Last Call

Looks like the two-month payroll tax extension hashed out in the Senate on Friday was never going to pass the House in the first place as Orange Julius completely changes his tune.

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said today that House Republicans oppose the Senate bill to extend for two months the payroll tax holiday and other measures, setting up a major legislative clash a week before Christmas.

A day after the Senate approved a hard-fought compromise and then adjourned for the year, the Speaker made clear in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that House Republicans will put forward their own bill instead. The House is set to reconvene Monday and could vote on the Senate bill and a House counterproposal by Tuesday.

“It’s pretty clear that I and our Members oppose the Senate bill,” Boehner said. “How can you do tax policy for two months? We believe it’s time for the Senate to work with the House to complete our business for the year.”

Boehner suggested the House and Senate could resolve their differences in a Conference Committee if the Senate declines to support the path forward favored by House Republicans. The legislation involves an extension of the payroll tax holiday, set to expire Dec. 31; continuing unemployment insurance for the long-term jobless; and stopping a scheduled pay cut to doctors who treat Medicare patients.

Translation:  Oh no you don't, we're going to get everything we want now or else the Middle Class gets it.  That's why it was vitally important to have the deal worked out in the Senate first, a deal that passed overwhelmingly. 89-10.  On Saturday, Boehner called the Senate plan a "good deal" and a "victory".  24 hours later, he opposes it and promises it will get voted down.

The Tea Party nutjobs in the House will burn 160 million Americans to get what the 1% want.

Re-Birther Of The Uncool, Part 2

The Birthers are at it again, and they will never, ever stop. This time Georgia Republicans are trying to get President Obama removed from the ballot there because TEH BERF CERTIFICUT IS A FAAAAAAAKE!!one!11!

Georgia State Representative J. Mark Hatfield (R-Waycross) will plead the case before the Office of State Administrative Hearings on behalf of Mr. Kevin R. Powell of Duluth, Georgia, who filed the suit on the grounds that “Obama does not satisfy the ‘natural born Citizen’ requirement of Article II, Section I, Clause 5 of the United States Constitution. Obama’s father, Barack Obama, Sr., was a native of Kenya and a British subject who never became a United States citizen.”

Presumably the lawsuit does not address the question of the nationality of President Obama’s mother, whose status as a U.S. citizen would confer citizenship upon her son, no matter the nationality of his father.

The challenge, which Georgia Politico reports is styled “Kevin Richard Powell v. Barack Obama,” was submitted to Secretary Kemp’s office on November 28, and has been referred to the State Office of Administrative Hearings for further action.

And this nonsense will continue in state after state, continuing to eat away at the President's credibility and his authority, all because millions of "patriotic Americans" will never accept we have a black President.  Ever.  It simply doesn't apply to "him".

How does any GOP candidate win the nomination without bowing down to this idiocy?  Several of them already have, and you're crazy if you think Romney can win without doing so.

Will The Last Soldiers Out Please Turn Off The Lights?

Meanwhile, another President Obama promise kept as our last convoy of 4,500 combat troops are leaving Iraq today, and course President Obama's role in that is all but ignored.

The final column of around 100 mostly U.S. military MRAP armored vehicles carrying 500 U.S. troops trundled across the southern Iraq desert from their last base through the night and daybreak along an empty highway to the Kuwaiti border.

Honking their horns, the last batch of around 25 American military trucks and tractor trailers carrying Bradley fighting vehicles crossed the border early Sunday morning, their crews waving at fellow troops along the route.

"I just can't wait to call my wife and kids and let them know I am safe," Sgt. First Class Rodolfo Ruiz said as the border came into sight. Soon afterwards, he told his men the mission was over, "Hey guys, you made it."

For U.S. President Barack Obama, the military pullout is the fulfillment of an election promise to bring troops home from a conflict inherited from his predecessor, the most unpopular war since Vietnam and one that tainted America's standing worldwide.

