Dumb And McDumber
Jim Pence July 23rd, 2008
Ed. Whitfield’s Donors!
Jim Pence July 22nd, 2008
(Cross posted at Hillbilly Report )
For those that might think I’m a Muslim basher, click here and here and see what I have to say about those claiming to be Christians.
Let me begin by saying I don’t believe Ed. Whitfield is involved with terrorism or supports terrorist, but I’m questioning Mr. Whitfield’s judgment for accepting campaign contributions from the following:
- Abdulrahman Alamoudi: Made a $1000 contribution to Ed. Whitfield . Abdulrahman Alamoudi is now serving a 23 year prison sentence for financing terrorism !
- Khaled Saffuri : Made a $1000 contribution to Ed. Whitfield . (FRONTPAGEMAG.COM ) The founding director of Grover Norquist’s Islamic Institute , Khaled Saffuri, is a Muslim Palestinian by birth. Prior to joining Alamoudi’s group (where he served for almost three years), Saffuri was active in Muslim-support operations in Bosnia, a hot-bed for Islamic radicals from Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere anxious to establish a beachhead on the continent of Europe. In recent years, he has acknowledged personally supporting the families of suicide bombers – even though, in public settings, he strenuously denies having done so. He denounced President Bush for shutting down the Holy Land Foundation, a Saudi charity that the U.S. government determined was funneling American Muslims’ donations to terrorist organizations overseas.
Saffuri had also arranged for the Bush campaign to enlist Sami al-Arian , a well-known Florida-based activist – despite the fact that the professor made little secret of his radical Islamist sympathies – to help engender Muslim support in his state. A photograph of Mr. Bush taken with al-Arian in March 2000 subsequently received considerable attention after the professor was arrested 40 terrorism-related counts. Of particular concern are those alleging his functional direction over the past 19 years of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, one of the most murderous terrorist organizations in the Middle East.
- Grover Norquist : Made a $250 contribution to Ed. Whitfield . (FRONTPAGEMAG.COM ) Grover Norquist has formed alliances with prominent Islamic radicals who have ties to the Saudis and to Libya and to Palestine Islamic Jihad, and who are now under indictment by U.S. authorities. Equally troubling is that the arrests of these individuals and their exposure as agents of terrorism have not resulted in noticeable second thoughts on Grover’s part or any meaningful effort to dissociate himself from his unsavory friends.
The association between Grover Norquist and Islamists appears to have started in 1998, when he became the founding chairman of an organization called the Islamic Free Market Institute, better known as the Islamic Institute. The Institute’s stated purpose was to cultivate Muslim-Americans and Arab-Americans whose attachment to conservative family values and capitalism made them potential allies for the Republican Party in advance of the 2000 presidential election.
It seems unlikely that even in Alamoudi’s wildest dreams he could have imagined the extent of the access, influence and legitimacy the American Muslim Council and allied Islamist organizations would be able to secure in Republican circles, thanks to the investment they began in 1998 in a relationship with Norquist.
Alamoudi and Norquist
The investment began when Alamoudi wrote two personal checks (a $10,000 loan and what appears to be a $10,000 gift) to help found Norquist’s Islamic Institute . In addition, Alamoudi made payments in 2000 and 2001 totaling $50,000 to Janus-Merritt Strategies, a lobbying firm with which Norquist was associated at the time.
Click here to view a short video of Abdulrahman Alamoudi speaking at Lafayette Park, in Washington D.C. October 28, 2000.
Ed. Whitfield has also taken two trips to Qatar, in 2002 sponsored by the Islamic Institute and 2005 also sponsored by the Islamic Institute . Good judgment? You decide.
Herr Lügner, A James Pence Video.
Jim Pence July 21st, 2008
Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac Lazy Ass Greedy Slackers?
