggested it but..... perhaps they are trying to see how this crazy idea is received by their followers. It is rather frightening considering Cheney's beliefs and possible war crimes in the Bush administration.

Palin, on the other hand, is just not qualified to be President. She just doesn't have "it" and she is grossly out of touch with policy matters.

Palin is still going to be in Columbus, Ohio on Friday at the Borders on Sawmill Road. This is all part of her book tour. I think we should fill the parking lot with cars with OBAMA/BIDEN bumper stickers.

* Now that the administration is moving toward having trials for those currently residing at Guantanamo Bay, Republicans are complaining. Of course, Republicans are prepared to complain about anything that the President does. Rudy Giuliani had to put his two cents in about the trials being held in New York City. If you want to read what he said, see the NY Times. Mr. Giuliani has been raising his profile because he seems to have an interest in running for President. Heaven help us.

I believe that the President and the Attorney General are moving in the right direction.

Letter to Palin

As you know Sarah Palin will be visiting central Ohio on November 20th. This should get all the teabaggers excited. The Ohio Democratic Party sent Palin a letter inviting her to campaign for "...former Lehman Brothers Managing Director John Kasich during your upcoming trip to Ohio...." For the full text of the letter, visit Ohiodems.

Ohio's Charter Schools

I think it is important to see how charter schools in Ohio are performing when they are compared to public schools. While the owners of charter schools get state money, the students attending the charter schools seem to be falling behind. Is this the way that taxpayers want their money spent on poor performing schools?

This is public information that can be found at the Ohio Department of Education:
The following is a sample from one charter school.
Proficiency Test Results for Life Skills Center of Columbus Southeast:

10th Grade Math: 60% Proficient *Overall State Results for 10th Grade Math: 81.4%
10th Grade Science: 48% Proficient *Overall State Results for 10th Grade Science: 76%
11th Grade Science: 37.5% Proficient *Overall State Results for 11th Grade Science: 84.2%
12th Grade Math: 71.4% Proficient *Overall State Results for 12th Grade Math: 92.4%

Here is a list of Charter Schools. You can click on them to see what percentage of their students are proficient:


Life Skills Center Canton - Stark County
Life Skills Center Of Akron - Summit County
Life Skills Center Of Hamilton County - Hamilton County
Life Skills Center Of Summit County - Summit County
Life Skills Center Of Toledo - Lucas County
Life Skills Center of Columbus North - Franklin County
Life Skills Center of Columbus Southeast - Franklin County
Life Skills Center of Dayton - Montgomery County
Life Skills Center of Elyria - Lorain County
Life Skills Center of North Akron - Summit County
Life Skills Center-Middletown - Butler County
Life Skills Center-Springfield - Clark County
Life Skills Ctr Of Cincinnati - Hamilton County
Life Skills Ctr Of Cleveland - Cuyahoga County
Life Skills Ctr Of Lake Erie - Cuyahoga County
Life Skills Ctr Of Youngstown - Mahoning County
Life Skills Of Northeast Ohio - Cuyahoga County
Life Skills Of Trumbull County - Trumbull County

Yet the Republican candidate for Ohio Secretary of State, Jon Husted, is a major supporter of charter schools. While money is being taken away from public schools, corporations that own charter schools are getting rich.

This and That

> The Berlin Wall came down 20 years ago this week. I visited Germany a year and a half after the Berlin Wall was dismantled. When I visited Berlin, there were people selling small pieces of what they claimed to be part of the Wall. Of course, I had to buy a chunk of it.

Even then there was a contrast between East and West Berlin. West Berlin had colorful parks and streets, and there were beautiful modern buildings and stores. East Berlin looked gray. It looked like something caught in a time warp or like a movie set from World War II. It was just plain drab. Hopefully, things have brightened up on the former East Berlin side of the Wall.

> A few days ago, CrooksandLiars noted the disastrous health care system in Texas after Newt Gingrich and Gov. Perry suggested that it should be a model for other states.

NPR has a map up that shows the percentage of Americans without health insurance in each state. Here are some statistics to think about from NPR---

"People Without Health Insurance":
TEXAS--- 25.1%
CALIFORNIA---18.4%
FLORIDA---20.1%
OHIO---11.6%
MISSISSIPPI---18.3%

Obviously, the Republicans just don't care if you are living without health insurance.

