June 30, 2012

Gov. Rick Scott still mulling Medicaid expansion after health care ruling

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/gubernatorial/rick-scott-still-mulling-medicaid-expansion-after-health-care-ruling/1237963

From the Article:

""What I'm concerned about is that what happened with that bill being declared constitutional is the fact that it's going to be bad for patients, bad for taxpayers, bad for businesses," he said Friday after a speech in Tampa. "But we'll be looking at that — the issue over the exchanges, the issue over whether we can afford to expand Medicaid"

Translation: he is waiting to see what sort of avalanche hits Bobby Jindal for outright bucking the law.

June 30, 2012

Get this to the greatest page!!

I am not going to bury my head in the sand and say this is complete. If anything, we should be fighting HARDER to get single payer, stab while the enemy is bleeding! The public will now have an appetitie for single payer that they did not have before.

But I, unlike many, realize that progress is not some bloody Fast Food burger that can be cooked up in a microwave!

And while many on the far lefty are idealists, the sort of idealists we do need, there is a faction that frankly are a bunch of professional protestors, people who can stand on high horses because they know they will never actually have to sell an idea to someone not them. Some of them also love to make money off of this idea: Arianna Huffington, Jane Hamsher, Ralph Nader, all of those that take GOP money, fit this list, and if you notice, none of them happen to be on the list shown in this OP.

What's the matter Jane, Arianna and Ralph? Are you afraid that if Obama succeeds, people will see you as the ineffectual tools you are?

June 30, 2012

I hate Southern GOP assh*les as much as anyone

But it is always tempting to demonize all.

There is a lot of truth in this article, especially about the way Northern Aristocrats did their damage, but realized even they had a leash. But this article does not talk about the poor southerner.

The South was settled by Scotch, Irish and other celts. It is no accident the stars and bars is a St. Andrews cross. Now, the reason why this is important is because the Celts were mistreated badly by the English, who used the pretense of "good government" to screw the Celts every which way, from trying to supress their religion, to using their religion as an excuse to take their land, to putting factories on that taken land.

The Celts knew they had no government to really represent them. Let's face it, they still do not, save for that part of Ireland that got liberated after World War one. That is why many of Celtic descent still, do this day, see government as an evil. The tragedy is, like most people that were abused, they grew up and sought to become ABUSERS. After all, take a look at how they treated Africans:

Celts: had a different language that was suppressed by the English.
Africans: The Celtic Americans chose to suppress African culture and language and religion. No this is NOT ancient history, as any Black person who gets "complemented" for "Good English" can tell you.
Both: It is also why Southern Whites get VERY defensive of their accent, as the twang has been found to be a relative of a Scottish accent.

Celts: Churches tended to be the true cultural centers and welfare centers that the government would not be.
Africans: Churches tended to be the true cultural centers and wlefare centers that the government would not be.
Both: Southerners of Celtic and African descent still see Churches as a part of thier community. It is why Churches are still segregated in practice, and why both Southern Blacks and Whites would gladly fight and die for their churches, and why Clergymen on both sides are still so powerful in the South.

The point is that we cannot just focus on the plantation owners. If you want to South to see things your way, you have to try to understand their history. That does NOT mean kiss the ass of those creeps who DO think of themselves as the new planation owners. Yankees and Southerners both have an elite that thinks they were entitled by God to oppress the lesser, though admittedly the Southern variety knows how to rile up the masses better.

June 28, 2012

To those on the left that wanted the Supes to kill the ACA.

Hey, I know some of us closer to the Obama side of the spectrum anger you sometimes. Sometimes, people get frustrated on both sides of an argument, and truth be told, when people use "ponies" or "chill the F** out I got this" it does not help.

I am not going to do that, but what I would like to do is show you how what happened today could be used to advance the Medicare for all that we really want.

First off, the way this ruling is done, the door is open to have a "Tax" for healthcare. That is the magic word, because, as much as the right wing hates taxes, they know they cannot hold a bake sale for their Bombers. In order to kill the idea that the government can get involved in health care, they have to attack it as a Tax. Granted, we know Grover Norquist will still try to attack, but the situation is a lot more awkward for them. The bubble has burst, because the Supes ruled that yes, Healthcare IS something Uncle Sam can stick his nose in.

This paves the way for medicare for all, because, as their plummeting stocks showed, the insurance industry is going to want to save it's skin. Yes, some may think they can use this to profit, but they know, as the country gets older and sicker, they will need to "invest elsewhere" or lose their shirts. They will want to figure out something to save themselves..we can offer them, in exchange for services, a nice way to exit the business, by allowing medicare for all. They can still make money, like they do in France, Germany, Australia, by selling supplements to the government insurance, supplements people in those countries do pay for, so they can get added benefits. But in that case, the days of people dying for want of basic care could be relegated to the slag heap.

