Pushing Rope

Bruno Punks Pete Rose

2009-11-08T21:16:00.002-05:00

Sacha Baron Cohen punks a worthy target: Pete Rose. There is no denying that Rose is one of the greatest baseball players of all time. The problem is Rose has consistentedly lied about gambling on Major League player baseball.

Quote of the Day

2009-11-08T18:52:00.003-05:00

">Give Nancy Pelosi her due as speaker. She was able to jam through a miserably bad bill that will hurt the Democratic Majority. A tough job."

Joe Scarborough

Perhaps Scarborough can explain how the failure to pass health care reform in 1993 helped Democrats. Republicans won 54 Congressional seats in 1994. Newt Gingrich called the 1994 electiona a "referendum on big government."

"Hillary Clinton had launched a massive health-care reform plan that wound up strangled by its own red tape," said Gingrich. The Democratic base and poll numbers support the public option. Scarborough ignores polling data and history to pronounce the public option politically bad for Democrats. I hope the GOP keeps listening to people like Scarborough.

Quote of the Day

2009-11-07T17:32:00.002-05:00

"All Americans have health care, every single one."

Rep. Steve King

Perhaps in an alternative universe all Americans have health care. In this universe we do not have universal health care. Republicans have been making factually inaccurate statement but King is in fantasy land.

The Party of 'I Object'

2009-11-07T16:37:00.003-05:00

John Dingell had to deal with Republicans making objections during every Democratic speaker. Republicans constantedly made objections and to delay the the final floor vote. Republicans asked for extentions. A Republican Joe Barton continued to object after Dingell granted Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy the freedom to speak uninterrupted. Barton then shouted over Dingell. It is a parliamentary no no to shout over the Speaker. Republican were uncivil when they held the majority. They are uncivil when they are in the minority. These people are seriously whacked. This is no way to govern.

Washington DC Tea Party Protest

2009-11-07T16:17:00.003-05:00

I thought this was an archive photo of the 1969 Woodstock concert. I have never seen a bigger crowd than this tea party protest in Washington DC. This must be the right of center majority I hear so much about.

Anti-Abortion Amendment Will Get Floor Vote

2009-11-07T14:27:00.008-05:00

Democrat Bart Stupak and Republican Joe Pitts are are holding the House heath care bill hostage. Their amendment will bar federally funded insurance from providing abortions. This isn't surprising. The amendment will get an up or down vote on the House floor.

The amendment should give pause to thoughts of the Christian Right being dead. Christian Right activist Jordan Sekulow explains how Christian conservatives pressured the House on the amendment.

You may think we're exaggerating on Christian radio when we ask you to "join the fight" by calling your representatives and signing our petitions. Early this morning, around 1 a.m., all the petitions, phone calls, and grassroots activism paid off. Today, when the House debates HR 3962, the Stupak-Pitts pro-life amendment will receive an up or down vote. Nancy Pelosi and pro-abortion Democrats buckled at the last minute in their race to gather the necessary 218 votes to pass HR 3962 later tonight.

Why? Because you signed petitions, made phone calls, and let your voice be heard.

Sekulow exaggerates the Christian conservative pressure. The amendment would not have made the floor without a Democratic sponsor. Bart Stupak is willing to sabotage health care reform for his conservative agenda. That doesn't mean that Congress isn't afraid of the Christian Right. Democrats have not press for abortion rights during health care reform. The fact is every time Republicans try to ban abortion they fail. South Dakota is one of the most difficult states to get an abotion. Republicans and the Christian Right couldn't get the votes needed for a state ban. Democrats could use abortion as a wedge issue against Republicans. Democrats don't because they lack the political courage.

Ian Samuel tweets how Democrats to run a primary opponent against Stupak.

A Republican hasn't won Stupak's district since FDR. He won by 32 points in '08. Primary, primary, primary

You can send an email to your representative and voice your disapproval on the Stupak-Pitts amendment.