Jim Pence July 20th, 2008
(Cross posted at Hillbilly Report )
Opinion:
During Hurricane Katrina TV showed folks looting over and over. Remember when Coralnelle Little, 36, Rhonda McGowen, 42, and Paul C. Pearson, 36, were sentenced to 15 years for looting during Hurricane Katrina and the judge said he wanted to send a message that looting would not be tolerated when he gave the maximum 15 year sentence?
Well where in the Hell is that judge when it comes to the thieving subprime lenders that have come close and may even succeed in bringing our economy down. I’ll tell you where I think that judge is, he’s in the pocket of Corporate America because that’s where the real thieves are and the judge will find plenty of money in their pockets!
The Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the subprime debacle has cost our economy more than the 911 terrorist attact, but it’s not as interesting as the New Yorker Magazine cover or photos of Britney Spears with no underwear. No this is not interesting stuff, but there are investors poised to make millions from this debacle and the Bush administration, with the support of politicians like Senator Mitch McConnell , is more than ready to help them and let them know when to invest. In the meanwhile most of us will be working our asses off trying to make ends meet and the investors with inside information will make fortunes without hitting a lick.
The subprime lenders are and were nothing more than common thieves and should be treated as such, (where are you judge ). Hells Bells these crooks have caused cities to file bankruptcy petitions and others to sue the subprime lenders! The lawsuits have just begun and it wouldn’t surprise me if our government gave the thieving banks immunity just like they did the telecoms .
Our children and grandchildren will be paying for this banking misadventure for years to come and when all is said and done we may have to work a few years more than what we anticipated, because of these jerks, kinda like being sentenced to several years of "Forced Labor". I hope when our children and grandchildren ask us why we let it happen our answer is not " I was more interested in seeing a photo of Britney Spears with no underwear or bitchin’ about the New Yorker Magazine cover" than looking into all that boring banking stuff!!!
CNN MONEY.com
Using a pay-disclosure measure that the SEC prefers, which treats the value of stock and options differently, Richard Syron’s pay for 2007 was $18.3 million , up 24% from a year ago.
Freddie Mac chief Richard Syron is hardly the only executive making out at Freddie. Six other executives or former executives made at least $2 million last year, the filing shows: Finance chief Anthony Piszel, business chief Patricia Cook, technology exec Michael Perlman, multifamily sourcing exec Michael May, former operating chief Eugene McQuade and ex-technology officer Joseph Smialowski.
Read more.Huffington Post
Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd reaped a 7 percent rise in pay to $13.4 million in 2007 while the company lost $2.1 billion and its shared fell 33%. Nice work if you can get it.
So now the Bush administration proposes to make the federal guarantee explicit and even to offer taxpayer money to help recapitalize the two banks if needed. Everything has been nationalized — except the profits and the pay scales of the bank’s executives.
That’s right. If the guarantees work, private speculators, having driven the stock down, will clean up on the upside . And the bank’s CEO’s will continue to pocket the multi-million dollar salaries that are de rigueur on Wall Street. Call it Wall Street socialism. Their losses are socialized; their profits are pocketed. You and I will pay for their failures. And if conservatives have their way, their families will pocket their successes, without even having to pay a tax for the transfer of the estates we’ve helped to create.
Read More.
Maliki wants us out of Iraq. Will Mitch stand by his word?
Joe Sonka July 19th, 2008
(crossposted at Barefoot and Progressive)
Obama’s plan for withdrawal has just been endorsed by Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki. Soooo, let’s see if Bush/McSame/McConnell keep talking about Iraq’s “sovereignty”…
SPIEGEL: Would you hazard a prediction as to when most of the US troops will finally leave Iraq?
Maliki: As soon as possible, as far as we’re concerned. US presidential candidate Barack Obama is right when he talks about 16 months. Assuming that positive developments continue, this is about the same time period that corresponds to our wishes.
SPIEGEL: Is this an endorsement for the US presidential election in November? Does Obama, who has no military background, ultimately have a better understanding of Iraq than war hero John McCain?
