The Snatchel Project

From a spectacularly inspiring website:

Dear Men in Congress: If we knit you a uterus, will you stay out of ours?

(hat tip = Balloon Juice)

Virginia Report Card

From State Integrity via the comments at WaPo

A Thought

Young looks forward
faces its future
cuz there's not much in the past
that matters right now
and everything important's out ahead

Old looks backward
it sees a past filled
with the greatness of its youth
and turns its back
on a future with little left to offer

The Romneybot

"I believe in an America where millions of Americans believe in an America that's the America millions of Americans believe in. That's the America I love." --Mitt Romney, 2012

It's a little scary, but I think that quote is exactly who Romney is.  He'd been told that his audience responds favorably whenever they hear words like "believe" and "America", so he spins up a clever-sounding bit of pure sophistry ("I believe in make-believe because I have some very expensive polling data that tells me you idiots believe in that crap, so that's what you're gonna hear me say over and over")  But by the time anybody translates it to a human-usable format, the adoring crowd that he pays to follow him around cheering and applauding has rushed past anybody who feels the need to stop and wonder if anything he says actually means anything.

What We Do To People

Putting a couple of stories together.

George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain in Florida murders (IMO) a black teenager and claims self defense.
SSgt Robert Bales murders 16 Afghanis in Panjwai and claims PTSD.

I hope there's no problem generating sympathy and an aching in our hearts for the dead - and for their families, but I get the feeling that we spend way too much time and energy either condemning or excusing guys like Bales and Zimmerman rather than spending any real time or doing any real analysis on how those guys arrived at the decisions that made such a fucking mess of so many lives.

Can't we just stop for a minute and ask what we're doing to people?

Today's Internet Lore

A pretty fair PhotoShop depiction, and an interesting perspective on the status of our political dialog.

Today I posted an image called "Fox News killed my mother." Because it did. It was the most widely circulated image I've ever posted. But, after about an hour I could no longer read any of the comments. Still can't. And some of you have messaged me to say you can't see it. So here it is again. This time, my explanation will be in the first comment instead of here. Basically my mother fell and refused to go to the doctor because she was afraid that "Obamacare" would get information about her and use it in their "death panels." Since then several of you shared identical experiences. This is how their fear mongering is killing our nation, one person at a time, one lie at a time.

(via Democratic Underground)

I have no way of confirming this so my own Confirmation Bias may be in effect, but this is  how this shit can play out over time.  People start to believe whatever you tell them if you tell them often enough.

Spendthrift Obama

Can't we just put the crap away now?  From The Atlantic:

The graph tells a simple story that I've recounted before. For all the talk you hear about Obama's historic spree, government spending actually hasn't increased so dramatically under this president. The stimulus was big, but it's over. It's been replaced by, if not austerity (which has struck our states and cities) then a hard correction to the center.

But no, we prob'ly can't put it away at all.  Digging into the comments on Thompson's post shows an awful lot of people just totally unwilling to accept anything but their own version of the story.  And that's where we are now.  We've arrived at a place where people of great power have convinced way too many of us that Perception Is Reality.  If they're pushing an agenda that isn't supported by honest research and real-world data, then they just go shopping - somebody out there is willing to reach whatever foregone conclusion they have in mind.  You can see it in practically any business almost every day - the boss decides to take the company in a certain direction, and the good folks in Marketing (the smart ones anyway) will come up with "customer survey info" that confirms everything he wants to do.  Facts are now fungible.

And we are so fucked.

Melissa Harris-Perry

Some of the best TV on TV.  It's like being in Civics class again - which was an extraordinarily great thing as far I'm concerned.

This segment was a bit of departure, but still educational for me.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Doonesbury Sunday(s)

Last time - I promise.  I have to get away from Doonesbury for pretty long periods because it's usually just too depressing, but it's good to check in once in a while.

Doonesbury Saturday

Doonesbury Friday

Doonesbury Thursday

Today's Pix

Doonesbury Wednesday

Fight The Fight

This is what I was talking about in something I posted a few days ago (Where To Fight).

From a post at Balloon Juice:

Doonesbury Tuesday

Wendell Rides Again

I'd not been aware that Wendell Potter was putting this stiff out regularly, but there he is over at MichaelMoore.com

Some of the best circularity I've come across in a long time:

Health insurers often complain that one of the chief reasons why they are having a difficult time at the negotiating table with hospitals these days is because of consolidation. The reason for that consolidation, however, is the exploding problem of uncompensated care, hospitals have no choice but to consolidate. Well, they actually do have another choice: close. Which is what many hospitals have had to do because they could not find a willing partner with which to affiliate.

Read some of Wendell's posts and then tell me Obama's not trying to do right by us.

(hat tip = VWE)

Something Good

As stoopid as our legislature and some of our preachers make us look (especially so lately), it's good to remember Viginians manage to do the right thing on occasion too.

A pair of Bald Eagles is nesting somewhere in Richmond, down on the James River.  The two eggs are expected to hatch this week.

via Richmond Times-Dispatch




Live video for mobile from Ustream

Doonesbury Monday

Affordable Care

From Daily Kos via Democratic Underground:

1. There will be non-profit insurers offering health care plans in the exchanges on top of traditional private insurers (regulated STRONGLY by the health care law). The public option never really disappeared. It was just replaced with non-profit language that will turn into non-profit options just as strong as the proposed public option. Besides, many states are integrating public options into their exchanges.

2. Medicaid will be significantly expanded to 15 million poor uninsured americans in 2014. People in deep poverty will have significantly better lives. Everyone at less than 133% of the poverty level will be covered under medicaid. Native Americans will be insured for the first time in their lives and will enjoy modernized health care. The Indian Health Care Act is reauthorized and strengthened by this medicaid expansion.

3. Medicare's trust fund will be extended 12 years. Seniors have free preventive care and check ups. Lots of money have been saved through waste trimming and fraud recollecting.

4. Small business tax credits will have their amounts magnified for small businesses in 2014. When juxtaposed with the strongly regulated exchanges, coverage will be very affordable for small businesses.

This is what Repubs are trying so desperately to repeal.

And if you're all about helping the little guy in business for himself and strokin' along and doin' his best to make the dream come true, all you have to do is look at number 4 - now how exactly do you vote for somebody who's mouthin' off about Repeal-And-Replace?