Kevin Koster commented on Fox Hosts Preemptively Pimp "Pro-Life" Claim: Mainstream Media Won't Cover Anti-Abortion March
2017-01-28 16:05:29 -0500
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I tend to doubt we’ll see that much of Pence, other than at occasional events like this one. He’s too busy running the domestic and foreign policy in his White House while Trump cavorts in public. This was always the plan.
And it’s a no-brainer that this event doesn’t merit wide coverage. It’s one of many single-issue marches that happen in DC every month, and it’s one that is particularly focused on an angry, hateful group. There are also marches about police violence, about violence against women, about the environment, etc. The only time these marches get attention is when you see massive crowds as we did on the 21st. A march in the tens of thousands is fine for the organizers of that march – if in fact they even got to that number. A march in the hundreds of thousands or higher is a different matter – and when you multiply that by all the cities in which marches were held a week ago, it becomes clear why that story was appropriate to cover.
If Fox News wishes to make an issue about the media not covering this anti-choice event, then they must be agreeing to cover all the other marches and rallies that regularly happen in DC. Something tells me that they don’t wish to cover those – they only want everyone to cover the little rally that they supported. Once again, hypocrisy and nonsense. And bullying to try to cover it over.
And it’s a no-brainer that this event doesn’t merit wide coverage. It’s one of many single-issue marches that happen in DC every month, and it’s one that is particularly focused on an angry, hateful group. There are also marches about police violence, about violence against women, about the environment, etc. The only time these marches get attention is when you see massive crowds as we did on the 21st. A march in the tens of thousands is fine for the organizers of that march – if in fact they even got to that number. A march in the hundreds of thousands or higher is a different matter – and when you multiply that by all the cities in which marches were held a week ago, it becomes clear why that story was appropriate to cover.
If Fox News wishes to make an issue about the media not covering this anti-choice event, then they must be agreeing to cover all the other marches and rallies that regularly happen in DC. Something tells me that they don’t wish to cover those – they only want everyone to cover the little rally that they supported. Once again, hypocrisy and nonsense. And bullying to try to cover it over.
Kevin Koster commented on Hannity Conveniently ‘Forgets’ His History Of Attacking The Obama Daughters
2017-01-29 09:59:13 -0500
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The Right took repeated shots at Chelsea Clinton back in the 90s, including one extremely vicious taunt by Rush Limbaugh where he referred to her as “the White House dog”. The Right has also repeatedly made comments about the Obama daughters, although I must acknowledge that Fox News has also decried that when it’s come up. A good listing of the various shots at the daughters can be found here:
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/obama-girls-targeted-criticism-again-conservatives
I recall one or two nasty comments being made about the Bush daughters during the 2000s, but nothing at the level of viciousness we saw both in the 90s and over the past 8 years. Bemused is correct that the Bush twins repeatedly got themselves in the news for various partying problems, but the press really went out of their way not to cover it.
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/obama-girls-targeted-criticism-again-conservatives
I recall one or two nasty comments being made about the Bush daughters during the 2000s, but nothing at the level of viciousness we saw both in the 90s and over the past 8 years. Bemused is correct that the Bush twins repeatedly got themselves in the news for various partying problems, but the press really went out of their way not to cover it.
Kevin Koster commented on NBC Cancels An Hour Of ‘Today’ To Make Room For Megyn Kelly
2017-01-29 09:36:29 -0500
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Bob, you’re absolutely right.
NBC only hired them to up their Right Wing credibility so that they could get people like Paul Ryan on the air. The amount of viewers that Kelly or Van Susteren can pull in is actually not very high in network news terms. Van Susteren may actually do okay at MSNBC if she can draw some of the Fox News folks over there. But the numbers at NBC itself are much higher than anything a cable news outlet like Fox can pull.
Something tells me Van Susteren is very comfortable in her new post, in that she can pontificate from the Right without having to worry about being in a building where Roger Ailes is harassing at will. If they’ve offered her a decent salary package, she’ll happily stay at MSNBC as their resident Right Winger. Kelly on the other hand is more ambitious. Note that she didn’t settle for the smaller cable news outlet – she wanted to go to the big network desk. But again, she’s only useful to them as their house Right Winger. She’s not a strong enough interviewer to be able to take the mantle of a Barbara Walters, and she’s too biased a person to hand the evening news desk. I have a feeling she’ll try to make a big move at NBC within the first year or two she’s there and wind up being rebuffed.
NBC only hired them to up their Right Wing credibility so that they could get people like Paul Ryan on the air. The amount of viewers that Kelly or Van Susteren can pull in is actually not very high in network news terms. Van Susteren may actually do okay at MSNBC if she can draw some of the Fox News folks over there. But the numbers at NBC itself are much higher than anything a cable news outlet like Fox can pull.
Something tells me Van Susteren is very comfortable in her new post, in that she can pontificate from the Right without having to worry about being in a building where Roger Ailes is harassing at will. If they’ve offered her a decent salary package, she’ll happily stay at MSNBC as their resident Right Winger. Kelly on the other hand is more ambitious. Note that she didn’t settle for the smaller cable news outlet – she wanted to go to the big network desk. But again, she’s only useful to them as their house Right Winger. She’s not a strong enough interviewer to be able to take the mantle of a Barbara Walters, and she’s too biased a person to hand the evening news desk. I have a feeling she’ll try to make a big move at NBC within the first year or two she’s there and wind up being rebuffed.
Kevin Koster commented on Former AZ Gov. Jan Brewer Thanks God For Proposed Wall On The Mexico Border
2017-01-26 20:41:45 -0500
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The anti-immigrant bigotry has been going on for quite a long time. Rush Limbaugh’s been screaming it on the air all the way back to when he first came to national attention 30 years ago. AM radio in California, particularly the John & Ken show in Los Angeles, has specialized in characterizing immigrants from Mexico and Central/South America in the most racist manner possible. These guys were positively ecstatic yesterday. So much so that you could hear the repeated fist pumps in the air while they were celebrating the racism and the hatred.
If it were up to the spokespeople for the Right, we’d see buses loading up thousands of undocumented immigrants every day and throwing them over the border into Mexico. John & Ken have particularly distinguished themselves recently by saying that they would have no issue with ALL undocumented immigrants being deported, including the DACA kids. When someone raised the issue that you could be identified as being involved in the criminal justice system (the first level of deportations to be applied quickly this year) just by getting pulled over for a broken taillight, these guys responded by saying “Well, you’re already here illegally, so you know that if you break a law, you’re not going to be able to stay here, right?”