Now We Know

From the Jacksonville Journal Courier, comes this little gem from their "Open Line" section:

“The Republican leader John Boehner doesn’t know the difference between the constitution and the Declaration of Independence, he recited one and called it the other. He’s not even smarter than a fifth-grader.”


Boehner's performance at Michele Bachmann's sponsored demonstration was indeed insightful. He knows nothing about real work, real people's lives, the heartbreak of not getting health care because you have no insurance, or the difference between the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence!!!!

**** Rep. Pat Tiberi did not vote for the historic health care reform bill last night. Here in central Ohio, Tiberi is running ads about how wonderful he has been to medicine and saving jobs. Huh?????? Don't you love fiction???

Sometimes the Truth is Frightening

>>> According to USAToday, Mike Huckabee is the leading contender as the GOP's presidential candidate. Huckabee, a former governor, often brags about his fried squirrel eating days (YouTube).




Yuck.

----> Republican Rep. Pat Tiberi (OH-12) is running some schmaltzy TV ads about how he is protecting 3 million jobs. What a bunch of baloney! Tiberi voted against the stimulus package and follows John Boehner around like a puppy. Tiberi votes with his GOP obstructionist party 91% of the time (WashingtonPost). We know who Tiberi supports, and it isn't people (YouTube).

GOP Healthcare = Presents for Insurance Companies

The Republican health care plan has been succinctly summed up. Politics Plus has the story:

The Wall Street Journal, of all places, had the most accurate headline on the new Republican health care bill set to be unveiled by John Boehner, after months of waiting. The headline was: "GOP Health Bill Gives Insurers More Leeway."

The Wall Street Journal apparently thought that headline was too honest, and the article has subsequently dissapeared from their website, but the Internet has preserved it for us, .......

Amazing. John Boehner and the Republicans want to give their buddies at the insurance companies a present at the expense of the American people.

Here is more....

...The Republican bill runs the table on provisions that will increase insurance company profits.

• Make more money by denying care? Check.....

Nice job, Boehner!

Limbaugh: Still a Racist

I know some people think that Rush Limbaugh is an all-knowing genius. I am not one of Limbaugh's fans. Limbaugh is a pompous, racist, pig.

Dispatch:

Rush Limbaugh lobbed potshots across the airwaves yesterday at President Barack Obama -- "immature, inexperienced, in over his head," offering the country "radical leadership" and laying siege to the economy....

....Limbaugh said that the U.S. has "never seen this kind of radical leadership at such a high level of power" and that "I have to think" the administration is bent on destroying the private sector on purpose, amounting to "a denial of liberty, an attack on freedom."

He said Obama's swift rise to the White House after "a five-minute career" makes him a "man-child president."

Limbaugh calling President Obama a "man-child president" is similar to calling the President "boy" and I won't stand for it. Limbaugh is a racist, pure and simple. Limbaugh is a college drop out who might be able to make a lot of money but apparently can't have a successful marriage. (See about.com.) Although he considers himself a generous businessman, we all know that he is nothing but a racist who will go to any means to disrespect our President.

I'm just wondering how any companies would want to sponsor this racist with their commercials on his program. If a sponsor has a paid to advertise on Limbaugh's radio program, does that mean that the company supports Limbaugh's racism?

Dump Lieberman

Sen. Harry Reid has not called me to ask for my opinion about Sen. Joe Lieberman's lack of support for health care reform. When Sen. Reid gave Lieberman Chair of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, Lieberman assured Reid that he would support the Democratic legislation. However, Lieberman is ready to break his word. Reid needs to call Lieberman into his office and give it to him straight---If he doesn't vote for the health care reform bills, he will no longer be a chairman of any committee.

Here are some telephone numbers for Lieberman:
Connecticut
(860) 549-8463 Voice
(800) 225-5605 In CT

Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-4041 Voice
(202) 224-9750 Fax

Police Dog Recovering

On August 23rd, Officer Mike Schiele, of the Zanesville Police Department, and his police dog, Bosco, were shot. Officer Schiele is recovering. Bosco continues therapy at the OSU Vet Hospital.

Dispatch:

...Speaking yesterday after dropping off Bosco for therapy, Zanesville Police Officer Mike Schiele again credited the dog with saving his life on the night of the shooting. Schiele was shot once in the leg.

