Barack Obama

[randolph]

" By Kevin Drum | Tue October 27, 2009 12:03 PM PST

Andrew Sullivan thinks the "opt-out" public option is a piece of political genius. Imagine, he says, what happens next if it passes:

Well, there has to be a debate in every state in which Republicans, where they hold a majority or the governorship, will presumably decide to deny their own voters the option to get a cheaper health insurance plan. When others in other states can get such a plan, will there not be pressure on the GOP to help their own base? Won't Bill O'Reilly's gaffe - when he said what he believed rather than what Roger Ailes wants him to say - be salient? Won't many people - many Republican voters - actually ask: why can't I have what they're having?

....Imagine Republicans in state legislatures having to argue and posture against an affordable health insurance plan for the folks, as O'Reilly calls them, while evil liberals provide it elsewhere. Now, of course, if the public option is a disaster in some states, this argument could work in the long run. But in the short run? It's political nightmare for the right as it is currently constituted. In fact, I can see a public option becoming the equivalent of Medicare in the public psyche if it works as it should. Try running against Medicare.

I was mulling over the exact same scenario last night and couldn't quite make up my mind about how this would play out. In the end, though, I think Andrew's argument is pretty compelling. As Rich Lowry complained over at The Corner, "Does a state get to opt-out of the taxes too?" That's technically a moot point if the public option is truly self-funding, but in the reality of the political world it's powerful whether it makes sense or not. It's like Republican governors turning down stimulus money: it sounds good on the stump, but who's going to do it in the real world? It's crazy if you're paying for it anyway.

So yes, this could be a huge winner. If it passes, then for the next four years Republican state legislators all over the country will be teaming up with the universally loathed insurance industry to try and deny their citizens access to a program that, to most of them, sounds like a pretty good deal. I don't know if Harry Reid was deviously thinking exactly that thought when he decided on this, but I'll bet someone was. It's hard to think of something that could force the GOP to make itself even more unpopular than it already is, but this might be it."

It won't be the first time Republicans have shot themselves in the foot.

[randolph]

Originally Posted by TracyCoxx

He's a political commentator.


A versatile political commentator.

I'll take some entertainment. When he goes off the deep end I laugh but I want to see more of his analysis. At times he presents a very thorough and scary picture of what's going on with the government. And I realize it takes time to gather this information, so I tolerate his occasional bouts of goofiness.

Ahh yes, Beck, Limbaugh, Coulter, Palin, ect, ect. What ever happened to the likes of Eric Sevareid and Edward R. Murrow?

[TracyCoxx]

Originally Posted by randolph

Well, there has to be a debate in every state in which Republicans, where they hold a majority or the governorship, will presumably decide to deny their own voters the option to get a cheaper health insurance plan.

If the debate is about a cheaper health care system that provides at least the same coverage that the majority of the population receives now, then sure, there's no debate. But Kevin Drum forgot to mention the little detail that it will cost more for worse health care.

[The Conquistador]

I can see a tax hike if the "public option" healthcare goes through. How else will they appropriate people's money to pay for the crap?

[randolph]

Originally Posted by TracyCoxx

If the debate is about a cheaper health care system that provides at least the same coverage that the majority of the population receives now, then sure, there's no debate. But Kevin Drum forgot to mention the little detail that it will cost more for worse health care.

Cost more for whom? right now we pay through the nose for healthcare and one of the reasons is that hospitals have to provide healthcare for people who dont pay at emergency centers. The cost is applied to the payers. The system is broken and will get worse without revision.
The other aspect is that the conservative leadership doesn't give a shit about healthcare they are using the issue to try to weaken Obama's popularity by endless distortions and outright lies. Fuck the poor, fuck the underprivileged, only the people with good paying jobs deserve to have their healthcare paid by their employers.

[The Conquistador]

Originally Posted by randolph

Cost more for whom? right now we pay through the nose for healthcare and one of the reasons is that hospitals have to provide healthcare for people who dont pay at emergency centers. The cost is applied to the payers. The system is broken and will get worse without revision.
The other aspect is that the conservative leadership doesn't give a shit about healthcare they are using the issue to try to weaken Obama's popularity by endless distortions and outright lies. Fuck the poor, fuck the underprivileged, only the people with good paying jobs deserve to have their healthcare paid by their employers.

Ha ha ha! The Government is one giant clusterfuck. Look at the DMV, Postal Service, Medicare, Social Security and numerous other programs/Gov. run institutions and ask yourself if they will do any better with healthcare. And give a clear, concise reason as to why and not the usual "Cuz the Obamessiah sez so" reason.

Then ask yourself where in the heck will they get the money to pay for all of it.

Why do people from Canada and other countries come here to get treated if they have Gov. sponsored healthcare in their own homelands that is "accessible" and "affordable"?

What is to stop them from denying you coverage?

Where else will you go if you get denied?

Are you willing to give up your healthcare for a lower standard?




A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on Paul's support

Villainy wears many masks; but none so dangerous as the mask of virtue.

[randolph]

I suggest you find a nice cute young California tranny and let her release your frustrations.
California is heaven on earth compared to the rest of the earth where its either too hot or too cold or too wet or too dry or the government is even more fucked up than California's.

[The Conquistador]

Originally Posted by randolph

I suggest you find a nice cute young California tranny and let her release your frustrations.
California is heaven on earth compared to the rest of the earth where its either too hot or too cold or too wet or too dry or the government is even more fucked up than California's.

I have been looking for a cute Cali tranny but have been unsuccessful so far. The only good thing about this state is the weather. I might just move to TJ. I've seen soem smokin hot tgirls down there.

Who's the cute chick in the pics? Is she local to SD?

