Rabbit...Rabbit...RABBIT!
The 2 - year birthday/anniversary of this diary series is exactly 1 month from today! YIPPEE! Let's keep those new logo ideas coming; don't forget the deadline is Sunday, March 14 by the time I go to sleep. I would love love LOVE IT if multiple rounds of logo voting was necessary!
I know we've got graphically brilliant people here; even if you're not, you might know someone who is. So, email your great work to me in JPEG format with your Kos "name" & "F.O.O. Logo" in the subject line; submit early...submit often! :D
We've got GREAT "this day in history" items to discuss; I get to bring out THE cake, which makes any day great. ;D
On this date in 1845, President John Tyler signed a congressional resolution to annex the Republic of Texas. So, uh...well...gee... should that particular decision have been reversed or not? Is Gov. Perry a happy camper today or not?
On this date in 1867, Nebraska became the 37th state. The health insurance cartel moved in the next day - HA! ;D
And, finally, here's an item that leads into the birthday deserving of that GREAT cake. On this date in 1974, former Nixon White House aides H.R. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman, and former Attorney General John Mitchell were indicted on obstruction of justice charges related to the Watergate break-in.
What the heck does that "second - rate burglary attempt" have to do with a birthday? The Saturday Night Massacre, folks! The "gentleman" who finally fired the prosecutor, Robert H. Bork, is 83 today. Had it not been for Senator Kennedy's brilliantly passionate & on - the - mark words concerning Mr. Bork, he could've very well have been on SCOTUS. Presidential elections are IMPORTANT! So to Robert Bork goes an invitation to jam this down his pie hole with the standard invitation to GO CHENEY HIMSELF!
Let's Countdown with continuing positive thought for Theodore Olbermann, their entire family, and their friends.
Hey! We get a visit from Keith! Many thanks to Lawrence O’Donnell for DHing for Keith.
#5 "Majority Vote" AKA "Reconcilable Differences" - As Lawrence pointed out at the show’s beginning, the "r" in COBRA is RECONCILIATION; pass that little tidbit of information to GOP Senators with the TurdBlossom memory. ;D SCHIP is a product or reconciliation, too, along with a whole other mess of vital programs. Speaker Pelosi insists she’s got the votes in the House to pass HCR part deux; she thinks voting for HCR should be more important than Congress critters keeping their jobs. What universe is SHE living in?!
Senator Kent Conrad is claiming his reconciliation comment over the weekend was taken out of context; well, of course he is. Dork... Can someone primary him, too? President Obama is going to announce the HCR path forward later on this week. The GOP thinks reconciliation would be the end of democracy?! What about all the $hit they passed while GWB was President??!! 30 Dem Senators now support the use of reconciliation for the public option. Talk is cheap; vote for it when it counts!
Here’s Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. I guess President Obama’s announcing something Wednesday. She pointed out that Small Price to Pay Goldilocks didn’t have a problem with reconciliation concerning GWB’s tax cuts – mucho bigger than the impact of HCR will be. She also said that President Obama needs to be REALLY involved from here on out in the HCR process. Rep. Wasserman Schultz isn’t confident about the future of the public option because of that stinky turd sandwich Senate bill. She thinks there will be enough Dem votes in the House, too. I loved her rather lovely cynical laugh when Lawrence mentioned the question of what the Senate will do! ;D Yep, I can’t & won’t trust the Senate as far as I can throw ‘em. Don’t forget the Senate is where good bills go to die. Here’s Ezra Klein – AGAIN! We have another reconciliation term to understand? MICRO – reconciliation?! My poor gray matter can’t take too much more of this. The whole HCR bill won’t be passed via this method; just parts of the HCR bill are going to be passed this way. Uh...didn’t we know this already? Lawrence is getting phone calls from Senators STILL about all this? DAMN! The Senate language on abortion will be THE law. Great...that’s just great. The "Stupak 14" might be gone; well, don’t let the door hit him where the good Lord split him! I’d be a little more concerned about House progressives just saying "no" to the Senate bill.
