Pam's Coffee Conversation

When Michelle Malkin is Right, She's Right

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:47:00 +0000

Ok readers, you can get up off the floor now. I haven't suddenly lost my mind. But you know that I have to call them like I see them, even when it gets me into big trouble. So here goes. In a recent interview with FoxNews on the topic of the tragedy at Ft. Hood, Ms Malkin stated: "I don't think that we have to play games with the rush to judgment anymore. I think that the bigger problem for the American government and their culture post 9/11 is that there are too many people still doing the...

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Financial Markets May Be Working Again, But Average Americans Are Still Waiting

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:55:00 +0000

First, let's get the partisan politics out of the way. It might have been the Clinton or the Bush (41& 43) administrations that got us in to this economic mess. And the policies of the Obama administration may be: correcting the problem; making things worse; simply applying a band-aid to a knife wound; or, all of the above. Your view of today's economic news will probably depend on how you're affected by it and your political affiliation. But one thing is true. Wall Street may be...

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An Appeal for a Real and Comprehensive Approach to Health Care Reform

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 06:08:00 +0000

While the US may be moving one step closer to health care reform with the passage of the Baucus Bill by the Senate Finance Committee, it is clear that a very important element in the health care discussion is being overlooked. What is making Americans so sick? Health care costs wouldn't be so high and there wouldn't be so much concern about the cost of a public health care plan if so many Americans weren't so sick. Right? On Monday, the New York Times reported on the hundreds of thousands...

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A Little Common Sense About Health Care Reform: Priceless

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:45:00 +0000

In the best message that I've seen to-date about the health care reform debate, Will Ferrell, Jon Hamm, Olivia Wilde, Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, Masi Oka, Jordana Spiro, Linda Cardellini and Donald Faison explain why we must protect insurance companies. :-) Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell Priceless In the following video, Bill Moyers sums of the insanity over the health care reform debate. A little common sense goes a long way.

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Just Being Alive Will Soon Be a Pre-Existing Condition

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:27:00 +0000

Thanks PunditMom for sharing your story. It's beyond unbelievable that any insurance company, anywhere would consider "domestic violence" as a pre-existent condition." However as Maria Tchijov reported in the SEIU blog: "Insurance companies have used the excuse of "pre-existing conditions" to deny coverage to countless Americans. From cancer patients to the elderly suffering from arthritis, these organizations have padded their profit margins by limiting coverage to patients deemed...

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This Is Our Brain on Fear

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 21:17:00 +0000

If you were raised in the United States, you can probably recall the PSA with the image of an egg frying and the saying, "This is your brain on drugs". Well the current political climate in America indicates that our collective brain is well on its way to being just as fried. In an article for Alternet, Tammy Ganeva outlined the, "10 of the Most Obscenely Stupid Right-Wing Conspiracy Theories and Attacks Against the President." Janet Shan of The Hinterland Gazette posted a story, "Capt...

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Just One More Reason Why Christians Should Stay Prayed Up

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:07:00 +0000

If I've learned anything in almost 50 years of living it's that when you're trying to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ there will be enumerable annoyances that will remind you that you have not yet attained perfection. Most of these annoyances will involve people. One thing that is guaranteed to try my patience, humble me and bring me to my knees praying that God bridle my tongue is my #1 pet peeve. I simply can't abide customer service people who insult your intelligence by lying...

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Remembering Senator Ted Kennedy

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:53:00 +0000

Senator Ted Kennedy will be remembered in many different ways by many different people. For me, he will be remembered as a larger than life personality, a man who made horrible mistakes, overcame unimaginable tragedy, and achieved tremendous accomplishments. His was a life of failure and redemption. In the end, it was an all too human but extraordinary life that reflected the best of what we can all become and achieve when we devote ourselves to what really matters. To see how...

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Health Care Reform - How Bad Do We Want It?

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:47:00 +0000

Many of my friends who live outside of the United States simply can't understand why it is so hard for our government to come up with a plan to provide quality health care for all of its citizens. They ask why there is so much resistance to something that would certainly benefit all Americans, I have tell them it's because we don't really want it. It's easy to lay the blame for the lack of progress on providing universal health care at the feet of greedy insurance companies; a poor...

