Republicans - Lies Have Real-Life Consequences

I know for a lot of Republicans and most of the corporate media (and some Democrats too), politics is seen as a game. Actual consequences are secondary to simply trying to win the the day, week or month political spin cycle, ultimately leading towards the next election. But policies do matter (why enter government if you are not interested in policy) and have tangible outcomes to people. It's one thing if a given policy results in an undesired outcome for some Americans, but when a bold-face lie intended to scare people jeopardizes someone's health, a definite line has been crossed.

But that is exactly what happened with the Death Panel lie, made famous by half-term governor Sarah Palin:

Amy Townsend, 38, of Hurst was preparing last week for yet another round of treatments in her battle against breast cancer.

In addition to steeling herself for possible side effects, she and husband Jesse, 43, were preparing for the possibility that they might have to pay hundreds of dollars, up front, before radiation treatment can begin.

With both Amy and Jesse unemployed, the family buys health insurance through COBRA with a $5,500 yearly maximum for out-of-pocket expenses -- a threshold the family has not yet met. COBRA coverage generally lasts up to 18 months.

"We've got to come up with some money for next week," she said.

Though she still faces medical bills, Amy said she was against the health care act, fearing so-called death panels and government inefficiency. [emphasis added] Link

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GOP Lawmakers Fan the Flames of Hate

A classic trick of Republicans is to say or do something wrong, pretend it didn't happen, act offended that they are being accused, then hope that no one bothers to look at the facts. Well, thanks to advance of the Web, and in this particular case, video, we can more easily expose the fraudulent activities of the GOP.

In this case, Republican lawmakers, led by House minority whip Eric Cantor, act as if they played no role in inciting violence and hate against Democratic lawmakers leading up to the vote on health care. But the following clearly shows Cantor and his political friends are lying:

Winter of 2010 Was 5th Warmest Ever

I know it is human nature to somehow think what happens in your tiny part of the world (northeast Ohio) is happening everywhere, but it's not. The cold and snowy February here in Ohio and other places in the northeast part of the United States may make one initially question whether global warming is occurring. But that's why we rely on science and data, not hunches, for answers. And the truth is that this winter was the fifth-warmest in history:

It will probably come as a surprise to most Americans, but the winter just finished was the fifth-warmest on record, worldwide.

Sure, nearly two-thirds of the country can dispute that from personal experience of a colder-than-normal season.

But while much of the United States was colder than usual, December-February -- climatological winter -- continued the long string of unusual warmth on a global basis.

And parts of the United States did join in, with warmer-than-normal readings for the season in New England and the Pacific Northwest. Indeed, Maine had its third-warmest winter on record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports.

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Longtime Conservative Republican Says Teabaggers Ignorant About Taxes

Bruce Bartlett, a longtime conservative Republican, has a column in Forbes magazine titled "The Misinformed Tea Party Movement." The subtitle is "For an antitax group, they don't know much about taxes."

The thrust of the article is that the Tea Party movement seems to know very little about federal taxes. Not only are taxes not very high, particularly when looked at historically, but they have gone down under President Obama:

As noted earlier, federal taxes are very considerably lower by every measure since Obama became president. And given the economic circumstances, it's hard to imagine that a tax increase would have been enacted last year. In fact, 40% of Obama's stimulus package involved tax cuts. These include the Making Work Pay Credit, which reduces federal taxes for all taxpayers with incomes below $75,000 by between $400 and $800.

According to the JCT, last year's $787 billion stimulus bill, enacted with no Republican support, reduced federal taxes by almost $100 billion in 2009 and another $222 billion this year. The Tax Policy Center, a private research group, estimates that close to 90% of all taxpayers got a tax cut last year and almost 100% of those in the $50,000 income range. For those making between $40,000 and $50,000, the average tax cut was $472; for those making between $50,000 and $75,000, the tax cut averaged $522. No taxpayer anywhere in the country had his or her taxes increased as a consequence of Obama's policies.

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College of Wooster Young Democrats Leader Named 2010 Truman Scholar

Jessica Schumacher, a junior political science major at The College of Wooster and the head of the Young Democrats on campus, has been named a 2010 Truman Scholar by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. She was one of 60 Truman Scholars selected from a pool of 576 applicants. Each scholarship provides up to $30,000 to outstanding students who plan to pursue graduate or professional degrees leading to careers in public service.

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Exposing Glenn Beck as a Dangerous Fraud

Bob Cesca, a political writer and one of the more level-headed progressive bloggers, has a new column out titled "Exposing Glenn Beck as a Dangerous Fraud." It is the first of what will be an ongoing look at what Beck really is — "A dangerous faker who deliberately manipulates his audience by appealing to their basest instincts. As a man who only embraces conservatism and the tea party movement as a means to furthering his significant personal wealth and career as a successful TV goon."