In short, momentum is on our side, and the right wing knows that their grip on the supreme court is looser than they thought. If we take advantage, we can make the days of people living or dying based on their wallet history.

Of course, it is fragile, as the mission of the GOP will be to put another scumbag on the Supremes. I know people hate the idea that this election is about keeping another conservative off the court, but it is true.

June 24, 2012

Some ugly truths

One, is that we do have more common ground on the left than the right, if nothing else, the right wants us ALL dead or in chains. However, the ugly truth is that, as a by product of the fact we tend to THINK more, we tend to be easier to divide. A by product of intelligence is an ego, and the Corporations are masters at manipulating ego.

WARNING: This OP will express a lot of frustration I have, so if offensive language offends you, skip this.

Go ahead and read DU. You will see a rag tag group of people that frankly HATE each other at times. You have the liberal religious types fight with the Dawkins style atheists, you have the Marijuana users fight with anyone who does not use it, you have Vegans fighting with Meat eaters. Let's not get into the real blood feuds, like Gun Owners versus Gun Control, or the various vendettas about who can be a "Feminist" and what one is, wave one two such and such. Of course, let's avoid the Gen X, Y, Z versus Boomers. Oh, and let us not even get into the perennial Civil War where some Southerners keep saying "The war was not about Slavery" and their Yankee counterparts keep demonizing all southerners. You know that there will be the "Let's kick the South out" threads coming like clockwork come November of this year, regardless of who wins, and regardless that some of the best liberals are from Dixie, and some of the worst Neocons are in New York! Of course, there is even simple hate that different shades of left have, where those who like Bill Clinton and those who like Che Guevara duel.

Our American culture promotes EGO, and therefore, it is easy for the Corporations to find a weakness and hack it at, knowing that the Left does NOT care for it's wounded. Someone speak too loud, let's drop some honey traps, that will make sure women and men fight! Edwards, Clinton, Spitzer, Weiner, all served their EGO, their NARCISSTIC ego, and truth be told, we slit our own throats. You have some minority speak too loud, let's make them scary, since we know many people are as scared of the Van Joneses and Al Sharptons as we are, not because people are racist, but because outspoken people offend the EGO! Of course, the media, and I do mean all media, including here, only focus on people who have BIG EGOS, so that from center to hard left, the only voices people respect are those who are Narcissists, on all levels, from the far left vegans whose tone is "let them eat Organic cake" to the centrists who say "Change, but leave MY privilege alone!"

Now, the purpose of the above paragraph (outside of badly needed venting) was to show that all of us are part of the problem. America has always been able to put the lid on class struggle kettles because we have a talent for seeking an "us" to be a part of and a "them" to hate. Yes, the GOP has that too, but they are simpler, based on more primal urges, and therefore able to be dragged about. Yes, we know most right wingers HATE Romney, but they will suck it up, vote for him, and save the bloodsport for when they have the luxury of being in POWER. They also realize that power is gained at the LOWER levels, at school boards, at city councils, even churches, places we hang out with people we would not normally hang out with. At DU, some of us are so in love with our "US vs Them" that we cannot even be civil on a bloody glorified we page. heaven forbid we actually tried talking about issues over Coffee and Doughnuts, half of us would want Starbucks, half would want Duncan Donuts, and both sides would make some sort of sociological/philosophical/socioeconomic/metaphysical judgement, never mind that the idea that we think that we are what we consume and like IS a major part of the problem in the first place, as it allows us to be conquered and herded!

Please, I am not, repeat not saying we need to become DUMB like the right wing, nor am I calling for us to become uniform. All I am saying is that we have to learn the art of when to argue, and when to march as one. Like it or not, we DO have a common lot, because as the nukes fly, and the oceans rise, forces much stronger than ALL of us will be at our door, and they will NOT give a damn about the thousand little egotistical ways we define ourselves! I do not have to agree with you, or even like you, to know that before we can argue about how to cook dinner, we have to avoid becoming dinner! Also, once we strip away the masks, we might find that we resemble each other more than we thought. After all, as much as we may hate the fact, we are family in the end, and while nobody annoys and frustrates like family, in the end, we are all we have.

June 13, 2012

You're not special?

OK, I wrote this is response to a series of threads where people respond to this graduation speech; the gist of it "Your parents lied to you, you were not special, and the Chinese can churn out thousands of talented people to replace you."

