The $4 Per Gallon Obama? FactCheckers Say "No" on Palin FB Page

Here’s what Sarah Palin said on her Facebook page:

Is it really any surprise that oil and gas prices are surging toward the record highs we saw in 2008 just prior to the economic collapse? Despite the President’s strange assertions in his press conference last week, his Administration is not a passive observer to the trends that have inflated oil prices to dangerous levels. His war on domestic oil and gas exploration and production has caused us pain at the pump, endangered our already sluggish economic recovery, and threatened our national security.

The evidence of the President’s anti-drilling mentality and his culpability in the high gas prices hurting Americans is there for all to see.

Click here to see the rest of her faulty reasoning….

The sweet news is that on her FB page, beyond all the crazy true believers like this:

There were several toward the end that had to be critical thinking ‘ringers’ capable of connecting the logic dots:

So for all of you on our side, it’s important to scan these places occasionally, and nip in and leave a crumb of ‘reason’ (just so the other side knows it when the see it).

Here’s what the critical thinkers had been reading:

This is from FactCheck.com/Annenberg School of Public Policy -

Conflicting, false and misleading statements on oil production and gasoline prices have become the currency of politicians lately, as oil tops $100 per barrel and gasoline hovers near $4 per gallon. Among some of the claims that got our attention:

• Top Republicans blame President Obama’s moratorium on deepwater drilling for rising gasoline prices. The moratorium delayed drilling of some new wells, but did not affect the output of wells already in production. A projected drop in total domestic oil production this year should amount to six-tenths of 1 percent of all U.S. consumption of liquid fuels. A Wall Street oil analyst told us the moratorium has had “zero” effect on prices.

• Obama said domestic oil production last year was its highest since 2003. That’s true — but U.S. oil production is projected to drop this year.

• Rep. Kevin McCarthy said “under this administration our output has gone down 13 percent.” McCarthy is wrong — U.S. oil production was up in 2009 and 2010, and is projected to decline only 2 percent this year.

• Sarah Palin said Obama is “allowing America to remain increasingly dependent on imports” from unstable countries. But there has been a decline — not an increase — in total oil imports from Middle Eastern and African countries, as well as countries identified by the State Department as “dangerous or unstable,” since Obama took office.

Semper Vigilans! Readers! Ain’t social networking grand!

-maven

Monday Musings: February 7. 2011

So much to comment on, and I thought I would have a leisurely Monday morning to do it. Here it is nearly 3 in the afternoon, and I’m just sitting down to the keyboard. It’s funny how a 93-year-old mother can take your day and blow it out of the water. I wouldn’t actually mind, except that Mom rarely notices that it’s been a disruption, and is even more rarely appreciative even when the level of disruption is apparent. It’s more fun for her to complain about everything she has no control over, or has no intention of doing anything about.

Sigh.

Those gingersnaps I made last Friday got even more awesomely tasty - and cold milk worthy - the longer they lived in the cookie jar. The flavors really married, and became richer and more nuanced. Meanwhile, on Saturday and Sunday, I did more test runs with the multi grain blend pizza dough I’d crafted. As to, did my loyal product testers up the street - Peg and Don. Peg went for simplicity, while Don went manly - loaded every conceivable topping as in a casino buffet of topping choices - on the toothsome crust.

“Crust still fabulous, even laden with tons of soggy vegetables & sauce.  This was a better pizza.  It was not disgusting.  Don could have left off the sausage as I don’t think it added much and there was a flavor that tended of overpower some of the subtler essences.  This would have been spectacular with just the cheese, the olives, the peppers (and added red pepper for heat), the onions, garlic, and pepperoni.  The sauce was perfect with the crust and even could have been a bit thicker, I think.

All in all, an excellent adventure in pizza.  The dough was great, and held up well with the accoutrements on the second pizza. “

The next batch will include a dough conditioner/relaxer, which will make for a thinner, crispier crust in theory. I’ll let you know when some test samples are ready.

NOTICE: Reno Skeptics are hosting a movie night on Saturday, February 12th, at Round Table Pizza, 1201 Baring Blvd., Sparks, Nevada. The time: 6:00 p.m. They’ll be showing BBC movie ‘Creation’ (how Darwin saw the world and forever changed human understanding of our natural world ) in celebration of Darwin’s birthday, which will be accompanied with a presentation by our resident archeologist, Chris Webster. The pizza and beer are on you, but the Skeptics will buy the birthday cake.

On the drive home this afternoon, as I was passing the Grand Sierra Resort Casino, I noted the big reader board. Wow! A $15,000 Presidential Slot Tournament. Nothing says America, patriotism, love of county and our founders like losing the rent money at a slot tourney.

Okay, so I’m a little cynical.

Cynical also, in how I view the change of position of RSCVA President/CEO Ellen Oppenheim. She has ‘asked’ to resign and be re-assigned a different position due to an ‘illness’ in the family. The fix is in on this. I used to know a long time RSCVA director, and if he were still here, he’d be laughing his butt off at this nonsense.

