Where's the Outrage?

The Republicans have been seizing over our president, Barack Obama, and his “lack of attention” to the threat of terror. They criticize the president for taking three days to respond publicly to the “underwear bomber.” (I like calling this guy the underwear bomber. I’m not trying to diminish or belittle his attempted act, which would’ve killed nearly 300 Americans. Instead, I’m gonna try and belittle him as a person, as a human being.) I found this article on the Huffington Post. It chronicles Bush’s response to the original Shoe Bomber. I think that this is very instructive. It shows us how hypocritical the Republicans truly are. Secondly, it again points out that Bush is not a measuring stick. His response to national emergencies was inadequate every single time.

From HuffPo:

The bellowing by Republicans over the Obama administration’s supposedly lackadaisical response to the attempted bombing of an airliner over Detroit seems as much about political posturing as legitimate national security concerns.

How else to explain the GOP’s relatively quiet reaction eight years ago to President George W. Bush’s detached response after a similarly-botched terrorist attack?

On December 22, 2001, Richard Reid — known more infamously as the shoe bomber — failed in his attempt to blow up a Miami-bound jet using explosives hidden in his shoe. Coming less than four months after September 11, there already were deep concerns about a potential attack during the upcoming holiday break. Nevertheless, President Bush did not directly address the foiled plot for six days, according to an extensive review of newspaper records from that time period. And when he did, it was only in passing.

The day of the attempted attack, for example, the Associated Press reported that “White House officials” were monitoring the situation throughout the afternoon and that “President Bush received two briefings” on the matter while at Camp David for the holidays. Spokesman Scott McClellan, meanwhile, told reporters that administration officials were consulting with acting Massachusetts Gov. Jane Swift — the plane Reid boarded made an emergency landing at Boston’s Logan International Airport.

“The White House has been monitoring the situation since early on today,” McClellan said, according to a Washington Post article published on December 23. The lead statement came from Swift, who lauded the “heroic acts” of “the flight attendants and passengers who helped subdue the suspect.”

Little changed in the days ahead. The Washington Post, citing administration sources, also reported on Sunday December 23 that Bush would seek an increase in domestic security funds as the centerpiece of his 2003 budget request. On Monday December 24, CNN reported that Bush called members of the U.S. military stationed overseas to pass along holiday wishes. He was joined at Camp David that day by “the extended Bush clan… including the President’s parents, the former President and the First Lady.”

That same day, The New York Post quoted Thomas Kinton, interim executive director of the Massachusetts Port Authority, discussing how Reid was ultimately subdued. In addition, U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), was quoted saying: “The message here… is that terrorists are going to hit us again.” The final edition of USA Today that day reported that: “A White House spokesman said President Bush was monitoring the incident.” As for an on-the-record comment, The Boston Globe noted that: “Bush has not issued any statements about the incident.” [Read more →]

Tags: Al Qaeda, Obama administration, Terrorism by ecthompson md
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I think that Steve hits the nail on the head with this post:

It’s probably too soon to say whether Republicans’ truly ridiculous attacks against President Obama on counter-terrorism are going to have an effect. The daily tracking polls haven’t shown much of a shift as of yet, and much of the public is enjoying the holiday season and may not be fully engaged in the GOP talking points of the day.

Ideally, Americans would see through the baseless condemnations of the White House, and recognize them for what they are: petty, stupid, and easily debunked. But if public attitudes start to shift, and wrong-but-loud criticism undermines confidence in the administration’s national security policies, there is an alternative strategy available.

Up until now, the president has chosen a mature, sensible approach to counter-terrorism. After learning of the failed Abdulmutallab plot, the White House reacted quickly with new security measures behind the scenes, with the president overseeing a carefully-crafted response. But publicly, the White House decided not to elevate the actions of a two-bit thug. President Obama signaled to the country that there was no reason to panic, and no need to give a new round of sought-after attention to a bunch of lunatics.

Republicans didn’t care for that approach, and preferred a collective display of pants-wetting. GOP voices and the media decided the strategy to deny terrorists a symbolic public relations victory wasn’t good enough — this was a time for partisan grandstanding, not mature leadership.

Again, maybe Americans will find the president’s approach compelling. They should; it’s how leaders are supposed to operate. But at this point, it seems pretty obvious that the president acting like an adult is going over the political world’s head.

There’s apparently an expectation that the president can — and probably should — exploit incidents for as much political gain as possible. The Obama administration’s track record on counter-terrorism is extremely impressive, but because officials don’t dance in the end-zone after every successful operation, most Americans haven’t heard about the success stories, and most political journalists still internalize the absurd notion that national security is a Republican “strength.”

If the White House wanted to try a new approach, grandstanding opportunities are not uncommon. For example, when U.S. forces, acting on the president’s orders, successfullytook out Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, the ringleader of a Qaeda cell in Kenya and one of the most wanted Islamic militants in Africa, the president could have appeared before the cameras to explain, “Hey, look at me! I took out one of the world’s most dangerous terrorists!”

When U.S. forces, acting on the president’s orders, killed Baitullah Mehsud, the terrorist leader of the Taliban movement Pakistan, Obama could have assembled reporters to declare, “Booyah! Bush and Cheney only wish they had a record like mine!”

