Talking about health care is over

Now it's time to cram it down their throats.

Obama listened politely for six hours, with occasional flashes of temper, but in the end, the message was clear: It’s over. We’re moving forward without Republicans. ...

That was the subtle but unmistakable message of Obama’s closing argument. After hours of hearing Republicans repeat again and again that only an incremental approach to reform is acceptable to them, Obama rejected that out of hand.

Here’s the key bit from Obama:

I’d like Republicans to do a little soul searching to find out if there are some things that you’d be willling to embrace that get to this core problem of 30 million people without health insurance, and dealing seriously with the pre-existing conditions issue. I don’t know frankly whether we can close that gap.
And if we can’t close that gap, then I suspect Mitch McConnell, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner are going to have a lot of arguments about procedures in Congress about moving forward.

Unless I’m misreading that, Obama is saying that unless Republicans support comprehensive reform as Obama and Dems have defined it — dealing with the problem of 30 million uninsured and, by extension, seriously tackling the preexisting condition problem — they will almost certainly move forward with reconciliation.

What’s more, Obama also essentially accused Republicans of approaching today’s summit in bad faith — after they had sat there with him for six hours. He said that even after the public option was taken off the table, Republicans continued to use the same “government takeover” slur.

“Even after the public option wasn’t available, we still hear the same rhetoric,” Obama said. “We have a concept of an exchange which previously has been an idea that was embraced by Republicans before I embraced it. Somehow, suddenly it became less of a good idea.”

I found the little bit that I watched of today's White House summit breathtaking at times, as Democrats spoke eloquently and from the heart about the state of healthcare in the greatest nation on Earth.



Louise Fletcher on domestic violence and female hormones as a pre-existing condition. Oh, and the quote of the day.

Dick Durbin destroying the Republican argument that medical malpractice and the associated tort reform will reduce insurance premiums (hint: that's bullshit). Durbin describing the woman whose face and throat were burned away because the oxygen she was given during anesthesia caught fire, and whose damages were capped at $250,000. Durbin challenging Republicans to drop their own government-run healthcare programs if they are so paranoid about "government-run healthcare".

Obama himself busting Wyoming Republican and Dr. John Barrasso, asking him if he would feel confident dropping his comprehensive healthcare coverage in favor of catastrophic care only. And when Barosso stepped in the trap, slamming it on his head: "Would you feel that way if you only made $40,000 a year?"

Henry Waxman and the "prudent shoppers" of California who saw their Anthem premiums go up 39%.

And all we heard from the the GOP was the same old shit.

Fine. Fuck 'em and feed 'em fish heads. And let's get the public option back in there while we're at it.

The curmudgeon caucus

Got some links out of an e-list to which I belong and it set me off early this morning ...

Mark Levin to Glenn Beck: "Stop acting like a clown"
Politico - Conservative radio host Mark Levin is criticizing Glenn Beck’s widely publicized CPAC speech this weekend attacking Republicans.

Beck trashed the GOP as being “addicted to spending” during the keynote speech to the Conservative Political Action Committee Saturday and has been a major advocate of the tea party movement, even suggesting the formation of third party of grassroots conservative activists.

But on his show Monday night, Levin called on Beck to “stop dividing us” and suggested he "stop acting like a clown."

The Politico excerpt above comes from here. (Don't miss the Richard Viguerie missive either.) A choice bit from it:

For over three decades, the conservative movement consisted of three legs: (1) limited government/fiscal restraint, (2) national defense, and (3) traditional-values conservatives. However, many of the conservative movement’s leaders became an appendage of the Republican Party. Not so with the Tea Party Movement, which puts principle above loyalty to politicians.

The Tea Party Movement developed independently from the conservative movement, but is a natural ally to the cause of small, limited, constitutional government. The Tea Party has started where the conservative movement once did, as outsiders to the political establishment.

The Tea Party Movement is now the fourth leg of the conservatives’ big table. It not only brings millions of new people to the political process, it also brings more energy, enthusiasm and excitement to politics than we’ve seen in the last 100 years.