When I saw the local news media chasing after Oppenheim, in a vain attempt to get a comment on the $400,000 that had gone to lure the American International Choral Festivel to town  - and said Oppenheim repeatedly giving them the slip and the silent treatment - I said “Aha! She’ll be giving notice soon.” The festival. slated for May, 2011, was supposed to bring droves of people and about $7,000,000 to the local area, but sign-ups are falling way short of any such mark. In gaming, that’s referred to as “betting on the come” or counting ones chickens before they’re hatched. But what the heck, it’s only the taxpayers money.

And for this, she was being paid $225,000 a year with nice benefits. You can view her employment contract here. From comments buzzing around the internet, it doesn’t seem like too many folks will be sorry she’s gone. The question remains, why should she be kept on - “re-assigned” - for six months, at taxpayer expense when she is clearly not performing the duties in the contract? Any six month notice clause is usually for the benefit of the employer, not the terminated employee … at least in my humble experience.

Hmmmm. What’s she got on Dwight Dortch?

Do you ever get the feeling that positions like the RSCVA are poorly supervised/audited rat holes for the taxpayers money?

Another reason for my cynicism today might have to do with Obama’s new love fest with Bill O’Reilly (interview) and the U. S. Chamber of Commerce (speech). Could this be about raising money for a second term? Courting the business interests that he earlier bashed to get the support of us, the Democratic rank and file? What’s next? Kiss and make up with the right over health care reform - hand them rocks to throw under it until it breaks?

I’m so over him.

The Las Vegas Sun had an interesting article in yesterday’s paper about the brain drain from Nevada. Who would have ever guessed that native born Nevada’s would earn their degrees here and head out of state to make a living and a life? Sort of like my beautiful step-daughter who got her degree from UNR. She tried to make a go of it here, but eventually had to realize that the pickings were between slim and none - thus headed west to make it with the big boys.

As it stands now, Nevada is still unsurpassed in it’s attempt to score the bottom slots in any ranking that other states would be ashamed of. We’re 41st in the nation for the number of persons born in the state, ages 25 to 44 that hold baccalaureate degrees, and don’t bail at the first opportunity.

Yes, they wags are correct. Nevada, the Mississippi of the West. Yet the weather is so damn beautiful. Sheesh, it got to like 65 degrees today. A sweater was too warm when I dashed out for lunch and there still isn’t any ‘weather’ in sight. Bad for the skiing. I may have to get the bike out.

Oh, I have finally caved in and tweeted. I hate it, but I’m doing it. Surprisingly, there are people I know that responded - they are out there doing same! Hard to believe.

Have a good week at your chosen vocation. Hang in there. Read this blog occasionally.

Cheers!

-maven

Simply stupefying speechifying: Sandoval and Obama

Washington, D.C.—Nevada Senator Harry Reid released the following statement in reaction to the President Obama’s State of the Union address:

“Tonight we heard a blueprint for how to move our country forward by investing in what works and cutting what doesn’t. We heard a vision for keeping America a global economic superpower by out-educating, out-innovating and out-building our competition. To get there, we’ll have to set aside our differences and reach across the aisle.

“In Nevada, that means working together to create good paying clean energy jobs, training our workforce with the tools needed to compete in a global economy and boosting our small business community.

“Republicans have a responsibility to work with us to create jobs instead of wasting time with pointless political stunts. Republicans should join us in looking to the future instead of refighting old battles and pressing extreme, ideological plans to end Social Security and Medicare. I hope they will join us in finding common-sense solutions to the challenges we face as a nation – to rebuild our economy today, create the jobs of the future and strengthen the middle class.”

###

Sigh. Too true. The GOP leaving hard line ideology behind and joining in good faith? Good luck with that. Here’s a post-partisan tweet from Rep. Paul Broun (R-Tenn.) : “Mr. President, you don’t believe in the Constitution. You believe in socialism.” Well, we can certainly count him onboard, can’t we? All this while Obama was praising newly minted House Majority Leader, John Boehner … hero of the working class. I thought Boehner was going to burst into tears again.

Kumbaya.

Here’s one of the most hopeful parts of Obama’s speech:

“Over the years, a parade of lobbyists has rigged the tax code to benefit particular companies and industries. Those with accountants or lawyers to work the system can end up paying no taxes at all. But all the rest are hit with one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. It makes no sense, and it has to change.

So tonight, I’m asking Democrats and Republicans to simplify the system. Get rid of the loopholes. Level the playing field. And use the savings to lower the corporate tax rate for the first time in 25 years – without adding to our deficit.”

Sigh. That’s nice.

The speech tonight was masterful once again. It set out wonderful goals. It’s bound to rate highly in the popular polls. It seems to have hit all the right notes, ala Bill Clinton.

This begs the fact that the U. S. corporate tax rates are already among the lowest in the world.

“In its Paying Taxes 2009 publication, based on its 2009 Doing Business report, the World Bank-International Finance Corp. estimated that the United States has a lower effective rate of current corporate tax than that of several other nations, including Germany, Canada, India, China, Brazil, Japan, and Italy. The publication also included a figure that compared effective and statutory corporate tax rates for several G-8 and BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India, China] countries…” Media Matters

When will the average American get a clue that no corporation, not to mention the wealthiest of Americans, never, ever pay the statutory tax rate. That would be as stupid as walking up to the airline ticket counter and asking to pay the highest published fare. Then, there was that pesky GAO report citing that nearly two-thirds of American corporations paid no federal income tax. (Note the declining federal taxes paid by U. S. corporations in graph below)

Tonight we heard all the usual rhetoric … very well delivered. All designed to put the Republicans on the defensive, if that’s possible since they’re beaming in from an as yet undiscovered planet (can you say Rep. Paul Ryan, R-WI ?). Yup, we’re all gonna have flying electric cars one day, and mag-lev rail between Reno and the Bay Area. Right. We’re gonna get all this done with a “spending freeze”.

