Your Abbreviated Pundit Round-up

post from Daily Kos on 19 July 2009 05:56:20 AM. © Daily Kos

Sunday punditry! Swine flu edition (Sept. 1 is in 43 days.).

Eugene Robinson:

President Obama's speech Thursday marking the 100th anniversary of the NAACP's founding was widely reported as a "tough love" message directed at black America. "I've noticed that when I talk about personal responsibility in the African American community, that gets highlighted," Obama said in an interview Friday. "But then the whole other half of the speech, where I talked about government's responsibility . . . that somehow doesn't make news."

Fair enough, but he misses the point. The real news wasn't in the content but the visuals: the nation's leading black civil rights organization being addressed by the nation's first black president. Obama could have read nursery rhymes and the event still would have been noteworthy.

Frank Rich:

The Sotomayor show reduced the antics of Washington’s clueless ancien-régime to a spectacle as ridiculous as it was obsolescent.

Stuart Taylor: Abandoning all pretense at neutrality, let's go after the wise Latina. She's either an ultra-liberal or a liar.

As one who had hoped for a moderately liberal, intellectually honest nominee and feared the possibility of an unprincipled left-liberal ideologue steeped in identity politics, I am having trouble figuring out Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

"...feared the possibility of an unprincipled left-liberal ideologue steeped in identity politics"? You're kidding, right?

WaPo: Space, the final frontier (multiple contributors.)

Maureen Dowd:

Who can forget the glory years, when the Gipper invoked God but never went to church? When Arlen Specter accused Anita Hill of perjury to distract from Clarence Thomas’s false witness? When Newt Gingrich and other conservatives indulged in affairs with young Washington peaches as they pushed to impeach Bill Clinton?

No one had more flair than W. and Cheney, crowing about making us safe as they made the world more dangerous, and bragging about fiscal restraint while they spent us into oblivion.

Now when Republicans get caught flouting the principles they dictate, they are not able to practice hypocrisy with such impunity.

Novel influenza (H1N1), the virus formerly known as swine flu
Donald McNeil:

The swine flu will probably return in force earlier than seasonal flu usually begins, federal health officials predicted Friday, saying they expected it to erupt as soon as schools open rather than in October or November.

This is what you're supposed to be doing to prepare. And this is how to take care of yourself at home (if you prefer CDC-only, go here.)

India Knight (Times UK):

On the one hand: eh, it’s just flu. On the other: yeah, but you might die. You switch off the telly thinking: really, cheers for that. What do I do now — lie down quietly and wait for the reaper, or march around ticking people off for overreacting because "it’s only flu"? Both options seem reasonable. Which is it to be?

WaPo:

"That night we called the doctor's office, and she said, 'Sure, it's probably swine flu,' " Morris says. But the doctor did not suggest that Evan come in for testing. "She didn't think the CDC was interested in anything unless you died."

This is a camp story, since swine flu has never really gone away.

CDC:

What have we learned? This virus is continuing to cause illness and outbreaks in the summer months here in the U.S. In temperature and humidity conditions, they are not very favorable to seasonal influenza virus transmission. We′re seeing disease, including severe illness and fatalities in a generally younger population from what we′ve seen with seasonal influenza with relatively limited illness infections and serious consequences in the elderly but as we have said, there are higher attack rates of illness and hospitalization in younger adults and children. And those have been one of the reasons we have been quite concerned in the spring and continuing on into the summer. We′re particularly concerned about pregnant women, for example, both in the United States and now also from some reports in the southern hemisphere, we know of life–threatening illnesses or some fatalities that have occurred.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/S2A5HNSpXKo/-Your-Abbreviated-Pund
it-Round-up-

Digg this

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

post from AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth on 19 July 2009 04:37:00 AM. © AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth

The big topic is health care reform, although, there will be some moon talk on the 40th anniversary of the first actual moon walk.

