a public relations group responsible for the “swift boat’’ ads against Senator John F. Kerry during his 2004 presidential bid.

T Boone Pickens the Texas Wind Mill guy still backing the Swift Boaters? Did he get the State of Texas to pay for upgrading the power lines so he can sell his wind power?

Great segment, Rachel. Now if only the people who really need to see it would.

It’s really past time to think about a radical transformation of the U.S.. Given a corrupt and inequitable political system and a major party and large segment of the population totally opposed to any government initiatives or interventions other than military spending the U.S. finds itself tied into a Gordian Knot. Nothing of consequence is accomplished and the U.S. continues to slide into 2nd world status. If this continues long enough and the unequal distribution of wealth continues unabatted 3rd World status is not out of the realm of possibility for the vast majority of it’s citizens. The U.S. has reached a point in it’s history when it’s time to start thinking about breaking up the country. Let the south secede or force them out. Let them put into practice their Ayn Randian world view and an unfettered cannibalistic capitalism where every child at birth will be guaranteed a weapon of their choice when they reach “legal” age. Those that subscribe to this bizarre anti-social philosophy around the country could be compensated to help them migrate to the new “Dixie” utopia. Until those that oppose and obstruct any kind of enlightenment or progress for the citizenry are isolated in some fashion, the tyranny of the minority (typically over repressented rural states) will keep the U.S. stuck in a ditch with little hope of getting out. The notion of breaking up a nation state into a more managable entity is not out of the realm of possibility. An ancient example was the breaking up of Rome into an eastern and western empire and a more modern example is that of the Czech and Slovakian Republics.

Interesting that ever since this aired last night – both Recess Rally and American Liberty Alliance’s websites have been down. At first, last night, I thought maybe it was just traffic after the segment but they are both down this morning as well. Wonder how much “fixing” up they have to do before they get those websites up again. Coincidence that they came down after Rachel’s show? Those poor lunatics will have to visit Michelle Malkin’s website for their daily fix of instructions or something I guess.

Really. Didja see who might run in R primary against my Rep? Lou Holtz, ex-ND football coach. Jeez. College football is religion down here.

Interesting that in Rachel’s segment there’s a portion of a clip that shows former LCDR George Elliott in one of the Swiftboater’s ads. Elliott was Commander, Coastal Division 11, the division that Kerry’s boat was in and the division we operated with in Operation Market Time. They were also involved in Phoenix operations. I respected LCDR Elliott when we operated with him and his crews. He presented me with a Swift Officer-in-Charge pin for my actions with the boats. I was appalled when he showed up with the Swiftboaters. I can’t help but wonder what his involvement is with the current nonsense.

Geez, that dude’s 3 days older than dirt.

Now c’mon. If it were Steve Superior, you might have to worry but Holtz? He’s the football equivalent of Larry Brown, always with his eye out for his next job. How many times has he taken a job to quit within the year? Plus I don’t think he has much of a governor on his mouth so will have to issue multi press releases on how he didn’t really mean the words he had just used to insult someone/something.

College football, old time fundie religion, law and order, racism. Yep, the South has it all.

Juan Williams, Andrea Seabrook and Steve Inskeep in a perfect circle jerk storm on NPR this morning.

Moral equivalence between Teashirts today and protesters of the past? Check.
No mention of Freedom Works or Americans for Prosperity? Check.
Description of “real” anger among the voters? Check.
No disclosure of Juan’s day job at Fox? Check.

A lot of this bunch is at the end of the telephone trees that use religion as the prop for convincing the nutters that they should get out and ’save the country from’ us libruls. I have a close relative who gets these calls but is too old and handicapped to do the gang wars.

Doucheborough and Nooners have called the 2010 and 2012 elections – the republicans win!

Coach is still god here in FL.

Regular Americans, all multi-millionaires. Like all the Insurance Exec. Safe to say these people are not really concerned about adequate health care or medi-care. Get a clue, people.

Good Morning, SD, How’s the baby?

Excellent analysis, bluetoe. We are now paying for the Lincoln’s mistake of going to war with the Confederacy, for the sake of preserving the “Union.” It would have been better to let the Confederacy separate and have the two separate entities as you propose.

Well I’m glad we got those elections out of the way. We can start working on 2014 now, right?

Doucheborough and Nooners have called the 2010 and 2012 elections – the republicans win!

thanks for the news – it’ll save me some time the next coupla voting seasons….

As Upton Sinclair pointed out you can’t expect someone to know something when their paycheck is dependent on them not knowing. That most people think NPR is the gold standard of the 4th Estate is not only infuriating but pathetic.

