From Steny Hoyer, the new House Majority Leader and major proponent of the Bankrupcy Bill:
TPM Reader KS: Mr. Hoyer, please explain how the passage of the bankruptcy bill last year will actually benefit anyone OTHER THAN the credit card companies and the big banks in light of the rising expense, employment instability, and healthcare uncertainty of living in the United States, especially given that more than half of all bankruptcies filed by individuals in the past were in response to a single catastrophic event, such as losing a job or experiencing a health-related crisis.
HOYER: I voted for it because I believe in personal responsibility. For people who incur debt but can't pay through no fault of their own because of a catastrophic event, obviously there needs to be protections.
Since there are no "protections" in the Bankruptcy Bill for people who develop cancer or other serious illnesses (or for those who must leave higher paying jobs when they are called into National Guard service), I guess these are not considered "catastophic events" and people who recklessly court them are, therefore, at "fault." Good to know.
GS: But who does the bill help other than insurance companies and big banks?
HOYER: The incursion of substantial debt and bankruptcy not through catastrophic events I think hurts consumers in that it makes debt more expensive. [The companies] simply charge higher rates to cover their losses. We can bring prices down for consumers by insuring that those who incur debt pay that debt.
Mr. Majority Leader, as a cancer survivor myself (two times) I want to thank you and the "fiscally responsible" Blue Dogs so much for showing me the error of my feckless, immoral and financially flighty ways and I hope that along with my fellow medical goldbrickers (who comprise roughly 50% of all those who file for bankruptcy) we can show how much we appreciate the opportunity to work like indentured servants for the rest of our lives to pay off not only our medical bills but the non-negotiable credit card interest rates that pile up as a result of our shiftless refusal to work during surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and the other forms of frivolous time-wasting we indulge in when we could be contributing to society in the productive ways you envision for us. As a member of Congress I realize that all your medical bills are paid for and this is not a worry for you, but that probably just means that you are more responsible than us and had the good foresight to get yourself a job where you could cast a vote to have us taxpayes pick up your bills on your behalf. If only we had been so "responsible."
Anyway, thanks again Mr. Majority Leader. I just want you to know how happy I am that the Republicans are no longer going to be in charge of Congress, and I look forward to the "choices" that Newt you will offer me to take personal responsibility in my own life. I'm sure I will be a better, stronger, more productive person for it.
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Happy Thanksgiving FireDogs!
And to you too Zed!
I dislike Hoyer. I hope Speaker Pelosi will make life miserable for him. This guy reminds of Lieberman.
And great post Jane. Hey Steny, how come no penalties for those companies charging loansharking rates? Or the 10 credit card offers I got in the mail today despite my shitty credit?
Fitz! Am I really the first?
RIGHT ON Jane! As a 16 year breast cancer survivor, I couldn’t agree with you more.
(Hey, you were SO FUNNY yesterday – love your style of snark!)
There are a lot of bills that need to be repealed or amendes … not all of them immediately obvious. My question, on any given bill, would be ‘Does this promote the general welfare of the country, or does it help only a small part that’s doing well already?’
D’oh! Guess I type too slow.
Thanks for this. I KNEW there was a reason I didn’t trust Hoyer.
Gah, what an idjit. Just to think, this is our Majority Leader.
Btw,
Happy Thanksgiving ! I hope everyone has a warm place to be and a veritable feast to enjoy.
I will be giving thanks for my many blessings and remembering to stay responsible so I can pay all these bills>
here’s what people don’t understand about bankruptcy protection;
For a lender, bankruptcy is the price of doing business.
period
like the rent you pay, the electric bill in the summer, the heating bill in the winter.
When a lender lends money, in his interest rate is the price of default.
that’s it, they have to pay their bills
If the lending industry was in some kind of hardship, if we couldn’t find lenders, then there might be a case that bankruptcy was an expense the the lenders couldn’t afford and we would have a reason to have changed bankruptcy protection
but the lending industry was making tons of money, and eliminating the expense of risking default was nothing short of a gift to an industry that was already demonstrating excellent return form their bussiness
I guess it was real irresponsible of me to eat the buffet at Whole Foods last night, too, where I got food poisoning and have now been in bed and sleeping all day with a fever. This is about as good as I’ve felt since, so that I can actually sit up at the computer.
I get to be pissed of until midnight. Then it’s big family T’day tomorrow. Many Republican relatives, whom I adore, will be there. Therefore, no politics. But… tee-hee, Demo family will out number the Repubs 1.873 to one. So there.
People, ‘bosses’, such as Hoyer are such ugly liars. They claim to believe that most of the people declaring bankruptcy are taking advantage of the system…or so it seems. But I wonder if we are over qualifying their mental process—I bet if we looked at their campaign contributions and their industry ties, we’d find even that slimy bit of idealism right out the window.
They’re carrying the water for the banking and financial industries. The rest is just window dressing. I’ll bet he gets a lot of fancy dinner invitations, though.
It’s the “I got mine, you can go f**k yourself” attitude toward medical and other catastrophe survivors.
Kevoy11 @
5
Thanks, and congratulations. My first bout of breast cancer was in ‘93, so I guess I’m 13 years living with this. Really can’t thank Steny and the 302 members of the House who voted for the bankruptcy bill with no medical exception enough for their sensitivity. I’m lucky in that bankruptcy wasn’t anything I ever needed, but having lived through cancer twice the expense is outrageous and to tell the estimated 1.9-2.2 million people who do have to declare it as a result that they are being “irresponsible” when it’s nothing you ever have to worry about facing yourself takes some real fucking nerve.
Pachacutec @
11
Laggard.
This is how it’s done Jane. Thanks for posting this because this right here is how it’s done. Bringing down the sunlight on the actions of “our” representatives. highlighting their hypocrisies and greed. Showing them for the sold-out souls they really are.
The arrogance that this moral midget and character-challenged elitist to actually suggest that he voted for this for our own good… To help make us more responsible… It staggers the imagination.
Pachacutec @
11
bummer, Pach – hope you feel better for Thanksgiving.
sorry, of topic but SO GOOD!
http://www.lacrossetribune.com…..gold21.txt
GORE/FEINGOLD
bada BING
Attention credit card users etc. Hoyer is not your pal.
There will always be people who take advantage of the system, any system. Forgive me if I channel the NRA, but why not enforce the existing laws?
Steny believes in personal responsibility-what about corporate responsibility?
And pach, it was clearly irresponsible of me to never smoke, drink, or do any serious drugs and yet still get throat cancer. I wish the people who double talk like Hoyer could just walk a week in the shoes of someone into the second half of cancer treatment. Not actually wish them cancer—I and no other survivor would ever wish that on anyone—just have them lay on the treatment table with the beams burning inside them, or sit there with the chemicals infusing into their veins, all the while wondering how they are going to pay for this…
Twisted Martini @ 20
of course there will be people that take advantage of any system, that price is figuredd into the formual for payment.
the lending industry was recoding profit and there was no reason to eliminate their rent..bankruptcy protection is the rent they pay for their bussiness
It does get exhausting not only battling arch-conservative Republicans all the time, but also special-interest corporate Democrats like Hoyer and Lieberman.