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Tom Ridge: I Was Pressured To Raise Terror Alert To Help Bush Win

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:22:00 +0000

I guess it's better late than never to tell the truth. But when you consider all of the deceptions, half-truths and manipulations of the facts told by the Bush Administration, Ridge's admission is nothing surprising. The only real surprise is the reluctance of this Congress and WH to investigate of all of these misdeeds. Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

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Fight Back - Your Life May Depend On It.

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:16:00 +0000

Yes, I know the title is a little dramatic but it got your attention, didn't it. For decades, health insurance executives have become multi-millions gambling with your healthcare. And more often than not they were dealing from the bottom of the deck. Now, we're supposed to believe that they're ready to do the right thing just because the President asked them nicely. Yeah right! It's time to expose these greedy, callous sociopaths for that they are. I know that fighting against the...

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The Most Dangerous Legal Drug of Choice ... Food.

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:56:00 +0000

First, we found out that those wonderful diet pills prescribed by friendly family physicians were dangerously addictive amphetamines that were turning housewives into junkies. Then we learned that Big Tobacco had intentionally turned its customers into nicotine addicts. Now there is clear evidence that the processed food industry has systematically created a nation of fat, sugar & salt fiends, And this addiction will probably claim more lives than any other drug, legal or illegal. ...

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Yes Virginia, There Are Still People Who Speak Truth to Power.

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:03:00 +0000

Kudos to former Cigna Corporate Communications Executive, Wendell Potter for blowing the whistle of the healthcare industry's war against healthcare reform. Earlier today, Amy Goodman interviewed Wendell Potter for DemocracyNow. During the interview Potter discussed: the insurance industry's strategy to influence the media and Capitol Hill on healthcare reform; the campaign against Michael Moore's movie "Sicko"; and, how hard it was for him to serve as a company spokesperson during his...

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Living in Fear of the Insurance Companies

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:51:00 +0000

During her testimony to Congress, Robin Beaton stated that she is living in fear of her insurance company. NO ONE should have to live like this but sadly I know that Ms. Beaton is not alone. And if you don't have substantial savings or a 401K plan to borrow against, a serious illness can bankrupt or possibly kill you when your insurer denies your claim. How long are Americans going to accept this? Please listen to Robin Beaton's heartbreaking testimony before the Energy and Commerce...

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Memorial Day 2009 - A Look at Women in the Military

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Fri, 29 May 2009 19:28:00 +0000

Thanks Marcia for another great article. Unfortunately MST (Military Sexual Trauma) is a sadly under-reported problem. If our leaders must continue to send men and women to war then I hope that one day they will adequately address the resulting mental health issues. Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

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So Much for Post Racial

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Wed, 27 May 2009 22:21:00 +0000

At least in the mind of one white Pennsylvania woman who apparently thinks that you can cover running away by using the old standby line, "the black man did it". Yesterday afternoon I was really bothered by the fact that during their 5pm broadcast, Phila,'s Channel 6 News reported that police were attempting to track the location of two carjack victims by using the signal from a cell phone. I thought to myself, that's all the kidnappers need to hear so they can beat the woman half to death...

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Ramblings from Rehab

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:14:00 +0000

a blog post that was started on 5/6/09 Sorry, this is not going to be one of those glamorous public confessions about drug addiction. I just knew that the post title would grab attention. People just love a public fall from grace, don't they? Rather this is a post about why I've turned off, or rather tuned out, C-SPAN and much of corporate owned media news for much of the past month. I guess there comes a time in every junkie's life, even a political junkie, when you realize that it's...

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Why I'm Skipping the Presidential Press Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 23:45:00 +0000

Hi there from my not secret and not at all glamorous retreat from the world of politics. No, I'm haven't jetted off to an idyllic mountain retreat but I am on a retreat of sorts right here in my own home. So tonight I'm skipping the President's press conference. I'm also taking a pass on writing one of those "first 100 days" or "grade The President" posts.. I'll just read the speech transcript and a few of my favorite bloggers' recaps tomorrow. As for me, I'm going to catch up on my...

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Bill Moyers' Interview with Bill Black on How They Got Away With It

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 19:47:00 +0000

It's a rare occasion when PBS posts a full length clip from a broadcast. I'm extremely grateful that this is one of those occasions. " The financial industry brought the economy to its knees, but how did they get away with it? With the nation wondering how to hold the bankers accountable, Bill Moyers sits down with Bill Black, the former senior regulator who cracked down on banks during the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. Black offers his analysis of what went wrong and his...

