Buck Naked Politics

'Climate-Gate?' Oh, I Wish...

by Bill Kavanagh: As Brad DeLong is fond of saying, "Why oh why can't we have a better press corps?"

It's pretty disheartening, just as President Obama has announced he'll be going to the Copenhagen Climate Conference at its closing (implying a possible deal to announce on carbon emission reductions) to see that the WaPo is instead playing up the ridiculous 'Climategate' story so prominently. It's a great distraction for those who'd rather bury their heads in the sand than deal with the reality of climate change, but a real disservice to readers who by now should have little doubt of the severity of the crisis we are into.

I remember when the Post was a beacon for press freedom and independence. Do you?

(Bill cross-posts at Bill's Big Diamond .)

Quote of the Day: The Abdication of Harry Reid

Kos:

Bill Frist never had 60 votes. Bill Frist never cared. Republicans ran the Senate as if they owned the place, even when enjoying razor-thin majorities.

Yet when Democrats took the chamber, the first thing Harry Reid did was complain that he couldn't do anything because he didn't have 60 votes.

Then voters delivered 59 votes. And Harry Reid whined that he still couldn't do anything. In fact, nothing would ever get accomplished unless they had 60, and to do that, they had to bring turncoat Joe Lieberman back into the fold..You see, we were told, Joe Lieberman is with us on everything except the war! So we need him for 60, and when we have 60, everyone will get ponies! And if Lieberman strays, why, Evan Bayh said Senate Democrats could punish him!...

Good thing we never believed his bullshit, because neither Bayh, nor Reid, nor any of the ineffective corporatist Dems would ever let this sort of thing actually happen. Lieberman knows this, which is why he's once again making common cause with Republicans.

So once again, Reid is complaining that he doesn't have 60 votes, which is why they need to anoint Olympia Snowe as de facto President of the United States. Maybe SHE will get us to 60! But we all know Snowe has no intention of voting for real reform, and yet Reid (with White House backing) continue to let themselves get played. It's all a farce.

So much for 60....So that's that. The notion of "leading" is clearly a non-starter for Reid, according to his office. Well, glad Reid's office has admitted as such. Time for new leadership.  (More)

Sing it.

.

Jon Stewart Ponders 30 GOP Votes Against Franken's Anti-Rape Amendment

HuffPost:

In 2005, Jamie Leigh Jones was gang-raped by her Halliburton/KBR co-workers while working in Iraq and locked in a shipping container for over a day to prevent her from reporting her attack. The rape occurred outside of U.S. criminal jurisdiction, but to add serious insult to serious injury she was not allowed to sue KBR because her employment contract said that sexual assault allegations would only be heard in private arbitration--a process that overwhelmingly favors corporations.

This year, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) proposed an amendment that would deny defense contracts to companies that ask employees to sign away the right to sue.

Jon Stewart seems surprised.  I'm not.  Between protecting KBR/Halliburton's protection of rapists and protecting women from rape was a no-brainer -- fortunately for KBR/Halliburton.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Rape-Nuts
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

Obama's Inspirational Rhetoric Deploring "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"... Meanwhile, White House Alleged to View Gays (& Bloggers! & Gay Bloggers!) as Part of Non-crucial "Internet Left Fringe"

by Damozel |  From the Human Rights Campaign's October 10 banquet:

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Oh, that's nice.  That's really nice.  So it is a bit jarring -- in more ways than one -- to read allegations that the White House apparently considers concerned gays part of the "internet left fringe" (as if that were a bad thing).  From John Aravosis:

Bill Maher: New Rule -- "Everyone Deserves Equal Rights"

by Damozel |  Deb asked yesterday whether Obama's "support" for gay rights will prove to be nothing but more of the president's inspirational rhetoric.  Via HuffPost, Bill Maher speaks out for gays and for the end of "Don't Ask; Don't Tell."  The following's an excerpt:

"Tomorrow night President Obama will speak before a gay rights group, and on Sunday there will be a massive gay rally in Washington, or as I call it, the Million Mo March. Which makes this weekend the perfect time for Obama to announce he's repealing "don't ask, don't tell" and committing to a full-throated endorsement of gay marriage. One, because it's the right thing to do and two, because it will throw the conservative base into such a frenzied, pants-shitting panic that they'll drop all that BS about death panels and socialism and let us all get some actual work done.

"But of course that's not going to happen. I can tell you what the president is going to tell his audience tomorrow: How much he supports them. How much he agrees with them. And how he wishes he was President so he could help them out.

Health Care Reform Warrior Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY) Debates Betsy McCaughey

October 5, 2009 Healthcare Reform Debate with Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and Dr. Betsy McCaughey, Health Policy Expert, Patient Advocate and former Lieutenant Governor of New York (1995-1998)

Watch Weiner be unstoppably awesome.