When the Obama administration took suspected terrorists Najibullah Zazi, Talib Islam, and Hosam Maher Husein Smadi into custody before they could launch their planned attacks, each of the success stories could have been accompanied by its own press conference, at which the president could proclaim, “Republicans’ talk is cheap; I’m the one keeping Americans safe.”

Of course, the administration preferred a more low-key approach in each instance. Obama has scored the kind of counter-terrorism victories that, if they’d come a couple of years ago, would have led the White House to release photos of Dick Cheney and Bill Kristol chest-bumping each other on the South Lawn, but this White House prefers to simply get the job done, not make a show of it.

The result, however, is that the media and the public don’t necessarily know the counter-terrorism victories have even happened.

The president, by all appearances, finds shameless politicization of counter-terrorism offensive. And it is. But Republicans are running an aggressive misinformation scheme, and if it’s effective, the White House may need to reconsider whether the public rewards or punishes leaders who act like grown-ups.

Tags: Obama administration, Terrorism by ecthompson md
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I will never (never is a long time, but I’ll try) wish anyone ill. I hope that Rush gets better soon.

From SF Chron:

Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh was taken to a hospital with chest pains on Wednesday and was in serious condition, a Honolulu television station reported.

Paramedics responded to a call at 2:41 p.m. from the Kahala Hotel and Resort where Limbaugh is vacationing, KITV reported. The station, citing unnamed sources, said the 58-year-old Limbaugh was taken to The Queens Medical Center in Honolulu.

Kit Carson, Limbaugh’s chief of staff, told The Associated Press from Milwaukee that he wasn’t able to provide any information.

Queens spokeswoman N. Makana Shook said the hospital was unable to comment on the report.

Emergency Medical Services spokesman Bryan Cheplic said paramedics took a male of unknown age to an area hospital from the Kahala Hotel and Resort. He said he had no further information.

Limbaugh was seen golfing at Waialae Country Club earlier this week, KITV said. The country club is next to the Kahala hotel.

(more…)

Update from CNN:

Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh was taken to a Honolulu hospital with chest pains Wednesday, a show staffer said.

“Rush was admitted to and is resting comfortably in a Honolulu hospital today after suffering chest pains,” Kit Carson, the chief of staff for the Rush Limbaugh Show, said.

A source at the Queen’s Medical Center told CNN that Limbaugh was admitted late afternoon in “serious condition” and is expected to stay overnight. (more…)

Tags: Domestic Issues by ecthompson md
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I do love this time of year. This is when football is good great.

From CNNSI:

NFC

CLINCHED

New Orleans — NFC South and home-field advantage.
Minnesota — NFC North.
Arizona — NFC West.
Philadelphia — playoff spot.
Green Bay — playoff spot.
Dallas — playoff spot.

ELIMINATED

Detroit, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Washington, Chicago, Seattle, Carolina, Atlanta, San Francisco, NY Giants.

***

Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota clinches a first-round bye with:

1) MIN win + PHI loss or tie OR

2) MIN tie + PHI loss

Arizona Cardinals

Arizona clinches a first-round bye with:

· ARI win + MIN loss + PHI loss

Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia clinches NFC East with:

· PHI win or tie

Philadelphia clinches a first-round bye with:

1) PHI win OR

2) PHI tie + MIN loss or tie

Dallas Cowboys

Dallas clinches NFC East with:

· DAL win

Dallas clinches a first-round bye with:

· DAL win + MIN loss + ARI loss or tie

AFC

CLINCHED

Indianapolis — AFC South and homefield advantage.
San Diego — AFC West and first-round bye.
Cincinnati — AFC North.
New England — AFC East.

ELIMINATED

Cleveland, Kansas City, Oakland, Buffalo, Tennessee.

STILL ALIVE

Baltimore, NY Jets, Denver, Pittsburgh, Houston, Jacksonville and Miami.

***

Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore clinches a playoff spot with:

BAL win

New York Jets

NY Jets clinch a playoff spot with:

NYJ win

Denver Broncos

Denver clinches a playoff spot with:

1) DEN win + NYJ loss or tie + BAL loss or tie OR

2) DEN win + NYJ loss or tie + PIT loss or tie OR

3) DEN win + NYJ loss or tie + HOU win OR

4) DEN win + BAL loss or tie + PIT loss or tie OR

5) DEN win + BAL loss or tie + HOU win OR

6) PIT loss + BAL loss + HOU loss + JAC loss OR

7) PIT loss + BAL loss + HOU loss + NYJ loss OR

PIT loss + BAL loss + JAC loss + NYJ loss OR

9) PIT loss + HOU loss + JAC loss + NYJ loss OR

10) MIA loss or tie + NYJ loss + BAL loss + HOU loss + JAC loss or tie

Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh clinches a playoff spot with:

1) PIT win + HOU loss or tie + NYJ loss or tie OR

2) PIT win + HOU loss or tie + BAL loss or tie OR

3) PIT win + NYJ loss or tie + BAL loss or tie + DEN loss or tie

Houston Texans

Houston clinches a playoff spot with:

1) HOU win + NYJ loss or tie + BAL loss or tie OR

2) HOU win + NYJ loss or tie + DEN loss or tie OR

3) HOU win + BAL loss or tie + DEN loss or tie

Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville clinches a playoff spot with:

1) JAC win + PIT loss + BAL loss + DEN loss + HOU loss OR

2) JAC win + PIT loss + BAL loss + DEN loss + NYJ loss OR

3) JAC win + PIT loss + BAL loss + HOU loss + NYJ loss OR

4) JAC win + PIT loss + DEN loss + HOU loss + NYJ loss OR

5) JAC win + NYJ loss + DEN loss + HOU loss + BAL loss

Miami Dolphins

Miami clinches a playoff spot with:

· MIA win + NYJ loss + BAL loss + HOU loss + JAC loss or tie

Tags: Sports by ecthompson md
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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

From DK:

Yesterday, Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder of Michigan expressed disgust at the tactics of one Peter Hoekstra, the blowhard congressman with aspirations of becoming the next Governor of Michigan. Hoekstra, as is now well known, responded to the near-miss terrorist attack last week in Detroit by making the incident the central theme in…of all things…a fundraising e-mail.

What will Rick Snyder say now that the political party to which he belongs has elected to follow Hoekstra’s lead?

The NRSC is the latest GOP group to use the failed bombing attempt on a Detroit-bound plane to rake in money.

In an email to supporters Wednesday, NRSC exec. dir. Rob Jesmer cites the attempted terrorism, along with health care legislation, in an effort to earn last-minute contributions.

The NRSC is the campaign wing for Senate Republicans, and the letter is aimed at gathering last-second contributions ahead of the December 31st year-end filing deadline.

One of the NRSC’s prime targets, Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut, also got hit with a Detroit-themed fundraising message, as leading GOP opponent Rob Simmons alluded to the attack as well in a fundraising missive.

What is more disappointing–that the GOP is trying to exploit fear for campaign cash, or that absolutely no one is surprised to see them do it?

Tags: Elections, National Intelligence, Terrorism by ecthompson md
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I discussed my thoughts on this Christmas Day attack. It didn’t make any sense to me. More soon.

Tags: Al Qaeda, Obama administration, Terrorism by ecthompson md
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I don’t talk about alternative energy enough. I need to do a better job. I’ll start with this article about solar energy.

From Common Dreams:

Solar power technologies could generate 15 percent of America’s power in 10 years, but only if Washington levels the playing field on subsidies, a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) says.

That means either rolling back fossil fuel subsidies, as President Obama proposed earlier this year, or increasing subsidies for clean energy, the association says.

Fossil fuels received $72 billion in total federal subsidies from 2002 to 2008, keeping prices artificially low, according to figures from the Environmental Law Institute (ELI). About 98 percent of that went to conventional energy sources, namely coal and oil, leading to more emissions. The rest, $2.3 billion, was pumped into a new technology to trap and store carbon dioxide spewed by coal plants.

During that same period, solar got less than $1 billion, according to the SEIA, a trade group representing 1,100 solar companies across the nation.

I’m not sure that trading one industry who’s in on the public dime for another is a winning strategy.

Tags: Energy by ecthompson md
6 Comments »

From its earliest creation, the no-fly list has been problematic at best. I don’t know how you get on this list. I also have no idea how you get off the list. It remains unclear who checks the list to make sure the people who are on this list should be on it. From my standpoint, I really don’t care who is in charge of the list and who maintains it just as long as the list is accurate. Five years ago, Yusef Islam, more commonly known as Cat Stevens, the guy who sang Peace Train was found to be on the no-fly watch list.

Now, five years later, we have a Nigerian student, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, whose name was on some list, but not the no-fly list. More than a month ago, this guy’s father went to the Nigerian embassy and told officials that he was worried about his son. I don’t know how often this happens. Maybe fathers go to embassies on a daily basis and state that their sons have joined radical sects of Islam. I think it probably happens rarely and would investigate it, but what does a trauma surgeon know about terrorism? American officials did little or nothing with the information. It seems to me that a rookie could take the information given by the father, a prominent businessman in Nigeria, and combine it with the fact that Umar Farouk was living in London, a place where we know several radical clerics live. It seems that that information, in and of itself, is enough to start an investigation.

This the same kind of problem we saw in 9/11. We saw the same lack of connecting the dots.

Abdulmutallab seems to have almost the exact same background as Osama bin Laden. Both have prominent fathers. Both grew up relatively well off compared to the rest of the population. Both went off to some foreign environment and got radicalized. This seems to be a pattern. I wonder if our intelligence officials have picked up on it.

Now I’m not a chemist. I did take two years of chemistry plus a year of organic chemistry. (I won’t mention the physical chemistry, since I really don’t remember any of it.) PETN is an explosive. It’s one of the key ingredients in Semtex, a plastic explosive. It is the exact same chemical that Richard Reid (the shoe bomber) tried to detonate. I have no idea how one would get his hands on something like this. I would figure that it is a relatively controlled substance. Can dogs smell the stuff? Can it be x-rayed? (If not, then why are we taking off our shoes?)

It seems to me that mob rule, which is what happened here when the passengers overpowered Abdulmutallab, isn’t a consistently effective way to control terrorism. Are we all going to have to learn karate before getting on our next flight?

Finally, Republicans are acting as expected. They are running around and pointing the finger at Barack Obama. Some have even stated that the Obama administration hasn’t taken the risk of terrorism seriously. This is of course utter nonsense. What the Bush administration could not achieve is now left for Obama to try to do — make the FBI and Homeland Security work for the American people. About two years, ago, I asked Richard Clarke if the CIA is working with the FBI in close harmony. His answer was “not really.” This is what we need.

Tags: Al Qaeda, Obama administration, Terrorism by ecthompson md
28 Comments »

Eugene at DK has a very popular post that dovetails into what I was talking about here.

As we reach the end of the Zeroes, the first decade of the 21st century, it may seem an odd question to ask whether anyone has realized the previous decade, the 1990s, are over.

Yet judging by the discussions in recent days about the health care bill, progressive activism, left-right alliances, corporatism, etc, it is quite clear to me that way too many people are still trapped in obsolete political thinking more appropriate to the 1990s than to today. By doing so they’ve lost touch with fundamental changes that require us to shift the way we think about our politics if we are to get the things done that we entered politics to achieve.

The “political reality” is that American politics underwent massive change in the 2000s, yet too many progressives

still act as if it’s still the 1990s, and that we must hide our progressivism away and embrace neoliberal policies that do nothing for us out of some deluded vision of what it takes to stop the right. By further empowering corporations who use their wealth and power to fuel the right-wing, we’re simply handing our power over to our enemies, instead of using it to advance our own goals. It’s as if FDR had given the technology for the atomic bomb to Stalin and Hitler but told Oppenheimer that we couldn’t do it ourselves because we might cause problems for the US abroad.

Americans don’t want to be governed by corporations. It wears them down mentally and physically at the workplace. It takes away their money and their rights in our political systems. Poll after poll after poll still shows that progressive ideas are popular in this country, yet it’s we who are supposed to bite our tongues while neoliberals destroy our economy, our freedoms, and our political fortunes?

It’s certainly not enough to assert our values, we also need to have a practical strategy for achieving them.

Sometimes that will necessitate compromise, either with neoliberal corporatist Democrats, corporations themselves, or the right-wing. But we should approach those situations from a position of strength. Instead we’ve been approaching them from an internalized sense of weakness, where we believe the things that are said about us by people who want to block our agenda from becoming law.

Sometimes the most practical thing you can do is throw off the obsolete ideas and frameworks of the past. Until we realize that the 1990s – and the 2000s – are really over, that progressives have the ability to drive our agenda forward and defeat both the corporations and their right-wing stooges, we will be reliving the 1990s as a sort of permanent Groundhog Day (itself an iconic product of that decade) forever.

Now, Eugene’s post is huge. I have only posted about half of his post. He has a lot to say. The bottom line is that we aren’t playing the right game.  We are playing checkers while the corporations are playing chess. We need to reign in corporations.

Tags: Business, Congress by ecthompson md
4 Comments »

When Dawn Johnsen was nominated to head the Office of Legal Counsel, there was much rejoicing by progressives. Glenn Greenwald wrote a GREAT post on her and her qualifications. That was back in January. Now, like we’re reliving a bad episode of the West Wing, Dawn Johnsen has become a political football. She’s committed two great sins in the eyes of conservatives (including conservative Democrats). First, she had the nerve to stand up for women’s reproductive rights. She has argued thoughtfully and credibly against the onslaught of restrictions that women are forced to endure. Secondly, she’d been highly critical of the garbage that the Office of Legal Counsel churned out during the Bush administration. (Please read Glenn’s piece which, as usual, is incredibly thorough.) This is a huge loss not only for Professor Johnsen but also for our country. Hopefully, the Obama administration will bring up her nomination again. Marcy has more –

From EmptyWheel:

Yesterday, when I wrote about 34 Obama Nominees Not Named Dawn Johnsen being confirmed by the Senate on the heels of the healthcare vote, and before they left town, I was not aware, in addition (h/t earlofhuntingdon), the nomination was now completely dead. From Main Justice:

The Senate approved a unanimous consent request today to hold over several nominees for the second session of the 111th Congress, which begins in January.

But nominees to head three DOJ offices: Dawn Johnsen, for the Office of Legal Counsel, Mary L. Smith, for the Tax Division, and Christopher Schroeder, for the Office of Legal Policy, were returned to the White House before the Senate recessed for the holidays.

Johnsen, who was nominated in February, was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in March on a party line vote.

Several Senate Republicans, joined by Democratic Sens. Arlen Specter (Pa.) and Ben Nelson (Neb.), have voiced concerns about Johnsen’s vocal opposition to the Bush administration’s national security policies and her past work for an abortion rights group.

The nomination of Dawn Johnsen to be the head of the Office of Legal Counsel at DOJ, a critical post, is now truly dead. If Ms. Johnsen is to serve, she will have to be renominated by Barack Obama and start over. She never got the up or down vote promised as soon as the Senate had done healthcare, she never got an ounce of support from the Administration that nominated her, and a year of her life was taken in what certainly appears to be a cowardly and demeaning political ploy. (more…)

Tags: Legal, Obama administration by ecthompson md
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I have posted a video from Raul Midon before. He is an outstanding musician. He has a GREAT voice. I love this guy.

