The Liberal Doomsayer My blog deals primarily with national politics in the U.S. as well as, on occasion, local politics in Pennsylvania. From time to time, I may have something to say about sports and entertainment as well. I try to interpret information that shapes the news and provide context to current events. I am definitely left of center politically, but as far as I'm concerned, neither major party is perfect. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 7 0 1 5014

Articles from The Liberal Doomsayer

Saturday Videos 2008-02-09 20:12:00 For anyone who hasn't noticed, I should point out that I'm going to be scaling back activity at this site a bit for a variety of reasons, including the videos in particular - I may get into why exactly a bit more later.But for now, here's Rialto ("Untouchable")......Happy belated birthday to Sammy Llanas of The BoDeans ("Fade Away")......happy belated birthday to David Denny of The Steve Miller Band ("I Want To Make The World Turn Around"; I think he was gone by the time this song was recorded, though)......and happy belated birthday to Tom Rush ("No Regrets"). ...

Where The Rubber Meets The Road (2/8/08) 2008-02-08 16:45:00 As reported in last Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer, here is how Philadelphia-area members of Congress were recorded on major roll-call votes last week.HouseEconomic stimulus: In a 385-35 vote, the House passed a $146 billion anti-recession package that would provide $100 billion within months in rebates to 117 million U.S. households that file federal income-tax returns. The bill, which awaits Senate action, also would provide $46 billion in one-time tax breaks for businesses.A yes vote was to pass the bill (HR 5140).Voting yes: Robert E. Andrews (D., N.J.), Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.), Michael N. Castle (R., Del.), Charles W. Dent (R., Pa.) Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.), Tim Holden (D., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Patrick Murphy (D., Pa.), Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.), H. James Saxton (R., N.J.), Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.), Joe Sestak (D., Pa.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).Not much to say or do here except provide this link to Bruce Slater’s web site; ...

Dubya Sure Knows About “Spirits,” Doesn’t He? 2008-02-08 14:57:00 So President George W. Milhous Bush visited Lafayette, Tennessee as noted here to “raise the spirits” of area residents hardest hit from tornadoes that swept across that state, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky and Alabama on Tuesday (as noted here).And when it comes to trying to correct past mistakes…White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said the government has learned many lessons since Katrina, and is much better now at not only answering locals' needs in times of emergency, but anticipating them. FEMA assets were in the tornado-struck region as early as Tuesday night, he said.“States and localities have also given a lot of thought to the issue over the years and have improved their response as well,” he said.Well, that’s positive, but allow me to live up to my name again and dash all of this happy talk with the following bit of bad news, courtesy of Dubya’s utterly awful (and fortunately, last) proposed budget…The Proposed Elimination and Reduction of Key Programs in t ...

I Hope You're Right, Sen. Obama 2008-02-08 13:00:00 As noted here, Barack Obama was recently interviewed by Steve Kroft of 60 Minutes and stated that he could “withstand any last-minute ‘swift-boat’ attacks from Republicans on his race or past drug use because winning the grueling contest for the Democratic nomination will make him the "toughest, baddest candidate on the block."Well, if he emerges as the Democratic party nominee (and I’m still going back and forth between him and HRC, just to let you know; both are admirable in their ways and on balance good candidates, but both have baggage that’s making me think long and hard), he’ll have a chance to put that bravado to the test.This tells us that another well-funded freeper attack group called Citizens United (sorry - I know I shouldn't give these clowns a link, but this explains them a bit) has not only put together a hit movie on Hillary Clinton (including interviews with every one of the “usual conservative suspects” that you can imagine), but they are preparing o ...

Harry Reid To The Jobless: Drop Dead 2008-02-08 11:04:00 Sorry, Mr. Majority Leader, that more people looking for work weren’t able to lobby you or other members of the Senate to communicate that you should have fought harder for that 13-week extension of unemployment benefits that (according to the New York Times from here) the Repugs opposed because it would “encourage idleness” (as noted here, the economic stimulus passed, but with that notable exception – and for the moment, I’ll disregard that sickening Repug excuse).But see, that’s the point, Mr. Majority Leader; unemployed people can’t do that stuff because they’re looking for work! Perhaps in their naiveté, they expect the Democratic Party to look out for them.And as noted here, the actual vote in favor of passing the stimulus was 59-41 before Reid changed his vote to No in some kind of “parliamentary maneuver” (don’t ask me for an explanation). And I’ll give you three guesses as to which presidential candidate could have voted Yes to ensure the benefits exte ...

