So What Do YOU Say? The Senate LAUGHS About How Many Police It Takes To Silence The American People On Single Payer Health Care.

Illustration by: Marty Coleman
Napkin Dad Daily blog

How many police does it take to silence the voice of the people?

That's a question a despot might ask in a totalitarian police state. But, this week the Senate Finance Committee thought it was a hilarious joke as they ejected one brave activist after another, for protesting that not even one spokesperson for single payer health care was being allowed to sit at the hearing table. Yes, Senator Max Baucus (MT), who had preemptively declared that consideration of a single payer option was off the table, actually joked "We need more police [1:58 on video]." And, the rest of the Senate panel just laughed their heads off.

Senator Chuck Grassley (IA), the ranking Republican ~ not to be outdone in his contempt for the people ~ then asked if there was "somewhere they can watch it on television [2:05 on video]," which elicited additional hearty guffaws. Yes, what a wonderful entertaining show that would be, the spectacle of the will of the people being excluded while corporate special interests, like butchers, carve up our pocketbooks and our bodies.

Visit the Single Payer Action Page HERE

On the action page is an extended video where you can hear for yourself those Senators openly laughing at us, and you'll be just at outraged as we are. It's time for the U.S. Senate to get the message that We the People are not just a joke to be laughed off. Why is it that not ONE senator on that committee has the integrity to stand up for a even handed debate of health care issues? Why should any of them be elected to public office ever again?

So let's see a show of hands. How many of you would like to sign up now for a commie Marxist national health care system ... like in Canada, England and other pinko Bolshevik countries such as these? How stupid do they think we are, to try to reduce the terms of the debate to such an ignorant level? Meet the new mass media scare label, "socialized" medicine. As opposed to like what ... the ANTI-social corporate medical insurance industry we have now, where patients have no role except to be cash cows, by design never to be actually cured?

If you or anyone in your family has ever been seriously ill, and as we might ALL be someday, you know the medical industry will pick your bones clean of every dime you ever earned in your life, just in time to drop you into the cheapest possible pine box.

Visit the Single Payer Action Page HERE:

Why are members of Congress fighting so hard to keep single payer health care out of the public debate? Because there are no fat profits in it for their special interest corporate campaign contributors, who maximize their profits the sicker we are. They cannot compete with a low overhead efficiently run government program, just like we have NOW with the existing proven Medicare & VA systems.

Instead, they'll line up a bunch of corporate lobbyists and stooges to tell bald faced lies. Just like Senator Jim Bunning himself who asserted that Canada and England had tax rate of at LEAST 60% to support single payer. But, they don't even want anyone around to even have a chance to call them out on their willful and malicious lies.

Yes, all those who love to preach to the rest of us about the free market and competition are shown to be only interested in a rigged market and a rigged debate. Baucus may put on a face of being slightly chastened, but ,he STILL WILL NOT allow any honest testimony on single payer.

But, WE can beat THEM.

This is the pivotal moment. We have been speaking out for HR 676 (Medicare for all) for YEARS. And now eight incredibly brave activists have been hauled away because they would not remain silent. But in doing so, in putting their own bodies on the line, they have shown up the current "debate" for the total sham that it is.

We are not asking you to put your body on the line. All we are asking you to do is submit a one click action page that we have specially configured to send your message to the Senate Finance Committee as a hard copy pdf that they can't just laugh off, because it will be part of the permanent record. Plus, your message will go to all your regular members of Congress, plus your nearest daily local newspaper as well if that option is selected.

Single Payer Action Page HERE:

At 3:20 of the video posted on the action page above you will hear a woman loudly ask, " I wonder how many there are?"

Let's show them.

Let's show them there are millions and millions of us out here who will no longer be ignored, who will no longer be laughed off. Because they KNOW we can stop them if ~ and only if ~ large numbers of us will raise our voices NOW.

Let's just do it.

