I was mulling about in my head on what to write concerning the gong-show that was the G20 summit in Toronto this past weekend, but then my attention was drawn to this excellent Torontoist article by Christopher Bird who sums up most of my thoughts fairly nicely.
Bird comments on thug tactics, police brutality, what should have been, and closes with some warm words for a fake lake.
Anti-Abortion bill passed in Florida, another win the conservative religious right. Thanks to the bill any women seeking an abortion has to get an ultrasound first, that they must pay for, in order to have the procedure. The Bill also included a provision supporting Attorney General Bill McCollum's lawsuit against the Federal Government that alleges national health care reforms for the American people are unconstitutional.
So what is it unborn babies matter more then people who are already living. You choose life but not quality of life.
Force people to have unwanted babies that they are not able to take care of, be it for lack of resources or emotional stability, then also deny these same people rights to proper health care.I don't know about you but this just seems like a recipe for disaster.
What's next? Take away a women's right to decide and a child's right to learn science and history and what kind of society do we end up with? Should we start burning books and asking all non-Christians to wear A's around their arm. I know I am being very dramatic but this bill is without a doubt is a step, however small, in that direction.
Republican Senator Tom Coburn spoke out against vilifying democrats during a republican town hall meeting. He suggested that while he doesn't agree with Nancy Pelosi's views that she is a good person and that people shouldn't listen to the harsh opinions of fox news for deciding how to feel about her and other liberals.
Way to go Senator Coburn! I probably won't ever agree with you much, but I can assure you that when you have something to say, I will pay attention. I still, however, think its sad that a republican showing signs of decency is so rare that it makes the news.
Everyone's favourite right-wing ...something, Ann Coulter was unable to deliver a talk at the University of Ottawa due to an unruly protest from a group of students and onlookers outside the venue.
She kicked off her three-city Canadian tour in London Ontario, where she apparently told a muslim student to "take a camel" or "magic carpet".
The article linked above half-focuses on a Canadian lawyer who promoted Coulter's tour, and the transparent farce that is Coulter's "opinions". The author also touches on free speech, and whether or not we should really even care.
The healthcare reform debate is very heated right now thanks to the sure to be historic vote happening later today. With that in mind, if you were by any chance still on the fence over whether we should support keeping the old status quo in which we continue to be raped by a health industry that turns profits that exceed economists expectations during a recession while, in return, giving us less and less... *breathes* Here are the types of people opposing this bill and their reasons...
That's probably what House Republicans are thinking about after extending that invitation to President Obama to address their annual retreat in Baltimore today. In an uncharacteristically candid back-and-forth that consumed almost an hour and a half, Obama -- with television cameras rolling -- basically told Republicans what he thought of their health plan and their characterization of his health plan.
It made the State of the Union speech look tame. One key indication of which side was getting the upper hand? Fox News cut away after the first half an hour, notes Atlantic's political editor Marc Ambinder.
I have supplied the video below and believe every American who has given even an iota of opinion on the administration should watch. The President's starting speech is important but more importantly - in my opinion - is Pres. Obama "Q&A: From Earlier". I implore that you share this video with friends and family, this discussion is 10x more important than the State of the Union address.
Here is my breakdown of the video:
04:13 - Obama on job environment.
11:00 - Obama on future plans to encourage job growth.
12:08 - Obama on Republican interest in across the board tax relief/cuts.
14:30 - Obama on large increase in budget, freeze in spending, wasteful spending, and line item veto bill.
19:50 - Obama on embracing policies for cleaner forms of energy.
25:20 - Obama on lack of publicity of healthcare process.
28:20 - Obama on lobbyist involvement in administration.
32:30 - Obama on Republican proposals regarding healthcare reform.
36:00 - Obama tells Republicans they have made the current status of the healthcare bill out to be a "Bolshevik plot"; wild plot to impose big government.