[The Conquistador]

SUNDAY FORUM: SUCK IT UP, AMERICA
We have become a nation of whining hypochondriacs, and
the only way to fix a broken health-care system is for all of
us to get a grip, says DR. THOMAS A. DOYLE
Anita Dufalla/Post-Gazette, Sunday, October 11, 2009,
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09284/1004304-109.stm
Post-Gazette illustration by Anita Dufalla
Emergency departments are distilleries that boil complex
blends of trauma, stress and emotion down to the essence
of immediacy: What needs to be done, right now, to fix the
problem. Working the past 20 years in such environments
has shown me with great clarity what is wrong (and right)
with our nation's medical system.
It's obvious to me that despite all the furor and rancor,
what is being debated in Washington currently is not
health-care reform. It's only health-care insurance reform. It
addresses the undeniably important issues of who is going
to pay and how, but completely misses the point of why.
Health care costs too much in our country because we deliver too much health care. We
deliver too much because we demand too much. And we demand it for all the wrong
reasons. We're turning into a nation of anxious wimps.
I still love my job; very few things are as emotionally rewarding as relieving true pain and
suffering, sharing compassionate care and actually saving lives. Illness and injury will
always require the best efforts our medical system can provide. But emergency
departments nationwide are being overwhelmed by the non-emergent, and doctors in
general are asked to treat what doesn't need treatment.
In a single night I had patients come in to our emergency department, most brought by
ambulance, for the following complaints: I smoked marijuana and got dizzy; I got stung by
a bee and it hurts; I got drunk and have a hangover; I sat out in the sun and got sunburn; I
ate Mexican food and threw up; I picked my nose and it bled, but now it stopped; I just had
sex and want to know if I'm pregnant.
Since all my colleagues and I have worked our shifts while suffering from worse symptoms
than these (well, not the marijuana, I hope), we have understandably lost some of our
natural empathy for such patients. When working with a cold, flu or headache, I often feel I
am like one of those cute little animal signs in amusement parks that say "you must be
taller than me to ride this ride" only mine should read "you must be sicker than me to come
to our emergency department." You'd be surprised how many patients wouldn't qualify.
At a time when we have an unprecedented obsession with health (Dr. Oz, "The Doctors,"
Oprah and a host of daytime talk shows make the smallest issues seem like apocalyptic
pandemics) we have substandard national wellness. This is largely because the media
focuses on the exotic and the sensational and ignores the mundane.
Our society has warped our perception of true risk. We are taught to fear vaccinations,
mold, shark attacks, airplanes and breast implants when we really should worry about
smoking, drug abuse, obesity, cars and basic hygiene. If you go by pharmaceutical
advertisement budgets, our most critical health needs are to have sex and fall asleep.
Somehow we have developed an expectation that our health should always be perfect, and
if it isn't, there should be a pill to fix it. With every ache and sniffle we run to the doctor or
purchase useless quackery such as the dietary supplement Airborne or homeopathic cures
(to the tune of tens of billions of dollars a year). We demand unnecessary diagnostic
testing, narcotics for bruises and sprains, antibiotics for our viruses (which do absolutely
no good). And due to time constraints on physicians, fear of lawsuits and the pressure to
keep patients satisfied, we usually get them.
Yet the great secret of medicine is that almost everything we see will get better (or worse)
no matter how we treat it. Usually better.
The human body is exquisitely talented at healing. If bodies didn't heal by themselves, we'd
be up the creek. Even in an intensive care unit, with our most advanced techniques applied,
all we're really doing is optimizing the conditions under which natural healing can occur.
We give oxygen and fluids in the right proportions, raise or lower the blood pressure as
needed and allow the natural healing mechanisms time to do their work. It's as if you could
put your car in the service garage, make sure you give it plenty of gas, oil and brake fluid
and that transmission should fix itself in no time.
The bottom line is that most conditions are self-limited. This doesn't mesh well with our
immediate-gratification, instant-action society. But usually that bronchitis or back ache or
poison ivy or stomach flu just needs time to get better. Take two aspirin and call me in the
morning wasn't your doctor being lazy in the middle of the night; it was sound medical
practice. As a wise pediatrician colleague of mine once told me, "Our best medicines are
Tincture of Time and Elixir of Neglect." Taking drugs for things that go away on their own is
rarely helpful and often harmful.
We've become a nation of hypochondriacs. Every sneeze is swine flu, every headache a
tumor. And at great expense, we deliver fantastically prompt, thorough and largely
unnecessary care.
There is tremendous financial pressure on physicians to keep patients happy. But unlike
business, in medicine the customer isn't always right. Sometimes a doctor needs to show
tough love and deny patients the quick fix.
A good physician needs to have the guts to stand up to people and tell them that their baby
gets ear infections because they smoke cigarettes. That it's time to admit they are
alcoholics. That they need to suck it up and deal with discomfort because narcotics will
just make everything worse. That what's really wrong with them is that they are just too
damned fat. Unfortunately, this type of advice rarely leads to high patient satisfaction
scores.
Modern medicine is a blessing which improves all our lives. But until we start educating the
general populace about what really affects health and what a doctor is capable (and more
importantly, incapable) of fixing, we will continue to waste a large portion of our health-care
dollar on treatments which just don't make any difference.
Dr. Thomas A. Doyle is a specialist in emergency medicine who practices in Sewickley
(tomdoy@aol.com). This is an excerpt from a book he is writing called "Suck It Up,
America: The Tough Choices Needed for Real Health-Care Reform."
Read more:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09284/10 ... z0Ug4SHeOn

[CreativeMind]

Originally Posted by randolph

I suggest you find a nice cute young California tranny and let her release your frustrations.
California is heaven on earth compared to the rest of the earth where its either too hot or too cold or too wet or too dry or the government is even more fucked up than California's.

