One of America's leading newspapers, The Washington Post, reaches new lows of ethical journalism by supporting torture using unsubstantiated documentation. (Mike)

Bits and Pieces for the Week of August 23 - 29

What do propofol, lorazepam, midazolam, diazepam, lidocaine and ephedrine all have in common? (Mike)

Smoking pot LOWERS the risk of lung cancer (Mike)

As a percent of total GDP, the US national debt is not really that bad (Mike)

Photos of Edward Kennedy, the liberal's liberal. (Mike)

Many more failed banks are on the way.. (Mike)

Swearing can be good for you. (Mike)

Another swindel... Bernie Madoff dying in jail from cancer. Maybe he can gain sympathy from the court and be let go like the terrorist from Libya. (7 of 6)

From a recent GOP fundraising survey:

"It has been suggested that the government could use voter registration to determine a person's political affiliation, prompting fears that GOP voters might be discriminated against for medical treatment in a Democrat-imposed health care rationing system. Does this possibility concern you?"

Better yet, let's use voter registration to double Republicans' income and property taxes, force them to enlist in the Army (they should like that, anyway), eliminate their Medicare and Social Security benefits (they hate socialism, right?), charge them tolls to use our highways (again, that socialism thing), and force them to pay back their stimulus checks.

I don't understand why liberals are upset with this video. Of course the self-proclaimed right wing terrorist in the video is your standard bigoted and uninformed nutjob, but everyone recognizes this subspecies as a group who just can't help the way they are. They need our help, not our derision. No reason to get upset over that.

And the congressman's emphatic proclamation of support for the nutjob (near the end of the video) is not in the least bit surprising by now. In fact, let everyone see this. It will just encourage more moderate Republicans to leave their increasingly fringe party. No need to get upset.

As the swine flu season gears up for a massive attack on our clueless population, here's our first cartoon dedicated to our little virus friends:


[click for larger image]

To all you drivers out there who INSIST on texting while driving, watch this video:


If this had happened in Los Angeles rather than England (note the accents and driver-on-the-right), the life support response time would have been much longer and deadlier.