He said Bosco no longer will work on the street, but the department is keeping him to make public appearances and raise awareness of the city's canine program. Schiele said a recent donation of almost $10,000 from Value City Furniture will pay for Bosco's replacement, a German shepherd named Tino.

Schiele said that is only one example of the outpouring of public support the unit received after the shooting. He said the department collected more than $22,000 in donations within a couple weeks of the incident....

If you'd like to see Bosco receiving rehabilitation therapy, watch the video provided by the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine: (from 10-13-09) http://vet.osu.edu/5577.htm You can watch other videos which show the progress Bosco has made since being shot. Additional pictures and information can be read here.

If you are interested to contributing to Bosco's medical treatment, visit BucksforBosco.

Time to Go

Washington Post:

A series of powerful bombs killed eight American soldiers and an interpreter in southern Afghanistan Tuesday morning, according to U.S. military officials.....


It is time to pull our young men and women out of Afghanistan. Vice President Joe Biden suggested that we transition into an air war with missiles instead of using troops on the ground. This makes a whole lot more sense than continuing the plan used by the Bush administration.

President Obama needs our support and prayers as he makes decisions about the troops. I just hope he brings them all home.

**** One of our family members has the H1N1 flu. She was diagnosed by a physician yesterday.

While our country deals with the this flu, the Republican Party of "NO!" is holding up the nomination of our U.S. Surgeon General. We are experiencing an epidemic throughout our nation, but the GOP wants to play games with your health. Contact Sen. Mitch McConnell to let him know that by holding up the nomination for the U.S. Surgeon General he is endangering our lives:

Sen. Mitch McConnell
Washington Office
361-A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Phone: (202) 224-2541
Fax: (202) 224-2499

Grades for Effort

Do you remember when you were in elementary school and there were grades for effort? I'd like to give grades for effort for some politicians.

F = for the Bush administration's efforts on a concluding report on Afghanistan:

RawStory:

The Bush administration spent only one hour on a report on Afghanistan before handing the issue over to the incoming Obama administration, a former Clinton-era White House chief of staff says....

....Podesta painted a picture of a hypocritical Bush administration that itself "dithered" over Afghanistan decisions, and -- according to Podesta -- spent only one hour preparing a report for the handover of the Afghanistan issue to the Obama administration....

Pathetic. Obviously, the fact that American lives were hanging in the balance did not sway the Bushies to put more effort into their report.

A = Gov. Ted Strickland for his effort to help those areas suffering most in the state and region.

Washington Post:

...The annual Appalachian Regional Commission conference, held in Athens, Ohio, will focus this week on giving the struggling area a big role in the push for more use of sources such as solar and wind, bringing so-called "green jobs" with it.

"The economy throughout the region is struggling," said Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a native of Appalachia. "There are huge opportunities available that can be of great benefit to the region."

Nearly 400 people representing a range of interests are expected to participate, including investors, community activists and industry experts, said commission spokesman Louis Segesvary....

Strickland is doing something to move the region toward growth. It is much better to try than to do nothing at all.

The Republican Plan

The DSCC has revealed the GOP plan (You Tube):





>>> Did you catch former Vice President Dick Cheney's latest rage against the Obama administration? I never agree with Cheney. His recent speech continued to tout his support of the enhanced techniques he supported for enemy combatants. Cheney appeared ill. He was stooped over a podium and breathing heavily. Despite the fact that he looked sick, he still continues his campaign of hatred against President Obama. For additional information, see Raw Story.

*** Soupy Sales has died.

The Washington Post:

Soupy Sales, the rubber-faced comedian whose anything-for-a-chuckle career was built on 20,000 pies to the face and 5,000 live TV appearances across a half-century of laughs, has died. He was 83.....

...The comic's pie-throwing schtick became his trademark, and celebrities lined up to take one on the chin alongside Sales. During the early 1960s, stars such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis and Shirley MacLaine received their just desserts side-by-side with the comedian on his television show....

...His greatest success came in New York with "The Soupy Sales Show" - an ostensible children's show that had little to do with Captain Kangaroo and other kiddie fare. Sales' manic, improvisational style also attracted an older audience that responded to his envelope-pushing antics....

Soupy Sales was a very funny, funny man. When we were young, my brother and I watched him every chance we got.

Why?

Why would anyone vote AGAINST a bill titled "Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009" with what we know about AIDS and medical care? I know that you are asking yourself for the names of the backward-thinking people in the House of Representatives that voted "NO!" in Roll Call Vote 793. Ask no more!

