I've had better days
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Today's Tweet
What was all that about "entitled" and "elitist" and "special snowflakes"?
Enough to feed a poor kid for 6,250 days. https://t.co/Ef9UMi8Oju— LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) September 20, 2017
High Level Fuckery
...of the lowest order.
First, I gotta bail on my general editorial tenet of not playing the same bullshit game the GOP plays when referring (eg) to the "Democrat Party".
Now, most of ya'll know I have no problem calling lots of folks names - bonehead, rube, fuckwad or whatever. But I've always referred to the parties as Dems and Repubs - maybe it's just my quiet still voice telling me, "You never go full dickhead", dickhead.
I dunno, but at this point, I'm suspending that particular standard, and going with my new nickname for the GOP:
Ratpublicans
Cuz holy fuck, kids, this Graham-Cassidy thing is nothing but the most cynical piece of shit to come down the pike in a good long time.
Vox, Jeff Stein:
In interviews with Vox on Tuesday, nine Republican senators primarily argued that their “Hail Mary” bill — spearheaded by Sens. Lindsey Graham (SC) and Bill Cassidy (LA) — would return federal power to the states, giving them greater flexibility to improve their health systems locally. “The heart of the legislation takes the policymaking role of Washington and sends it to the states,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said.
Far less clear is exactly how Graham-Cassidy would pull off this feat without resulting in millions of Americans losing their insurance — and the number of millions is still unknown, since any vote would likely have to come before the Congressional Budget Office completes its analysis of the bill. The GOP senators insisted that the tens of billions in cuts to federal health spending proposed in the bill would not result in coverage losses because, they said, the states would have more flexibility.
“They can do it with less money,” said Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), who was unable to explain how or why.
Other Republican senators, meanwhile, fell back on political explanations for a bill that experts warn could result in millions losing their insurance. “If we do nothing, it has a tremendous impact on the 2018 elections,” said Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS). “And whether or not Republicans still maintain control and we have the gavel.”
By STEVE PEOPLES, Associated Press
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — At least one influential donor has informed congressional Republicans that the "Dallas piggy bank" is closed until he sees major action on health care and taxes.
Texas-based donor Doug Deason has already refused to host a fundraiser for two members of Congress and informed House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., his checkbook is closed as well.
"Get Obamacare repealed and replaced, get tax reform passed," Deason said in a pointed message to GOP leaders. "You control the Senate. You control the House. You have the presidency. There's no reason you can't get this done. Get it done and we'll open it back up."
First, I gotta bail on my general editorial tenet of not playing the same bullshit game the GOP plays when referring (eg) to the "Democrat Party".
Now, most of ya'll know I have no problem calling lots of folks names - bonehead, rube, fuckwad or whatever. But I've always referred to the parties as Dems and Repubs - maybe it's just my quiet still voice telling me, "You never go full dickhead", dickhead.
I dunno, but at this point, I'm suspending that particular standard, and going with my new nickname for the GOP:
Ratpublicans
Cuz holy fuck, kids, this Graham-Cassidy thing is nothing but the most cynical piece of shit to come down the pike in a good long time.
Vox, Jeff Stein:
In interviews with Vox on Tuesday, nine Republican senators primarily argued that their “Hail Mary” bill — spearheaded by Sens. Lindsey Graham (SC) and Bill Cassidy (LA) — would return federal power to the states, giving them greater flexibility to improve their health systems locally. “The heart of the legislation takes the policymaking role of Washington and sends it to the states,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said.
Far less clear is exactly how Graham-Cassidy would pull off this feat without resulting in millions of Americans losing their insurance — and the number of millions is still unknown, since any vote would likely have to come before the Congressional Budget Office completes its analysis of the bill. The GOP senators insisted that the tens of billions in cuts to federal health spending proposed in the bill would not result in coverage losses because, they said, the states would have more flexibility.
“They can do it with less money,” said Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), who was unable to explain how or why.
Other Republican senators, meanwhile, fell back on political explanations for a bill that experts warn could result in millions losing their insurance. “If we do nothing, it has a tremendous impact on the 2018 elections,” said Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS). “And whether or not Republicans still maintain control and we have the gavel.”
Imhofe says it saves lots of money, but he can't tell us how.
Cruz hits the old standby - premiums are skyrocketing under Obamacare.
And Special Pleading
Kennedy, arguing the states' rights angle, and trying to explain his proposed amendment to prohibit states setting up their own single-payer system: "We have plenty of federal rules that apply to every state, but we still agree with states’ rights."
And in case you missed it, The Koch Bros et al, have told the RNC the 2018 money well is dry unless Obamacare is repealed (see Pat Roberts above).
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — At least one influential donor has informed congressional Republicans that the "Dallas piggy bank" is closed until he sees major action on health care and taxes.
Texas-based donor Doug Deason has already refused to host a fundraiser for two members of Congress and informed House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., his checkbook is closed as well.