Last night, Fox News hosted an angry mother of a child who’d been killed at school by an undocumented immigrant, and she predictably demanded that ALL undocumented people be thrown out of the country as quickly as possible, including anyone from the DACA program.
And we had the chilling spectacle in early December of Rick Santorum telling a young woman in the DACA program that she should leave the USA and bring the skills and knowledge she was lucky to receive while illegally here to the rest of the world and then perhaps return as a legal immigrant. When she reminded him that this would not be permitted for at least 10 years, he acknowledged that maybe that penalty could be reduced a little. (Who knows – 9 1/2 years?)
So it’s clear that these people do intend to push the Pence White House into deporting as much of this population as they can, and they’re not going to make any bones about it. I don’t believe they’ll actually try to deport the DACA group, but I do think they will actively encourage them to leave on their own before such proceedings start. On the other hand, the viciousness we are already seeing could lead one to think that they’ll include the DACA group with everyone else once they pick off the low hanging fruit already in jail or on the books for the actual criminal charges.
Regarding the matters of building on private property, something tells me that the Pence White House will not be anywhere near as dainty as the Obama people or even the W. Bush people were. They’ll simply take the land and ask questions later. As for treaties with Mexico or any other country, I strongly doubt the Pence White House has any regard for them – particularly not for Mexico. They’ll simply break the treaty and dare Mexico to do something about it. The prevailing Right Wing attitude toward Mexico at the moment is one of saying that we have the power and they don’t, so let’s rub their nose in it. (It’s frankly the same attitude they have toward sanctuary cities, and it’s the reason they’re hoping they can get these cities to cave.) On this front, I believe the Right and the Pence White House may be in for a major shock.
Based on the outrageous behavior over the past week, I now think it possible that we could see an actual break in relations with multiple foreign countries, including Mexico and a fair amount of Central and South America. Yes, they tend to depend on aid from us, but if they are going to be treated in this manner, or if the aid is going to be considered contingent on them bowing down to Pence’s Tweeter-in-Chief, I could easily see several of these nations choosing to tell us where to go until these people are safely out of office. And I wouldn’t blame them.
If it were up to the spokespeople for the Right, we’d see buses loading up thousands of undocumented immigrants every day and throwing them over the border into Mexico. John & Ken have particularly distinguished themselves recently by saying that they would have no issue with ALL undocumented immigrants being deported, including the DACA kids. When someone raised the issue that you could be identified as being involved in the criminal justice system (the first level of deportations to be applied quickly this year) just by getting pulled over for a broken taillight, these guys responded by saying “Well, you’re already here illegally, so you know that if you break a law, you’re not going to be able to stay here, right?”
Last night, Fox News hosted an angry mother of a child who’d been killed at school by an undocumented immigrant, and she predictably demanded that ALL undocumented people be thrown out of the country as quickly as possible, including anyone from the DACA program.
And we had the chilling spectacle in early December of Rick Santorum telling a young woman in the DACA program that she should leave the USA and bring the skills and knowledge she was lucky to receive while illegally here to the rest of the world and then perhaps return as a legal immigrant. When she reminded him that this would not be permitted for at least 10 years, he acknowledged that maybe that penalty could be reduced a little. (Who knows – 9 1/2 years?)
So it’s clear that these people do intend to push the Pence White House into deporting as much of this population as they can, and they’re not going to make any bones about it. I don’t believe they’ll actually try to deport the DACA group, but I do think they will actively encourage them to leave on their own before such proceedings start. On the other hand, the viciousness we are already seeing could lead one to think that they’ll include the DACA group with everyone else once they pick off the low hanging fruit already in jail or on the books for the actual criminal charges.
Regarding the matters of building on private property, something tells me that the Pence White House will not be anywhere near as dainty as the Obama people or even the W. Bush people were. They’ll simply take the land and ask questions later. As for treaties with Mexico or any other country, I strongly doubt the Pence White House has any regard for them – particularly not for Mexico. They’ll simply break the treaty and dare Mexico to do something about it. The prevailing Right Wing attitude toward Mexico at the moment is one of saying that we have the power and they don’t, so let’s rub their nose in it. (It’s frankly the same attitude they have toward sanctuary cities, and it’s the reason they’re hoping they can get these cities to cave.) On this front, I believe the Right and the Pence White House may be in for a major shock.
Based on the outrageous behavior over the past week, I now think it possible that we could see an actual break in relations with multiple foreign countries, including Mexico and a fair amount of Central and South America. Yes, they tend to depend on aid from us, but if they are going to be treated in this manner, or if the aid is going to be considered contingent on them bowing down to Pence’s Tweeter-in-Chief, I could easily see several of these nations choosing to tell us where to go until these people are safely out of office. And I wouldn’t blame them.
Kevin Koster commented on 'Democrat' Bob Beckel Suggests Native Americans Trade DAPL Opposition For Casinos
2017-01-26 11:49:21 -0500
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There is a really ugly underside to the entire discussion about the DAPL situation. I haven’t heard Fox News mention the new North Dakota laws being rammed through their state legislature. The ones that will essentially make the protesters’ actions illegal by definition. And beyond that, there’s a really special Right Wing twist that’s been added, and it’s perfectly appropriate for the Year of the Bully.
The main new state law the Right is piling into North Dakota is one that says that if a driver runs over one of the protesters “inadvertently”, then it’s the protester’s fault.
I believe that this situation could become violent in a hurry – and not by the protesters. North Dakota is now looking to be a place where we really see principled people being physically assaulted on a level we have not encountered since the 1960s. I don’t think it’s alarmist to be concerned about what the Right intends to do here. It’s clear to me that they intend to instigate a confrontation and then use that as an excuse to brutally assault anyone that disagrees with them.
The main new state law the Right is piling into North Dakota is one that says that if a driver runs over one of the protesters “inadvertently”, then it’s the protester’s fault.
I believe that this situation could become violent in a hurry – and not by the protesters. North Dakota is now looking to be a place where we really see principled people being physically assaulted on a level we have not encountered since the 1960s. I don’t think it’s alarmist to be concerned about what the Right intends to do here. It’s clear to me that they intend to instigate a confrontation and then use that as an excuse to brutally assault anyone that disagrees with them.
Kevin Koster commented on Fox News Pundits Think Democrats Should ‘Eat Their Vegetables’ And Help Republicans Repeal Obamacare
2017-01-25 08:31:13 -0500
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Let’s be very clear-eyed about this.
The Right Wing and Fox News have no moral ground whatsoever to make these kinds of statements, and shame on them for attempting to do so. How dare they accuse the majority of this country of immaturity when in fact it’s the Right who has spent the past 8 years in a constant and vicious temper tantrum?