Update: Call Congress and tell them to vote no on Stupak-Pitts anti-abortion amendment. 202-730-9001

Update: Stupak claims to have for his anti-abortion amendment. There are only 178 Republicans in the House. Stupak would have to pull 42 Democrats. If his claim is true. The Blue Dog caucus has 52 members. That is the most likely place for Stupak to pull votes. Stupak is not a member of the caucus.

RH Reality Check provided a list of representatives on the fence. Call them at 202-730-9001 and tell them to vote against the Stupak-Pitts amendment.

Arcuri (D, NY-24)
Bean (D, IL-08)
Bishop, S. (D, GA-02)
Boswell (D, IA-03)
Butterfield (D, NC-01)
Cardoza (D, CA-18)
Chandler (D, KY-06)
Cooper (D, TN-05)
Costa (D, CA-20)
Doyle (D, PA-14)
Edwards, C. (D, TX-17)
Etheridge (D, NC-02)
Gordon (D, TN-06)
Kratovil (D, MD-01)
Langevin (D, RI-02)
McMahon (D, NY-13)
Michaud (D, ME-02)
Minnick (D, ID-01)
Neal (D, MA-02)
Nye (D, VA-02)
Obey (D, WI-07)
Owens (D, NY-23)
Ruppersberger (D, MD-02)
Ryan, T. (D, OH-17)
Salazar (D, CO-03)
Space (D, OH-18)

Update: Alcee Hastings is fearful that the Stupak-Pitts amendment could lead to a return of back alley abortions.

“I forsee a return to the dark ages,” said Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.). “I’m 73, I’ve seen these dark things, they use these coat hangers and die.”

Update: Jane Hamsher makes a list of PACs that support Stupak. Hamsher is asking progressives to voice their displeasure to the PACs.

Nidal Malik Hasan Still Alive

2009-11-05T22:30:00.002-05:00

Breaking: the Army said shooter Nidal Malik Hasan is still alive. The two other men have been released. It appears that Hasen acted alone. Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone reported Hasen dead. This story is getting stranger.

Kathy Dent's Feels Blue

2009-11-05T21:44:00.006-05:00

Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent had numerous problems with undervotes during the 2006 election. The Christine Jenning/Vern Buchanan recount became a national news story. Election Systems & Software warned Dent about machine problems. Both Dent and ES & S swore there were no machine irregularities. That was until the letter the ES & S letter to Dent became public.

Dent is once again having voting machine problems. Brad Friedman reports Diebold/Premier optical-scan system will not read ballots with blue ink. Dent could move to replace the Diebold/Premier machines. Instead she requires every precinct have black pens. Friedman points out the error of Denr's ways.

Since the state now requires paper ballots, Dent chose to install the newest Diebold/Premier optical-scan systems, the ones that don't read blue ink properly, despite the fact that they had not been federally tested or certified for use at the time. Florida does not require federal certification tests for voting systems before using them.

As I said before, Republicans heart Diebold.

Audio of Crist Supporting Stimulus

2009-11-05T21:26:00.004-05:00

Audio of Gov. Charlie Crist giving his support for the stimulus package. I'm waiting to see if Crist blames a impersonator on the podcast.

Update: the transcript of his address.

Florida has taken prudent steps to cut taxes for our people and balance our budget in these increasingly difficult times.
I believe strongly that any federal stimulus money must prioritize job creation and targeted a tax relief for small business owners, and Florida must get her fair share.
Tuesday I joined President Barack Obama for a town hall meeting in Fort Myers to discuss with Floridians the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
During the town hall, I reiterated my support for the federal stimulus package, and pledged to the people of Florida that here in Florida we stand ready to use our share of the money quickly and responsibly to create new jobs and serve our most vulnerable citizens.
There is no doubt that these are historic, challenging times for this nation – and our state.

We are balancing our budget here, even when it calls for difficult decisions. We cut spending by $2.5 billion dollars during the recent special Legislative session.
But even as we tighten our belts, we need a stimulus to help the people of Florida, and to help every state that is hurting. This federal stimulus package is a bridge of help for Florida.

