unum!

Thanks, Elliott. After the despicable attacks on elected representatives by the ugly mobs produced by demagogic lies, hopefully some of the morning’s newsmakers will rebuke the racist and violent fringe that thinks it will ‘take back America’ by bestiality.

OT: According to Jane, Pelosi needs to pick up 12 more votes, including at least four from the Stupak Ten. Stupak’s proposed amendment has been rejected but the White House has proposed instead “an executive order to “clarify” the government’s position on the use of federal funds and abortion,” and per Jane:

According to the Huffington Post, Diana Degette has agreed, on behalf of the pro-choice caucus, to the language of an executive order that the President will issue to address Bart Stupak’s concerns regarding the health care bill.

The Washington Post confirms that “it is likely at the very least to restate Obama’s commitment to upholding the Hyde Amendment” — which would effectively make the Hyde amendment permanent, rather than having to be renewed each year in the Appropriations bill. DeGette says that she would “would support that option, so long as Stupak’s provision is not given another vote.”

Has anyone seen any reports of the reaction of Stupak and company? Their response will be pivotal in the outcome of today’s vote.

Just don’t talk about the war machine sucking up all available funds and the enshrining of torture and rendition in our constitution.
May God treat america to a taste of who we are and what we’ve become, Nazis.

Watching Chris Matthews; seems to ignore hate speech incidents. All about history of mid term elections so far.

Pre-recorded, obviously.

The Republicans can also offer the Stupak language as a motion to recommit:

With a motion to recommit, however, the minority — the out of power party! — gets to come to the floor with an amendment that need not be printed beforehand, need not be shown to anyone, need not be carefully combed-over and debated in committee, nor subjected to any of the rigors which a member of the majority must overcome to get this privilege, and then gets a vote after just 10 minutes…

What’s worse, by going this route, Stupak’s allies threaten to send a reconciliation bill to the Senate that contains an anti-abortion provision that by itself stands virtually no chance of surviving a Byrd Rule challenge, and will have numerous enemies in the Senate who’ll want to see the rule enforce [sic] and the provision excised. But doing so would amend the reconciliation bill, which means that upon passage in the Senate, it’d have to head back to the House, where we’d be back at square one, and undoubtedly facing… yet another motion to recommit to add the same damn thing back in. Meaning we’re stuck in an endless loop that ends only with the defeat of the motion to recommit or the engineering of 60 votes in the Senate to waive the Byrd Rule and actually accept the Stupak language — a move that would still require at least one Republican vote.

Good morning, pups. It’s Dowd, Friedman, Kristof and Rich today. In “Eraser Duty for Bart?” MoDo says that nuns’ support for the health care bill has been dismissed, largely because the bishops and the pope would rather deprive people of good care than look soft on abortion. The Moustache of Wisdom, in “America’s Real Dream Team,” says seeing the 40 finalists in the 2010 Intel science contest is a reminder of how great our nation can be with a constant flow of legal immigrants. Mr. Kristof has a question: “Is Any Illness Covered?” He says it’s in the interest of insurance companies to exclude people who are sick, while it’s in our national interest to see them covered. Plus, it’s the right thing to do. Mr. Rich discusses “Obama, Lehman and ‘The Dragon Tattoo’ ” and says Republicans are siding with the banks in the next political war over financial reform. No shit? Who could have anticipated…

Here they are.

The coffee, tea and hot chocolate are ready, and I’ve got French toast made from challah for breakfast. I spent too much time outside enjoying the spring yesterday, and not enough time working, so I have to remedy that today. Have a great day.

My comment pales in comparison to yours. Excellent!

Thanks, Marion. Was lovely yesterday, but here, the snow is piling up and I’ve heard there are lots of accidents on the road, not looking good for my trip to Austin this a.m.

‘Mr. Kristof has a question: “Is Any Illness Covered?” He says it’s in the interest of insurance companies to exclude people who are sick, while it’s in our national interest to see them covered. Plus, it’s the right thing to do.’ Interesting, parallel with Walmart getting lots of incentives to locate in places that then pay the cost of low paid employees impacting their tax systems.

Thanks. That’s exactly the sort of stuff I’m looking for as I stock up on popcorn and watch the horror show unfold.

Frank Rich wrote:

Anger over the last crash and the bailout of its high rollers spans the political spectrum, from neo-New Dealers on the left to Tea Party protesters on the right.

Neo-New Dealers? Huh?

ABC’s This Week Roundtable “See the old men and their circle jerk in action”

NPR with coverage of yesterday’s ugly break out. Ruth, Cold in Austin, too, but s’posed to warm up later….be careful.

Good morning all.

Can’t stand the politics these days. Gonna be another nice day today, though not as warm as yesterday. Still, outdoor spring cleanup is on the schedule.

Probably from a couple of years ago. They are full of the same crap day after day.

There is no diversity of thought on these morning shows. The unofficially sanctioned discourse is very narrow in scope indeed and yet people that live in the U.S. think they have the greatest, freest and most awesome news reporting in the world but then most people in the U.S. think that today is the day when their country gets “health care reform” to rival that of France. It really is pathetic isn’t it.