Maliki: Those who operate on the premise of short time periods in Iraq today are being more realistic. Artificially prolonging the tenure of US troops in Iraq would cause problems. Of course, this is by no means an election endorsement. Who they choose as their president is the Americans’ business. But it’s the business of Iraqis to say what they want. And that’s where the people and the government are in general agreement: The tenure of the coalition troops in Iraq should be limited.
So…. the question is: Will Mitch McConnell stand by this statement that he made in May of 2007?
“I want to assure you, if they vote to ask us to leave, we’ll be glad to comply with their request,” he said.
Is Mitch a man of his word? Or will he backtrack and continue to go against the will of both the American AND Iraqi people?
(Knowing Mitch, I think we all know the answer to that…)
Ryan Alessi calls out Mitch McConnell for lying in his new attack ad
Joe Sonka July 18th, 2008
(crossposted at Barefoot and Progressive)
Well, McConnell is finally spending his millions on his long expected attack ads on Bruce Lunsford. And, as expected, they have no regard for the truth.
Fortunately, Ryan Alessi is there to point out the inaccuracies (lies).
By saying Lunsford wants to “pump taxpayers for even more,” it leaves the impression that Lunsford supports another increase in taxes on the price of a pump. However, the ad cites a May 21 Pol Watcher’s report in which Lunsford said he favored a windfall profit tax on oil companies in order to cover a gas tax holiday this summer for consumers — a plan that became a political football during this spring’s presidential primary.
Technically oil companies are tax payers but not exactly the type of taxpayer hurt by high gas prices, which is what the rest of McConnell’s spot is about.
This has been McConnell’s entire campaign strategy so far (gas prices), after he ditched the fabulously unsuccessful and idiotic strategy of portraying himself as the ultimate Washington insider (can’t belieeeeeeve that one didn’t work).
Once more, this is an absolute head-scratcher. George Bush has been running things for the last 7+ years and is a tool of the oil industries making record profits. McConnell has been their tool for even longer, taking in $650,00 for them in campaign contributions. And they’ve done NOTHING to bring about alternative energy. They’ve done NOTHING to improve fuel efficiency standards. And they’ve done NOTHING to put the heat on price speculators. And their solutions are simply doing more of the same, with more oil coming 10 years down the road? And not pressuring oil companies to drill on the land that they already have and don’t use?
And you think that Kentuckians are going to blame somebody who hasn’t been in government for 20+ years?
Shocking incompetence in campaign strategy.
Justin Brasell: Hunter Bates, you’re not.
OVERRIDE!!! (despite fringe extremist Mitch McConnell)
Joe Sonka July 17th, 2008
(crossposted at Barefoot and Progressive)
Some Republicans actually grew a heart today, cutting the unholy umbilical chord that attached themselves to President Bush, and voting to override his veto of the “Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act”. This bill prevents a 10.6% cut in pay for doctors under Medicare, as explained here.
But here’s the least shocking news, ever: Mitch McConnell once again voted with Bush and the extreme right-wing fringe in a losing effort.
Just how much of an extremist has McConnell showed himself to be? Take a look at how the Congressional representatives of KY voted. While Reverend Ron Lewis voted against the veto override, look who voted for it: Geoff(erson) Davis, Exxon Ed Whitfield, and Hal Rogers.
That’s right. Mitch McConnell is such a fringe extremist that he is too the RIGHT of Davis, Whitfield and Rogers.
We are in for a tidal wave election this November, and fringe, extremists Republicans like Mitch McConnell are going to be swept away into political oblivion.
Beaker, from Muppet Show
PFC James Burmeister Receives Six Months And A Bad Conduct Discharge.
Jim Pence July 17th, 2008
PFC James Burmeister’s Court Martial was held yesterday at the Pike Hall (the Legal Offices) building #1310 court room in Fort Knox, Kentucky. This was my first time to attend a Court Martial and now I understand why Court Martial’s are seldom covered by the press. If you’re a member of the press you have to be escorted to the court sight and and off of the military post, when the trial is over, by Government Personnel. No cameras, camcorders, cell phones, audio recording devices, etc. were allowed in the court room. Our government escorts were very nice with the exception of one and I will assume, this time, that she was just having a bad day. To tell the truth I felt like I was in another country where freedom of speech and transparency were not very high on the agenda.