Nice advice, there's just one problem.
Speaking as a resident, NOTHING is more fucked up than California's state government.
Seriously, it's about as incompetent as you can get.

Washington DC is an incredibly close choice -- it would seem to be the obvious choice -- but at least Washington can swerve left... right... left... right... constantly weaving in the middle of the road and SORT of have some forward momentum that eventually gets somewhere.

In comparison, California is like a blind person driving a car, with the wheel turned hard to the left. And as a result it just goes round and round in circles, and never goes anywhere and never gets anyplace.

You've heard the phrase "As California goes, so goes the rest of the nation?"
HEAVEN FORBID!!!!

[randolph]

Originally Posted by CreativeMind

Nice advice, there's just one problem.
Speaking as a resident, NOTHING is more fucked up than California's state government.
Seriously, it's about as incompetent as you can get.

Washington DC is an incredibly close choice -- it would seem to be the obvious choice -- but at least Washington can swerve left... right... left... right... constantly weaving in the middle of the road and SORT of have some forward momentum that eventually gets somewhere.

In comparison, California is like a blind person driving a car, with the wheel turned hard to the left. And as a result it just goes round and round in circles, and never goes anywhere and never gets anyplace.

You've heard the phrase "As California goes, so goes the rest of the nation?"
HEAVEN FORBID!!!!

No doubt Sacramento is fucked up. However, I much prefer to live here than anywhere in the Middle East. Canada or Australia might be good alternatives. At least in Canada they know how to control their banks and the Aussies like their beaches. Does anybody have a really good government? Er, how about Iceland?

[ila]

Originally Posted by CreativeMind

.....You've heard the phrase "As California goes, so goes the rest of the nation?"
HEAVEN FORBID!!!!

I'm sure I heard Hillary Clinton say the same thing last year during your presidential primaries, but it was Ohio (or another state in that area) and not California.

[randolph]

Here is part of the reason California is fucked up.
1-It has the most conservative Republicans of any state.
2-It has the most liberal Democrats of any state.
3-The State voting districts are totally screwed to favor incumbents.
4- The constitution allows voters to bypass Sacramento and vote in endless bond issues.
5- And so on.

[The Conquistador]

Originally Posted by randolph

Here is part of the reason California is fucked up.
1-It has the most conservative Republicans of any state.
2-It has the most liberal Democrats of any state.
3-The State voting districts are totally screwed to favor incumbents.
4- The constitution allows voters to bypass Sacramento and vote in endless bond issues.
5- And so on.

I blame the hippies and their drum circles. We need Eric Cartman to help us out.

Don't forget the Canadians, eh?

[Jenae LaTorque]

Originally Posted by randolph

No doubt Sacramento is fucked up. However, I much prefer to live here than anywhere in the Middle East. Canada or Australia might be good alternatives. At least in Canada they know how to control their banks and the Aussies like their beaches. Does anybody have a really good government? Er, how about Iceland?

On the news - Iceland is in such a mess that McDonalds has pulled out

[randolph]

Originally Posted by TheAngryPostman

I blame the hippies and their drum circles. We need Eric Cartman to help us out.

"Hippies.They're everywhere. They wanna save the earth, but all they do is smoke pot and smell bad.
Eric Cartman"

They don't seem to be all that much of a problem, except for the smell.
What we need to do is legalize pot and tax the hell out of it.

[ila]

Originally Posted by Jenae LaTorque

On the news - Iceland is in such a mess that McDonalds has pulled out

Actually the owner of the McDonalds franchises in Iceland gave up the franchise because McDonalds made it too expensive to run. The owner wasn't allowed to use any local products in his restaurants. Instead he had to import everything from Germany to stay within the terms of his contract. The news reported that the owner will reopen his restaurants under a new name and use local products rather than import everything.

[randolph]

Originally Posted by ila

Actually the owner of the McDonalds franchises in Iceland gave up the franchise because McDonalds made it too expensive to run. The owner wasn't allowed to use any local products in his restaurants. Instead he had to import everything from Germany to stay within the terms of his contract. The news reported that the owner will reopen his restaurants under a new name and use local products rather than import everything.

So what are they going to serve, steamed fish burgers and lava cakes?

[The Conquistador]

Originally Posted by randolph

So what are they going to serve, steamed fish burgers and lava cakes?

No. They will start serving generous amounts of lutefisk! Bleh!!!

[randolph]

From Kevin Drum;

From the Los Angeles Times, here's the latest on the healthcare front:

Backed by some of the most powerful members of the Senate, a little-noticed provision in the healthcare overhaul bill would require insurers to consider covering Christian Science prayer treatments as medical expenses.

The provision was inserted by Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R- Utah) with the support of Democratic Sens. John F. Kerry and the late Edward M. Kennedy - both of Massachusetts, home to the headquarters of the Church of Christ, Scientist....The spiritual healing provision was introduced in the House by Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), whose district includes a Christian Science school, Principia College.

I have a conflict of interest here since I come from a Christian Science background, but holy cow does this seem like a bad idea. Just a really, stupendously bad idea. It's true that not everything that seems like a slippery slope really is one, but this really is one. If it passes, can you imagine how this would play out among the Colorado Springs set within a few years? The mind reels.

[randolph]

Bear kills militants in Kashmir
By Altaf Hussain
BBC News, Srinagar

A bear killed two militants after discovering them in its den in Indian-administered Kashmir, police say.

Two other militants escaped, one of them badly wounded, after the attack in Kulgam district, south of Srinagar.

The militants had assault rifles but were taken by surprise - police found the remains of pudding they had made to eat when the bear attacked.

It is thought to be the first such incident since Muslim separatists took up arms against Indian rule in 1989.

Bodies found

The militants had made their hideout in a cave which was actually the bear's den, said police officer Farooq Ahmed.