The Right Wing never accepted or acknowledged Barack Obama as a legitimate president. They worked to undermine him even before he was sworn into office into 2009. They deliberately undercut him at every opportunity, including their refusal to do their jobs whenever possible and even sending treasonous letters overseas to try to disrupt treaties he was negotiating with foreign leaders.
And now that the Right has an acting president in Mike Pence who will do their harshest bidding, we are meant to lay down and just enjoy the damage these people intend to do to the country? And if anyone raises an objection, it’s because they’re being childish?
Self-awareness is clearly not a keystone of anyone on the Right, is it?
When the Right Wing can acknowledge its own childishness and churlishness, then perhaps it can ask others to help in a healing process. But not when the tone being set by Donald Trump and Sean Spicer and Kellyanne Conway is that of screaming at everyone to get in line or else.
The Right Wing and Fox News have no moral ground whatsoever to make these kinds of statements, and shame on them for attempting to do so. How dare they accuse the majority of this country of immaturity when in fact it’s the Right who has spent the past 8 years in a constant and vicious temper tantrum?
The Right Wing never accepted or acknowledged Barack Obama as a legitimate president. They worked to undermine him even before he was sworn into office into 2009. They deliberately undercut him at every opportunity, including their refusal to do their jobs whenever possible and even sending treasonous letters overseas to try to disrupt treaties he was negotiating with foreign leaders.
And now that the Right has an acting president in Mike Pence who will do their harshest bidding, we are meant to lay down and just enjoy the damage these people intend to do to the country? And if anyone raises an objection, it’s because they’re being childish?
Self-awareness is clearly not a keystone of anyone on the Right, is it?
When the Right Wing can acknowledge its own childishness and churlishness, then perhaps it can ask others to help in a healing process. But not when the tone being set by Donald Trump and Sean Spicer and Kellyanne Conway is that of screaming at everyone to get in line or else.
Kevin Koster commented on FBN’s Charles Gasparino Recounts Inauguration Brawls Involving Himself, Scott Baio And Kellyanne Conway
2017-01-25 08:25:03 -0500
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Of course. It’s the Year of the Bully. What better way to celebrate inauguration and democracy than to punch someone in the face? And these people are shocked, shocked that principled members of Congress and the overwhelming majority of the country chose not to attend the coronation of the Tweeter-in-Chief?
Kevin Koster commented on Bill O’Reilly Insists Women’s March On Washington Was Some Kind Of Sinister George Soros Plot
2017-01-25 00:39:52 -0500
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I realize that this is the Year of the Bully, and Bill O’Reilly is feeling especially nasty these days, but this whole segment was a vicious, vicious mean-spirited lie. O’Reilly is repeating basic Right Wing spin about the huge marches because it’s the Fox News Line of the Day and because he can’t let the truth about all those people in the street be the story.
The reality of those marches is that when people heard about them, they chose to go to them. I know over a hundred people who went to marches in multiple cities as a specific way to show their dissatisfaction with the Pence White House, their concern about its announced intentions, their disgust for the bigotry of the Tweeter in Chief, and their refusal to just take the bullying and the attacks now being thrown at them on a daily basis.
O’Reilly can whine all he wants about this. It will not change the facts. The facts are that Donald Trump lost the popular vote by a wide margin, that he only squeaked by to game the election, that he holds the lowest approval rating in our memory for a new president, and that his dreadful inauguration was marked by low attendance and lower ratings than he had fervently hoped to see. If O’Reilly had the slightest interest in actual facts and not in the spin he refuses to admit he engages in, he would note that the online viewing numbers being touted by Spicer and Conway are not showing what Trump wishes they did.
For the record, Spicer attempted to play up hits on online streams of the inauguration at various websites including CNN and Fox News, as a way of somehow giving a huge boost to Trump’s television ratings, which fell below the numbers marked by Obama and other presidents, and were over 10 million shorter than those marked by Reagan in 1981. But Spicer and Conway are dissembling about what the online numbers actually mean. Registered hits or page views on a website are not the same thing at all as Nielsen Ratings. Nielsen Ratings measure what channel was being viewed on a television set at any given time, usually broken out in 15 minute chunks. So, if the sample family’s channel was tuned to the local ABC affiliate for the whole time of the inauguration, ABC gets a higher rating, and it’s noted that the inauguration was being watched.
Unique page views or stream views are a different matter. Because it’s metered not from the user, but from the website. This means that the same person could leave the page and return to it, or could close their browser and re-open it to the specific page multiple times in an hour or even in a minute. I frequently do this in reading articles even at Newshounds. So quoting a number of 16 million hits at the CNN stream of the inauguration and equating that to the 31 million TV viewers estimated by Nielsen is a nonsensical comparison. It’s comparing apples to breadsticks. Those 16 million hits may only represent a quarter of a million people, or only tens of thousands of people. And many are likely to have only looked at a couple of minutes of the stream before turning it off.
I also note that Spicer and Conway carefully forgot to discuss the number of stream page views noted for the Obama inaugurations. Because it would show that even those were higher for Obama than for Trump. In trying to double down on this ridiculous lie, these guys are only proving that they cannot and must not be trusted. If they would lie about this, and the subject itself is trivial, then how should we think they’ll conduct themselves when it comes to something that really does matter?
The reality of those marches is that when people heard about them, they chose to go to them. I know over a hundred people who went to marches in multiple cities as a specific way to show their dissatisfaction with the Pence White House, their concern about its announced intentions, their disgust for the bigotry of the Tweeter in Chief, and their refusal to just take the bullying and the attacks now being thrown at them on a daily basis.
O’Reilly can whine all he wants about this. It will not change the facts. The facts are that Donald Trump lost the popular vote by a wide margin, that he only squeaked by to game the election, that he holds the lowest approval rating in our memory for a new president, and that his dreadful inauguration was marked by low attendance and lower ratings than he had fervently hoped to see. If O’Reilly had the slightest interest in actual facts and not in the spin he refuses to admit he engages in, he would note that the online viewing numbers being touted by Spicer and Conway are not showing what Trump wishes they did.
For the record, Spicer attempted to play up hits on online streams of the inauguration at various websites including CNN and Fox News, as a way of somehow giving a huge boost to Trump’s television ratings, which fell below the numbers marked by Obama and other presidents, and were over 10 million shorter than those marked by Reagan in 1981. But Spicer and Conway are dissembling about what the online numbers actually mean. Registered hits or page views on a website are not the same thing at all as Nielsen Ratings. Nielsen Ratings measure what channel was being viewed on a television set at any given time, usually broken out in 15 minute chunks. So, if the sample family’s channel was tuned to the local ABC affiliate for the whole time of the inauguration, ABC gets a higher rating, and it’s noted that the inauguration was being watched.