The court room was very small with 3 rows of church like pews. The first row had three 6 ft. pews reserved for witness’s. The second row had two 6ft. pews for the public and press and the third row had one 6 ft. pew for the public and press. We were told when the few seats available were full no one else would be allowed in the court room and if we left the court room our seats could not be guaranteed when we returned. Members of the press attending the court martial were, WHAS TV , The Louisville Courier Journal , The Hardin County News Enterprise and yours truly James Pence a video blogger. If you do the math and add up the available seats, it’s easy to conclude that the government didn’t want many folks at this Court Martial.
PFC James Burmeister pleaded guilty to AWOL and stated his reason for going AWOL while on R&R in Germany. He said could no longer participate in the "Bait and Kill" and "Small Kill Teams". PFC James Burmeister’s defense said James had reported the "Bait and Kill" and "Small Kill Teams" to his chain of command and he was told to keep it quite and it was then that James decided to go AWOL and expose the "Bait and Kill" and "Small Kill Teams" to the press and when James found out through and email, of which he has a screen shot of, in late February, 2008 from a soldier in his Company that the "Bait and Kill" and "Small Kill Teams" practices had been stopped he turned himself in to the Military in early March, 2008, because his mission had been accomplished. PFC James Burmeister also agreed to allow the Military Judge hear the case and render the sentence.
The prosecution called several witness one of them brought up this PBS transcript . The prosecution also brought up the web site Courage To Resist .
PFC James Burmeister’s parents testified on PFC James Burmeister’s behalf and their testimony was very moving.
The judge listened to all the evidence and left the court room to to make his decision. The judge retuned about 45 min. later with a verdict of 6 months confinement with 21 days of pre trial confinement to be considered as time served and a Bad Conduct Discharge. When the sentence was announced James’ didn’t flinch, but his father fell to his knees in disbelief and shock! PFC James Burmeister and his parents were allowed a few minutes together after the Court Martial and they will be going back to Oregon to await their son’s release.
I’ve wrote this article to the best of my ability with my notes and my memory and I suggest if the US Government doesn’t agree with my account of the events they should have allowed the Court Martial to have been video taped!!!
I took a few photos outside, prior and after the Court Martial, click here to view them.
The video below is PFC James Burmeister’s father directly after the Court Martial
Senator Mitch McConnell’s Best Friend, George Bush Shows His Contempt For Seniors And The Military With His Veto Pen!!
Jim Pence July 15th, 2008
President Bush vetoed a bill blocking Medicare and Tricare pay cuts to doctors, but congress tells him to go to Hell and overrides the veto. The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly by a 383-41 vote to override President Bush’s veto and the Senate vote was 70-26 .
Senators Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning continued to show their disdain for seniors and the military and voted to uphold the George Bush’ veto!
This time next year I hope George W. Bush is living on his 100,000 acres in Paraguay because he won’t be welcomed here in the United States by seniors like me! He can hire Blackwater to protect him from the International Courts that will surely indict him for crimes against humanity , and George will find a good supply of cocaine in Paraguay to sniff up his nose and plenty of room to go hunting with "Shotgun" Dick Cheney!
I can’t wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Quick Hit: Lunsford Reaches Out to Netroots
Terri Whitehouse July 15th, 2008
Check it out here. Supposedly some Q&A to happen, per Page One.
The New 21st Century Baby Mommas, Big Oil, Bankers and Farmers!
Jim Pence July 15th, 2008
Have you ever been in a rural Kentucky church or restaurant and hear folks wailing about all those "Baby Mommas" on welfare? Well I have and I hear it all the time and it’s coming out of the mouths of those receiving more money than you can imagine, what a bunch of hypocrites!!!!!!