As the U.S. Congress finalizes this stimulus package before sending it to the President, I continue to work with my colleagues and members of our Congressional delegation to improve the bill – while ensuring Florida receives her fair share.
Our Economic Stimulus Working Group met for the second time today. This group, which I lead, will spend the coming weeks making sure we quickly and responsibly implement these federal dollars – to meet the Sunshine State’s education needs, transportation and health care funding needs.

Thank you very much, and God bless you.

John Boehner Screws Up Again

2009-11-05T19:17:00.002-05:00

Minority Leader John Boehner spoke at the Capital Hill tea party rally. Boehner cited the Constitution.

BOEHNER: This is my copy -- this is my copy of the Constitution. And I'm going to stand here with our founding fathers who wrote in the preamble, "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

One problem: Boehner actually cites the Declaration of Independence. This is the actual preamble of the Constitution.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

I'm happy that Boehner is the Republican House leader. Boehner makes Nancy Pelosi's job that much easier.

Rick Baker Protest

2009-11-05T17:37:00.004-05:00

Homeless advocates plan to protest St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker's farewell party. Baker deserves the grief after destroying the property of homeless people.

The protest will be at Demens Landing.

Time: 6:00 PM
Date: November 7, 2009

Organizers ask if you can bring a plate of food for the homeless.

Side note: the press release for this protest is horrible. Read it for yourself.

Fort Hood Shooting

2009-11-05T17:10:00.010-05:00

The Army told the AP that seven people are dead from a mass shooting at the Fort Hood, Texas base. 20 people were woulded from the attack. One alleged shooter is in custody. CNN reports 11 dead, including a second gunman. The FBI is on the scene.

The first shooting occured at 1:30 PM at the medical processing office. The second shooting occured at a theater. A graduation ceremony was scheduled at the latter. Apparently, the shooters had access and knowledge of the facilities.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports the gunmen are military personal. One gunman is still on the loose. The death count is reported at 12.

A news report on the missing gunman.

Update: the New York Times reports the missing gunman has been killed.

Christopher Hogue, a spokesman at Fort Hood says that the gunman who was killed had two handguns. He confirms that 12 people are dead, including the gunman and that 31 have been wounded. The base remains locked down.

President Barack Obama's remarks on Fort Hood incident.

We don't yet know all the details at this moment. We will share them as we get them. What we do know is that a number of American soldiers have been killed and even more have been wounded in a horrific outburst of violence. My immediate thought is with the wounded and the families of the fallen. These are men and women who have made the selfless and courageous decision to risk and at times give their lives to protect the rest of us on a daily basis. It's difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans overseas. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil. I've spoken with Secy Gates, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Adm. Mike Mullin and we continue to receive a constant stream of updates as new information comes in. We are working with the Pentagon, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security all to ensure that Ft. Hood is secure. And we will continue to support the community with the full resources of the government. In the meantime I would ask all Americans to keep the men and women of Ft Hood in your thoughts and prayers. We will make sure that we get answers to every single question about this horrible incident. I want all of you to know that as commander in chief that there's no greater honor but also no greater responsibility for me than to make sure the extraordinary men and women in uniform are properly cared for and that their safety and security when they're at home is provided for. So we are going to stay on this. I hope all of you recognize the scope of this tragedy and keep everybody in their thoughts and prayers....

Update: Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is the shooter that was ~~captured~~ killed. Hasan is a psychiatrist reassigned from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Hasan's Arabic name is definately going to raise red flags.

MSNBC reports two soliers are in custody.

Twelve people were killed and at least 31 others were injured when a soldier opened fire at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas, military officials said. One gunman was shot to death, and two other soldiers were in custody, Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone, commanding general of the Army’s III Corps, told reporters.

Lt. Col. Eric Butterbaugh called the shooting "isolated and tragic case." Three people suggest a conspiracy. We will have to wait for the results of FBI investigation. Terroist-backed attack or not, this is horrible.

