oleeb's Blog

oleeb Commented on "I'm A Democrat" And "I'm A Republican" by oleeb

2009-11-12T14:56:07Z

But it isn't a matter of whether there are some good Democrats DD. We know that there are some, but actually there aren't that many when it comes right down to it. There are less than 100 in the House and maybe 10-15 in the Senate. We know the Republicans suck. But the fact is, the largest block of Democrats are just as corrupt as the Republicans and that's why we get in situations like this. They serve the same interests as Republicans they just put a better face on it in most cases. In some cases, like the Blue Dogs, they don't even bother trying to hide the fact that they're whores to the special interests. It is simply a matter of degree with respect to how corrupt the two parties are. The healthcare reform bill is a classic example of how this corruption undermines what the well meaning and sincere Democrats try to accomplish for the public (including most Democratic voters as well as a majority of independent voters). This vid demonstrates nicely how it works and what the problem really is.

oleeb Commented on MORE MUSINGS ON HEALTH CARE by dickday

2009-11-11T18:09:02Z

DD, the 60 votes thing is just a diversionary tactic and a way to avoid responsibility. They know they can pass whatever they want. That's the key word here: "want". They don't want healthcare reform. They want what their masters in big insurance and big pharma want: the status quo.

Want an honest, quick take on what's going on? Go to my post "I'm A Democrat" And "I'm A Republican". It's just a link to a short video that exposes the BS we're being fed by the politicians.

oleeb recommended "I'm A Democrat" And "I'm A Republican" by oleeb

2009-11-11T17:20:37Z

oleeb Commented on Oh, crap by calgarr

2009-11-11T16:12:07Z

"The phrase "...life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." was the second choice of the continental congress, replacing "...life, liberty, and property." "

The two are interchangeable and have precisely the same meaning. People at the time understood this very well. People today don't. The word "happiness" meant and still refers to property.

oleeb Commented on Source behind John Edwards' $400 haircut story revealed by truthseeker77

2009-11-11T16:08:53Z

I think it's just to show that Obama and his organization were just as petty and spiteful as the rest... and that they weren't the clean, "different" organization they liked to protray themselves as. Not much of a revelation really since I doubt many believed that kind of nonsense anyway.

oleeb Commented on America at Risk of Not Being a Democracy Anymore by Kurt J. Walton

2009-11-11T07:27:39Z

Why not simply limit contributions to natural born citizens of the US? Corporations are persons, but not citizens.

oleeb Commented on The Little People Have Been Demoted On TPMCafe (Updated) by Rutabaga Ridgepole

2009-11-11T07:15:38Z

Quite so.

oleeb Commented on The Little People Have Been Demoted On TPMCafe (Updated) by Rutabaga Ridgepole

2009-11-10T22:14:41Z

Ya know, I noticed that Reich's posts were also being printed at Salon and perhaps other places. I had previously thought he was posting to TPM, but that wasn't the case. Perhaps he's been on vaca or they are concentrating on having posts from people who are not cross posting elsewhere?

oleeb Commented on Murdoch: Beck 'Was Right' When He Called Obama Racist by Rachel Slajda

2009-11-10T22:05:22Z

Can't we have Murdoch's citizenship revoked since it's a sham anyway and then deport the bastard?

oleeb Commented on The Little People Have Been Demoted On TPMCafe (Updated) by Rutabaga Ridgepole

2009-11-10T16:54:45Z

Yes, I'm curious if the front page change is permanent. Also, what about all the problems people have been having lately with just opening pages at tpm?

oleeb Commented on The Fort Carson Murder Spree: Just Another Army Skidmark or Derilection Of Duty? by OldenGoldenDecoy

2009-11-10T16:48:09Z

War is evil and is the enemy of all humanity. There is no "good" war, only bad ones.

Some wars cannot be avoided and they are the only ones that have any justification at all. Neither of the imperial wars we are fighting have any justification.

Iraq was and reamins a war of aggression and was illegal from the start. Afghanistan had a justification at first but that has long since become moot and now only serves to destabilize that part of asia.

We invite the horrific consequences of war on our soldiers and our people because we are an imperialist state. Until we renounce our imperialist aims and adopt a policy of engaging in war only for defensive purposes we will continue to see this kind of pointless violence and suffering.

oleeb Commented on HEALTH CARE MUSINGS by dickday

2009-11-10T00:49:32Z

Not mad at all, just don't have time for that right now. Sorry. And I think it doesn't mean much one way or the other.

oleeb Commented on A Closer Look At The Health Care Vote by Eric Kleefeld

2009-11-09T22:22:13Z

In what sense useful other than for gabbing about it? There's no useful correlation to be made if no action or reaction results from a representative casting his/her vote a certain way.

oleeb Commented on A Closer Look At The Health Care Vote by Eric Kleefeld

2009-11-09T21:58:42Z

I don't think there's much evidence to support the theory that voting against any particular President's legislation is going to harm a house member of either party even if that district favored that particular President was on the ballot. There's just no evidence to support a correlation of any significance. When voters cast their ballot on a member of the House it is far more likely that the concerns at the top of the list will be local and general and not tied to a Presidential race two years before.

oleeb Commented on HEALTH CARE MUSINGS by dickday

2009-11-09T21:44:24Z

We don't need convoluted subsidy programs (that do more to keep the insurance companies fat and happy than they do those who need healthcare) if we'd simply have a real and genuine public option.

oleeb Commented on HEALTH CARE MUSINGS by dickday

2009-11-09T21:42:36Z

Here's reality: you're denying it.

Obama sold the people out on healthcare just as he has on the rule of law, domestic spying, the banking bailout, the wars, the stimulus. You. Me. Everybody. You should be arguing with the people who are responsible for selling you out, not the people who are pointing out what they've done to you.

More reality: you can't win the lottery if you don't play and the same is true in healthcare or any other political effort. Now while it is true that it's very difficult to win the lottery, the only people who can win are the one's who take the chance and play it. If you make no effort or if you deliberately scuttle any attempt to try and do the right thing ion healthcare it's pretty damn sure going to result in not getting the right thing done. Obama deliberately took the strongest healthcare reform option and took it off the table making it impossible to go forward. He, like you, uses the excuse that it is impossible so there's no need to try. I repeat: you can't win if you don't play. If we had a leader with some cajones who determined we must do the right thing in our country and we must do our best, then things would change overnight. It wouldn't have to be single payer though it should be, but when the guy who can change the whole landscape refuses even to try but instead immediately surrenders, as Obama did, to the insurance and drug industries it does make it impossible to do right.

It's like going to target practice and aiming 20 degrees off to the left of the target and then saying to those who keep pointing out that the target is to the right of your aim that there's no point in trying to hit the target because it can't be done. Well hell no it can't be done when you're not even aiming at the target and making no attempt to do so!

Good thing LBJ didn't pull this same dodge when it came to Medicare as he could have. We'd still be waiting for all seniors to be covered.