The dead have been identified as Mohammad Amin alias Qaiser, and Bashir Ahmed alias Saifullah.

News of the attack emerged when their injured comrade went to a nearby village for treatment.

"Word spread in the village that Qaiser had been killed by the bear," another police officer said.

A joint party of the police and army personnel went into the forest and collected the bodies of the two militants.
Police say they also recovered two Kalashnikov assault rifles and some ammunition from the hideout.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/h...ia/8339549.stm
Published: 2009/11/03 12:28:41 GMT

Hey, we have been missing out. We should train bears and release them in Afghanistan to eat all those terrorists hiding in caves.

[sesame]

Usually I like Mr. Obama, but this Nobel Peace Prize this is tickling the wrong part of my brain. This used to be a lifetime achievement award, given in appreciation of someone's lifetime struggle for bringing piece to the world of men. Well, Mother Teresa, Dalai Lama deserved it. Mahatma Gandhi more than deserved, but never got it!

What did Obama achieve (apart from winning the election and goint to some diplomatic tours and lectures in several countries)?

Obama said in his statement, "I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many transformative figures that have been honored by this prize". Well, you are correct, Mr. President!

Its like pouring oil in an over-lubricated machine. Pleasing the bigboss is an old routine. It just hurts to see the Nobel Award getting cheapened in the process. Those of you who have gone through Churchill's literary works, do you think he really deserved the 1953 Nobel Prize for Literature? """for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values"""

Oh! How charming! Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, son of Lord Randolph Churchill, this Nobel will be another jewel in your overcrowded crown, Prime Minister, sir! But, even Sir Churchill had more right to his Nobel that Obama. At least Churchill wrote his 6 volumes History of World War II and 4 Vol. History of English speaking Peoples; And he had a significant role to play in WWII.

And Obama has just begun to warm-up, he has'nt even started to run!

[tslust]

great story

Originally Posted by randolph

Hey, we have been missing out. We should train bears and release them in Afghanistan to eat all those terrorists hiding in caves.

Send in the 10th Mountain Kodiak Division supproted by the Independent Grizzly Brigade.

[ila]

Originally Posted by randolph

From Kevin Drum;

From the Los Angeles Times, here's the latest on the healthcare front:

Backed by some of the most powerful members of the Senate, a little-noticed provision in the healthcare overhaul bill would require insurers to consider covering Christian Science prayer treatments as medical expenses.

The provision was inserted by Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R- Utah) with the support of Democratic Sens. John F. Kerry and the late Edward M. Kennedy - both of Massachusetts, home to the headquarters of the Church of Christ, Scientist....The spiritual healing provision was introduced in the House by Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), whose district includes a Christian Science school, Principia College.

I have a conflict of interest here since I come from a Christian Science background, but holy cow does this seem like a bad idea. Just a really, stupendously bad idea. It's true that not everything that seems like a slippery slope really is one, but this really is one. If it passes, can you imagine how this would play out among the Colorado Springs set within a few years? The mind reels.

Randolph, when quoting sources, such as in the post here that I am quoting, ensure that you put quote tags around the quote and credit the source.

Dont' know how to quote?
Highlight the text that is to be quoted and the click the quote icon in the grey area at the top of the post dialogue box. Then after the first [QUOTE] and inside the brackets and to the right of the QUOTE put in an equal sign = and then type the name of the source. Then click Submit Reply.

[The Conquistador]

Originally Posted by randolph

Hey, we have been missing out. We should train bears and release them in Afghanistan to eat all those terrorists hiding in caves.

Pfffffttt! That's already been done by those crazy Pollaks.

http://badassoftheweek.com/voytek.html


Voytek The Soldier Bear

For centuries, Poland has been known specifically for two things – badass spicy sausages, and getting epically fucked over by every other European nation in every possible way. Polish people are constantly getting about as much respect as the Duke University football program, and the once-proud nation has been carved up more times than Joan Rivers’ face. The early days of World War II was no exception, when the unsuspecting, peaceful Poles all of a sudden found themselves getting sneak-attack double-teamed by the international military superpower dickheads Germany and the Soviet Union. Sure, the Communists and Fascists fucking hated each other, but apparently they were willing to join forces and work together to oppress the citizens of Poland, steal their land, and imprison anyone they damn well pleased.

Of course we know about what the Germans did to the people of Poland, but it certainly wasn’t any picnic being on the receiving end of the sickle and hammer either. Captured Polish POWs that weren’t executed on the spot by the Russkies were shipped out to fucking hardcore Gulags in Siberia, where the spent twelve hours a day eating disgusting borscht and gruel, mining snow from ice caves with pickaxes like the Dwarves in Snow White and toiling away in temperatures that never got above negative fifty degrees in the summertime. However, once Germany double-crossed the Soviets and started beating the holy living shitburgers out of the Red Army, Josef Stalin all of a sudden had a change of heart and decided to let captured Polish POWs out of prison so they could help fight for the Allies. Since the Poles weren’t too keen on fighting on behalf of the Russians who had oppressed and imprisoned them, they decided to serve under the British instead. A large number of these men were put on trains and sent to Iran, where they formed up into the Polish Second Army Corps. II Corps’ first mission was to travel to Palestine, link up with the British 8th Army and assist in the Allied invasion of Italy.

On their trip through Iran, the men of the Polish 22nd Transport Artillery Supply Company came across a young Iranian boy wandering through the desert like Jim Morrison tripping balls, and carrying a large cloth sack. The men thought the boy looked tired and hungry, so they gave him some food and a Crunch bar or some shit. When the kid thanked them, the Poles asked what was in the bag. The boy opened it up and revealed a tiny, malnourished brown bear cub. Since the soldiers knew the little cub was in very poor health and needed attention quickly, they bought the bear from the kid for a few bucks (or whatever the hell they used for money in 1940’s Iran – I can’t be bothered to look it up), and fed it some condensed milk from a makeshift bottle. For the next several days, they nursed the bear back to health, giving it food, water, and a warm place to sleep.