Recipients of USDA Subsidies in Kentucky’s 1st Congressional District (Rep. Ed Whitfield ) totaled $1.253 billion , with a "B", from 1995-2006, that’s a lot of dough and, in my opinion, it’s nothing more than welfare!!!! It sure as hell ain’t the free market.
Meanwhile food prices are skyrocketing and some farmers are being paid not to grow crops !!!
It seems to me if you want a government hand out your best bets are:
- Get into the, "Baby Momma ", oil business.
- Put on your bib overalls and become a, " Baby Momma ", farmer.
- Put on your shirt, tie and Armani suit and become a, "Baby Momma ", banker.
I suggest your chance for a government hand is not so good if you own a small business or you’re a regular guy/gal with 1,2 or 3 jobs and don’t even think about asking the government to help with healthcare.
My New Yorker And It Ain’t About Barack Obama!
Jim Pence July 14th, 2008
To see the slimy cover of the New Yorker, click here. The New Yorker email address is webcomments@newyorker.com
IndyMac, Sorry Everybody!!!!!
Jim Pence July 12th, 2008
IndyMac goes bust and folks could lose as much as $500 million. Reckon foreclosure Phil will give these folks permission to whine?
Phil Gramm:
"You’ve heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession, we have sort of become a nation of whiners. You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline."
John McCain described Gramm, one of his top economic advisors this way.
"No one who is more respected on the issue of economics than Phil Gramm," McCain said.
Read more about IndyMac .
Keith Olbermann, Phil Gramm May 27, 2008
George Bush Ends Private G-8 Meeting With These Words: ‘Goodbye From The World’s Biggest Polluter’
Jim Pence July 12th, 2008
George w. Bush ends private G-8 meeting with these words: "Goodbye from the world’s biggest polluter."
Telegraph.Co.UK
George Bush surprised world leaders with a joke about his poor record on the environment as he left the G8 summit in Japan. The American leader, who has been condemned throughout his presidency for failing to tackle climate change, ended a private meeting with the words: "Goodbye from the world’s biggest polluter."
He then punched the air while grinning widely, as the rest of those present including Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy looked on in shock.
Mr Bush, whose second and final term as President ends at the end of the year, then left the meeting at the Windsor Hotel in Hokkaido where the leaders of the world’s richest nations had been discussing new targets to cut carbon emissions.
One official who witnessed the extraordinary scene said afterwards: "Everyone was very surprised that he was making a joke about America’s record on pollution."
Mr Bush also faced criticism at the summit after Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, was described in the White House press pack given to journalists as one of the "most controversial leaders in the history of a country known for government corruption and vice".
The White House apologized for what it called "sloppy work" and said an official had simply lifted the characterization from the internet without reading it.
Concluding the three-day event, leaders from the G8 and developing countries proclaimed a "shared vision" on climate change. However, they failed to bridge differences between rich and emerging nations on curbing emissions.
Quick Hits: Bruce & Other Blog Goodness
Terri Whitehouse July 10th, 2008
So I don’t know how political campaigns and stuff work, or if Bruce Lunsford actually penned these words himself, but going after Sen. Mitch McConnell by insinuating that he dislikes puppies and rainbows? I love it! Taking the initiative to reach out to Kentuckians, instead of crying into your $1,000-dollar supper? I love it even more! Keep up the good work, Bruce.
Also, why not check out my favorite new blog and save your soul?
Mitch again joins the fringe minority on Medicare
Joe Sonka July 9th, 2008
(crossposted at Barefoot and Progressive)
As we all know by now, a couple weeks ago Mitch McConnell and his fringe minority in the Senate managed to block the “Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act”, which would prevent a 10.6% pay-cut to doctors. As Americans United for Change said- “A cut in payments could lead to doctors across the country refusing to see some of the 42 million seniors and people with disabilities who depend on these doctors and Medicare for their care and prescriptions. The Senate will re-vote on the same measure today, and if Senate Republicans once again stand in the way and the cuts go through, 60 percent of doctors will likely drop Medicare patients, according to the American Medical Association.”
