Dick Armey Admits the "Death Panels" are a Lie

I did not think it was possible for me to feel this pissed about politics anymore.

from the New York Times:

Armey prides himself on his intellect and rationality, but his years in Washington have taught him the political uses of irrationality and even outright fantasy. He told me he does not believe some of the most extreme charges that emerged in the debate over health care reform — for example, that “death panels” will tell elderly people when it’s time to die — but he welcomes the energy and passion that such beliefs bring to his side. “You know that expression: The enemy of my enemy is my friend?” he asked. “Are their fears exaggerated? Yeah, probably. But are Obama’s promises exaggerated? I may think it’s silly, but if people want to believe that,” he said, referring to death panels, “it’s O.K. with me.”

This is the main guy behind FreedomWorks - instigators of the Town Hall Hooligans of August. He's just launched a new website called DontKillGrandma.com!

So, Mr. Armey, how exactly does "their fears (are) exaggerated" square with "Dont Kill Grandma . com"?



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DARE them - state-by-state - to "opt out".

Pass the Public Option with an "opt out" - and DARE the Republicans state-by-state...to turn down what will quickly become a very popular program. It's one thing to be "the party of no" before insurance reform is passed. It's something else again to refuse, on principle, to participate after reform is the fact. Any Republican governor or state assembly person who refuses to let their constituents have access to government health insurance which most Americans enjoy will be severely punished for their righteousness.

"Opt-out" is much more than just a compromise to get more Democrats on board. It's the ultimate hammer on those who would "just say 'no'".

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LoveHerLiberally.com

Bigots for Equality!

Last week I posted the comments of a friend, a psychotherapist and reverend, who argued that statements like "Justice Sotomayor is a reverse racist", or that Obama-care will favor blacks over whites, or will give-away medical treatment to “illegals”, or that, as Glenn Beck proclaims, Obama has "a deep-seated hatred for white people", are all demonstrations of psychological projection. “Projection is never conscious”, she wrote, “and so is not deliberate. The person who projects sincerely believes that what they say about the other person applies.” Many here agreed. I believe the opposite.

The most virulent white supremacists have always hailed from the extreme Right, and the from the reddest states, like South Carolina, which Joe (you lie!) Wilson represents. Yet today hordes of politicians of Wilson’s ilk, and right-wing shock-jocks are holding themselves out to be defenders of equal rights!

This is the same conservative movement that instituted slavery and waged the Civil War to defend it. Then they brought us the Klu Klux Klan and Jim Crow, and fought tooth-and-nail against the Civil Rights Act, integration, affirmative action, and Dr. Martin Luther King. Now they itch for a global war against Arabs and demand a wall to keep out Mexicans.

There is nothing remotely subtle about their racism. Here’s Rush Limbaugh on Obama: “We are being told that we have to hope he succeeds, that we have to bend over, grab the ankles … because his father was black, because this is the first black president." During the campaign he called Obama a “halfrican-American” who’s "only chance of winning… is that he's black", and that he’s "an affirmative action candidate". (citations and more quotes. 13 million Americans listen to Rush religiously.)

But now we should believe that they sincerely believe they are defending racial equality? Michelle Malkin, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity all warned that white males would be excluded from jobs created by the economic stimulus package. Why? Because Obama’s Labor Secretary said the plan should "include women and minorities ". (citation)

One thing – and only one thing - is absolutely consistent with conservative attitudes about race: they have always fought for white male power and prestige against any perceived threat. To believe that their recent warnings of reverse racism are anything but conscious and cynical lies would be foolish. And I’m not buying it.

In honor of their new-found love of equal rights DeadElephant.ORG offers a new slogan:



Click here to print this bumper-strip instantly - free. (opens a printable PDF!) 

Wearing Sandals to a Brawl

by their footwear shall ye know them.

Conservatism is an approach to life in which one’s security is maintained through dominance. Conservatives fetishize dominance in every form: of parents over children, men over women, whites over non-whites, our nation over other nations, humans over animals, over wilderness, over the earth.

Consider the iconic footwear of the conservative: cowboy boots – otherwise known as “shit kickers”.






Cowboy boots were specifically invented for “giving the spurs”
to horses and for “punching cattle”.

In contrast, Liberalism is an approach to life in which
one’s security is maintained through peaceful coexistence.
Liberals believe in strength through peace, and preach
“conflict resolution”, cooperation, and bipartisanship.

The iconic footwear of the liberal is the sandal.



Relaxation is the raison d'etre of the sandal. Sandals are
designed for inaction, for passivity. We wear them when
we want to “kick back” and be “mellow”.

A conflict between boot-wearers and sandal-wearers is like a conflict between wolves and bunnies – more of a massacre than a fight.



