Stein and Punishment

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Sunday September 19, 2010 · 4:08 PM PDT

2010/09/19 · 16:08

Ben Stein had the unmitigated gall this morning to whimper about how failing to renew the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy would be "punishment". "I am not quite sure what my sin is," whined Stein this morning on CBS.

During his diatribe this morning, Stein kept referring to the end of the Bush tax cuts as a tax increase, rather than what it is: the end of a temporary tax cut that was always supposed to be just that: TEMPORARY. Now that we as a society seem to feel it's no longer possible to maintain this entitlement program for the wealthy, Stein chooses to feel aggrieved over no longer getting the gifts he has received from the rest of us over the past eight years.

Lots of children of unemployed parents have had to give up more than their Christmas gifts during this recession. I'll bet most of them endured their losses with a lot less puking and mewling than Stein did this morning.

Cofit

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Friday April 09, 2010 · 1:50 PM PDT

2010/04/09 · 13:50

In Maureen Dowd's recent column, "The Church's Judas Moment," Dowd asked her brother, Kevin, "conservative and devout," for his thoughts on the news of the Roman Catholic Church's attempts to cover up rape and sexual assault charges against priests. Kevin voiced several ideas that should seem bizarre to me. However, I grew up Catholic, went to Catholic grade schools and high school, served as an altar boy, and have spent more time than I now care to admit around these conservative and devout Catholics. The ideas are all too common.

Cofit

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Thursday March 25, 2010 · 10:26 AM PDT

2010/03/25 · 10:26

Iowa 4th District representative Tom Latham is apparently not content to overlook the majority of the people in his district who support Health Care Reform. He apparently needs to encourage the wingnut protesters who are threatening his pro-reform colleagues:

Some Republican lawmakers encouraged the protesters.

As the House was voting on an unrelated bill, Republican Reps. Tom Latham of Iowa, Jo Ann Emerson of Missouri, Brett Guthrie of Kentucky and Greg Harper of Mississippi stood on south balcony off the House floor - an area known informally as "the beach" — holding pieces of paper that read "kill the bill" to a group of cheering protestors.

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Wednesday November 04, 2009 · 7:28 PM PST

2009/11/04 · 19:28

According to the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, for the congressional distict in which I live, the Affordable Health Care for America Act will:
• Improve employer-based coverage for 396,000 residents.
• Provide credits to help pay for coverage for up to 160,000 households.
• Improve Medicare for 106,000 beneficiaries, including closing the prescription drug donut hole for 13,400 seniors.
• Allow 15,700 small businesses to obtain affordable health care coverage and provide tax credits to help reduce health insurance costs for up to 14,600 small businesses.
• Provide coverage for 22,000 uninsured residents.
• Protect up to 600 families from bankruptcy due to unaffordable health care costs.
• Reduce the cost of uncompensated care for hospitals and health care providers by $131 million.

Cofit

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Friday October 16, 2009 · 5:49 PM PDT

2009/10/16 · 17:49

In 2007, guess who wrote this:

Health care in this country is in shambles. At a cost of almost $12,000 a year for the average family, the system is bankrupting families and it's bankrupting companies ... Take General Motors. They're currently paying out $1,525 per vehicle for health care. Compare that to the $201 Toyota is paying and it sounds even more absurd. And what about those families and individuals who can't afford insurance at all?

It was Lee Iacocca, in Where Have All the Leaders Gone? The same icon of American business who was touted as a candidate for President in 1988 by business leaders throughout America has been on board for health care reform since before the 2008 election.

In that sense, I question the strategy of getting major companies to quit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce because of their opposition to health care reform, Green Jobs initiatives and other items on the progressive agenda.

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Monday August 10, 2009 · 9:52 PM PDT

2009/08/10 · 21:52

Our senator Chuck Grassley is due to appear at a series of town hall meetings in central Iowa this Wednesday. Apparently this doesn't sit well with members of his own party, who see Chuck's willingness to do anything other than actually spit on the proposals he's trashing as treason. So, I'm guessing even Grassley will get visits from Deathers and other wingnuts opposed to health care reform.

The possibility of clashes between the Deathers and the rest of us at these meetings is apparently stronger than previously thought.