Gawd help us.

Obama starts out patting himself on the back, for what? Extending tax cuts. Tax cuts create jobs, you know. Sigh. This is simply buying into the ‘new centrism’ and GOP mythology. (Note below, that even individual tax rates in the U. S. aren’t exactly going through the roof.)

The President goes on to talk about cutting discretionary spending to levels not seen since the Eisenhower Administration. I’ve got news for the President, if Eisenhower had seen what we’re dealing with right now, he’d have increased spending. Eisenhower wasn’t stupid.

Typically, no where in the speech was it mentioned that the bulk of our “discretionary spending” is for the military-industrial complex, AKA ‘The War On Terror’, AKA wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. I cite Warresisters.org, nationalpriorities.org.

Did I disagree with it all? No. I found the suggestions to consolidate redundant agencies, utilizing transparency via internet technology, and similar attempts to corral bureaucratic sprawl encouraging … just as I did with Nevada’s new Republican Governor, Brian Sandoval when he proposed the same thing. Bravo. But this is such a ‘gimme’ that a school child would have thought of it. It’s nice, but let’s get back to the hard stuff.

That hard stuff which was noticeably lacking might be summed up in these keywords: unemployment, guns, foreclosures, financial fraud, Wall Street regulation. You’d think that all was well again on the crumbling financial front. And, it is if you’re an investment house or bank. Not so much if you’re a working schmuck.

Once again, Obama did a great job looking at the big picture, having forgotten some of the themes of his campaign that particularly resonated with voters … climate change, decline of the middle class. You’d have hardly remembered, listening tonight, that last year nearly one million American families lost their home to foreclosure.

Thanks, Mr. President, for stating the obvious.

Then there was the rebuttal from Rep. Paul Ryan, R-WI. You’ve gotta hand it to the GOP on selecting this guy. He’s real purty. Shiny. New. Well spoken. Reagan-esque brown suit. The guy is really good. So obviously sincere. He’s also batty. And, his figures don’t add up. In fact, the GOP leadership isn’t sure they want to own it.

Ryan comes out of the box strong, declaring that the ‘Stimulus’ was a complete failure. Huh? Not according to anybody that matters. The stock market is back up, GDP and employment are really beginning to turn around. The loans to banks and businesses are paid back with interest. Where, Paul, is it a failure? Analysts from Moodys to the CBO have said it’s added a minimum of 1.6 million to more like 2.5 million jobs. That’s failure?

Not content to butcher the facts on the Stimulus, Ryan marches on to attempt to discredit health care reform. Uh, sorry Paul, but once again, every analyst that matters - and even the Wall Street Journal - says you’re wrong.

The Affordable Health Care Act will keep kids on their parents policies longer (saving money on premiums), small employers will see their costs relatively unchanged, employees of larger firms will see costs stay the same or go lower ( as I did with the really big airline that I get my health coverage from), people buying their own insurance can now qualify for some nifty tax credits that they couldn’t get before - lowering their costs. Yada, yada. Where is the FAIL, Paul? Where?

Under the misguided GOP plan to repeal the AHCA, more Americans would be without any health care coverage:

I’m going to do what the GOP leadership should’ve done. Ignore Rep. Michelle Bachman, R-MN. If Paul Ryan is merely batty, she’s bat shit crazy … as SailorColin, my Las Vegas correspondent would say. I don’t want to dignify her rants.

And then came SandovalCorp.

It’s probably pretty egotistical of me to assume this, but I’ll go right ahead. Were my readers wondering where my comments were last night, after another equally stupefyingly boring and predictable State of the State by Gov. Brian Sandoval? I just couldn’t do it. I sat there, head in hands, and couldn’t bring myself to do it.

To state the obvious. Governor, if this is Nevada ‘family’, you make a great case for being orphaned.

Mr. Maven and I sat there waiting in vain for SandovalCorp. to even mention that MINING (or GAMING) should step up and pay their fair share. So the reality train - which started with the video by Bob Fulkerson at PLAN - stopped just shy of Carson City.

Yes, Sandoval has a thankless job, but he wanted it badly enough to give up a comfy, cushy federal lifetime judgeship. No tears of pity here. I told Mr. Maven that my instincts are saying that GOP operatives are looking at the well-coiffed, well-spoken Hispanic Wunderkind (uh, I can’t think of a similar term except in German) with a mind to bigger and better things. If he can just hang on and not embarass himself like John Ensign.

This is supposing that Nevada can’t go further than dead-last in education. That’s good for Sandoval Corp. since he’s going to, well … gut education further. It should be embarassing to have even mentioned it.

Again, no mention of MINING. Which kinda takes a huge chunk - as in boatloads - of money out of this state every year, laboring under a tax structure that harkens back to the day of Mark Twain.

Here’s a suggestion for a new Nevada state motto:

Fuck no, we can’t.

Sigh.

