Well, to be fair, its not so much that the bill itself is so long, its that its very long, remakes a huge portion of the economy in itself and apparently needs to be voted on RIGHT NOW RIGHT NOW RIGHT NOW RIGHT NOW OMG THE WORLD WILL END IF WE DONT VOTE RIGHT NOW.
Which is different than how most other bills are passed. #congress
@Han Valen: We've been debating health care reform for decades. And the particulars of this bill for several months now. And thousands of people lose their health insurance every day. So what the fuck are you talking about? #congress
@flossy: Maybe the reason it's taken decades is because there just isn't a good way to do it. But now that an actual bill exists, perhaps a couple more months may just be worthwhile for everyone to, you know, READ the thing and talk about what it will and will not specifically do. The only reason to rush at this point is if there's something to hide.
If its so wonderful, then it'll still be wonderful in a month, and at least we'll all know exactly what's in there. #congress
Oh good, so even when their brains can't fathom creating another talking point, there's someone out there making one for them? Nice, Politico. Way to keep the "discussion" going. #congress
Words, education, and thoughtful consideration of all of the options and ramifications are tools of the liberal elite, so any healthcare bill that doesn't fit on the back of a box of Frosted Flakes (word jumble included) is a lying sack of commie librul lies.
It's amazing what numbers the wingnuts do find important. Palin's Facebook "fans" are frothing at the mouth that she will soon hit 1 million, as if that's some major accomplishment. There's a group on Facebook where some guy will turn his house into a pirate ship if he gets 1 million fans. He's approaching the 700,000 mark. So...when he hits 1 million, does that mean we should elect a pirate to the White House in 2012? Cause a million people really seem to like pirates. Arrrrgghh. #congress
I'm thinking this time, instead of just an arrow-tax cut, we'll have one for the guys who own the business that makes those little plastic thingies that go on the end of shoelaces. #congress
In college, after the LA riots, we had a really interesting conversation in a religion class, abut race in America. The conclusion I came to was, it's really difficult for whites in this country to understand the inherent racism that exists in our society. Every time I roll through a stop sign in front of a cop and don't get a ticket, and every time I wander through the mall and don't get followed by security, I enjoy the privilege of being white in America. We don't want to think of ourselves as racist, and we certainly don't want to be told that we're racist, but the reality is, our society is racist. And by virtue of being a white person, who benefits from that, I understand that I am guilty. It's the first step to dealing with it. I see what Jimmy is saying, he'll be vilified for saying it and for 'playing the race card' but I agree with him.
This isn't a campaign...the prez doesn't need "surrogates" to ease this firestorm. The very tea baggers who make this overtly racist posters or carry guns to town halls will criticize criticism of their racist acts.
It's time we started calling bullshit where it's warranted. This country has a ton of problems (as always) and somebody has to be the goddamn adult and say talk of socialism and fascism is ridiculous, especially when those same damn people couldn't tell you the differences between either.
I call bullshit!
It's good Carter pointed it out. The Republicans have a practice of manipulating the media and public conversation by making ridiculous accusations that the media feel bound to address and the accusations leave behind traces in the mind's of the public even if they were totally absurd and debunked. Carter's point about race is not ridiculous, it is actually a good observation. The democrats don't make bias and prejudice accusations enough even when they have a solid basis for complaint, while the republicans get crazy with those kinds of accusations and use them to control national discussion and to unite their party with shared whining about victimhood.
In my opinion Carter's cred has just grown exponentially. It's not easy to grow up around white racists and call them out by name whether you're his age or a kid in high school.
If you're in the South and you object to the N-bomb it's like trying to quit the mafia.
And save it, apologists. If you're white you know damned well why Wilson flipped out. Don't waste our time with excuses.
I don't know that Wilson yelling "You lie," at the President in a rarely called joint session of Congress was motivated by racism. But I do know that Joe Wilson has a racist past, including criticizing the woman Strom Thurmond (a straight out racist if ever one lived or breathed) fathered with a black woman for revealing her relationship with her father after his death. I do know that he was one of the last South Carolina Republicans to support flying a hated symbol of racism from his state's capitol. And I do know that, with dozens of documented lies told by the last white President from the very same podium, Joe Wilson never said jack doodly squat.
