Trying to Make Sense Out of an Obscure Louisiana By-Election

But the Sense is That Incumbents Are in Big Trouble

Louisiana held a special election for an open congressional seat  Saturday, and the outcome as far as the winning political party was never in doubt.  Louisiana has an open system, with a primary determining the two top vote getters who square off in a general election.  This being rural Louisiana the two top candidates were both Republicans.

But one Republican was the “establishment” candidate and the other was a self funding millionaire who was a political novice.  The establishment fellow, Neil Riser won in the first round and was the overwhelming favorite to go to Congress.  He was trounced.

Rookie Vance McAllister says he’s never visited Washington, D.C., but now he has a job in the nation’s capital.

McAllister upset state Sen. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, by winning the all-GOP runoff for the 5th Congressional District seat in much of northern and central Louisiana.

McAllister had 54,449 votes, or 60 percent of those counted in the runoff, according to the complete but unofficial count of all 981 precincts by the Secretary of State. Riser had 36,837 votes or 40 percent of the votes counted.

Now obviously both of these gentlemen were radically conservative, but there was a difference.

McAllister ran an anti-establishment campaign and he carries similar political views as Riser on most issues. But one key issue where they split was health care. They both adamantly oppose the Affordable Care Act. But, where Riser took a repeal-only approach, McAllister said he wants to repeal it but realizes that is not politically possible for now with Democrats controlling the White House and the Senate.

McAllister also came out in favor of the Medicaid expansion to insure 265,000 more low-income Louisianians as long as the law is in place. Gov. Bobby Jindal has rejected the expansion. Riser attacked McAllister relentlessly on the issue during the last week of the campaign.

Yes, even in a conservative House district expanding medical coverage to low income people is popular.  In 2014 everyone will learn if Louisiana was just a fluke, or a harbinger.

The other lesson here is that voters are mad, (as if no one knew that).  This bodes big problems for Republican Senatorial incumbents facing primaries.  Big problems.  Yes, we’re talking about you Senator McConnell. 

Medical Profession is Getting Ready to Double the Number of Americans on Statins

Another 32 Million To Go On Prescription Drugs

The American lifestyle can be illustrated by what is now happening with heart disease, strokes and the prescription drug industry.  Basically the story is this.  Americans have a high incidence of preventable heart and arterial disease which leads to premature death and disability.  The cause is the lifestyle of the average American, primarily the diet and lack of exercise.

So the logical solution to the problem is for Americans to alter their diets and become more physically active.  But for the Greediest Generation and their offspring, that would mean an actual sacrifice, doing something that doesn’t yield as much pleasure as sitting in front of a game console or TV snarfing down as much junk food and sugar as can fit in the human body at a single sitting.

So the solution is to turn to chemistry, specifically drugs.  

New guidelines on statins from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Assn. could double the number of Americans taking the cholesterol-lowering drugs. (JB Reed/Bloomberg News)

Does Walter White know about this racket?

About 70 million Americans could take statins under new guidelines

The number of Americans taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs is set to double under new guidelines unveiled Tuesday by the American College of Cardiology and theAmerican Heart Assn.

The goal of prescribing statins to as many as 70 million people is to reduce the incidence of heart attacks and strokesin the United States, not merely to get patient’s LDL cholesterol – the “bad” kind that’s most closely linked to disease risk – into an ideal range, experts said.

So like almost every other issue in America, the populace is taking the stupid way out.  Is this what medicine looks like if Sarah Palin were in charge?

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (R ) Continues His Presidential Campaign Reciting Blather at The Citadel in Charleston

Perfecting the Art of Saying Nothing

The most declared undeclared candidate for President in 2016, Senator Rand Paul, took his fledgling campaign to a military college in the South, where he spoke about military matters and said absolutely nothing.  For example here is Mr. Paul on military spending.

“As a senator, I will, if I have to, not hesitate to vote for war,” he said but added that “an America that did not seek to become involved in every conflict of the world could do things to make us safer at home and abroad.”

In praising Mr. Reagan’s Cold War military stance, Mr. Paul harked back to an era of vast military spending. But he said that he would not give the military “a blank check” and would audit the Pentagon “not because I dislike the military, because I like the military.” He said he would convene a task force of leading military thinkers to cut waste and use the savings to modernize the forces.