Update: it is not clear if the the other soldiers fired weapons. The news video below confirms the shooter is dead and two suspects are being held for investigation.

Update: according to Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s spokesman, Jeff Sadoski, Hasan was unhappy about being deployed to Iraq.

The view (and racket) outside my window: St. Petersburg teabaggers attend party of NO class

2009-11-05T16:33:00.002-05:00

A couple of hours ago, a chorus of beeping horns and argumentative shouting emanating from the street below penetrated my apartment building's 80+ -year-old concrete-and-steel walls and made it difficult to concentrate on the letter I was trying to write.

Hmm...strange.

There were no emergency vehicle sirens (as there are right now).

Probably someone standing in the middle of Central, holding up traffic and ranting about the latest alien sighting or something, I thought.

Fifteen minutes passed; the noise only intensified. Boy, this guy's stubborn.

Eventually, my curiosity got the better of me and I went to the window, opened the blinds, and looked across the street. This is what I saw:

And as if the din of car horns and shouts--both supportive and oppositional--wasn't loud enough, the modest-sized St. Petersburg chapter of The Michelle Bachmann Invitational Teabagging FreedomChantFest put on their best off-key tavern voices and howled God Bless America, threatening the integrity of nearby glass curtain walls, traumatizing poor Marley the Cat, and leading this writer to wish that God would indeed bless at least this part of America and call forth one of those wonderfully sudden cloudbursts for which Florida is famous.

No such luck.

The sky couldn't have been bluer, and the teabaggers seemed happily oblivious to the anti-pro-freedom people of the Socialist Fascist Republic of Democrat Healthcare, responding to the odd appreciative beep with a wave of the flag or a flutter of the sign.

They're clearly ignorant about matters sociopolitical, but at least the St. Pete Teabaggers can spell. (Assuming these folks actually live in St. Pete, of course.)

Unsurprisingly, the teabaggers didn't offer any solutions--or even an idea for a solution or a brainstormed theory that might, given enough debate, turn into an idea for a solution--for the healthcare crisis and runaway costs that currently account for nearly two-thirds of the nation's bankruptcy filings. They sure were fond of one monosyllabic word, though:

~~воспрещаться~~ ~~Kein~~ NOOOOOOOOOOOO! We are the party of it!

And then there were these senior citizens, and theirs were the signs I found to be most confusing of all: they're simultaneously insisting--nay, demanding--that government not take over their healthcare, even as government, insofar as I'm aware, continues to run (and fund) Medicare, the very, very popular health insurance program for American senior citizens that was signed into law by President Johnson in 1965; the social insurance program these gentlefolk apparently want preserved as hands off.

Okay, then.

I suppose I could've done the right thing, saved them from any further embarrassment, and, er, corrected them--after all, I can do Liberal Fortissimo Con Brio pretty impressively when the spirit moves me, and hell, they were just across the street, six floors down. But I started having visions of the old country, with Pythonesque peasant-wives screeching from upstairs windows as the cart clattered along the cobblestones, its driver repeatedly droning, Bring out your dead! Bring out your dead!

Not wanting to assume a position in that disturbing (and perhaps comic) mise en scène, I closed my window and opened my laptop instead.

Also at litbrit.

Crist's Stimulus Flip Flop

2009-11-05T16:19:00.005-05:00

"I didn't endorse it. I -- you know, I didn't even have a vote on the darned thing. But I understood that it was going to pass and I wanted to be able to utilize it for the benefit of my fellow Floridians."

Gov. Charlie Crist, telling Wolf Blitzer he did not endorse the stimulus package.

The Pultizer Prize-winning Politifact gave Crist's claim a pants on fire rating. Crist missed a cabinet meeting to stand onstage with Obama and advocate his support of the stimulus package.

Charlie Crist: "It's getting harder everyday and we know it's important that we pass this stimulus package. It is important that we do so to help education. To help our infrastructure and to help health care for those who need it the most."

Other instances Crist touted his support of the stimulus package.