So surmising that his outburst came from his fairly well documented racist mentality is by no means a stretch.
Then again, Jimmy Carter has always gotten shit on by the American people for telling the truth. As Pareene alludes to above, we sorta kinda really hate that shit.
It's been alleged in at least one comment below that Obama's been using "surrogates" to cry racism. That's pure hogwash. Obama doesn't want people crying racism, even in those cases where he knows that's exactly what's going on.
It doesn't serve his agenda. He wants to get health care passed, along with a number of other initiatives. He wants to solidify the prospects for his party.
And while he spoke eloquently during the Reverend Wright imbroglio, it was of necessity, not desire.
Does America need a more honest dialogue about race in this country? Certainly. Does such a dialogue serve the legislative and political goals of the current administration? Almost certainly not.
did any of you apologists even read the damn article? People don't just hate Obama because he's black, they hate his policies as well, because they imagine that they'll help "poor/black and browns" to the detriment of "good working class whites." Many of their disagreements ARE based on race even if yours aren't. Glenn Beck himself, likened them to "reparations" which we know is code (thinly veiled) for "welfare handout." Those "lazy, no-good, black/brown people are trying to take my tax dollars!" This is sick and needs to stop.
Let's not forget that the same vitriol was present during the Clinton years and it had the same origins. People were as determined in their fight to get rid of Clinton and claimed he wasn't their president too. Only this time, what was thinly coded racism is not only back, but with a vengeance.
@Helio: Agree that the vitriol is not Just a result of racism, however I don't remember the townsfolk carrying pitchforks and torches through the streets when Clinton tried to pass a healthcare bill.
10/30/09
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Which is different than how most other bills are passed. #congress
10/30/09
10/31/09
If its so wonderful, then it'll still be wonderful in a month, and at least we'll all know exactly what's in there. #congress
10/30/09
10/30/09
Actually, it's totally unsurprising to me that the Republicans can't read. Literacy...not for dummies.
10/30/09
[voices.washingtonpost.com] #congress
10/30/09
It's amazing what numbers the wingnuts do find important. Palin's Facebook "fans" are frothing at the mouth that she will soon hit 1 million, as if that's some major accomplishment. There's a group on Facebook where some guy will turn his house into a pirate ship if he gets 1 million fans. He's approaching the 700,000 mark. So...when he hits 1 million, does that mean we should elect a pirate to the White House in 2012? Cause a million people really seem to like pirates. Arrrrgghh. #congress
10/30/09
10/30/09
10/30/09
10/30/09
10/30/09
09/16/09
09/16/09
It's time we started calling bullshit where it's warranted. This country has a ton of problems (as always) and somebody has to be the goddamn adult and say talk of socialism and fascism is ridiculous, especially when those same damn people couldn't tell you the differences between either.
I call bullshit!
09/16/09
09/16/09
If you're in the South and you object to the N-bomb it's like trying to quit the mafia.
And save it, apologists. If you're white you know damned well why Wilson flipped out. Don't waste our time with excuses.
09/16/09
So surmising that his outburst came from his fairly well documented racist mentality is by no means a stretch.
Then again, Jimmy Carter has always gotten shit on by the American people for telling the truth. As Pareene alludes to above, we sorta kinda really hate that shit.
09/16/09
It doesn't serve his agenda. He wants to get health care passed, along with a number of other initiatives. He wants to solidify the prospects for his party.
And while he spoke eloquently during the Reverend Wright imbroglio, it was of necessity, not desire.
Does America need a more honest dialogue about race in this country? Certainly. Does such a dialogue serve the legislative and political goals of the current administration? Almost certainly not.
09/16/09
Let's not forget that the same vitriol was present during the Clinton years and it had the same origins. People were as determined in their fight to get rid of Clinton and claimed he wasn't their president too. Only this time, what was thinly coded racism is not only back, but with a vengeance.
09/16/09
09/16/09