Below are the names of the 9 Republicans that voted against the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009.
Clerk of the House of Representatives:

Brady (TX).....Phone: (202) 225-4901
Broun (GA).....Phone: (202) 225-4101
Duncan...........Phone: (202) 225-5435
Flake...............Phone: (202) 225-2635
Foxx...........Phone: (202) 225-2071
Gohmert.......Phone: (202) 225-3035
Lummis .......Phone: (202) 225-2311
Paul..............Phone: (202) 225-2831
Poe (TX).......Phone: (202) 225-6565

I've included the office telephone numbers of these Republican "no-mongers" so you can call and offer your opinion about their vote against this important legislation. Isn't it amazing that these same people continue to vote against bills that are so vital?

Careful Deliberations

President Obama is taking his time in making a decision on whether to increase troops numbers in Afghanistan. I agree with President Obama's strategy. He is dealing with the lives of our men and women in uniform, and he feels the awesome responsibility of his decisions. It took our former President months to decide to send more troops to Iraq. We need to let the President hear from the experts and formulate the best plan.

Meanwhile, John Boehner, Republican leader, is carrying on like a schoolyard bully. According to the Hill, Boehner wants the President to hurry up and and send troops now. Right now. But the Boehner strategy is not about what is the right plan, it is about setting up the President to have his Vietnam. Boehner and the Republicans want this administration to get mired into Afghanistan for a long term, no win war. Boehner doesn't care about our troops and their morale. He just wants to make this current administration fail.

Boehner should take heart. The Republican Party seems to be heading in the direction of the dinosaurs. ABCNews has the results of a recent poll.
ABCNews:

....Only 20% of Americans call themselves Republicans -- the lowest in 26 years. Only 19% trust Republicans in Congress to make the right decisions for the country's future -- compared to 49% trust in Obama.....


Nice going, Republicans!

The Spielman Family

* If you follow Ohio State sports, you know something about Stephanie and Chris Spielman. Today's Dispatch explains the long journey that the Spielman family has had because of Stephanie Spielman's continuing battle with cancer.

Dispatch:

...Stefanie Spielman, his high-school sweetheart, had turned 30 when she did a self-examination of her breasts and found a lemon-sized lump.

The cancer has returned again....

....After his wife's diagnosis, Chris put his NFL career on hold and shaved his head in support of her battle.....

Please keep Stephanie, Chris, and their family in your prayers.

Friday....

You almost have to wonder what is different in the air and water that feeds into Fox News that make their talking heads speak such utter nonsense. Eric Etheridge's opinion piece at the NY Times:

The Dow crossed 10,000 Wednesday (and held that level Thursday, closing at 10,062). Thursday morning, Goldman Sachs announced a quarterly profit of $3.19 billion. Neither number would have seemed believable a year ago, but now that these results are in, what do they say about the state of the economy? Also, who should get the credit, and what on-going academic feuds can Dow 10,000 be a datapoint for?

Let’s address the last two first. Michael Tomasky was watching Fox yesterday when he heard Neil Cavuto note Dow 10,000 and ask a guest whether this was the “Bush recovery.”

Cavuto, to be fair, asked whether that wasn’t “a bit of a stretch,” but his guest, a man named Jim LaCamp[sic], said (I’m sure purely coincidentally!) that it wasn’t really a stretch at all....

Whoa! The "Bush Recovery"????????????? Cavuto has clearly gone over the edge. However, seeing as how Fox News is the mouthpiece of the far right wing of the Republican Party, this is to be expected. The righties continue to re-write history to favor their point of view and their political heroes like George W. Bush.

>>>Ouch! Bloomberg:

Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis won’t receive a salary or bonus for 2009, a decision based on advice from U.S. government pay supervisor Kenneth Feinberg....

...Lewis, 62, came under fire this year from regulators and investors for not disclosing losses and bonuses at Merrill Lynch & Co. before shareholders voted to approve the purchase of the world’s biggest broker in December. That sparked investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Congress and attorneys general in New York, North Carolina and Ohio....

Now Lewis will feel like the average person who has lost his/her income.

>>>> Go Buckeyes!!!! Go Phillies!!!!

Today's Topics

It looks like there are some cracks in the Republican Party. With teabaggers targeting some Republican leaders that they feel are not conservative enough, some GOP elected officials are feeling a little uncomfortable with members of their own party.