So, I'm trying to think of ways to reduce the tension at the Wednesday meetings...

Cofit

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Friday August 07, 2009 · 4:03 PM PDT

2009/08/07 · 16:03

Those in central Iowa wishing to stand up for health care reform have an opportunity to do so when Senator Chuck Grassley brings his fire-breathing-dragon chart sideshow to a town hall meeting near you!

Per http://www.iowapolitics.com/...

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

9:15 – 10:15 a.m. Madison County Town Hall Meeting, Winterset Public Library, 123 North 2nd Street, Winterset

11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Union County Town Hall Meeting, Afton City Hall, Council Chambers, 115 East Kansas Street, Afton

2:30 – 3:30 p.m. Guthrie County Town Hall Meeting, Panora Community Center, 115 West Main Street, Panora

4:30 – 5:30 p.m. Dallas County Town Hall Meeting, Adel Public Library, Meeting Room, 303 South 10th Street, Adel

***Senator Grassley will be available to the press for 15 minutes following each meeting.***

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Monday November 24, 2008 · 10:55 AM PST

2008/11/24 · 10:55

Watching the Republicans try to reinvent themselves (or not), I find myself wondering whether I'm in the wrong party.

Well, not really. But as conservatives try to regain the power and prestige they have squandered, some are starting at the core: their core values, that is. Two comparatively lucid examples:

* Ron Paul's commentary piece, GOP should ask why U.S. is on the wrong track.

* Mike Huckabee's book tour which is all about getting Republicans back to their core values, whatever those happen to be.

The more I read these lists of core values, though, I find myself wondering whether I might, myself, be a conservative. Is that possible?

On the other hand, margotb822's diary, I am a Liberal because..., took a similar approach to defining what it means to be liberal. Now I'm confused because I agree with many of these too. What to do?

More below the fold.

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Monday November 03, 2008 · 11:20 AM PST

2008/11/03 · 11:20

I've been feeling guilty about not volunteering. I've donated money to the campaigns, I've talked with family and friends, sent emails and so forth. I know that I should have been doing more -- door-knocking, phone-calling, and so forth.

The trouble is, from past experience, I know I'm not very good at it. I'm not what you'd call a "people person", at least with people I don't know, and it shows. So, I've been avoiding it.

I had two hours free this morning, the day before the election, though. So I signed up online for a shift. They sent me out with a list of addresses of likely Obama voters, and an envelope full of door-hangers and flyers with local precinct polling information. I was to leave these on the front doors of the houses on the list.

It couldn't have been easier. I got a nice two hour walk on a bright sunny day, and left the materials on the houses where I was supposed to leave them. People were home at two houses, and they couldn't have been nicer.

I hope it wasn't "too little too late", but I'm glad I finally got off my butt. Next time I'll have to remember that there are lots of tasks that need to be done, and they don't all involve the same types of skills. Maybe I can get off my butt earlier in the game.

Poll

18 votes Show Results

Are you a people person?

18 votes Vote Now!

Are you a people person?

Yes.

4 votes

No.

8 votes

Who are you and why do you want to know, anyway?

6 votes

The Des Moines Register endorses Obama

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Sunday October 26, 2008 · 8:39 AM PDT

2008/10/26 · 08:39

The Des Moines Register endorsement of Obama highlights these themes:

Would work to strengthen the struggling middle class
McCain has run erratic, disappointing campaign
An appeal to bridge divisions, tackle problems

The editorial closes with this quote:

When Obama first met with the Register's editorial board more than a year ago, he emphasized that when deciding to run, "I wasn't simply a young man in a hurry."

"I think there's this particular window right now where the country is hungry for change, and is also hungry to be brought together, as opposed to being driven apart," he said. "And I thought that the particular skills that I have, of bringing people from diverse backgrounds across lines of race or party or region or faith to focus on solving problems, was a particularly useful and needed skill right now."

RSS

Stein and Punishment

Thoughts from a Recovering Catholic

Tom Latham Eggs On Protesters

District by District Impact for HR 3962

MoveOn offers Toyota an alternative to quitting

Question: How to Lighten The Mood at Town Hall Meetings

Grassley Town Hall meetings

"You Might Be a Conservative"

I finally GOMB to GOTV

The Des Moines Register endorses Obama