Wow, what a bunch of meaningless drivel.  He is for wars abroad, but against wars abroad.  He is for more spending but against more spending.  And he takes the courageous stand against waste, wow, he is against waste.  And like every other politician that campaigns along these lines he identifies zero elements of waste, names not a single item.  But he will convene a task force to find the waste.

Mr. Paul also previewed the attacks against Hilary Clinton, claiming that the tragedy in Libya, which was neither a personal nor a policy transgression, but a horrible tragic event that was not her fault.

He drew applause in the packed hall when he reprised a line of attack against former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for her handling of the terrorist assault on the United States mission in Benghazi, Libya, last year, saying that it had been a “dereliction of duty” and should “preclude Hillary Clinton from ever holding high office again.”

No, given Mr. Paul’s history of tolerating bigots, his lack of even basic compassion for those less fortunate than himself and his total ignorance on policy matter, that is what should preclude Senator Paul from ever holding high office.  But Mr. Paul is of the “entitled” class.  See, his daddy ran for President, and like Mitt Romney, that fact qualifies Mr. Paul to run for President.  At least in his own mind, if not in the mind of the rational section of the population.

Even With All of the Problems With the President, Is Anybody Wishing Mitt Romney Had Won? Anybody

And Other Comments on the News

With everyone’s attention span limited due to the impending holiday season (oh sorry Ms. Palin, due to the celebration of the birth of the Savior of the entire world, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Budhists, Atheists, Agnostics, Un-believers, Non-believers , etc the non-Christians being too pagan to realize this and hence have to be coerced in to believing) here are some short, pithy observations about the news of the day.

1. The President is taking a beating in the press for his failure to get health care reform implemented in a competent manner.  But no one, not even his harshest critics are saying they wish Mitt Romney were President instead of Barack Obama.  In fact, it is likely most of Mitt’s family are saying the better man won.

2. This Forum may owe an apology to Secretary of State John Kerry.  We thought his desire for the job was just a self aggrandizing egomaniacal trip, but it appears he is actually doing good work.  And working hard.  Who would have guessed?

3. And speaking of foreign policy, it appears that the Obama administration is making progress in the Middle East, at least with respect to Syria and Iran.  Of course none of this is reported in the news, which is focusing on Sarah Palin and her defense of persecuted Christians in the United States.

4. One explanation for Mr. Obama’s slide in the polls is that there is nothing to compare him to.  A generic opponent always looks better than the devil one knows.  But even with his current ratings does anyone think that Sen. Ted Cruz or Sen Rand Paul would defeat Mr. Obama in a Presidential election?  Really, anyone?

5. The sorry state of American journalism is shown by the current infatuation over New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie following his big win for re-election.  That big win was news maybe a year ago, and the fact that he would win big was a given for months and months.  For some reason the press thinks this is current news.

6. The Senate is back to blocking Mr. Obama’s judicial appointments.  Why?  Because they can under the archaic and undemocratic Senate rules.  When will those rules change?  When the Republicans control the Senate and the Presidency of course.

7. Europe adopted a policy of austerity to stimulate the economies of southern Europe.  How’s that working out after five years? Paul Krugman recently pointed out that Europe's recover from this recession is slower than the recovery from the Great Depression.  

8. If Republicans are so concerned about the fact that insurance companies are cancelling policies (and replacing them with better ones at lower costs after subsidies) why don’t they pass legislation to allow the companies to simply upgrade the current policies so they conform with the law?  Oh, that would mean actually doing something rather than using an issue to political advantage.  “We’re Republicans, we don’t solve problems, we exploit them”.

9. How many shopping days left until Christmas?  Not sure, about a little less than the number of days until Republican cave, again, on shutting down the government or not raising the debt ceiling.  Or maybe they won't, thus rescuing the falling ratings of the President, again.

Any Clue as to Why American College Education is in Decline and Costs are Huge?

University(?) of Louisville to Pay  $11 Million to Leave an Athletic Conference

In one of the great unheralded movies the Marx Brothers starred in a college football farce (well actually today college football is a farce, in the 1930’s that was not always the case).  Groucho was the President of the school, setting an example that many college presidents have since followed.  Upon being told that the college could only afford a dorm or a football stadium Groucho chose the stadium. 

“Where will the students sleep?” he was asked

“In class, where they always sleep” he answered

Today the choice between college facilities and athletics is not a joke, unless it is a joke on students and parents who want their children to get a world class education without going into mountain like debt.  But it is not true that colleges do not have financial resources lying about.