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/12/opinion/granderson-not-special/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

Now, I do understand that "self-esteem" has been abused. Yes, some American parents do try to shield their kids from the truth. However, just as we detox from one illusion, we must be careful not to rush right into another. As a member of Generation X, allow me to show you a different angle.

Starting from Gen X on, there were plenty of messages we got that we were NOT special at all. We were among the first to realize that the old FDR era way of building lives was dying. Our parents either went to college,and got good jobs, got good union jobs, or did small businesses. We were the first generation of workers to have these doors closed on us, first with X, then Y, and now the Millennials who had to hear this speech. Granted, we have also had to out up with a lot of abuse just for being who we are:

when Gen X did punk rock, the Boomers said "Your music sucks, and we were so much better",
when Gen X and Y made Heavy Metal, the Boomers said "your music sucks and we were so much better",
When X, Y and the Millenials made hip hop, the Boomers said "Your music sucks and we were so much better",

Granted, I love the 60's musicians, and I note that many of them turned out to be sick of the way some of their "fans" behave. Don Henley made the lyric that rings true today, the despair when you see a "dead-head sticker on a Cadillac", there were quotes were Pete Townsend lambasted the way his generation fell wondering "whatever happened to that lovely hippy crap?" , let's not even go into how John Lennon said "nothing happened in the sixties, save that we all dressed up." Now, I love all three of these artists, but the point is they could look at their generation's self love with a critical eye and laugh at it.

but getting back to the main point, sorry to say, many young folk have already been told they are not special. Now, I am not saying all Boomers, indeed, I would not be surprised if many, if not most of the Boomer population here are the ones still fighting the good fight, wondering how that college friend they used to smoke grass with back in 1972 turned into a fucking republican. But the young know that their job prospects are slim, and that they are part of the cycle where America, for all it's supposed youth worship, started eating it's young. Hell, the Millennials know that by the time they hit their 40's, half the decent cities in the world will be flooded.

I am not saying that people are wrong for trying to deprogram kids from BS, but please, do not think it is enough to scoop out the BS and leave the hole empty for something else to crawl in. If people are starving, they will eat garbage, and no, they won't care if it is organic.

To quote one of the better lyricists among the Boomers:

"these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're going through."

June 6, 2012

Let's learn one lesson from our right wing enemies:

They are willing to lose one or two battles as long as they win the war. If Scott Walker lost, do you think they would see this as a sign that their sky was falling? Hell no, they would do exactly what we need to do, fine tune the strategy, GET AGGRESSIVE, and get organized. This is not the time to wallow and wail, but a time for getting right back up, then coming out swinging, even landing a low blow or two.

It's a long way to November, and we can land a LOT of blows, especially when golden boy Walker becomes criminal Walker.

June 6, 2012

Debbie Wasserman Schulz needs to go.

I remember getting pilloried for calling her strategy into question, sorry to say, with her calling Wisconsin a "dry run" for November, she fed right into the GOP strategy. She also maintains the centrist politeness that will NOT get us the voters we need. I am sure I will be called a dozen names for not bowing to her, but the truth is, she is NOT taking this fight to the Television.

I may find folks like James Carville sleazy, I may find Howard Dean's "yeeeeeeehaaaaww" embarrassing, but both knew better than to take knives to gunfights, especially when the gunfight is supposed to be a duel, but the rich have placed snipers in the trees.

June 6, 2012

The people who DO deserve the blame for tonight

The people in 2000 who thought "Gore is as bad as Bush"
The people in 2004 that did not vote because Kerry was ugly
The people in 2010 who thought not voting was a sort of protest.

Your votes put Sam Alito on the Supreme Court
which made way for Citizens United.

Go ahead, blame Obama for not going into Wisconsin where the GOP had everything set up...
Go ahead, say Hillary would have done better (even though you know the GOP would have conspired as bad, and her husband might have helped!)

None of this changes the fact
Voting DOES matter,
not did, DOES.

If Voting did not matter, why did the GOP spend a Billion dollars to buy this election?

June 6, 2012

To wisconsin

To those who worked and toiled, thank you
To those that inspired the nation, thank you
to those that got loud even though others were cautious, thank you,

People like you, and you alone, are the true Value of this nation.

I am in Florida, and I can offer you sympathy, as you are about to get blamed and hated as a whole, with everyone forgetting that you stuck your neck out.

To those that sold their state out.
to those that are trying to exploit this,
and to those that did NOT VOTE...

I would say fuck you, but that is too kind,
I offer this quote from Dante:

"The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in a moment of crisis, merely do nothing."

I am an agnostic, but people like you make me wish there was a hell, instead we have the nation you have helped create.