Ah, he reminds me why I am no longer listening to Thom Hartman and have switched to listening to the Young Turks. Thom is such a disappointment. He’s all about kissing the Democrats ass and “change from within” and how “Oh, we have to have a Democrat in charge because when there is an appointment on the Supreme Court, we don’t want a Republican in there?!!” Looking at how things are, I don’t think there is much difference.

At least someone on the air daily has the guts to call it like it is.

Nice rant.

I’m beyond the rant stage. I’m in the 12th stage of grief, but don’t know how many more stages there are.

After proclaiming the, na-na, I can’t hear you the past month I had second thoughts last night.

Seriously, I’m not the base. Nope. Rahm reminded me that we were all just a bunch of F#^&$&^(& retards. The base evidently has to be Wall Street and Big Corp. Tsk-tsk. I guess they will just have to stop all the complaining and be patient. Obama will finish up what they want in the next two.

No “recalcitrant Republicans” or “centrist Dems” forced Obama to double-down in Afghanistan or expand the War on Terror(TM) in Pakistan. No one’s forcing him to keep 50,000 troops in Iraq. Olympia Snowe isn’t the one expanding the worst of the Bush/Cheney civil liberties abuses.

Those aren’t “smidges.”

I can’t add to that. Well said.

It came out in Rolling Stone that Obama realized seven days into his administration that there was no working with Republicans and that all they were going to do was to try to obstruct everything. We have to take Obama’s word for that and since he says he believed that after just one week, it begs the question, who has he been kowtowing too this whole time then? On legislation after legislation, he has been unilaterally capitulating before negotiations begin. Who has he been negotiating with since by his own admission he realized there is no negotiating with Republicans? Nice job Barack. I’m even less likely to support you in 2012 now and I didn’t think that was possible. My opinion is the only change I can believe in.

“The votes just weren’t there …”

58 or 59 votes in the Senate (plus Lieberman) with a democratic president wasn’t enough to accomplish the president’s stated goals but some how much smaller republican majorities with an opposition president is a harbinger of the end of the world? That does not compute.

I do not see gridlock as a bad thing right now but sadly the reality is that our right of center president along with a handful of blue dogs will have no problem joining hands with the republicans to pass a republican agenda that includes extending tax cuts for the rich and gutting social security. In fact, they will probably do that even if dems retain majorities.

Nothing will reveal Obama’s true nature more starkly than the need to use the veto pen or the refusal to do so.

Mornin’, BT, pups

Yep, Obama was at it again yesterday, tryin’ to fire up the youth vote he’s shit on for the last 20 months.

Obama’s rhetoric is as bad as the clown from Goldman Sux who was asked to explain structured unemployment yesterday on CNBC after Krugman’s Monday column put the kabosh on it.

excu$e$ excu$e$ excu$e$ from the same $ocial cla$$ of upper middle class paper pushers who’ve weathered the the 30 year $torm of raygunism quite well.

in ’84 I was a 7 buck an hour fine dining cook in Boston, in Tip O’Neil’s district. in ’88 I was a 10 buck an hour hotel cook with better benefits. in ’92 I was risking my ass on fishing boats in the berring sea. in ’96 I was finishing my math degree at the u.w. in seattle. in ’00 I was trying to evade a captain bligh boss as a Micro-serf in redmond.

in ’04 I had to endure kerry cuz he was “electable” and Dean wasn’t.

the fascists NEVER had 60 votes, and they got what they wanted. we pee-ons got fancy excuses from people with fancy degrees and fancy titles and fancy houses in leafy neighborhoods – fuck these lying yuppie scum. 0-zer0 took care of them, let them take care of 0-$ell-0ut.

rmm.

Thank You Cenk–You couldn’t have been more clear in your message. Now, we need to get the WH to know that Progs need a seat at the table for all legislation. We (the Progs) need to know we are being heard and for the WH to know that our votes will not be taken for granted. Once we are treated fairly, we will reward good behavior (i.e. good legislation, passed) with our time and money. In order to be taken seriously, the Progs need to ask for what they want and need, and then, get it. Until then–you’re on your own Obama.

And then there’s this demented asshole.

