On the top of the Republican hate list either just over or just under Barack Obama is Nancy Pelosi. Being from the vilified city of San Francisco, it seems every self-righteous wingnut in the world loves to hate Nancy. While I do not always agree with her, this unending attack and vilification from the right has actually whipped up a little sympathy for our Speaker of the House, I just wish she would quit playing footsies with these folks and fight them with all the resources at our disposal.
Yesterday I felt very fortunate to attend a memorial for a man who has so greatly influenced my life, as well as many other Americans. In the print media both The Washington Post and The New York Times offered very good coverage but I was so moved that I feel a need to add something, some of those little stories.
Howard Kurtz claimed that the memorial for Walter Cronkite was "an extravagantly produced ceremony" but the stage was really just a video screen that mostly showed a still of Walter Cronkite and a lectern where many distinguished guest would celebrate a great American life. Perhaps Wynton Marsalis and several musicians walking the aisles in a musical tribute that evoked the feeling of a New Orleans Jazz funeral could come close to lavish production but it was really all about the spoken word.
I have just a few thoughts, photos from the program and some video links about an emotional and joyous event below the fold.
Why is Barack Obama continuing to allow the public option to be coupled with government health care subsidies? That sounds like some Republican and AHIP propaganda and it is causing harm. The American public are hearing about that cost as an issue and many people are being fooled into thinking that this is a wasteful government expense.
I keep seeing on my television how the Blue Dogs are worried about the cost of a Public Option and as I understand it, once a public option is off the ground, the "expense" will be those Americans who cannot afford health insurance. Wouldn't a co-op have a similar start up expense and the cost of less fortunate Americans be much higher under a health insurance mandate if the subsidies are handed over to the for-profit companies?
Last night Lester Holt corrected a "NBC Nightly News" report from the previous evening on the cost of a public option and told America the cost given was the estimated cost of insurance reform as a whole. Mr. Holt did not, perhaps could not explain, the actual cost of a public option.
How much does this Public Option cost anyway? I'm having trouble finding an answer from anywhere but Barack Obama should know and when we elected him we gave him the biggest mouth in America, didn't we?
(the media and health care reform... - promoted by poligirl)
How many ways can the media, those bastions of truth, justice and the corporate profiteering way actually lie, slur and obsfucate the attempt to bring healthcare to all Americans in an affordable manner?
Let's see, shall we?
From the opinion page at the Buffalo News, they are so quaintly calling the plan OBAMAcare:
From our friends at the New York Times, the derogatory headline is EXPERTS Dispute Some Points in Health Talk, regarding the prime time discussion President Obama had with Americans last night concerning healthcare:
(hope for healthcare reform... - promoted by poligirl)
With true Nationalized Medicine off the table is the expense factor just media and corrupt politician propaganda? "It's just too Expensive" is heard far too often without many facts being presented.
There was a breakout session at YearlyKos 2007 and Barack Obama said something like "You know the Canadian System didn't happen overnight." I came to the personal conclusion that a federal medical insurance program would be his stepping stone legacy and he realized that even as the most powerful man in America there would be only so much that he could achieve.
In a nation where the media is swayed by prescription drug commercials and elected officials are literally in the pockets of the medical machine there is deception at every level. It has gotten so bad and the medical lobby has been allowed to become so strong that even many voices on the left can't take an honest look at this issue.
To make matters even worse, the present state of the economy is a deterrent to health care for all. As hard as it is to swallow almost every medical dollar that some American has to pay into this corrupt system is a dollar in the economy. That fact must be way upfront in Congress right now.
Well, here out on the ranch in Montana, I just finished putting lipstick on my pig and perfume on my hog. And guess what? Last time I looked they were still swine.
McCain who I will refer to now, at the suggestion of a commenter, as Mc Worse is doing his best to put perfume on a big old hog. That hog is a flim flam economic theory called "supply side" or "trickle down" or Reaganomics or neo-liberalism or any of a number of labels used to describe what Naomi Klein calls the "shape shifting" of failed Ayn Rand/Milton Friedmanism. That hog is wallowing around in the muck snorting and making a mess. All around that hog are little piggies squealing with delight getting what they can from the hog. Squealing, oinking, and snorting and flinging mud is just what swine do while they devour everything in sight.
Just wanted to share this article from alternet LINK to Alternet article so that we can all focus, focus, focus on what ALL progressives - and the Edwardses - and the Obamas - are up against. We are up against a well-funded and well-organized group that will lie shamelessly, justify and reframe EVERYTHING with scorched earth effectiveness. Their tools are to co-opt the media and blow out of proportion, distort, leave no stone unturned, lie, spy, cheat, steal votes, justify the means no matter what ends, throw the baby out with the bathwater, ruin lives...and what have you. They lay awake nights figuring out how to destroy people, instead of figuring out health care, education and how to exit Iraq.
My rant in a nutshell: Edwards lied to try to keep his wife alive (to NOT upset her) and keep progressive issues on the table. NOBODY DIED. With the Republicans in office, hundreds of thousands die in Iraq, tens of thousands die early in America without health care, hundreds and possibly thousands die at the hands of unregulated food and petfoods and drugs, and tens die on falling bridges. But most important, Planet Earth itself is at risk for potential species and ecosystem mass die-offs with millions of human eco-refugees to migrate in the wake of global warming!
(I cry foul on the media for this - I remember the 3 Hs all too well; where is the scrutiny of McCain on this? Damned mediacs! - promoted by poligirl)
Left, McCain's 7,000-sq.-ft. Phoenix condo made by combining two units. To careful observers, the media are treating the mansion situation very differently between John Edwards and John McCain.
Here one link that shows the media bias clear as daylight:
LINK to a blog describing the McCain lifestyle. Cindy McCain bought five condos worth $11 million in the last four years? How often have you read or heard of that information? A year ago, you could not read hardly any John Edwards article without hearing about his mansion, haircut, and hedge fund job. There was nothing to these.
A Politico article LINK provides solid evidence of pricey McCain tastes:
While John McCain's campaign spending is a matter of public record, his family's personal spending is not, and for the most part there's only anecdotal information available.
For instance, in the June issue of Vogue magazine, Cindy McCain said she favors suits made by the German designer Escada, which typically retail for around $3,000 a pop. If she becomes first lady, she told Vogue she may switch to an American designer, possibly Carolina Herrera, whose suits are comparably pricey.
If you read Paul Krugman's recent column - LINK1 or LINK2 , you will realize that the Republicans have been so incredibly successful at distorting the facts...Wesley Clark's comments were taken out of context, Hillary Clinton didn't say she was staying in the race because Barack Obama might be assassinated, Howard Dean did not scream, and Al Gore did not claim to invent the internet.
All appearance times are subject to change. We suggest tuning in at the top of the show.
General Clark will also appear Tuesday morning on ABC's Good Morning America. See:http://securingamerica.com/node/3001 for details
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/
Left, McCain's 7,000-sq.-ft. Phoenix condo made by combining two units. To careful observers, the media are treating the mansion situation very differently between John Edwards and John McCain.