Also!:

Grayson on the Ed Show: Republicans Wish There Was a Nobel Prize for Fear

Alan Grayson Calls Out Fellow Dems for Obsession with Getting Support of Olympia Snowe (R-ME) for Health Care Plan; Tells GOP, "If you're against health care, just get out of the way"

by Damozel | Can I hear you say, "Amen"?  From Huff Post:

"We as a party have spent the last six months, the greatest minds in our party, dwelling on the question, the unbelievably consuming question of how to get Olympia Snowe to vote on health care reform," he said. "I want to remind us all that Olympia Snowe was not elected President last year. Olympia Snowe has no veto power in the Senate. Olympia Snowe represents a state with one half of one percent of America's population." "What America wants is health care reform," he continued. "America doesn't care if it gets 51 votes in the Senate or 60 votes in the Senate or 83 votes in the Senate. In fact, America doesn't even care about that, it doesn't care about that at all." 

Wonkette:

Stephen Colbert on the Tears and Sincerity of Glenn Beck

by Damozel | Members of the mainstream media are jealous "because he dominates the coveted demographic of 18-49 year old voices in his head."

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Bend It Like Beck
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Michael Moore

Keith Olbermann's Eloquent Hour Long Special Comment on Health Care System Failures: A Personal Account

by Damozel |  This 4-part video --aptly summarized here -- is extremely worthwhile and definitely worth making time for, as he discusses his father's experiences.

Part One:

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Rachel Maddow: Republicans Pretend to be Shocked by Grayson's Remarks on GOP "Health Care;" Grayson: "They've Got Nothing"

Grayson and Maddow discusses the character of his comments; Maddow shows some footage of equally shocking Republicans. In other news, Maddow appears to be one of many who don't know that "holocaust" has a meaning predating World War II.  For the nation's indifference to the thousands who have died because they couldn't afford a doctor, I'd call it le mot juste.

hol·o·caust  (hl-kôst, hl-)

n.

1. Great destruction resulting in the extensive loss of life...  (the Free Dictionary)

...an act of mass destruction and loss of life (wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn)

The annihilation or near-annihilation of a group of animals or people, whether by natural or deliberate agency (e.g., “nuclear holocaust”) (wiktionary)

The Ed Show: Ed Schultz Explains for the Protocol-Challenged Why Grayson's Criticism of the GOP Differs from Wilson's Inappropriate Outburst; Anthony Weiner Call Lack of Health Care Plan "A Republican Tax"

by Damozel | Schultz explains the distinction between discourse on the House floor and an outburst during a Joint Session of Congress.  In case I haven't mentioned it lately, Anthony Weiner is my other favorite Democratic warrior. "Eric Cantor must think the bill fairy pays the hospital bills" for the uninsured.   Weiner says of Grayson, "Usually we don't let freshman speak, but we gotta get this guy out there more."

Full of Win: Grayson on MSNBC -- The GOP is a "lie factory"

by Damozel | This is how you do it.  When civility gets you nothing but FAIL, this is how you counter the untrue jeering and the lies that just won't die.. This is what we send people to Congress for. From The Hill:

"America is sick of you, Republican Party; you're a lie factory, that's all you do," he told MSNBC on Thursday. "Why don't you work together with the Democrats to solve America's problems instead of making stuff up?"

Grayson then called the party a bunch of "no-mongers."...

"The people who should be apologizing are the Republicans, they're the ones who should apologize for dragging us all through the mud here while we're just trying to improve healthcare in America," he said. "That's all we're trying to do."

Thank you, Alan Grayson, for standing up to the bullies. 

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Grayson & Tweety on Hardball: We Can't Run This Country Based on Republican Hissy Fits

by Damozel | I'm just so damn relieved that somebody is finally saying it and that the someone in question is Florida's Alan Grayson.  Watch Tweety call Grayson "a Martin Luther" and the GOP blowhards such as Limbaugh "clowns" and calls Glenn Beck "what's his name, Beck."  Grayson says that bullies always back down. 

Colbert: Send Your Health Care Bills to Max Baucus...

...because he can cover it with the $3.2 million he's had from the health care industry.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Send Your Medical Bills to Max Baucus
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Michael Moore

Alan Grayson: Response Has Been Overwhelmingly Positive

Grayson: Republicans -- "Knuckle-Dragging Neanderthals" -- Should Do the Apologizing

by Damozel | That's our guy.

Jon Stewart Rebukes Useless Democratic Super Majority

by bartleby the scrivener | "The Democratic supermajority fails to pass health care reform, but succeeds in funding abstinence-only education."  Yeah.  When I call them "gutless invertebrates" I mean it in the most loving way.  : 

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Democratic Super Majority
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

After Republicans Demand an Apology, Grayson (D-Fl) Apologizes to the 44,000 People Who Die Every Year for Lack of Health Insurance

by Damozel | Here's yer apology, GOP. Here's the study he mentions.

On Countdown, Arianna Huffington had his back:

Alan Grayson (D-FL) Explains The GOP's Health Care Plan: Please Die Quickly

by Damozel | This Congressman is MADE of awesome. Grayson is so my hero.