AAC, Louisville reach agreement on breakup, move to ACC . . .

 

Louisville will pay $11 million in exit fees to the American, $5 million of which Louisville has already paid.Louisville made a $2.5 million payment to the American three days after it formally accepted the ACC's invitation on Nov. 28, 2012. Another $2.5 million payment was made on Sept. 5 of this year.

This is called “chump change”, because there are chumps involved, namely the students and their education.  But not to worry, the U of L can easily get the money by increasing student fees, and the students can easily get the money by taking on more student debt and the bloated administrative staff and overpaid coaching staff can be seen on campus laughing at the chumps.

Today in Comedy is a Conservative Proposal for Health Care by Punnuru and Levin

Is Being This Ignorant a Requirement to Blather in the Wall Street Journal

The need for a good belly laugh about modern politics can usually be satisfied by reading the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, and an article by arch conservatives Ramesh Ponnuru and Yuval Levin is no exception.  These two take the position that conservatives ought to propose an alternative to the current health care reform, an eminently sensible suggestion, and then go onto mangle the project so severely that one can only be left in hysterical laughter, the kind one has after watching Groucho, Chico and Harpo.

They start out with this classic gem.  They want the government to pay for a high deductible health insurance policy for everyone.

That tax break would also be available—ideally as a refundable credit sufficient at least for the purchase of catastrophic coverage—to people who do not have access to employer coverage. This would enable people who now choose not to buy insurance to get catastrophic coverage with no premium costs. 

What does that mean?  It means that every employer in America that currently offers health care insurance would cease to do so, and every American would get a free health insurance policy paid for by the government.  Wow.

Then they follow with this.

Medicaid could be converted into a means-based addition to that credit, allowing the poor to buy into the same insurance market as more affluent people—and so give them access to better health care than they can get now.

So the poor, many of whom are poor because they have serious illnesses or disabilities would get additional money to buy more health care.  But of course insurance companies would not insure them, because they have all these existing, expensive illnesses and physical problems.  So that doesn’t work.  And do these idiots not realize that Medicaid is already means tested, heavily means tested, you have to be destitute to qualify.

Well what about this.

All those with continuous coverage, which everyone could afford thanks to the new tax treatment, would be protected from price spikes or plan cancellations if they got sick. 

And how would that be regulated?  Oh, by a massive federal bureaurcracy charged with separating out normal inflation increases from price increases as insurers try to shed the high cost policy holders.  Would that work?  Not in this universe.  But to get price protection one would need continuous coverage.  What does that mean?  Lose insurance for a day and a person loses all protection? 

And what about the cost?  Oh, not to worry.

By making at least catastrophic coverage available to all, and by giving people such incentives to obtain it, this approach could cover more people than ObamaCare was ever projected to reach, and at a significantly lower cost.

And how do we know that the government paying for health insurance premiums for everyone would cost less than the current health care reform?  Well take their word for it, no numbers are presented for the obvious reason that having the government pay for health insurance for everyone would of course be a financial disaster.  Yeah, government should pay for everyone's health insurance, won't cost much, can't wait for that line to hit the comedy circuit.  And in order for this to work everyone would be required to buy the insurance, gosh, what does that sound like, hm,  let's think, oh Obamacare's most hated aspect.

Those who can, do

Those who can’t, teach

Those who can’t teach become Deans

Those who don’t know anything about their subject matter write opinion pieces for the Wall Street Journal.

The Anti-Business Obama Administration Clears the U. S. Air /American Airlines Merger – Creates One More Airline Monopoly

If Democrats Are Anti-Business They Have a Funny Way of Showing It

Listen to Republicans and Wall Street and one gets the impression the Obama folks are communists masquerading as socialists.  The business community turned mightily on Mr. Obama in 2012, the U. S. Chamber of Commerce abandoned all pretense of political neutrality and millions in contributions from businesses went to the Republicans.  The only remaining issue, WHY????

It would be hard to find a Republican President and administration more supportive of big business, Wall Street crooks and a policy of stiffing the honest person.  If a financial firm is found to be engaging in criminal activity, about the most that happens is a stern warning, a fine that is far less than what was stolen and a court settlement where no one admits they were wrong.  And now the Obama folks have given the green light for American and USAir to form a monopoly in air travel for many locations.

American Airlines and US Airways have reached a deal to merge into the world's largest airline. What does that mean for travelers? Easy question, they get into bed together and the passengers get screwed.