51:00 - Obama on politicians being mindful of their tone, Capital Hill climate, interest in Bipartisanship and admitted failure in that arena last year.
54:00 - Obama discusses plans on trade.
58:00 - Obama on the Republican assertion his previous budget in the future tripling the cost of government.
01:03 - Obama on Medicare costs and partisanship.
CBC.ca reports on a French parliamentary panel that released a report recommending all women show their faces in public places including hospitals, schools, and public transit.
Personally I'm a bit torn on the issue, if the recommendation was to combat some existing problem wherein crimes were being committed by veiled suspects then I would tend to agree. It isn't like society hasn't let go of religious based traditions in favour of public security and health (hi, bloodletting!) however upon reading the article, the motivation behind the veil-ban seems less cut and dry.
From the article: "French President Nicolas Sarkozy has made face-veils a political issue, saying last summer that burkas imprison women and that they would not be tolerated in France."
"The recommendations come after a committee of 32 legislators from four political parties convened six months ago to address the wearing of burkas or niqabs, which are often viewed in France as a gateway to extremism and an insult to gender equality."
Though personally I would always champion gender equality over religious tradition, Muslim representative Mohammed Moussaoui raises a good point: "It's very difficult to talk about the liberation of women through a law that constrains."
What do you think? Should issues of gender equality be raised in a legal context or should we rely on cultural inertia to phase out old traditions?
Former GOP Congressman Bob Barr acts as a rational voice in the petty chaotic finger-pointing that's going on amongst Conservatives. He writes,
"Yes — the not-so-bright, would-be terrorist from Nigeria got though international and domestic security mechanisms supposed to have stopped him long before the jerk lit his underwear afire before landing in Detroit. And yes — the incident happened during the administration of President Barack Obama. But the sniping at the president by Republicans, including former Vice President Cheney, and by conservative radio and TV commentators, borders on — if not passing into — asinine."
Also, please check out the comments on his blog - they're painful evidence of how disgusting Americans have become with the job loss numbers at their peak and everything else in a slump as of late. One blogger even goes as far as to compare Obama's reaction to this Nigerian terrorist incident to Bush's response to hurricane Katrina. Yes, lets compare: Katrina-Bush Timeline And the President waits 72 hours before we hear from him...
Former prime minister John Major said Saturday that the Iraq war inquiry appeared to be showing that the invasion was more about regime change than finding weapons of mass destruction.
Criticising his successor Tony Blair over his presentation of the case for invading, Major told BBC radio that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussain may have been a "bad man" -- but that was not a good enough reason to go to war.
He asked whether Blair's cabinet was aware of doubts about whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction before deciding to take military action. Britain joined in the March 2003 US-led invasion.
"The suspicion arises that this was more about regime change than it was about weapons of mass destruction," Major said.
However, "the argument that Saddam Hussain was a bad man and therefore must be removed simply won't do," he added.
Facebook users play a social game, like "FarmVille" or "Friends For Sale." They get addicted to it. Eager to accelerate their progress inside the game, the gamers buy "virtual goods" such as a machine gun for "Mafia Wars." But these gamers don't buy these virtual goods with real money. They use virtual currency.
The gamers get virtual currency three ways:
* Winning it playing the games
* Paying for it with real money
* By accepting offers from third-parties -- usually companies like online movie rentals service Netflix -- who agree to give the gamer virtual currency so long as that gamer agrees to try a product or service. This is done through an "offers" provider -- a middleman that brings the companies like Netflix, the Facebook gamemakers, and the Facebook gamemaker's users together.
It's this third method that an anti-reform group called "Get Health Reform Right" is using to pay gamers virtual currency for their support.
Instead of asking the gamers to try a product the way Netflix would, "Get Health Reform Right" requires gamers to take a survey, which, upon completion, automatically sends the following email to their Congressional Rep:
"I am concerned a new government plan could cause me to lose the employer coverage I have today. More government bureaucracy will only create more problems, not solve the ones we have
Here is a brief layout of Obama's plan to save and create jobs on Main Street.