Over the long journey from Iran to Palestine, the bear, now named Voytek (it’s spelled Wojtek in Polish but pronounced "Voytek” because Polish is a crazy fucking language) quickly became the unofficial mascot of the 22nd Company. The bear would sit around the campfire with the men, eating, drinking, and sleeping in tents with the rest of the soldiers. The bear loved smoking cigarettes, drank beer right out of the bottle like a regular infantryman, and got a kick out of wrestling and play-fighting with the other soldiers. Of course, he was the most badass asskicking wrester in the entire company, thanks in part to the fact that he grew to be six feet tall, weighed roughly five hundred pounds, and could knock small trees over with a single swing of his massive, clawed paw. He grew to be a part of the unit, improving the morale of men who had spent several years getting their asses kicked in slave labor camps, and was treated as though he were just another hard-drinkin’, hard-smoking’, hard-fightin’, hair-growin’ soldier in the Company. When the unit marched out on a mission, Voytek would stand up on his hind legs and march alongside them. When the motorized convoy was on the move, Voytek sat in the passenger seat of one of the jeeps, hanging his head out the window and shocking the shit out of people walking down the street.

In addition to kicking peoples’ asses and drinking beer, Voytek also enjoyed taking hot baths for some reason. Over the summer in Palestine, he learned how to work the showers, and you could pretty much always find him splashing around the bath house. Once, he entered the bath hut and came across a spy who had been planted to gather intelligence on the Allied camp. Voytek growled, slapped the dude upside his stupid head, and the man immediately crapped his pants and surrendered. The Soldier Bear was lauded as a hero for successfully capturing an enemy agent, who in turn was interrogated and gave up vital intelligence on enemy positions.

When it was time to stop fucking around and get “in the shit” as they say, II Corps linked up with the hardcore British 8th Army and headed out to the middle of the Category 5 Crapstorm the was brewing in Italy. The problem, however, was that British High Command did not allow any pets or animals in their camp, so the Polish Army formally enlisted Voytek the Bear into their ranks. He was given the rank of Private, assigned a serial number, and from that point on was included in all official unit rosters. The Brits were like, “whatever chaps”, and didn’t even bat an eye when Voytek marched ashore with the rest of the 22nd Company.

The Poles’ Finest Hour of the war came in the incredibly bloody battle for Monte Cassino. By the time II Corps arrived, the Germans were deeply entrenched in the hilltop monastery, and three previous Allied assaults on the position had all proved more fruitless than a South Florida orange tree in the middle of a worldwide Nuclear Winter. The campaign was proving to be one of the bloodiest battles of the Western Front, and the Poles were brought in to make the final push to capture the fortress. During the fighting, Voytek the Hero Bear actually hand-carried boxes of ammunition, some weighing in at over 100 pounds, from supply trucks to artillery positions on the front lines. He worked tirelessly, day and night, bringing supplies to his friends who were bravely battling the Nazis. He never rested, never dropped a single artillery shell, and never showed any fear despite his position being under constant enemy fire and heavy shelling. His actions were so inspiring to his fellow soldiers that after the battle the official insignia of the 22nd Artillery was changed to a picture of Voytek carrying an armful of howitzer ammunition. In the same vein, you have to assume that it was pretty fucking demoralizing to the Germans to see that the Poles had a fucking GIANT GODDAMNED BROWN BEAR fighting on their side.

Thanks in part to the heavy shelling by their artillery, the Polish forces broke through the Nazi defenses and captured Monte Cassino. Voytek and his comrades would go one to fight the Germans across the Italian peninsula, breaking through the enemy lines and forcing the Krauts out of Italia for good. After the war, some elements of the Polish Army, including Voytek, were reassigned to Scotland, since Poland was under USSR control, and many Polish soldiers did not like the prospect of living in a Soviet-run police state. Voytek lived out the rest of his days in the Edinburgh Zoo, where he passed away in 1963 at the age of 22. It was said that he always perked up when he heard the Polish language spoken by zoo guests, and during his life in there he was always being visited by his old friends from the Polish Army – some of whom would throw cigarettes down into his open arms, some of whom would even jump into the bear enclosure and wrestle with him for old time’s sake.

The idea of a fucking alcoholic Nazi-fighting bear is so awesome that you’d think it was something out of a bizarre cartoon or a Sci-Fi Channel Original Movie. It’s the sort of shit that, even with all of the historical evidence, seems too totally awesome to be true. The bear was a hero of World War II, and there are statues of him and plaques memorializing his brave service in Poland, Edinburgh, the Imperial War Museum in London, and the Canadian War Museum. Unbelieveable.

[TracyCoxx]

Ahhhh... I'm enjoying this little preview of next year on election day.

[transjen]

Originally Posted by TracyCoxx

Ahhhh... I'm enjoying this little preview of next year on election day.

I wouldn't read to much in the results from NJ, We had GOP governors before from roughly 1980 - 88 Tom Kane from 92-00 Christy Todd Whitman so the winning is no big deal plus the fact he was running agianst one of the most unpopular governors in Jersey history ever he should have won with over 50 percent and by more then 4 to 5 percent but he didn't so don't start counting your chickens yet a year is a very long time away and 12 is even farther away


Jerseygirl Jen

[sesame]

Voytek The Soldier Bear

Thats a very well written story. I like the casual curse-ful language, the little jokes and similes. Very very well done. (Although I dont see any relevance to Obama in the Polish Army Bear's story! )

Thanks to TheAngryPostman

[randolph]

Originally Posted by TracyCoxx

Ahhhh... I'm enjoying this little preview of next year on election day.