-maven

Monday Musings: January 24. 2011

This should be an interesting week, what with the State of the State by newly minted Nevada governor, Brian Sandoval this evening, and the State of the Union, tomorrow night by newly minted centrist president, Barack Obama. The casual observer might walk away with the notion that half-measures, baby steps,  middle of the road, lukewarm is what will save the day. We wouldn’t want bold, decisive, “I said it, and I own it” action. Nosirree.

Keep cutting, gutting and slashing essential services like education and Medicaid - often referred to as ‘greater efficiencies’. As though that’s ever worked in the past. This is the oldest trick in the bureaucratic books. Make the little guy squeak, then he’ll be happy to have his taxes raised to get the local roads plowed - while the untouchable defense budget and the military-industrial complex goes right along fat and happy.

There are some that ‘get it’ however. PLAN (Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada), with their director, Bob Fulkerson leads the way, bearing the flag of reality. Watch and remember during tonight’s State of the State:

“No new taxes, means no solutions”. Never a truer word was uttered, Bob. As Fulkerson points out, slashing programs and budgets to reduce the states’ budget deficit, unfairly places a disproportionate share of the burden on those who can least bear it.

And this same logic extends from the local and state level to the federal and national level.

On Sunday mornings, Mr. Maven and I enjoy our coffee while watching CBS’ ‘Sunday Morning’ - and have done so since the days of it’s original host, the late Charles Kuralt. Yesterday, I thought “Oh, great. Let’s suffer through another annoying commentary by Ben Stein…”. Normally, this is where I’d go refreshen the coffee.

This cut a bit too close to the bone. When the ever-monotone, to the right of Atilla the Hun, Ben Stein thinks Obama might just be the choice of a revitalized GOP, I know we’re in trouble.

Saturday evening was interesting. We attended a MeetUp of the Reno Skeptical Society, Skeptics in the Pub. The venue has got to change - the Sierra Gold was far too noisy and, once we moved to the patio, too frigid. However, this looks to be a good group with a positive agenda - to promote the use of critical thinking/reason in our culture and community. We had 21 attendees, and were we not shivering too hard to think clearly, it would’ve been a neat opportunity for discussion, observation and discovery. I was a little ‘skeptical’ of the youthful tilt of the group, but found them to be warm and welcoming.

To this end, I’ll be posting more content related to skepticism on this blog (see the Baloney Alert category ). I hope you will consider attending with us next month. Until their website is up, you’ll have to follow them on MeetUp.

I want to let you know about a couple of upcoming events, which I plan to attend:

On Thursday, February 3, 7:00 p.m. Director of the Hayden Planetarium, Neil deGrasse Tyson, author, skeptic and astronomer, will speak at the Redfield Auditorium in the Davidson Mathematics and Science Center. His topic: “The World as Seen Through the Lens of a Scientist”

deGrasse Tyson follows in the footsteps of his mentor, the late Carl Sagan, making science accessible, and encouraging critical reasoning skills. He has appeared many times on PBS’ NOVA, The Colbert Report, The Daily Show and more.

In February, date and location to be announced, the Reno Skeptics plan a showing of the BBC documentary, ‘Creation’, about the extraordinary life and times of Charles Darwin. Stay tuned.

Later tonight, we plan to watch what may become a favorite tee-vee program - and successor to ‘Boston Legal’ - Harry’s Law with Kathy Bates. We saw the series premier last week, and though the premise is a real stretch of the imagination (poverty law office and shoe store ) it’s great fun to watch Bates and her cohorts romp through it. File under: ‘improbable but entertaining’.

Also new, I’m looking forward to seeing Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais’ ‘An Idiot Abroad’. File this under ‘cruel but potentially gut-wrenchingly funny’, as they send round-headed naif Karl Pilkington (gotta love the name) to the ends of the earth- just to see what happens when Karl ‘encounters’ stuff.

On Tuesday, February 1, the Urban Institute is offering a really timely webcast:”What Policymakers, the Public, the Press, and Parents Need to Know about Economics … in 90 minutes or less”. Should be great. You can sign up at the Urban Institutes’ website, or just watch the video afterward. I’ll try and post it here. Why watch this, you ask. Because economics in the driving force behind it all, dearie. Everything that keeps you awake at night, has economics at the root. Well, most of it. Economics didn’t have anything to do with why you drank that late cuppa joe. Hmmm. Or maybe it did … while you were getting the tax receipts out of the shoe boxes.

As you may have noticed, I’ve gotten Religion. See, Brent … I can be saved. I’ve joined the Pastafarians, hence the FSM symbol. That’s the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Ladybird Kat has taken over the house, as undisputed queen, now that poor little Asta is gone. This isn’t bad except that I have to wash and change the sheets and pillow cases more often. Sneeze. This cat has the most eerie resemblance to Alfred E. “What me worry?” Newman.

Finally, I’ll be posting some yummy recipes and foodie ideas today and tomorrow, so stay tuned for that. And I’ve posted a few of my backyard birding photos to the gallery in addition to Facebook. Enjoy.

The knee is about ready to test on the slopes. Too bad there ain’t any new snow. I’m waiting for some new, as the frozen corduroy won’t be the best thing to test it out on.

Cheers. Stay employed, stay healthy.