HHS Secretary Sebelius, OMB Director Peter Orszag and several Democratic members of Congress will be pushing actual reform, which is now closer to reality than ever. They're on the side of doctors, nurses and patients. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his GOP colleagues will be representing the side of the insurance companies who are trying to kill reform. That's what this debate is about. Plus, the Republicans want to make Obama and the Democrats look bad.

The full listing is after the break.

Here's the full lineup:

ABC's "This Week" ? Pre-empted by British Open golf tournament.

___

CBS' "Face the Nation" ? Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah; Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y.; former astronaut and Sen. John Glenn.

___

NBC's "Meet the Press" ? Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius; Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

___

CNN's "State of the Union" ? White House Budget Director Peter Orszag; Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.; Rev. Jesse Jackson.

"Fox News Sunday" _ Orszag; Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H.; astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Americablog/~3/t4hpcKOYDmg/sunday-talk-shows-open-
thread_19.html

Digg this

CIT crisis threatens wave of business failures
and layoffs

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 19 July 2009 03:37:25 AM. © Docudharma - Front Page

Original article, by Barry Grey, via World Socialist Web Site:The Obama administration has refused to provide government backing for outstanding debt or other emergency aid to CIT, a New York-based bank that finances nearly one million small and midsize[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Docudharma/~3/ZknDHY5q_rc/cit-crisis-threatens-wav
e-of-business-failures-and-layoffs

Digg this

Sunday Talk - Cooking With Fire

post from Daily Kos on 19 July 2009 03:13:40 AM. © Daily Kos

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor testified before the Senate Judiciary Commitee this week, where she proved herself to be a Wise Latina.

Many of the White Male Republicans on the Committee, however, did not fare so well.

Some would blame this on affirmative action.

But they're probably smoking crack.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/O67oQlVFAUc/-Sunday-TalkCooking-Wi
th-Fire

Digg this

Wagner holds Roundtable, Meet and Greet in
Martinsville

post from What IS Right for Virginia on 19 July 2009 03:12:00 AM. © What IS Right for Virginia

Lt. Governor candidate Jody Wagner visited Martinsville yesterday for an economic roundtable and a meet and greet with area residents. Today's Bulletin carries the story.

Read The Full Article:
http://southeastvirginia.blogspot.com/2009/07/wagner-holds-roundtable-meet-and-gr
eet.html

Digg this

REM - Orange Crush

post from AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth on 19 July 2009 02:32:00 AM. © AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth

video details and more

Great live performance and don't you love Rickenbacker guitars?

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Americablog/~3/v0mR9epfz0w/rem-orange-crush.html

Digg this

Marcus Aurelius quote

post from Pasadena New Progressive on 19 July 2009 02:29:00 AM. © Pasadena New Progressive

This file picture dated 21 August 2008 show the head of a large statue of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, that was discovered 20 August 2008, at the archaeological Sagalassos site, in south-Western Turkey, near Aglasun, Burdur province. The archeaology team of the KUL Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Catholic University Leuven) discovered several large statues in the Roman Baths at the Sagalassos site. EPA/BRUNO VANDERMEULEN / SAGALASSOS

Words one in common use now sound archaic. And the names of the famous dead as well: Camillus, Caeso, Volesus, Dentatus...Scipio and Cato...Augustus...Hadrian and Antoninius, and...

Everything fades so quickly, turns into legend, and soon oblivion covers it.

And those are the ones who shone. The rest?"unknown, unasked-for" a minute after death. What is "eternal" fame? emptiness.

Then what should we work for?

Only this: proper understanding; unselfish action; truthful speech.

A resolve to accept whatever happens as necessary and familiar, flowing like water from that same source and spring.

-- Marcus Aurelius (121 - 180)

-

Read The Full Article:
http://pasadenanewprogressive.blogspot.com/2009/07/marcus-aurelius-quote.html

Digg this

Danville Tea Party members booted from event -
with good reason!