AMR Corp.  and US Airways Group Inc. reached an antitrust settlement with the U.S. government to allow their $17 billion merger to proceed with only limited concessions, paving the way for a new global airline colossus.

So what does the new airline look like slimmed down after it makes so-called anti-trust concessions?

US Airways and AMR, parent of American Airlines, agreed to give up space at several major airports across the U.S., most notably reducing their combined daily departures at Reagan National Airport near Washington by about 15% and at La Guardia Airport in New York by about 7%.

But not to worry, even though the combined airline will have over 57% of the flights out of Washington National and about 45% of the flights out of O'Hare, the executives of the combined airlines have announced these changes in flight service.

1. A new gate fee will be implemented, charging each passenger $25.00 to enter the gate area, but no charge for leaving and only $10.00 for the coming back from the bathroom.
2. The barf bags will cost $10.00 each, but contain and wet cleanup napkin.
3. Flight attendants will be allowed spill three drinks on any passenger before being required to assist in cleanup
4. If your flight is overbooked you will be charged only $100.00 for the inconvenience you have caused for the airline.
5. A passenger having to change a flight because of a death in the immediate family will get a 10% discount off a $500.00 fee to change the ticket, provided a death certificate and autopsy is provided 14 days in advance of the death to a ticket clerk.

But no need to thank the Obama administration, your misery on your next flight is thanks enough.

Republicans in Ecstasy Over Barriers to Health Care Insurance for Millions, Moving on to Blocking Nutrition Aid for Low Income People and Children

News That Didn’t Happen – But Probably Did

The following is a news report that did not occur.

Washington – November 1, 2013 (UPS)  The Republican Joint Committee of the House and Senate today were reported to be just absolutely fantastically ecstatic over the fact that difficulties in implementing health care reform have temporarily stopped millions of people from getting access to health care.  “We just could not be happier that poor people, children, the unemployed and other non-deserving leeches in our society are going to have to go without health care insurance and hopefully be denied health care entirely” an anonymous spokesperson for the group said.  “It just goes to show what we can do to people when we really set our mind to it.”

The group was reported to be especially pleased that while Republicans were primarily responsible for thwarting health care reform at every turn, it is the Democratic administration that is taking the blame.  “No one is paying attention to the fact that we are the ones that have put numerous roadblocks in the way of an effective implementation” said a member of the group, and “we are all laughing at how the press is so ignorant and lazy that they are reporting our spin instead of what is really happening."

Encouraged by this success Republican legislators have vowed to make the misery that low income families are suffering from the problems with health care insurance carry over to food and nutrition programs and home heating assistance.  The group suggested that they would have overwhelming success in getting contributions from the National Association of Greedy Billionaires and similar organizations once they had conclusive evidence that people were made hungry, cold and homeless by Republican policies. 

No Virginia Democratic Attorney General Candidate Mark Herring, A Tie in an Election is Not a Victory

Why Can’t Politicians Just Once be Honest?

The race for Attorney General in Virginia is important for several reasons.  One is that if the Democratic candidate won, it would give Democrats a sweep in an all important swing state.  If the Republican won, it would show that radical conservatives have to campaign as center right moderates to win. 

The actual result, a tie.  Yes current the Democrat Mark Herring leads by less than 200 votes, and a recount may or may not confirm his victory.  But in the world of statistics this race was a tie, the margin of difference is so small that it is not statistically significant and is the resuslt of what is called sampling error.

And yet this has not stopped the Democrat from crowing about his victory.

A recount appears all but certain after the statewide results are certified Nov. 25, and the Obenshain campaign made clear that it considers the race far from over. “We owe it to the people of Virginia to make sure we get it right, and that every legitimate vote is counted and subject to uniform rules,” Obenshain (Harrisonburg) said in a statement.

Herring, by contrast, treated his victory as assured in a campaign statement.

“Voters in Virginia have spoken, their voices have been heard and I am honored to have won their votes and their trust to become Virginia’s next Attorney General,” Herring said. 

Well what the voters said is that we cannot pick a winner, and that if the Democrat ultimately prevails it is only because of the nature of statistics, that there were less errors in vote counting on his side than on the other.  And the winning candidate should acknowledge that, but of course that would require a politician to be honest, a bridge just too far.