"Get Obamacare repealed and replaced, get tax reform passed," Deason said in a pointed message to GOP leaders. "You control the Senate. You control the House. You have the presidency. There's no reason you can't get this done. Get it done and we'll open it back up."
Choose
You can shit on this guy if you feel the need:
Or you can feel all proud and heritage-y about this guy:
You know what it makes you when you do both, and by now you gotta know I'm gonna call your ass on it.
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Today's Tweet
Every time you feel attacked by someone online - someone you think should be on your side, or at least not deliberately alienating themselves from you instead of trying to make common cause - keep in mind that you might be dealing with "someone" who isn't really a "someone".
Every tweet in support of Hillary attracts Putin bots. Some were in mutual follow with me-others were keyword searching. #DemForce #Block pic.twitter.com/0Qg6gjxRfW— Honey #DemForce (@HoneyDemForce) September 7, 2017
Monday, September 18, 2017
Let's Do It Better
The Rude Pundit thought he might be crashing while on a visit to Liverpool. And it turned out to be a rather pleasant experience instead.
An American in the UK National Health Service
It had been a stressful few weeks, with far more than the usual amount of fuckery and frantic frenzy, and I arrived in Liverpool last Friday on a total of about 4 hours of sleep in two days. Walking around the Liverpool One area shortly after dropping off my bags, heading towards the Tesco to get some supplies, I realized that I was sweating like Nicholas Cage on a meth bender and my heart was racing like, well, the same. I felt a tightness in my chest, short of breath, needing to sit down, and I thought, "Well, fuck, this would fuck up the next week or so." When your Dad dies of a heart attack at 46, you take that shit seriously.
So I found a National Health Service walk-in clinic just around the corner from Tesco. It was in the same space as the NHS's sexual health office, which offered free morning after pills, among other things. I went in and there were maybe twenty people sitting there. I don't know how many needed sex-related attention and how many needed regular medical help. But a very nice receptionist took my name, date of birth, and phone number, and then she asked what was wrong. I described my condition without the mention of Nicholas Cage or meth, which could have confused the whole situation. She very nicely told me to take a seat and that triage would be with me shortly. The triage nurse, I learned, examines everyone to see who might need to get in sooner than others. Apparently, I was looking terrible enough to be bumped to the front of the line.
After a few moments, I was called back to see the nurse practitioner, Niamh (pronounced "Neeve" because, well, Irish names). I can honestly say that I've never been treated with as much care, patience, and good humor by a medical professional as I was by Niamh. She asked permission every time she wanted to do anything, from take my blood pressure to listen to my pulse. Even as I kept insisting that I was probably just exhausted and whiny, she took everything about my condition incredibly seriously and assured me that I should just follow through with what she was recommending. "It won't cost you anything," she said more than once, as if understanding the anxiety that Americans have about health care spending. "Unless you're admitted to hospital." She laughed and joked, and we talked like we're human beings having a conversation, not a transaction.
Niamh asked me a few questions about health insurance in the United States and shook her head at it. "I'm afraid we're going to head to that kind of system," she exclaimed. She told me a story about when she and her family - husband and five children - visited New York City the previous year. Her youngest, a toddler, had gotten an ear infection, so they went to a walk-in clinic, just as I had come to this one. She told the receptionist that they would pay out of pocket for expenses because they would be reimbursed when they came home. "Now, they prescribed my little one a medicine," Niamh said, "one that I know is in that locked cupboard behind you. And I know that it costs about three pounds. Do you know how much they charged me in the states? $354." She laughed, as one can when they get the money back for outrageous expenses. I told her that her experience is pretty typical.
This is more than some tiny example of Anecdote-over-Evidence. We hear versions of this story all the time, and we need to understand that a Profit-Centered approach to healthcare is not just a shitty way to treat people - it's costing us gazillions of dollars we don't need to spend on a system that delivers the world's 37th best outcomes.
By every measure, our system makes sense to nobody but Rent Collectors.
It doesn't have to be this way. We don't have to do it the way we're doing it. We're getting stuck in the same kind of ideological straightjacket that the USSR was in as we all watched that whole system crater in on itself almost 30 years ago.
We keep insisting on maintaining a blind faith in the Unfettered Free Market. And we're pushing it to the point where we plunge into the Logical Extreme - which is where good ideas go to die.
You don't build a durable form of government based on an economic system - not without ending up very close to that old Yakov Smirnoff bit, "We pretend to work and they pretend to pay us."
The version here in USAmerica Inc is fast becoming: "They pretend we're buying their shit and we pretend we have a choice."
The Rarity Of It All
So many things had to happen at just the right time in just the right order - it gets easier to understand how people would invent the Argument From Ignorance Fallacy (God did it because we can't think of any other explanation)
It's also pretty easy to see how the religious (ie: political) systems that grew out of that ignorance got to be the monstrous problem they've been for so long.
Sunday, September 17, 2017
Rally vs Rally
So, the Mother Of All Rallies didn't quite live up to the billing, and actually finished second (out of two) behind the Juggalo get-together in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
First - I think it tells something of a story when supporters of Cult45 use the same rhetorical construction as Saddam Hussein's information guys.