5 Myths About Health Care Around the World By T.R. Reid Sunday, August 23, 2009 As Americans search for the cure to what ails our health-care system, we've overlooked an invaluable source of ideas and solutions: the rest of the world. All the other industrialized democracies have faced problems like ours, yet they've found ways to cover everybody -- and still spend far less than we do. I've traveled the world from Oslo to Osaka to see how other developed democracies provide health care. Instead of dismissing these models as "socialist," we could adapt their solutions to fix our problems. To do that, we first have to dispel a few myths about health care abroad: 1. It's all socialized medicine out there. Not so. Some countries, such as Britain, New Zealand and Cuba, do provide health care in government hospitals, with the government paying the bills. Others -- for instance, Canada and Taiwan -- rely on private-sector providers, paid for by government-run insurance. But many wealthy countries -- including Germany, the Netherlands, Japan and Switzerland -- provide universal coverage using private doctors, private hospitals and private insurance plans. In some ways, health care is less "socialized" overseas than in the United States. Almost all Americans sign up for government insurance (Medicare) at age 65. In Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, seniors stick with private insurance plans for life. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is one of the planet's purest examples of government-run health care. 2. Overseas, care is rationed through limited choices or long lines. Generally, no. Germans can sign up for any of the nation's 200 private health insurance plans -- a broader choice than any American has. If a German doesn't like her insurance company, she can switch to another, with no increase in premium. The Swiss, too, can choose any insurance plan in the country. In France and Japan, you don't get a choice of insurance provider; you have to use the one designated for your company or your industry. But patients can go to any doctor, any hospital, any traditional healer. There are no U.S.-style limits such as "in-network" lists of doctors or "pre-authorization" for surgery. You pick any doctor, you get treatment -- and insurance has to pay. Canadians have their choice of providers. In Austria and Germany, if a doctor diagnoses a person as "stressed," medical insurance pays for weekends at a health spa. As for those notorious waiting lists, some countries are indeed plagued by them. Canada makes patients wait weeks or months for nonemergency care, as a way to keep costs down. But studies by the Commonwealth Fund and others report that many nations -- Germany, Britain, Austria -- outperform the United States on measures such as waiting times for appointments and for elective surgeries. In Japan, waiting times are so short that most patients don't bother to make an appointment. One Thursday morning in Tokyo, I called the prestigious orthopedic clinic at Keio University Hospital to schedule a consultation about my aching shoulder. "Why don't you just drop by?" the receptionist said. That same afternoon, I was in the surgeon's office. Dr. Nakamichi recommended an operation. "When could we do it?" I asked. The doctor checked his computer and said, "Tomorrow would be pretty difficult. Perhaps some day next week?" 3. Foreign health-care systems are inefficient, bloated bureaucracies. Much less so than here. It may seem to Americans that U.S.-style free enterprise -- private-sector, for-profit health insurance -- is naturally the most cost-effective way to pay for health care. But in fact, all the other payment systems are more efficient than ours. U.S. health insurance companies have the highest administrative costs in the world; they spend roughly 20 cents of every dollar for nonmedical costs, such as paperwork, reviewing claims and marketing. France's health insurance industry, in contrast, covers everybody and spends about 4 percent on administration. Canada's universal insurance system, run by government bureaucrats, spends 6 percent on administration. In Taiwan, a leaner version of the Canadian model has administrative costs of 1.5 percent; one year, this figure ballooned to 2 percent, and the opposition parties savaged the government for wasting money. The world champion at controlling medical costs is Japan, even though its aging population is a profligate consumer of medical care. On average, the Japanese go to the doctor 15 times a year, three times the U.S. rate. They have twice as many MRI scans and X-rays. Quality is high; life expectancy and recovery rates for major diseases are better than in the United States. And yet Japan spends about $3,400 per person annually on health care; the United States spends more than $7,000. 4. Cost controls stifle innovation. False. The United States is home to groundbreaking medical research, but so are other countries with much lower cost structures. Any American who's had a hip or knee replacement is standing on French innovation. Deep-brain stimulation to treat depression is a Canadian breakthrough. Many of the wonder drugs promoted endlessly on American television, including Viagra, come from British, Swiss or Japanese labs. Overseas, strict cost controls actually drive innovation. In the United States, an MRI scan of the neck region costs about $1,500. In Japan, the identical scan costs $98. Under the pressure of cost controls, Japanese researchers found ways to perform the same diagnostic technique for one-fifteenth the American price. (And Japanese labs still make a profit.) 5. Health insurance has to be cruel. Not really. American health insurance companies routinely reject applicants with a "preexisting condition" -- precisely the people most likely to need the insurers' service. They employ armies of adjusters to deny claims. If a customer is hit by a truck and faces big medical bills, the insurer's "rescission department" digs through the records looking for grounds to cancel the policy, often while the victim is still in the hospital. The companies say they have to do this stuff to survive in a tough business. Foreign health insurance companies, in contrast, must accept all applicants, and they can't cancel as long as you pay your premiums. The plans are required to pay any claim submitted by a doctor or hospital (or health spa), usually within tight time limits. The big Swiss insurer Groupe Mutuel promises to pay all claims within five days. "Our customers love it," the group's chief executive told me. The corollary is that everyone is mandated to buy insurance, to give the plans an adequate pool of rate-payers. The key difference is that foreign health insurance plans exist only to pay people's medical bills, not to make a profit. The United States is the only developed country that lets insurance companies profit from basic health coverage. In many ways, foreign health-care models are not really "foreign" to America, because our crazy-quilt health-care system uses elements of all of them. For Native Americans or veterans, we're Britain: The government provides health care, funding it through general taxes, and patients get no bills. For people who get insurance through their jobs, we're Germany: Premiums are split between workers and employers, and private insurance plans pay private doctors and hospitals. For people over 65, we're Canada: Everyone pays premiums for an insurance plan run by the government, and the public plan pays private doctors and hospitals according to a set fee schedule. And for the tens of millions without insurance coverage, we're Burundi or Burma: In the world's poor nations, sick people pay out of pocket for medical care; those who can't pay stay sick or die. This fragmentation is another reason that we spend more than anybody else and still leave millions without coverage. All the other developed countries have settled on one model for health-care delivery and finance; we've blended them all into a costly, confusing bureaucratic mess. Which, in turn, punctures the most persistent myth of all: that America has "the finest health care" in the world. We don't. In terms of results, almost all advanced countries have better national health statistics than the United States does. In terms of finance, we force 700,000 Americans into bankruptcy each year because of medical bills. In France, the number of medical bankruptcies is zero. Britain: zero. Japan: zero. Germany: zero. Given our remarkable medical assets -- the best-educated doctors and nurses, the most advanced hospitals, world-class research -- the United States could be, and should be, the best in the world. To get there, though, we have to be willing to learn some lessons about health-care administration from the other industrialized democracies.