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After the G20: What Was Achieved?

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 04:33:00 +0000

Thanks Danny for this excellent recap and sampling of global opinion about the G20 Summit. Quite honestly, after watching hours of Congressional testimony on the AIG bailout, the mismanagement of the TARP funds and the failing Us auto industry I am beginning to doubt that anyone in Washington is objective enough to address the crisis in the banking industry. Your book Plunder has been added to my "must read" list and I can't wait to see the film. I'm sure that I will recommend it...

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NY Times Editorial on J. H. Franklin

noreply@blogger.com (Robert) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:42:00 +0000

I thought this editorial by Brent Staples on the death last week of Dr. John Hope Franklin was worth sharing. March 27, 2009 Editorial John Hope Franklin By BRENT STAPLES Every death leaves a conversation unfinished. The one I regret not finishing with the historian John Hope Franklin, who died Wednesday at the age of 94, focused on what it was like to be a rising black intellectual in the Jim Crow South. In particular, I wanted to hear more about Dec. 7, 1941, the day he and his wife,...

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The Definition of Work

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 14:58:00 +0000

A few definitions of the word “work” according the Merriam Webster Dictionary: 1: activity in which one exerts strength or faculties to do or perform something: a: sustained physical or mental effort to overcome obstacles and achieve an objective or result b: the labor, task, or duty that is one's accustomed means of livelihood c: a specific task, duty, function, or assignment often being a part or phase of some larger activity. 7 a: something produced or accomplished by effort,...

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America’s Latest Conflict: The Mainstream Media vs The Dumb Fish

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 01:06:00 +0000

Forget the race war or the class war, the new war in America seems to be between The Mainstream Media and, as described by one recent radio personality, “The Dumb Fish.” Yes, in case you missed it, during the March 24, 2009 broadcast of Lou Dobbs Tonight radio personality Chris Krok of WMAC in Macon referred to the average American citizen as “dumb fish”. Here’s an excerpt from the show transcript. DOBBS: Well, joining me now, three of the country's best radio talk show hosts in Macon...

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Resources for Continuing Self Education on the Economy

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 23:24:00 +0000

updated On Sunday, I took part in a great discussion on the current economic crisis with Alan Silberberg, CEO of You2Gov and fellow member of Political Voices of Women, Tami Winfrey Harris of the blog "What Tami Said" and host of the "The Best of What Tami Said". a blogtalk radio program. You can listen to the show by going to The Best of What Tami Said for Sunday, March 22 During our discussion I mentioned that I consider my quest to understand the current economic crisis as a form of...

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Quote of the Day - Monday, March 23, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Lyn) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:02:00 +0000

"The right will take some time to absorb this but Bush was Carter II - with two full terms. All that rage at what has actually happened - bottled up by rank partisanship for years - has come bounding out. Hence the bizarre spectacle of a president just two months on the job being treated on the right as if he's already Robert Mugabe. Throw in a little racial and cultural panic, add a world of genuine economic pain ... and you have the Malkin surge. " -- by Andrew Sullivan, commenting in the...

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Links for 2009-03-16 [Bloglines Clip Blog]

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Complaints pile up against debt collectors
" Consumers complain that a Marietta debt collection firm
( Frederick J. Hanna & Associates) uses deceit and abusive tactics to collect money, even when it isn't owed, records show. Enough complained that the Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs began investigating last fall. It ordered Frederick J. Hanna & Associates to answer questions about collection practices, consumer disputes and what it does to ensure the validity of debts. But for three months the state's top consumer watchdog agency and the debt collector have been in a standoff."

URL: Complaints pile up against debt collectors

Links for 2009-03-13 [Bloglines Clip Blog]

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Hawks nest on Franklin Institute's ledge
"After three failed attempts at nest-building, the first egg appeared Monday. Yesterday, another came. It looks as if a pair of red-tailed hawks have moved to the Franklin Institute."

URL: Hawks nest on Franklin Institute's ledge
Palin's Supreme Court pick divides Team Sarah

In frontpage

Gov. Sarah Palin's appointment of Superior Court Judge Morgan Christen, a former Planned Parenthood board member, to the Alaska Supreme Court has divided members of the TeamSarah.org, resulting in some threatening to quit.

