We all know that many of the folks against health care seem to be saying that they want America Back.  My questions is what America do they want back?

Do they want the Vietname Era America Back?

The Nixon America?

The WWI and/or WWII America?

The Great Depression?

Any one of the dozen or so other Recessions?

Rationed gas?

Iran Contra America?

1920’s under Prohibition?

the 50,60’s and 70’s and the cold war?

The america where we thought ducking under our desks would save us from a nuclear holocaust?

The Pre Civil Rights America?  especially in the South?

How about before Women’s Suffrage?

I know, interment camp America!

Wait, the America that Unions built, giving us 40 hour work week, retirment benefits, paid vacation, health benefits…wait, no, Unions are evil

How about the America before the great depression when there was no OSHA

I could go on, but my assumption is that the America the idiots saying they want back only exists on TV Land.

As I said last week the cash for clunkers program fell short of what it could have been.  As expected, the lobbyists got their way.  Nothing has changed in Washington, the powerful and special interests (almost one in the same) don’t want change and we all know who pays for the stagnation.

Apparently the classic car lobby didn’t want that 1983 Datsun traded in and smashed.  Why, because it is a classic car.  You and I both know that a classic 1983 Datsun is that muscle car we can’t wait to restore as we get up in years right?  Also, another lobbying group for specialty parts didn’t want those cars off the road either.

Those same owners, desperate to keep their jalopies afloat, are routinely gouged on the price of replacement parts. And the people who sell those parts are the ones who lobbied to have pre-1984 cars excluded. The Specialty Equipment Market Assn., which represents 7,000 car parts makers, thought the program would hurt the market for used and specialty parts.

Well, it is our first summer concert and it coudln’t be for a better cause that needs way more awareness.

I sincerely hope you can make it.  Even if not for the full four hours at least pop on in, drink a few a beers and listen to a set of James Day and the Fish Fry.

If you have no idea about this event you have been on another planet. 

Go here for more info:

Interesting…

On paper, I was ready for my ride into the sunset. I had a nice Ivy League engineering degree, a wonderfully supportive family, some coins in my pocket. My transition to the other side was supposed to be smooth sailing to blissful relaxation. But I didn’t really know much about this world I was entering. I had a Ph.D. in baseball, but in every other realm that involved making a living, I was stuck at my college graduation ceremony, 15 years before.

And I was one of the more prepared players.

There are no institutional services to help baseball players move on to that next life. (A few, like the retired pitcher Jim Poole, have tried valiantly to create some.) You get the pat on the back, the thanks for the memories and the “you are going to be fine because you have money” platitudes while the door closes behind you. I don’t expect tears of sympathy — there are many causes more worthy of attention than the plight of millionaire athletes. (Then again, the majority of professional baseball players never leave the minor league ranks and never make even close to six figures a year.)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdhTumEUBN8&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcrooksandliars.com%2Fnode&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

So, we are entering day 2 of David Anderson’s lie that he can’t back up or support a link to.  Yesterday I had a post up asking Davide to support his lie.

David though was nice enough to come over here yesterday though and spread more of his manure around our office.

Then, getting into the fun was the Leader of De’s Republican Party. He made a pretty good one and was called out by Sillylazypoorperson:

Here is Protacks Lie:

Comment by Delaware Republican on 12 August 2009 at 3:11 pm:

Thank goodness they have a means to get medical attention before Obama wrecks health care.

According to Obama the Doctors would prefer to amputate the limb rather than treat the wound. Reimbursable fees are higher for a amputation you know.

Mike Protack

And here is the call out:

Comment by sillylazypoorperson on 12 August 2009 at 3:31 pm:

According to Obama the Doctors would prefer to amputate the limb rather than treat the wound. Reimbursable fees are higher for a amputation you know.

link please????

So here we go into day two with no linky-links to their lies. They don’t even have the balls to show us the email that had the talking points on it. I know there are some readers that feel we shouldn’t follow them around from post to post when they make valid points. But, it is sort of like when you are trying to teach your child a lesson. You don’t tell them they are grounded then let them go play outside b/c they didn’t poop their pants.

So, I can’t be on here all day today like the other dopes so please, try to make these 2 liars accountable. of course if they provide links and supporting evidence I will apologize. But I doubt that will happen.

One of our resident bigotted, bible thumping, Clinton and the Dem’s do it too trolls, aka Republican David, David A. or whatever website he is trying to get readers to click on made this comment yesterday:

Now you and I both know David is on this site almost as much the other nutjob that has a pilot’s license. Shockingly I haven’t heard from David. But, is anyone else with me in having David provide the link where he got this information and until he does, he can’t comment on here?

