political_talk

George Will on Media Fascination With Sarah Palin

A surprisingly astute quote by George Will from his article dissecting the media's fascination with Sarah Palin, "Sarah Palin and the mutual loathing society". I especially liked the last two lines.

Political nature abhors a vacuum, which is what often exists for a year or two in a party after it loses a presidential election. But today's saturation journalism, mesmerized by presidential politics and ravenous for material, requires a steady stream of political novelties. In that role, Palin is united with the media in a relationship of mutual loathing. This is not her fault. But neither is it her validation.

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Source:  The Washington Post, George Will

GOP Senate Candidate Compares Embryonic Stem Cell Research to Nazi Death Camps

"In March 2009, President Obama issued an executive order that removed President Bush’s limitations on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, ending the tragic politicization of the issue that existed under the former president." [...]

GOP Senate candidate, Gary Coleman [R-AR] attacked President Obama regarding this decision:

Embryonic stem cell research is taking the concept of taking a life and using it to conduct experiments so we can temporarily extend somebody else’s life. Let me tell you what I just described. I just described what the Nazis did to the Jews in the death camps of WWII.

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Source: Think Progress 
Science Magazine

Sen. Dick Durbin to Samuel Alito: Your record raises troubling questions about whether you appreciate the checks and balances in our Constitution...

Sen. Durbin's [D-ILL] prophetic comment to Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito during Alito's 2006 confirmation hearings.

Your record raises troubling questions about whether you appreciate the checks and balances in our Constitution -- the careful efforts of our Founding Fathers to protect us from a government or a president determined to seize too much power over our lives,

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Source: Associated Press

FULL TEXT: Column by John L. Perry Suggesting the Possibility of a Military Coup in the U.S.

The original column was published earlier today by Newsmax, a conservative site where Perry is a columnist.

It remained on the site for a short time (whereby Political Talk saved it as a pdf file), and was then removed by Newsmax, which has since attempted to distance itself¹ from Perry. 

Obama Risks a Domestic Military Intervention

By: John L. Perry

There is a remote, although gaining, possibility America's military will intervene as a last resort to resolve the "Obama problem." Don't dismiss it as unrealistic.

America isn't the Third World. If a military coup does occur here it will be civilized. That it has never happened doesn't mean it wont. Describing what may be afoot is not to advocate it. So, view the following through military eyes:

Dear Border Patrol....

Dear Border Patrol: my red hair and pale skin IS my passport, bureaucrats.

Twittered by Joshua S. Treviño, [jstrevino] former Bush speechwriter, GOP member

The finest legislator I ever worked with was Ted Kennedy.

Senator Alan K. Simpson | Republican [WY]

 Well don't throw anything now, because we're not talking about philosophy or party. The finest legislator I ever worked with was Ted Kennedy. He had a magnificent staff, he even had a parliamentarian on that staff of his. So when you were in the legislative arena and you were bringing your lunch and staying late, you wanted to get Ted on your side or least use some of his expertise. I would go to him sometimes early on and say look, you'll have to trust me, what the hell do I do right now to move this bill? Boy I'll tell you he had ways to do it and as you can see he uses those skills on issues in which I was totally on the other side. I can't remember them all there were so many. We were never on the same side. But he is a legislator.

Quotation from an interview with Harry Kreisler in 1997

Oklahoma Republican, Sen. Tom Coburn, says government is not the solution to healthcare problems

Senator Tom Coburn | Republican

If you have ever wondered whether the Republicans are on the side of Big Insurance Corporations, as opposed to being  on the side of the citizens who pay their salaries and elected them to office (i don't think that corporations have the ability to vote in elections.....YET), here's a rather strong indication.

At a healthcare town hall meeting, a CONSTITUENT, weeping, told Sen. Coburn (R-OK) about the problems she and her husband are encountering with their healthcare insurer, who has refused to cover her husband's treatment for a traumatic brain injury.

As the woman continues to cry, and asks Sen. Coburn for his assistance, Sen. Coburn does tell the woman that his office would try to help her, but then, then he delivered this zinger:

The idea that the government is the solution to our problems is an inaccurate, a very inaccurate statement.

What he should have said, is that he receives too much money from the healthcare industry to care about the way that industry rides roughshod over it's subscribers in any meaningful way. In fact, throughout his political career, the largest single industry contributing to his campaign coffers is the healthcare industry.

Watch the video.

The final house bill has....

Bob Cesca | Democrat

Congress has repeatedly stated that they have not read the legislation on healthcare reform. In response, Cesca had this to say:

The final House bill has been available online since July. If congressional Republicans and Blue Dogs are incapable of reading a 1,000 pages by now, maybe "writing and creating laws" was a poor career choice.

Read HR3200.

Quotation: bobcesca.com

Grassley Flip-Flops on Death Panel Claims

Senator Chuck Grassley | Republican - Iowa

On August 7, during a town hall meeting in Iowa, Grassley endorsed the right wing's false claim of death panels.

 There is some fear because in the House bill, there is counseling for end-of-life," And from that standpoint, you have every right to fear. You shouldn't have counseling at the end of life. You ought to have counseling 20 years before you're going to die. You ought to plan these things out. And I don't have any problem with things like living wills. But they ought to be done within the family. We should not have a government program that determines if you're going to pull the plug on grandma.

Today, Sunday, August 23, on Face the Nation, Grassley admitted that the government wouldn't be pulling the plug on grandma.  He admitted that the legislation didn't include the outrageous death panel provision that would allow the government to determine who should live or die. [fabrication by completely transparent Republican tools]

 I know the Pelosi bill doesn't intend to do that. It won't do that

Watch the video clip of Grassley on Face the Nation..

Image Source: WikiMedia Commons
Quote Source: The Iowa Independent & The Huffington Post

Wally Herger Calls Self-Described "Right Wing Terrorist" a "Great American"

 
Congressman Wally Herger | Republican - CA

At a town hall meeting on August 18 in Redding, California , Rep. Walter William Herger, Jr., speaking of healthcare reform and President Obama, intimated that the President, and/or his policies, are a threat to Democracy. [where was this loser when Bush 43 threw the Constitution in the toilet?]

 Our democracy has never been threatened as much as it is today.

And in another example of the craziness promoted by the far right, including people such as Wally Herger, at the same town hall, and in response to a man who said “I am a proud right wing terrorist.”, Herger had this to say:

 Amen, God bless you. There is a great American.

Your tax dollars at work.

Source: Mt. Shasta News
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons