Tuesday Open Thread
It’s Tuesday, but it’s really like Thursday because of the short work week. You know you want it – your daily open thread.
So what’s up? I think I’ve figured out why Republicans are having trouble figuring out this deficit thing. They aren’t so hot at math:
Reporting on the latest Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll last night on Fox News’ local Chicago affiliate, anchor Byron Harlan employed some funny math in asserting that Sarah Palin is leading the pack for the GOP nomination in 2012:
HARLAN: It looks as if the rogue route is helping Sarah Palin. Her book tour has meant new support. A new Opinion Dynamics poll for 2012 shows her on top when it comes to landing the nomination. Palin is at 70 percent, about a third higher than this past July. Mike Huckabee stands at 63 percent. Mitt Romney’s 60.
There’s even a graph that shows who the 193% of Republicans surveyed support:
Math is hard!
Reading is also hard, at least if you listen to Congressional Republicans. There’s been incessant whining about the length of the health care reform bill. I don’t feel the least bit sorry for them. This is the job they signed up to do. Quit whining to us that your job is hard. If it’s too hard let’s find someone else who is a better reader. Analysis found that the health care reform bill was only 209 pages long if standard spacing and type was used.
The Associated Press, to its credit, looked into this.
The bill passed by the House is 319,145 words. The Senate bill is 318,512 words, shorter than the House version despite consuming more paper. Various versions of Tolstoy’s novel are 560,000 to 670,000 words. Bush’s education act tallied more than 280,000 words.
By now, the full draft of Reid’s bill that had circulated in the corridors and landed so prominently on Republican desks has been published in the Congressional Record in the official and conventional manner.
The type is small and tight. No hernias will be caused by moving this rendering of the bill around. Unfurling it on the Capitol steps would not be much of a spectacle.
It’s 209 pages.
In other words, the health care bill — the one that Republicans say is too burdensome to actually read — is shorter than Sarah Palin’s 413-page book.
I have an idea for Democrats – publish it. Sell it in bookstores. Use the proceeds to buy earplugs so that you don’t have to listen to incessant Republican whining. Better yet, buy me some earplugs so I don’t have to listen to it.
Tags: Open Thread
Marching orders – apparently Rahm Emmanuel ordered everyone in the WH to read this blog post by Ron Brownstein. It’s about how some experts on health care are praising parts of the Senate reform bill because it is truly experimenting with bending the cost curve.
HAHA are you kidding me? 193% its like they know their viewers are so dumb they dont even try anymore
There’s even a graph that shows who the 193% of Republicans surveyed support
Obviously this shows Republicans are unified behind all their candidates.
Well that graph provided some harmless entertainment for some middle-school students I know. 😀
Good, Brooke.
I’m still just surprised that they were able to get a program to make a graph that added up to 193%.
That’s one of the things we talked about, lol. I don’t know any program that would accept those numbers… must be one of Bob Bennett’s specialities d’hote. @@
Republicans will probably blame it on ACORN.
The bloom is off the rose:
SNL –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZXEShSIFks
Letterman –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQaMCC-3l9g&feature=player_embedded
(it’s all acorn’s fault)
Today’s spam from Caesar Rodney Institute hollers that Kaufman, Carper, Biden [and Castle] didn’t sign off on Second Amendment absolutism:
http://criblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/bipartisan-group-of-21-delaware-lawmakers-signs-amicus-brief-supporting-nra%E2%80%99s-stance-in-key-u-s-supreme-court-gun-rights-case/
Census worker in Kentucky killed self, officials conclude
mcclatchydc ^ | November 24, 2009 | Bill Estep
A U.S. Census worker found dead in a secluded Clay County cemetery killed himself but tried to make the death look like a homicide, authorities have concluded. Bill Sparkman, 51, of London, might have tried to cover the manner of his death to preserve payments under life-insurance polices that he had taken out. The policies wouldn’t pay off if Sparkman committed suicide, state police Capt. Lisa Rudzinski said. “We believe it was an intentional act on his part to take his own life,” said Rudzinski, who helped lead the investigation.
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but but but, you assured us he was murdered by Tea Party Racist…
I heard portions of the Fresh Air broadcast on NPR this afternoon and it is well worth a download of their podcast when it becomes available. Jeff Sharlet (writer of The Family) was on again this time talking about Sen. John Ensign, Rep. Bart Stupak and Rep. Joe Pitts and some new information re: The Family. One of the most amazing things Sharlet spoke about is how close the founder of this group — Doug Coe — is to the dictator of Uganda. And it isn’t for democracy promotion, either — they see themselves collecting dictators and encouraging that kind of power rather than letting any kind of leftist or even democratic regimes take hold.
I really have to get this book.
Hi All,
NRSC voter caging effort? an official looking letter from NRSC today? It says “official repuke party document do not destroy” This survey document is registered in your name, if you don’t want to participate in this survey you must return the survey document in the postage paid envelope enclosed.
Anyone else get one of these?
Is there anything in that envelope that asks you for money? I’ve seen plenty of these so-called surveys that have lots of instructions but in the end ask for money.
In other news — Hoffman Concedes NY23 AGAIN