Well, today they had the vote, and the overwhelming bi-partisan majority of 69 Senators voted to pass the bill.
Big surprise… Mitch was one of the fringe (attempted) obstructionists.
A pathetic man.
And just what would these pay cuts mean to us in Kentucky? According to those wacky America-hating Communists at the American Medical Association:
- Kentucky physicians will lose $190 million for the care of elderly and disabled patients over the 18 months from July 2008 through December 2009 due to a 10.6 percent cut in Medicare payments in July 2008 and an additional 5 percent cut in 2009. On average, each Kentucky physician faces a Medicare cut of $20,000 over this 18-month period. In addition, the state’s physicians will lose $3.7 billion for the care of elderly and disabled patients by 2016 due to nearly a decade of cuts for this important medical care.
- 41,528 employees, 655,883 Medicare patients and 159,979 TRICARE patients in Kentucky will be affected by these cuts.
- Compared to the rest of the country, Kentucky, at 16 percent, has an above-average proportion of Medicare patients and, at 23 percent, has one of the highest proportions of disabled beneficiaries of any state. In addition, at 14 practicing physicians per 1,000 beneficiaries, has a below-average ratio of physicians to Medicare beneficiaries, even before the cuts take effect.
- 42 percent of Kentucky’s practicing physicians are over 50, an age at which surveys have shown many physicians consider reducing their patient care activities.
- In July 2008, Kentucky physicians face cuts of an additional 1.8 percent on top of the 10.6 percent cuts across the country. The 2003 Medicare law provided a temporary increase in geographic payment adjustments for certain states. This increase also will expire on June 30, 2008 under current law.
But let’s be serious… does Mitch really care about all these Kentucky commoners getting the shaft? His insurance lobby buddies pay Mitch well, and he has his own Free Government Health Care.
Well, he has it for another 6 months.
Mitch McConnell’s stimulus plan: Die, Grandma, die! Rich people need tax cuts!
Matt Gunterman July 9th, 2008
Yes, indeed, folks, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has an excellent plan to pump more money into the pockets of rich folk: let old people die. You see, the less old people there are, then the less those nasty entitlement programs like “Medicare” are needed. So, when all the non-rich grandma’s in the U.S. are dead, we can take the savings and give even bigger tax cuts to rich Americans, whose patriotism is to their bank accounts and who can then buy homes number seven and eight like Sen. Old Fart who’s running for president on the Republican side.
Here’s a new advertisement and press release from Americans United for Change on McConnell’s new “Operation Wither Grandma”:
Click here to listen to: Why does Mitch McConnell want grandma to die?
Washington D.C. – Late last month, 39 Senate Republicans, including Roger Wicker (R-MS) and minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) managed to block by a single vote the ‘Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act’ - critical and urgently needed legislation that will prevent a 10.6% pay-cut to doctors and thereby ensure the disabled and seniors on Medicare have access to the doctor they know and trust. A cut in payments could lead to doctors across the country refusing to see some of the 42 million seniors and people with disabilities who depend on these doctors and Medicare for their care and prescriptions. The Senate will re-vote on the same measure today, and if Senate Republicans once again stand in the way and the cuts go through, 60 percent of doctors will likely drop Medicare patients, according to the American Medical Association.
In advance of the vote, Americans United for Change launched an aggressive radio ad blitz in the Jackson and Tupelo, Mississippi and the Lexington and Louisville media markets today that urges Senators McConnell and Wicker to change course and put seniors first. Despite the bill receiving broad bipartisan support in the U.S. House of Representatives, passing by a 355-59 margin, Senator McConnell and Wicker stood in the way at the behest of President Bush and the big insurance companies. McConnell has taken $817,757 and Wicker has taken $173,004 in campaign contributions from the insurance industry, according to OpenSecrets.org.