Unique page views or stream views are a different matter. Because it’s metered not from the user, but from the website. This means that the same person could leave the page and return to it, or could close their browser and re-open it to the specific page multiple times in an hour or even in a minute. I frequently do this in reading articles even at Newshounds. So quoting a number of 16 million hits at the CNN stream of the inauguration and equating that to the 31 million TV viewers estimated by Nielsen is a nonsensical comparison. It’s comparing apples to breadsticks. Those 16 million hits may only represent a quarter of a million people, or only tens of thousands of people. And many are likely to have only looked at a couple of minutes of the stream before turning it off.
I also note that Spicer and Conway carefully forgot to discuss the number of stream page views noted for the Obama inaugurations. Because it would show that even those were higher for Obama than for Trump. In trying to double down on this ridiculous lie, these guys are only proving that they cannot and must not be trusted. If they would lie about this, and the subject itself is trivial, then how should we think they’ll conduct themselves when it comes to something that really does matter?
Kevin Koster commented on Trump Threatens To Send Feds To Chicago After O’Reilly Complains About Black Crime ‘Carnage’ There
2017-01-25 08:22:50 -0500
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John, I don’t think the military will be involved, but there most assuredly be civil conflict. The Right is in full-on bullying mode and they intend to press their momentary advantage as hard as they can. They’re not going from a perspective of trying to work with anyone – they’re trying to ram a vicious agenda down everyone else’s throat with the constant refrain of “WE WON! YOU LOST! GET OVER IT! GET IN LINE OR ELSE!”
The civil conflict resulting from this will stem from the fact that bullies never seem to understand that you can’t push other people like this without an equal and opposite response. I again refer the Right to A Christmas Story. Didn’t work out so good for Scut Farkus, did it? 2018 should be interesting for the Right, provided that liberal Dems learned their lesson from not showing up at the polls in 2016. I believe the Right knows this, and it’s why they are frantically trying to do as much damage as they can, as quickly as possible.
The civil conflict resulting from this will stem from the fact that bullies never seem to understand that you can’t push other people like this without an equal and opposite response. I again refer the Right to A Christmas Story. Didn’t work out so good for Scut Farkus, did it? 2018 should be interesting for the Right, provided that liberal Dems learned their lesson from not showing up at the polls in 2016. I believe the Right knows this, and it’s why they are frantically trying to do as much damage as they can, as quickly as possible.
Kevin Koster commented on Fox’s Kennedy Mocks The Women’s March On Washington, Asks ‘Can We Deport Michael Moore?’
2017-01-22 22:53:29 -0500
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Kennedy’s biggest moment in the spotlight, sadly, was when she blew an easy puff piece interview with Martin Landau on the red carpet for the first Tom Cruise version of Mission Impossible back in 1996. Landau quickly realized she had never seen the original series and had no idea why she was interviewing him, and she quickly realized it would not be a great video clip for herself.
About a decade later, she started to make a Right Wing name for herself on various AM radio shows, including at KFI in Los Angeles. In 2008, she was co-hosting a snarky Right Wing show on KFI with Bryan Suits (“Kennedy & Suits”) wherein they confidently predicted that Barack Obama would never win the 2008 election.
A few years later, she was popping up on Fox News to spew the same nonsense.
And here we have her, 20 years after her on-air humiliation by Landau, and she still hasn’t learned her lesson.
I’m honestly not sure why she is trying to play these games when the original clips have been preserved for posterity. The smarter move for her would not be to try to make fun of other people but instead to try to be a more tolerant and decent person. But that may be too much to ask.
About a decade later, she started to make a Right Wing name for herself on various AM radio shows, including at KFI in Los Angeles. In 2008, she was co-hosting a snarky Right Wing show on KFI with Bryan Suits (“Kennedy & Suits”) wherein they confidently predicted that Barack Obama would never win the 2008 election.
A few years later, she was popping up on Fox News to spew the same nonsense.
And here we have her, 20 years after her on-air humiliation by Landau, and she still hasn’t learned her lesson.
I’m honestly not sure why she is trying to play these games when the original clips have been preserved for posterity. The smarter move for her would not be to try to make fun of other people but instead to try to be a more tolerant and decent person. But that may be too much to ask.
Kevin Koster commented on Chris Wallace Hammers Reince Priebus Over Trump’s Lies About Inauguration Crowd Size
2017-01-23 05:23:35 -0500
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Ellen, I hear you, and I do see what you mean when compared with the other voices Wallace allowed to speak. I think we agree on the general nature of it. We’ll have to see how the Pence White House reacts to Wallace’s gentle temerity today…
Susan’s comments, on the other hand, make no sense. Has Susan actually watched Fox News or Chris Wallace over the past 8 years? Wallace has repeatedly called President Obama a liar and many other things, depending on which policy was being attacked or obstructed. Fox News in general has repeatedly called Barack Obama a liar, a secret Muslim, a corrupt person, a cop hater, and more epithets than I can possibly recount at this time. Wallace gently pointing out that Trump’s obsession with an obvious falsehood about his crowd size doesn’t even begin to compare with the open hostility that was shown to Barack Obama.
Susan’s comments, on the other hand, make no sense. Has Susan actually watched Fox News or Chris Wallace over the past 8 years? Wallace has repeatedly called President Obama a liar and many other things, depending on which policy was being attacked or obstructed. Fox News in general has repeatedly called Barack Obama a liar, a secret Muslim, a corrupt person, a cop hater, and more epithets than I can possibly recount at this time. Wallace gently pointing out that Trump’s obsession with an obvious falsehood about his crowd size doesn’t even begin to compare with the open hostility that was shown to Barack Obama.
Kevin Koster commented on Fox News Gives Short Shrift To Women's March On Washington
2017-01-22 02:33:01 -0500
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It is important to recognize two major events and one sidebar for the day.
1. The marches around the country and in DC firmly outpaced the relatively small turnout for the Trump/Pence coronation. Yesterday’s event turns out to have been a smaller affair than anticipated and the smallest one we’ve seen in decades. The Trump supporters had hoped they would see something like 500K present at the event, but it’s clear that they didn’t get anything near that number. And they floundered in the ratings as well, coming in behind the Obama events and far behind the record set by Ronald Reagan in 1981. In comparison, the marches today were much larger affairs – making a strong case that the majority of this country does not agree with the bullying and the viciousness of the Pence White House and its stated intentions. And for those who are trying to say that the wide shot of the grounds during the Trump event was somehow from 530am or 8am, I have to point out that the item was tagged as right before noon, and that the shot could not have been taken early in the morning. It was a foggy, cold, rainy day and the sun wasn’t rising until around 8am. I know the Right desperately wants Trump to have had the same turnout as Obama did in 2009 but they didn’t. In the same way that they only squeaked through in the election, they simply didn’t have that many people running out to see them in person or tuning their televisions to the event.