For Iraqis, though, the U.S. departure brings a sense of sovereignty tempered by nagging fears their country may slide once again into the kind of sectarian violence that killed many thousands of people at its peak in 2006-2007.

And no, violence in Iraq will not vanish overnight.  But we're finally coming home and letting Iraq run itself, which is something that Bush couldn't or didn't do.  The only credit he deserves is the foolish decision to start the Iraq War in the first place.

A Ray Of Common Sense Shines Again

I'm starting to get all giddy, there have been two really good articles written that eloquently capture what I've been trying to say (but lacked the perfect words).  Now we have the talented Aaron Anson with a thoughtful and completely correct assessment of our ego and hypocrisy as a people.  He nails the root cause of why some people try to force their moral code on others.  He reminds us that our country has begrudgingly given rights to people but that in the beginning only rich white men could vote.

Our short-term failures jeopardize our long-term successes in improving our country. Please click here to read the whole article.  Below is my favorite section.

These learned behaviors and beliefs, arbitrary but strong, make us contradict our own natural impulses. We can desire peace, but easily be provoked to fight; we can say that we love, but then justify our hate and hostility. We encourage fidelity and honesty in others, but fornicate and cheat on our taxes. We deny marriage rights to all, yet abuse that right if we're entitled. Sadly, hypocrites often speak for government and religion today. Most disturbing, is our continuing to accept both as the supreme authority to direct our own moral compass. The allowable hypocrisy permeates the laws adjudicating marriage, abortion, the environment, deportation, stem cell research and so on.

Oops! Scared Of The Dark Edition

This poor kid.  I had something similar happen, and the worst thing of all is that time stops and you forget a new day will eventually come.  I bet he felt like he lived and died a thousand lifetimes in the hours he was locked in.

PHILADELPHIA -- A 13-year-old boy says he spent more than nine cold, hungry and lonely hours trapped in a stairwell at a Philadelphia school.

Seventh-grader David Fields says he was looking for a new way out of Roosevelt Middle School on Thursday afternoon but ended up locked inside an emergency exit tower when a door closed behind him.

Janitorial staff apparently didn't hear his cries for help. His mother, Angela Johnson, says workers wouldn't allow family members to look for him after he didn't come home.

Shortly after midnight they changed their minds and overheard him shouting for help.  He was out within 20 minutes, and his folks were greatly relieved.  With all the violent crime in this world, they had to have been terrified.  There should be an inspection done before locking up, so somebody has some explaining to do.  Still we'll call this a win because we have a happy ending.

Reagan Wouldn't Even Get A Full Percentage Point In 2012

Steve Benen quietly flags two important items on America's Israel policy, first, President Obama's speech speech in Maryland on Friday to the 71st General Assembly of the Union for Reform Judaism:

“We’re going to keep standing with our Israeli friends and allies, just as we’ve been doing when they’ve needed us most. In September, when a mob threatened the Israeli embassy in Cairo, we worked to ensure that the men and women working there were able to get out safely. Last year, when raging fires threatened Haifa, we dispatched fire-fighting planes to help put out the blaze.

“On my watch, the United States of America has led the way, from Durban to the United Nations, against attempts to use international forums to delegitimize Israel. And we will continue to do so. That’s what friends and allies do for each other. So don’t let anybody else tell a different story. We have been there, and we will continue to be there. Those are the facts.”

But he also flagged down this Ben Smith piece on another President's relationship with Israel, specifically the man who said this:

“The immediate adoption of a settlement freeze by Israel, more than any other action, could create the confidence needed for wider participation in these talks.”

Ronald Reagan said that.  He would probably be where Jon Huntsman is in the polls if he ran for office today, if not further down in the proceedings.  He also said this in 1987:

He said the effect of the occupation [of Gaza and the West Bank] ‘also damages the self-respect and world opinion of the Israeli people.’