With the President’s Approval Ratings Plummeting, Mitt Romney Says He is Entitled to a Do-Over

Different Rules Apply to Me the Former GOP Candidate Says – I’m Rich

While this Forum supported the concept of health care reform, this Forum was highly critical of the mess of a bill that actually passed.  And it is now  more clear than ever that while Mr. Obama can make a great speech, his ability to govern is very limited.  And his political skills may be the worse of anyone since Jimmy Carter inhabited the White House.

So Americans are  unhappy with the President.  And Republicans are joyful, taking every shot they can at Mr. Obama, but are also somewhat oblivious to the fact that no, they are not going to be running against Mr. Obama in any election in the future.  But in news that did not happen, this apparently has not stopped Mitt Romney from wanting to re-do the 2012 election.

Romney Wants to Have a Presidential Election

In 2014, Claims He’s Entitled But Not the Kind

of Entitlement of the 47% of

Lazy, Worthless, Welfare Sucking Americans

Washington (AP)  Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who ran and lost against Barack Obama in the 2012 Presidential election today announced that he was calling on the country to re do the 2012 contest some time in early 2014.  “It’s just not fair that I lost to Mr. Obama” Mitt said, “and the only reason I am not President is that the election took place in 2012 instead of late 2013.  I should have the right to have an election whenever I want to, just as I have the right to have as many luxury houses as I want to.” 

Mr. Romney acknowledged that the Constitution would prevent such an election but said that the Constitution should only be invoked when it could be used to attack Democrats.  “Since we Republicans revere the Constitution this means that we can ignore any provision we want, because that would not change the fact that we love the Constitution and carry a copy with us wherever we go.”

Romney went on to say that if Mr. Obama was too chicken to run against him in February of 2014 he would move to require Mr. Obama to be the Democratic candidate in 2016 regardless of the fact that he is not eligible under the Constitution and regardless of the fact that it is Democrats nationwide who pick the nominee, not rich Republicans.  “My $250 million net worth gives me far better insight into who should run the nation” Mr. Romney added, and went on to say that “if Democrats don’t like that they don’t have to participate in the 2016 election. And if elected I will replace Obama style health care reform with the same program we did in Massachusetts, that works great."

Think Cutting Spending on Food and Nutrition for Low Income Families Saves Money? Think Again

It Don’t

Let pretend that we are opposed to the federal government spending money on health and nutrition programs for low income families because we are hate bleeding heart liberals, because we think that poor people deserve their circumstances and because we think it is no big deal if children go to bed hungry or do not have a healthy diet.  In short, let’s pretend we are conservatives.

But as conservatives we also oppose government spending or we at least say we do, and for the time being let’s assume, all evidence to the contrary we actually mean what we say.  So we oppose spending on food, health and nutrition because it consumes government resources.  Well guess what, we would be wrong (again).

The Washington Post has a not so nice story out about how the low amount of food and nutrition aid that is provided for low income families in Texas results in serious health problems for those families.

For almost a decade, Blanca had supported her five children by stretching $430 in monthly food stamp benefits, adding lard to thicken her refried beans and buying instant soup by the case at a nearby dollar store. She shopped for “quantity over quality,” she said, aiming to fill a grocery cart for $100 or less.

But the cheap foods she could afford on the standard government allotment of about $1.50 per meal also tended to be among the least nutritious — heavy in preservatives, fats, salt and refined sugar. Now Clarissa, her 13-year-old daughter, had a darkening ring around her neck that suggested early-onset diabetes from too much sugar. Now Antonio, 9, was sharing dosages of his mother’s cholesterol medication. Now Blanca herself was too sick to work, receiving disability payments at age 40 and testing her blood-sugar level twice each day to guard against the stroke doctors warned was forthcoming as a result of her diet.

Yeah, there’s a lot more but everyone knows the script.  Lack of proper nutrition will mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical expenses for these folks and others.  And guess who is paying.  That’s right your government which is us taxpayers.  So no, money is not saved by cutting this type of assistance.  Once again, conservatives are wrong, wrong, wrong.

Sarah Palin is Fighting Back Against the War on Judeo Christmas Traditions, and Takes on Frosty the Snowman

And Takes Ignorance to a New Level

It is a source of constant amazement that the news media continues to treat former Alaska Governor and former VP nominee Sarah Palin as a serious individual in American politics.  First of all the only governing experience Ms. Palin has is a term as Governor of a state whose population is about one fifth of greater Boston, a term that was not completed after she resigned to, well, we’re not sure what she intended to do.  Secondly it is clear that Ms. Palin is unwilling to venture back into the world of electoral politics, preferring to be a self aggrandizing cheerleader (no sexist implications intended, please don’t send letters).