Here's a list of all Senators on the Finance Committee, including at least a couple who you might have considered to be "liberals". Where are their voices? Is there not a single one of them who will stand up and say, "No , wait a minute, we need to hear what the single payer advocates have to say." So, if one of the below is one of YOUR personal Senator, they especially need to hear from you NOW. The list includes:

Max BAUCUS, MT, John D. ROCKEFELLER IV, WV, Kent CONRAD, ND, Jeff BINGAMAN, NM, John F. KERRY, MA, Blance L. LINCOLN, AR, Ron WYDEN, OR, Charles E. SCHUMER, NY, Debbie STABENOW, MI, Maria CANTWELL, WA, Bill NELSON, FL, Robert MENENDEZ, NJ, Thomas CARPER, DE, Chuck GRASSLEY, IA, Orrin G. HATCH, UT, Olympia J. SNOWE, ME, Jon KYL, AZ, Jim BUNNING, KY, Mike CRAPO, ID, Pat ROBERTS, KS, John ENSIGN, NV, Mike ENZI, WY, John CORNYN, TX,

It's time to tell your "representative" that, "No, we don't need more police. In fact, what we need are fewer Senators with plugs in their ears, like Max Baucus." And, he and the rest of them need to hear that.

You can also respond to this action through the new Twitter gateway. Just send the following Twitter reply, and add any personal comment you like to ---> " @cxs #p982 "

(If you need a step by step explanation of how to set up the Twitter thing here is the link for that: Twitter Activism, a Step-By-Step guide HERE )

Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed to be ours, and forward this blog alert as widely as possible.

LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!

Thanks for all you do!
Live your values. Love your country.
And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make a DIFFERENCE!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

It's Amazing How Fast Representatives Can Act FAST When they REALLY WANT to!

Crain's NY
March 19, 2009 2:58 PM

House approves 90% tax on bailout bonuses. The House of Representatives approved a bill to steeply tax big employee bonuses from firms bailed out by taxpayers, including American International Group Inc. and others.

(AP) - Acting with lightning speed, the Democratic-led House has approved a bill to slap punishing taxes on big employee bonuses from firms bailed out by taxpayers.

The vote was 328-93.

Said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: "We want our money back, and we want our money back now for the taxpayers."

Republicans called it a legally questionable ploy to paper over Obama administration missteps.

Minority Leader John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said the bill was "a political circus" diverting attention from why the administration hadn't done more to block the bonuses before they were paid.

The bonuses, totaling $165 million, were paid to employees of troubled insurer American International Group Inc., including to traders in the unit that nearly brought about the company's collapse.

LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!

Thanks for all you do!
Live your values. Love your country.
And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make a DIFFERENCE!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Lying Or Incompetent - Either Way, Geithner Needs to Be Fired.

Huffington Post

by: David Sirota, Political journalist, best-selling author & syndicated newspaper columnist

Posted: March 18, 2009 | 02:36 PM (EST)

I've never been a fan of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner - he's a Rubinite who has been too close to Wall Street, and too focused on using government power to protect private shareholders. This is the guy who told the Senate that his primary goal in bailing out the financial industry with public money was not to protect the economy or taxpayers, but instead to use our taxpayer dollars to preserve "a financial system that is run by private shareholders [and] managed by private institutions." Despite my strong disagreements with his ideology, only today have I gotten to the point where I think it's clear he needs to be fired. Why? Because today he proved he's either lying to the public or totally incompetent.

Two stories explain why I say this. Here's the first, showing us how Geithner insists he only found out about AIG's bonuses a week ago:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A new time line released by White House officials late Tuesday evening reveals the president first learned about the $165 million in AIG bonuses last Thursday...The new time line was released after White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said he was unaware of when President Barack Obama first learned of the bonus controversy and reporters asked that the White House provide a time line. It also shows that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner first found out about the bonuses from his staff last Tuesday.

Now here's the Associated Press, refuting this time line:

For months, the Obama administration and members of Congress have known that insurance giant AIG was getting ready to pay huge bonuses while living off government bailouts. It wasn't until the money was flowing and news was trickling out to the public that official Washington rose up in anger and vowed to yank the money back...The situation has the White House and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on the defensive. The administration was caught off guard Tuesday trying to explain why Geithner had waited until last Wednesday to call AIG chief executive Edward M. Liddy and demand that the bonus payments be restructured. Publicly, the White House expressed confidence in Geithner _ but still made it clear he was the one responsible for how the matter was handled.