And yes, for that statement alone, Ronald Reagan would have been called and anti-Semite and a terrorist sympathizer by today's Republican party. My mother voted for Reagan in 80 and again in 84.  Somehow I don't see her voting for the Republican in 2012.

Hyper-Hypocrisy Time

OK, self-hating "family values" Republicans are really starting to piss me off.

A Republican mayor in Mississippi admitted this week that he was gay after an audit revealed that he spent taxpayer money at a gay adult store in Canada.

Greg Davis was elected as the mayor of Southaven in 1997 on a platform of conservative “family values,” but he says he recently realized that he was gay.

“At this point in my life and in my career, while I have tried to maintain separation between my personal and public life, it is obvious that this can no longer remain the case,” the mayor, now in his third term, told The Commercial Appeal.

“While I have performed my job as mayor, in my opinion, as a very conservative, progressive individual — and still continue to be a very conservative individual — I think that it is important that I discuss the struggles I have had over the last few years when I came to the realization that I am gay,” he added.

Davis claimed that he has already paid $96,000 of the of more than $170,000 in expenses that state officials allege he improperly billed the city for.

Thousands of dollars were spent on lavish meals and liquor, but it’s a $67 charge that Davis made to Priape, “Canada’s premiere gay lifestyle store and sex shop,” while on a recruiting trip that has gotten the most attention.

The mayor said that he didn’t remember what he bought while at the shop.

A $67 ticket out of the Mayor's office, apparently.  Oh, and it's not the $170,000 he basically stole from the taxpayers of Mississippi that will cost him his career, it's being gay that will.

Republicans are just sad.

Last Call

Gotten some rather pointed disagreement about my indefinite detention post today in the comments.  Good.  I welcome your discussion.  By all means, if you disagree with me and make a reasonable argument as to why, I'll listen to you.  I'm just screaming into the darkness without you guys.

My response to that is this:  As bad as this decision is, as bad as it was having his won party put him in the position to sign it due to an 86-13 vote in the Senate that a presidential veto would not have stopped, the other party's frontrunner really is showing a complete disregard for anything but the executive.

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is doubling down from Thursday’s Fox News debate on his vow to abolish federal courts if he disagreed with their decision.

According to The Hill, in a conference call with reporters, Gingrich indicated that it was in the president’s power as commander-in-chief to deem any Supreme Court ruling irrelevant if he or she in the White House disagreed.

The former House Speaker used the Supreme Court’s ruling against the Bush administration exceeding its constitutional authority in handling suspected terrorist detainees at Guantanamo Bay in 2008 as a basis for his extreme view.

“They just ignored it,” he said. “A commander-in-chief could simply issue instructions to ignore it, and say it’s null and void and I do not accept it because it infringes on my duties as commander-in-chief to protect the country.”

And either President Obama or someone like Newt Gingrich is going to be President, period.  All the wishful thinking about a third party is not going to make a whit of difference.  And of the two choices, I will take Barack Obama every time.  I do not like this decision.  I understand why he made it.  I continue to support his presidency over the Republicans who have at every turn demonstrated they would be far worse.

Period.

Fire Walker Chronicles, Part 6

The recall motion against Wisconsin GOP Gov. Scott Walker continues to grow, and his latest assault on women's health care will surely add more signatures to the petition to throw him out of office, as Susie Madrak explains.

The Wisconsin Well Woman Program is an 17-year-old state service created to ensure that women ages 45 to 64 who lack health insurance can access preventive health screenings. It is administered by the Department of Health Services and provides referrals and screenings for breast cancer, cervical cancer, and multiple sclerosis at no cost.

The state currently uses a number of contractors to coordinate and provide those services, including Planned Parenthood. But now, in a move that could leave many women in the state without access to the program, the Walker government is ending Planned Parenthood's contract.In four Wisconsin counties, Planned Parenthood is the only health care provider currently contracted as a coordinator for the cancer screenings. Coordinators evaluate women for eligibility, enroll them in the program, and then connect them to health care providers that can perform the exams. The coordinators also do community outreach, letting women know that there are options for preventative care even if they don't have health insurance. Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin has been a contractor since the program began—including during the terms of previous GOP governors Tommy Thompson and Scott McCallum—but the group recently learned that its contract is being terminated at the end of the month.