(Note the predator’s narrow set eyes, for focusing on the attack, and the prey’s eyes on the sides of its head, so it can watch the attack arrive. Looking over my shoulder just now, my 11-year-old joked that the bunny looks like a “demi-cat”.)

Republicans today do not acknowledge our nation's duly-elected President. They scream that he’s not even a citizen, much less our President. They’re outraged that he would dare speak to our children in school, although Reagan and Bush-senior both did so. And they don’t even accord him the courtesy due any President, to address Congress without being heckled and hollered at.

Do not mistake this for mere criticism, however harsh, nor outrage, however intense. By their actions, today’s Republicans have broken the most essential covenant of any democracy: the consent of every citizen to be governed in accordance with elections.

Remember Al Gore, after the last appeal to the Supreme Court was rejected, gracefully conceded the Presidency to George Bush. Despite election fraud. And a margin of just 600 votes.

Democrats don’t GET IT. Politically speaking, this is a fight to the death.

And we wore sandals to the brawl.

"a deep-seated hatred for white people"

Do you wonder what on earth makes paunchy old white guys like Glen Beck accuse our sharp, Harvard-educated consensus-building, moderate President of "reverse" racism against whites. There is NOTHING in his history or his policies that would give evidence for that. In psycho-jargon it's called “projection”. When you have feelings that you can't admit to, you project those feelings onto someone else – most often onto the very person who stirred the unacceptable feelings in you.

Projection is a common dysfunction, and can be observed often in family feuds, such as when an abusive husband accuses his wife of disrespect. What, after all, could be more disrespectful than his own abuse? Projection is not conscious, and so is not deliberate. The person who projects sincerely believes that what they say about the other person applies.

So these old white men have been unconsciously thinking, "Man, if my family and I had been treated the way we've treated Black folks for centuries, I sure would hate us. So here is this black guy with all this power, and well, of course he’s gonna use it for revenge. I would.” Hence the projection: Obama hates white people, because I would hate white people if I were Black.

But Obama is a better man than that, and, I might add, a truer Christian. He has more useful things to do than try to get revenge on anyone today for the injustices of the past. He would rather right past wrongs than continue them. If that sounds more like the Gospel message to you than anything Rush Limbaugh is promoting, take heed. Obama doesn’t hate any group. And neither does God.

Will the National Equality March help us - or hurt us?

The march on Washington for gay rights - the National Equality March - is two months out. I have not heard any discussion of the community culture that we will present at that important event. A march on the capital to demand civil and human rights is a solemn undertaking. The media will cover it as such. And of course the harpies of the Right will exploit any hint that our community fails to appreciate the solemnity of the nation's capital, and the history of that place.

I've attended the San Francisco Pride Parade many times, and I've always enjoyed the energy of it. I appreciate that the exuberance symbolizes the freedoms that we have won. But if the National Equality March on October 10th looks anything like - and I mean anything like - the Pride Parade, I'm concerned that we would screw ourselves, and we would screw the entire progressive cause, very severely. Even little things that we think are charming and funny, such as this "Healthy Penis" which the San Francisco Health Department entered in the 2005 Pride Parade to promote safer sex, in the context of the National Mall would be disastrously inappropriate.



Am I alone in this fear? Am I out of line?

For what it's worth...
I'm a straight progressive activist of many years. I have put myself on the line for marriage equality, for the end of "Don't Ask Don't Tell, and for civil protection for the LGBT community from hate crimes. My daughter has two moms.

Patriotism and the Knee-Jerk Assumption of Superiority

Yet another fool writes to DeadElephant.ORG: "Single payer insurance will destroy the best health-care system in the world."

America's current health-care system is among the very worst of all industrialized nations by every objective measure, such as outcomes and life-expectancy. And that's how wonderful it is for those of us who have insurance. The other 46 million of our fellow countrymen are literally dying on our streets. Will your own family have to be driven into bankruptcy, like millions of other American families, before you to wake up?

A true patriot doesn't reflexively assume that everything our country is, and does, must by-definition be "the best in the world".

Here are the facts:

• In 2006, the U.S. census reported that 46 million Americans have no health insurance.

• “Over a third (36%) of families living below the poverty line are uninsured.

• More than 9 million children lack health insurance in America.

• Eighteen thousand people die each year because they are uninsured.

• Half of all bankruptcies are caused by medical bills. Three-quarters of those filings are people with health insurance.

• Administrative costs account for 31 percent of all health care expenditures in the United States. The average overhead for Canada’s national health insurance program is 1.3 percent.

• The infant mortality rate for the U.S. is now higher than for many other industrial countries. A baby born in El Salvador has a better chance of surviving than a baby in Detroit.

• Canadians live three years longer on average than we do.

• The Journal of the American Medical Association found that even the poorest Brits can expect to live longer than the richest Americans.

Notes on sources of this data.