2. Sean Spicer’s despicable tantrum in front of the White House press corps is a grim omen of what is coming over the next four years. He literally went into the room and shouted a stream of demonstrable lies to the press and then stomped out of the room. The CNN report on his meltdown is instructive, as they pointed out in each case where he was lying, and to what extent. If this was meant to bully the press into doing as they were told, it in fact had the reverse effect. It’s obvious that Spicer thinks he can get away with this – it being The Year of the Bully, after all. But the journalists covering him may not be on the same page. The fact that Spicer thought he could get away with obvious falsehoods on the strength of his bravado is quite telling. His next presser should be interesting – I don’t believe the journalists will let him live this down for some time.
3. Trump’s visit to the CIA was sadly marked by his usual inability to focus on anything other than his narcissism and his obsession with any slight. It’s telling that the intelligence people who had to listen to it were shocked at Trump’s display. And it’s unprecedented for this visit to get a solid rebuke where the outgoing head of the agency is clear that the Tweeter-in-Chief should be ashamed of himself.
Behind the scenes of all this, Trump’s people erased vital materials from the White House website (which is why so many have been archiving the valuable research on climate change, etc), and Trump happily signed an executive order to make it harder for lower income people to get a mortgage, and the expected one to gut the ACA. (Trump’s first salvo removes all the requirements and mandates, making it up to each agency whether they wish to enforce anything. This means the individual mandate is gone, as are all the required coverage issues. Meaning that the insurers now have no reason to stay with the ACA and will begin backing out immediately. The incoming bill from Congress will finish this off and we can get back to where we were in 2009, before Barack Obama had the temerity to try this.)
Looking forward to next week, when the Pence White House gets to work on deporting undocumented immigrants, building a wall against Mexico, unraveling our various treaties (TPP, Paris Accords, Cuba, Iran, etc) and announces either William Pryor or Mike Lee to be inflicted on the Supreme Court. Expect Fox News to cheerlead all the way.
1. The marches around the country and in DC firmly outpaced the relatively small turnout for the Trump/Pence coronation. Yesterday’s event turns out to have been a smaller affair than anticipated and the smallest one we’ve seen in decades. The Trump supporters had hoped they would see something like 500K present at the event, but it’s clear that they didn’t get anything near that number. And they floundered in the ratings as well, coming in behind the Obama events and far behind the record set by Ronald Reagan in 1981. In comparison, the marches today were much larger affairs – making a strong case that the majority of this country does not agree with the bullying and the viciousness of the Pence White House and its stated intentions. And for those who are trying to say that the wide shot of the grounds during the Trump event was somehow from 530am or 8am, I have to point out that the item was tagged as right before noon, and that the shot could not have been taken early in the morning. It was a foggy, cold, rainy day and the sun wasn’t rising until around 8am. I know the Right desperately wants Trump to have had the same turnout as Obama did in 2009 but they didn’t. In the same way that they only squeaked through in the election, they simply didn’t have that many people running out to see them in person or tuning their televisions to the event.
2. Sean Spicer’s despicable tantrum in front of the White House press corps is a grim omen of what is coming over the next four years. He literally went into the room and shouted a stream of demonstrable lies to the press and then stomped out of the room. The CNN report on his meltdown is instructive, as they pointed out in each case where he was lying, and to what extent. If this was meant to bully the press into doing as they were told, it in fact had the reverse effect. It’s obvious that Spicer thinks he can get away with this – it being The Year of the Bully, after all. But the journalists covering him may not be on the same page. The fact that Spicer thought he could get away with obvious falsehoods on the strength of his bravado is quite telling. His next presser should be interesting – I don’t believe the journalists will let him live this down for some time.
3. Trump’s visit to the CIA was sadly marked by his usual inability to focus on anything other than his narcissism and his obsession with any slight. It’s telling that the intelligence people who had to listen to it were shocked at Trump’s display. And it’s unprecedented for this visit to get a solid rebuke where the outgoing head of the agency is clear that the Tweeter-in-Chief should be ashamed of himself.
Behind the scenes of all this, Trump’s people erased vital materials from the White House website (which is why so many have been archiving the valuable research on climate change, etc), and Trump happily signed an executive order to make it harder for lower income people to get a mortgage, and the expected one to gut the ACA. (Trump’s first salvo removes all the requirements and mandates, making it up to each agency whether they wish to enforce anything. This means the individual mandate is gone, as are all the required coverage issues. Meaning that the insurers now have no reason to stay with the ACA and will begin backing out immediately. The incoming bill from Congress will finish this off and we can get back to where we were in 2009, before Barack Obama had the temerity to try this.)
Looking forward to next week, when the Pence White House gets to work on deporting undocumented immigrants, building a wall against Mexico, unraveling our various treaties (TPP, Paris Accords, Cuba, Iran, etc) and announces either William Pryor or Mike Lee to be inflicted on the Supreme Court. Expect Fox News to cheerlead all the way.
Kevin Koster commented on Sheriff David Clarke: ‘Only Reason I’ll Be Reaching Across The Aisle Is To Grab One Of Them By The Throat’
2017-01-21 16:33:18 -0500
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More bullying as we expected. It’s not even original.
Glenn Beck got into this in 2005: “Hang on, let me just tell you what I’m thinking. I’m thinking about killing Michael Moore, and I’m wondering if I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it. No, I think I could. I think he could be looking me in the eye, you know, and I could just be choking the life out — is this wrong? I stopped wearing my What Would Jesus — band — Do, and I’ve lost all sense of right and wrong now. I used to be able to say, “Yeah, I’d kill Michael Moore,” and then I’d see the little band: What Would Jesus Do? And then I’d realize, “Oh, you wouldn’t kill Michael Moore. Or at least you wouldn’t choke him to death.” And you know, well, I’m not sure.”
The difference here is that Clarke is a Sheriff.
Can’t he be impeached for this? He’s threatening violence against someone with whom he disagrees. As a peace officer charged with protecting everyone’s safety, doesn’t it violate his oath to engage in this behavior? This is a serious question. If there is a way he can be disciplined for this, that should be done.