Well Tracy, you may getting your hopes up a little prematurely. Listening to Fox news is often deceiving.

Originally Posted by Washington Monthly

THE IMPACT ON HEALTH CARE.... To hear a certain cable news network put it, a couple of gubernatorial wins for Republican candidates undermines the chances of health care reform.

As it turns out, the Republican spin is largely backwards. Neither McDonnell nor Christie will have votes on health care reform in Congress. But the Democratic candidates who won yesterday will. Brian Beutler raises a good point.

Most of the commentary about last night's elections has centered around Republican pickups in the New Jersey and Virginia statehouses. But what's gone largely unnoticed is that the two congressional seats up for grabs last night both went to Democrats, and that will have immediate ramifications for health care reform.

The NY-23 seat abdicated by Republican John McHugh (who resigned to become Secretary of the Army) went to Democrat Bill Owens -- the first Democrat to hold the seat in over a century. And the CA-10 seat abdicated by Democrat Ellen Tauscher (who resigned to become Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs) went to Democrat John Garamendi.

That creates some simple arithmetic. Yesterday, Democrats had 256 voting members in the House. By week's end, they'll have 258. Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could afford to lose no more than 38 Democratic votes on a landmark health care reform bill. Next week, after Owens and Garamendi are sworn in, she can lose up to 40. For legislation this historic and far-reaching, she'll need every vote she can get -- and both seem likely to support reform.

They sure do. In fact, by winning both of yesterday's congressional elections, Democrats have not only managed to expand their House majority, they've also moved the caucus ever so slightly to the left. Bill Owens is a moderate, but he's more liberal than the Republican he's replacing, John McHugh, and he's endorsed a progressive approach to health care reform.

Likewise, Garamendi is more liberal than Tauscher was, and he, too, favors a progressive approach to health care reform.

In this environment, every vote counts, and Democrats just picked up two more that are likely to prove helpful.

[The Conquistador]

Originally Posted by sesame

(Although I dont see any relevance to Obama in the Polish Army Bear's story! )

Mr. sesame. The article about Voytek was a response to randolphs post about the Taliban fuckheads getting eaten by a bear. He said we should train bears to do this more often and I responded with the snippet about Voytek.

[randolph]

GOP Grand odd party.

[TracyCoxx]

Originally Posted by randolph

GOP Grand odd party.

**Democrat Party**
(Health Care Reform critics KEEP OUT)
(No Anti-Gay Marriage straight people)
(Down with white males)
(Illegal Immigrants - come on in)
(Global Warming deniers not welcome!)
(Anti-Abortioners Stay Away!)

[randolph]

Originally Posted by TracyCoxx

**Democrat Party**
(Health Care Reform critics KEEP OUT)
(No Anti-Gay Marriage straight people)
(Down with white males)
(Illegal Immigrants - come on in)
(Global Warming deniers not welcome!)
(Anti-Abortioners Stay Away!)

Well, lets see.
I am skeptical of the health care plan.
I am a white male.
I am against illegal immigrants taking over the country.
I am skeptical of global warming, climate change,yes.
I believe in woman's rights, abortion should should be discouraged.
I am a Democrat.

[TracyCoxx]

Originally Posted by randolph

Well, lets see.
I am skeptical of the health care plan.

MoveOn Threatens to Push Primary Opponents to Dems Voting Against Health Plan

Originally Posted by randolph

I am a white male.

Obama's criticism of McCain: Too white!

Originally Posted by randolph

I am against illegal immigrants taking over the country.

Originally Posted by Obama

You need to make sure your child can speak Spanish!

Originally Posted by randolph

I am skeptical of global warming, climate change,yes.

Originally Posted by Obama

The security and stability of each nation and all peoples-our prosperity, our health, and our safety-are in jeopardy.

Originally Posted by randolph

I am a Democrat.

Careful... You may be a democrat, but Obama clearly would wish to have a talk with you and straighten your misguided wayward beliefs before you become 'part of the problem'.

[randolph]

Originally Posted by TracyCoxx

MoveOn Threatens to Push Primary Opponents to Dems Voting Against Health Plan
Obama's criticism of McCain: Too white!




Careful... You may be a democrat, but Obama clearly would wish to have a talk with you and straighten your misguided wayward beliefs before you become 'part of the problem'.

Yeah, I guess I am part of the problem, I believe both parties are crap. The Republican party is turning into a pseudo religious cult and the Democrats are a bunch of dithering idiots.
We need a new party.
Tranny lovers unite!

[TracyCoxx]

Originally Posted by randolph

Yeah, I guess I am part of the problem, I believe both parties are crap. The Republican party is turning into a pseudo religious cult and the Democrats are a bunch of dithering idiots.
We need a new party.
Tranny lovers unite!

I think I would have to agree with you on that one.

[TracyCoxx]

If a TV show were made about Obama, what would it look like? Something that would include these elements:
* Charismatic leader from out of nowhere offering Hope and Change
* Universal Health Care
* The portrayal of the swooning media that Obama wants to control by denying access to critical reporters
* Community organizing
* Supporters who are obsessed and have unquestioning devotion
* Remarks like "Embracing change is never easy"
* Well funded civilian force
* Goal of one-world government
* Laughable attempts at a 'bi-partisan' solution
* And of course the gun-toting religious protesters


ABC actually aired this show last Tuesday, and it was called V. It's a remake of the series V from the 80s where aliens come and want to be friends and offer hope etc. But in reality, they are lizard people from space here to eat us all. All the above points were not just now added to the show to criticize Obama, they were a part of the show in the 80s. And the producers started working on the updated version in 2007. But it just fits Obama so well to the point that liberals are calling the show's criticism of Obama blatantly obvious. Anyone who has seen the show gets the impression that they are deliberately targeting Obama's administration. No wonder BO doesn't want to show his actual birth certificate. He's a lizard man from space here to eat us!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQoSCEMzJYE
You can watch it online now from ABC.