I have been working and waiting 50 years for this populist, principled and constitutional groundswell against big government and the quasi-socialistic, crony capitalistic establishment institutions that have been abusing power and trust at the expense of hard-working Americans, their children and their grandchildren.

In just one year, the Tea Party has become the fastest-growing political movement perhaps in history. It is getting bigger by the day, and efforts by the political and media establishment to denigrate it merely fuel it. I expect more defeats in primaries this year than ever in history.

Most big-government incumbents would be well advised to follow Senators Bayh, Dodd and Dorgan and voluntarily retire, or the revitalized conservative movement led by Tea Partiers will enforce retirement this November.

I love Dick Vig. He's been conservo-kooky since waaay back in the day, with Bill Buckley and John Birch and John Calhoun.  But regarding his POV on Republican Party's attempts to co-opt the Tea P, I agree that they are doing so and I disagree that the "movement" is anything but another balky bunch of bigots.  All I see is more of this purity test bullshit splintering an already fractured bunch of lunatics who only vary in their lunacy by tincture*.

*tincture: a chemical solution that has alcohol as the solvent

You Kossacks perhaps noticed Jed Lewison's analysis of Fox trashing the Paulites -- the original t-bags -- and by extension the Tea Party itself because Dr. No won last weekend's CPAC straw poll.

A little historical review: less than ten years ago the corporate media studiously ignored Iraq invasion protests numbering in the millions, in dozens of countries across the world -- before any of us ever heard the words 'Blackwater' and 'Abu Ghraib' -- because THOSE people marching and carrying sings and yelling were dirty fucking hippies.  They LOVE, however, to run video of old, white, conservative Americans screaming, especially when they are screaming at politicians. Since last summer it's been must-show teevee.

But all these TeaBaggers are, and all they will ever be, is a bunch of retirees and a few of their grown children and grandchildren complaining far too loudly about the good old days long gone away. "I want my country back" was "those uppity n-----s ain't never gonna get to vote in OUR town" (substitute "go to OUR colleges/sit in the front of OUR busses/eat at OUR lunch counters") fifty years ago, and "The South shall rise again" and "Hell no I ain't fergettin'"150 years ago. The names and the issues change but it's the same old muttering.

Today's iteration just happens to be John McCain and Jack Cafferty and Ron Paul in a circle-grumble. The curmudgeon caucus. That younger, prettier faces like Sarah Palin and Rick Perry and Tim Pawlenty are all trying to leverage the outrage to their personal advantage is just a display of craven opportunistic pandering.

These people are angry, all right. They're bitching about the tide going out and grousing about the cold weather and arguing with each other about what time the sun will rise tomorrow. Sound and fury signifying nothing. All they really want is low taxes and their guns, to paraphrase Good Time Charlie Wilson. Well who doesn't?

When these chronic bitchers are finally carried screaming and kicking off to assisted living and some younger, less pale people -- of whatever party; Dem, Repub, indy, it doesn't really matter --  get elected, this sad chapter of American history can be mercifully closed. Until my generation's conservatives pick up the torch of their forefathers, anyway.

As part of our planning for the Senate district convention next month, I visited the hosting location yesterday, a high school in Katy -- the heart of John Culbersonland, mind you -- and the brown kids outnumbered the white kids about 4-1 by my admittedly "scientific" (in the conservative definition of the word) observation. I can't wait for those little fuckers to grow up and start voting, though. You know that even the Caucasian kids are appalled at what their parents do and say and who they vote for.

There's some that are indoctrinated and inculcated, certainly.  I read on my 15-year-old nephew's Facebook status earlier this week the ever-popular Al Gore pejorative: "Snowing in Houston? Must be global warming." *slaps forehead*

What really gets my goat, though, is when Democrats are intimidated by all this bluster and cowed into not running for office, even and especially when they are a sure thing. Exhibit A: Beau Biden.

 What a pussy.

Credit where it's due

To Scott Brown, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, Kit Bond (!) and George Voinovich for breaking with their party and voting to advance the jobs bill.

Four Republicans joined Democrats in a key cloture vote moments ago, allowing debate on a jobs package to move forward. After overcoming this hurdle, debate on the bill can begin.

Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) broke with his party and voted with the Democrats. So did Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Susan Collins (R-ME), Kit Bond (R-MO) and George Voinovich (R-OH).

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) was the only Democrat to break with his party.

The final vote tally was 62-30. 

Our two Texas morons Corndog and Kay Bailing-Out, naturally, voted against unemployed Americans. Only slightly less disgraceful than the execrable Nelson.

"I hope this is the beginning of a new day here in the Senate," (Senate Majority Leader Harry) Reid said.

The bill, which is much smaller than some original proposals, would exempt businesses from paying Social Security payroll taxes this year after hiring from the nation's pool of millions of unemployed. The Build-America Bonds Act of 2009 would be renewed by the jobs bill. The scaled-down bill would also extend some tax breaks for small businesses, renew highway programs through December, and put $20 billion in the highway trust fund.

Go to the link to see Scott Brown's statement and expression of hopeful bi-partisanship. Let's see if his colleagues denounce him for it. With the announcement that HCR will be presented shortly for a vote again, this is, dare I say it, a good sign.  A healthcare bill -- without a public option and with the odious Nelson abortion amendment in -- appears to be on the docket and subject to a majority vote (what's referred to as reconciliation, meaning of course that 51 votes is all it will take to pass it).

If that's all that can be done, then get on with it, ladies and gentlemen.

Update: Eight more Republican senators found their way over to the light.  Let's not accuse them of being against it before they were for it ...

But Kay Bailey skipped out on the vote.  I believe that''s called 'cutting-and-running'.

The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance reminds you that early voting locations are open until 7 p.m. each day, until the conclusion of EV on Friday. Here are this week's blog highlights.

BossKitty at TruthHugger is amazed that anger is directed toward the Internal Revenue Service when Americans elect the very people who make the laws IRS enforces. Joe Stack targeted the wrong end of this chain. Taxpayers get end up owing money because they do not understand the laws their representatives make. Tax and Defiance: Short Sighted Protester Joe Stack.

In times of depleting incomes, Republican Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack brags about his $2.3 million tax-funded soap box derby track, at Bay Area Houston.

Two Steps Forward One Step Back for Tainted Texas Air at Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

This week at Left of College Station, Teddy reflects on the next 40 days of protest that are taking place at Planned Parenthood and reviews a performance of the Vagina Monologues at Texas A&M. Also, a look at the poll numbers in the campaign to be the next governor of Texas, and a review of the week in headlines.

The Conservative Politicians Against Compromise convention picked an old-school nutjob as the presidential nominee in 2012, notes PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants to know why Republicans hate education so much? Why make community colleges unaffordable?

In Lewisville, the school district has revoked consent for a community organization use their parking lots to gather signatures for a petition drive on the weekend, reports WhosPlayin'.

In what will come as a massive surprise, McBlogger endorses Hank Gilbert. Find out why here.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson shows that even without the severe decrease in sales tax receipts, Texas would still be facing a budget crisis: Understanding the budget and Texas' structural deficit.

Off the Kuff notes the humor of our Attorney General suing to protect the sanctity of divorce.

Libby Shaw at TexasKaos does the accountability analysis on the GOP stimulus hypocrites. See her scorecard here: TX U.S. House Members Join Senators in GOP Hall of Hypocritical Shame.

If Citizen Sarah had a nickel for every time she's put out a statement saying something along the lines of :Governor Perry is blowing hot air about climate change" she could probably buy something really fancy, like a Mexican Coke in a glass bottle. See Texas Vox for more details.

The Texas Cloverleaf reports from frigid New Jersey and wants everyone to know that the Garden State -- and others -- has not fallen into GOP hands.

Ron Paul for President (LMAO)

The Conservative Politicians Against Change convention picked a throwback lunatic as their nominee in 2012.

Rep. Ron Paul won the most support for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination in an unofficial straw poll of conservative activists attending an annual conference.

A libertarian from Texas who has railed against spending and the Federal Reserve, Paul won the Saturday contest at the Conservative Political Action Conference with 31 percent backing. He has sought the presidential nomination in the past and attracted a following among a segment of voters frustrated with Washington.