Jesus, will somebody please come up with a viable party that only allows “good guys” to belong to it? I can come up with a list of proposed members, and Ned Lamont would be pretty high up on it.
And thank you Jane for this post. I feel overwhelmed at the quality and sensitivity of FDL over the last few weeks, but especially this week. Stunning quality and content.
{{{Jane}}}
To hear this crap from a Dem is deflating. So much for fighting for the middle class, these K Street whores need to pamper their big money pimps just like the DeLay machine. Uggghhh. Like fighting the Rethugs wasn’t enough, we have our work cut out for us with the new Powers That Be.
Connecticut Bob @ 23
the firedog party
What the hell kind of name is “Steny?”
And I thought my name was weird…
cleter @ 27
I know my name is weird
Ct Bob, great minds…
Anyone see this? http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…..nding_bush
Papi Bush doesn’t like to hear the truth. Testy, testy.
perris @ 28
weirder than cletus? c’mon.
I’ll be willing to judge his entire body of work, but he certainly isn’t winning any progressive friends with special interest bullshit.
You are absolutely right Perris, the lending industry figured out how to have the Govt remove much of their risk, putting more profit into their pockets. Meanwhile the cheaters will still find ways to get over, like the generous homestead exemption givine by states like FLA.
perris @ 26
Where do I sign?
Twisted Martini @ 31
you know, it’s the cost of their bussiness, if they can’t handle that cost, go into a differant bussienss
like tools for a mechanic…hey, I don’t need snapon tools if I’m just a household handiman, I don’t need a compressor or a hydrolic lift
if I want to be in bussiness as a mechanic I ahve to buy my own tools and pay for the things my industry neccesitates
same thing with the lending industry, they enjoyed excellant return on their investiment WITH bankruptcy protection.
I have NO idea how corporate media managed to convince middle class America to give free money to the lending industry, but man oh man, just about everyone I know was for eleiminating bankruptcy protection…I just don’t get how easy it is to get middle class people to champion against themselves
“you’re soaking in it”
Off topic
Remember this post last week?
Well, I remembered seeing a video of the perfect person for those “winners”, a couple years ago, but for the life of me I couldn’t find it … Until now (windows media video)
Maybe she’s related to Pam
I don’t know much about Steny Hoyer, but early impressions are not good. He comes off like a typical bought and paid for politician.
From Steny Hoyer, the new House Majority Leader and major proponent of the Bankrupcy Bill.
What?!? Why are the Dems rewarding “Dems”-like-HolyJoe? Lamont thought the Bankruptcy bill was a terrible idea and used it against HoJoe.
reminder: Hoyer wanted to come on FDL for a live blog session, but only if we promised not to say mean things to him.
perris @ 18
GORE/FEINGOLD
bada BING
I have to quote myself cuz I think everyone missed it.
this is great news
Brava, Jane.
And for local spin on the Congressman from Maryland’s Fifth, a WaPo Metro section profile of The New Boss:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01533.html
“Personal responsibility” when assigned surely means less than when assumed, especially when assigned by one, like Hoyer, to whom said law will never, ever apply.
=======
Who’s Next?
=======
Great post. I hadn’t gotten around to finding out enough about Hoyer to have an opinion about him. Now I do. He’s a jerk.
This only adds to how horrified I am at the moral bankruptcy of my country’s policys, after learning about Lee Kinchnen’s healthcare plight earlier today.
punaise @ 38
He plans to come on FDL for whose benefit?
Jane: I echo Kevoy11 @ 5. Thank you! My 25yo brother-in-law passed away in Oct. 2004 after a long battle with brain cancer. My sister was left with a mountain of bills for treatments that weren’t covered by insurance because they were “experimental” and by a lack of prescription coverage. His pain medication alone cost over $500 a week!
Six months after losing her husband and the father of her children, she had to file bankruptcy.
See, this is exactly why we need Republican leadership. The next time that a CEO guts a corporation and absconds with all of the cash, leaving everyone unemployed and broke at the same time (because their stock options are now worthless), we will know who to thank. If it wasn’t for the GOP, I would have been blaming the fat cats, who clearly were not at fault since I’m the one going through credit counseling. It’s good to know that all the thievery in corporate America is somehow all directly my own personal fault, through my own sense of fiscal irresponsibility.
Because they are really good at taking the exception-the cheaters-and make them the norm to the point that they need to change the system for prevent the cheaters.
mui @ 42
Howie Klein wrote about it at Down With Tyranny but I can’t seem to find the link. Jane?
perris, Feingold is my first choice, HOWEVER, I’m not sure the VP job is worth giving up a Senate seat. If it’s Gore, it just might be worth it, but we need every damn seat at the moment.
in the meantime, don’t miss Attaturk’s photomontage of the Bush holiday table and guests.
you know what people don’t realize about what happens without banktuptcy protection?
fewer entrepenuers.
I want to open a cafe, but I surely don’t want to risk my families future by doing it.
so what does that mean?
I don’t take the loan, I don’t rent the store, I don’t hire the kids, and in general, the middle class does not grow
http://downwithtyranny.blogspo…..hoyer.html
On topic: CNN’s question of the day:
Will the Democratic takeover of Congress lead to better govt? Currently 56% yes.
Thanks for the well wishes. If I’m well enough, my partner and I will be having TG with some friends we met through Drinking Liberally.
rat bastahd @ 47
who gets his seat if he gives it up?
rat bastahd @
25
Hear, hear. There will be a primary in MD-05 in a year and a half, who do we know in the area who might like to give t a shot?
Great post Jane – and important message. We need to watch these guys sooo carefully and a D after a name does not automatically make an ally.
punaise @
38
Could I speak only in Spanish? You would not believe the words I learned in grade school….
Our family has had major health crises. A member is in a nursing home. I’ve had some health problems, so have my sons. We had to declare bankruptcy.
Steny….go play in traffic.
Pach! Whole Foods? oh dear!
I avoid WF as much as possible – not for fear of illness but for the safety of my food budget!
punaise @ 50
I see, though it’s hard not for people to get emotional over the bankruptcy bill. And understandable. If he takes a position that puts where people who have suffered catastrophic losses are taken to the cleaners, I can imagine even polite folks gritting their teeth.
Other Howie Klein link:
Could there perhaps be a “Lieberman for Connecticut” Party in Holy Joe’s future? One well-informed Nutmeg State pol, who preferred to remain anonymous on account of he may find it professionally necessary “to kiss the lying old fart’s butt,” expressed doubt. “”Connecticut for Lieberman’ was a big enough stretch,” he said. “It was not only arrogant in the extreme but more than faintly ridiculous. However, ‘Connecticut for Lieberman’ is just plain preposterous
Sad, but true.
My sister lives near Steny’s house in Southern Maryland. He lives very well for some one who has never had a “real”job. Just saying..”Personal responsibility” is the mantra of someone who has never had any.
punaise @ 34
Im-madge-in!