Let’s see, we know from the Clinton’s 1997 budget reconciliation bill that created S-CHIP that a federal health care plan can be created (or an existing plan like Medicare simply be expanded) via reconciliation; likewise we know tax cuts were passed as part of Bush’s 2001 reconciliation bill, a two year payroll holiday could have been included that’d have more than twice the fiscal impact of the actual stimulus package ($1.8 trillion vs. $800 billion).

Oh and to highlight a bonus agenda fail, a climate change bill in the form of a revenue-neutral carbon tax (endorsed by Al Gore, Ralph Nader AND the Chairman of Exxon) could have been included as well. After all Clinton’s 1993 reconciliation bill contained a gas tax hike. The Clinton and Bush reconciliation bills were all passed and signed into law by August of their respective years. So if the Obama White House had their shit together, they could have tackled stimulus, healthcare reform and climate change in a filibuster-proof 50 plus VP reconciliation bill signed into law BEFORE Congress went home for its August 2009 summer recess. I would argue that would be more than a “smidge” better.

Amazing cast of characters in D.C. these days. Leaves me mostly speechless.

It’s President DeMint

Obama: Worst Democrat Ever™.

The human beings who Obama and Biden are attacking (there is no other appropriate word for it) the so-called, “base”, those human beings, we, are not really diminished, or discredited, however Obama and Biden are diminished, and perceived as less and less relevant to genuine human progress and needful change.

As the hissy-fit/meltdown continues, and it will, people will simply tune Obama-Biden (and Bill Clinton and others) … out.

That Obama -Biden apparently believe that the blame for their failure to act with humanity and conscience, not just with health care “reform” but with THEIR continuing assault on the rule of law and Constitutional due process, with their obscene coddling of the most despicable of the corporate class, evidenced in their choices for critical positions in the White House and elsewhere, they write their own epitaph, “They just didn’t get it, they never even tried, instead, they believed that money and power mattered more than people”, even as they sek to blame others for THEIR failures.

The abject failure of this time and place is not at the “bottom”, the “base”, but at the “top”.

The pathetic narcissism of those at the top blinds them to truth, to justice, and to understanding, it numbs them to feeling, and to caring.

And that reality is clear and increasingly obvious to all who have eyes that see and ears that hear.

DW

Can business afford Jim DeMint?

He didn’t have to surrender on the public option or single payer BEFORE he began, he didn’t have to cut a deal with the same Pharmaceuticals who are now giving generously to the Republicans, he didn’t have to cave on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, (Is he CIC or not?), He didn’t have to double down in Afghanistan, he didn’t have to take the leash off the CIA and let them slaughter record numbers of innocent people.
These are not “smidges” unless I don’t understand the meaning of that word.

Hell yeah, they need to buck up.

I would suggest promoting Cenk’s Post. This is a quite accurate analysis and Cenk is on fire. Also, the Post at DK does have a few positive comments.

Talk about inexcusable and irresponsible. An Administration insults it strongest supporters. They further falsely claim the “Left” is suppressing voter turn out when they themselves are cooking up a repeat of 1994. Obama’s BFF is Peter Peterson, Warmonger, who is looting Social Security. Obama is helping to privatize and loot Social Security, during an election, Amazing.

And Obama’s other BFF’s, war criminals Stephen Hadley and Richard Armitage, promise more wars forever and ever. Then neo-con Gen. Betrtayus, the worst General ever and another Obama BFF, is fighting wars in twenty countries and failing in all of them. Obama either approved the neo-con war escalation or he is powerless to stop our military dictators and their war crimes. Amazing.

Look for a Third Party candidate to elect. Maybe, it’s time for some socialists to stir the pot and scared the gated gang. Even a Marxist would be better than 535 Paul Ryans.

What would you expect? After he played the FEC for the chumps they are with his Republican recruited “opponent”, his lust for power has only grown.

Generally speaking it seems to me that those who have been wrong on the major issues of our time should be listened to because they can’t be wrong all the time? Where was Drum on Iraq?

Did you see my thank you yesterday?

“….people will simply tune Obama-Biden …out ..”

I started giving him the Bush treatment (mute button) months ago.

When is MSNBC going to drop Tweety and add Cenk? Just sayin’…

Morning BT, Firepups.