Americablog:

The teabaggers are turning their sights on Republicans. And, I learned via my friend, Alvin in South Carolina, that one big target is Lindsey Graham. They seem to think Lindsey is too squishy:

The 75-minute forum filled several sections of Furman University's Timmons Arena and attracted demonstrators, critics with handheld cameras, shouts of "traitor" and "Sotomayor" - and a smattering of supporters......

.......One man told Graham he had "betrayed" conservatism and made a "pact with the devil" by working with Democrats, and asked when Graham would switch parties....

Ouch!

**** Last night Jon Stewart eviscerated Republicans who voiced their opposition to Sen. Franken's amendment. Franken's amendment sought to hold back funding to companies that have covered up gang rapes in Iraq.

Lack of Interest in Kasich?

The Examiner.com has a story about Mike Huckabee's recent trip to Ohio to support Republican candidate for Ohio Governor, John Kasich:

....Kasich and Huckabee, sitting on stools and not wearing ties, spoke to a gathering of more than 100 mostly young people, who came to listen and ask questions about what the former nine-term congressman....

Stop right there! ".....a gathering of more than 100 mostly young people...."???????? You mean to say that Kasich could only get a little more than 100 people to come to his special event with Huckabee??? Obviously, the writer of the article spent a few minutes actually counting the number of people in the audience. Besides, those young people I see in the picture appear to have a lot of bald heads.

....Showing he is still hip, Kasich ended the event asking any grandmas out there to "tweet" their grandchildren about the event to "show they are hip."

"If we can accomplish what we want," he said, "it will really be cool!".....

"Hip"?????? Wow! Kasich's "hip" slang will impress absolutely no one! Kasich may have been able to relate to people back in the day, but it seems like Ohioans aren't really interested if he can only draw 100 people with a headliner like Huckabee.

Face it. Kasich's ties to the failed Wall Street firm, Lehman Brothers, really makes me suspicious of anything he says or plans to do. By the way, is he still serving on business boards that pay him money to be on their board of directors? Has he resigned any of those positions yet?

Give Me A Break!

The ugly neo-cons have reared their pathetic, bloodthirsty, war-mongering faces again.

IPSnews.com:

Just days after the Nobel Committee in Oslo awarded Barack Obama its coveted peace prize, two of Washington's most prominent foreign policy hawks launched a new group and ad campaign designed to depict the president as weak and defend the more aggressive policies of his predecessor, George W. Bush.

The new group, Keep America Safe, was co-founded by neo-conservative heavyweight William Kristol, who also edits The Weekly Standard; and Elisabeth (Liz) Cheney, the outspoken daughter of Bush's vice president, Dick Cheney, who is believed to harbour political ambitions of her own.

"Amidst the great challenges to America's security and prosperity, the current administration too often seems uncertain, wishful, irresolute, and unwilling to stand up for America, our allies and our interests," according to the mission statement of the new group, whose third founder-director, Debra Burlingame, is also co-founder of 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America.....

This follows these same right wingers claiming that President Obama is taking too much time deciding whether to send more troops to Afghanistan. (Note: President George W. Bush took months to decide about his troop surge in Iraq.) Liz Cheney has also said that President Obama is taking too much vacation time. Hello, Liz! Are you out of your mind???? Let me refresh your short memory.

CBS NEWS (January 16, 2009):

....According to CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller, today's trip marks Mr. Bush's 149th visit to the presidential retreat. The planned three-day stay, during which the president is being joined by family and former and current aides, will bring his total time spent at Camp David to all or part of 487 days.

Yes, that's 487 days. And Camp David is not even where the president has spent the most time when not at the White House: Knoller reports that Mr. Bush has made 77 visits to his ranch in Crawford during his presidency, and spent all or part of 490 days there.

Liz Cheney, Kristol, and the rest of the extreme right war lovers had their vacation-loving Texan in the White House for eight loooooooonnnnnngggg years. Now President Obama and the entire country is cleaning up the mess left by Bush-Cheney and the neo-cons. Give us all a break!

It is Time

A picture by Abby Bennethum and posted at NBC Philadelphia shows the sacrifice that American military families face everyday:







It is time to bring all our troops home.

* Here is some good news. Bloomberg:

President Barack Obama told the largest U.S. gay-rights group that he’ll work with Congress and the Pentagon to end the policy that forbids openly gay men and women from serving in the military.