-maven

Monday Musings: December 13. 2010

I loved that picture of Camilla and Charles - The Royals. It looked for all the world like Camilla had just soiled her knickers. That made me laugh at just the thought. And, I’ve needed some laughs this weekend.

Mom isn’t doing well enough to stay alone up at Sky Peaks. So we’ve had her down here with us, in the guest room. Frankly, she’s getting really frail, and her speech sounds slurred at times. Not enough to warrant an ER visit, but still … So there will be phone calls Monday morning.

We took her out for brunch, this time to Peg’s Ham & Eggs on South Meadows. I had my doubts about getting her in there on a busy Sunday. We’ve been taking her to Gold Dust West, since Mr. Maven can drop us right in front, where I can get the walker out and motor her in. But then she has to navigate steps up to the coffee shop - the have a ‘lift’ but you need to round up the security personnel to use it. Then, of course you have the delight of the whole upbeat atmosphere of GDW - old, broken down slot players. Tamarack Junction is better … pretty easy to get in and navigate with a walker. We love the waitstaff there, but get tired of the menu. It seriously needs to be done over. Fresher.

So, Peg’s it was. Luckily we have the Handicapped card and can use ‘varsity select’ parking right in front. I nipped in and saw the usual crowd leaving names to wait for tables. Hmmm. But we’re regulars. So I told my story to the hostess/manager. No sweat. The perfect table - next to the side door for easy access - Table 73 - was about to be vacated. The hostess told me that it was ours, and to give her a moment to clear and reset it.

Wow.

It was a breeze - well, as much of a breeze as it ever is - to get Mom from car to table. And we simply put the walker outside until we needed it.

The people that run this Peg’s are Front of the House super stars. They so get it. I’ve sat and watched them manage a screamingly full house with smooth, no-drama efficiency and confidence. They have obviously trained the staff thoroughly - and it shows. The staff is equally efficient - knowing what’s next and why. No drama. Get ‘er done with a smile.

And they are still able to turn out an outstanding product - keeping it fresh and good.

I almost never eat pancakes. First I think most of them are so bland - I love buckwheat and you can rarely find it. But I’ve been eyeing the Pumpkin Pancakes longingly for some time now, and today I needed comfort food. This mom thing has me shaken. I ordered one - ONE - pancake with a poached egg. Who could possibly eat what passes for a ‘short stack’ these days unless they work construction?

Mr. Maven had to try corned beef. And it was fantastic. Okay, so this is a fast iPhone picture and not exactly optimal from a food stylist sense …

Mr. Maven was ‘ooohing and aaaahhing’ so I had to take a taste. YUM! It was hash ramped up. With a point of view. Not the same-old, same-old. It had shredded potatoes, chunks of crunchy, fresh red and green bell pepper. Not the usual hash that calls salt it’s main flavor component. Wow. If you are a corned beef hash person, you’ve gotta try it. Mr. Maven rarely gets hash browns with hash. Kinda a potato overload. But the fruit is also really good.

My pumpkin pancake was really good. As in ‘I ate the whole damn thing’ good. I just wished I’d brought one of my little jugs of real Vermont maple syrup. The artificially flavored stuff doesn’t work for me.

Mom had a perfectly sized ‘slider’ with a nice big cup of lovely fresh fruit. It was perfect for her.

The people watching at Peg’s was even better than the food. Between the ‘illustrated man’ - covered in ink, dressed in wife beater shirt and baggies on a December day, Ms. OMG those can’t be real tits … and our esteemed Governor, Jimbo.

Mr. Maven used to fly with Governor Jimbo. Jimbo was a lowly First Officer then, who thought he should be king. Mr. Maven was King. So this morning, Mr. Maven leans over and whispers “I don’t even know what I would say to him anymore … hey! How’re things going seems, well … stupid. He’s an idiot that got tossed out on his ass, and his date isn’t that good looking.”

True. What can you say?

I was particularly interested in what the RG-J fact checker, Mark Robison, had to say about Julian Assange and Wikileaks this morning. The Bottom Line? Nothing criminal has been done. Sensitive information was redacted. Uh, this is the media doing what the media should be doing - exposing those things the American electorate should know, in order to make better decisions about our leaders.

And talking about our leaders.

Did you see CBS ‘Face the Nation’? David Axelrod and the GOP leadership standing up for Obama, while the Progressive Dem leadership ( git’ em, Jerrold Nadler and Howard Dean!) was playing the opposing team role. Was that a surreal moment or what?

Mr. Maven was sitting there mumbling that we’d been had, that Obama is a Republican in sheep’s clothing.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler got it right. This is pure old Newt Gingrich style ‘starving the beast’ strategy. And to let this abortion go through, could conceivably, be the beginning of the end for Social Security. Two years from now, when this ‘thing’ sunsets, you’ll hear a outcry about “gee, see … Social Security can’t be sustained! You’ll have to raise taxes!”.

Taking this chunk out of the Social Security trust fund is out-fucking-rageous. If this economy needs a cash infusion to get back on its feet, then give an income tax rebate or ‘holiday’. The long term risks to Social Security that this ‘deal’ bears is unacceptable. So, too is the giveaway on the estate tax. Also, out-fucking-rageus. 35%? Aaaawwww. Those rich people, whatever will they do?