Pachacutec @ 11
I got deathly (seemed like it, anyway) ill after eating at a buffet a few years ago. I now see buffets as a gastronomic version of Russian roulette.
HotFlash –
I left a brief response for you downstream, got EPU’d.
Jane, sharing your cancer survivorhood allowed you to write so beautifully. Please continue to remind us how the genuine voice resounds in the public square.
Vivid, true, and clear.
Oh, dear, I used a bad word related to gamb*ing…
Siun @ 57
I today discovered a Food Palace Extraordinaire opened two weeks ago at Broderick, a blockandahalf up Oak. Seriously, they’re open til nine and it’s heaven.
I had made a mental note to ask, the next time I spoke to you, about coming up with some kind of “amnesty” strategy for Democrats who supported the bankruptcy bill and similar atrocities, in the spirit of letting bygones be bygones now that we have a congressional majority.
But, uh, nevermind.
Steny Hoyer will NOT be our friend. We need to send him something really appropriate come February or so … like some turkey legs or something.
Re Thanksgiving, I will (or was going to be) alone tomorrow so I called up a neighbor who recently moved into a senior high rise. She said she was going to be alone, so I am going over there to spend some time.
Our family will have thanksgiving on Saturday, but we are only a few people. My ex-husband and I are both only children so it will be us, our three kids (one very depressed) and 4 of our grandkids. But family is family, and we will be glad to be together.
Siun @ 55
Wasn’t it Duke Leto who recommended giving untrustworthy associates positons where a close eye could be keep on them?
GrandmaJ @ 66
GrandmaJ, wonderful to see you!
Pach –
Hope you’re feeling better soon! You can drink water, right? I had a bout of food poisoning once, most likely from eating raw clams at a wedding reception at the Jersey shore. All I could think of was the title of the film, “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”
Ended up passed out on the floor of the bathroom, where my roommate found me. Dehydration. IV solution of salt/sugar put the electrolytes back in order.
To this day I’m obsessive/compulsive about handling raw meat (disposable vinyl gloves, bleach on the counter, etc. etc.), even though it wasn’t my own kitchen that did me in. Once burned, never again!
Please take good care! It sounds like you’re not too bad off today, glad to hear it. But for others who might not know — if you can’t keep water down, get someone to take you for help, before you pass out.
I wonder if there is a record of how many times Blue Dog Rep. Hoyer visited our injured soldiers, many severely, who finally made it back to the states…versus the number of times Rep. Murtha visited soldiers in a stateside hospital on their return from Iraq.
In other words, based on Rep. Hoyer’s total lack of sympathy for American families adversely affected by this Republican/Banking Industry passed Bankruptcy Bill, it wouldn’t surprise me to discover that Rep. Murtha visited our injured soldiers many, many more times than Rep. Hoyer…if Rep. Hoyer ever got around to visiting them at all.
Rep. Hoyer sounds like one of those “compassionate conservative” Republicans…ultra-conservative with utterly no compassion at all…totally divorced from all the hardships visited upon middle-class American families and poor families by the rampant greed of those “compassionate conservatives” who just lost control of Congress.
Explain to me again why the hell Democrats chose Rep. Hoyer as the new House Majority Leader?
Rep. Murtha has proven to be a fighter for those in America who have been under-represented (or not represented at all) over the past 12 years, while Rep. Hoyer apparently surrendered his soul to the “culture of corruption” Republicans a long time ago.
There will definitely have to be a further shake-up of Congress in 2008.
Motherfucking prick. I hope he gets cancer in both balls and has to pay for it.
I posted a CTBob link downthread. HoJoe talks to Hannity about “what will make him switch parties.”
Mrs. K8 @ 69
The hardest part for me was that I really, really only wanted to be alone and, given my condition, my family was happy to oblige. I missed my cousin’s wedding reception; upon their return, I required an er visit. Keep close your partner, Pach, and ensure you’re able to alert him if things go south. Water’s good, then broth and bread.
No, but corporations can still declare bankruptcy and renege on paying their bills, including pensions. What sort of financial responsibility is that, Lord Hoyer? Everything about this guy, from his name to his face, screams patrician blueblood. Can it be that the dream of November 7th is dead already?
Speaking of cancer. Where is Darth Cheney?
Lieberman on Hannity: If the Dems take a position that is soo wrong for the country, he’ll have to switch parties. Obama talks about “cut and running,” and that’s sooo wrong.
Well… we’ve still got Lieberman, and we’ve gained Hoyer. What would make this macabre picture complete? Wait! I know. Hillary in 2008.
Most recent Darth public appearance, only one since Election Day:
http://www.fed-soc.org/Publica…..cheney.htm
Maybe someone should tell the banks to make loans to, you know, people who can pay the money back. Many years ago, the old saw was that you could only get a loan if you didn’t need one. When I got my first credit card, I had to put $500 in a savings account and leave it untouched to get a card with a $500 limit. Now they loan outrageous amounts to anyone and wonder why some of them don’t pay it back. Maybe the banks need to act responsibly.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 78
Hillary, the Repuglikans favorite candidate, because it will be a sure loss for the Democrats.
Regarding Hoyer –
He needs to be inundated with emails about this bankruptcy thing, just flooded with responses to his remarks. Thanks for this, Jane! I plan on giving him a piece of my mind.
According to Steny, it must be okey-dokey that credit card companies send the equivalent of a grove of dead trees in paper for credit card offers to every man, woman, and child in the country, regardless of the offer recipient’s financial standing. Shoving credit in everyone’s face.
It also must be okey-dokey with him that there are complaints in virtually every state A.G.’s office about credit card companies who just happen to *hold on to* a customer’s payment, not posting it until it mysteriously becomes “late,” enabling them to run their scam of “late penalties” and usurious interest rates.
Where’s the oversight of that highly irresponsible credit industry? I want to see hearings, with teeth in them.
Hoyer should get inundated with outrage for his callousness and refusal to hold an irresponsible industry accountable.
Mickey @ 76
Kissing the ring of King Abdullah…
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/200…..heney_dc_2
(You know, that country which produced 15 of the 9/11 hijackers.)
mui @
42
Stimpy’s benefit, of course.
The only motivation Stimpy knows: Hoyer for Hoyer.
Cheney is winging it to Saudi Arabia this weekend while Chimpy is in Jordan. Something is going on, some sort of bad deal is being cut, I can feel it.
You got that right, Fini Fini.
I am usually around but struggle each day not to worry too much.
Question: If Joe the Schmoe joins the republicans, could he ever win in CT again? He won it seems by fooling many dems, and of course by lying to them. Of course if the investigations really heat up, Joe will definitely switch to keep all of his friends safe. I want to hear what Clinton says then.
So Bush is in Jordan while Darth’s in Arabia. Does that mean Denny’s in charge?
kirk murphy @ 84
I think he might have put his finger on the wrong pulse.
Mrs. K8 @ 82
How about blizzarding him with medical bills? Could make for good photo-ops.