And now with the holiday season upon everyone, like it or not, Ms. Palin is fighting the false war, the unknown war, the totally non-existent war on celebrating Christmas. And about the only noteworthy thing here is that for some reasonshe lumps Jewish beliefs into her outrage at the supposedly existent war on Christmas, apparently thinking that the Jewish community is outraged, just outraged at being the victims in the war on Christmas.  Go figure.

Palin's book, published Tuesday by Broadside Books, argues that liberals, the American Civil Liberties Union and non-believers are trying to undermine respect for the nation's religious underpinnings, with possible catastrophic repercussions.

"There is a war on that traditional Judeo-Christian foundation of America, not just at Christmastime but those who are intolerant of the Christian faith, who want to take it away from the rest of us," she says. She urges the like-minded to stand up at school board meetings to protest if religious carols such as O Little Town of Bethlehem are limited at holiday concerts in favor of secular songs such as Frosty the Snowman. She urges consumers to raise questions if store employees wish customers "happy holidays" or "seasons greetings" instead of "merry Christmas."

Wow, expect Jewish groups all over the nation to rally to support of Ms. Palin.  We Jewish people are particularly outraged that we cannot celebrate Christmas as we used to, that we cannot sing Christian hymns in public schools or in other government supported activities.  How can heartless people prevent all of us Jewish folks from celebrating Christmas?

But the real damage here, the real tragedy is the terrible trashing of Frosty the Snowman.  Frosty was not available for comment, but a spokesperson for Frosty did say that next year he would be publishing a book on how people like Ms. Palin are having a war on religion, that is, a war on freedom of religion.  “That leaves Frosty pretty cold” the spokesperson said.

Finally let us be the first to wish Ms. Palin a Merry Christmas.  The holiday season brings a lot of joy into the world, maybe if we all get together and give Ms. Palin a sectarian holiday greeting it will reduce some of the joy she takes out of the world.

How Ignorant are Anti-Gay Conservatives? Here’s a Clue

And Here’s the Answer, Pretty Ignorant

The Senate has passed the anti-discrimination bill with some Republican support.  Republicans knew they could get a free pass on this one because the bill will not only not be approved in the House, it will not even be voted on.  It is a sad commentary on the state of Conservatives that the only explanation for their opposition is bigotry and hatred.  Really, there is no other explanation

While the Senate approved a law that would prohibit discrimination in the workplace based on sexual identity here is what proponents are up against.

While opposition appears less organized compared to previous gay rights debates in Congress, senators of both parties said the emotion surrounding the issue has complicated efforts to break a Republican filibuster attempt.

One senator recalled having to explain to a colleague that the new law would not, in fact, require insurance companies to pay for sex-change operations. Another spoke of phone calls from constituents who were convinced that their children could be taught in school by men wearing dresses. And conservative groups like the Family Research Council are warning their supporters that the bill would force Christian bookstores to hire drag queens.

And it is not true that the same people opposed to equal treatment for all Americans are also opposed to legislation that would ban the burning at the stake of women suspected of being witches.

And they did not say “While we do not think it is appropriate to burn a woman accused of witchcraft we certainly want to protect the rights of those who do want to do so.  Particularly if that woman is a lesbian witch, which as we all know are the worst kind of witches.  And if this law passes Christian bookstores would not only have to hire drag queens, but would also have to hire lesbian witches and warlocks, or even worse, Democrats."

Not to worry though, even though the bill passes the Senate its chances in the Republican controlled House are about the same odds as a religious fundamentalist zealot actually embracing tolerance and charity and compassion.

North Carolina Candidate for Congress Switches Parties to Become a Democrat

Ex-Military Man Unloads on the GOP

This Forum has been accused of a lot of things, but eloquence has never been one of them.  And that criticism is valid.  So when someone else says something far better than what the author here can say it, it is our sworn duty to present those words.

In North Carolina a Republican running to unseat Rep. Walter Jones, R, North Carolina’s 3^rd District has decided he cannot run as a Republican.  Here in all its glory are the reasons why.

Thigpen again took aim at the GOP legislature in his party-switching announcement. “I didn’t go to war to defend the liberties and freedoms of one party, race, sex, or one income class of Americans,” he said. “So, to come home from serving our country and see North Carolina legislators using their super-majority status to gerrymander districts and pass a law to deliberately suppress and oppress the voting rights of Democrats but more specifically minorities and college students, is absolutely deplorable.