[randolph]

Well, lizard man looks friendly, its the broad that looks ominous.

[transjen]

Originally Posted by randolph

Well, lizard man looks friendly, its the broad that looks ominous.

Got to love HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE so are you saying that Obama is HE-MAN and W is Skullator?


Jerseygirl Jen

[randolph]

Originally Posted by transjen

Got to love HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE so are you saying that Obama is HE-MAN and W is Skullator?


Jerseygirl Jen

Hey Jen, you need to clue me in on this He-man and Skullator. I just saw the pic with the lizard guy, don't know the story.

OK, I just found out the babe is Teela.

[transjen]

Originally Posted by randolph

Hey Jen, you need to clue me in on this He-man and Skellator. I just saw the pic with the lizard guy, don't know the story.

OK, I just found out the babe is Teela.

HE-MAN and the MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE was a popular kids cartoon back when i was a kid back in 83 or 84 HE-MAN was the hero and SKELATOR was the evil villian always plotting to take over the kingdom and always losing to HE-MAN in the end


Yes the babe is Teela and the man in green is Man at Arms
Jerseygirl Jen

[CreativeMind]

Originally Posted by randolph

Well, lizard man looks friendly, its the broad that looks ominous.

With that creepy ass smile, Lizard Man is actually Nancy Pelosi.
The smile the result of her skin being pulled far too tight in her last face lift!

[TracyCoxx]

House democrats have voted to screw our country over. Listen up you fucks. AMERICANS AREN'T SCREAMING FOR HEALTH CARE REFORM. THEY WANT JOBS!!!

How are they going to pay for it? Does that simple question that any responsible person would think ever enter their pea-brained minds? Yeah, I know. Stupid question. They've already put us $2.5 trillion further into the hole. What's another $1.2 trillion? They say they will pay for it by making cost cuts. Bull shit. If they were serious about that then the health care bill would include tort reform.

This is what the first $trillion did to our money supply.
http://brokersfirstrealty.com/wp-con...ney-supply.gif

Then there was another $trillion for the stimulus package, and now a $1.2 trillion health care package. They are totally numbed to the concept of a trillion dollars.

Back in the 70s Carter raised the money supply 13%. This can only be temporary, so then fed must then raise interest rates to get people paying money back to them so they can destroy it and get the money supply back to where it should be. With a 13% increase in money supply the feds had to raise interest rates to 20% within about 2 years. Now... health care bill not withstanding, the democrats have raised the money supply 130%. Experts either don't know yet or are afraid to say what that will do to our interest rates.

If the interest rates get too high, people will not be able to afford loans. Then we're right back to what we were trying to prevent a year ago with the Wall Street bailout. You can't escape it with something artificial like a bailout. Jen, before you reply, listen to the guy you voted for, Ron Paul. He'll tell you all this.

If people can't afford loans, and the fed can't get all that extra money back to destroy then there is no cure for it. We will be in hyperinflation.

Your dumbass representatives in congress should know this. That's what we expect of them. But they couldn't give a shit. Their boss is Nancy Pelosi and Obama. We no longer control them, because their constituents have been telling them to stop and they won't.

Hopefully the senate will put a stop to this. But does anyone seriously believe they will? If there's one thing we can count on it's for the democrats in congress to do the wrong thing. 2010 will be so sweet watching them drop like flies. But only bitter sweet since the damage will have been done.

[randolph]

Oh boy,
I thought the cold war was bad.
I thought Vietnam was bad.
I thought Watergate, Reagan, Bush and Bush were bad.
I know Greenspan was stupid.
I believe the investment bank leaders are criminals.
I believe the Republicans are nuts.
I am worried the Obama administration is now leading us to ruin.
Whats going to happen to this country?
Damned if I know.

I need a tranny real bad, are you bad?

[randolph]

By MARK SPITZNAGEL

Ludwig von Mises was snubbed by economists world-wide as he warned of a credit crisis in the 1920s. We ignore the great Austrian at our peril today.

Mises's ideas on business cycles were spelled out in his 1912 tome "Theorie des Geldes und der Umlaufsmittel" ("The Theory of Money and Credit"). Not surprisingly few people noticed, as it was published only in German and wasn't exactly a beach read at that.

Taking his cue from David Hume and David Ricardo, Mises explained how the banking system was endowed with the singular ability to expand credit and with it the money supply, and how this was magnified by government intervention. Left alone, interest rates would adjust such that only the amount of credit would be used as is voluntarily supplied and demanded. But when credit is force-fed beyond that (call it a credit gavage), grotesque things start to happen.

Government-imposed expansion of bank credit distorts our "time preferences," or our desire for saving versus consumption. Government-imposed interest rates artificially below rates demanded by savers leads to increased borrowing and capital investment beyond what savers will provide. This causes temporarily higher employment, wages and consumption.

Ordinarily, any random spikes in credit would be quickly absorbed by the system-the pricing errors corrected, the half-baked investments liquidated, like a supple tree yielding to the wind and then returning. But when the government holds rates artificially low in order to feed ever higher capital investment in otherwise unsound, unsustainable businesses, it creates the conditions for a crash. Everyone looks smart for a while, but eventually the whole monstrosity collapses under its own weight through a credit contraction or, worse, a banking collapse.

The system is dramatically susceptible to errors, both on the policy side and on the entrepreneurial side. Government expansion of credit takes a system otherwise capable of adjustment and resilience and transforms it into one with tremendous cyclical volatility.