Artist: Raul Midon
Tune: All the Answers and Tembererana

Tags: Music by ecthompson md
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Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year to all.

• Some weirdness occurred in Detroit. A Nigerian man claiming to be linked to Al Qaeda tried to set off an incendiary device. It appears the man was subdued by other passengers. The plane had taken off from Amsterdam and landed safely in Detroit. Hopefully we’ll get some more information on this soon. I don’t know how a man gets on a plane with an incendiary device in the year 2009.
• The healthcare industry is upset with the Senate healthcare bill. This can only be good for the American people. I’m liking this bill more and more.
• Paul Krugman has a great column from the 24th – “Indulge me while I tell you a story — a near-future version of Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol.” It begins with sad news: young Timothy Cratchit, aka Tiny Tim, is sick. And his treatment will cost far more than his parents can pay out of pocket. Fortunately, our story is set in 2014, and the Cratchits have health insurance. Not from their employer: Ebenezer Scrooge doesn’t do employee benefits. And just a few years earlier they wouldn’t have been able to buy insurance on their own because Tiny Tim has a pre-existing condition, and, anyway, the premiums would have been out of their reach.” Again, isn’t this the way it’s supposed to be in America?
• Finally, a friend of mine sent me an article by a conservative columnist called Walter Williams. The article is titled Collusion Against Our Youth. Mr. Williams correctly points out that unemployment rate for Black teenagers is approaching 50%. He then mentions that back in 1948, before affirmative action and before a lot of the social programs that conservatives hate were enacted, the unemployment rate for Black teenagers was 9.4%. Now we have less discrimination and five times more the unemployment. He points his critical finger towards minimum wage, mandatory vacation time, Social Security and other societal ills. If we just didn’t have these burdens on business, business would be able to afford to hire more people and unemployment would be low.

Sweet! If you look at 1948 and 2009 in isolation, it is possible to come to that conclusion. Unfortunately, when you factor in everything else, the conclusion is laughable. A recent analysis by the Economic Policy Institute has shown that highly profitable companies have been cutting jobs. Companies like Microsoft earned a net profit of $14.6 billion in 2009 announced the plan to lay off over 5000 employees over the next 18 months. IBM cut just under 10,000 jobs this year in spite of its profits growing over 18% compared to the previous year. Why would these profitable companies drop employees if they’re making money? The answer is simple, Wall Street wants to see increasing revenues every quarter. In order to meet those expectations, some companies are dropping employees to show an increased profit margin. This has nothing to do with whether the company’s making money or not. It has everything to do with the company making more money this quarter than it did last year this quarter. It has everything to do with the quarter to quarter mentality that Wall Street brings to the business cycle. It is clear that unemployment is unacceptably high for everyone in America. We need to address this problem with clearheaded thinking. We need to look at the interaction between Wall Street and Main Street. We need to figure out how to get these international companies to hire Americans again. It has to make business sense. Import tariffs cannot be the only answer. Scrapping the minimum wage, as Walter Williams suggests, would decrease unemployment, yes, but the employees will be working for third world wages which really will not help the situation. We want Americans who are being paid a living wage to be hired. They can then contribute to society. Their kids can go to college. Their kids can then grow up to be president.

Happy holidays to you all!

Tags: Al Qaeda, Economy, Healthcare, Terrorism by ecthompson md
4 Comments »

What do you want to see in a movie? For me, I think my answers have been the same over the last 30 or so years. I want the director to take me on an adventure. I want the writer to weave a story that makes me forget my daily troubles. I want actors to make me forget that they’re acting and allow me to get into their characters.

James Cameron (Titanic, Terminator series) is the engine behind this movie. He has had this script sitting in a drawer for over 15 years. Cameron is one of the few directors in Hollywood that can really make their own movie. George Lucas (Star Wars series and the Raiders of the Lost Ark series), Steven Spielberg (ET, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Jaws), Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings series) and Cameron are about the only directors that can walk into any studio and say they’d like to make a movie and the studio would open up their pocketbooks.

One of the things that has happened over the last 20 years is that studios have made movies more visually beautiful. Sometimes they do it with great cinematography (Out of Africa) and other times they do it with special effects. In Avatar, they do it with both. I’m positive that you’ve read all the superlatives that other film critics have bestowed on this movie. Let me say that I believe all of those superlatives are well deserved. This is a beautiful movie. The people, the machines, and the landscape are incredibly detailed and original (some of the machines have been seen before).

In spite of all this, I was looking for a story. I was looking for story that I hadn’t heard seen over and over again. This story has been told in countless westerns dating back to the ’30s. A stranger comes to a strange land, wins the heart of a local girl and saves the strange land from outside invaders. That’s it. The dialogue and acting in this story was pretty good, so if you’re not paying attention and are blown away by the special effects, you might miss that the story is not original. There are no original plot twists. The story just takes place on an original planet. And for many people, that’s enough of a story to justify the ticket admission price. I was looking for more.

I really didn’t like Titanic. I thought it was terribly long. I thought the love story was unimaginative. Avatar reminded me of the movie Starship Troopers. Great special effects and not much else. Granted, Avatar had much better acting.

Warning: this is not really a kid movie. In spite of some of the advertising and the associated games have come out, there is some harsh Marine language. I never blushed but I felt badly that I took my six-year-old grandson.