For the willfully ignorant who would like to pretend that AP is cooking up this story, recall that AP's story isn't even really "news" in that it is merely corroborating what we already know and what has already been widely reported: the AIG bonus contracts being cited by the administration were signed in 2008, and as the 80 percent owner of AIG, the federal government (ie. the Treasury Department and the Obama administration) have had access to the company's books and contracts for many months. Indeed, even if you believe that only the Federal Reserve bank was told about the AIG bonus contracts, recall that Geithner was a top official at the Federal Reserve bank when the AIG bailout was crafted and when AIG was telling the Federal Reserve about its finances and obligations - and the Wall Street Journal reported that Geithner was intimately involved in the AIG bailout (meaning he had access to their books/contracts months ago).

That means either Geithner is lying to the public by pretending he never knew about the AIG bonuses when, in fact he did.* Or, he's egregiously uninformed/incompetent and therefore absolutely unfit to hold one of the most important economic offices in our country.

This comes on top of Geithner and Summers dishonestly insisting that they are unable to stop the AIG bonuses because of Sen. Chris Dodd's (D-CT) executive compensation legislation that exempted AIG-style bonuses from limits. In fact, as the Wall Street Journal and Hill newspaper long ago reported, Dodd's original bill would have limited such bonuses, but Geithner and Summers specifically forced him to water down his bill because it was "too aggressive." And yet somehow, Geithner and Summers would have us believe the weakening of that legislation - and thus the AIG bonuses - is Dodd's fault, not theirs.

When looked at in sum, what you see is a Treasury Secretary that is creating a huge economic credibility gap for the Obama administration. He is, in short, undermining Obama's presidency - and it's time for Geithner to go.

* Arguably even worse is the fact that Obama himself knew about the bonuses before the checks were cut, and did absolutely nothing to stop those checks from being cut - but that's fodder for another post altogether.

UPDATE: AP notes that in January 2009, "Reps. Joseph E. Crowley of New York and Paul E. Kanjorski of Pennsylvania wrote to the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department pressing the administration to scrutinize AIG's bonus plans and take steps against excessive payments." So even if you believe Geithner didn't know about the bonuses from his previous work, he was specifically asked to do the work that would have revealed those planned bonuses as far back as January. He either obliged and did the due diligence that would have revealed the bonus contracts, or he ignored the request. That means, as I said earlier in this post, he's either lying about having just found out, or he's incompetent and didn't fulfill what should be the minimum amount of due diligence when a Treasury Secretary hands over billions to what is effectively a government-owned company.

LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!

Thanks for all you do!
Live your values. Love your country.
And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make a DIFFERENCE!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Some (really important) Points to Mull Over.

Here are some quick actions that will make a big difference if each of us does a little bit to bring about change:

Support Single Payer Health Insurance

The Single Payer Health Insurance bill introduced by Rep. John Conyers, H.R. 676, now has 64 co-sponsors! The broad support for Single Payer is shocking Washington's cynical elite. If your Representative is not a co-sponsor, urge him/her to do so today:
http://democrats.com/single-payer-petition

Ask President Obama why he's keeping Single Payer Health Insurance "off the table":
http://healthreform.gov/regionalhealthforum.html

Prosecute Bush & Cheney

March 19 is the sixth anniversary of George Bush's invasion of Iraq, a war crime of historic proportions based entirely on deliberate lies. Last week, President Obama declassified some crucial memos by President Bush's lawyer John Yoo which nullified the Bill of Rights and created a legal dictatorship. This week, Seymour Hersh revealed Dick Cheney ran his own Death Squads around the world.

Urge Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a Special Prosecutor
http://democrats.com/special-prosecutor-for-bush-war-crimes

If you belong to a progressive group, join over 150 groups calling for Prosecution of Former High Officials:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/prosecutorstatement

Join protests in the U.S. and around the world throughout the spring, especially around March 19:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/spring09

Lots of other important actions here:
http://prosecutebushcheney.org

Rethink Afghanistan

Under pressure from the Pentagon, President Obama will send 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan. Our troops have been there for over seven years, but we're not beating the Taliban and the Pentagon admits it has no strategy for success. Now Afghans are negotiating with the Taliban for peace. A progressive coalition led by Brave New Films wants Congress to hold long-overdue oversight hearings. Watch the videos and sign the petition (scroll down):

http://rethinkafghanistan.com/

LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!

Thanks for all you do!
Live your values. Love your country.
And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make a DIFFERENCE!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Eisenhower Warned US of the Dangers of the Military Industrial Complex.

If only we'd listened...

LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!

Thanks for all you do!
Live your values. Love your country.
And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make a DIFFERENCE!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

The Heat is ON! Mobilize for Single-Payer, NOW!