Did.

;~DW

sviscusi takes a swipe at Jane not far from the top of the comments.

Wow! Righteous rant from Uygur. I still find him annoying but if he keeps that up, I may take back some of the things I’ve said about him.

Conservative Jones, Boy Detective.

I was surprised at how several commenters showed so little unnerstanning of what the real lives of the working poor are actually like, and how O’s comments would fall on their ears.

Lot of that goin’ around. Must be a symptom of bot disease.

To answer Uygur’s question at the end of the rant, no, the bubble doesn’t love Obama either.

When is MSNBC going to drop Tweety and add Cenk?

Can’t happen soon enough…

See Mr Obama, constitutional scholar, you took an oath to preserve and defend the constitution as the President.

You knew about the torture before you were sworn in. As a constitutional scholar you knew and understood the requirement to “detain”( if it’s one thing we know how to do, it’s detain people against their will) those who orchestrates a torture program. You, Mr. President, though you swore twice to uphold your oath and you chose to continue the violence against the humanitarian constitutional principles this country still stands for, except for those in the other world of DC.

You know , Mr. Obama, that the CAT requires those in a position of power to do so must detain torture suspects GEORGE BUSH and DICK CHENEY or become an accomplice to war crimes or AKA a war criminal.

Only that would have restored our constitutional standing a the final law of the land. Should I mention the 108 murders while under questioning?

No, because if you don’t give a shit about the random torture of innocents you sure as hell don’t want us to see , transparently, what some of the troops and contractors did to those now lifeless bodies.

History won’t judge you in the future buddy you have sold your soul and made a pact with the devil as history has already recorded.

You better make a lot of money after you retire otherwise I’ll bet your daughters wont take to you after they grow up and absorb the shallowness of your soul.

I can only believe that what Obama is doing and what the teabaggers are doing is a coordinated effort by the ruling class to piss off voters enough so they’ll stay home. They don’t want actual people involved in elections and governing. All they want are sycophants and cheerleaders. That way power remains entrenched and they become royalty.

Pffft! Constitutional Scholar! The Constitution doesn’t state that politics is a for profit enterprise but that’s exactly what it’s become.

Same here.

Maybe.

As long as we’re on the subject of MSNBC, anyone have a first take on “The Last Word?”

O’Donnell has way too much of that inside-the-beltway thing going on to suit my taste.

In the meantime, there’s this outside-the-beltway interview from yesterday.

Oh, that is beautiful SD.
De Mint has had a permanent hold on all legilsation the last two years, huh? In lieu of this, the Dems should have been all over this clown hammering away but they never said a thing. No, the Dems responded by running some guy in the Dem primary who literally crawled out from under a rock. Remember candidate Al Green? They had no idea who he was.
Here was an opportunity to chip away at De Mint’s lock in the state and they didn’t even try.

Topping that off, Reid didn’t do a thing to thwart him either.
Hey, Harry, BOO!

It came out in Rolling Stone that Obama realized seven days into his administration that there was no working with Republicans and that all they were going to do was to try to obstruct everything.

It took him seven days? That’s hard to believe. Certainly Obama isn’t so naïve, even stupid, to believe the Republicans would cooperate. If he is, maybe he deserves the criticism he’s getting.

I’ve never watched the POS nor will I after O’Donnell’s rant against SSI, using all of the eliminationists’ rhetoric and falsehoods. Nope, I now view O’Donnell in the same light as Tweety, Gregory or Milbank.

And OT here’s the Frances Perkins Center’s new cartoon summary of the political hurricane headed toward Social Security:

Warning: this will calm you down.

http://www.youtube.com/user/FrancesPerkinsCenter?feature=mhsn#p/a/u/0/YPFnA0RUwrQ

My first take – I’m done watching MSNBC.

Thanks for the link. Chomsky’s always worth listening to, even with his droll demeanor.

All the better to usher in neofeudalism, Margaret.

Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear …

The divine Right and its Democratic enablers have got plans for us, in our happy Homeland.

Remember, “We” are the champions … most exceptionally, of the world, and the world better knuckle under and do our bidding or else “we” will simply make it uninhabitable.