Friday AM Political Stuff 2008-02-08 08:36:00 "Straight Talk" McCain, "cutting to the chase" with a little help from the film "Dr. Strangelove"......and more examples of double talk from the presumptive Repug nominee. ...

Some Good Economic News (Sort Of) 2008-02-07 17:30:00 The New York Times reported the following today...By virtually every indicator, 2007 was a dismal year for American workers. Job growth slowed, unemployment jumped and wages lost what little ground they had gained against inflation since 2003. There is one sliver of good news: the percentage of American workers who belong to a union rose for the first time in three decades.The Labor Department reported that the number of workers belonging to a union grew by 311,000 to 15.7 million. That means union members increased from 12 percent of the American work force in 2006 to 12.1 percent last year. In the private sector, unions’ share of workers inched ahead from 7.4 percent to 7.46 percent. While the rebound is tiny, and might yet prove to be a statistical mirage, it is the first recorded increase in organized labor’s ranks since the 1970s, when almost one in four workers belonged to a union.There is little doubt that American workers need unions. Wages today are almost 10 percent lower ...

Still Not Too Late 2008-02-07 15:50:00 This tells us that the majority of people of Brattleboro, Vt. approved the resolution to issue arrest warrants for George W. Milhous Bush and “Deadeye Dick” Cheney after a few knuckle draggers called the town a bastion of “liberal appeaser wimps” and “whackjobs” recently.And this links back to the recent column on the impeachment of Bush and Cheney written by former U.S. House Representative Elizabeth Holtzman. Also, here are stories on the impeachment efforts in California, New Jersey, and Washington State, as well as a link back to AfterDowiningStreet.org; here is also the latest I have from Florida Rep. Robert Wexler on the move to impeach Cheney (and by the way, Wexler went at it today with AG Michael Mukasey on whether or not Dubya told him not to enforce the subpoenas of Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten, with Mukasey basically saying he reports to Dubya and everyone else can drop dead - h/t Atrios).Just trying to keep beating that drum, that’s all… ...

Whither The Mittster? 2008-02-07 14:57:00 I simply cannot let the exit of Willard Mitt Romney from the Republican contest for that party’s presidential nomination go unnoticed without a look back at some highlights.Where to begin? Well, we had Roger Simon of The Politico swooning over him here, along with Romney’s claim that France has seven-year “trial marriages” here, his abandonment of former campaign liaison Sen. Larry “Wide Stance” Craig here, his criticism of Rudy Giuliani for running a “sanctuary city” for illegals in NYC here (Giuliani’s response that Romney ran a “sanctuary mansion” was the only positive moment of the former’s campaign as far as I was concerned), as well as Romney’s proposal to end taxes on investment earnings for families making less than $200,000 per year here (definitely not my neighborhood – and how does it feel to have your campaign ended now as well as that of John Edwards who you criticized?).Well Mitt, just don’t take any instinct of self pity too far – The Onio ...

More "Conventional Wisdom" From "Genghis" Cohen 2008-02-07 11:28:00 While Roger Cohen of the New York Times isn’t quite as bombastic today about Super Tuesday as he was here, he still managed to sneak in some unsubstantiated freeper propaganda today on the Democratic and Republican presidential primaries, to wit…The longer the Democrats duel, the more Republicans benefit. McCain could shore up his conservative, religious and southern base by picking the buoyant Huckabee as running-mate. That looks powerful.I swear, it simply never stops (Proof? Anywhere in sight? Hello??).And of course, Cohen is hardly alone when it comes to manufacturing this notion that, somehow, those coveted “independent” voters will become inclined to side with the Repugs as they watch those crazy feminist, tree-hugging, terra-loving li-bu-ruuls club each other over whether or not their presidential candidate will be a black or a woman, as noted here also (being tongue-in-cheek on my end, I assure you).The problem, though, is that, as usual, that narrative utterly flies in ...