“I will end ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’” Obama said in an address last night to at the Human Rights Campaign national dinner. “That’s my commitment to you.”

The president gave no timetable for acting and said he realized many in the audience “don’t believe progress has come fast enough.” He said they would look back at his time in office and be able to say that “we put a stop against discrimination whether in the office or in the battlefield.”

I sincerely hope that this happens soon. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" has gone on far too long.

No to Rush

There is a new Facebook Group------
NFL FANS AGAINST RUSH LIMBAUGH OWNING THE ST LOUIS RAMS.


There has been lots of talk about Rush Limbaugh purchasing the St. Louis Rams. Over the years, Limbaugh has been out there with his racism and sexism. Would the NFL owners want to add more problems to the league? What if a Limbaugh-owned team was boycotted by players, fans, and advertisers?

The Nation has an article, The NFL Must Flush Rush:

National Football League owners could be on the verge of a catastrophic error in judgment. In a league that is 70 percent African-American, an unapologetic racist is in talks to buy a team. Yes, Rush Limbaugh, along with St. Louis Blues owner Dave Checketts, is close to buying the St. Louis Rams. In 2003 Limbaugh infamously lasted less than a month as an NFL commentator on ESPN after saying the Philadelphia Eagles' Donavon McNabb was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed......

Here is a quote by Limbaugh included in the article---
...We didn't have slavery in this country for over 100 years because it was a bad thing. Quite the opposite: slavery built the South. I'm not saying we should bring it back; I'm just saying it had its merits. For one thing, the streets were safer after dark....

...And finally, in a league made up of predominately African-American athletes, how can you have an owner who says, "[Black people] are 12 percent of the population. Who the hell cares?"....

I don't think that the NFL can afford a Limbaugh-owned team.

Why did 30 Republicans vote against a bill to help rape victims?

Raw Story:

Political commentators are accusing Senate Republicans of hypocrisy -- and even outright support of rape -- after thirty of them voted against a measure to de-fund military contractors who prevent rape victims from seeking justice.

Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) introduced an amendment to a defense appropriations bill that would prevent the federal government from funding contractors whose employee contracts prevent workers from pursuing allegations of rape against co-workers.

The measure passed the Senate by a vote of 68 to 30, with all 30 'no' votes being cast by Republicans. Notably, 10 Senate Republicans voted for the measure, including all four female Republican senators....

I know you are asking yourself which Republican Senators voted against this bill. Here are the names of the 30 Republicans who voted against Senate Amendment 2588----

U.S. Senate:

Question: On the Amendment (Franken Amdt. No. 2588 )
Vote Number:	308	Vote Date:	October 6, 2009, 04:37 PM
Required For Majority:	1/2	Vote Result:	Amendment Agreed to
Amendment Number:	S.Amdt. 2588 to H.R. 3326 (Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010)

NAYs ---30
Alexander (R-TN) Barrasso (R-WY) Bond (R-MO) Brownback (R-KS) Bunning (R-KY) Burr (R-NC) Chambliss (R-GA) Coburn (R-OK) Cochran (R-MS) Corker (R-TN)	Cornyn (R-TX) Crapo (R-ID) DeMint (R-SC) Ensign (R-NV) Enzi (R-WY) Graham (R-SC) Gregg (R-NH) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Johanns (R-NE)	Kyl (R-AZ) McCain (R-AZ) McConnell (R-KY) Risch (R-ID) Roberts (R-KS) Sessions (R-AL) Shelby (R-AL) Thune (R-SD) Vitter (R-LA) Wicker (R-MS)

Shame on all of these Republicans. You may want to contact your senator if his name appears above. If something happened to your wife or daughter, would you want the offending companies to continue to be rewarded by U.S. tax money?

The Good and the Ugly

* Finally, some good news from the Cleveland Browns!

USA Today:

The Browns have traded receiver Braylon Edwards to the Jets for a package of players....


See ya, Braylon. Don't let the door....


* Ugly stuff: Someone I know got a letter from the Club For Growth encouraging them to ask for a refund from Sen. Arlen Specter's campaign fund since Specter became a Democrat. Here is part of the Chris Cocola's Club for Growth's letter:

....As you probably know, in April, Sen. Specter announced that he would run for U.S. Senate as a Democrat.