Glenn Beck got into this in 2005: “Hang on, let me just tell you what I’m thinking. I’m thinking about killing Michael Moore, and I’m wondering if I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it. No, I think I could. I think he could be looking me in the eye, you know, and I could just be choking the life out — is this wrong? I stopped wearing my What Would Jesus — band — Do, and I’ve lost all sense of right and wrong now. I used to be able to say, “Yeah, I’d kill Michael Moore,” and then I’d see the little band: What Would Jesus Do? And then I’d realize, “Oh, you wouldn’t kill Michael Moore. Or at least you wouldn’t choke him to death.” And you know, well, I’m not sure.”
The difference here is that Clarke is a Sheriff.
Can’t he be impeached for this? He’s threatening violence against someone with whom he disagrees. As a peace officer charged with protecting everyone’s safety, doesn’t it violate his oath to engage in this behavior? This is a serious question. If there is a way he can be disciplined for this, that should be done.
Kevin Koster commented on The Resistance Starts Today
2017-01-21 16:54:22 -0500
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David, I would add Bill O’Reilly to that as well. He made sure to get a deferment so he wouldn’t have to go to Vietnam. This was decades before he would tell falsehoods about his “combat zone” experience in Argentina, etc. But we digress.
I doubt there will be any attempt to do anything with the draft, in that the Pence White House will be looking to have their conflicts be more trade-oriented than military. When it comes to ISIS and other groups like that, Pence will simply order bombing raids. He won’t want Trump to have to explain lots of casualties coming back home as would happen if they instigated a ground war. I think they picked up one lesson from Iraq, which was that they got themselves into a stupid quagmire with that one and they don’t want to repeat it.
I agree with Bemused that the rioters yesterday did not help anyone’s cause. If anything, they just gave Fox News and the Right Wing a reason to dismiss the more important marches happening today. And sure enough, the Right happily went about referring to the rioters as “typical liberals” and “snowflakes” and other nonsensical phrases. I’d frankly be very curious to hear exactly who was rioting and who instigated it. It’s most likely just the same people who do this every time there is civil unrest, but it would bear examination to confirm that there wasn’t any covert involvement by some who wanted that to be the headline for the Left.
I realize that it looks unseemly for a bunch of people to choose not to be part of Trump’s coronation, but I also see it from John Lewis’ point of view. Make no mistake, Donald Trump has repeatedly conducted himself in a disgraceful manner, embarrassing the nation with his repeated personal swipes at anyone he thinks has insulted him. He has conducted himself in an offensive way, repeatedly saying bigoted and sexist things and generally trying to bully everyone else to his will. His conduct yesterday was typical of that behavior – he didn’t speak of bringing anyone together or of working with anyone or of acknowledging that most of the country did not vote for him. Instead, he pumped his fist and gave a vicious, angry, bullying screed that had to have shocked people both in the country and abroad. I can see why Lewis did not want to sit there for that.
I do understand the notion of “respecting the process.” But the issue at hand is that Donald Trump has never respected the process. He repeatedly said everything was rigged against him, he repeatedly demeaned everyone who was trying to work within the actual electoral process and he repeatedly encouraged violence and viciousness towards those with whom he disagreed. At what point did Donald Trump ever show respect for anyone else when he wasn’t thinking he was being magnanimous after bullying them? Given that Trump has no respect for the process, and given his documented hatred for most of the other people involved, anyone attending this event would have to either be an ardent supporter or a reluctant attendee trying to at least put on a good face. But how can one put a good face on a situation where you have Sean Spicer, Rush Limbaugh and all the various personalities on Fox News repeatedly, angrily screaming “WE WON! YOU LOST! GET OVER IT, SNOWFLAKE!” and demanding that the rest of the country now just let bygones be bygones and happily support our new Tweeter in Chief? In other words, the Right Wing has openly tried to bully everyone else into getting in line behind Trump, including by spending their day watching Trump and Pence be crowned.
I fully understand why John Lewis and the others felt they needed to make a statement against this kind of bullying. I fully respect them making that statement, and I really appreciate the Dems who said that they intended to spend the day with their constituents in their districts trying to get some real work done. That’s a fully honorable thing to do, and I’m glad they did it.
And again, I don’t give any credence to Right Wing howls about them making a principled stand against bullying, when the Right never gave any respect to Barack Obama. Sure, they sat at his inauguration – which they immediately ridiculed for a flub that happened when John Roberts and Obama tripped over each other’s words. For the Right, that day was about making fun of President Obama, not celebrating a peaceful transition of anything. And people like Newt Gingrich finished that day by plotting to obstruct every single thing Obama did. And let’s not forget Rush Limbaugh feeding the flames the prior week by screaming “I HOPE HE FAILS!” Sure, the Right really supported a peaceful transition and got behind Obama all the way, didn’t they? Only if you were completely asleep for the past 8 years would you think so.
I doubt there will be any attempt to do anything with the draft, in that the Pence White House will be looking to have their conflicts be more trade-oriented than military. When it comes to ISIS and other groups like that, Pence will simply order bombing raids. He won’t want Trump to have to explain lots of casualties coming back home as would happen if they instigated a ground war. I think they picked up one lesson from Iraq, which was that they got themselves into a stupid quagmire with that one and they don’t want to repeat it.
I agree with Bemused that the rioters yesterday did not help anyone’s cause. If anything, they just gave Fox News and the Right Wing a reason to dismiss the more important marches happening today. And sure enough, the Right happily went about referring to the rioters as “typical liberals” and “snowflakes” and other nonsensical phrases. I’d frankly be very curious to hear exactly who was rioting and who instigated it. It’s most likely just the same people who do this every time there is civil unrest, but it would bear examination to confirm that there wasn’t any covert involvement by some who wanted that to be the headline for the Left.
I realize that it looks unseemly for a bunch of people to choose not to be part of Trump’s coronation, but I also see it from John Lewis’ point of view. Make no mistake, Donald Trump has repeatedly conducted himself in a disgraceful manner, embarrassing the nation with his repeated personal swipes at anyone he thinks has insulted him. He has conducted himself in an offensive way, repeatedly saying bigoted and sexist things and generally trying to bully everyone else to his will. His conduct yesterday was typical of that behavior – he didn’t speak of bringing anyone together or of working with anyone or of acknowledging that most of the country did not vote for him. Instead, he pumped his fist and gave a vicious, angry, bullying screed that had to have shocked people both in the country and abroad. I can see why Lewis did not want to sit there for that.
