On Sarah Palin’s Crib Notes
First, Sarah Palin mocks President Obama as a “charismatic guy with a teleprompter.” Then she’s photographed with crib notes written on the palm of her hand during an interview. The WORST thing is that these are things that she’s basically used in EVERY interview or speech. Energy. Tax Cuts (instead of budget cuts which was crossed out). Lift American Spirits.
I guess there’s a difference here somewhere. (There is… Palin is an idiot.)
On Facing Your Opposition and Kicking Their A**
President Obama met with House Republicans today for what they probably thought would be a wonderful opportunity for them to express their views. Instead, Obama schooled them so badly Fox News had to CUT AWAY from the coverage.
The Full Transcript and Video:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/29/transcript-of-president-o_n_442423.html
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
On Conan O’Brien
It seemed fitting to leave the Tonight Show on a light note and Conan ended his Tonight Show run with Will Ferrell and the sound of cowbells.
We all could use more cowbell.
(This Hulu video probably won’t last more than a couple of weeks.)
On the Haiti Earthquake
Kit Miyamoto of Miyamoto International (an engineering firm) has been in Haiti helping inspect some of the key buildings there in the aftermath of the devastating January 12, 2010 M7.0 Haiti Earthquake.
He’s written a journal from the perspective of an engineer on the ground. It’s an interesting perspective as he is a private citizen and not a journalist.
http://www.miyamotointernational.com
(Note: I consult for Miyamoto International on occasion.)
On Bernie Madoff’s investors
So rather than talk about Martha Coakley’s horrendously run and inept campaign for Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat, here’s an interesting website I came across recently. It maps out the location of some of the people who were defrauded by Bernie Madoff.
I’m kind of amazed this database is public… but here it is.
On Sarah Palin as Read by the Immortal William Shatner
I didn’t realize that William Shatner or Sarah Palin were that short…
The latest installment of poetic readings.
On Bipartisanship
Screw Bipartisanship.
If the Republicans refuse to support health care reform, screw them.
But not all Democrats are on the same page and they should be. It’s one thing to disagree on what’s in the bill, it’s another to actively obstruct the leaders of your own majority party or to support a filibuster.
These are the Democrats or Independents who voted for bringing the debate to the floor, but who are still non-committal.
Sen. Joe Lieberman (Connecticut)
Sen. Mary Landrieu (Louisiana)
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (Arkansas)
Sen. Ben Nelson (Nebraska)
Sen. Evan Bayh and Sen. Kent Conrad also seem on the bubble.
On Joe Lieberman
Joe Lieberman, Senator from Connecticut, has threatened to filibuster and health care bill with a public option. Lieberman left the Democratic Party in 2006 but is still part of the Democratic Caucus. However, he endorsed McCain for President in 2008 and had sided with the Republicans in their frenzied attack against health care reform. He has even pledged to support a Republican filibuster against health care reform.
Well, that’s pretty much the final straw isn’t it?
Lieberman is currently Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee. He is also on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Air Land Forces and sits on the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities and the Small Business Committee.
His Chairmanship come at the largess of the majority party, currently the Democrats.
The Senate should put it all on the table and force a vote to bring health care to the floor. Let’s see where everyone falls, especially the Democrats who are on the line.
On Alan Grayson Part Deux
So Representative Alan Grayson got up November 4 and proceeded to call out every House Republican with a projected number of deaths of the uninsured in their district. This caused much fits, the vigorous shaking of fists, and the introduction of weird motions. Read the article here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-alan-grayson/how-the-republicans-faile_b_347237.html
What interested me about this particular piece were the delaying tactics used by the House Republicans.
First, they pulled the “Do you yield for a question” trick. On a side note, here’s a particularly nice episode from October where Grayson schools the Republican Representative from Georgia regarding the Constitution:
Yielding for a Question:
To Yield for a Question allows a member to keep the floor while allowing a colleague to speak.
The yielded time should be used for a question and not a statement, but this is not always enforced.
Then the Republicans play the “Words taken down” ploy.
Words Taken Down:
Words Taken Down is the House rule used to discipline a member for using inappropriate words in debate.
After the words are “taken down” by the clerk and read back, the chair rules on their suitability.
If ruled inappropriate, the member may not speak again on the same day without House permission.
Then they threaten a “Roll Call Vote” which means a vote held on the record. The name of the Representative and his/her voting position are noted together.
This works by delaying the proceedings for an hour… Probably in an attempt to move Grayson’s speech to as late as possible and miss the 11′o clock news cycle.
Finally, they ask to “ring the bells.” Ring the bells?
If that’s not the most childish thing I’ve ever heard, it’s pretty close.
On Alan Grayson
I like Representative of Florida’s 8th District Alan Grayson a lot.
I liked him when he said the Republican Health Care plan was 1) Don’t Get Sick and 2) If you DO get sick: Die Quickly.
And I like him even more after this speech:
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