However, you may not know that Sen. Specter's campaign has a policy of offering a refund to any donor unhappy with his switch to the Democratic Party....


...Senator Specter recently announced that he will only process refund requests received
by October 15....

Enclosed in the packet from the Club for Growth are sample letters and e-mails that can be sent to Specter's campaign to request the refund.

The person who received this letter had contributed to Specter's campaign, but was NOT a member of the Club for Growth. Apparently, the Federal Election Commission gave them permission to contact some of Specter's donors. Somehow this seems like an invasion of privacy to have your name, address, and contribution information given to a group like the Club for Growth or any group.

By the way, here is part of the letter that the Club for Growth wants former Specter contributors to send to his campaign:

....I donated to the Citizens for Arlen Specter Committee prior to the Senator's party switch....


....I am unhappy with his party switch and request a refund....

Apparently, the Club for Growth is spending a lot of money to push people to ask for refunds from Specter. Are they trying to punish him for abandoning them?

Why are some Republicans like Neanderthals?

How can we forget how the Republicans tried to derail the nomination of Judge Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court? After all, she is a woman and of Latino heritage. I'm sure that members of the GOP were shocked. Shocked.

Republicans have used racist, sexist terms, while gleefully supporting people like Limbaugh and Beck who continue to use these disgusting words every single day. It is no surprise that the Republicans, who still believe that we are living in the 1940's, have used many terrible words against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. It is no wonder that women stay away from the white, male-dominated GOP.

NRCC:

....“General Pelosi has no problem sacrificing her own credibility as the Obama administration and liberals in Congress attempt to walk back a strategy they strongly advocated just months ago,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “Nancy Pelosi continues to make party politics a higher priority than our national security. Rather than listening to a four-star general’s assessments on Afghanistan, General Pelosi somehow believes she is better suited to craft our country’s military policy.”

If Nancy Pelosi’s failed economic policies are any indicator of the effect she may have on Afghanistan, taxpayers can only hope McChrystal is able to put her in her place.

Someone needs to ask the NRCC where is Pelosi's place? Last time I checked, we were a democracy where everyone's opinion counts. As an elected official, Pelosi should be part of the discussion. Do Republicans believe that because Pelosi is a woman that she doesn't belong in a discussion about Afghanistan? Do Republicans believe that a woman should not be the Speaker of the House?

Why are some Republicans like Neanderthals?

Are you one medical procedure away from bankruptcy?

A neighbor made a good point the other day when he said, "Most Americans are one medical procedure away from bankruptcy." The more we talked about his statement, the more it made sense. If you have health insurance, and are in good health, you probably have been satisfied with your insurance.

However, what if...

....you had a heart attack and your spouse had to argue on the phone for hours about your coverage?

....you needed chemotherapy, but the chemo suggested by your oncologist is considered "experimental" by your insurance, and therefore, not covered?

....after 20 years of coverage by the same health insurance company, your insurance carrier has decided that your newly diagnosed disease will not be covered because they've decided you have a "pre-existing condition" that they've just discovered.

Things happen every single day. If you think that health reform doesn't pertain to you, you are lying to yourself.

Last night we attended a benefit for the Vicki Speakman Memorial Fund. The benefit is called "Celebrate" and one of the performers was Colin Gawel. Here is a You Tube link to Colin Gawel's song, "Chemotherapy":




If health reform doesn't happen this year, will your health coverage cost more next year? Will the CEO of your insurance company celebrate if there is no public option because he/she can continue to get millions of dollars in bonuses for the claims that are denied? Are you one medical procedure away from bankruptcy?

Sunday in Ohio

**** Rachel Maddow is on Meet the Press today. That is the only reason I watched the program.

>> Would you buy any product endorsed by Sarah Palin?
The Hill:

Here's a fun item from the NY Post's Page Six: Sarah Palin is apparently looking for a cosmetics endorsement deal, trying to "capitalize on her 'lipstick on a pit bull' catchphrase."

This would certainly help defray those legal expenses. But if the rumor is true, it would indicate that Palin isn't serious about a 2012 campaign.....

This would be a gamble for any lipstick manufacturing. I personally would not buy any lipstick endorsed by Sarah Palin. As a matter of fact, any manufacturer that would hire Palin would probably get boycotted by lots of women---including me!

* If you've ever traveled in Europe, you know that people use high speed trains a lot. Using trains to travel seems to be very beneficial in Europe. Building and expanding passenger train travel would create jobs and new businesses. Why are we waiting to get the job done here?