You see, it is very tiring trying to quell all of the lies out there and Protack and David are two of the biggest misinformed commenters.  I personally am fine with Protack burying his political career and one stupid comment after another is just another nail in the republican party coffin.  But David, he loves rewriting the forwarded email “facts” he gets no doubt on a daily basis.  hmmmm I wonder if he got this information from CRI?  Come to think of it, I wonder how much info from CRI David is already using over here.

Either way, I think David still needs to provide links to his claim. I’ll hold my breath…

Unlike Wall Street where a company like Merril Lynch can lose $27bln in a quarter and pay out $37.5 Bln in bonuses back in the real world the American worker is more productive and making less.

Hizzah!  Trickle down economics!  What’s that you say?  The American dream!  I know, I know I hear all you folks saying that hard work will make you rich.  And look, here is your proof. Thank God we aren’t giving this hard working productive Americans their rewards.

The Labor Department said Tuesday that the American work force produced, at an annual rate, 6.4 percent more of the goods they made and services they provided in the second quarter of this year compared to a year ago. At the same time, “unit labor costs” — the amount employers paid for all that extra work — fell by 5.8 percent. The jump in productivity was higher than expected; the cut in labor costs more than double expectations.

Hey, don’t worry, they are still paying out bonuses at the top.  Your hard work isn’t going unnoticed.  Better profits, lower margins.  You really can do the job of 2 people.  Awesome!  You know what that means?  You were a lazy piece of shit before we fired your cube mate.  Now, since you have stepped it up, you get your job as a reward.  We knew you could do it!

The higher worker output and lower labor costs have been good news for companies struggling through the worst recession since World War II. So far, some 70 percent of companies in the S&P 500 have turned in better-than-expected profits for the latest quarter.

But don’t worry, there are people out there fighting to make sure you don’t get healh care, that want your social security to be put in 401k’s and telling you that your health care will get rationed (pssst, it already is)

Team America, FUCK YEAH!!!

I think we can all agree, or at least I thought we could agree, that we pretty much understand that Wall Street (Goldman Sachs especially) and the mentality it cultivates are more a part of the problem then lawmakers in this country.  Aren’t they?  Can’t we agree also that politicians pockets are lined with donations from special interest groups?  After all, the person with the most money usually wins right, not the most people donating?  We all know that lobbyists grew in number to some 14000 folks and that was just those that were registered as such.  Sure, there are some groups that represent good causes I think though they are far and few between.

If I move beyond that premise and suppose that if we can all agree that people, greedy people, have their dirty little fingers all over everything that happens in Washington, where does the disconnect happen between people like the Townhallers, Birthers, Deathers, Teabaggers and the protesters usually found on the left (code pink, red hat society, the rotary club etc) occur?   If policies put in place stand to impact businesses/industries that make tens of billions of dollars in profits where is the outrage from both sides?  Do those people really care about what happens to a majority of people in this country?  If people are so sure that they are educated and understand what is going on with a given topic why does there seem to be this huge, missing, glaringly obvious hole in their thought process?  Where does the logic train stop?  Where is its’ last stop?  Why do people think that a decision that is in the best interest of our health and well being wont be overrided by people that stand to lose their livelihoods if a certain bill becomes law?

Can we all stop to ask who stands to gain the most from whatever it is we are against?  Shouldn’t that be a question we ask first?  Sort of like when you go shopping and you like something but don’t see a price tag on it.  One of the things you do before you buy it is ask how much it costs.  It’s a reflex, you automatically need to know this one immensely important thing before you make your decision.  I hate to be specific because no doubt an idiot will read this and jump all over it.  There are several examples we could use though so feel free to list a few in the comments.

I just really wish that people would ask who stands to win and who stands to lose.  It seems that people are misinformed, stay misinformed and continue to speak against their own self interests.  When something doesn’t even apply to them, they fight for it.  When something goes against their fundamental belief as a Christian, they vote against it.  When it goes against the constitution, they are more than happy to turn a blind eye because they can’t fathom it would every apply to them. Everyone is afraid of Socialism but they don’t know what it is and rally violently that it is the end of the world.  Yet, they don’t look at decisions made by current and previous decisions makers and act equally as upset.   People want a free market but look beyond the half a trillion bailout given to the banks.  People don’t want socialized medicine but are fine with Medicare.  People don’t want us to appease terrorists but here we are funding Al Qaeda and the Taliban in the 80’s and 90’s and selling weapons illegally to Iran.  If you want credibility then you have to apply your litmus test to everything.