There is a time and a place for everything, but until some people learn the difference things like this will happen. Read the email I received from a tea bagger this morning, I'll comment afterwards.

Danville TEA Party leaders thrown off property at Perriello town hall event, then tailed by unmarked police car

BLAIRS, Va. ? Danville TEA Party leaders Nigel Coleman and Bobby Conner Saturday attended a local town hall meeting featuring two presidential cabinet members and hosted by Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Va., where they were refused an opportunity to ask the congressman a question and were then told by a plainclothes policeman to leave the property after they attempted to hold up signs urging Perriello to vote against a government takeover of healthcare. The TEA Party activists peacefully complied, but say an unmarked police car then followed them to a local restaurant where an officer left his vehicle, walked over to their cars, and phoned in their license plate numbers.

The event was held on a privately-owned farm in Blairs, Va. and featured Perriello, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, and Energy Secretary Tom Vilsack, all of whom talked about creating "green" jobs and the recent Cap and Trade bill.

?First, I was disappointed that Congressman Perriello refused to take hard questions from his constituents about where he stands on Nancy Pelosi's trillion-dollar socialized medicine scheme," Coleman said. "But I was outraged by the intimidation tactics we then experienced after merely attempting to ask him a question and, after being denied that chance, tryng to hold up some signs urging him to vote against a government takeover of America's health care system."

"This is another reason taxpayers are angry at our federal government, their treating citizens who are simply exercising our Constitutional free speech rights as if we're terrorists," Coleman said.

Conner said, ?We have the right as Americans -- without suffering intimidation tactics by police -- to personally ask our congressman why he voted for the Cap and Trade energy tax increase that he admits he never read, and whether he'll vote for the trillion-dollar Obama-Pelosi healthcare bill.?

Coleman and Connor are the Danville TEA party organizers who organized two recent TEA party rallies, one on July 4th and another on July 17th at Perriello?s Danville office to protest the upcoming socialized healthcare bill.

Coleman said that TEA Party activists this summer will pressure Periello to vote against government-controlled healthcare "over the phone, by mail, at his district offices, or on his front doorstep, if necessary, starting right now.?

The first sentence clearly explains why the two were treated the way they were, besides the fact the event was held on private property! At an event where top government leaders are in attendance (with Secret Service) expect to be watched very closely.

This was a "green" jobs creation forum, not a health care forum. Sec's Chu and Vilsack have no hand in that and you need to understand the time constraints they are under.

Third, it is doubtful Conner or Coleman even understand the health care reform issues at stake, or they wouldn't be calling it "socialized" medicine.

I respect your rights to protest, but you need to understand the limits and the rules of the game. Until you do, you will be marginalized and therefore ineffective.

Read The Full Article:
http://southeastvirginia.blogspot.com/2009/07/danville-tea-party-members-booted-f
rom.html

Digg this

For Mom.....and all of us. Depression and
Suffering

A ramble and exploration, containing some some hard "truths," this is by NO means a fun essay. Nor is it me claiming that this is the ONLY interpretation, and hard, fast and certain facts.My Mom died recently.She was a prisoner of her life. Things[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Docudharma/~3/pW-xOmE65zE/for-momand-all-of-us-dep
ression-and-suffering

Digg this

Fox's Megyn Kelly Takes on Sen. Sanders About
Taxing The Wealthy.

video details and more

I love the way Megan Kelly leaps to the defence of "the so-called rich". She can't even concede that anyone earning $500,000 a year is rich. They are "the so-called rich".

How have Fox managed to get so many poor people, many of whom are doing several jobs a day to make ends meet, concerned about the financial troubles of the richest members of society? That strikes me as a staggering achievement.

Tags: Megan Kelly, Fox News, Bernie Sanders, the so-called rich

Read The Full Article:
http://the-osterley-times.blogspot.com/2009/07/foxs-megyn-kelly-takes-on-sen-sand
ers.html