I’m seeing people still with hospital braclets on wrists, coming by dear ‘ol Stimpy’s office with the wad of crushing bills.
And media.
The hardest part for me was that I really, really only wanted to be alone
Teddy –
Me too! I pulled a serious Great Garbo.
Did light bother your eyes, too? I needed the blinds and curtains shut, tightly — and STILL put sunglasses on. The headache!
Seriously, that was the only time I felt so thoroughly horrible I thought death would be merciful.
Hoyer wasn’t the only D who supported the BANK bill.
We need to get money our of politics. Public finance for all elections and term limits.
Close shut the revolving door.
Bust up monopolies especially the media companies
Nationalize the energy companies
Shrink the army
A dream… sure… but when will THIS nightmare end?
kirk murphy @ 90
Oooh, Kirk! I like how you think!
How to organize this? Which consumer groups would be interested?
The “rubber stamp” project was highly effective and could be imitated, no?
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Hope you feel better soon Pach.Bad stuff, that.
Beer thirty has arrived.
perris @ 33
I think they convinced people that interest rates would be reduced if bankruptcy “abuse” was curtailed.
How about it, has anyone’s credit card interest rate actually declined?
Fini — for me, it’s the juju of this day. That’s the creepy feeling I have — November 22, plus the brocolli voodoo which seems effective: no trade agreement to take on AF1, which gets a flat tire; demonstrations in Indonesia and motorcade cops critically injured in his wake; Twin’s purse (and cell omg!!) stolen in BA; accompanying posse-members of Bush entourages (White House Travel Director and Secret Service) mugged and beaten in Hawaii and B.A.
ill wind.
GrandmaJ @ 87
He will win as long as there is Diebold.
Steny, you are in our crosshairs come ‘08. Just saying…
Other ideas:
Are there any non-profit credit card companies out there?
I cut up all my credti cards after I retired. Figured if I had to charge it, I didn’t need it.
Many ideas out there that we could dream up. Like co-op insurance companies, which is how they got started in the first place as “widow’s survivers benefits” through the “animal clubs” e.g., Elks, Moose, Eagles, etc.
A reminder of the old Vermont Farmer’s motto: “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.”
Bustednuckles @ 94
And it’s after fourtwenty on Thanksgiving eve!
mui @ 81
I do not like Hillary’s continued ‘thunking’ on Iraq. I do not like Hillary’s support for the invasion of Lebanon. I do not like Hillary’s non-view on the re-starting of the Mideast peace process. Otherwise I like her.
I do like Clark and I do like Gore, among a few others.
TeddySanFran @ 96
Speaking of juju, did that voodoo meister happen to cast his spell on Cheney, as well?
And WTF is he doing in Saudi Arabia? I hope there are reports out of there….it bodes ill.
sofistic @ 98
Once Working Assets is finished with their contract with MBNA (for processing payments) — and that should happen sometime in the new year, IIRC — we plan on shifting to them.
A portion of their profits goes to progressive causes, and beyond that they’re involved in a variety of good projects. We get our cell phone service from them.
GrandmaJ @ 87
I somehow doubt it. People who were on the fence about Joe expressed reservations about his character. People who were staunchly for Joe felt his “record” may have some flaws or was good, but his “character” was unimpeachable. Some Dems could be included in the last category. Many Lamont supporters thought HoJoe was a slime. See a pattern? I can literally see jaws dropping at his latest statements so soon after the campaign promises. No Schadenfreude, because it’s really quite appalling. I especially feel sorry for that fraction of Dems who were fooled by Joe. Frustrated, but sorry for them.
Wow, it really was generous of Steny to clear that up! My husband and I spent all our savings paying off expenses that our fabulously expensive insurance policy didn’t cover after he became a quadriplegic in 2001.
Do you have any idea how expensive it is to be paralyzed? Oh, heavens. Like, it takes exactly 30 minutes of sitting on fragile skin to get yerself a fine little pressure sore and another stay in the hospital.
We just so appreciate being lectured about personal responsibility, especially since if we had been the sort of folks who spend more than they have and don’t bother with a college fund, we would have been eligible for medicaid right away.
Our reward for being good, hardworking taxpayers was to be told that we were on our own. It was especially sweet to watch the president slam the door on stem cell research, but that’s another subject.
Here’s an event Steny “hosted” in Maryland’s Fifth:
http://pgcar.com/newsarchive/2…..e_0822.htm
Oklahoma kiddo @ 100
I despise the hawkishness of Senators Chuck and Hillary. But I don’t dislike Hillary in the crazy sexist way that Republikans do.
Hoyer really needs to read this thread and hear our voices: irresponsible Americans from whom his donors (insurance, HMOs, credit card companies, and pharma) need protection.
I don’t care about gender. I care about ideas. I do not believe that Republicans are the only ones to be gender biased.
hitchhiker @ 104
hitchhiker –
There is plenty of rage, like yours, to be tapped in an effort to bring down these callous, unresponsive, corporate hacks.
That rage will only get worse in the next few years as the housing market continues to take a dive. Progressives need to be ready to challenge the entrenched power-brokers in D.C. by speaking out on behalf of and amplifying the rage of those most hurt by corporate greed. We need to channel that energy in creative ways, like the “rubber stamp” project did, or like Kirk’s idea.
Meanwhile, my prayers go out to you and your husband this Thanksgiving. We must support each other as we struggle to take our country back from the plutocrats.
Hoyer defeated in-a-coma Representative Gladys Spellman’s husband in a race for her Congressional seat. Further, he defeated a better-funded GOPer in the general, earning the nickname, “Boy Wonder.” From Gladys, do you think?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steny_Hoyer
Mrs. K8 @ 93
Yes! Loved the rubber stamp project!
The marquee name patient groups wouldn’t be my first hope. The chemical producers/big pharma (a vertically integrated industry – from carcinogens through chemotherapy) subsidize a great many of the patient groups, thus preventing challenges to power. The result also neutralizes the groups – get uppity and lose funding.
I’d look for particpants though real social networks (the human kind, not myspace). Now that cancer has become epidemic, we all know cancer surviors or friends of cancer survivors.
Firepups with friends in oncology (especially infusion centers) may also be able to share this idea. The clinicans I know would never nudge a patient to take political action; but plenty of patients will respond to information and/or displays in the office.
Craigslist (health discussions section) and indymedia offer other ways to identify potential participants. Both craig’s and indymedia have sites in DC and in Maryland.
TeddySanFran @ 107
Teddy –
Jordan’s thread last night and the news about the successful union negotion in freakin’ Texas gave me hope that we have a chance to compel a kind of FDR “New Deal” — but updated for the 21st century.
This is the first Thanksgiving when hope’s been renewed for me.
Of course, it’ll all be hard work. But only faux cowboys and wealthy sycophants are afraid of hard work, right?