“This same group of spineless legislators piggybacked a motorcycle safety bill with legislation intentionally geared to shut down women’s health clinics because of their ‘right righteous’ beliefs on abortion, while then cutting funding to the programs which help feed and provide healthcare to the babies they invariably forced the same women to have. Sounds like the Christian thing to do, huh?”

Although we do not live in his district, this gentleman gets our vote.That will at least create one instance of voter fraud that the Republicans say is so rampant in the nation that they have to disenfranchise millions in order to prevent a single false vote from being cast.

Only 10 Republican Senators Vote in Favor of Employment Non Discrimination Act

Does This Mean The Large Majority of Republicans Are in Favor of Employment Discrimination?

Well Why Would Anyone Get That Impression from this news?

From Chris Cillizza in the Washington Post.

The measure earned bipartisan support, but the bipartisan margins fell short of another noteworthy Senate vote this year.

Here’s a breakdown:

Final tally: 64 to 32.

How many members of the Senate Democratic caucus voted for the bill?:54. (52 Democrats, two independents.)

How many Republicans voted for the bill?: 10. Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.).

Of course as everyone knows the House Republicans, who are almost unanimous in their opposition to equal treatment in employment will not even allow a vote on the bill.  Yes they support bigotry against gay and lesbian persons, they will not allow a vote in the House because they just don’t want to be on the record as doing so. 

Paul Krugman Finally Spots the Confidence Fairy

And Has the Picture to Prove It

The most eminent economist of our times, Paul Krugman, several years ago created the term “confidence fairy” to derisively describe the concept that cutting government spending would stimulate private investment because it would give the business community ‘confidence’.    The truth of course is that business investment is stimulated by demand, and that by cutting government spending one achieves the opposite of the proponents of the confidence fairy.

But all is not lost.

November 8, 2013, 11:03 am

ECB Thinking Explained

A correspondent sends me this picture, snapped from the river in Frankfurt, right near the ECB’s headquarters:

Yes: it’s the Confidence Ferry!

No One Will Notice That Illinois Passed Marriage Equality

Marriage Equality Has Now Become So Mainstream It is No Longer News

This Forum has often said that while the battles for decency and equality with respect to allowing gay and lesbian couples to wed will continue for years, the war has been decided and the outcome is no longer in doubt.  Once again America, after a long and tortuous route will do the right thing.

So it is not just that Illinois has passed a law that allows couple to marry regardless of their gender,

Illinois legislature passes gay marriage bill, paving the way for legalization

Illinois is set to become the 15th state and largest in the heartland to allow same-sex couples to marry. State senators approved technical changes Tuesday to a measure legalizing gay weddings, shortly after a historic favorable vote in the state House. The bill now goes to Gov. Pat Quinn, who has said he’ll sign it into law.

It is the fact that this is not headline news, or even first page news that is taking place here.  Granting equality to all couples is now sufficiently common that no one needs to read about it and it is not headline news.  In this case not being in the news is a good thing.

Rand Paul Announces New Speeches for 2014 – And He Only Steals from the Classic Speeches

“I mean, if you are going to plagiarize shouldn’t you take from the best?”

Lost in the election news is the fact that Rand Paul is a serial cheater.

in an interview at his Senate office complex, Mr. Paul said he resented implications from those he termed “haters” that he had sought to dishonestly take other people’s work as his own. Facing a cascading series of accusations that he used plagiarized material in speeches, an opinion article and a book, he said the lapses were the result of his newfound status as a freshman senator in high demand, and the overwhelming workload that has brought with it for him and his staff.

This Forum has exclusive news of what Mr. Paul’s future speeches will look like.  Here are a few examples.

I have a dream, that one day the children of rich people will eat in the same room as the children of poor people, but of course the children of poor people will be the ones doing the serving.

Ask not what you country can do for you, ask how you can exploit your country for profit and gain.

Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes, then blast any gay loving liberal that wants to deny you the right to own an automatic assault rifle.

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself, and a health care reform that provides access to health care for those people who cannot afford it, and hence do not deserve it.

Four score and seven years ago our forefathesr founded this nation on the principle that only free white men who owned property should be allowed to vote.  Conservatism wants to restore America’s heritage, we need to go back to principles like that.