Buy Rage-Ex Now!

Bits and Pieces for the Week of August 16 - 22

According to a P.P.P. poll, 6% of Americans think that not only was Obama NOT born in the U.S., but also that he WAS born in Hawaii. (Mike)

If Obama is not listening to Elizabeth Warren and Nouriel Roubini he is delivering nothing but smoke and mirrors for his economic reform. Nouriel Roubini and the Phantom Recovery. (7 of 6)

The case for downloading music rather than buying CDs (Mike)

I find it hilarious Dick Armey is claiming Obama is going to exaggerate the H1N1 flu virus... “In September or October there will be a hyped up outbreak of the swine flu..." Armey seems to forget that WHO has already declared it a Pandemic with 88% of the deaths on the North American continent! (7 of 6)

A rant directed at Pension/Endowment/etc Trustees and Investment Committees (Mike)

The Terminator in action! 800,000 California children will lose health insurance only because of Gov. Groperzenegger's line-item veto of Healthy Families funding. (Mike)

Don't take it from me, take it from "federal scientists". "Ocean surface temperatures around the world were the warmest on record for the month of June..." (7 of 6)

Free-Market Death Panels By Froma Harrop August 18th, 2009 PERMALINK “Death panels”? I’ll tell you about death panels. My husband faced one some years ago, and it didn’t involve any government bureaucrat. It was run by our private insurer, the sort of corporate entity that foes of health care reform say will give you anything you want. My husband was diagnosed with liver cancer. We were “insured” by United Healthcare. The deal was as follows: You had to use doctors on its list, but if you needed specialized care outside the network, United’s health-maintenance organization would pay for it. Fair enough. A liver expert within the network said point blank that for my husband’s case, there was but one place to go, a specialized chemotherapy program at Deaconess Hospital in Boston. Fortunately, it was only 50 minutes away. But United Healthcare refused to pay for it. Instead, it directed us to a small, local hospital unequipped to deal with this kind of cancer. Our liver specialist warned, “Don’t waste your time.” We naively tried to go through United Healthcare’s appeals process. We would call the number and speak to a handler who said our case would be reconsidered. Days later, a one-sentence letter would arrive by slow mail saying that we were being denied, but call this number to challenge the verdict. Around and around we went. We could never speak to anyone making the decisions. No one would even talk to our doctor, who at one point whispered to us, “Mortgage the house.” I became convinced that the insurance company was trying to run out the clock on my husband’s life. Had it issued an outright “no,” we would have gone to Deaconess, paid for the care ourselves and fought the insurer later. But it always pretended that a possible “yes” could be around the corner. Having already lost precious time confronting this cancer, we simply rushed to Deaconess. On hearing the story, the head of the chemo program told us: “HMOs don’t care whether you live or die. They just want to save money.” My husband underwent the arduous chemo. Meanwhile, powerful people were pulling strings for us with the insurer. Upon learning we had “connections,” United Healthcare finally said it would pay. The cancer came back. This treatment was never a sure thing, but I often wonder how much the delay affected the outcome. An ex-Marine, my husband was a tough customer. Toward the end, he said to me, “You know, fighting the insurance company was worse than fighting the cancer.” A year after my husband died, I was still receiving medical bills for some of the treatment that United Healthcare had agreed to cover. Oh, they eventually paid. The game is to break you down. An economic note: In 2006, William “Dollar Bill” McGuire, CEO of parent-company UnitedHealth Group, walked off with a $1.1 billion golden parachute (on top of the $500 million he had already raked in) — though he had to return some of it in an options backdating scandal. What we wouldn’t have done to have traded Dollar Bill’s minions for a government bureaucrat. The bureaucrat would have given a simple “yes” or “no” based on official guidelines. He or she would have had no personal stake in denying you care. By the way, a government-run program doesn’t tell you what treatments you may or may not have. It tells you what the taxpayers will subsidize. You are free to go out with your own money and buy whatever you want. We would have been prepared to do that. Instead, we got tied up in a private insurer’s web of tricks. Believe me, “death panels” already exist, and they have nothing to do with the government.

An excerpt from an interesting rant by Karl Denninger:

...How high does your interest rate have to go on your credit cards - while your bank borrows the money it lends you at zero percent - before you cut 'em all up and send 'em to the bank with a picture of your erect middle finger instead of a payment? How long will you sit while both Democrat and Republican lie to you about how the "bailouts" and "handouts" will help the economy. Has all this grift helped? Did the "stimulus" keep unemployment from going higher as was promised? Did you really get help with your mortgage or were you offered a scam "forbearance" that amounts to the back-end loading of your balance, turning it into a balloon note or worse? Have you enjoyed watching JP Morgan and other big banks that got tens of billions of taxpayer dollars lease tankers and then bid up the price of oil - causing it to double - with your tax money? How about The Fed and Treasury funneling tens of billions in taxpayer money through AIG to a literal "who's who" of big banks so they could in turn pay billions in bonuses? All of this obviously meets with your approval as demonstrated by your actions: You still sit back and pop a beer, you go about your daily routine, you refuse to rise from your chair and demand: STOP THE LOOTING AND START PROSECUTING, finally willing to back that up with your sacred honor - or more. Sometimes I wonder what our nation will stand for - exactly where the breaking point is where we finally force the right things to be done. The right choices. Whether the time will come where we force the barons both inside the beltway and out to face the music for their sins. Is it 10% unemployment? 15? 20? 1/3rd of our nation out of work and hungry? Is it 2 million foreclosures, three, six, ten, thirty? Is it credit card rates at 20%, 30, 50? Will we submit to the jackbooted foot of the scammers and frauds on our collective necks, both in business and in DC, until our children starve and our grandmothers, mothers and fathers are shoveled in the hole, dead and cold?....

I'm glad this happened in my lifetime rather than my children's. It took the election of a black President to jumpstart it. But now I clearly see that Republicans represent pretty much all that is wrong with our country. The racism, hatred, arrogance, outright lying, killing (see Tiller), prejudice, bigotry, intolerance, narrow-mindedness and injustice seems today to be coming almost exclusively from this shrinking group of white thugs.

Anyone with any sense of decency would not dare associate themselves with Republicans.

I classify them as a sub-species. There is no other explanation.

Bits and Pieces for the Week of August 9 - 15

Thought for the day: Calling Republicans "Nazis" is insulting to Nazis everywhere, so show a little respect to Swastikians and just don't do it. (Mike)

The next target of town hall Republican screamers? Climate bills. (Mike)

For those blasting the United Kingdom's National Health Service, you might want to listen to Stephen Hawking, "I wouldn't be here today if it were not for the NHS"... Enough said. (7 of 6)

Fingers in ears, eyes closed, mindless chanting of "La, la la..." It seems like almost everyone is ignoring the elephant in the room. (Mike)

The case against Tasers (Mike)

I love it... Wealthy group pushes to be taxed more. I'm sure they would rather be taxed now at the lower level than have Obama enact a 50% tax on the wealthy. (7 of 6)

David Neiwert and Sara Robinson from the blog Orcinus, are doing the best blog work exposing right wing extremism in the USA. (7 of 6)

FRIDAY F U N

• Cave People
• This short video from the 50's about stocks gets hilariously weird near the end. Part II, even funnier.
• Here's a special treat for all you Lakers fans. Some dude in Poland put together this terrific video anthology (excuse the few misspellings).

A colleague nurse of mine received this message from her Republican state senator:

Dear XXXXXXX R.N.: Thank you for your email regarding your concern with Governor Schwarzenegger’s decision to make additional cuts to California’s 2009-10 Budget before he signed it. Unfortunately, the Governor had to make additional cuts to several programs, including Healthy Families, in part because of a key measure that was defeated in the Assembly. The budget package included a provision—that passed in the Senate but failed in the Assembly—which would have immediately provided $100 million to the state’s general fund by allowing the Tranquillion Ridge Oil Drilling project to move forward. In addition to the $100 million this project would generate in the first year, it would bring $1.8 billion to the state’s general fund over the course of the project. It’s important to keep in mind that this project would use only one existing platform to tap into the state’s immense oil resources and has received support from both state and local environmental groups. The situation is frustrating to me and my Senate Republicans colleagues, but the Governor had no choice but to make additional cuts to vital services given the fact that he is required by law to balance the budget and the Assembly sent down a package that had $400 million less then he expected. I would suggest you contact Assembly Speaker Karen Bass and urge her to pass the Tranquillion Ridge Oil Drilling project bill and send it to the governor for his signature. Doing so would allow most of the program cuts to be restored immediately. Again, thank you for taking the time to share your concerns with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future regarding other legislative issues of concern to you. Sincerely, Senator Runner

That’s pure b.s. because Arnold made the line-item cuts as payback for not getting his offshore drilling, not to save $$. Notice that no names of “both state and local environmental groups” are mentioned…. typical Republican ploy. The Republicans are just holding children’s health hostage in order to appease the oil industry special interests.