Participants cheered as their favored candidates' names were announced. Some members of the audience cheered while others booed loudly when event organizers announced Paul as the winner.

Paul spoke at the conference along with potential presidential candidates former Gov. Mitt Romney, of Massachusetts, and Gov. Tim Pawlenty, of Minnesota. Romney won second with 22 percent, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin came in third with 7 percent and Pawlenty finished with 6 percent.

Fewer than a quarter of the 10,000 attendees participated in the balloting, an unscientific sampling that only offers bragging rights.

Dr. No would be the PERFECT candidate for the Party of No, n'est ce pas?

Personally, I think it was the coveted Bruno endorsement that put him over the top.

You really get the notion that none of Paul's staff has explained to him what "teabagging" means. And hey, that's a good thing.

Update:

“He’s missing a rudder or something,” Juanita opines. “He starts off sounding like a normal human person, but then he wanders off into very strange lonely places. He starts saying stuff like ‘no taxes, freedom, hate the IRS, it’s MY money, personal freedom, group freedom, pickle relish, your granny’s undies, trig function, War of 1812, soft socks…..’ and all the teabaggers in the room think to themselves, ‘he’s not nuts; he’s just deep and smarter than me’ because they are accustomed to being the dumbest person in the room.”

Sunday Funnies

Pitchers and catchers reported today

... in Kissimmee and elsewhere. WOO HOO

Hair Balls share eleven things to ponder regarding the Astros as they open spring training.

When I lived in Florida in 1992, I went to about a half a dozen different games -- St. Pete (then it was the Cardinals), Dunedin (Blue Jays), Clearwater (Phillies). When I moved back to Texas in '93 -- and my mother still owned her condo in Clearwater -- I went back a couple of times in March for a few days, catching the Yankees in Tampa and the Phillies in their then-brand-new Grapefruit League home. Also jumped over to Osceola County Stadium one afternoon and saw the 'Stros.

There is positively nothing finer than a spring training game in Florida during the first week of March. You can watch the seagulls circle lazily overhead while ballplayers jog in the outfield during the game (they don't do that in late March, when position battles and roster cuts get serious).  I haven't made it down in quite a few years but believe me, it's always on my mind. Go here if you want to see what's going on. Or here. Or here. Or here.

Who besides me wishes ...

... that Joseph Stack had been in therapy for the past month, and Tiger Woods had flown a light plane into a building?

-- More TeaBaggers conferencing this week in Washington. Last year that conclave produced hilarious video of an obese Rush Limbaugh bouncing up and down like a circus elephant. This year so far, only TelePrompter hypocrisy.

-- The History Channel will air a "documentary" on the Kennedy family that will allegedly focus on any variety of family peccadilloes. The producer, Joel Surnow ...

... smokes cigars with Rush Limbaugh, can "hardly think" of Ronald Reagan without "breaking into tears," and believed that "America [was] in its glory days" under President Bush.

-- "The Flintstones" is not a documentary, but far too many of our neighbors think it is ...

Nearly a third of Texans believe humans and dinosaurs roamed the earth at the same time, and more than half disagree with the theory that humans developed from earlier species of animals, according to the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.

-- Roger Ebert, the film critic who was the co-host of a popular movie review show some time ago, is finally reaching the end of the line in his long battle with oral cancer. He writes a moving essay about dying in this month's Esquire. Warning: clicking the link reveals an unsettling photo of Ebert's physical appearance as a result of his many surgeries.

-- Rick Perry, Greg Abbott, and Todd Staples rolled out their opposition to climate change this past week, and were greeted with the appropriate scorn and derision.

-- The BAE truck facility in Sealy finally did lose, after appealing the decision to the Pentagon, their federal contract this week. Thousands of Texas jobs will be lost as a result.

-- Doug Fieger, The Knack's lead singer, passed this week.  I played that album until the diamond needle cut all the way through to the other side of the record.  'My Sharona' was a huge song in the '80's at my fraternity parties.

-- Early voting continues in Texas this weekend. The turnout in Harris County has been massive.