Remember that it was fear of a Veterans’ Tent City on the Washington Mall that got us the GI Bill. A Bankrupts’ Village on the Mall might move hearts and minds this holiday season.
gotta go KO brb
mui @ 105
hillary is just not electable, they have been trash talking her too long and the republicans will turn out en masse to make sure she is not elected
it doesn’t matter what kind of president she would make, she’s not electable
TeddySF@105..The significance of the “event”escapes me. PG county has a high percentage of African Americans and most of the organizations listed are associated with African American colleges or businesses.
shit
hope there are enough human beings among the dems (and even the repubs, and even Joe L) who may be willing to take on a medical exception (at least) to this draconian legislation.
TeddySanFran @ 113
TeddySanFran, you are a freakin’ visual genius.
The infrastructure to support that is already there around D.C. [Volunteer Katrina recovery efforts are the source for a stream of activists with prodigious practical skills and acute desire to confront economic inequality. A far smaller group of people organized the infrastructure for the Seattle WTO and DC IMF/WB protests.]
If Bankruptcy survivors choose to make “lien city” (debt city?) in DC, they’ll have one heck of a support network.
Can tell it’s pre-holiday. Slow enough that I have been able to keep up on the last 3 FDL threads while vacuuming and dusting the entire house, washing the hardwood floor and cleaning the toilets. I’m even hoping to still get the apples peeled for my wife’s pie before she gets home. I have a feeling I’ve earned an extra special slice of the wife’s pie. Nothing makes her hotter then her man doing housework. Venus/Mars baby – I don’t pretend to understand, but I know what works and what doesn’t after 20 years! :)
Happy Thanksgiving!
TeddySanFran @
110
Yeah, and did you see this?
Tilt! Tilt!
Yet another asshole in congress eh?
I remember that FDL got on Steny’s case a while back. IIRC, Steny’s involvement with the bankruptcy bill was the reason. How did DINO Steny get the majority leader post? We don’t want him – can he get the hook now? The old Raygun Cadillac Welfare Queen – Personal Responsibility soundbite – what a horse’s a**.
rat bastahd @ 119
according to an earlier exchange in a previous thread, you’re in for plenty of ….
Mrs. K8 @
112
This Sunday’s FDL Book Salon re Jacob Hacker’s The Great Risk Shift looks timely.
This is one Demo who will not vote for Hillary. Why? Her vote on invading Iraq, her refusal to endorse a pull out and her treatment of Ned Lamont.
Sometimes I really like Lawrence O’Donnell – like tonight. He was just on Olbermann saying all the same things he said on Scarborough (of course, no one was screaming back at him)
keith just listened, and said, “well, there are a lot more political questions to ask about that, but I think it would be disrespectful”.
Good on both of ‘em.
Steve @
116
Yes, WaPo describes how responsive Steny’s been to his district since it was gerrymandered to create another sure-Dem spot for another. His African-American constiuency was new to him, and the article gives him credit for representing well, I thought. There was a Senate primary dustup, since Steny backed Cardin while PG County leaders backed Mfume.
TeddySanFran @
40
As a cancer survivor (Hodgkins 1981) I say amen, Jane! You are so f@%*ing articulate.
From Common Dreams:
How Did Your Representative Vote?
Yea 302/Nay 126/Not Voting 7-
The 73 Democrats Who Sold Out Consumers
Robert Andrews (NJ-1st)
Joe Baca (CA-43rd)
Brian Baird (WA-3rd)
Melissa Bean (IL-8th)
Marion Berry (AR-1st)
Sanford Bishop (GA-2nd))
Dan Boren (OK-2nd)
Leonard Boswell (IA-3rd)
Rick Boucher (VA-9th)
Allen Boyd (FL-2nd)
Dennis Cardoza (CA-18th)
Ed Case (HI-2nd)
Ben Chandler (KY-6th)
Emanuel Cleaver (MO-5th)
Jim Cooper (TN-5th)
Jim Costa (CA-20th)
Bud Cramer (AL-5th)
Joseph Crowley (NY7th)
Henry Cuellar (TX-28th)
Artur Davis (AL-7th)
Jim Davis (FL-11th)
Lincoln Davis (TN-4th)
Chet Edwards (TX-17th
Bob Etheridge (NC-2nd
Harold Ford (TN-9th
Charlie Gonzalez (TX-20th)
Bart Gordon (TN-6th)
Al Green (TX-9th)
Jane Harman (CA-36th)
Stephanie Herseth (SD-At-Large)
Brian Higgins (NY-27th)
Ruben Hinojosa (TX-15th)
Tim Holden (PA-17th)
Darlene Hooley (OR-5th)
Steny Hoyer (MD-5th)
Steve Israel (NY-2nd)
William Jefferson (LA-2nd)
Ron Kind (WI-3rd)
Rick Larsen (WA-2nd)
Jim Matheson (UT-2nd)
Carolyn McCarthy (NY-4th)
Mike McIntyre (NC-7th)
Kendrick Meek (FL-17th)
Gregory Meeks (NY-6th)
Charlie Melancon (LA-3rd)
Bob Menendez (NJ-13th)
Mike Michaud (ME-2nd)
Alan Mollohan (WV-1st)
Dennis Moore (KS-3rd)
Jim Moran (VA-8th)
John Murtha (PA-12th)
Solomon Ortiz (TX-27th)
Ed Pastor (AZ-4th)
Collin Peterson (MN-7th)
Earl Pomeroy (ND-At-Large)
David Price (NC-4th)
Nick Rahall (WV-3rd)
Silvestre Reyes (TX-16th)
Mike Ross (AR-4th)
Steven Rothman (NJ-9th)
Dutch Ruppersberger (MD-2nd)
John Salazar (CO-3rd)
Allyson Schwartz (PA-13th)
David Scott (GA-13th)
Ike Skelton (MO-4th)
John Spratt (SC-5th)
Ted Strickland (OH-6th)
John Tanner (TN-8th)
Ellen Tauscher (CA-10th)
Gene Taylor (MS-4th)
Mike Thompson (CA-1st)
David Wu (OR-1st)
Albert Wynn (MD-4th)
LOL punaise. Missed those earlier comments. Hey, make love, not war baby! Everybody can and should get in on the action. I read about some Global Orgasm for Peace on Dec. 22. Not surprised at all that it was a Marin Co. couple – dirty leftie liberal Pelosi hippies, blah blah blah…
Of course it had nothing to do with the fact that major credit card companies use Maryland as a Base because of the tax benifits. Another Political whore. Boy were we duped! FUCK EM! And who the fuck names their kid Steny????
kirk murphy @ 118
Instead of tents, they could build LIEN-TO’S.
So, Dems didn’t have a Majority Leader candidate who didn’t sell out consumers on the bankruptcy bill? How’d that happen?
Election is over and thank God Clusterfuck has nursemaids- (let’s hope they’re up to the job- they’re the only hope we’ve got.
Now the presidential election begins- and candidates will begin building competitive visions of what America wil be like when they’re running it. Now’s the time for real agenda planning…
In the meatime- we’ve got plenty of entertainment as GW Clusterfuck tries ta fight the outward bound current that’s taking him to LameDuckLand. I am goin to enjoy that one the most of all.
rat bastahd @ 130
you did clean the kitchen, right?
only in Marin:
close tags?