Thursday AM Political Stuff 2008-02-07 07:53:00 Haven't kept up lately with the Repugs and their antics on FISA in the Senate, so I'll try a bit of catching up with this from Russ Feingold (h/t The Daily Kos)...,,,and "The Pap Attack" takes on Bain Capital and the FCC, first and foremost (yep, "hitching their wagon" to the Mittster doesn't look like too swift of a move right now, does it?).Also, here's a link to something that I thought was clever; I received this from a friend of mine - many thanks (haven't had any luck embedding it, though, but I'll keep trying). ...

Love, Peace, Death, And Some Really Bad Spin 2008-02-06 16:41:00 Are you as fed up with anyone comparing this presidential campaign to anything that took place in the 1960s as I am?Are you also tired of our corporate media using the spat over what Hillary Clinton supposedly said about needing a president to enact civil rights legislation, or words to that effect (here), and subsequently running with that to ever-more-absurd dimensions?Good. Then allow me to bring some highlights (?) to you for our amusement more than anything else.A week ago, we had David Brooks of the New York Times trying to create the following faux equivalency in another attempt to demonize the Clintons (though Bill set himself up for that treatment a bit – here)…The (Sen. Ted and Caroline) Kennedy endorsements (of Barack Obama) will help among working-class Democrats, Catholics and the millions of Americans who have followed Caroline’s path to maturity. Furthermore, here was Senator Kennedy, the consummate legislative craftsman, vouching for the fact that Obama is ready t ...

Uh Oh, Silvio Redux 2008-02-06 12:50:00 And now, this world news update; it looks like Italy may be ready for another round of fun with “Prime Minister Jesus” (another country besides this one is currently preoccupied with a national election).As Der Spiegel reports here…Attempts to form an interim government in Italy have failed and President Giorgio Napolitano has been forced to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections for April. Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's center-right coalition is way ahead in the opinion polls and the media magnate looks likely to secure a third term in office.The story also notes that former Prime Minister Romano Prodi’s government recently lost a no-confidence vote after only 20 months in office.I wonder if Silvio will pledge to abstain from sex pending the election results as he did here, or encourage any fishy ingénue entrepreneurs as he did here?I have no idea what will happen next in Italian politics, but I really believe it will be a lot more interesting with Berluscon ...

A Super Tuesday Note 2008-02-06 11:39:00 To the extent that I actually care about all of the statistical minutiae from yesterday (and sorry, but basically I don’t, probably because I couldn’t vote yet – probably the wrong attitude for someone billing himself as a political blogger, but oh well), I just want to point out something.Funny, but with the departure of Rudy! from the presidential race and possibly a similar exit for The Mittster upcoming, I’m not hearing either of these individuals referred to as a “headless chicken” (with leaving the contest determined to be the "honorable thing") or “frauds or clowns” (I dare Satullo to characterize Giuliani that way by name) and being encouraged to get the hell out at the earliest possible moment, nor would I expect any of them to be referred to as “a cute 8-year-old boy” or endlessly accused of hypocrisy because they may have chosen to fight against poverty while enjoying the hard-earned trappings that frequently come with notoriety (here, and Giuliani and Ro ...

Tuesday Mashup (2/5/08) 2008-02-05 17:08:00 A full-page ad appeared in the New York Times last week for the NRDC, and I’m just trying to give their cause a plug here; their Action Fund is trying to get Bushco to halt its proposed slaughter of gray wolves in Greater Yellowstone (the blight and pestilence from this bunch continues).Remember back when John McCain’s campaign was floundering and it looked like Rudy! was the presumptive Repug nominee for president (had me fooled a bit, I’ll admit), with The Mittster just kind of hanging around and Huckabee largely written off as a joke (my bad again there)? And remember when McCain tried to portray himself as a reformer by being the only candidate besides John Edwards who accepted public campaign financing?Well, it looks like McCain has figured a way to weasel out of that, as noted here (h/t Atrios).This Yahoo News opinion from January 11th (sitting around for awhile I know - sorry I'm just getting to it now) tells us that writer Jon Scieszka was named as a reading ambassador b ...