I know there is virtually no chance that any Teabagger would read this column and begin to question one of their leaders, but they really should. They are being taken for a ride by con man, plain and simple.

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Teabagger Brilliance in Pictures

Palm in face ... shaking head.

He'll read it once we can find out what the hell it is.

That's right, Obama doesn't have a birth certifict . He just has a birth certificate.

Looks like he is not the only one.

It's are country dammit!

What is amesty and why doesn't he like it?

No caption needed.

Nothing surprising... typical Fox News/Glenn Beck viewer.

Really? What would you call Medicare?

But we like the pubic option.

Must ride that "Magic Bus" that runs on air.

If you are going to make a statement about needing to speak English, should you know how to spell in English?

Have got to throw one in for those with intelligence and a sense of humor...

When Tax Refunds Go Up, Teabaggers Rejoice. Right?

I think most Democrats don't need proof that the Tea Party movement has very little to do with policy and mostly to do with fear and hatred. But for Independents who may be in the process of evaluating Teabaggers, take note of this story.

White House officials said Monday that tax credits launched under last year's economic recovery bill have boosted the average refund by nearly 10% from the previous year.

The average tax refund for 2009 has reached $3,036, up $266 from a year ago, according to early data from the Internal Revenue Service. Link

Even Accountants are taking notice:

Jackson Hewitt Manager Patrick Shields says that in the 300 or so returns he filed, most were substantially more than in previous years. Shields says his customers were more than happy.

"Very happy," he said. "Some of them extremely happy."

Most of the tax breaks people are enjoying this year are coming as a result of the Recovery Act, which passed without a single Republican vote in the House and only three in the Senate (and this includes Arlen Specter, who is now a Democrat).

So now that one of the biggest talking points that Teabaggers use against Obama and the Democrats (they raise taxes) has been discredited, will they give the proper credit? I wouldn't hold my breath.

If Jesus Returned as Glenn Beck

This would be funny if it weren't so true. How does anyone take Glenn Beck seriously? Beck doesn't take himself seriously. He just knows how to play the part to make himself millions of dollars.

Conservative Columnist Calls Out Sean Hannity "Scam"

Debbie Schlussel, a well known conservative blogger and media personality, has come right out and called Sean Hannity's "Freedom Alliance" and their "Freedom Concerts" a "scam," raising money that is mostly spent on luxury travel and personal perks, with only a small portion going to help the wounded veterans and their families who are the supposed beneficiaries of FA's "Freedom Concerts."

For the last several years, Sean Hannity and the Freedom Alliance “charity” have conducted “Freedom Concerts” across America. They’ve told you that they are raising money to pay for the college tuition of the children of fallen soldiers and to pay severely wounded war vets. And on Friday Night, Hannity will be honored with an award for this “Outstanding Community Service by a Radio Talk Show Host” at Talkers Magazine’s convention.

But it’s all a huge scam.

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Your Liberal Media at Work Again

In the latest installment of proof that the media is not liberal, but is increasingly becoming more conservative, CNN has hired RedState.com editor Erick Erickson. RedState.com is a very right-wing Web site. Erickson also has a long history of incendiary, sexist, and racially charged statements, which include asking when voters would "march down" and "beat" lawmakers "to a bloody pulp" and referring to former Supreme Court Justice David Souter as a "goat fucking child molester."

View an exhaustive list of Erickson's outrageous comments.

Tea Partiers Distribute Signs Paid for by RNC

For whatever reason, the Tea Party movement actually wants us to believe that they are not affiliated with any of the established political parties, and better yet, even include some Democrats. The latter is obviously nonsense, but the former is up somewhat for debate. While there are probably a small number of Teabaggers who are genuinely independent, the vast majority are Republicans who are either embarrassed or unwilling to admit they are Republicans. For proof of the Tea Party-Republican Party relationship, review this story:

The Republican National Committee is paying for signs and political buttons used by Tea Party groups — despite widespread disagreement among the conservative, grassroots activists on whether the movement should work to elect candidates within the Republican party or steer clear from it.

The items, paid for by the RNC, were on full display at a Friday press conference of Tea Party activists in Washington. At the afternoon event at the Capitol Hill Suites, activists in town for the “Take the Town Halls to Washington” project passed out the red-white-and-blue buttons and signs emblazoned with the words “Listen to Me!”

Text at the bottom of the sign reads: “Paid for by the Republican National Committee.” Link