How did your congressman vote? My congressman’s a fascist- I know how the fucker voted.
end bold
See, that was easy.
For your future rescue reference, all I did was begin my post with [/b] with the carats over the comma and period in place of [ and ].
END STRONG?
Stephen Beech @ 131
I thought it was Delaware, hence “Joe Biden (D-MBNA).”
Mrs. K8 @ 132
beautiful
I’m so sorry about the tag problem. I thought I was careful, but I guess not. :-(
off on teh d8 with teh hot stripper babe
g/night firedogs
Stephen Beech @ 131
Someone who couldn’t spell Stimpy.
once more end bold.
Mrs. K8 @ 142
you can close it from here to k8
just enter the close tag now
this is a serious bug from word press, I am amazed tehy haven’t fixed it yet
rat bastahd @ 119
Rat, sweetie, you sure are right about what’s sexy. Good for you!
This is an excellent diary, and it illustrates why we need to help elect Ciro Rodriguez while exercising caution when thinking about a DLC member such as Karen Carter, who the netroots are inexplicably endorsing.
Consider supporting Ciro Rodriguez if you find legislation such as the Bankruptcy Bill contemptuous.
jayt @ 126
O’Donnell has guts.
Ok, I just typed end bold code.
I can’t see the bolding anymore on my browser, but I hope this helps.
sorry about that, campers.
I didn’t even know that sort of glitch was possible.
[Though I just lost my tag-closing virginity.
Now how to celebrate..?]
I actually DID do the kitchen as well, at least the dishes. The counters are full of groceries (I did the shopping too!) that will be used in the next 24 hours. Oh yeah, and I just built a fire! Now we just have to wait til it’s the 6 year old’s bedtime and that will be awhile since it’s a holiday and she knows it!
This is an excellent diary, and it illustrates why we need to help elect Ciro Rodriguez while exercising caution when thinking about a DLC member such as Karen Carter, who is inexplicably endorsed by the “netroots.” If you find legislation such as the Bankruptcy Bill contemptuous, consider supporting Ciro Rodriguez.
good job k8, now everybody here has to hard refresh
rat bastahd @ 153
You are hereby nominated for sainthood, “Blessed Rat.”
I am so sick of career politicians, who have the best freaking health insurance in the country, talking to me about personal responsibility. Trying to decide between feeding your kid, keeping the car you need for work on the road and paying for the mamogram your doctor says you need kind of changes your perception of what is responsible.
A$$hole Hoyer.
perris @ 156
my.
how…bracing.
Olbermann nailing OJ. OJ Simpson murdered two people. How many deaths is Bush responsible for?
Way to hit Steny with a chair, Jane! And Happy Thanksgiving!
I wonder why my Firefox browser doesn’t reveal these tag problems.
Not that I’d rather see them (except to know to clean up a problem I made, of course), but just to understand what the heck is going on tech-wise.
some go to Pamplona for the running of the bulls. others go to Siena for the Palio, a horse race ’round the main piazza. The US has its own peculiar draw:
And speaking of politics, the Congressional race in NC-08 is still not over.
The recount for Larry Kissell will begin next week since he and his opponent are within 0.5% of each other.
This is egregiousBlue for the Kissell recount.
Please send money
gunsand lawyers.newtonusr @ 129
I added asterisks to the ones who (According to this WaPo page) also voted for the Military Commissions Act.
Jane,
Everyone here has one more thing to be thankful for tomorrow, that you are with us to lead us. I can’t imagine how I might have stayed sane through the dark days between Alito and the MCA. I can tell you that you brought at least this reader hope.
Thank you for sharing with us. I don’t imagine it’s easy.
We are such geeks. Family members are trickling in from all parts of the country. At present there are three of us at the table typing into our laptops and randomly laughing.
If egrDaughter wasn’t already sacked out on the couch it would be four.
Nice.
lol egregious — Mr. ReddHedd is upstairs on his laptop, and I’m down in the kitchen on mine while the bread dough is rising for tomorrow. Must be a nerdy family thing…
Serious Moral Failing:
We are already eating the first pumpkin pie.
[hanging head in shame, in between scarfing bites of really good pie…]
I remember giving one of you guys grief about eating the marshmallow chicks before Easter morning.
Now I find myself strangely sympathetic to the premature bunny masticators.
I really appreciate your outing yourself as a survivor, Jane. You are brave and true in so many ways. Your urgency is so very connected to your experience.
I am not writing all I wish on these pages because I am leery of being identified. I don’t trust Big Brother a lot.
Perhaps I must reappear with a new moniker and tell more real and personal stories. It might make me a better FDLer.
Come on, guys.
We’re too mature to make fun of anyone’s name. What he does is what matters and Hoyer sounds a lot more like a Republican than a Democrat to me. I don’t like this.
Ciro Rodriguez would have voted against this legislation, although his opponenet, Republican Representative Henry Bonilla, supported it. Karen Carter, a member of the DLC and a “netroots” candidate, would probably support the Bankruptcy Bill, as did her Democratic opponent William Jefferson.
The choise is clear: support Ciro and forget about Karen Carter, who is a DLC member and shill.
kirk murphy @ 159
mmmm. that was good for me…
Christy Hardin Smith @ 169
Haha i thought you meant there was a new thread, since we call that “upstairs”!!
The Scarborough guests are basically saying Bush stinks.
Scarborough says the over-riding attribute of Bush is “arrogance”. And these guys, including Scarborough, are praising President Carter.
Teddy at 175 — nah, upstairs in our lovely Casa Smith. I decided to make some fresh, homemade bread to take with us tomorrow to my dad’s house — but, of course, I decided to do so at the last minute. SIGH Will be up for a while…
I personally think Karen Carter stinks, and she would probably vote for the Bankruptcy Bill, as she is one of those “personal responsibility” DLC types. But Ciro Rodriguez would oppose it, which is why I believe anyone who is a true Democract would support him.
egregious @
164
I’m in. Is the DNC? Where’s Rahm on this?
Very well said Jane. I still have the list of Dems that voted for that bill. If there was ever a time to stand up for what is right for the people, the vote on the bankruptcy bill was it.
Webb and Tester,who you worked so hard for, would never have voted for it.
Scarborough says it’s not the “economy, stupid”. It’s Iraq. I’d take it a step further. It’s almost everything, stupid!
TeddySanFran @ 180
Remember to also support Ciro Rodriguez, who is facing Republican Henry Bonilla in a runoff. We can win this race, which will be held on 12 DEC.
LA Girl — you know, I’ve looked into Karen Carter a bit and her DLC credentials appear to be more of a family tie than actual action on her part in terms of any bad DLC agenda action. Other than membership in the group (which is sort of a Southern thing in some parts, WV included), what is your beef with her? She’s done some great stuff in terms of reconstruction work that I’ve been able to see via her work in the LA legislature, which is much more than I can say for Jefferson. Any links to stories on issues that you have problems with for her? Any particulars? Am still researching the race, but thus far, I’ve been impressed with some of Carter’s actions — especially after Katrina information that I’ve been able to dig up in the Times-Picayune and elsewhere.