There are also quotes from republicans who don't want to save or create jobs.
"This makes me so angry. I was there. I know all about TARP," House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, said on Tuesday. "First, it was never intended that all this money would ever have to be spent. But any money that wasn't spent was to go to the deficit. And the idea of taking this money and spending it is repulsive."
Boehner's quote was in reference to the idea of taking any residual moneys from the TARP stimulus to pay for job growth. I guess Boehner doesnt consider Americans suffering job losses during this recession to be a troubled asset...they just repulse him.
Michael Tomasky is a blogger at guardian.co.uk and he chimes in on this open letter to the president from Michael Moore:
So now you feel backed into a corner. 30 years ago this past Thursday (Thanksgiving) the Soviet generals had a cool idea -- "Let's invade Afghanistan!" Well, that turned out to be the final nail in the USSR coffin...
...Afghanistan's nickname is the "Graveyard of Empires." If you don't believe it, give the British a call. I'd have you call Genghis Khan but I lost his number. I do have Gorbachev's number though. It's + 41 22 789 1662. I'm sure he could give you an earful about the historic blunder you're about to commit...
...When we elected you we didn't expect miracles. We didn't even expect much change. But we expected some. We thought you would stop the madness. Stop the killing. Stop the insane idea that men with guns can reorganize a nation that doesn't even function as a nation and never, ever has.
Stop, stop, stop! For the sake of the lives of young Americans and Afghan civilians, stop. For the sake of your presidency, hope, and the future of our nation, stop. For God's sake, stop.
Tonight we still have hope.
Tomorrow, we shall see. The ball is in your court. You DON'T have to do this.
You can be a profile in courage. You can be your mother's son.
We're counting on you.
Yours,
Michael Moore
Tomasky notes the problems with shady historic parallels and intentions. Personally I've never felt comfortable with any of Michael Moore's comparisons - like whether or not a congress person would sign their kid up for the armed forces having anything to do with whether or not a war is worth fighting. He always seems to bring apples to the orange table.
Anyways. I may be a liberal, but even I can't stomach him. Yes, Mr. Tomasky, Michael Moore is a blowhard.
The only way I can describe this interview is that its like a big giant stupid train crashing into a truck filled with bullshit.
O'REILLY: Well, he's got a lot of experience. Let me be very bold and fresh again. Do you believe that you are smart enough, incisive enough, intellectual enough to handle the most powerful job in the world?
PALIN: I believe that I am because I have common sense, and I have, I believe, the values that are reflective of so many other American values. And I believe that what Americans are seeking is not the elitism, the kind of a spinelessness that perhaps is made up for that with some kind of elite Ivy League education and a fact resume that's based on anything but hard work and private sector, free enterprise principles. Americans could be seeking something like that in positive change in their leadership. I'm not saying that has to be me.
Click the link for more tasty nuggets like that one.
Will Phillips doesn't believe that describes America for its gay and lesbian citizens. He's a 10-year-old at West Fork Elementary School in Arkansas, about three hours east of Oklahoma City. Given his beliefs, he refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, specifically because that one phrase, "liberty and justice for all," he says, does not truly apply to all.
Al Franken's amendment to keep the government out of business with low life contractors is pulling the jag-offs out of the wood work.
The bill which essentially says if a company doesn't allow assault and harassment cases to be tried in public courts (internal arbitration only) then the US government wont do business with them. Who wouldnt vote for this law? A bunch of republicans...and they are paying for it.
Franken says the amendment was inspired by the story of Jamie Leigh Jones, who worked for defense contractor KBR and alleges she was gang raped at the age of 19 when stationed in Iraq — only to find that her contract required that her dispute go through the arbitration process. She’s still fighting her case.
220 to 215, only one Republican voted for the plan [Yay, Anh Cao of LA!].