I do understand the notion of “respecting the process.” But the issue at hand is that Donald Trump has never respected the process. He repeatedly said everything was rigged against him, he repeatedly demeaned everyone who was trying to work within the actual electoral process and he repeatedly encouraged violence and viciousness towards those with whom he disagreed. At what point did Donald Trump ever show respect for anyone else when he wasn’t thinking he was being magnanimous after bullying them? Given that Trump has no respect for the process, and given his documented hatred for most of the other people involved, anyone attending this event would have to either be an ardent supporter or a reluctant attendee trying to at least put on a good face. But how can one put a good face on a situation where you have Sean Spicer, Rush Limbaugh and all the various personalities on Fox News repeatedly, angrily screaming “WE WON! YOU LOST! GET OVER IT, SNOWFLAKE!” and demanding that the rest of the country now just let bygones be bygones and happily support our new Tweeter in Chief? In other words, the Right Wing has openly tried to bully everyone else into getting in line behind Trump, including by spending their day watching Trump and Pence be crowned.
I fully understand why John Lewis and the others felt they needed to make a statement against this kind of bullying. I fully respect them making that statement, and I really appreciate the Dems who said that they intended to spend the day with their constituents in their districts trying to get some real work done. That’s a fully honorable thing to do, and I’m glad they did it.
And again, I don’t give any credence to Right Wing howls about them making a principled stand against bullying, when the Right never gave any respect to Barack Obama. Sure, they sat at his inauguration – which they immediately ridiculed for a flub that happened when John Roberts and Obama tripped over each other’s words. For the Right, that day was about making fun of President Obama, not celebrating a peaceful transition of anything. And people like Newt Gingrich finished that day by plotting to obstruct every single thing Obama did. And let’s not forget Rush Limbaugh feeding the flames the prior week by screaming “I HOPE HE FAILS!” Sure, the Right really supported a peaceful transition and got behind Obama all the way, didn’t they? Only if you were completely asleep for the past 8 years would you think so.
Kevin Koster commented on Fox Gets In One Last Attack On An Obama Vacation
2017-01-21 12:43:04 -0500
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Keep in mind that Trump has no intention of spending 15 hour days sweating over policy changes and the like. That’s acting president Pence’s job.
We will be seeing the Pence White House frantically reversing every single thing that President Obama accomplished or ordered, and every day the Tweeter in Chief will be signing the latest EOs and bills from Congress to make that happen.
Meaning that Trump doesn’t need to work a super long day. Ronald Reagan never did.
We will be seeing the Pence White House frantically reversing every single thing that President Obama accomplished or ordered, and every day the Tweeter in Chief will be signing the latest EOs and bills from Congress to make that happen.
Meaning that Trump doesn’t need to work a super long day. Ronald Reagan never did.
Kevin Koster commented on Donald Trump Doesn't Know What He's Going To Do First Thing In Office
2017-01-19 09:42:47 -0500
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Eyes, Trump is already doing that every day and will continue to do so. Trump gloating and bullying is like the rising of the sun each day, isn’t it?
Another shoe dropped this morning – we now know the first wave of radical budget cuts Pence is planning. Massive cuts to Justice, State and Energy. (I’m still waiting to see the cuts to Education and EPA that must be in there too) All part of an extreme Hard Right budget from the Heritage Foundation. Pence is also eliminating the NEA, the NEH and privatizing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Programs that were intended to help battered women or encourage Community Policing? Gone.
Welcome to the new normal. Elections have consequences. Hopefully the people who sat on their hands this election are paying attention.
Again, Trump may not know which papers he’s signing first, but acting president Pence sure does.
Another shoe dropped this morning – we now know the first wave of radical budget cuts Pence is planning. Massive cuts to Justice, State and Energy. (I’m still waiting to see the cuts to Education and EPA that must be in there too) All part of an extreme Hard Right budget from the Heritage Foundation. Pence is also eliminating the NEA, the NEH and privatizing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Programs that were intended to help battered women or encourage Community Policing? Gone.
Welcome to the new normal. Elections have consequences. Hopefully the people who sat on their hands this election are paying attention.
Again, Trump may not know which papers he’s signing first, but acting president Pence sure does.
Kevin Koster commented on Watch President Obama's Final Press Conference
2017-01-19 10:08:26 -0500
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O’Reilly and Hannity each had really funny segments last night on President Obama’s last presser. O’Reilly angrily demanded that Obama publicly renounce Dems who have chosen to not attend Trump’s coronation ceremony. Hannity went farther – he tried to rehabilitate George W Bush, on the basis that Bush has never commented on the Obama presidency other than to say he thought he was a good guy. And he castigated the 2008 Obama campaign for noting the failure of Bush’s policies and the collapse of the economy, and connecting the McCain campaign to the outgoing administration.
A. O’Reilly seems to have forgotten how the GOP held a vicious strategy session in the shadow of the 2009 Inauguration, specifically to plan to obstruct every single thing that President Obama and the Dems attempted, and then to use that as campaign material. I have never, ever heard O’Reilly denounce this as un-American or unpatriotic. O’Reilly does not get to choose when these activities are ethically or morally compromised. If he’s getting on his moral high horse, he’ll need to be able to explain that one.
B. Hannity conveniently forgets that Bush did in fact leave the country in a massive recession, and left a gigantic mess for Obama to clean up. Hannity also conveniently forgets that Bush left office as one of the least popular Presidents in history (at least until acting president Pence does real damage starting tomorrow…) and that Obama is leaving office as one of the most popular Presidents.
C. Hannity has somehow instantly forgotten how the Trump Campaign and all GOP campaigns in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 repeatedly used phrases to say that President Obama was a failed president and that there was a massive mess we now had to clean up. (A curious assertion given that we emerged from the recession 6 years ago and Trump is actually inheriting a much healthier economy – which Pence will now of course ransack.)
D. Hannity deliberately forgets that George W Bush has remained silent because Dick Cheney is constantly making nasty comments about President Obama. I love how the Right tries to play these games. Past Presidents shouldn’t ever say anything negative about the current President as that would be unseemly. For shame. But a past Vice President who was really running a lot of that prior presidency? Fox News wants that guy to come right in and start the insult train. (And we won’t even get into the fact that Cheney has always been able to articulate the Hard Right response while W. Bush has always been known for fumbling such statements. My favorite W statement is still the one about tough economic times making it hard for some folks to “put food on their families.”
I really wonder if O’Reilly and Hannity actually think people are so blind that they can’t remember what happened in even recent history?
A. O’Reilly seems to have forgotten how the GOP held a vicious strategy session in the shadow of the 2009 Inauguration, specifically to plan to obstruct every single thing that President Obama and the Dems attempted, and then to use that as campaign material. I have never, ever heard O’Reilly denounce this as un-American or unpatriotic. O’Reilly does not get to choose when these activities are ethically or morally compromised. If he’s getting on his moral high horse, he’ll need to be able to explain that one.