Don’t tell me what you heard on Fox News. Read ‘Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why American Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes’ by William H. Gates, Sr, and heir to the vast Oscar Mayer fortune, Chuck Collins and then tell me that these people aren’t peeing on our shoes and telling up to get out the umbrellas.

These people keep talking about ‘compromise’. Watch John Boehner for five minutes ( the ‘crying’ thing made me want to urp). Watch him jump tall buildings in a single bound to avoid the word ‘compromise’. The GOP has been well trained to never, ever consider the word, not to mention the deed, compromise.

Obama has betrayed his party and the American people. Now, I’ve said it. I own it.

Want a timely and relevant movie to watch with the family for the holidays? Here’s a suggestion: “My Man Godfrey” with my movie hero William Powell. I always think of the sophisticated, witty and cynical William Powell when I see some male person covered in tattoo’s, wearing a wife-beater shirt and baggies. Classy vs. carnival clown. But I digress. “My Man Godfrey” is a Great Depression era tale about the rich and the down-trodden told as a ‘screwball’ comedy.

Classy gentleman and wonderful actor, William Powell.Oh, it’s that time of year for the Christmas cards to start rolling in. I’ll do what I normally do. Wait until January to respond. I think the whole idea of a Christmas card is obsolete, what with the invention of the telegraph and all. We got rid of fax machines and land lines to hang on to these cards once a year? If it didn’t feel so much like a duty to get through, I suppose I might not mind it so much. But I’ve so been there done that with family photos especially for the cards, newsy letters, fancy script on fancy envelopes. Oh, yes, and I did all the required personal notes to friends and family.

Some cards, I enjoy receiving. Those with personal notes from elderly relatives and friends who don’t have computers, much less email or Facebook. But the cards from people right here in town - who I’ve seen more than once in the last few months - and then they send an imprinted card? WTF? Again, mostly ‘older’ folks, so I try and cut them some slack. But if you are under 70 and do this, I’m going to call you up and say something unpleasant. Suggie, that includes you.

I amazed myself a while back when I picked up a box of the most secular looking card I could quickly see on the stack at Costco and tossed them into the cart. I used to spend days running around town looking for just the right card - secular with an amusing retro, local or at least ‘Western’ theme. I’d still send them out ‘sometime’ after Christmas.

If you’re sending out hand-addressed cards, with hand-written notes, this year, I applaud you. It is important in a certain way. Marking the passage of time and all that. If you’ve been sitting there, however, feeling bad because you haven’t got this duty done and in the mail - well, I’m here to make you feel good by example.

I’m here to help.

I think that deserves a martini.

Cheers.

-maven

Hope reigns again! Obama shatters GOP myths in Ohio speech. ( full video and transcript)

Even BlueLyon will love this speech. Ha! Carissa, I love you for keeping it real. I encourage everybody to listen to the full speech as we did. Don’t let the networks pick and choose what you take away from it.

This is the Obama of the campaign trail, and this is where he pulls out the stops - hopefully timing it right so that Boehner and his wrecking crew don’t have time to reframe it before the mid-term election. Now if Harry Reid will sign on with this emboldened Obama … that would be too good, wouldn’t it?

“With all the other budgetary pressures we have -– with all the Republicans’ talk about wanting to shrink the deficit — they would have us borrow $700 billion over the next 10 years to give a tax cut of about $100,000 each to folks who are already millionaires.  And keep in mind wealthy Americans are just about the only folks who saw their incomes rise when Republicans were in charge.  And these are the folks who are less likely to spend the money — which is why economists don’t think tax breaks for the wealthy would do much to boost the economy.

So let me be clear to Mr. Boehner and everybody else:  We should not hold middle-class tax cuts hostage any longer.  (Applause.)  We are ready, this week, if they want, to give tax cuts to every American making $250,000 or less.  (Applause.)  That’s 98-97 percent of Americans.  Now, for any income over this amount, the tax rates would just go back to what they were under President Clinton.”

President Obama, Parma, Ohio

I have provided the transcript of the speech at the end of this blog post.

From MSNBC:

President Barack Obama strongly defended his opposition to extending Bush-era tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans on Wednesday and delivered a searing attack on Republicans and their House leader for advocating “the same philosophy that led to this mess in the first place.”

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Quick Hits: Obama's faith, mosque, Angle and black shirts

Reading today’s paper, I’m hugely encouraged that fewer Americans can accurately say that Obama is, indeed, a christian - NOT a muslim. This tidbit reaffirms a nagging belief I hold that we can’t assume that evidence-based facts will sway American opinion. According to a Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life poll on what the American electorate believes about Obama’s religious preferences, only 30% say he’s a christian. The the growing majority are terminally confused.

Yup. This is how you want to run a robust and thriving Democracy.

I’d feel much better if the majority said “I don’t give a rat’s ass what religion he is. It isn’t relevant to anything.” Personally, I’d feel better if the man was an atheist. Then at least he’d be less inclined to slog through the unproven, the irrational, and sheer wishful thinking on the way to critical decisions, or waste time on silly arguments.

Case in point: the friggin’ mosque in New York City.

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Obama may have had enough of 'Republican obstructionism'

Let’s hope he means it. Being all touchy-feely and bipartisan has gotten him - and by extension we the thinking people -  zip, nada, nowhere.