Give me your tired your poor your huddled masses yearning to breath free, except if you are Hispanic or Asian or poor or wretched or don’t have a college degree unless of course you are willing to do my yard work, no questions asked.

Okay, everybody get the picture.

Non Conventional Wisdom on 2013 Election Results

Commentary on the Real Meaning of the Races

The mainstream media will be reporting conventional wisdom in analyzing the recent election results, and as usual will miss much of the story.  Here’s the story they will be skipping over.

1. The Republican brand is toxic in New York city.  Most pundits will attribute Bill deBlasio’s win in the city as standard operating procedure for a Democrat.  But it has been 20 years since a Democrat was mayor of New York.  The win for Mr. deBlasio was an indication of just how disliked the Republicans are in that city.  In fact the Republican candidate ran against the Republican label and was still trounced.

2. Mr. deBlasio ran on a theme of reducing inequality in the city.  Good theme, wrong office.  Big city mayor are managers not policy implementers.  If Mr. deBlasio does not get the garbage picked up, crime reduced, the schools improved and the city running on time it could be another 20 years before a Democrat is elected mayor.

3. The closeness of the race in Virginia for Governor was a huge loss for Republicans.  The reason is that a big loss would have served as a strong blow to radicals within the party, and the close loss will just encourage them.  Intra-party fighting in the Republican party will be a huge story in 2014, fueled by the close loss in Virginia in 2013.

4. The decision to have Mr. Obama campaign in Virginia late in the game was a huge mistake, and probably cost the Democrat several percentage points in the race.  Unless health care reform implementation makes a huge recovery, and unless the press reports that recover, the first very likely, the second very unlikely, do not expect to see Mr. Obama playing a role in the 2014 general election.

5. Are we the only ones waiting for the vicious attacks by ultra conservative Republican Presidential hopefuls against Chris Christie and waiting to see how the notoriously thin skinned New Jersey Governor responds?

6. Colorado voters moved full pot legalization closer by enacting a tax on its sale. 

7. In Virginia a center right candidate would have obliterated the  Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe.  An attractive Democratic candidate, one who had a record and an agenda would have obliterated Mr. Cuccinelli.  Why can’t we have better candidates?

8. It is not wrong to hope that Mr. Cuccinelli suffers mental anguish from his loss.  He is not a nice person, and he is not even a real conservative.  He would use the power of government to enforce his own views on how individuals should lead their private lives, and his desire to actively control how women live and behave would have caused huge mental anguish to them had he been elected. 

Book Burners and Banners Lose a Battle in Tucson – Conservatives Take Another Hit

And Maybe Jon Stewart Will Stop Calling Them Ignorant Yahoo’s (They Could be Semi-Illiterate Yahoos)

One can usually tell who the people are that fight against freedom.  They are the ones who say they champion freedom.  They have to say that to try and distract everyone away from their practices as opposed to their preaching.

In Tucson the freedom fighters (meaning fighting against freedom) had succeeded in banning books on Latino culture from the public schools.

The works have been deemed “controversial” by some local media but are widely assigned in universities and high schools across the West. The seven reinstated books are: “Critical Race Theory” by Richard Delgado; “500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures,” edited by Elizabeth Martinez; “Message to Aztlan” by Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales; “Chicano! The History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement” by Arturo Rosales; “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” by Paulo Freire; “Occupied America: A History of Chicanos” by Rodolfo Acuña; and “Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years” by Bill Bigelow.

Well the opponents of thinking said they weren’t really banned.

Tucson officials have said the books were never “banned,” per se, because they were either made available to students in libraries or stored in district warehouses.

Oh, right, taking them out of the schools and storing them in district warehouses is not banning them.  Students were free to break into the warehouses and scrumptiously read the books.  But one can just imagine the horror foisted on young people perusing “500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures”.  Actually that book was okay, but that one was singled out by the book banners because most of them could only read picture books.

And while some books are back, apparently other books, are not allowed.

Beyond the seven books, a much larger list of books (most by Latino authors) were deemed inappropriate for teaching in Arizona schools, including works by Urrea, Junot Diaz, Sandra Cisneros and Dagoberto Gilb.

But heck, one can see the point of book burning conservatives here.  Let Latino students read books about the Latino culture in Arizona and next thing you know they will want to vote and drive and stay out of jail for offenses like having Hispanic heritage.  In fact they may come to regard their heritage as something special, instead of what conservatives think, which is that being Latino is Un-American.