March 11, 2009.

Dear fellow Americans,

Donna Smith, national co-chair of PDA’s Healthcare NOT Warfare campaign, will appear on Dick Kay's radio show, "Back on the Beat," this Saturday, March 14th, aired on WCPT, Chicago's Progressive Talk Station.

Donna will speak about the upcoming events on Tuesday, March 24th at the Illinois Capitol in Springfield, as Rep. Mary Flowers re-introduces the "Health Care for All Illinois" act, her single payer health care bill for Illinois.

Let’s show the broad support for single-payer healthcare by sending their numbers through the roof—listen online during the 2:00 p.m. hour (CDT), and call-in to the show (773) 838-9278.

The heat is on! At the White House healthcare summit, participants tried to marginalize single-payer healthcare instead of considering its many benefits. The free-market system has failed us miserably, but the healthcare corporations are fighting a public option. We know HR 676 is the only reform option that will work.

Obama is planning five regional healthcare meetings. Folks living in or near Dearborn Michigan, Burlington Vermont, Greensboro North Carolina, Iowa, and California are encouraged to attend the meetings and participate in the protest rallies. (We’ll pass on the details as the info becomes available.) Order professionally printed health care NOT Warfare flyers here (for the cost of shipping) for distribution at the rallies and your upcoming state conventions.

Make your voices heard!

In solidarity,

Tim Carpenter, National Director
Laura Bonham, Deputy Director
Conor Boylan, National Field Director

LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!

Thanks for all you do!
Live your values. Love your country.
And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make a DIFFERENCE!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Imagine: Ron Paul.

Texas Straight Talk - a weekly column.
by: Ron Paul (03-09-2009, 10:29 AM) filed under Foreign Policy

Imagine for a moment that somewhere in the middle of Texas there was a large foreign military base, say Chinese or Russian. Imagine that thousands of armed foreign troops were constantly patrolling American streets in military vehicles. Imagine they were here under the auspices of “keeping us safe” or “promoting democracy” or “protecting their strategic interests.”

Imagine that they operated outside of US law, and that the Constitution did not apply to them. Imagine that every now and then they made mistakes or acted on bad information and accidentally killed or terrorized innocent Americans, including women and children, most of the time with little to no repercussions or consequences. Imagine that they set up check points on our soil and routinely searched and ransacked entire neighborhoods of homes. Imagine if Americans were fearful of these foreign troops, and overwhelmingly thought America would be better off without their presence.

Imagine if some Americans were so angry about them being in Texas that they actually joined together to fight them off, in defense of our soil and sovereignty, because leadership in government refused or were unable to do so. Imagine that those Americans were labeled terrorists or insurgents for their defensive actions, and routinely killed, or captured and tortured by the foreign troops on our land. Imagine that the occupiers’ attitude was that if they just killed enough Americans, the resistance would stop, but instead, for every American killed, ten more would take up arms against them, resulting in perpetual bloodshed. Imagine if most of the citizens of the foreign land also wanted these troops to return home. Imagine if they elected a leader who promised to bring them home and put an end to this horror.

Imagine if that leader changed his mind once he took office.

The reality is that our military presence on foreign soil is as offensive to the people that live there as armed Chinese troops would be if they were stationed in Texas. We would not stand for it here, but we have had a globe straddling empire and a very intrusive foreign policy for decades that incites a lot of hatred and resentment towards us.

According to our own CIA, our meddling in the Middle East was the prime motivation for the horrific attacks on 9/11.But instead of re-evaluating our foreign policy, we have simply escalated it. We had a right to go after those responsible for 9/11, to be sure, but why do so many Americans feel as if we have a right to a military presence in some 160 countries when we wouldn’t stand for even one foreign base on our soil, for any reason? These are not embassies, mind you, these are military installations. The new administration is not materially changing anything about this. Shuffling troops around and playing with semantics does not accomplish the goals of the American people, who simply want our men and women to come home. 50,000 troops left behind in Iraq is not conducive to peace any more than 50,000 Russian soldiers would be in the United States.

Shutting down military bases and ceasing to deal with other nations with threats and violence is not isolationism. It is the opposite. Opening ourselves up to friendship, honest trade and diplomacy is the foreign policy of peace and prosperity. It is the only foreign policy that will not bankrupt us in short order, as our current actions most definitely will. I share the disappointment of the American people in the foreign policy rhetoric coming from the administration. The sad thing is, our foreign policy WILL change eventually, as Rome’s did, when all budgetary and monetary tricks to fund it are exhausted.

LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!

Thanks for all you do!
Live your values. Love your country.
And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make a DIFFERENCE!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

What If?

LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!

Thanks for all you do!
Live your values. Love your country.
And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make a DIFFERENCE!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

The Wingnut Revolution

by: Bob Cesa
Political Author, Blogger, and New Media Producer

Huffington Post
Posted February 26, 2009 | 05:48 PM (EST)

After nearly three decades of Reaganomics in which the wealthiest two percent have grown exponentially wealthier while middle class wages have remained stagnant, a growing faction of super rich Americans is seriously pissed off -- and their Wingnut Revolution is upon us.

Sure, the interests and influence of the wealthiest two percent make them more responsible than most for the free market policies that created this current economic crisis. But if there's one thing we've learned about those responsible for this recession, it's that the concept of accountability is about as foreign as their live-in au pairs. Instead, they're trying to pin this on Barney Frank and a legion of "losers" (read that: working class minorities) even though Ben Bernanke himself has debunked this myth.

But accountability (a "day of reckoning" as President Obama called it) is underway in the form of the president's housing proposal, his health care plan and, naturally, the recovery act. At the end of the day, ninety-five percent of Americans will benefit from what amounts to the largest tax cut in American history, along with increased access to affordable health care and millions of new jobs.

Though, alas, the super rich will have to pay slightly more in taxes.

Yeah, that's a shame.

So they're gathering in their secret war rooms in the Orange County underground and on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, grinding the tips of their Salvatore Ferragamo Pregiato Moccasins into razor-sharp spears and fashioning their Bentley key fobs into makeshift nunchakas in preparation for a supremely ridiculous rebellion led by a cast of far-right characters more freakish than the acid trip monsters from Yo Gabba Gabba.

At the vanguard of this Wingnut Revolution is CNBC's Rick Santelli. You've probably seen the video of his public conniption fit already, so we'll skip right to an example of Santelli's economic prowess.

Remember back in September when John McCain famously doomed his campaign by suggesting that the "fundamentals of the economy of the economy are strong?" Well, several days earlier, Santelli told his CNBC audience, "I think the economy is healthy." This was September 2. Fourteen day later, Lehman Brothers collapsed.

I'm beginning to think John McCain got a bum rap. He wasn't alone. It turns out that one of the spazziest of the spazzy white guys from the financial cable shows was suggesting the exact same nonsense. In fact, here's a convenient chart of the Dow proving why Rick Santelli is nothing more than 2009's answer to the Star Wars Kid:

That's one healthy-looking economy. Now, economists will tell you that the Dow isn't totally indicative of the broader economy, so just to be fair to Santelli, here's a chart documenting job losses during various recessions with Santelli's quote marked accordingly:

If Santelli and his fake lightsaber of economic awesomeness is the loudest voice of the revolution, then the foot soldiers in the coming revolt are being mustered by Michelle Malkin and Joe the Plumber. Ostensibly because their goal is to be taken seriously. The Pajamas Media people have organized something called The American Tea Party. This is absolutely real:

America is on the brink of another revolution. In a new American Tea Party, citizens across the USA are beginning to protest giant government programs that reach deep into their pockets.

Did you notice their slogan? "Uncle Sam - Get out of my wallet!" Get out of our wallets and pockets, Uncle Sam, and crawl into our wombs, where you belong.

The Pajamas TV team including Michelle Malkin, Glenn Reynolds, and Joe Wurzelbacher (aka Joe the Plumber) - are mobilized to help cover this new and evolving revolution.

Evolving? With Joe the Plumber (aka Cartoonish Prop) involved, they're clearly starting at a hairless proto-wingnut stage of evolution.

Yes, the original Sons of Liberty risked their lives in order to protest against monarchical tyranny. The Pajamas Media revolutionaries on the other hand...

You will need to determine from local authorities if a permit is needed for your particular event.

Revolution! But get a permit first. You know: a permit for the revolution.

Then there's Glenn Beck who devoted an entire show to gaming out how exactly a revolution would take place here. He dubbed the special episode the "War Room" and it involved in-depth analysis from a team of experts who agreed that an army of survivalist "bubbas" might take up arms against the "communist" Obama government.