From Hardball with Chris Matthews on Feb. 3: Speaking of the stimulus, Crist said, "It's going to help (Floridians') children. It's going to help their traffic situation. It's going to help produce more jobs here in the Sunshine State. That's a perspective that I have to have as, in essence, the CEO of Florida. And that's why I support it."

From Time on Feb. 10: "I see this package as a pragmatic, commonsense opportunity to move forward. I didn't campaign for Obama, we don't agree on everything, but he's my president, and my job is to help Florida stay in the black."

From Meet the Press on Feb. 22: Q: Why would you buck your own party, which did not vote for this plan in Congress, as you know, to support the stimulus?

Crist: "It's not a matter of bucking the party, it's a matter of helping the people. I mean, I really view it as an issue of what can I do that's best for the people of Florida? We've got almost 20 million people that live in the Sunshine State now. I think my obligation is in essence the CEO of the state, to do everything I can to help us get through this tough economy. Certainly this stimulus package, about $12.2 billion to Florida, will help Florida an awful lot."

Crist needs to find a spine or he will lose. The worst thing to do in politics in do complete 180 turns. It didn't work for Mitt Romney and he won't work for Crist.

Update: White House Press Sec. Robert Gibbs said Crist supported the stimulus package.

"I think he was very supportive of the legislation and supportive of the benefits that it would have and has had for the state of Florida in seeing positive economic growth," Gibbs said. "I would say yes, yes."

I wonder if the White House views Marco Rubio as the candidate Kendrick Meek has the best chance beating.

William Shatner Reads Levi Johnston's (Alleged) Tweets

2009-11-05T15:59:00.004-05:00

William Shatner reads the Twitter poetry of Levi Johnston. Even more amusing is Johnston is demanding a retraction from NBC.

Rex Butler -- Levi's lawyer -- tells TMZ the Alaskan is demanding a retraction from NBC. What really pisses Butler off ... before Shatner's dramatic reading of Levi's putative Twitter page, Conan said: "All real ... we did not make these up."

Butler says the Twitter page is NOT Levi's and that, "We are in the process of dealing with Twitter first. I think they have an obligation once something like this happens to make some kind of corrective measure."

Here is a recent Johnston tweet.

if NOT A VIRGIN WAS ok !! or that black people love CHICKEN- cause they don't , they hate chicken... just look at at my pics, TANK is black

Tank is Johnston's bodyguard. Johnston admits many of his tweets don't make sense. He is tweeting that he is not a racist. Interestingly, Johnston isn't pushing back against Conan O'Brien refering to him as a douchbag.

Senate Health Care Provision Backs Faith Healing

2009-11-05T14:43:00.003-05:00

The House bill will honor the Hyde amendment by forbiding any federal funding for abortion. Lindsay Beyerstein and Dave Noon note the Senate version has a provision for funding Christian Science prayer treatments. The funding will go to the Christian Science Church. The religious organization was founded by Mary Baker Eddy. She was influenced by Phineas Quimby. From Eddy's bio page at Christian Science.

Without a doubt, the Bible was the most significant influence in Mrs. Eddy’s life. She was a devoted student of the Scriptures from early childhood and gradually gained the conviction that spiritual healing was not limited to biblical times but could be practiced as effectively today. Chronically ill, she also investigated the medical systems of her time and gained insights into the mental factors of health from her study of homeopathy. For a time, her health improved under the care of Phineas P. Quimby, a self-taught healer in Maine who combined mental suggestion or hypnosis with what today might be called therapeutic touch. The improvement was not permanent, however, and she moved beyond his methods after his death in 1866. Convinced that genuine healing was rooted in God, not the human mind, she experienced a profound spiritual healing at age 44 as she read an account of Jesus’ healings. She spent the next three years of her life researching the Bible to understand how she had been healed and applying what she was learning to healing others through a system she eventually called Christian Science. She later wrote and published a textbook that is so closely tied to the Bible that she called it Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.