Tags: Movies by ecthompson md
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Although Nat King Cole is known as a great singer, he actually broke into the record business has a piano player. His smooth baritone voice became a staple of American music throughout the 50s. Although I do not know the history of the Christmas Song, it will be forever linked with Nat King Cole, at least in my mind. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Tags: Music by ecthompson md
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As I said earlier, I think that this is the best bill that we can do now. Go buy healthcare stock. Let’s fix the undo influence of business on/in our government then we can revisit healthcare.

From TPM:

This morning, after a year-long fight with Republicans, and a weeks-long debate, which ultimately pitted Democrat against Democrat, and liberal against liberal, the Senate passed a historic bill calling for major reforms of the U.S. health care system by a vote of 60-39.

Presiding over the Senate, in a rare appearance, was Vice President Joe Biden. As Senate chair, the Vice President can serve as the tie-breaking vote in the event of a 50-50 deadlock. But tonight’s victory for Democrats was never in doubt.

Over the course of this week, Democrats have passed several test votes–set at a 60-member, supermajority threshold. The only question this morning was, would they keep all of their members united for the final vote.

In the end they did.

Now, Congressional Democrats face one more major challenge: merging two the House’s and the Senate’s two different reform package, so that each chamber can pass the same bill. That merging process kicked of behind the scenes weeks ago, but will begin in earnest in the days ahead, and could last several weeks. We’ll keep you abreast of all developments. (more…)

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

From WaPo:

Vice President Biden presided over the 60-39, party-line vote, which brings Democrats closer than ever to realizing their 70-year-old goal of universal health coverage.

For the first time, most Americans would be required to obtain health insurance, either through their employer or via new, government-regulated exchanges. Those who can’t afford insurance plans would receive federal subsidies. And Medicaid would be vastly expanded to reach millions of low-income children and adults.

Vice President Biden presided over the 60-39, party-line vote, which brings Democrats closer than ever to realizing their 70-year-old goal of universal health coverage.

For the first time, most Americans would be required to obtain health insurance, either through their employer or via new, government-regulated exchanges. Those who can’t afford insurance plans would receive federal subsidies. And Medicaid would be vastly expanded to reach millions of low-income children and adults.

Tags: Healthcare by ecthompson md
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It is now five days after the Dallas Cowboys beat the New Orleans Saints. This game took place in New Orleans — in the Superdome. The New Orleans Saints were undefeated. They played some great football. Drew Brees had demonstrated that he is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. The New Orleans defense was collecting turnovers like kids collect baseball cards.

The Dallas Cowboys have been stuck in a mode that I will label “Groundhogs Day.” This is where early in the season they come out and have some magnificent performances. Then, in the middle of the season, there are some mediocre performances. They save they’re really horrendous showings for the end of the season. We’ve seen this each of the last three seasons. In September, the Cowboys look like they are bound for the Super Bowl. By December, people are wondering if they are the same team that everybody thought was going to win the Super Bowl back in September. The Cowboys looked mediocre in their last two losses against the San Diego Chargers and the New York Giants. The song and dance were the same. Parts of the Cowboys performance looked good, other parts looked okay and then there were parts that made you want to vomit. Missed field goals. Offenses and defenses penalties. Ridiculous special team lapses. This is what the Dallas Cowboys took into the Superdome.

I must admit, I’m a huge Dallas Cowboys fan. My father took me to my first Dallas Cowboys football game when they were still playing in the Cotton Bowl. I’ve been a fan ever since. I overanalyze the Cowboys like many fans. I talked to my sister the night before the game, she is also a huge Cowboys fan, and we discussed ways that the Cowboys can win. After each scenario, we just laughed. The reason we laughed was because the Dallas Cowboys have not shown up for a big game in 5-10 years. An excellent example would’ve been the Cowboys game versus the Green Bay Packers earlier this year.

The Dallas Cowboys came out and dominated the first quarter. They scored twice. The Dallas Cowboys have not scored on an opening drive at all this year. They scored two touchdowns on their first two possessions. The Cowboys did not turn the ball over. There were a few stupid penalties but only a few. There were two other major mistakes which almost cost the Cowboys game. There’s a third-down drop by Roy Williams (who should have been cut by now) and the missed field goal by Nick Folk which would have given the Dallas Cowboys a two score lead with less than two minutes to play. The good news is that Nick Folk has been cut. The bad news is I’m not sure that what we got to replace him is any good.

So, back to the original question — are the Dallas Cowboys for real? I don’t know. I do know this, when the Dallas Cowboys were beating everybody in the early to mid-1990s, you never knew who would step up and make a play. There were all of these second and third string players would come up with a big hit, a big interception, big sack or key block that would help springboard the Dallas Cowboys to victory. It was truly a team effort. This is exactly what has to happen and what did happen in New Orleans. Mike Jenkins, Anthony Spencer made huge plays. (Anthony Spencer was so badly during the Denver Bronco game, then I called for him to be fired on the spot.) Keith Brookings, Demarcus Ware, Brady James and Terence Newman had huge games but they are the superstars. They are supposed to play great and they did which is new for the Dallas Cowboys. On offense, the same thing happened. Marion Barber and Felix Jones and Miles Austin had monster games. But Patrick Crayton had a huge catch and so did John Phillips. Tony Romo did not throw an interception. For the most part, he made great decisions with the football. If everybody can continue to step up and play big, the Cowboys will go deep into the playoffs.