B. Hannity conveniently forgets that Bush did in fact leave the country in a massive recession, and left a gigantic mess for Obama to clean up. Hannity also conveniently forgets that Bush left office as one of the least popular Presidents in history (at least until acting president Pence does real damage starting tomorrow…) and that Obama is leaving office as one of the most popular Presidents.
C. Hannity has somehow instantly forgotten how the Trump Campaign and all GOP campaigns in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 repeatedly used phrases to say that President Obama was a failed president and that there was a massive mess we now had to clean up. (A curious assertion given that we emerged from the recession 6 years ago and Trump is actually inheriting a much healthier economy – which Pence will now of course ransack.)
D. Hannity deliberately forgets that George W Bush has remained silent because Dick Cheney is constantly making nasty comments about President Obama. I love how the Right tries to play these games. Past Presidents shouldn’t ever say anything negative about the current President as that would be unseemly. For shame. But a past Vice President who was really running a lot of that prior presidency? Fox News wants that guy to come right in and start the insult train. (And we won’t even get into the fact that Cheney has always been able to articulate the Hard Right response while W. Bush has always been known for fumbling such statements. My favorite W statement is still the one about tough economic times making it hard for some folks to “put food on their families.”
I really wonder if O’Reilly and Hannity actually think people are so blind that they can’t remember what happened in even recent history?
Kevin Koster commented on Watch Rep. Tom Price Confirmation Hearing To Head HHS
2017-01-19 09:53:10 -0500
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Acting president Pence is never going to approve a Single Payer program. He will not allow it to go forward in Congress and he would tell the Tweeter in Chief not to sign it if it somehow did.
Paul Ryan doesn’t care if these people lose their coverage – he just wants to couch it in a way that will make it sound palatable and make himself sound sympathetic. That’s why he was superficially nice to the young woman at the Town Hall – he was providing the “friendly face” that Rick Santorum refreshingly didn’t a month earlier. And it doesn’t change that Ryan is ramming through legislation that will absolutely cause people to lose their coverage, and that he will completely support the Pence White House’s push to encourage the DACA participants to leave the USA with their families. Remember that they don’t have to have a “deportation force”. All they need to do is send that letter, and those families will get the message. We are already starting to see movement of people beginning to flee the country in advance of this – that will likely continue and accelerate.
As for Trump, I strongly doubt he thinks that much about whether or not the average person has coverage. He just doesn’t want to be asked an embarrassing question about it. After O’Reilly and Hannity feed him the talking points about how this is all the Dems’ fault, and after Pence preps him on it, he’ll issue a tweet to absolve himself and the GOP of responsibility since they’re really just cleaning up the Dems’ mess.
I strongly recommend people prepare for the ACA to be completely defunct in short order. Assuming that these guys would go back on their promises to kill it is not realistic. Please remember this has nothing to do with whether anyone has health insurance. It is specifically about killing the ACA and then retroactively declaring President Obama to be a failure who accomplished nothing.
These people have given us no indication that they actually care about how regular people get their health care. If they had cared about that, we’d have seen a real participation from them 8 years ago and all through the years since. The fact is, they don’t care. We should not assume that they do.
Paul Ryan doesn’t care if these people lose their coverage – he just wants to couch it in a way that will make it sound palatable and make himself sound sympathetic. That’s why he was superficially nice to the young woman at the Town Hall – he was providing the “friendly face” that Rick Santorum refreshingly didn’t a month earlier. And it doesn’t change that Ryan is ramming through legislation that will absolutely cause people to lose their coverage, and that he will completely support the Pence White House’s push to encourage the DACA participants to leave the USA with their families. Remember that they don’t have to have a “deportation force”. All they need to do is send that letter, and those families will get the message. We are already starting to see movement of people beginning to flee the country in advance of this – that will likely continue and accelerate.
As for Trump, I strongly doubt he thinks that much about whether or not the average person has coverage. He just doesn’t want to be asked an embarrassing question about it. After O’Reilly and Hannity feed him the talking points about how this is all the Dems’ fault, and after Pence preps him on it, he’ll issue a tweet to absolve himself and the GOP of responsibility since they’re really just cleaning up the Dems’ mess.
I strongly recommend people prepare for the ACA to be completely defunct in short order. Assuming that these guys would go back on their promises to kill it is not realistic. Please remember this has nothing to do with whether anyone has health insurance. It is specifically about killing the ACA and then retroactively declaring President Obama to be a failure who accomplished nothing.
These people have given us no indication that they actually care about how regular people get their health care. If they had cared about that, we’d have seen a real participation from them 8 years ago and all through the years since. The fact is, they don’t care. We should not assume that they do.
Kevin Koster commented on Plagiarist Monica Crowley Resigns From Trump Administration Before It Starts
2017-01-17 08:18:27 -0500
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I fully expect O’Reilly to have her on soon, specifically to play this situation as one where CNN will be attacked for having pointed out the obvious plagiarism. This will be presented not as something for her to defend but instead as an example of liberals refusing to allow Trump the wonderful (and fictional) honeymoon period the Right supposedly gave President Obama. O’Reilly will likely present Crowley as a martyr, a decent woman who was wronged by the nasty “far left zealots”.
Keep in mind that O’Reilly’s own scholastic issues with his writing, ie his complete fabrications about his own history, will come into play here. O’Reilly will sympathize with Crowley on the basis of “I know what it’s like to be vilified by these people” and “They only hate you because you’re effective”, etc.
Keep in mind that O’Reilly’s own scholastic issues with his writing, ie his complete fabrications about his own history, will come into play here. O’Reilly will sympathize with Crowley on the basis of “I know what it’s like to be vilified by these people” and “They only hate you because you’re effective”, etc.
Kevin Koster commented on Racist, Vichy Democrat Bob Beckel Back As Cohost Of Fox’s The Five
2017-01-17 00:12:24 -0500
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Beckel looked quite ill in his appearance. If anything, he appears to have aged ten years since the last time he appeared on the network. He mentioned having repeated operations during the past year. I’m not certain this idea will last very long.
I should also mention that when I was a DGA Trainee, I worked with Beckel’s brother Graham on the movie LA CONFIDENTIAL. Graham was always a decent man at work, even if he played an extremely corrupt character onscreen. (Both brothers are different shades of politics – I understand Graham to be more openly conservative)
I should also mention that when I was a DGA Trainee, I worked with Beckel’s brother Graham on the movie LA CONFIDENTIAL. Graham was always a decent man at work, even if he played an extremely corrupt character onscreen. (Both brothers are different shades of politics – I understand Graham to be more openly conservative)