Professor Foland @
166
Thanks, Prof. I’m one of the lucky ones, my cancer was easily treatable and I had the means to pay for it. Which under “compassionate conservatism” should probably mean “I got mine so fuck he rest of you” but somehow I feel like it would be nice to have some compassion for the people who were not so lucky and did not have those resources.
Louisiana Girl
I think we got it.
Louisiana Girl @
179
Y’know, LAGirl, I’ve been a Ciro supporter for over a year, and I appreciate your efforts here to bring attention to his campaign, but I think there’s ways to promote him without running down other Dems supported by members of the FDL community. I support both Ciro and Karen, and I respect your reasons for not doing so. I hope you’ll respect my decision and not feel your candidate will succeed only if my other candidate fails.
There’s lots of great things to say about Ciro. Our shared support of him is what I enjoy about your postings; your Karen criticism, I think you’ve made clear. Might you be over-emphasizing that here at FDL?
Jane at 185 — Amen to that.
Them’s some coastal Hollywierd values ya got there, Jane….
Christy Hardin Smith @ 184
I recall her working with Republican Governor Mike Foster on terrible education legislation, which is when I decided to write her off. She is also known as a race traitor in the African-American community. Her campaign is bankrolled by very wealthy white Republicans in Orleans Parish, and she has ties to utility companies presently gouging citizens of Orleans and Jefferson Parish.
Carter is obviously better than Jefferson. Anyone, including the alligators in Lafourche Bayou, are better than Jefferson. But I simply do not understand the excitement surrounding her and her campaign. Orleans Parish has this history of sending centrist Democrats with questionable ties, and Carter is just another one of them. There were better candidates in the runoff, such as Regina Bartholomew and Troy Carter, but they did not make the runoff, as the machine lined up behind Carter.
As a Louisianan in Rodney Alexander’s district, I prefer Ciro Rodriguez and Larry Kissell when it comes to outstanding races. I also have my eye on Mary Jo Kilroy’s race in Ohio. Carter is just not exciting. Orleans parish with a partisan index of D 29 can send a progressive legislator to the House, not a lukewarm DLC member who basically made Louisiana’s education system into more of a joke than it already was.
This is my opinion, and I can elaborate more if you desire. Carter has a long and interesting history, and she is just as much a cog in the machine as Jefferson, although Jefferson has much more experience being a cog than Carter.
Welcome to Louisiana.
Mary Alice @ 172
Mary Alice -
A part of me agrees with you, and a part of me doesn’t.
As people don’t choose the names their parents select, I do believe making fun of someone based on their name is unfair.
As a lifelong clumsy nerd (”faggot” and “communist” being the epithets of choice in my grade school), I don’t want anyone to be a target of cruelty.
And as a lifelong word person, I’d love to triumph through appeals to reason.
Unfortunately, our biology ensures that our “decisions” are first made in the emotional centers of the brain – not the cognitive centers. Evolution demands stronger responses to threats than to possible goodies. Our emotional “ick” circuits fire off far more readily than do our pleasure circuits.
[A quick comparison of relative supermarket shelf space for cleaning supplies vs sex toys provides some data here…]
Poor Stimpy didn’t choose his name. He did choose to whore out his vote to obsecenely wealthy people who prey upon the medically ill.
Progressives can’t match the money Stimpy’s owners will shell out to ensure their credit cards enslave cancer survivors.
Stimpy’s defeat on this issue will come from our tools of emotional manipulation – making Stimpy the “ick” brand.
The same way the Corporate Reich Wing made liberal the “ick” brand for forty years: derision and contempt and revulsion and all those non-positive emotions.
‘Cause our stupid lizard/simian brains need to be able to notice the stench of death before they savor the scent of flowers.
[PS - The real time brain events in emotional/cognitve assessment are “viewed” on functional MRI scanners. The advertising industry now uses fMRi to assess ads. Our wealthy corporate/Reich Wiing opponents would be fools not to have used this for their ads.
They are avaricious and cruel, but not fools.
Hint to progressive image shapers, perhpas?]
TeddySanFran @ 187
Other perspectives are always welcome, but as a Louisianan I have the right to explain to everyone how Carter is a flawed candidate. I know many in the netroots are not from Louisiana or familiar with Louisiana politics, and I believe it is my responsibility to explain to everyone why someone with local knowledge would prefer Carter not take that seat and hold it for many years. I want Orleans Parish to come back more than anyone in the blogosphere, and I just feel her moderate tendencies will not cut the mustard. I have seen her in the legislature, and I am not impressed.
But thank you for supporting Ciro. I hope you plan to volunteer for the phonebank after you send your contribution.
When it comes down to Hoyer and the other “non-dem” Dems, I think we netroots types should apply the 50-state strategy in the primaries. If they’re not progressive, they should go ahead and be Rethugs, in my book.
new thread, peeps
Tone being so difficult in the toobz, I’m only going to say that I am very happy to have done both long ago. Your reminder to do so again is most helpful.
a tone for your zeds.
Yes, once you become a big, successful corporation, the need for responsibility on your own part stops – you can guarantee that you incur no risks, and they are all carried by those who can’t really afford those risks. Someone else takes risks so you can get rich.
Steny Hoyer doesn’t believe in responsibility for corporations, just for sick people.
Up yours, Steny, and if there’s an afterlife, I will be right behind Gladys Spellman when we all line up to smack you in the face.
TeddySanFran @ 195
Thanks for your response. Ciro is great, and I will volunteer to telephone. I am glad you support him, and thank you for hearing me out. Tone is difficult to convey online,especially when one types quickly.
TeddySanFran @ 195
Deftly put, Teddy.
newtonusr @ 199
And edited, rewritten, and
crossed outwithin an inch of its life, but thanks newton!Brownandserve @
165
I am so setting this aside as a to-do list.
Such bad answers makes me worry about the democratic congress. He speaks not about the healthcare crisis, nor about regulating credit card interest charges and fees. Discouraging.
Jane, you are one of the most beautiful women I’ve never met. I had NO idea you were a cancer survivor, and I read you a lot. I wish you the best in your ongoing recovery. Selfishly, it would kill me to lose you. You speak for me, and I’m tremendously grateful for that.
Keep up the fantastic work, and just for the record, I am SO jealous of Digby! Lunch! I dream!
(Digby is your equal in genius, but not as hot as you are, to me.)
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I pass your thoughts along as much as my limited readership allows. But every little bit helps, no?
Happy Thanksgiving, and Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays to all you nutty lefties out there who think “Christmas” is a dirty, non-diverse word. From the bottom of my heart.
Those of us with a computer, in general, have an awful lot to be thankful for, if you think about it hard enough. The damn things are expensive to at least half the country.