And, doesn’t it figure that House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) offered the usual Republican whine in response to Obama’s remarks, saying, “The American people are looking to Washington Democrats - including the president - for leadership on tough issues like jobs and spending, not complaints.”

Yup, instead of the kind of complaints - instead of leadership - that you’ve been selling.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0610/38747.html#ixzz0rMdPOEtT

Enough of Senate 'Holds', Time to Move Forward

Driving to the printer, to pick up some proofs on new brochures for work today, I was listening to the segment on NPR about the number of Obama appointees that are being blocked from doing their job by ‘holds’ in the Senate.

As you’ll read, ‘holds’ are a cheesy little way of gumming up the works, behind the scenes, anonymously. If this isn’t the official definition of ‘chicken shit’ then nothing is. This can be done away with, like it’s bad traveling companion, the filibuster, but it’s doubtful that it can happen with this Senate - without a LOT of public outrage and insistence.

Listen to the complete story by clicking here.

Here’s what NPR has to say about it all:

“The “hold” is an informal Senate custom that allows any lawmaker to block action on any bill or nomination at any time for any reason. It is essentially a threatened filibuster. Party leaders can try to move ahead anyway, but they generally honor holds out of tradition and courtesy. A president can overcome holds on nominations by making short-term appointments while Congress is away on recess. This spring, President Obama, facing 77 such holds, made more than a dozen recess appointments. By comparison, at the same point during the George W. Bush administration, senators had placed holds on only five nominations. As of May 5, senators had holds on 87 executive and judicial nominations, most of them anonymous. Four lawmakers have gone public and attached their names to the nominees they are blocking. Democrats say they have no current holds on nominations.”

And here is the thoroughly ridiculous number of appointees that are the objects of ‘holds’ - just one more thing that needs changing in the Senate (aside from all the obstructionist Republicans there):

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Monday Musings: March 22, 2010

Updated on Monday, March 22, 2010 at 09:59 by mavenandmeddler

Well, that was certainly a cliff-hanger worthy of Hollywood. Although I’m not sure just how many of these eleventh hour dramas we really need as a country, at least this one went the right way for the left.

Of course the day was not without its’ moments as GOP stalwarts stood in line to defend the status quo, distort the facts (even more) and defend everything from the Confederacy (WTF?) to unborn babies in the name of denying some 33 million Americans access to affordable health care.

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Monday Musings, March 8, 2010

If your Monday is an indicator of the rest of the week, this should be a disaster. Nothing went right. If I could lose it, I did. If I could miss it, I did. It was so nearly a giant CF. The good news is that the rest of the day went reasonably well.

Things got off to a badish start last night. I’d taken a month long ‘rest’ from my chemo-suppressant, Arimidex. It was time buck-up and start taking it again. The side effects make you wonder if the cure isn’t worse than the disease. But since the disease, breast cancer, is probably worse - a Stage IV recurrence isn’t curable at all - that I have to find a way to manage the freakin’ side effects. But, I understand why so many women opt to go off of it and take their chances.

Sigh. Vanity, thy name is woman. I want hair. Hair that actually grows. Hair that isn’t thinning and falling out. Of course, leaving the extreme heartburn, joint pain and water retention behind would be cool, too.

This brought to mind the conversations Mr. Maven and I have been having about the cost of our prescriptions now.

It’s grim

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Friday Fish Wrap: February 26, 2010

Updated on Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 00:12 by mavenandmeddler

No matter the extent of the healthcare drama inside the faraway beltway, we in Nevada have more drama than we need right here at home. In so many ways it’s the national story writ very small and nasty.

We have an crazy, embattled Republican Governor - trailing a laundry list of tawdry divorce, women and grope stories like toilet paper from his shoe - blocking damn near anything a desperate legislature suggests to mitigate the effects of an $880 million deficit.

Nevada is unique in many ways. One of them is our stubborn grip on a bi-annual legislature. Back in the day - like the 1800’s when there were few folks here and they were spread thin - it was no easy trick to mosey in to Carson City to legislate and commiserate.

You’d think this woulda’ changed with the advent of new-fangled airplanes and interstate highways, but no.

So, the Governor has called them into Special Session - a five day marathon intended to plug the gap. If this sounds impossible to you, welcome to my life in Nevada.

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Blair House Project: Dems - 0, Repubs- 0

I said it, and I heard it. Six hours of ‘debate’ to no avail.

No Kumbaya moment here.

As I try to read through all the texts and videos, I can see one thread here: Democrats competently defended their position, with the use of well… facts. They might distort them a little to their advantage but not much. As usual, the Republicans sat there and did their usual job of calling black white, and white black. It was the usual round of non-sequitors and outrageously inaccurate talking points designed to appeal to those who only get their ‘news’ from Limbaugh and Beck.

If anything was accomplished today, and I have my doubts, it was merely to demonstrate to the middle of the road American who is genuinely confused about this complex mess over healthcare reform, that the Republicans are stil the same intractable party-of-no. They don’t intend to work with anybody, fuck-you-very-much.

Lamar Alexander, (R-TN) Republican Conference Chairman says as much:

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Read Robert Reich on healthcare reform

I simply adore Robert Reich - well, Mr. Maven comes in ahead of him hands down in other ways, but still… Reich is able to call ‘em as he sees ‘em.