You don’t get to nuance it either.  If it looks like a turd and smells like a turd, then it is one.  Even if that turd came out of the guy/gal you voted for.

I just wish that the outrage was there all the time man.  I love that people are so filled with anger and hate.  That is awesome.  I love the fact that they are willing to disrupt some bullshit town hall meeting with scripted questions and pre-screened questioners.  It’s horseshit theater anyway.  Disrupt those shills.  I just wish that people on both sides truly believed what they say when the other person is in power.  I wish that those crying the constitution is being shredded really wanted to uphold the constitution, all of it.  I wish that people cared about their fellow man and more importantly their fellow American.  I wish we could agree on helping those that need to be helped. I wish people could think for themselves.  I wish people would ask why.  I wish people would question authority and follow the money.

I wish we could agree to any of that.  Thus far I’m seeing the same people being rewarded and the same people being screwed that have been for the past 8 years, hell 30 plus.  Thus far I’m seeing the same people defend the people that have done the screwing and when they direct their anger at something or someone it is usually against a neighbor or someone in their own social class, Church, gym or office.  They never directed up towards the people that are going to lose the most.

There is going to have to be a point where many of us realize that this is total horseshit and there isn’t really any change.  The only change is the name of the Party.  I for one don’t know what I was thinking was going to actually change, because when something as big as reforming healthcare gets put on the table we now get to see where campaign promises become utter bullshit.  This is the point where blind partisanship makes you a total hypocrite.  I would call Bush out on it and I’m calling Obama out on it.  The special interests are winning and the back room deals with big Pharma are disgusting.  Anyone remember Cheney meeting with the Energy Companies his first 6 months?   Such a crock of shit and I’m not defending it.  I am saddened and sickened at myself for actually thinking that things were going to be different in any way.

WASHINGTON — The drug industry has authorized its lobbyists to spend as much as $150 million on television commercials supporting President Obama’s health care overhaul, beginning over the August Congressional recess, people briefed on the plans said Saturday.

The unusually large scale of the industry’s commitment to the cause helps explain some of a contentious back-and-forth playing out in recent days between the odd-couple allies over a deal that the White House struck with the industry in June to secure its support. The terms of the deal were not fully disclosed. Both sides had announced that the drug industry would contribute $80 billion over 10 years to the cost of the health care overhaul without spelling out the details.

So awesome!  I’m sure I’m going to be told it’s raining when in actuality AZeneca is peeing down my leg.  God forbid we impact their profit stream.  They need all that money for R&D.  I can’t think of where a $150,000,000.00 could be spent more wisely, but what do I know.  Making billion dollar drugs that get rushed through the FDA without being properly researched is hard work.  It takes millions and millions of campaign and lobbyist dollars.  You can’t just raise that out of thin air.  We have to pay our researchers tens of thousands of dollars and our lobbyists hundreds of thousands!  You just don’t understand you pathetic, pond sucking, neophyte aka joe six pack.  Trust us.  If we say it is expensive to make a drug and our CEO is making 45,000,000.00 a year, well that’s because of all the R and D!!!  Sure we give tens of millions to lobbyists and another truckload of money each year to Politicians, but the R and D!  The R and D, that is expensive.

If I’m feeling it, and then I turn to Rich on Sunday and he is feeling it, then I know I’m not crazy.  (too crazy)

But this mood isn’t just about the banks, Public Enemy No. 1. What the Great Recession has crystallized is a larger syndrome that Obama tapped into during the campaign. It’s the sinking sensation that the American game is rigged — that, as the president typically put it a month after his inauguration, the system is in hock to “the interests of powerful lobbyists or the wealthiest few” who have “run Washington far too long.” He promised to smite them.

We really are stupid humans for buying into this crap.  We should know by now.  What’s even better is that the GOP can’t do shit about it either.  What are they going to say?  How are they going to attack Obama with there normal gusto when the people normally doing the attacking are the special interests?  It should be amusing to watch them try to attack Obama.   I would love for them to do it.  But they won’t.  They can’t.

But the Democratic members of Congress those hecklers assailed can hardly claim the moral high ground. Their ties to health care interests are merely more discreet and insidious. As Congressional Quarterly reported last week, industry groups contributed almost $1.8 million in the first six months of 2009 alone to the 18 House members of both parties supervising health care reform, Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer among them.

And we all lose because of it.  Team America, Fuck Yeah!