"Theorie des Geldes" did not become the playbook for policy makers. The 1920s were marked by the brave new era of the Federal Reserve system promoting inflationary credit expansion and with it permanent prosperity. The nerve of this Doubting-Thomas, perma-bear, crazy Kraut! Sadly, poor Ludwig was very nearly alone in warning of the collapse to come from this credit expansion. In mid-1929, he stubbornly turned down a lucrative job offer from the Viennese bank Kreditanstalt, much to the annoyance of his fiancée, proclaiming "A great crash is coming, and I don't want my name in any way connected with it."

We all know what happened next. Pretty much right out of Mises's script, overleveraged banks (including Kreditanstalt) collapsed, businesses collapsed, employment collapsed. The brittle tree snapped. Following Mises's logic, was this a failure of capitalism, or a failure of hubris?

Mises's solution follows logically from his warnings. You can't fix what's broken by breaking it yet again. Stop the credit gavage. Stop inflating. Don't encourage consumption, but rather encourage saving and the repayment of debt. Let all the lame businesses fail-no bailouts. (You see where I'm going with this.) The distortions must be removed or else the precipice from which the system will inevitably fall will simply grow higher and higher.

Mises started getting some much-deserved respect once "Theorie des Geldes" was finally published in English in 1934. It is unfortunate that it required such a disaster for people to take heed of what was the one predictive, scholarly explanation of what was happening.

But then, just Mises's bad luck, along came John Maynard Keynes's tome "The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money" in 1936. Keynes was dapper, fresh and sophisticated. He even wrote in English! And the guy had chutzpah, fearlessly fighting the battle against unemployment by running the currency printing press and draining the government's coffers.

He was the anti-Mises. So what if Keynes had lost his shirt in the stock-market crash. His book was peppered with fancy math (even Greek letters) and that meant rigor, modernity. To add insult to injury, Mises wasn't even refuted by Keynes and his ilk. He was ignored.

Fast forward 70-some years, during which we saw Keynesianism's repeated disappointments, the end of the gold standard, persistent inflation with intermittent inflationary recessions and banking crises, culminating in Alan Greenspan's "Great Moderation" and a subsequent catastrophic collapse in housing and banking. Where do we find ourselves? At a point of profound insight gained through economic logic, trial and error, and objective empiricism? Or right back where we started?

With interest rates at zero, monetary engines humming as never before, and a self-proclaimed Keynesian government, we are back again embracing the brave new era of government-sponsored prosperity and debt. And, more than ever, the system is piling uncertainties on top of uncertainties, turning an otherwise resilient economy into a brittle one.

How curious it is that the guy who wrote the script depicting our never ending story of government-induced credit expansion, inflation and collapse has remained so persistently forgotten. Must we sit through yet another performance of this tragic tale?

Mr. Spitznagel is the founder and chief investment officer of the hedge fund Universa Investments LP, based in Santa Monica, Calif.

[The Conquistador]

Originally Posted by TracyCoxx

We will be in hyperinflation.

Ammunition will be the new currency...

[randolph]

Lack of Health Care Killed 2,266 US Veterans Last Year: Study

WASHINGTON - The number of US veterans who died in 2008 because they lacked health insurance was 14 times higher than the US military death toll in Afghanistan that year, according to a new study.

[US soldiers attend a "Veterans Day" ceremony at Camp Eggers in Kabul. The number of US veterans who died in 2008 because they lacked health insurance was 14 times higher than the US military death toll in Afghanistan that year, according to a new study. (AFP/Massoud Hossaini)]US soldiers attend a "Veterans Day" ceremony at Camp Eggers in Kabul. The number of US veterans who died in 2008 because they lacked health insurance was 14 times higher than the US military death toll in Afghanistan that year, according to a new study. (AFP/Massoud Hossaini)
The analysis produced by two Harvard medical researchers estimates that 2,266 US military veterans under the age of 65 died in 2008 because they lacked health coverage and had reduced access to medical care.

That figure is more than 14 times higher than the 155 US troop deaths in Afghanistan in 2008, the study says.

Released as the United States commemorates fallen soldiers on Veterans Day, the study warns that even health care provided by the Veterans Health Administration (VA) leaves many veterans without coverage.

The analysis uses census data to isolate the number of US veterans who lack both private health coverage and care offered by the VA.

"That's a group that's about 1.5 million people," said David Himmelstein, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program who co-authored the study.

Himmelstein and co-author Stephanie Woolhandler, also a Harvard medical professor, overlaid that figure with another study examining the mortality rate associated with lack of health insurance.

"The uninsured have about a 40 percent higher risk of dying each year than otherwise comparable insured individuals," Himmelstein told AFP.

"Putting that all together you get an estimate of almost 2,300 -- 2,266 veterans who die each year from lack of health insurance."

Only some US veterans have access to medical care through the VA and coverage is apportioned on the basis of eight "priority groups."

"They range from things like people who were prisoners of war, who have coverage for life, or who have battle injuries and therefore have coverage for their injuries for life," said Himmelstein.

Veterans who fall below an income threshold that is determined on a county-by-county basis can qualify for care, but many veterans are "working poor" and fall just above the bracket.

"The priority eight group, the lowest priority, are veterans above the very poor group who have no other reason to be eligible and that group is essentially shut out of the VA," according to Himmelstein.

The study comes as the US Senate weighs health care reform legislation and whether to offer government health insurance.

Himmelstein warns that congressional proposals could still leave veterans uncovered and favors a national health care program similar to those in Britain and Canada.

[franalexes]

Last time I checked, people die because they are sick.
Not because they are too poor to pay the bill.

[randolph]

Originally Posted by franalexes

Last time I checked, people die because they are sick.
Not because they are too poor to pay the bill.

Why do people have health insurance? Well, when they get sick they go to a doctor, who helps them get well so they don't die.
Makes sense to me.