That’s a quality all too rare in this day and age of political correctness and ideological posturing.

FYI: Read my post on just what a reconciliation vote is.

Read on:

 It’s Time To Enact Health Care With 51 Senate Votes

Sunday, February 21, 2010

This week the President is hosting a bipartisan gab-fest at the White House to try to tease out some Republican votes for health care. It’s a total waste of time. If Obama thinks he’s going to get a single Republican vote at this stage of the game, he’s fooling himself (or the American people). Many months ago, you may recall, the White House and Dem leaders in the Senate threatened to pass health care with 51 votes – using a process called “reconciliation” that allows tax and spending bills to be enacted without filibuster – unless Republicans came on board. It’s time to pull the trigger.

Why haven’t the President and Senate Dems pulled the reconciliation trigger before now? I haven’t spoken directly with the President or with Harry Reid but I’ve spent the last several weeks sounding out contacts on the Hill and in the White House to find an answer. Here are the theories. None of them justifies waiting any longer.

1.    Reconciliation is too extreme a measure to use on a piece of legislation so important. I hear this a lot but it’s bunk.

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Never underestimate the gullibility of American voters

I got an email today from a retired airline captain, miltary pilot, sort of friend. You’d think with all that experience he’d maybe do a little fact checking. But no, like too many folks these days, he takes it all at face value.

I say this knowing that he never reads blogs. They could be socialist. Only Liberals have time for that.

That’s the new style patriot for you. Gullible, intellectually lazy and ill-informed.

This guy isn’t an idiot, just another so-called ‘conservative’ - who is afraid to challenge his deeply held beliefs with five minutes - or less - of fact checking.

At issue: the old, whiskered hoax email that circulated around during the 2008 presidential campaign about that evil socialist, Obama and his flag burning wife.

It’s the email hoax that won’t die, thanks to people who don’t question anything and are too quick with the FWD button.

It’s attributed to a Dale Lindsborg of the Washington Post. Unfortunately, in less than two minutes of research, I found that there is not, nor has ever been, a Dale Lindsborg at the Washington Post.

Here’s my source, from the Washington Post- note that I give you the source material:

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Friday Fish Wrap: January 29, 2010

We need more of this. A whole lot more. In the following video, you can watch President Obama got at it with his Republican opponents, in what feels more like the free for all type of debate we’ve watched in the Houses of Parliament.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

You can read the entire transcript here.

It’s time for Obama to stand up there and take his lumps and fight for whatever might be left of a Liberal - and no, that isn’t a dirty word - agenda. If I wanted him to take the easy road - to the center, AKA right - I would have voted for the other guy.

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What's the State of the Union? Baby steps.

I had to sleep on this one. It wasn’t that we didn’t like the speech. Mr. Maven gave it an A+. I gave it an A-. As speeches go - and I’ve delivered more than a few - it was right up there. But it was more speech than substance.

We watched a State of the Union that was less about how we’re going to dig ourselves out of this mess, than a Leno-esque opening monologue - getting the applause and laughs all in the right places. Which may have been the right tack when you consider the deeply noxious and angry tone of American politics over the last year.

“We all hated the bank bailout.” (applause and laughs)

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The short memory of America and the GOP

I adore Thomas Franks, both as a historian and truth teller about the America of today. Franks is the author of “The Wrecking Crew”, and “What’s the Matter With Kansas:.

Here he discusses the internal flaws in our national thinking that could ultimately put the very scoundrels - the Republicans - who caused our current failures and meltdown back into power…via the short memory of the American people.

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Senate Dems sell country and healthcare to the highest bidder

Well, my less optimistic Dem friends were right. We’ve been ‘had’ by the Dems and especially by the corporate bosses that run them all. The best reading of the Senate bills’ defeciencies can be found on Firedog Lake. You should look that over, but if not, take a glance at the reader comments:

“This is a total failure by the Obama administration and the Democratic party. We need to pressure Senators to pull the individual mandate. Right now the party is mandating that everyone is bound by law to buy one of the insurance industries crap policies. This actually takes more pressure of them for delivering care since you have to get some policy from some one and they all try to keep their policies within the same range of crappy. If the Democratic party is identified as mandating individuals turn over their hard earned funds for service rejections, we may have to form a new party with a different name to get anyone to vote for us again.

No public option, then kill the bill or at least kill the individual mandate.”

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Monday Musings: December 7, 2009

Updated on Monday, December 7, 2009 at 09:38 by mavenandmeddler

Hey, it’s my wedding anniversary today. Way back in 1987, we woke up one morning and decided that after nine years of being together it was time to go downtown to the Wedding Commissioners Office and do the deed. Mr. Maven chose December 7th in a desperate attempt to be funny. I told him that “a day that will live in infamy” was about as funny as a chapped behind.

We went downtown anyway.

True to our shared belief in keeping it all simple - perhaps to the point of annoying almost everybody else in the family - we did this completely on the spur of the moment. My lovely step-daughter was standing in the kitchen pouring a bowl of cereal when we came downstairs with the news. She had a test at UNR that day which she couldn’t miss. I called my Mother, over in Salt Lake City, to tell her what our plan for the day was.

Neither of them were impressed with what we found so completely spontaneous and amusing. Mr. Maven and I went for coffee afterward.

No, really … this was actually our wedding:

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