#4 "Tough $hit" AKA "Flipping Out" - Senator Bunning’s little hissy fit is resonating with THOUSANDS of people’s lives. To baseball fans out there (yes, Keith, I’m talking to you!), was Jim Bunning this mean in his baseball career (throw lots of wild pitches at batters’ heads & stuff), or did he get mean when he decided to be a public servant? Inquiring minds wanna know! 400,000 people now have no unemployment benefits. 2000 people are out of work; they’re federal transportation employees. I wonder if any of those transportation employees are in Kentucky. 21% of Medicare fees paid to doctors has also been affected. Are there any Kentucky doctors in the mix?! Are the citizens of Kentucky raising holy hell??!! THEY SPARKIN’ SHOULD BE!
No one in the Senate is surprised by Senator Bunnings’ latest "gift" to political discourse. Lawrence enumerated a sick sorry list of just how well Senator Bunning works & plays with others; Senator Bunning needs a time out. An ABC news reporter tried to talk to Senator Bunning elevator; the "honorable" Senator wouldn’t even let him in the dam elevator! And, before the cameras rolled, little Jimmy flipped him the bird?!
My 13 – year – old nephew is more mature than that! I’m sure every 2 – year – old in the nation is more mature than that! Good grief... Senator Bunning is still defending his obstruction. I’ll get the cold shower ready for the Chris Hayes fans in da’ house! ;D If this mess isn’t fixed by the end of the week, 1.2 million people won’t get unemployment checks. There’s apparently some blowback onto other GOP Senators; Senator Kyl said people enjoy being unemployed. Boy, I hope Dem candidates in races this year are taking note of this $hit; it better be in campaign ads all over the damn place! And, joy of all joys, I get to use this great image that’s been languishing in my Photobucket account for too long – YIPPEE! ;D
Lt. Governor Bill Halter is hopefully going to send Blanchie her walking papers; that would be a hell of an early birthday present for your humble Countdown diarist. Harold Ford won’t run against Kirsten Gillibrand, either.
#3 "Chile Earthquake" AKA "Chile Aftermath" - An 8.8 Richter scale earthquake hit Chile this past weekend; as of now, over 700 people are dead. At least 2 million people have been affected by the earthquake. 8.8 – Damn! That’s some massive shaking there, folks. 500,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed. Tsunamis hit coastal towns hard. Fires are still burning, and looters are causing havoc & heart ache. 128 aftershocks at greater than 5 have been reported. DAMN! The quake moved the earth off its axis by 3 inches!!
#2 "Quake Expectations" - Look at all those darn earthquakes around the world! Lucy Jones is a seismologist; they are no closer to being able to predict when earthquakes will strike. The Chile earthquake was much larger than what hit Haiti, but Chile’s building codes were much MUCH better; they were ready – well, as ready as they could be. To "resident" CA dwellers here, do all homes along the coast have to have tsunami insurance? Lawrence said he was required to have it in Santa Monica.
#1 "Life Panel Lessons" - Here’s Keith! YEA! Keith & some of his family members talked to one of his Dad’s doctors on Thursday about possible timetables about changing the nature of Mr. Olbermann’s care. Mr. Olbermann’s white cell count has improved. He’s more responsive, too – YEA! End – of – life discussions must have some flexibility. None of the current incarnations of HCR is including being able to bill the insurance company for these important discussions. Boss Limbaugh is still pushing the death panel memo. Lonesome Rhodes, in the process of wishing good thoughts to the Olbermann family, tried to convince Keith he was wrong about his death panel interpretation. Some foundations are actually supporting Lonesome Rhodes’ efforts! The Dallas tea baggers only mentioned that they had invited Keith & didn’t show up. And, the crowd was very Caucasian. I have a feeling "The Peaceable Mongoose" by James Thurber will start flying off shelves all over the country! ;D O...M...G – how ‘bout that story?! That’s amazing!