This video is NOT work friendly, but it is really funny. But only if you read the subtitles.
I simply couldn’t resist posting it for anyone who hasn’t seen it.
From Meemsy.com
Category Archives: Voting
The View
Today at lunch, I am sitting in my office having my salad, looking out the window and reading the newspaper. It is September 11, 2012. Eleven years after.
My office overlooks the Capitol, the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. The Washington Monument. The Pentagon.
From here, I can just barely see the flag that was unfurled this morning on the side of the Pentagon that was struck that morning. Another Tuesday. Another beautiful, blue sky day. Folks who still work in my office were here that day, I was not. Of course they still remember. (We all do.) They heard and felt the impact; nobody saw it hit, as everybody except me keeps their blinds down because the office gets the hot morning sun.
I have long felt that George W. Bush let us down. That the attack shouldn’t have happened. That it should have been foiled.
Remember this?:
On Aug. 6, 2001, President George W. Bush received a classified review of the threats posed by Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network, Al Qaeda. That morning’s “presidential daily brief” — the top-secret document prepared by America’s intelligence agencies — featured the now-infamous heading: “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.” A few weeks later, on 9/11, Al Qaeda accomplished that goal.
Might they have prevented the attack? We will never know.
Well, in today’s NY Times, there is more evidence that the Bush Administration had more than the one presidential daily brief. There were numerous reports, meetings and presidential daily briefings: ON May 1, on June 22, on June 29, on July 9, on July 24. These are the ones the reporter, Kurt Eichenwald, saw excerpts from.
But, and there’s always a but, isn’t there.
But some in the administration considered the warning to be just bluster. An intelligence official and a member of the Bush administration both told me in interviews that the neoconservative leaders who had recently assumed power at the Pentagon were warning the White House that the C.I.A. had been fooled; according to this theory, Bin Laden was merely pretending to be planning an attack to distract the administration from Saddam Hussein, whom the neoconservatives saw as a greater threat. Intelligence officials, these sources said, protested that the idea of Bin Laden, an Islamic fundamentalist, conspiring with Mr. Hussein, an Iraqi secularist, was ridiculous, but the neoconservatives’ suspicions were nevertheless carrying the day. [Emphasis is mine.]
The link to the full article is here.
These neocons who got everything so disastrously wrong are the same folks that are working with Romney/Ryan on Foreign Policy. This time they want us to go after Iran and Syria.
Elections matter.
Filed under Campaigning, Criminal Activity, Elections, History, Hypocrisy, Law, Politics, Stupidity, Voting
Give ‘Em Hell, Henry!
He’s been a hero of mine for more than thirty years. A short little guy who I’m pretty sure was bald in high school. But over the years I’ve watched him fight. He’s fought tirelessly for a cleaner environment, a safer world, and for all kinds of tools, programs and systems to help improve the health of Americans.
I’m speaking of course of Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA), past and future Chairman, currently Ranking Minority Member (head Democrat) of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) (Roll Call photo credit)
Energy and Commerce isn’t just any crummy old Committee. Nope. E&C has jurisdiction over a zillion things that touch our lives. Energy (fossil fuels, wind, solar, alternatives), environmental issues (Clean water, clean air, pollution controls on cars and trucks), interstate commerce, the internets (Al Gore was on E&C when he really was instrumental in the start of what became the World Wide Web. So he is actually the father of all blogs, too — thanks Al). E&C is a seriously powerful committee. And when I was a young professional, well, I was an Energy and Commerce Committee groupie. More about that some other time.
Early on, Henry became my hero. And not just because he is incredibly funny. He’s also incredibly smart and quite crafty. Isn’t it nice to know that sometimes heroes just keep on keepin’ on? Henry? Congressman Waxman? Yup. He’s like that. He’s still my hero. He doesn’t disappoint.
You see, today I read that he, along with Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the Health Subcommittee, released a treasure trove of information to help Americans sort stuff out for November’s election. But it’s simple, clear, and easy to use. That is especially helpful, don’t you think? You’ve got to admit that all of these Medicare/Social Security/Vaginal issues are getting confusing.
But now, now thanks to Henry, now we can sort out just what the Ryan plan will mean closer to home. Because they just released a compilation of what the Ryan Plan will mean in each and every congressional district in the United States. These were put together by an assortment of independent, government and academic thinkers who have analyzed the Paul Ryan Medicare Changes to see what it will mean to you and me. Yup, everybody can now see just exactly what GOP Candidate for Vice President Paul Ryan’s Medicare plan will mean to them and the people in their own little congressional districts. As in right here at home.
The Paul Ryan Medicare Plan; How will it affect your district?
So go ahead. Check it out. Click on it. It took me forever to figure out how to do that, too. Humor me. What would these changes mean in your district? In your life?
My thanks to Joan McCarter of Dailykos.com for her post (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/18/1120987/-House-Democrats-spell-out-Medicare-Medicaid-impact-of-Romney-Ryan-plan).
Filed under Campaigning, Criminal Activity, Health and Medicine, Hypocrisy, Law, Politics, Stupidity, Taxes, Voting
Don’t hang up!
As you can probably tell, there is little I like more than humiliating myself. Repeatedly. It makes for great stories.
So today I’m going to up the ante. Go deep into ritual humiliation. Voluntarily. With my eyes and my ego open.
Yup, I’m going to phone bank for political candidates. Barak Obama, Tim Kaine (VA Senate) and Kristin Cabral (VA-House).
I expect a lot of this:
“Hi, my name is Ely …” click.