Shami campaign staffers resign

Farouk Shami's campaign has imploded in the past few days. First there was an internal e-mail sent to media (including me) revealing inner turmoil over who was responsible for communications, and now this ...

Several top campaign aides to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Farouk Shami resigned today, said Charlie Ray, who had been the campaign’s press secretary.

Five staff members stepped down, including Ray, campaign director Vince Leibowitz, and communications director Kelly Love Johnson, Ray said.

The resignations come a day after the campaign’s internal chaos spilled into public when a bizarre e-mail exchange was, apparently inadvertently, sent to reporters.

On Tuesday, Ray and Shami gave out conflicting information about the roles of aides David Diaz and Jessica Gutierrez, both of whom had been sending out press releases on behalf of the campaign. Ray said that neither were authorized to speak for the campaign, but Shami said late Tuesday night that both had permission to give such statements.

More from Vince Leibowitz ...

“Clearly, (Shami) will not accept political strategy from the people who are there to provide it,” Leibowitz said.

Leibowitz and Ray, you may recall, had earlier replaced Jason Stanford, who ran Chris Bell's 2006 gubernatorial campaign and is now working for Kinky Friedman.

Bill White ought to be able to cruise to a run-off-free win in the primary and look forward to taking on Rick Perry in November (whether or not the governor clears the primary without a run-off).

Update: More from TrailBlazers and Texas Politics, including this ...

"Too many cooks in the kitchen," Ray said today.

Ray said it made it too difficult to "manage the message" when the campaign staff and staff from Shami's hair care company were both doing messaging.

Leibowitz said there was a difference over whether the professional campaign staff was going to run the show or Shami's corporate staff.

"You can see who won," Leibowitz said.

Abbott: Divorce is only between a man and a woman

The hypocrisy is strong with this one.

Attorney General Greg Abbott is trying to halt the divorce of two women in Austin on grounds their Massachusetts marriage is not recognized in Texas.

A Travis County state district judge on Feb. 10 granted a divorce in court to Sabina Daly, 41, of San Antonio, and Angelique Naylor, 39, of Austin. Abbott's aides went to court the following day to block the divorce before the written decree was entered.

“A divorce is an ending or a termination of a valid legal marriage,” Abbott said Tuesday. “In this instance there was no valid legal marriage recognized by the state of Texas. Texas can't have a faulty precedent on the books that validates an illegal law.”

The United States Constitution says you're wrong, "General" Abbott.

Article IV, Section 1: "Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof."

There's also the common-law marriages that are recognized Texas courts, under § 2.401 of the Texas Family Code:

(A)n informal marriage can be established either by declaration (registering at the county courthouse without having a ceremony), or by meeting a 3-prong test showing evidence of (1) an agreement to be married; (2) cohabitation in Texas; and (3) representation to others that the parties are married. A 1995 update adds an evidentiary presumption that there was no marriage if no suit for proof of marriage is filed within two years of the date the parties separated and ceased living together.

But I'm no lawyer; surely this has been previously argued and a conservative judge has tossed it (you go do the FindLaw; I'm already tired of Googling this morning). Abbott has tried to to stop gay people from divorcing before and is still appealing the previous case...

It was not the first time Abbott's office has sought to halt a same-sex divorce. He intervened last October in a Dallas case when two men were granted a divorce.

Luther said in that case Abbott intervened before the divorce was decreed in open court. The judge in that case rejected Abbott's arguments and the state has appealed to try to overturn the divorce.

There are states where people can legally marry their first cousins -- such as Texas -- and there are states which do not, and those states still recognize those unions. "Moral objection" out the window.

But-but-but Article I, Sec. 32 of the Texas Constitution says marriage can only be between one man and one woman. And it was approved by 76% of Texas voters in 2005. (What that tells you, incidentally, is that a whole lot of Texas Democrats voted in favor of it.  Just so you know.)

That, as you may recall, was challenged recently by both Dallas civil court Judge Tena Callahan and the presumptive Democratic nominee for Texas Attorney General, Barbara Radnofsky. As I mentioned here, this matter of Texas voters codifying discrimination into the state constitution is ripe for legal challenge.