(Eventually, America won’t just be “our” problem … inevitably the rest of the people and nations of the world will run out of patience … and fear. At that point, we will all begin to understand what it feels like to be on the “receiving” end …)

DW

Here was an opportunity to chip away at De Mint’s lock in the state and they didn’t even try.

Topping that off, Reid didn’t do a thing to thwart him either.

That says to me that these guys are probably more partners than adversaries.

I’m off. Be well.

Wow, looking at the response to Cenk’s diary on DKos:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/9/29/906233/-Obama-Scapegoats-His-Own-Voters

I have to wonder what weird little world those respondents live on.

“It is time to come together to fight the Tea party?!?”

“Did you think he could change everything in 20 months?”

Where do these people come from? Do you honestly believe he was ever governing in our best interest? They all drank the kool-aid and have asked for seconds.

Insane, plain and simple.

I have to wonder what weird little world those respondents live on.

They live in the simple, monochrome world of partisan politics, where everything (D) = wonderful and everything (R) = intolerable.

Must be nice, (though boring), to be able to behave reflexively.

Off to swim in the great capitalist cesspool.

US KIA Afghanistan: 1,306

US KIA Irak: 4,424

Iraki and Afghan casualties: estimates vary to over 1.5M

US MBS 2010: 33,604 and counting

Power Play

Be good to yourselves, and all other living things

Namaste

New post up top…

Great rant and comments, but why no mention of Obama’s destructive education policies? Consciousness needs to be raised more and more about what his neoliberal, social-Darwinist deforms are doing one of the main pillars of our democracy. This issue certainly ranks right up there with Obama’s Health insurance scams, civil liberty failures and Cat food commission.

Yeah, we do need to get on that. Not like we need another shitty idea of Obama’s to rant on or anything.

Charter schools suck.

Arne Duncan sucks.

Take Tweety’s time slot @ 5:00 pm EST and give it to the “Young Turk!” No need to rerun Tweety at 7:00 pm. A waste of time! Ratigan’s and Uygur’s respective “takes” on “America” are closer to reality than all the other “horse shitters” combined . History and fact support their perspectives and opinions. It is the distortion of facts and manipulation of people which enable, leveraged economic servitude to corporations. Its always Budweiser time, somewhere. The instilled “good life,” until you have been leveraged into oblivion!

http://icasualties.org/OEF/Fatalities.aspx

Don’t forget to say a prayer for all those fallen heroes. It is the policy makers at the behest of corporate influence who are nothing but zeros.….

Absolutely true, tongorad.

And it needs to be added to the intentional failure pile.

Three things are necessary to civilization.

A rule of law legal “system”.

An equitable economic “system”.

And a comprehensive educational “system”.

Civilized behavior amounts to cooperation rather than domination.

Who is really interested in such a world?

DW

Let’s not forget about Arne Duncan and his wall street welfare program, Race to the Top education grants. Grants that mandate doubling charter schools, excess standardized testing, and destroying teachers unions. RttTop is an oligharch’s utopia.

This week and last week Duncan complicit with NBC, had wall to wall promotion of “Waiting for Superman” and the corporate solutions to education reform emanating from that film (the ones paid for by Gates, the Waltons, the Broads and the rest of the “Billionaire Boys Club” (Ravitch, 2010).

grim September 29th, 2010 at 6:37 am
56
Let’s not forget about Arne Duncan and his wall street welfare program, Race to the Top education grants. Grants that mandate doubling charter schools, excess standardized testing, and destroying teachers unions. An oligharch’s utopia.

This week and last week Duncan complicit with NBC, had wall to wall promotion of “Waiting for Superman” and the corporate solutions to education reform emanating from that film (the ones paid for by Gates, the Waltons, the Broads and the rest of the “Billionaire Boys Club” (Ravitch, 2010).

Informed and emotional commentary from a progressive star!

Right on, Cenk!

Btw, Mr. Vice-President, with all due respect, go f&*k yourself.

I bet it is all part of an elaborate cover up.

I figured that programing ‘hole’ was to give the camera guys a dinner break.

Cenk also gets extra points for slapping Mark Halperin, who MSNBC hired.