8 common myths about health insurance reform

Reform will stop "rationing" - not increase it: It’s a myth that reform will mean a "government takeover" of health care or lead to "rationing." To the contrary, reform will forbid many forms of rationing that are currently being used by insurance companies.

We can’t afford reform: It's the status quo we can't afford. It’s a myth that reform will bust the budget. To the contrary, the President has identified ways to pay for the vast majority of the up-front costs by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse within existing government health programs; ending big subsidies to insurance companies; and increasing efficiency with such steps as coordinating care and streamlining paperwork. In the long term, reform can help bring down costs that will otherwise lead to a fiscal crisis.

Reform would encourage "euthanasia": It does not. It’s a malicious myth that reform would encourage or even require euthanasia for seniors. For seniors who want to consult with their family and physicians about end-of life decisions, reform will help to cover these voluntary, private consultations for those who want help with these personal and difficult family decisions.

Vets' health care is safe and sound: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will affect veterans' access to the care they get now. To the contrary, the President's budget significantly expands coverage under the VA, extending care to 500,000 more veterans who were previously excluded. The VA Healthcare system will continue to be available for all eligible veterans.

Reform will benefit small business - not burden it: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will hurt small businesses. To the contrary, reform will ease the burdens on small businesses, provide tax credits to help them pay for employee coverage and help level the playing field with big firms who pay much less to cover their employees on average.

Your Medicare is safe, and stronger with reform: It’s myth that Health Insurance Reform would be financed by cutting Medicare benefits. To the contrary, reform will improve the long-term financial health of Medicare, ensure better coordination, eliminate waste and unnecessary subsidies to insurance companies, and help to close the Medicare "doughnut" hole to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors.

You can keep your own insurance: It’s myth that reform will force you out of your current insurance plan or force you to change doctors. To the contrary, reform will expand your choices, not eliminate them.

No, government will not do anything with your bank account: It is an absurd myth that government will be in charge of your bank accounts. Health insurance reform will simplify administration, making it easier and more convenient for you to pay bills in a method that you choose. Just like paying a phone bill or a utility bill, you can pay by traditional check, or by a direct electronic payment. And forms will be standardized so they will be easier to understand. The choice is up to you – and the same rules of privacy will apply as they do for all other electronic payments that people make. Learn more and get details: http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/realitycheck -and- http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/realitycheck/faq

8 Reasons We Need Health Insurance Reform Now
Coverage Denied to Millions: A recent national survey estimated that 12.6 million non-elderly adults – 36 percent of those who tried to purchase health insurance directly from an insurance company in the individual insurance market – were in fact discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition in the previous three years or dropped from coverage when they became seriously ill. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/denied_coverage/index.html

Less Care for More Costs: With each passing year, Americans are paying more for health care coverage. Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have nearly doubled since 2000, a rate three times faster than wages. In 2008, the average premium for a family plan purchased through an employer was $12,680, nearly the annual earnings of a full-time minimum wage job. Americans pay more than ever for health insurance, but get less coverage. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/hiddencosts/index.html

Roadblocks to Care for Women: Women’s reproductive health requires more regular contact with health care providers, including yearly pap smears, mammograms, and obstetric care. Women are also more likely to report fair or poor health than men (9.5% versus 9.0%). While rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure are similar to men, women are twice as likely to suffer from headaches and are more likely to experience joint, back or neck pain. These chronic conditions often require regular and frequent treatment and follow-up care. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/women/index.html

Hard Times in the Heartland: Throughout rural America, there are nearly 50 million people who face challenges in accessing health care. The past several decades have consistently shown higher rates of poverty, mortality, uninsurance, and limited access to a primary health care provider in rural areas. With the recent economic downturn, there is potential for an increase in many of the health disparities and access concerns that are already elevated in rural communities. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/hardtimes