Now it's up to our Senate to streamline it so that the Amendment addressing Abortions could be "softened" a bit. [Stupak Amendment]
What I appreciate about the passing of this policy is that it can be viewed as a "first step" in instituting a more effective health care system in the U.S. I don't expect this bill to work out every kink and I'm sure it will add some kinks but over time we will amend it until it's satisfactory for majority of the population.
Some Democrats said they voted for the legislation so they could seek improvements in it. “This bill will get better in the Senate,” said Representative Jim Cooper, a Tennessee Democrat who has been outspoken in his criticism of some provisions of the bill but decided to support it. “If we kill it here, it won’t have a chance to get better.”
There was another Teabagger crowd in Washington DC yesterday, idiotechnica.com considered covering the story live but decided watching film Drag Me To Hell would be more productive. Republican Rep of Missouri Todd Akin was present yesterday at the event and stated that the Pledge of Allegiance "drives Liberals crazy". The Rep then proceeded to mess up when leading the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance. Video is in the article!
"The last thing we want to project," she (Michelle Obama) said, is the image of a flawless relationship.
"It's unfair to the institution of marriage, and it's unfair for young people who are trying to build something, to project this perfection that doesn't exist," Mrs. Obama said.
California - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger typically attaches a message to bills he signs or vetoes telling lawmakers why he took the action.
But a Democratic assemblyman who heckled the governor during a recent event in San Francisco may have received more than one message: the veto letter itself, and a not-so-subtle rebuke creatively hidden within it.
Like a find-the-word puzzle, a second message is visible if one strings together the first letter of each line down the left-hand margin of the letter. If read in that way, a common four-letter vulgarity followed by the letters "y-o-u" is visible.
The Obama administration announced that they will be directing 2 billion dollars towards solar power. 
I was mulling about in my head on what to write concerning the gong-show that was the G20 summit in Toronto this past weekend, but then my attention was drawn to this excellent Torontoist article by Christopher Bird who sums up most of my thoughts fairly nicely. 
Anti-Abortion bill passed in Florida, another win the conservative religious right. Thanks to the bill any women seeking an abortion has to get an ultrasound first, that they must pay for, in order to have the procedure. The Bill also included a provision supporting Attorney General Bill McCollum's lawsuit against the Federal Government that alleges national health care reforms for the American people are unconstitutional. 
Republican Senator Tom Coburn spoke out against vilifying democrats during a republican town hall meeting. He suggested that while he doesn't agree with Nancy Pelosi's views that she is a good person and that people shouldn't listen to the harsh opinions of fox news for deciding how to feel about her and other liberals. 
Everyone's favourite right-wing ...something, Ann Coulter was unable to deliver a talk at the University of Ottawa due to an unruly protest from a group of students and onlookers outside the venue. 
The healthcare reform debate is very heated right now thanks to the sure to be historic vote happening later today. With that in mind, if you were by any chance still on the fence over whether we should support keeping the old status quo in which we continue to be raped by a health industry that turns profits that exceed economists expectations during a recession while, in return, giving us less and less... *breathes* Here are the types of people opposing this bill and their reasons...
Be careful what you wish for.
CBC.ca reports on a French parliamentary panel that released a report recommending all women show their faces in public places including hospitals, schools, and public transit. 
Former GOP Congressman Bob Barr acts as a rational voice in the petty chaotic finger-pointing that's going on amongst Conservatives. He writes,
Former prime minister John Major said Saturday that the Iraq war inquiry appeared to be showing that the invasion was more about regime change than finding weapons of mass destruction.
Facebook users play a social game, like "FarmVille" or "Friends For Sale." They get addicted to it. Eager to accelerate their progress inside the game, the gamers buy "virtual goods" such as a machine gun for "Mafia Wars." But these gamers don't buy these virtual goods with real money. They use virtual currency.
Here is a brief layout of Obama's plan to save and create jobs on Main Street. 