Beth Kaplan, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health Services, told Mother Jones that no decision has been made on the contract and would not comment on why it might not be continued. But Tanya Atkinson, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, says they were told that the state is cutting them out of the program. "They have very clearly stated that they were ending the contract with us," she says. [UPDATE: Walker himself has confirmed that the state is ending its contract with Planned Parenthood.]

So the GOP crusade to eliminate Planned Parenthood continues, and Scott Walker signs up for his duty from his corporate masters and works as hard as he can to prevent his constituents from getting cancer screenings.  What a pro-life thing to do, eh?

The Truth Shall Cost You Votes

Ron Paul may be absolutely correct when he told Jay Leno last night that Michele Bachmann "hates Muslims" but let's be honest here:  hating Muslims is a requirement for winning the GOP primaries.  That revelation won't hurt Bachmann one iota.

When asked by host Jay Leno what he thought of his rivals, Paul shook his head, slowed his voice and said, “she doesn’t like Muslims, she hates them, she wants to go get ‘em” — in reference to the comments Bachmann has made on the campaign trail over her willingness to attack Iran over its suspected nuclear program.

The comment was especially surprising for Paul, who up until now has shied away from personal attacks.

The comment even left the audience and host Jay Leno momentarily stunned.

That's some funny stuff right there, especially coming from Ron Paul, Avowed Racist.  Perhaps that's why he's stayed away from the personal stuff until this week, but he's in striking distance in Iowa and he knows it.  He needs to shave off every point he can from the also-rans.  And really, what are the other Republicans going to do?  Deny hating Muslims?  Accuse Paul of being a racist?  I'd like to see that happen.

I'm betting however that Paul pointing out this "unfortunate" fact about Bachmann is going to hurt him.  Racists don't like being reminded they are racists.

Sheepish Chrome Extension Gives Insight To Tracking

Initially, Sheepish doesn't seem like much, but once you start moving around to new websites and seeing how many different places are tracking your every click, it might be a bit of a surprise. You can set Sheepish to block the tracking once your list gets populated or just let the ads continue to do their thing. Not everything that tracks you is always bad, sometimes its as simple as Google Analytics, but if you want a more covert and private browsing experience, Sheepish is worth checking out.

It's surprising to see how often your movements are tracked, including data you wouldn't think about such as where you came from, go to next, how long you spend on a page, etc. This is a good way for us to understand how we're being tracked as well as put a stop to it if we wish. You can click here for screenshots and step by step directions.

At Last... My Heart Breaks

Nobody lives forever.  We know this, and yet we're surprised by grief when the inevitable comes to pass.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – "At Last" and "Tell Mama" blues singer Etta James, whose health has been fading in recent years, is now terminally ill, and her live-in doctor is asking for prayers.

Dr. Elaine James, who isn't related to the 73-year-old entertainer, tells the Riverside Press-Enterprise ( http://bit.ly/tVMtaN) that the singer's chronic leukemia was declared incurable two weeks ago.

The doctor has cared for Etta James at the singer's Riverside, Calif., area home since March 2010.

Elaine James says she's spreading word of the singer's ailments so people will pray for her. She says fans know Etta James has been sick "but not how sick."

Prayers indeed.  A woman who brought us much joy (and not just that one song!) will be leaving us soon.  I pray for her, and for those who are close to her. 

No, Americans Are Not Subject To Infinite Detention

And Milt Shook does an excellent job of explaining what's actually going on with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) legislation, what it means, and who is responsible for it.