Small Businesses Struggle to Provide Health Coverage: Nearly one-third of the uninsured – 13 million people – are employees of firms with less than 100 workers. From 2000 to 2007, the proportion of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-based health insurance fell from 66% to 61%. Much of this decline stems from small business. The percentage of small businesses offering coverage dropped from 68% to 59%, while large firms held stable at 99%. About a third of such workers in firms with fewer than 50 employees obtain insurance through a spouse. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/helpbottomline

The Tragedies are Personal: Half of all personal bankruptcies are at least partly the result of medical expenses. The typical elderly couple may have to save nearly $300,000 to pay for health costs not covered by Medicare alone. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/inaction

Diminishing Access to Care: From 2000 to 2007, the proportion of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-based health insurance fell from 66% to 61%. An estimated 87 million people - one in every three Americans under the age of 65 - were uninsured at some point in 2007 and 2008. More than 80% of the uninsured are in working families. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/inaction/diminishing/index.html

The Trends are Troubling: Without reform, health care costs will continue to skyrocket unabated, putting unbearable strain on families, businesses, and state and federal government budgets. Perhaps the most visible sign of the need for health care reform is the 46 million Americans currently without health insurance - projections suggest that this number will rise to about 72 million in 2040 in the absence of reform. Learn more: http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/assets/documents/CEA_Health_Care_Report.pdf

Show Everyone Real Freedom of Speech

In Arizona alone: At Democratic congress woman Gabrielle Giffords healthcare meeting a rabid protester dropped a gun out of his pocket. Anne Kirkpatrick couldn't get hers started... The meeting was shut down, republi-cons bragged, calling it "recess roastings". Harry Mitchell's meeting was a farce, with "screamers" everywhere... no respect shown. Threats of violence were issued to Union members if they showed up to voice their opinions.

Last night, republi-con Jeff Flake held his meeting... it was civil and orderly, people outside joked with the media that they were "the angry mob". At Trent Franks meeting they were disappointed there wasn't enough room... again, very subdued and joking about being "the angry mob". John Shadegg's meeting was similar. All three republi-con congress members had one thing in common, respect shown.

Guns, screaming, threats of violence... no respect at the Democratic congress members meetings. Orderly, civil, subdued, and jokes about being "the angry mob" at all the Republican member meetings. That describes Arizona and the rest of the USA currently.

It's evident in Arizona, on FAUX News, right wing radio and through out America, free speech exists for the Republican party. Especially when it resorts to outlandish behavior, inciting violence and preying on people's fear.

Taking August off has once again played into the hands of the party of NO. The Democratic Party is reeling during this recess. The repukes had a strategy... absurd and idiotic as it is... it's effective, and it's taking the voice from the healthcare discussion. Democrats need to be smart about this right now... get organized... this could be a significant political turning point... time to stop fucking around. Democrats won majorities in both Houses, the Presidency... in other words, the vote... time to immediately pass effective healthcare legislation, show everyone real Freedom of Speech!!

The story behind the story:

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

Bits and Pieces for the Week of August 2 - 8

Ahh, the banks, the banks. They are holding toxic mortagages (to the tune of $2T, yes trillion) in order to appear solvent. Sooner or later the dam is going to burst and the financial industry will once again resume its cliff-diving, unless the govt. increases its rate of printing money, which will spur inflation (and continue the cliff-diving anyway). (Mike)

The republi-cons like to argue that they are not obstructionists... really? Six months in office and President Obama still cannot fill his Justice Dept. (7 of 6)

Kudos to former President Bill Clinton. He got the release of journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, from North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. (7 of 6)

Ok, this just pisses me off... "The White House's acting cybersecurity czar announced her resignation..." And why... "People familiar with the matter said Ms. Hathaway has been "spinning her wheels" in the White House, where the president's economic advisers sought to marginalize her politically. Perhaps because of Goldman Sachs new super fast trading computer that gets the jump on all other traders? (7 of 6)

GOP Teabaggers latest unpatriotic, un-American strategy: shout down the healthcare townhall meetings across the country. (Mike)

Hey boys and girls... who says that tax cuts stimulate the economy? Criminal republi-cons... that's who! Now we don't have money to pay for a damn thing. Tax Revenues Post Biggest Drop Since Depression. Or how about we get back to taxing the rich... they have gotten away from paying taxes long enough. We can also stop these stupid fucking wars. (7 of 6)

Just when it was safe to talk about the police in America again... (7 of 6)