URL: Palin's Supreme Court pick divides Team Sarah

Links for 2009-03-12 [Bloglines Clip Blog]

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Engage. Don’t Avoid.

By Steve Sensenig on The Gospel
I’m not sure where the notion comes from that the best way to be a witness of the hope that is within us is to speak so judgmentally about the world around us, but I think it’s high time that we as Christians learned how to engage the culture around us instead of just avoiding [...]

URL: Engage. Don’t Avoid.
Is KBR Guilty Of Treason?

By ms sparky on KBR
There is a buzz in the blogosphere that KBR should be charged with TREASON. Although I’ve heard the word and was pretty sure I knew what it meant. I looked it up anyway and a few others. According to Merriam-Websters On-Line Dictionary Treason defined as: 1 : the betrayal of a trust : treachery 2 : the [...]

URL: Is KBR Guilty Of Treason?
Is KBR Guilty Of Treason?

By ms sparky on KBR
There is a buzz in the blogosphere that KBR should be charged with TREASON. Although I’ve heard the word and was pretty sure I knew what it meant. I looked it up anyway and a few others. According to Merriam-Websters On-Line Dictionary Treason defined as: 1 : the betrayal of a trust : treachery 2 : the [...]

URL: Is KBR Guilty Of Treason?

Links for 2009-02-26 [Bloglines Clip Blog]

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:00:00 PST

Innovation Brainstorm: Public Speaking and Twitter

By Julie on Politics Online Conference

Public speaking has been public speaking since, well, since before old Greek guys gathered to talk about politics in the agora. Sure, television came around at some point and people started worrying more about how they looked. And then high definition television made us super paranoid about how we look. But really at the end of the [...]

URL: Innovation Brainstorm: Public Speaking and Twitter

Palin and Christians will visit Natives on Friday
"After weeks of criticism for allegedly not responding soon enough to fuel and food shortages in some Alaska communities, Gov. Sarah Palin has now decided she will visit a few of the struggling villages for herself. And not only that: Palin has invited a Christian relief group, run by the son of evangelist Billy Graham, to come along with her to help Alaska Natives. ... "

URL: Palin and Christians will visit Natives on Friday

Links for 2009-02-24 [Bloglines Clip Blog]

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:00:00 PST

Roy Bennett granted access to lawyers

By tom on Uncategorized

From the MDC press release (via Sokwanele)- MDC Treasurer General, and Deputy Minister of Agriculture designate, Roy Bennett was granted access to lawyers ahead of his bail application in the Harare High Court tomorrow, Tuesday 24th of February 2009. Renowned human rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa met with, and took instructions from her client at Mutare prison. It [...]

URL: Roy Bennett granted access to lawyers

Full text of Pres. Obama's speech
Remarks of President Barack Obama to Congress, as prepared for delivery.

URL: Full text of Obama's speech
Obama: Now is the time to act boldly and wisely
WASHINGTON — Calling this a "day of reckoning" for years of mistakes, President Barack Obama worked Tuesday night to assure a recession-weary nation that he's charting a new course out of the depths and ultimately to a prosperous future.

URL: Obama: Now is the time to act boldly and wisely

Links for 2009-02-18 [Bloglines Clip Blog]

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:00:00 PST

Mukasey Delayed Torture Report; Bar Charges May Be Brought Against Bush Officials Like John Yoo

By jonathanturley on Society
Newsweek is reporting that former Attorney General Michael Mukasey delayed a critical internal report on the conduct of senior Justice lawyers in the torture scandal, including Jay Bybee, John Yoo and Steven Bradbury. The delayed report not only adds another contradiction to Mukasey’s claims before Congress, but should add pressure on the Obama Administration [...]

URL: Mukasey Delayed Torture Report; Bar Charges May Be Brought Against Bush Officials Like John Yoo

Links for 2009-02-17 [Bloglines Clip Blog]

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:00:00 PST

Americans Want KBR Debarred From Government Contracts

By ms sparky on KBR
There is a firestorm brewing in the blogosphere demanding that KBR and Halliburton be debarred from any future government contracts. “The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clearly states that a conviction or “adequate evidence” of bribery may be grounds for suspension or debarment from federal contracting.” says the Project on Government Oversight (POGO). The Project on Government Oversight [...]

URL: Americans Want KBR Debarred From Government Contracts