You go Cenk! Tell them like it is. The Chutzpah of these hypocrites makes me just as incensed as you are, Mr.Uygur. Would you please make this a petition and send signatures to the President. Put it on FB and get people to sign on!

Thank you for staying on message, Mr. Ratigan. You have the best show on MSNBC!

In the midterms we have to chose between “The Party of No” and “The Party of Yes Means No”!

Everything in recent years says they’re partners.

All you gotta do is tally up legislation to see how a barely “Progressive” bill always failed and Corporate Rightwing bills usually passed.

Some progressive legislation that has consistenly failed in recent years, despite a Dem majority, other than S-Chip, was favorable to:
the middle class, the environment, wildlife or public lands, unions, gay equality, job programs, infrastructure, and troubled homeowners. Sometimes the fix was in by one vote. But legislation that used to represent some of the hallmarks of the Dem party always fails now.

On the other hand, every pro war, war funding, pro Wall St., MIC, corporate, free market, free trade, pro coal, gas, oil, and timber.
Anti wildlife, pro human torture and animal testing torture, pro wild horse slaughter, anti privacy, pro Zionist, pro Christian, anti Muslim, gun toting, freedom robbing piece of legislation always passed.

They’re not adversary’s. They’re corporatist partners putting on a show. They’d crap their pants if people quit trashing the other side.

Greedy, power mad, money grubbing, vote sellers.

That’s a good bet.

Oh, Hell Yeas! Cenk nails it!

Obama IS the Manchurian candidate – as predicted by T-tardz. Except he’s the Manchurian hard-right candidate hand-picked by our corporatist overlords to dupe the left into voting for him (because no self-respecting RepubliKKKan would vote for an “n” word for POTUS).

If Obama is saying that he knew within a week that ReThugs would be obstructive and not work across the aisle – and why did it take BHO a whole SEVEN days to figure that out??? I knew it even before Obama was elected… – then we here at FDL aptly called the 3-ring circus that current exists as the US “govt” the Kabuki show. Seriously! Obummer admits the he knew the Rethugs wouldn’t work with him but he consistently kow-towed to them, kissed their butts and enacted every single d*mn thing they asked for … and even then the ReThugs voted against it.

Amazing.

Pull the other one, Barackstar. We’re onto you here, and we’ve been onto you for a long time. You’re working for Wall St and the banks. It’s obvious. Don’t expect me to GOTV for you cuz it ain’t gonna happen. I’ll be doing my best to primary you out of the govt. Don’t worry: I’m sure Goldman Sacks will find something for you to do.

A couple of things come to mind:

Drum’s use of the phrase “magic wand” to discredit opposition tells us something about his tactics and perspective—and perhaps of those similarly inclined. As if this is a legitimate assessment of critics. As if some folks believe that a President comes into office, waves a magic wand and all things are better. Personally, I don’t know anyone who thinks this way. However, for those who suggest such is the case, the “magic wand” phrase is a way to frame the argument to their advantage and make opponents look naïve. It amounts to an ad hominem attack. It is the equivalent of saying, “Some folks are too stupid to understand how politics works.” G. W. Bush used this tactic on several occasions for the same purpose.

The “buck up” retort is in keeping with the formulation of the HCR policy, which was created with little regard for popular needs or wishes. In other words, it is a predictable defense of a policy created in secret and in collusion with corporate interests (a la Cheney and captains of the energy industry some years back). HCR policy and its current “quit whining” defense demonstrates as clearly as anything the Obama administration’s attempt to shove corporate policy down the public’s throat and evidence that they are not looking out for the best interests of most Americans. “Buck up” is about bashing popular dissent. Surprise!

That was great :)

If you guys get a chance, listen to The Young Turks podcast from yesterday. It was taped following his video (at the top). He has more to say.

