Politics Blog

Category: Republicans

Stand Off in Standish

Liz Cheney's new political advocacy group, Keep America Safe, whose only purpose appears to be to attack President Obama's national-security policies, has posted a short video featuring a few citizens of Standish who are opposed to potentially housing some Gitmo detainees in their local prison. These people claim to be speaking for the majority of the town, but the City Manager says that's not true. In fact, the "Standish city council recently passed a unanimous resolution expressing support for bringing Gitmo detainees," as a way to bring much needed employment to the town. He accuses Cheney's group of fearmongering and says the people on the video represent a tiny minority of naysayers. The video is available at the link above.

To put this bit of propaganda into further context, a major funder of "Keep America Safe" is long time GOP operative Mel Sembler, who was awarded a couple of different ambassador positions during GOP administrations and was a co-founder of Straight, Inc., a controversial chain of drug-treatment centers that were shut down after numerous complaints of physical and psychological abuse of its clients, some of which was attributed to Sembler personally. Hard to believe this makes for a non-partisan organization.

In any event, these citizens of Standish should worry more about losing the opportunity to reactivate their prison than about who might be housed in it. They have some strong competition. Thomson, Illinois " is reportedly pushing hard for the administration to send Guantanamo prisoners there." If Standish goes broke, they may be sorry they weren't a bit more courageous.

Category: Republicans

GOP Endorses War Against Our Government

This is so over the top. Someone put up this billboard in Missouri and a local county GOP Committee is applauding it on its webpage.



I know they say politics isn't beanbag, but I never thought I'd see the day when a major political party effectively endorsed overthrowing our legitimately elected government. Sure sounds like sedition to me. And it makes me wonder why people are so afraid of foreign terrorists. Looks to me like we should be more worried about Republicans who apparently want to destroy our centuries old system, simply to regain political power for themselves.

Category: Voter Disconnect

Pre-Game C-Span coverage

Interesting advice from a former Reagan adviser who notes the selective rhetoric of a party who has no more credibility than the other, before an 8pm vote on a massive, massive health care bill, the same size as 2005's Medicare Part D debacle. The problem here is if we're making the same mistake twice. Watch it here, or just leave it on to listen to between football. Mako out.

Category: New media

Tea Party - The Documentary

When I first saw this, I thought it might be one of those mash-ups that people sometimes make for fake movies, but I'm told that this is a real trailer for an actual documentary about the tea parties, that will be aired on the internet. Not absolutely sure that's accurate, but thought it was pretty well-produced and worth passing on for the artistic value if nothing else.

Category: Crazy

Angry Conservatives - Updated

Nice people, these "Christian" conservatives. Apparently the internets are lighting up with conservatives' laughter over this t-shirt featuring a bible verse. There are bumper stickers too, with the slogan "Pray for Obama--"Psalm 109:8". If you look up that passage in the Bible it starts: "Let his days be few; and let another take his office. Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow." Then it goes on to wish that the children live in poverty and other really kindly Christian sentiments. Longer transcript at the link. Sadly it's not the first time I've heard about conservatives wishing ill to the President's family along with all the sick "jokes" about killing our President.

Meanwhile, a few days ago a Port Huron newspaper was threatened by an angry conservative who called in and said she was going to go all Ft. Hood on their office because they dared to print an editorial criticizing Candice Miller for participating in Michelle Bachmann's hate fest disguised as a "press conference."

And it seems the fan base in Indiana is becoming disenchanted with Ms. "wink and a promise" Palin. Some angry chanting going on outside of the bookstore there when Sarah booked out to her bus, leaving some 400 bracelet holders who expected to get their books signed, with nothing more than a preprinted book plate and a royal wave after they had spent most of the day waiting in line. Word has it the next line to form there will be at the return counter.

Update: Since I've posted this I've heard that Cafe Press suspended sales of the t-shirt after being informed of the content of the whole Psalm.

Road trips

I'm crazy busy today, but in case you missed her last night, here is the DetNews coverage of Sarah Palin in Grand Rapids in photos and video.

Meanwhile, the person who actually won an election, our President, has been in Asia on a diplomatic trip. White House photographer Pete Souza has a blog, video and more photos from China and the other stops at the White House website.

Category: Health care

U.S. panel recommends rationed health care for women

OK, the headline above is a stretch. But if you think the federal government has no interest in rationed health care, take a look at the recent recommendations downplaying mammograms for women under 50.

Says the panel: The "net benefit" of mammograms for women under 50 is small. I would add: Unless, of course, you happen to be 45 years old and a mammogram spots cancer.

The committee's work is only a recommendation. But if government gets more power over health care, such recommendations could/will become policy. The seeds of rationed care are planted, waiting for Congress to sprinkle a little water on them.

Here for Sarah Palin, bestselling author-chick.

And here for health care.

Category: Detroit, Michigan

Live blogging the Kilpatrick Trial

Not much news on the national front this week, unless you care about what Sarah Palin is doing and I definitely don't care. However, I was mildly interested to hear hundreds of people lined up in the freezing cold in Grand Rapids to get bracelets that let them line up again to get her to sign her book tonight, which I understand had to have been purchased at full retail from Barnes & Noble. Considering I've seen the book discounted as low as around five bucks and even offered for free as a bonus for subscribing to one of the right wing websites, I'm pretty impressed by their, well let's just say, dedication. Otherwise, my posting has been light because I'm moving for the third time this year. Hoping third time is the charm and I'll finally be able to settle down for a while.

Meanwhile, on the local front, the big news is the trial of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. I see our own Mike Wilkinson is liveblogging here at DetNews. Some juicy revelations there and he's updating regularly.

Category: Health care

Our Health Insurance System Doesn't Care

The must read of the day is this account of the NOLA free health care clinic. Over a thousand people were treated. Most of them hold jobs that don't offer health care benefits and can't afford the premiums in the individual policy market. The article notes just in Louisiana over 700-thousand people have no health care, and most of them are the working poor. One could say they are uninsured "by choice" if you consider deciding between food and rent and health insurance, a real choice. And they're not all clerks at the convenience store. Take this man:

I spoke with a nurse who was there not as a volunteer, but as a patient. He works two part time jobs at hospitals providing quality care to those who have the one thing he doesn't. Many of his patients share his condition of high blood pressure, but they are fortunate to have insurance to pay for him to care for them while he goes without.

His situation is not uncommon, he has tried for years to get more hours at one of his jobs so he will be eligible for benefits, but it hasn't happened yet. Our system of for-profit health care can't afford to give him and others benefits - might make the stock price drop a penny or two.

Read it all and then tell me again how our current system is "working."

Category: World politics

Old fashioned diplomacy

Since some people are still worked up over Obama's bow, I'm passing on this latest look at how past presidents dealt with meeting foreign heads of state. It's been widely said that Nixon's greatest accomplishment was opening diplomatic relations with China. Note what he does at 1:24 into this tape.



Yes that's the communist leader Mao Zedong that he just bowed to and isn't that Henry Kissinger who's shaking hands and smiling warmly at the dictator? The conservatives of the day howled about that one too.

Oh, you're thinking well Nixon didn't bow as deeply? Well no photo here but the written account describes the outrage the first President Bush caused when he bowed deeply at the former Emperor of Japan's funeral. The point is, these sort of polite gestures are an important part of conducting diplomacy, but they're basically meaningless in terms of the balance of power. Good manners are not a sign of weakness.