“After receiving overwhelming bipartisan support in the U.S. House, this critical and urgently needed legislation fell just one vote shy of moving forward when Senator Roger Wicker and Obstructionist-in-Chief Mitch McConnell and the rest of the Bush-Republicans decided they were more interested in their loyalty to the President and insurance companies than standing up for seniors, people with disabilities, pharmacists and doctors,” said Jeremy Funk, of Americans United for Change, which has been working to eliminate wasteful insurance company subsidies under the Medicare Advantage program. Cuts to such subsidies, in part, would have been used to prevent cuts to physicians’ reimbursements under Medicare that are still scheduled to take place this month thanks to Republican obstructionism. “Their obstructionism was a microcosm of the Bush-Republican Legacy: put the corporate interests first and everyone else be damned. Of course, after eight years where Bush-Republicans have tried every maneuver to dismantle the safety net for seniors – from the failed effort to privatize Social Security, to the giveaways to big Pharma in the Medicare prescription drug program – should anyone really be surprised?”
“Senator Wicker, McConnell and the rest will get one more shot to do the right thing today. The question is – this time, will they stand with seniors, people with disabilities, pharmacists and doctors — or with Bush and the insurance companies which have put us in this healthcare mess in the first place.”
Ding Dong the Wicked Witch Is Dead!! L.F. Eason III Refuses To Lower The Flag For Jesse Helms!!
Jim Pence July 9th, 2008
Update:
L.F. Eason III, my new hero is forced to retire for refusing to lower the flag for Jesse Helms.
Read More.
Our very own Cliff Schecter connects the ideological dots between Helms and McConnell in The Guardian
Matt Gunterman July 8th, 2008
DMKY’s very own Cliff Schecter, who recently penned a best-selling book on that Old Fart running for president under the GOP banner, has a piece in The Guardian (UK) today that follows the trail from the wicked, evil ideology of Jesse Helmes (R-Hell) and the equally wicked, evil ideology of Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (like the sort of ideology where, if your grandmother’s dead, then she can’t be a “burden” to Medicare; that’s the grand vision of Mitch McConnell for you).
The toxic legacy of Jesse Helms
His notorious race-baiting and Red-bashing political campaigns molded the modern Republican partyIt is almost fitting that Senator Jesse Helms - longtime US Senator from North Carolina, onetime right-wing political commentator and a constant conservative voice on both domestic and foreign policy issues in American politics for the past half decade - passed away during an election year that may indeed see the demise of the conservative coalition that he was a key player in building.
[...]
Jesse Helms may be gone. But if you follow politics, he cannot be forgotten. For every time Republicans win a state in a presidential election by placing a gay marriage ban on the ballot. Every time you hear a member or associate of the McCain campaign question Barack Obama’s patriotism. Every time Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConell sets a new record for obstruction by filibustering another bill. The presence of Jesse Alexander Helms on the American political stage can still be felt.
###
Call Senator Mitch McConnell 202-224-2541
Jim Pence July 8th, 2008
Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act
"After nearly unanimous passage in the U.S. House, this critical and urgently needed legislation fell just one vote shy of moving forward when Obstructionist-in-Chief Senator Mitch McConnell and the rest of the Bush-Republicans decided they were more interested in their loyalty to the President and insurance companies than standing up for seniors, people with disabilities, pharmacists and doctors," said Jeremy Funk, of Americans United for Change which has been working to eliminate wasteful insurance company subsidies under the Medicare Advantage program. Cuts to such subsidies, in part, would have been used to prevent cuts to physicians’ reimbursements under Medicare that will still take place this month thanks to Republican obstructionism. "Their obstructionism was a microcosm of the McConnell-Bush-Republican Legacy: put the corporate interests first and everyone else be damned. Of course, after eight years where Bush-McConnell-Republicans have tried every maneuver to dismantle the safety net for seniors – from the failed effort to privatize Social Security, to the giveaways to big Pharmaceuticals in the Medicare prescription drug program – should anyone really be surprised. But, Senator McConnell will get one more shot to do the right thing. The question is – this time, will Mitch McConnell change course and stand with Kentucky seniors or with Bush and the insurance companies which have put us in this healthcare mess in the first place."