Truth is Obama is more sold out than Bush was. Obama got something like 400 million from Wall Street for his campaign, and who knows how much from the other big five industries. The Democrats are now more corrupt and sold out than the Republicans, which is hard to believe, right? He never intended to live up to his campaign promises, he’s a con man. Now the truth is coming out how much he really hates liberals. The Republicans keep casting Obama as a socialist, but naturally they have it wrong, he is a fascist, even more so than Bush. He wants to get government in partnership with big business, use our tax dollars to forward their ability to take over our government, rob us blind and disenfranchise us. He has pushed US government criminal activites at home and abroad, extending the Patriot Act’s powers, using his power to bomb civilians in other countries, nurder anyone anywhere who might be a terrorist or thinking about terrorism, tap our email and voicemail, and tax us into further poverty. This is a fascist agenda. I can understand why poeple are confused, after all Hitler and Mussolini started out as socialists then got power and decided to side with the devil. Fundamentally a totalitarian state, which is what the USA is becoming, can only do evil. Our current government is like a hostile occupying army, hell bent on destroying us. Obama is just their latest boy. He fooled us. Don’t be fooled again.

No body forced obama to go after everything with a precapitulation position like:

* $800 billion stimulus instead of the $1.5 trillion needed to close the demand gap
* use 40% of stimulus for unproductive tax cuts instead of job creating infrastructure improvements
* not going after single payer healthcare
* abandon the public option when he had the votes to pass it
* not press for cram-down, going after the corporatist HAMP instead
* give up on a carbon tax.

nobody forced obama’s hand into republican positions on dozens of critical issues. obama chose that path intentionally and the democratic base is rightly disgusted with him and his minions.

What a beautiful rant. It’s as if he were channeling my thoughts.

I strongly disagree with your assessment of Thom. He has criticized Obama and a number of Dems on their weak ineffective responses and corporatist positions. Lately he has laid off a bit, I suspect, because of the elections. He has also stated that his big worry is the Supreme court in the next Presidential cycle. A democrat would appoint better justices, even Obama. That is his position, hardly an ass-kisser that you label him.

After listening to him daily for the past two years, I stand behind my opinion. He is sheep, plain and simple. So tired of his “Lunch with Bernie” and how it is excuse after excuse about why they can’t get anything passed.

I’m tired of listening to Thom ramble on, pushing his books and not really getting to heart of the matter. He is such a packaged commodity. Every day, 3 bullshit hours of the same crap. At the top of the hour, he argues with someone, takes calls and then backpedals and defends Obama and the Democrats.

Looking at who Obama has appointed to date, I’m not impressed in the least. I wish Obama was half the evil socialist progressive that the right makes him out to be.

Sorry, Thom has lost what little respect I have for him. Perhaps it is just that he is too polite in his delivery of his criticism, but I never walk away with such a strongly worded rebuke as Cenk did yesterday.

Thom is lame.

And so funny that the same exact people that the Dem’s were after, namely Black Water, are the very same people they hired AFTER the election to conduct our 3rd war in Pakistan by sending in drones with the help of the US Special Forces black ops. Still killing civilians I see Black Water! Now I can’t get a straight answer about Black Water from my just elected Democratic senator.

I wonder is Black Water is still outsourcing their hired prostitutes that American taxpayers are paying for, or did they go to hiring locals?

Thom is lame.

You’re right.

I think that Thom and KO and Rachel all expected Obama and the Dems to really follow a progressive approach. Then, when it became evident that wasn’t going to happen, that Obama and the entire party had no clothes, they were momentarily stunned and didn’t know what to do. But they quickly recovered and decided that going Veal Pen was the only option, both to keep their access and their jobs.

I think Thom is sometimes too considerate to a fault, but that is him. He does not want to be a demagogue like the rightwing people are. He is also one of the few radio hosts, who I feel has identified the problems of corporatism, NAFTA/GATT/WTO, trade policy, etc. way ahead of the curve and speaks with clarity and conviction on those issues that most will not touch either out of ignorance, or not to rock their boat. I also like Cenk and the Young Turks. They speak truth to power and are obviously different in his demeanor than Thom, but that does not diminish my respect for him nor the work he has done exposing the RW agenda and offering solutions to it.

I agree with your assessment of Obama. Frankly, I would not be too upset if the R’s won the house. It will be amusing to see every orifice on Obama probed for the next two years. Either it will make him grow a spine and drop his balls and engage these assholes, or expose him to more hope-a-doped Dems as the craven corporatist or cowardly lion he has been to date. Either way we should either get a President we need, or primary his ass and get behind someone else.