Love to all of you who frequent this wonderful place,
John O
I remember hearing my mother talking about the health insurance that was supposed to cover the stuff that Medicare didn’t. Somehow it ended up with the insurance company saying “well, Medicare covered all that, so we don’t owe you anything.” And leaving my parents with the rest to pay (fortunately not enough to send them over the edge, even before that g*d-awful bill came in).
I’d like to require that all government officials paid more than, say, $150,000 a year, have to pay an out-of-pocket share for their insurance and pension plans. It ought to be the equivalent of the employer’s share for someone of the same income in a private business. If they can’t afford to pay a fair share, well, welcome to the club of the uninsured and the can’t-afford-to-retire people.
Just sayin’.
HotFlash @ 201
Here’s the expurgated versions of those who voted for both the Military Commissions Act and the Bankruptcy Act. I don’t know what their performance has been with regard to K Street coziness or using their positions for personal gain but they don’t seem too progressive to me.
Robert Andrews (NJ-1st)
Melissa Bean (IL-8th)
Sanford Bishop (GA-2nd))
Dan Boren (OK-2nd)
Leonard Boswell (IA-3rd)
Allen Boyd (FL-2nd)
Ben Chandler (KY-6th)
Bud Cramer (AL-5th)
Henry Cuellar (TX-28th)
Artur Davis (AL-7th)
Lincoln Davis (TN-4th)
Chet Edwards (TX-17th)
Bob Etheridge (NC-2nd)
Harold Ford (TN-9th)
Bart Gordon (TN-6th)
Stephanie Herseth (SD-At-Large)
Brian Higgins (NY-27th)
Tim Holden (PA-17th)
Jim Matheson (UT-2nd)
Mike McIntyre (NC-7th)
Charlie Melancon (LA-3rd)
Mike Michaud (ME-2nd)
Dennis Moore (KS-3rd)
Collin Peterson (MN-7th)
Earl Pomeroy (ND-At-Large)
Mike Ross (AR-4th)
John Salazar (CO-3rd)
David Scott (GA-13th)
John Spratt (SC-5th)
John Tanner (TN-8th)
Gene Taylor (MS-4th)
Oh darn. My expurgated list is stuck in moderation.
What happened to Kerry’s idea that we could all buy into the same plan that Congress has? Just because Kerry lost…why is that idea dead? After two years of incredible medical bills and I am insured…I am glad to be still solvent. Responsible Steny… The insurance companies don’t pay the bills as promised, the doctors charge double if the insurance decides it is not covered…after the deductible and co-insurance is paid by you. The hours pouring over the bills finding double billing by the pathologists and others…calling the insurance company to get approval, finding providers in your network…I wish all of the above on dear Steny….while his credit card bills get charged 32% interest…
rat bastahd @ 29
How difficult it must be for Bush the elder to have to face this sort of reception wherever he goes outside the US. Perhaps as difficult as having to face the fact that his eldest son is a highly defective person, a sociopath who has perpetrated on our country and the world a host of outrages of amazing proportions.
Typically, as they were when he was president, Bush the elder’s responses are lame and awkward. Note that the best he can say to the charge that the US’s aim in globalization is to enrich the US at the expense of other nations, is that the charge is “weird” and “nuts.” Hardly presidential remarks, but then he was not much of a president, either.
But given the ugly truth, what else could he offer in response, except for lies and non-sequiturs? He certainly can’t say, “Yeah my son is a class one fuckup, and I’m sorry.”
Oh, and the headline…..”takes on” critics? Hilarious. If that’s what he did, he got pummeled in Round 1 before the ref stopped the fight.
rat bastahd @ 29
rat bastahd @ 29
How difficult it must be for Bush the elder to have to face this sort of reception wherever he goes outside the US. Perhaps as difficult as having to face the fact that his eldest son is a highly defective person, a sociopath who has perpetrated on our country and the world a host of outrages of amazing proportions.
Typically, as they were when he was president, Bush the elder’s responses are lame and awkward. Note that the best he can say to the charge that the US’s aim in globalization is to enrich the US at the expense of other nations, is that the charge is “weird” and “nuts.” Hardly presidential remarks, but then he was not much of a president, either.
But given the ugly truth, what else could he offer in response, except for lies and non-sequiturs? He certainly can’t say, “Yeah my son is a class one fuckup, and I’m sorry.”
Oh, and the headline that this story at times bore: ”takes on” critics? Hilarious. If that’s what he did, he got pummeled in Round 1 before the ref stopped the fight.
OT: The thieves are reported to be disappointed, but not surprised, to learn that Daddy isn’t on the speed dial.
Great post, Jane. Keep the heat on Hoyer and guys like him. These comments can’t stand the light of day. He’ll recant if he thinks his opportunities run the other way. The thing about these guys is that their just plain opportunists, but as someone has probably said, ‘their our opportunists’. This kind of publicity can turn him. Turning him out is a longer project.
Jane, thank you for saying with such lovely eloquence and genuine righteous anger everything I feel and know from first-hand experience. I am an attorney who not only has had the misfortune of having had two entirely unrelated bouts of breast cancer (separated by 14 years,) but who also has had two lengthy periods of unemployment caused by circumstances entirely beyond my control (i.e., the law firms I worked for at the time suddenly decided to dissolve. Shit happens.) Thanks God, I went through the worst of these times before the bankruptcy law was changed and was able to find some relief for me and my family from our oppressive bills until we could get back on track. I don’t know what we would do know if we were in the same situation. Since I am a compassionate person myself, I hope Steny Hoyer and the other heartless bastards who voted for the monstrous bankruptcy “reform” bill never suffer the kind of bad times that my family did, or, worse yet, go through the horror that others are going through now under this evil new law.
Mrs. K8 @
91
Sounds like you’re describing what a migraine is like, for me, anyway. And for years I thought it was “stomach flu.”
Jane Hamsher @ 14
Jane – sorry, I got sidetracked – hope this response isn’t too late. Thank you for sharing your personal story. Like you I didn’t have to file bankruptcy, but only because we were lucky – my husband and I were young, and we had good jobs with good insurance, thank heavens. In spite of that, we still spent lots of money on my care. I have no doubt we would still be digging out of debt 16 years later had we not been lucky and “responsible.”
I’m lucky, too, to still be here, able to gripe about it all. I think the whole experience reinforced my strong DEM beliefs.
Take care, stay healthy and THANKS again for your amazing work!
Funny how Beltway Bubble creatures named “Steny” believe in personal responsibility for everyone else except for themselves AND their corporate sugar daddies.
I suppose credit card pushers and bank pimps shouldn’t have to be accountable for their decisions about who they issue the plastic heroin to.
FINE PRINT, part 1:
Now just sign here and mail your payment to . . . BTW if you fall behind, your elected representatives are really OUR Quisling lobbyists so watch your asses and keep the payments coming or we’ll snap our fingers and we’ll get our Congress Whores to recriminalize debt.
Yeow! You go, girl!
Credit card issuers are the most irresponsible entities.
No one in their right senses would borrow from the mafia, and likewise, no one should leave an unpaid balance in a credit card. Anyone who does not pay the credit card monthly balance in full every month is a fool.