Missed all of yesterday’s news as I was hard at work garden puttering so was nat aware of the teabuggers until this morning.

My thoughts. If the reich wing wants angry idiots in the streets they better be careful for what they wish. Corporate America only wants to foment a certain amount of anger at government, not out and out revolution, but it may be hard to stop these buffoons before they break out their guns and start shooting. One thing is for sure. It will not be Progressives and “Liberals” that take up arms as we are a peaceful lot in the main and it is not the Progressives that bombed the Oklahoma building or flew plane into the IRS building or had a violent confrontation with the FBI in Montana. The teabuggers are as crazy as loons, they are racist, they are violent and they have no end position. They just have anger.

morning dogs

looks to me like the health care passes, what strategy can we use to eliminate the mandate?

For a long time now I’ve felt that the U.S. has been stuck in “Groundhog Day.”

NBC’s Meet The Press:…. Then, party chair debate with Democrat Tim Kaine v Republican Michael Steele.

heh. Lame v. Loony.

America has the best health care in the whole wide woild! The best education, the best working conditions, the best of every- efin-thing donchaknow.

Am trying to catch a bus that comes out of OK, I am expecting it to be kinda late, but will take the later one if that’s what happens. Not risking my life in any case.

nomolos, or centuries?

Yeah, look how they’ve got the deck stacked at ABC News:

Roundtable: Tom Daschle, Trent Lott, George Will, Sam Donaldson.

The corporate media are pushing the health care bill. They’ve received their orders and they will obey.

Late and careful…sounds good. Im off to work….Happy Equinox, a day late. Spring is here.

Me, too. I left at noonish, came home at midnight. WTF was going on in DC? The teabaggers, it seems, have shown their true colors.
One more question, does Pelosi have the votes or not?

and pretty soon This Week will be taken over by a GIRL!! So they are getting in all the guys they can before she fouls it all up.

And Happy Spring indeed!!

A smart girl too. But I’m afraid she’s going to have to follow the rules if she wants to be allowed in the boys’ club. So I’m predicting that she’ll be as obedient to her corporate masters as the old boys.

But I am glad to see Amanpour get the job, it is a step forward for equality of the sexes.

Girls rule!

Anyone know how this is going to play out today?

Well, Stupak was just on MSNBC, said he has 8 “Nos” unless they get the language they want in the Executive Order.

Congress starts in at 2pm ET

The session tomorrow will begin around 2:00 pm ET. Three votes – potentially four – will be taken. First there will be a vote on the rule, with an hour of debate on it. Expect a vote around 3:00 ET. Then there will be two hours of debate on the reconciliation bill. That will get a vote around 5:00 ET. There would be no debate in between the reconciliation bill and the Senate bill, which would happen around 5:30 ET. If there is a motion to recommit, that would get sandwiched in before the vote on the reconciliation bill.

Thanks Elliot. Now, I have to find out when the Syracuse game is to see if I’ll be watching in the Living Room or on my tiny bedroom tv.

Congratulations to Northern Iowa. David slew Goliath. Pride goeth before the fall Kansas.

That’s one reason why I don’t watch Press the Meat anymore: They always find the most clueless, conservative “Democrat” possible to face off with a Republican. Tim Kaine is as clueless as Harold Ford and not much more liberal.

and that’s just the way they want to keep it. “Information” and points of view are completely “managed” and controlled in the U.S. It’s really quite tragic. How often do you see a David Sirota, a Glenn Greenwald, a Chris Hedges or a Michael Moore on the corporate news programs? Seldom if ever.

thank you elliot. in case it hasn’t already been posted, i think this the the rule reported out last night by the house rules committee: H.RES 1192.

Glenn Greenwald told a story once about how David Gregory tried to coach him on how to act if he wanted to be on the village pundit circuit and that Gregory seemed quite taken aback when Greenwald informed him that being on the Village circuit or behaving by villagers rules was the last thing he wanted to do. He said Gregory used not being invited back as an explicit threat to Greenwald if he didn’t behave as directed.

180,000 will die even before Mr. Bipartisan’s grand plan goes into effect because of the lack of coverage.

Not the least bit surprised coming from KKKarl Rove’s dance partner.

I notice that several peaceful anti war protesters were arrested in DC yesterday but teabaggers who spit on people, shouting racial and sexual epithets and carried weapons, not so much.

Gregory was once asked like most of the major reporter pundit players what he did wrong in the lead up to the Iraq war and what he would change. Gregory was the only one I think out of all that were asked that question who said that he didn’t think he did anything wrong and he wouldn’t change a thing. He said it is a journalist’s job to “report what people say”, without addressing the “fact checking” part at all. NBC rewarded him with Press the Meat very soon after. David Gregory on many occasions has also made it clear that being among the village media has always been his ambition and goal. I guess when getting invited to the right parties and rubbing shoulders with the powerful is your goal, journalism is a small price to pay.

thank you very much!

somehow I’m not surprised. I hope Amanpour shows the old guard what real news and informed debate is.