But sometimes I’ll get through. And when I do, well, it’s a great feeling. I am participating in Democracy. Helping to make my country a better place. I am convincing folks that they should vote for the people I think are best for that office. And I am pretty good at it.
Some people won’t want to listen. Some will have gotten a zillion calls already. Some will be in the bathroom. Some will hang up.
Others will be disillusioned. Or disappointed.
So why do I do it? You know why if you read my blog. I am a bit opinionated, you see. But the thing I believe in most strongly is our democracy. Our right to vote. Because, as I keep saying
ELECTIONS MATTER
And if I can help get a few more votes for candidates I believe in, get folks who need to register, registered, transport folks to the polls who couldn’t otherwise get there, then I’m making a difference. ME! I’m taking an active part in the process of making things better in our country. Because I have done my best to help make my vision of what kind of a country we should have become a reality.
But I really do it for the stories. I always come away with great stories.
There was the time in 2006 when I was working on Jim Webb’s Senate primary.
The man said “I just want to beat George Allen, but I think both candidates are the same. I’m just going to flip a coin when I get to the polls.”
“Well then,” I responded, “you’d better take a two-headed coin, with Jim Webb’s head on both sides. Because Webb is only the one of these two guys who has a chance to beat incumbent Senator George Allen. If you want to get rid of Allen, vote for Webb. Now and in November.”
He promised me his vote, both times, of course. And it was entirely due to my phone call and my coin flip line. I put Jim Webb in the Senate. You’re welcome.
I’m sure it had nothing to do with the fact that George Allen showed himself to be a bigot. (George Allen is running for Senate in Virginia again. He is still a bigot.)
There was also the call in 2008 when I was working on Obama’s presidential campaign. I was calling registered voters:
“Hi, my name is Elyse and I’m calling from Obama for President HQ. Do you have a second to talk with me.”
“Sure,” said the man on the other end.
“Thanks, I appreciate your time. I just have a couple of questions. First, are you planning to vote Tuesday?”
“I always vote.”
“Me too. May I ask if you’ll be supporting Barak Obama for President?”
“I’d like to, but I was a mid-shipman with John McCain at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. I have to give him my vote,” he said.
“You were at school with Senator McCain?” I couldn’t resist, I had to ask. “I bet you did better academically than he did!”
The man got a little less chatty just then. “Well, I was actually a few years ahead of McCain. I graduated fifth from the bottom, too.”
Political work can be fun and fulfilling. And the stories are the bonus. I will be telling these and other stories to my grandchildren. Of course if the Republicans continue destroying the education system, I will also have to teach them history.
* * *
Have you ever done political calls? Canvassing? Worked the polls? Got a story? Send it to me at fifty.four.and.a.half@gmail.com. I will collect and post stories throughout the campaign season. And if you get a fun call from someone, send that to me too.
And remember — Elections matter. VOTE.
Of Bards and Bains
You probably won’t be surprised to know that I am enjoying the news these past few days. Some of it anyway. I am fascinated by Mitt Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital. I may even start to watch business news, CNBC. And pick up a copy of the Wall Street Journal.
Nah.
But tonight I tuned in to find out the scoop. The latest. The Dirt. And I heard a lot.
Mostly, the sound I heard was me screaming, though. Because in one of those efforts to present “both sides of the story,” MSNBC interviewed David Corn, the reporter who broke Mitt’s “When did he leave Bain Capital, and when did he know it” story. But, to keep the semblance of balance between the two sides, they also interviewed a total DWEEBE Republican by the name of Rick Tyler.
Rick worked for Newt Gingrich and was involved in Newt’s opposition research which took on Mitt’s record as head of Bain Capital. Now? Well, Rick has his talking points, and he’s going through them. On national TV. Whether he really understands them or not. And whether or not he can even read them correctly. Sadly, I got the distinct impression that there is quite a bit that Rick doesn’t understand. [We can start with the fact that during the GOP primaries he worked for a guy that everybody hated and hadn’t a snowball’s chance to win the nomination.]
OK, my problem? Rick kept insisting that all this talk about Bain Capital is:
“A lot to do about nothing.”
He said it with an air of intellectual superiority, as if he knew something that we did not.
Ummmm. He did not. He did not even know what we all know to be the correct name of that there Shakespeare play.
Remember, this guy is a Republican spokesman. Shouldn’t speaking be kinda his thing? By definition, shouldn’t he be able to quote from the Bible, from Machiavelli, from Shakespeare? Isn’t that what spokespeople do?
Now, I like to give folks the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps Rick misspoke. Nope. Because he said it repeatedly.
Here’s the link to the segment: #48179609 [Sorry, no YouTube. This is the link to the piece — the offending language appears about 5 mins into the story.]
After the third time he announced that, for the world to pay attention to the whole Bain Capital “when did I leave and when did I know I was gone” thing was, “a lot to do about nothing,” well, the only thing I could hear was the sound of myself screaming at the TV. Sorry. Stupidity makes me shout.
At this moment in time, I don’t know what this Bain Capital story will amount to. Personally, I think it is very serious, because no matter which way you look at it, you really can’t say that it is “Much Ado About Nothing.” One way or another, Mitt Romney lied. Either he left in 1999 and lied to the State of Massachusetts about his residency when he was running for governor, or he left in 2002 and lied about the fact that he wasn’t in charge when all those nasty layoffs happened.
According to my mother, lies come back and bite you in the butt.
Maybe this time, even if you’re a Republican, those teeth are going to hurt.
FiftyFourandAHalf 