The Cowboys have a huge test this week against the Washington Redskins. The Redskins were humiliated on national TV by the New York Giants on Monday Night Football. The game was over at halftime. I suspect the Redskins will play better — much better, against the Cowboys. The Cowboys need this game if there’s any hope of catching the Philadelphia Eagles. Are the Cowboys for real? Their performance this Sunday will go a long way toward telling us if they’re serious.

Tags: Sports by ecthompson md
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Progressives are now having an identity crisis. Are we going to support this bill that is a mere fraction of what we wanted? Maybe it is better to kill this bill and start over? Again, I would go back to some of my posts earlier in the year — what were our goals? I thought the goal of healthcare reform should be to provide accessibility, portability and cost-effective medical care for all Americans. Neither the House nor the Senate version would provide that.

I think, when you look at this legislation, it is filled with a bunch of half measures. In reality, this is Congress. Whether it is a Republican or Democratic league control Congress, this is what we’re going to get. If we scratch what we have now and start over again, why would we end up in the same position? Congress is controlled by special interests. I don’t think that these large corporations wanted to get into politics, but I think they had to get into politics. These large corporations are all about profits. How corporations have changed over the last 30 years is a subject for another discussion, but we should all agree that corporations have become profit-making machines. If these corporations can influence rules and regulations, they can improve their profit margin. Therefore, they had to get into the business of lobbying, and lobbying effectively, for their corporations or they would lose out to their competitors.

It should have been clear to everyone before this debate started that the balance of power in this country has tipped towards the corporations. The fight in this healthcare legislation has not been over conservative versus liberal ideology. Although this is what the media has been selling, this is 100% wrong. This fight has been between major corporations (pharmaceutical companies, hospital associations, the American Medical Association and insurance companies) versus the American people. As I see it, there’ve always been two problems that Progressives have not been able to solve in this debate:

• the American people have a very short attention span. Because of this, we are not going to be able to exert the type of constant pressure on our congressmen that is needed to pass significant healthcare legislation.
• Very few large corporations were going to win if significant healthcare legislation was passed , so there were no corporations with corporate money supporting reform, while there were millions of dollars trying to kill reform.

Now, I think the whole debate becomes clear. Until we in the progressive movement change the equation, we’re not going to be able to change the outcome. Starting over from scratch would be an exercise in futility. We need to increase legislation, which decreases the power of corporations. Until we’re able to do that, we’re not going to be able to pass any significant healthcare reform. Single-payer remains a dream until we’re able to control corporations. We should have no lobbyist or corporate paid expert testify on Capitol Hill. If Congress can’t find an expert who’s not in the back pocket of a corporation, then they just have to fly by the seat of their pants. We need to decrease the influence of money in elections. Elections must be publicly financed. Once were able to control this beast, then, and only then, should we read address healthcare reform.

Tags: Healthcare by ecthompson md
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Today kind of kept going and going. I will look over the healthcare legislation tomorrow. Right now, I will hold my nose and support it. I will address the rift in the progressive blogosphere, which I don’t think is necessarily bad.

From Political Animal:

* Tehran: “Iran’s most senior dissident cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, has died, his grandson said Sunday. He was 87. Nasser Montazeri said his grandfather, who was seen as the spiritual father of Iran’s reform movement, died in his sleep overnight.”

* Hopefully, a good sign: “The hiring of temporary workers has surged, suggesting that the nation’s employers might soon take the next step, bringing on permanent workers, if they can just convince themselves that the upturn in the economy will be sustained.”

* The American Medical Association formally endorses the Senate health care bill.

* President Obama’s Passenger Bill of Rights: “The federal government will impose big fines starting this spring on airlines that keep passengers waiting on the tarmac too long without feeding them or letting them off the plane. Airlines that let a plane sit on the tarmac for more than two hours without giving passengers food or water, or more than three hours without offering them the option of getting off, will face fines of $27,500 a passenger, the secretary of transportation announced on Monday.”

* Counter-terrorism: “On orders from President Barack Obama, the U.S. military launched cruise missiles early Thursday against two suspected al-Qaeda sites in Yemen, administration officials told ABC News in a report broadcast on ABC World News with Charles Gibson.”

* Health care reform is going to save a lot of American families a lot of money.

* We know about the ways in which the Senate health care bill got worse (it lost the public option), but in a variety of other ways, it got much better.

* Jane Hamsher writes up 10 specific reasons she’d like to see the Senate health care bill defeated. Jonathan Cohn and Ezra Klein write up specific rebuttals to Hamsher’s list.

* CNBC’s John Harwood is taking cheap and unnecessary shots at progressive opponents of health care reform. Completely uncalled for.

* Joe Klein takes down Tom Coburn.

Tags: Domestic Issues, Healthcare, Iran by ecthompson md
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I have none. I’ll try and find something thoughtful to say about this sandwich of old socks and stale peanuts called the Senate Health Care bill.

I sat trying to watch the Vikings bore the Panthers, but it just isn’t very good football.