Gregory is beneath contempt. His respiration is a waste of oxygen.

Me too but history, sadly would indicate that she will probably fall in line, especially at ABC

you are most welcome.

do you know if there will be a live blog thread? even though it’s kabuki, i’m probably going to give the “debate” a listen.

p.s. ooops. my bad. i see that you’ve already answered my Q in your post. my apologies.

CNN.com reported “hundreds” gathered for an anti-war protest yesterday in deecee. Organizers say upwards of 10,000. Fuckin’ CNN. Assholes.

Yep. As much as I ranted at Timmeh sometimes, he at least knew what a journalist’s job was. Though he had given some softball interviews, he was never the fawning, toe sucking disgrace that Gregory is. When Gregory does ask “tough” questions, they are usually non sequitor and always asked of a liberal or progressive. He has never challenged a conservative as far as I know or leveled one of his famous unsubstantiated rumor mill questions at a Republican lawmaker.

I started watching CNN again when they shed Beck then I immediately quit when they took on Eric Erickson. For good this time. They have shown over and over that they aren’t interested in “balance” like they claim, they are only interested in ideologically driven media cat fights.

yeah, Ted Turner probably is yelling at clouds now

I have to say, Fox News gave some time to the antiwar protesters this morning, and fairly I thought – compared to the almost no-notice of the other stations

CNN is the new Fox News.

Don’t be lulled! When they cover something “fairly” they’re just reestablishing their grip on a larger portion of the audience. Today, when the audience is probably larger than usual, is a good day to dial down the crazy until the new viewers they pick up develop a stomach for FOX’s usual fare.

thanks Elliot. We at Virtually Speaking really appreciate being included on the list.

And we all appreciate your show. A breath of fresh air!

That is the idea, yeah. I really like that we can give people like CultureOfTruth a venue.

Glenn has recounted that story to me on and off air a couple of times, but he didn’t say who it was who made that threat. Do you have a link that refers to Gregory?

I thought Kaine did surprisingly well, and Hoyer also. Of course being able to “have discourse discourse” with idiots like Boner, Steele and Gregory make it easy. I thought Tavis Smily was extremely articulate in pointing out the issues both pro and con.

I repeatedly wanted to reach into my TeeVee and choke somebody when Boner prefaced, inserted in the middle and ended every sentence with the fairytale that America has the “Best Healthcare in the World.” I guess that’s true for him and the rich, but for the average American, you have the ABSOLUTE WORST HEALTHCARE IN THE DEVELOPED WORLD. This isn’t a hockey game and patriotism does not apply – saying USA, USA, USA won’t solve healthcare. The only reason ‘most’ people are happy with their existing coverage is because they haven’t had to use it yet.

Here in Canada we have too many Reich Wingers attacking our public health system right now – but most Canadian would prefer to die to defend and keep (and improve) our current single payer, universal access system rather than die from a system like the American system.

I guess it has a lot to do with the failure of the media to actually inform Americans of the real issues and pander to the fringe, and stoke the flames of fear and hysteria.

Good Luck today with the vote, America!

He (Gregory) said it is a journalist’s job to “report what people say

Doesn’t he mean to say “repeat” instead of “report.” In other words he could be replaced by a tape recorder or a video cam. Maybe the RePukes have caught on to the fact of this style of journalism and that is why they say such outrageous things with a straight face. Next thing you know it is “news” and if it’s on TeeVee, it must be true!

Amanpour? Sorry Elliott. Disagree totally. Her reports leading up to both the Afghan Bogus War, and the Iraq Bogus War was no different than any other talking head pretending to be a journalist. She will tow the talking points line like everybody else.

Chris’s programs are Pre-recorded and pre-judged. Chris is a jackass who promotes the corporate view in the guise of “moderate democratic interpretation”. He is a wormy phony who appears to be such an emasculated, needy jerk I can’t stand watching him anymore. So, whatever he includes or excludes in his promos has no real meaning, unless watchers, without any thoughtful opinions of their own, are actually swayed (or better, manipulated) by his or his guests’ approved talking points. Best to leave Chris to Kathleen, his “queen”, because he’s a waste to the rest of us.

I tend to agree about Amanpour. Remember, she is married to Jamie Rubin, Robert Rubin’s son. Remember Robert Rubin, the golden manipulator of Goldman Sachs who made multi-millions on the backs of the American people? Jamie, who worked with Clinton who destroyed the Stiglitz regulations? While I think Amanpour is extremely intelligent (and beautiful!), I have to once again rely on an old family adage: show me your company and I’ll tell you what you are. Her company, her family, does not give me confidence that she will be any more fair and balanced than any of the other hosts of the Sunday or cable news shows. However, I will watch her because she, as I have said, is beautiful and delightfully intelligent, but everything she says or promotes needs to be put through a sieve, carefully analyzed and judged accordingly.

actually, Jamie Rubin is not Robert Rubin’s son – Taibbi was wrong about that