A Pic Peek Back

Yeap, that's your host, my good friend 'The Doctor', his son, and my oldest Sgt. Tom. We are catching up while enjoying Holiday beverages at, you guessed it, our favorite watering hole, Rock Bottom
Flash
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I didn't understand then, and I still don't understand, why we got opposition in this caucus for almost $300 billion in badly needed tax cuts for the American people, or COBRA coverage to help Americans who've lost jobs in this recession to keep the health insurance that they desperately needed, or opposition to putting Americans to work laying broadband and rebuilding roads and bridges and breaking ground on new construction projects.Why is it the Right so adamant about Political purity of ideological purity especially when it is inconsistent with that constituency?
There was an interesting headline in CNN today: "Americans disapprove of stimulus, but like every policy in it." And there was a poll that showed that if you broke it down into its component parts, 80 percent approved of the tax cuts, 80 percent approved of the infrastructure, 80 percent approved of the assistance to the unemployed.
Well, that's what the Recovery Act was. And let's face it, some of you have been at the ribbon-cuttings for some of these important projects in your communities. Now, I understand some of you had some philosophical differences perhaps on the just the concept of government spending, but, as I recall, opposition was declared before we had a chance to actually meet and exchange ideas. And I saw that as a missed opportunity.
I mean, to be fair, the status quo is working for the insurance industry, but it's not working for the American people. It's not working for our federal budget. It needs to change.Lets just say I cringe when anyone tries to say that this administration and the majority party is trying to ram through anything without consultation and incorporation of ideas from the minority. IT pains me to see reaching out taking place, ideas merged, and then the opposition votes 'No' anyway.
This is a big problem, and all of us are called on to solve it. And that's why, from the start, I sought out and supported ideas from Republicans. I even talked about an issue that has been a holy grail for a lot of you, which was tort reform, and said that I'd be willing to work together as part of a comprehensive package to deal with it. I just didn't get a lot of nibbles.
Creating a high-risk pool for uninsured folks with preexisting conditions, that wasn't my idea, it was Senator McCain's. And I supported it, and it got incorporated into our approach. Allowing insurance companies to sell coverage across state lines to add choice and competition and bring down costs for businesses and consumers -- that's an idea that some of you I suspect included in this better solutions; that's an idea that was incorporated into our package. And I support it, provided that we do it hand in hand with broader reforms that protect benefits and protect patients and protect the American people.
A number of you have suggested creating pools where self-employed and small businesses could buy insurance. That was a good idea. I embraced it. Some of you supported efforts to provide insurance to children and let kids remain covered on their parents' insurance until they're 25 or 26. I supported that. That's part of our package. I supported a number of other ideas, from incentivizing wellness to creating an affordable catastrophic insurance option for young people that came from Republicans like Mike Enzi and Olympia Snowe in the Senate, and I'm sure from some of you as well. So when you say I ought to be willing to accept Republican ideas on health care, let's be clear: I have.
Bipartisanship -- not for its own sake but to solve problems -- that's what our constituents, the American people, need from us right now. All of us then have a choice to make. We have to choose whether we're going to be politicians first or partners for progress; whether we're going to put success at the polls ahead of the lasting success we can achieve together for America.
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Rather than fight the same tired battles that have dominated Washington for decades, it’s time for something new. Let’s try common sense. Let’s invest in our people without leaving them a mountain of debt. Let’s meet our responsibility to the people who sent us here.
To do that, we have to recognize that we face more than a deficit of dollars right now. We face a deficit of trust – deep and corrosive doubts about how Washington works that have been growing for years. To close that credibility gap we must take action on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue to end the outsized influence of lobbyists; to do our work openly; and to give our people the government they deserve.
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(CNN) -- A conservative activist who made undercover videos of the liberal community-organizing group ACORN was one of four men charged Tuesday with attempting to illegally access and manipulate the phone system in a district office of U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.Oh, it gets better:
O'Keefe is the same activist who dressed up as a pimp last summer and visited ACORN offices to solicit advice on setting up a brothel, among other scenarios, law enforcement officials confirmed. He secretly recorded the visits on videotapes that were posted on the Internet, leading to a media firestorm.Their very bad awful day didn't end there, they were sued for the illegal videotaping since they were in a state where both parties were requiring to give permission
Flanagan is the son of William Flanagan, the acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, his office said.