Tags: Healthcare by ecthompson md
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Cowboys lost the toss. New Orleans will open with a swing pass to Bush.

BTW, why is Matt Millan calling this game? He’s worst than awful. Bob Papa – who is this guy? This isn’t the first team.

Saints open with a three and out. This is good.

Tony Romo throws a nice ball to Felix Jones for a first down.  Romo to Miles Austin with GREAT blocking from the offensive line. TD!

What the heck? The Saints serve up another three and out.

Dallas ball. Barber right then Barber left. Romo hits Roy Williams (whom I have cut several times) for 14.  The play of the drive was a third and two deep in New Orleans terrority. The Cowboys run the Razorback with Tashard Choice taking the snap and running left for four yards. The Drive is capped with a Barber run for TD. Cowboys 14 – 0.

Saints look confused.

The Cowboys have the ball deep in their own territory. They move the ball to the New Orleans’ 36. The Cowboys go for it on fourth and four and get a defense illegal contact call.  then the Cowboys lose yardage by giving up two sacks. The Cowboys punt… a waste of a possession.

The Saints move the ball down the field and stall. Field goal. 14 – 3, Cowboys.

The Cowboys don’t do much. Remember this drive.

Saints have the ball. Brees is finding this rhythm. He hits three receivers in a row with patterns over the middle. Each of the receivers were moving from Brees’ right to his left.  Saints are moving the ball well. The Cowboys aren’t getting any pressure. 2:00 warning. Wow, Brees underthrows a deep ball to Henderson. Mike Jenkins intercepts. Jenkins is playing very well. Jenkins is playing Pro Bowl-like ball.

Dallas has the ball on their own four-yard line.  Two runs by Marion Barber – first down.  The Cowboys lose focus and do nothing.

DaMarcus Ware sacks Drew Brees and causes a fumble. How the Cowboys don’t score a touchdown, I don’t know.  Nick “I can miss a field goal better than you” Folk remembers that he gets paid to make field goals. Dallas 17 – 3 at half.

Dallas has left 7 – 14 points on the field. The Saint’s Reggie Bush looks like he has pulled a hamstring. Saints cornerback Gay looks like he is out for the game.

Second Half

The Cowboys open the half with Miles Austin dropping a 10 yard pass.  On the third down, Romo rolls right then back left and finds Austin for 13 yards. The Cowboys need a long great drive. GREAT catch by Kevin Ogletree. The Cowboys are moving the ball. They are running and passing well. They have the Saints on the heels.  Romo fakes to Barber then fakes the right. He hits Whitten for four yards. Barber up the middle for first down.  Barber up the middle then bounces it out to the left. Touchdown Dallas. Oh my. Are the Cowboys really trying to beat the Saints? Really? The Cowboys used seven minutes. Cowboys 24 – 3 over the Saints.

The Cowboys have had a knack for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. The Saints take the kickoff 67 yards to the Dallas 36. Brees underthrows another deep ball and Henderson drops a touchdown.  Spencer has a sack taken away then he just swallows Brees.  The Cowboys force the Saints to punt. Are you believing this?

The Cowboys are having trouble moving the ball this drive. This drive just doesn’t look right. Romo runs for a first down.  Third and 11 – Romo avoids the rush and hits Whitten for eight yards. The Cowboys have to punt.

I’m not sure what kind of defense the Cowboys are playing. Some type of soft zone? Saints score in nine plays. 24 – 10 Cowboys. The Saints made that scoring drive look very easy. The game is on!

The Cowboys do nothing. Nothing on this drive. Roy Williams on a third down and four with the Saints bringing everyone, drops a first down. Romo throws a strike to Williams. The ball hits him in the hands and he drops it. There is NO excuse. Why doesn’t Jerry Jones prove that his is a Maverick and cut the guy tomorrow!!

Screen pass for 26. Saints are in the zone. 12 yards to the tight end.  Three yards to Meachem.  Brees gets pressure and scrambles for nine. Moore on a bubble screen walks into the endzone. Cowboys 24 – 17.

The Cowboys are playing well. The Saints’ offense is now awake and rolling. The Cowboys are doubting themselves. Penalties. Dropped balls. Can the Cowboys put together a nice long drive that ends with a Cowboys score?

First and 10 at the 20.  Here’s the Cowboys season.  The Cowboys run the ball all the way down to the five-yard line.  Nick Folk MISSES a 24-yard field goal. You can’t do this. You just can’t. Why is this guy still on the TEAM?

Saints ball. Screen pass broken up. Brees catches his tipped ball and loses five yards. 2:00 Warning. OMG!! Third down and the Saints have no time outs left.  First down throw to Colston. Great movement in the pocket by Brees. Damn, he is good.  Saints get another first down. 32 seconds remains. Brees throws a deep out. Incomplete. 26 seconds left. First down to Henderson. 18 seconds left. Spenser hits Brees. Incomplete pass. 12 seconds left.  Again the Saints have no time outs. The booth is reviewing the last play. The play stands.  The ball is on the 42. OMG!! Demarcus Ware comes around the end and hits Brees and he fumbles. Ratliff recovers. The Cowboys win. The Cowboys beat the New Orleans Saints 24 – 17. Wow!!

Tags: Sports by ecthompson md
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