Just a cursory review of the case law exposes the attorney general of Texas as a rank hypocrite and willing tool of the social ultraconservatives.

Greg Abbott is nothing more than Pat Robertson with a law degree, and he only uses his legal education if he can con the Talibaptists and other Christianists in Texas into believing that he fights the Good Lord's battles here on Earth.

Early voting reminder (and two Nick Anderson toons)

Early voting in Texas for party primaries began this morning; check this list (.pdf) for an early voting location near you in Harris County. If you would like to see a sample ballot specific to you then go here, click on "find your election day poll and view voter specific ballot" at the top and enter the necessary personal data.

My recommendations for statewide office include ...

Governor: Alma Ludivina Aguado

Lt. Governor: Ronnie Earle or Linda Chavez-Thompson

Attorney General: Barbara Ann Radnofsky

Commissioner of the General Land Office: Hector Uribe

Agriculture commissioner: Hank Gilbert

Railroad commissioner: Jeff Weems

Justice, Texas Supreme Court: Jim Sharp (Place 3), Bill Moody (Place 5), Blake Bailey (Place 9)

Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 6: Keith Hampton

Will provide more of these down the county ballot later. 

Update: Texas House representatives ...

HD-134: Ellen Cohen (my representative)

HD-146: Borris Miles (my former representative)

HD-133:  Kristi Thibaut

HD-47: Valinda Bolton 

Congress ... (contested races only)

CD-18: Sheila Jackson-Lee

CD-22: Doug Blatt

Harris County administration (contested only) ...

County Judge: Gordon Quan

County Clerk: Sue Smith Schechter

I followed the recommendations of a handful of organizations who represent my views and did the heavy lifting of candidate vetting of local judicial candidates. They included the Harris County Democrats, the AFL-CIO, and Democracy for Houston. Charles Kuffner has also interviewed candidates and collected endorsements on a Google spreadsheet.

Update: Stace Medellin at Dos Centavos has his endorsements and the H-Chron published their judicial candidates yesterday also.

Get-your-ashes-on-Wednesday Wrangle

It's also post-Valentine's and pre-Fat Tuesday.  Did they ever stop partying in N'awlins since the Super Bowl?

The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes you all a happy Lunar New Year, and brings you the first Year of the Tiger blog roundup.

Update: Oh yeah ... Happy Presidents Day.

Justin at Asian American Action Fund Blog notes that Houston is the first locale President Obama named in his Lunar New Year Greeting. Could there be a political meaning behind it?

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme marvels at the jackassery presented to voters on the Republican ballot. No, we're not talking about the candidates. It's the propositions that disenfranchise voters, turn Texas into Colorado Springs or California, and humiliate pregnant women.

Fake Consultant, over at TexasKaos, gives us a tale from the health care frontier. He points out that even in the little things the present system is fundamentally broken. Check it out here.

From TXsharon: How the oil and gas industry bullies turned an ordinary, honest man into a modern day hero. Read it on Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

WhosPlayin is watching candidates file for the 2010 Lewisville ISD School board election.

Contrary to what the Star-Telegram keeps repeating, the Texas Cloverleaf reminds everyone that there is a Democrat running in CD-26.

"Why I'm supporting Dr. Alma Aguado for Texas governor" is PDiddie's endorsement in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. Read more at Brains and Eggs.

MeanRachel endorses Bill White and Linda Chavez-Thompson in the two top spots on the Democratic primary ticket.

Adam at Three Wise Men lays out the blog's endorsements for the 2010 Texas Democratic Primary.

Off the Kuff says there's a smart way to do budget cuts and a dumb way to do budget cuts, and we need to do it the smart way.

Neil at Texas Liberal endorsed Hank Gilbert in the Democratic Primary for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture. The post includes a picture of a Longhorn steer, a watermelon, and a channel catfish.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the coming Texas budget woes and that we can't make it balance on the backs of the poor again in his post entitled 2011 budget cannot be balanced like in 2003, not this time.

This week at McBlogger, Mojito takes a look at a Travis County JP race and finds the challenger lacking.