O'Keefe and a female associate were named in a lawsuit filed January 21 by an ACORN worker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who accused them of illegally videotaping an interview with her last July and distributing it on the Internet.In the Right Wing world, once you have clearly and definitively debunked the credibility of the messenger, then you can claim full vindication for their work. Or are they going to flip flop, and start quoting the 'fake but accurate' mantra LOL
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I would agree to public financing of a new Viking stadium only if Ziggy Wilf and the NFL agree to sell a 51% equity of the Vikings to the State of Minnesota with a never to relocate iron clad clause.And then:
We will increase state revenues by allowing Minnesotans to purchase one share of non-voting, non transferable interests (like the Green Bay Packers "stock" program") in the Minnesota Vikings.Simple, but effective.
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As a voter in the election for MA this past week I wanted to comment on this thread.That folks is reality, without a dose of spin!
Scott Brown won simply because Martha Coakely never showed up. It was not the national referendum they are playing it out to be. She didn't campaign until the poll came out that showed Scott Brown ahead just two weeks ago. Scott Brown won in part from running like a Kennedy. He showed up everywhere, talked to anyone, and partnered with the strong blue collar sports fans that once motivated are a true force. (Think Red Sox fans). Her lack of effort alienated the strongest of democratic supporters in a state that has more registered independents than either democrats or republicans. I am very upset at the prospect of not having health care reform because of this result, but, if Scott Brown doesn't show up in DC as an independent voice for MA he will not last more than this term. If he pushes the national republican agenda he will not be the senator from MA for very long.
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this decision should ultimately be made by the woman in consultation with her doctor,Does the new GOP support Gay Marriage?
States should be free to make their own laws in this area, so long as they reflect the people's will as expressed through them directly, or as expressed through their elected representatives.And where is this new GOP movement on Health Care?
Health CareHe still embraces the 2006 State Health Reforms that many are claiming as proof why the President's plan won't work.
I believe that all Americans deserve health care coverage
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I support strengthening the existing private market system with policies that will drive down costs and make it easier for people to purchase affordable insurance. In Massachusetts, I support the 2006 healthcare law that was successful in expanding coverage, but I also recognize that the state must now turn its attention to controlling costs.
Romneycare was a disaster, an entirely predictable one.Something tells me that the new Senator from Mass may just like being a Senator, and will be willing to at least make some moves to color himself Purple if he wants more then two years in Congress.
despite the fact that he waited eight months and three days after Election Day to be sworn in, Franken wants Brown seated as soon as he's officially certified the winner in Massachusetts.That is a Senator, being Senatorial regardless of party affiliation!
Under Massachusetts law, cities and towns must wait 10 days for absentee and overseas ballots before certifying their own results. Working at breakneck speed, it's possible Brown could be sworn in as early as Jan. 29, though the Boston Globe estimated that Feb. 3 is a more likely date.
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The strategist spoke approvingly when he quoted a fellow Democrat who said, "'I'd rather have Scott Brown for two years than Martha Coakley for the rest of my life."It's tough to win if the base won't embrace the endorsed candidate. However, the Right will continue to spin this as some sort of referendum on Obama, let them! Remember how they work, when they lose they say 'All politics is local', when they win, it is a national referendum! Remember that next week when they lose Dick Day's seat to a Democratic Challenger!
"Let me see if I have this straight. You need to replace perhaps the most beloved liberal in the history of the Senate with a candidate that believes Curt Schilling is a Yankee fan. Because if this lady loses, the health care reform bill that the beloved late senator considered his legacy will die," Stewart said. "And the reason it will die is because if Coakley loses, Democrats will only have then an 18-vote majority in the Senate. Which is more than George W. Bush ever had in the Senate when he did whenever the f**k he wanted."60 is a dream number, if the Left can't get anything done with a majority on both sides the least they can do is not let the Right blame them for all that is wrong in the world, but they will, because that is what they do.
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