Before John Boehner opens his mouth again....

.....someone needs to ask him what he has personally done to create jobs and fix health care.

When word got around Washington, DC, that President Obama was going to Copenhagen to campaign for the 2012 Olympics in Chicago, Boehner, minority leader of the "NO-monger" Republican Party had something to say.

MSNBC quotes Boehner: "While the President is in Copenhagen tomorrow, the American people are going to wake up and find out that hundreds and thousands more Americans have lost their job. The Administration's trillion dollar stimulus plan clearly isn't working."

When George W. Bush was President, exactly how many times did Boehner complain when Bush traveled somewhere? According to CBS News (January 16, 2009):

George W. Bush is today making his final visit to Camp David as president.

He will likely miss the place: According to CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller, today's trip marks Mr. Bush's 149th visit to the presidential retreat. The planned three-day stay, during which the president is being joined by family and former and current aides, will bring his total time spent at Camp David to all or part of 487 days.

Yes, that's 487 days. And Camp David is not even where the president has spent the most time when not at the White House: Knoller reports that Mr. Bush has made 77 visits to his ranch in Crawford during his presidency, and spent all or part of 490 days there.

I think that Boehner needs to close his mouth and think before he speaks. Bush spent 977 on vacation in 8 years in office. 977 DAYS! That is nearly 3 years of his 8 year term was spent on vacation!

John Boehner and the Republicans have done NOTHING to get this economy moving again except vote "NO!" on job-creating, health care-fixing legislation. The Republicans have not yet produced a health care plan. The GOP's only plan seems to be to oppose the Obama and Democratic plans. While Republicans sit on their hands, they gain nothing. Yet they have the audacity to think that the American people will flock back to the Republican Party!!!!

Republicans = "No-mongers"

* U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) is in the news again for some recent comments.
The Hill:

The now-infamous Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) unleashed another verbal tirade against Republicans on Thursday, calling the party a "lie factory" that hoped only to stall the healthcare debate.....

...."America is sick of you, Republican Party; you're a lie factory, that's all you do," he told MSNBC on Thursday. "Why don't you work together with the Democrats to solve America's problems instead of making stuff up?"

Grayson then called the party a bunch of "no-mongers," and he chided GOP lawmakers for failing to come up with their own healthcare plan in the 48 hours since he first attacked their strategy.....

I like that term "no-mongers" and plan to use it to describe the GOP.

* What kind of credibility does Sen. George Voinovich have with regard to any legislation on clean air and clean water? Why has Voinovich continued to be a "no-monger" as far as protecting our environment? Voinovich has made it a career of opposing a host of legislation to protect the environment. As a matter of fact, in April 2000, Voinovich was awarded "Clean Air Villain of the Month" by the Clean Air Trust.

In December 2003, Voinovich was given a score of 11% by the League of Conservation Voters for his work on behalf of environmental issues.

Hopefully, the person who is elected to take his seat will be on the side of clean air and protecting the environment.

Tough Decisions

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland has had to make some tough decisions during this recession.

Examiner.com:

Forced to make a decision he has tried to avoid since coming to office in 2006, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland announced Wednesday that he wants to end the final year of a five-year, phased-in reduction in personal income taxes to replace money already budgeted for education that he and other lawmakers had expected to come from placing thousands of video slot machines at each of the state's seven horseracing tracks, a plan now stalled when the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled last week that it is subject to referendum.

Final year of income tax reduction plan frozen

Under the proposal Strickland announced today, which would require legislative approval, the income tax would increase by 4.2 percent starting Jan. 1, the same amount of the tax cut for this year that was part of a five-year, 21 percent cut approved by a Republican-controlled General Assembly in 2005.....

....Commenting on the governor's decision, Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee said he agreed with the decision. "I applaud Governor Strickland's proposal to balance the state budget by postponing a planned income tax reduction." With this move, he said, "the governor is taking decisive, responsible action to meet a significant projected budget shortfall. I am hopeful that members of the General Assembly will give prompt and serious consideration to this approach." Gee and The Ohio State University would likely have had to increase tuition had funding for education been impacted severely.....

Strickland had a courageous move to make. With the state income tax staying at the same rate, people will not be forced to pay higher taxes. If the measure would pass, that would help make up the state's expected deficit. It just makes sense.