The video below is best watched in the high quality mode, click here to watch it in high quality.
How do you know things are bad for Mitch? His own mouthpiece blog is embarrassed by his words
Matt Gunterman July 8th, 2008
This is LOL funny. The whole world’s been howling over the “kind words” offered by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) when former Sen. Jesse Helms (R-Hell) bit the bigot dust last week.
Here’s what McConnell had to say as reported by the Star-Tribune:
[...]
As a television commentator before running for the Senate, Helms said, “Dr. (Martin Luther) King’s outfit … is heavily laden at the top with leaders of proven records of communism, socialism and sex perversion, as well as other curious behavior.” He called the Civil Rights Act of 1964 “the single most dangerous piece of legislation ever introduced in the Congress.”
“Senator Helms certainly was no bigot,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said Friday. “He was a man however not into subtlety. You know what he thought about a particular issue. You certainly knew because he was not into the kind of nuance and subtlety that so often divides American politicians.”
# # #
Well, one of the far-right blogs that McConnell has had set up, which parrots McConnell’s radical conservative message that promotes, among other extremist measures, the cutting off of America’s senior citizens from Medicare, is so embarrassed by his words that the authors over there just cut them out.
When you see two sets of ellipses so close together [see image below], you KNOW you want to read what’s been left out.
And, you absolutely know for SURE that a man was a bigot when you have to explicitly say he wasn’t one. That’s why Mitch McConnell’s obituary will one day open with the sentence, “Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) wasn’t a pederast.”
GSP mock election result not as unsettling as it may seem
Matt Gunterman July 8th, 2008
I notice over at the C-J’s Area blog, that the very old and decrepit man-whore that the Republicans have running for president (what’s his name? I can’t remember because he’s so overshadowed by the Obama Sublime) won the mock election held across the campuses of the Governor’s Scholars Program. The final tally was 49.4 percent to 46.9 percent.
Now, on first reading, you probably get a bit depressed that such a plurality of Kentucky’s “best and brightest” are still drinking the crazy Kool-Aid of the GOP.
But those numbers are actually very encouraging because GSP is skewed towards rural perspectives. For example, the ten largest counties in Kentucky by population contain roughly 1.8-million people, or about 43-percent of the state’s population. Those same counties in 2007 had roughly 380 of the 1,148 Governor’s Scholars — or about 33-percent.
So, you see, if you’re a bright kid in Kentucky at a large urban or suburban school, you’re less likely to get a spot at GSP than your rural counterpart. And, as someone who was at GSP as a student from a rural high school, the students from urban schools are (on average) a notch above the ones from rural areas, if for no other reason than they’ve had a bit more cosmopolitan upbringing. But, let’s be realistic, urban schools have more resources to offer their students and parents of students at those schools have higher expectations of the schools themselves because more of them have been through higher education and work in environments that value higher education.
However, I am myself in favor of a bit of rural affirmative action because GSP for me was an eye-opener at just how inadequate my high school education had generally been.
Seeing as how the Governor’s Scholar Program skews its student population to the rural demographic and thus to the political right, it’s pretty encouraging in my book that the result was so close in the mock election.
It would be interesting if every student’s vote were weighted by the population of the county they’re representing. For instance, if there were 100 students from Jefferson County, then those votes would be representative of 7,000 votes each, while the 3 or so from a county like McLean would be worth 3,000 each.
Eulogizing Jesse Helms
Terri Whitehouse July 8th, 2008
Sen. Mitch McConnell will deliver former Sen. Jesse Helms’s eulogy. I’ve been reading and listening to coverage of the late Senator’s death, and all I can say is it’s a pretty sad reflection upon your legacy when just about the only thing your supporters can say about you is, “Well, at he had the cojones to be blatantly racist, which is something enviable in this age of political correctness.”