Now, before any cable news conservatives fire off angry missives to the Huffington Post editors, allow me to underscore that I'm not exaggerating Beck's communist accusations here. For the last year or so, Glenn Beck has been attempting to peg Barack Obama and the Democrats as actual communists, and now he's going all out with, quite literally, a red scare segment on his show -- festooning his set with Soviet flag graphics, a "Comrade Update" logo and a Russian language crawl in the lower-third of the screen.

I never thought someone would materialize on FOX News Channel who could actually make Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly seem reasoned and rational, but Glenn Beck has done it. To eleven. Watching this "Comrade Update" video, I'm beginning to think that Rick Santelli and Michelle Malkin are on the very serious end of the wingnut spectrum with Beck and, perhaps, Michele Bachmann on the opposite crazy flank -- jars of their own urine lined up along the wall as they assemble enemies lists while reviewing moon landing footage frame-by-frame to see if they can spot a boom mic.

But all of this silliness tends to overshadow the very basic fact that these self-anointed revolutionaries have all along sought to derail and defeat the largest tax cut in American history; going so far as to define the recovery act containing this historical tax cut as socialism and "porkulus."

What this far-right movement appears to suggest is that middle class tax cuts, job creation and affordable healthcare -- ideas that are supported by 82 percent of Americans, by the way -- are criminal acts of tyranny, and an eventual tax increase to the tune of pennies on the dollar for the wealthiest two-percent is worthy of opposition by revolutionary means.

Okay, well. Good luck with that, wingnuts. But don't forget your permits.

BobCesca.com

LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!

Thanks for all you do!
Live your values. Love your country.
And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make a DIFFERENCE!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

We Want You to RETHINK Afghanistan: Brave New Films Video

February 26, 2009.

Dear fellow Americans,

Many of you reading this worked diligently to support President Obama and his call for change. I'm sure you feel, as I do, an almost palpable air of excitement and pride right now in having a man of Obama's intelligence and integrity in the White House. What I also find remarkable is Obama's conviction that it is imperative for those who disagree with him to speak out, make their voices heard, and discuss ideas without attacking motivation or character.

President Obama just committed 17,000 more soldiers to fight the war in Afghanistan. For me and the Brave New Foundation team, this decision raises scores of questions that must be addressed about troops, costs, overall mission, and exit strategy. Historically, it has been Congress' duty to ask these questions in the form of oversight hearings that challenge policymakers, examine military spending, and educate the public. I invite you to sign the petition urging Senator John Kerry and Representative Howard Berman to hold congressional oversight hearings at once.

The President has demonstrated his commitment to plurality of opinion and open debate on issues that impact our country most profoundly. In that spirit, I'm proud that Brave New Foundation will bring you Rethink Afghanistan, a new feature-length documentary I am directing in the tradition of Uncovered: The War on Iraq and Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers. This documentary, which we will release in segments online, will foster the kind of discussion, debate and dissent Obama has called for, hopefully serving as a driving force to help make oversight hearings a reality.

Watch the trailer in which experts weigh in on the consequences of military escalation.

Since the situation in Afghanistan is extraordinarily complex, Brave New Foundation's goal is to create videos posing some of the necessary questions Congress should ask. Watch the extended version of part one in our documentary.

Without congressional oversight hearings, no one in Washington would have exposed corruption and mismanagement during the Civil War. No one would have caught the excessive military spending during World War II. And there would have been no national stage for a young John Kerry to throw down the gauntlet to Nixon over Vietnam.

Before Afghanistan escalates any further, I believe Congress must inform the public and ask critical questions. Here's what you can do to get people thinking about the need for congressional oversight hearings:

1. Sign the petition urging Sen. Kerry and Rep. Berman to begin hearings immediately.
2. Send this trailer video to your friends and family and post it your Facebook page and please take a second to Digg it.
3. Watch the full-length version of the video.

We look forward to bringing you more videos that raise these pressing questions, to hearing your concerns regarding this war, and to collaborating with the bloggers who have been writing about these issues at Get Afghanistan Right.

Together, we can help Congress Rethink Afghanistan.

Yours,

Robert Greenwald
and the Brave New Foundation team

LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!

Thanks for all you do!
Live your values. Love your country.
And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make a DIFFERENCE!

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