Obama doesn't have a line-item veto, so he can’t veto the “Indefinite Detention Bill” without vetoing the entire NDAA. Now, you may think that would be a good thing, but would it? It’s not just about the troops. What about all of those civilians who might lose their jobs for at least a month or two, while Obama and Congress, including teabaggers, who have declared defeating Obama as their main goal, worked out a new NDAA without that little amendment, assuming they could do so? What do you think canceling all those defense contracts for a month or two would do to the unemployment rate? How about six months? What would happen to all of those small towns that depend on the military bases and contractors to support their small businesses? Do you imagine the GOP might be a bit energized after the unemployment rate suddenly rises to 10%?

Those of you who claim “principle” when you discuss this need to stop. Many pros and emos claim Obama’s showing a “lack of principle” by signing this “Indefinite Detention Bill.” Forget the fact that you're claiming a lack of principle when you're lying to the public about a bill that doesn't exist. You’re actually advocating for an action that could put millions of people out of work for a few months, and forcing our troops to lose their meager pay for a few months for… what, exactly? What are your “principles” when you advocate for that, in order to kill an amendment that will probably ultimately have zero effect on anyone, and might even die in the courts?

I don’t like this amendment any more than you do. But you know what? If he vetoes this bill to kill that amendment, and then causes the Republicans to win in 2012, they’re just going to pass the same bill, and allow President Gingrich/Romney/Perry to detain people at will, anyway, right?

So we see why President Obama needs to pass a bill like this.  But what about the "indefinite detention of US citizens" part?  It's crap, and here's the main point:  the bill's Section 1021 (e).

(e) AUTHORITIES.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect existing law or authorities relating to the detention of United States citizens, lawful resident aliens of the United States, or any other persons who are captured or arrested in the United States.

I don't think it gets any more clear than that.  It's in the friggin text of the bill, and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to you.  Got it?

Now ask yourself why they are lying to you.  And do read Milt's piece.

On the other hand, I am very disappointed with Sen. Al Franken.

The bill that passed on Thursday included several problematic provisions, the worst of which could allow the military to detain Americans indefinitely, without charge or trial, even if they’re captured in the U.S.

No, Al, it does not.  Which means you didn't actually read the bill.  Try doing that next time.

StupidiNews, Weekend Edition!

• At least 8 are dead and hundreds missing after Tropical Storm Washi dropped as much as 8 inches of rain in 24 hours in parts of the Philippines.
• North Korea has agreed to suspend uranium enrichment in order to return to the table for talks with the United States.
• The SEC has sued several former Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives and charged them with securities fraud for misrepresenting the amount of subprime loans they had on the books.
• After seven years, the first woman to serve as CEO of the New York Times, Janet Robinson, is retiring.
• Research into supernovas seems to contradict the notion that the universe itself is moving in a coordinated pattern.

Last Call

As a man much wiser than myself once sang, "You can't always get what you want."

Senate leaders have agreed to a plan that will prevent key policies, including a two percent payroll tax cut for employees, from lapsing on January 1, 2012, according to top aides. But the agreement will only extends the measures for two months, setting Democrats and Republicans up to relitigate this same fight fight early next year. And it comes at a political cost to Democrats who were forced to relent on a provision forcing President Obama to take a public position on the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

The $30 billion package will be paid for by increasing the fees lenders pay to mortgage giants pay to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It includes two month extensions of the existing two percent payroll tax; emergency unemployment benefits; and the “doc fix” which prevents Medicare physicians from experiencing a deep automatic pay cut.

In a political hit for Democrats, Republicans insisted on and secured a provision that requires the Obama administration to either greenlight the Keystone XL oil pipeline or for President Obama to publicly nix it by declaring it not in the national interest. Sources indicate that Obama could deal with this requirement without forgoing a chance to revisit the issue after the election, as the administration originally planned.

Neither side is going to be happy with this deal, which considering what's at stake here, it's as good as it's going to get.   The mess will continue in two months.

Happy holidays, I guess.