Mornin’, RevBev. In hospital since yesterday morning. Renal numbers are up, creatinine is up, white count is up. Weight down. Dr wants to see if he can get her renal numbers down with renal diet and IV fluids over 48 hours. I’m dreading noon tomorrow. There’s no test for cancer so he can’t say it is and can’t say it isn’t. If her renal numbers don’t go down… Just a little overwhelmed here. She’s the last of my matron tigers. 3 gone in less than 2 years.

I know and as a Kentucky native, he has the double whammy on the ‘Cats

Per truth in advertising, the station should be obligated to identify itself as National Propaganda Radio.

I can understand doing these things if you have something substantial to gain — it’s called greed. But to act against ones own interests all for some nebulous ideology is called religion. That’s what I see in the eyes of the folks who don’t have a pot to piss in yet will all march to a tune played by Limbaugh because somewhere out there there is an invisible ghost called “conservatism” that will come and save them. Separate people into thinking that supernatural entities will grant their wishes and you’ll find that people can oddly think more practically.

Truth in advertising is an antiquated notion.

Delurking…..
NewsCenter 16 exclusive: Holtz says he will not be running for Congress

Just FYI, Beerfart….WNDU the nbc affiliate here in South Bend says he’s not running and claimiing an exclusive.

In an exclusive interview, Lou Holtz tells NewsCenter 16’s Angelo Di Carlo that he will not be running for Congress, contrary to news reports.

Holtz is in town for the Irish Legends golf outing, which benefits his and Ara Parseghian’s foundation.

“I’m working for ESPN. I don’t want to run for Congress,” Holtz said Wednesday afternoon. “All I’m going to do is fulfill the commitment to ESPN. I’m prepared for it and then we’ll go from there.”

On Tuesday, reports came out of Florida saying the former Irish head football coach was considering a run at the House of Representatives. Holtz is an Orlando resident.

When asked whether he at least has considered running, Holtz gave a more direct no to the possibility.

“I think when you look at the country, you really don’t want to get into politics,” Holtz explained. “I’m not a politician, I’m just an average citizen.”

“Do I want to run? Absolutely not. I want to work for ESPN and do the best job I possibly can for them.”

more at link

3 gone…how sad. Each a heartbreak. I hope you will be getting some good news from the vet. Will be thinking about you and the baby. It’s really hard.

I can’t agree more with having the southern states severed from the USA. The remaining USA should facilitate the relocation of anyone who wants to into or out of the two new countries. It would would be money well spent.

What we have is a continuing cat fight, a system of unequal representation and we are not making any progress.

Please let someone propose this idea in a serious forum.

Right. It would be real nice for the peace loving parts of the country to be adjacent to a nation composed entirely of highly armed, fanatically jingoistic, fundamentalist, imperialistic people with a new “Manifest Destiny”. In your review of history, you might check the earlier consolidation of the Roman Republic, the consolidation of Germany under Prussia, and a few other examples. Can we give it a break with the “ain’t it awful” apocalyptic visions? I can go read The Book of Revelations for that stuff.

Good Morning Blue Texan and Firedogs,

Alpha Dog Mike Ross and Vic Snyder did it right in their Town Hall yesterday – (ooh the crazies are pissed) – the event was held at a Children’s Hospital, there was security, questions had to be written, and although the main room wasn’t completely full, there were ‘overflow rooms’ where the crazies got shuttled

oh and apparently one of you hippies broke through enemy lines – seems a veteran RN stood up and asked Ross to take The Pledge

Lift any rock and God knows what you’ll find. Along with these exposed big-pockets funders, you’ll also find Candy Crowley reporting thheir lines faithfully.

Loved your link the other day re: extreme herding. I own 2 bcs so I could relate.

Great Koz Diary about one town meeting not disrupted by Tea Baggers! We need more of this:)

http://www.dailykos.com/storyo…..rop,-Texas

Some folks from our side need to get ambitious and draw up a few maps of the proposed separation. One map of the New Confederacy could include the Deep South, Alaska, and South Boston.

Great link. Thanks for sharing.

Linky, please? I’m ready for some good news.

Ah, a glimpse into what the conspiracy theory folks do in their spare time, which they seem to have plenty of. I’m jealous.

Oh, sort of a cottage Versailles.

Cool. Let’s hope the local Dems are figuring this out elsewhere.

The German philosopher, Shoenhauer, regarding change suggested that change must go through three stages. The first is ridicule. The second is violent opposition. The third stage is acceptance as sel-evident.

I think the front pagers should Post on this story to get it more attention but yes Agreed very Cool! :)

To be realistic – let the deep south TX the red states all contiguous.