How is your Daddy State any different from all the other Daddy States when your speech and your behavior line up so closely?
It's nothing short of gob-smacking to see so many people so thoroughly unaware of the self-mockery at work here.
Second, this is the real point:
It's estimated that fully one half of 45*'s "followers" on Twitter (eg) are not Meat Space Occupants. You know - people.
That "crowd" of about 1000 screwballs on The Mall yesterday is what happens when each of those self-isolating confirmation-bias-driven individuals is convinced there're millions more just like him.
I'm hoping we're starting to get a handle on the weird irony of just how dangerous it is to get sucked into believing this tiny, otherwise harmless, band of zealously credulous fringe-dwellers represents anything even remotely resembling some kind of "majority".
They don't. And they keep giving us good examples of the fact that they don't.
Read this one from Greg Fish:
Maybe it’s because the Republican Party, the group that claims to represent them, their ideas, and their interests, is no longer their party, what it calls conservatism is just an angry hodgepodge of grievances and scapegoating, and its leader is a shiftless, amoral populist whose political career is just a publicity stunt that spiraled completely out of control. Even worse, its base seems to display an almost cultish devotion to him, hanging on his every word, ready to turn obvious missteps into tales of victorious triumph over their many enemies. And conservative leaders warning fellow Republicans of this are in denial of how it got this way and just how angry and entitled their base has become at its core.
But don't forget this little wrinkle: the whole thing gets a lot worse a lot faster if Kris Kobach makes any real progress in his efforts to suppress the vote, cuz that makes it look like these idiots are in the majority, and all they really want is to believe what they're told.
First - I think it tells something of a story when supporters of Cult45 use the same rhetorical construction as Saddam Hussein's information guys.
How is your Daddy State any different from all the other Daddy States when your speech and your behavior line up so closely?
It's nothing short of gob-smacking to see so many people so thoroughly unaware of the self-mockery at work here.
Second, this is the real point:
Live shots from the pro-Trump "Mother of All Rallies" going on in DC right now.— Caroline O. (@RVAwonk) September 16, 2017
...Turns out bots can't rally. #MOAR pic.twitter.com/AO8nboy4pM
It's estimated that fully one half of 45*'s "followers" on Twitter (eg) are not Meat Space Occupants. You know - people.
That "crowd" of about 1000 screwballs on The Mall yesterday is what happens when each of those self-isolating confirmation-bias-driven individuals is convinced there're millions more just like him.
I'm hoping we're starting to get a handle on the weird irony of just how dangerous it is to get sucked into believing this tiny, otherwise harmless, band of zealously credulous fringe-dwellers represents anything even remotely resembling some kind of "majority".
They don't. And they keep giving us good examples of the fact that they don't.
Read this one from Greg Fish:
Maybe it’s because the Republican Party, the group that claims to represent them, their ideas, and their interests, is no longer their party, what it calls conservatism is just an angry hodgepodge of grievances and scapegoating, and its leader is a shiftless, amoral populist whose political career is just a publicity stunt that spiraled completely out of control. Even worse, its base seems to display an almost cultish devotion to him, hanging on his every word, ready to turn obvious missteps into tales of victorious triumph over their many enemies. And conservative leaders warning fellow Republicans of this are in denial of how it got this way and just how angry and entitled their base has become at its core.
But don't forget this little wrinkle: the whole thing gets a lot worse a lot faster if Kris Kobach makes any real progress in his efforts to suppress the vote, cuz that makes it look like these idiots are in the majority, and all they really want is to believe what they're told.
Saturday, September 16, 2017
Today's Quote
And I don't mean to romanticize suffering, but that person who can never suffer, can never grow up.
That man who has to snatch his manhood out of the fires of human cruelty that rage to destroy it every day learns something about himself in the process that no school and no church on earth can teach.
And that is the sense of his own authority, and that is unshakable. Because in order to save his life, he has to constantly figure out the meaning behind the words. When a person is constantly having to survive the worst that life can bring, they cease to be afraid of the worst that life can bring.
--James Baldwin
Today's Axiom
Go ahead and build that 30-foot wall.
It'll make me a fortune selling 35-foot ladders.
Capitalism, dummy.
It'll make me a fortune selling 35-foot ladders.
Capitalism, dummy.
The Podcast
Be sure to lean in and listen for the train at about 57 minutes. That's one of the hallmarks of good and true homemade content - and that's a pretty important gift.
Don't forget to leave 'em a tip (via snail mail):
The Professional Left Podcast
PO Box 9133
Springfield IL 62791-9133
- or -
And now you can support the show by shopping the merch too:
Today's Tweet
Imagine growing up with this as your starting point.
We owe these kids a better effort at leaving them a better world.
My 7 year old son and I were playing in the back yard.— Red T Raccoon (@RedTRaccoon) September 16, 2017
He decided to explain the Big Bang Theory to me using a flashlight.
He loves space. pic.twitter.com/StwdYgrXfq
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)