The Senate version is allocating tax dollars for faith healing. The U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health found Christian Scientists have a higher death rate. I feel better if Christian Scientists don't pray for me.

Majority Leader Harry Reid has not decided on if he will add the Christian Science provision. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stripped a similar it from the House bill.

Pelosi Promises Health Care Reform Votes

2009-11-05T13:54:00.010-05:00

The media reported yesterday that the House plans on voting on health care this Saturday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The Speaker is confident she has the votes in her caucus.

“We will,” Pelosi said, when asked if she had the 218 votes needed to pass the $1.055 trillion bill, designed to extend healthcare to 96 percent of the population and create a government health insurance plan.

Journalists will be writing books abot how Pelosi's arm-twisting and dealmaking. Pelosi promised a bill with the public option and it appears she delivered. That is a testament to her leadership.

President Barack Obama toured Capital Hill seeking votes for the House bill. It is nice to finally see Obama use the weight of his office to directly push Congress on health care reform. The President made his case to the White House press corp.

"I urge Congress to listen to AARP, listen to the AMA, and pass this reform for hundreds of millions of Americans who will benefit from it," Obama told reporters.

The AARP retirement group "knows this bill will make health care more affordable, they know it will make coverage more secure, they know it's a good deal for our seniors," Obama said.

As for the AMA, the president said, "the doctors of America know what needs to be fixed about our health care system."

Come to Jesus Meeting

2009-11-05T13:19:00.001-05:00

Lagniappe:Zombie Republican losers will always Run!

Comix, comics, comixx, comic strips, editorial cartoons, cartoons, comic books, underground comix, satire, parody, Republicans, political cartoons

Zencomix

Hot Chip - And I Was a Boy From School

2009-11-04T23:18:00.002-05:00

	Hot Chip - And I Was a Boy From School

	Found at skreemr.com

I have to give Hot Chip another listen. I dismissed this band before. However, I love this song.

Republican Health Care Amendment Doesn't Reduce Uninsured

2009-11-04T21:51:00.005-05:00

The Republican amendment to the Democratic House bill is a joke that keeps providing laughs. The Affordable Health Care for America Act was nothing more then a legislative attack on the Democrats. The Congressional Budget Office informed Minority Leader John Boehner that the amendment would only insure 3 million Americans and lower the deficit by $68 billion. THe CBO is projecting these estimates for 2010 to 2019. There numbered of insured and fiscal reduction is than CBO estimates for Democratic heath care bills. The CBO states the the Repuublican amedment keep the level of uninsured relatively the same.

By 2019, CBO and JCT estimate, the number of nonelderly people without health
insurance would be reduced by about 3 million relative to current law, leaving about
52 million nonelderly residents uninsured. The share of legal nonelderly residents
with insurance coverage in 2019 would be about 83 percent, roughly in line with the
current share. CBO and JCT estimate that enacting the amendment’s insurance
coverage provisions would increase deficits by $8 billion over the 2010–2019
period.

The amendment's funding structure makes me wonder if there will be enough revenue to fund federal funding for high risk insurance pools. Costs would be $49 billion and additional tax revenue would be $27 billion. The CBO report does not say what these state high risk pools would cost. Not that it matters. Republicans never wrote this amendment with the intention of it becoming law. Boehner and company should not have bothered.

Glenn Beck Hates Facts

2009-11-04T20:51:00.003-05:00

It's bad when Fox News sister company the Wall Street Journal is calling Glenn Beck an intellectual weakling. Thomas Frank brutally tears Beck apart.

What Mr. Beck's silent phone really symbolizes is a new kind of ignorance, a coming high-tech dark age in which people can choose to blow off professional standards of inquiry; in which they can wall themselves off with cable TV and friendly Web sites, dismiss what displeases as liberal bias, and demand that any contrary view be transmitted to them via telephone call from the president himself.

Frank did some research on Beck's hotline phone. Turns out people that were attacked by Beck were not gien the number.

Professor Robert McChesney: "He never asked me or Free Press to call the red phone."