Racism exists in the North, but you can offer them cash to relocate where they can be amongst there own kind.

We simply cannot become post racial – it’s not gonna happen.

Oh, I didn’t realize Shoenhauer had nailed it. Did he mention that he was a fan of Wagner? You seem to hope for the entire cycle. It appears from their rantings that Limbaugh, Beck, and others have a similar vision.

What conspiracy theory?

Interesting I’m going to have to remember to read him.

Off to swim in the great capitalist cesspool.

Be good to yourselves, and all other living things.

Namaste

If you stop and think about it,when Bush was in office this was something that didn’t happen,demonstrations at any of his public outings.

Mainly because the audience was screened before they were allowed in.

Namaste

Pick one. Their common thread is a lot of questions but only speculation for answers.

Gosh. I just LOVE being told my state should get the fuck out of the country… My county votes Democratic, by the way…

Kinda gives you the warm and fuzzies doesn’t it?

George Lakoff Talking Points, which I wish everyone was on the same page about

Principle 1. Health care part of our economic system.
Real health care is essential for our economy.

Principle 2. Health care is a moral issue.
America was founded on the most central of moral principles: empathy, on caring about and for each other.

Principle 3. Health care is central to the moral mission of the American government.
Principle 4. The President’s plan is the American Plan: it fits our principles and serves our people.

Principle 5. The American Plan is a doctor-patient plan.

Principle 6. The American Plan means less government.
Right now HMO’s govern your life.

Principle 7. The American Plan provides care instead of denying it.

Principle 8. The American Plan costs less and does more.

Principle 9. The American Plan helps primary care doctors.
HMO’s put the squeeze on primary care doctors and have created assembly line medicine.

Principle 10. The American Plan will make prescription drugs cheaper.

Principle 11. The American Plan is America at its best.
It fits our moral principles of empathy, freedom and fairness. It helps our economy. It allows freedom of choice. It links your health to you and your doctor. It removes the denial and delay of care. It provides an alternative to the oppressive HMO bureaucracy. It spends less on health and gives your more. And it keeps primary care doctors in business.

Wish the conservative media/think tank infrastructure weren’t so strong and the progressive side still so weak.

Not necessarily your state per se but those segments of the population that are anti-democratic, anti-government, anti-reform and progres, with racist and homophobic overtones. The New Dixie is a state of mind and does not necessarily referr specifically to any state south of the Mason/Dixon line. Although your county may vote Democratic I venture to guess that it is but one of a handfull of islands of enlightenment surrounded by reactionary, if not outright fascist, neighbors.

They are not “think” tanks but “belief” tanks that twist research and statistics into intelleuctual pretzels to fit their preconceived ideologies. Not based on pragmatism but faith.

Yeah. And the worst, most blatant racism I have ever seen in my life was in Cincinnati. Does Ohio get kicked out too?

Rep. Kagen had two terrible meetings on Monday & Tuesday. Local media was all over the boorish behavior of the crowds. Last night, in my home town, it wasn’t too bad (comments in this article match what I saw more than the article itself)

First they ridicule.

That was a great segment. My only criticism would be that she should have, right after showing that commercial clip about “politicians getting between you and your doctor on matters of life and death,” said, “Two words: Terry Schiavo”

We do need to bring up Terry Schiavo every time the GOP says we are trying to kill old people.

Whatever they do, they have more power than we do. That has to change.

I’m with you Marion…I’m in Charleston. Savannah and Charleston have always been considered outliers in our states. It pisses me off to be relegated to knuckle-dragger status just because of Jim DeMint (sounds French) and Jack Kingston.

I’m lumbered with John Barrow, who at least has a D after his name, not that he acts like one, you understand.

Every day, I am stunned at Rachel’s research. This is just one example. She doesn’t just tell the truth — she proves it. I wish the other lazy pundits would do this. I hope this isn’t just because Rachel is new — I hope she stays the same way for years.

And I also like her asking many of her guests if she got their story right. (From her intro clips.) In addition to being honest, it stops a lot of whining later that “she took me out of context!”

OT FOR SOUTHERN DRAGON:

I didn’t realize you were on the boats. Would you mind saying when and roughly where?
I’ll tell you why, and then you can decide – my ex’s elder brother was killed on a boat in (oh dear, I’m not sure of the mmonth now) Feb. 1968. For 40 years my ex has been searching for someone who was there or at least knew him. If he could find anyone with knowledge or links it would be his dearest wish granted.

If we got this story out enough, it would do a lot of harm to the Repugs. Nothing makes people madder than faked “grassroots” rage; astrotrufing is a rage button.