Mark Lloyd: "No, no one gave me a phone number to call Beck."

Beck doesn't want to debate people he disagrees with. His embarrassing performance on The View is a perfect example.

Barbara Walters: "You are an investigative reporter..."

Glenn Beck: "No, I am not."

Barbara Walters: "You're a reporter."

Glenn Beck: "No, I am not."

Barbara Walters: "So you check no facts at all."

Glenn Beck: "No. I am a commentator."

Beck admits he is ignorant and proud of it. His fans have his same disdain for knowledge.

Quote of the Day

2009-11-04T20:18:00.001-05:00

"If we stop (health care reform), I think it could be dead for 10 years."

Michele Bachmann, during a tea party conference call

Vitter Confronted On Voting Against Amendment 2588

2009-11-04T18:22:00.003-05:00

Sen. Al Franken was the sponsor of Amendment 2588, of the Defense Department bill. The amendment would allow female defense contractor employees, that were sexually assaulted, to take their cases to civil courts. Companies such as Halliburton and KBR would be forbidden from doing business with the military, if they continued to force sexually assaulted women into arbitration. Jamie Leigh Jones is the inspiration for the Franken amendment.

David Vitter and 29 other Republicans voted against Amendment 2588. A woman, at a townhall meeting, asked Vitter how could he vote against the Franken amendment. The woman tells Vitter she is a rape victim. Vitter briefly talks to her without answering the question. A true profile in courage.

WOMAN: It meant everything to me that I was able to put the person who attacked me [behind bars]. And what allowed me to do that was our judicial process. I showed up in court every day to make sure that happen
VITTER: And I'm absolutely supportive of any case like that being prosecuted criminally to the full extent of the law.

WOMAN: But there are rape victims who are being kept silent.

WOMAN: But how can you support [a law] that tells a rape victim that she does not have the right to defend herself?

VITTER: Ma'am The language in question did not say that in any way shape or form.

WOMAN: But it is unconstitutional to have a law that says a woman does not have a right to defend herself.

VITTER: You realize Mr. Obama was against that amendment that his administration was against that amendment

WOMAN: But I'm not asking Obama. I'm asking you.

VITTER: Do you think he's in favor in rape?

WOMAN: I'm asking you Senator. What if it was your daughter who was raped? Would you tell her to be quiet and take it? Would you tell your daughter to be silent?

Does Vitter think this woman cares if President Obama agrees with him? Vitter looks at the world through partisan lenses. He can't vote without his party leaders telling him what to do. Vitter already has an image problem with women. Voting against the Franken amendment was political suicide.

Obama has been sending mix signals on the Franken amendment. If Obama doesn't support the amendment he deserves to get shit from women. Vitter's argues that if Democrat supports his wrongheaded position then it's okay if he is wrong. No, that just means two people are on the wrong side of the issue. We see which side the White House is on.

Florida Democrats Punish Mary Landrieu

2009-11-04T17:58:00.005-05:00

Florida Democrats are punishing Sen. Mary Landrieu for not supporting the public option. The Palm Beach County Democratic Party has decided not to have Landrieu as the keynote speaker for the keynote speaker for the Truman-Kennedy-Johnson dinner.

“We just didn’t want to have a keynote speaker who’s not committed to cloture. It would have just been wrong,” said Siegel, who said party higher-ups and rank-and-file members had voiced displeasure with the choice of Landrieu as a keynoter.

Landrieu has hinted that she would support a Republican filibuster of the health care bill. I 100 percent agree with Palm Beach County Democratic Party for uninviting Landrieu as keynote speaker. No new keynote speaker has been chosen.

Side note: The Palm Beach Post couldn't reach Landrieu's office for comment. I can believe not reaching Landrieu but the entire office. Translation: no one in Landrieu's camp want to comment on being dissed by Palm Beach Democrats for not supporting health care reform.

Did somebody mention a Mormon f!@#face?

2009-11-04T17:14:00.001-05:00

Victim In Fatal Car Accident Tragically Not Glenn Beck