Anthony Weiner Exposes O'Reilly, Beck as Shills for Goldline

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday May 25, 2010 · 8:26 AM PDT

2010/05/25 · 08:26

If you haven't seen Anthony Weiner's appearance last night on the O'Reilly factor---you must.

I'm not usually a fan of the style of dialouge that takes place on the Bill O'Reilly Show, usually because it makes it impossible for his guests to get a word in edgewise. That's the beauty of Anthony Weiner--he is so well versed in combative style political debate that nobody, not even Bill-O can keep him from making his point. See the video and some commentary after the jump.

tiimbitz4786

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday May 12, 2010 · 8:29 AM PDT

2010/05/12 · 08:29

A lot of folks around the progressive blogs have criticized Elena Kagan (wrongly, in my opinion) on two grounds.

That Kagan has actively avoided having any kind of record. I call this the blank slate theory.

That Kagan is not sufficiently progressive. Proponents of this view (usually with no cognitive dissonance over the blank slate criticism they simultaneously hold) point to Kagan's Presidential Administration Paper as a sign that she is not in line with progressive views on Presidential control of administrative agencies. Some go so far as to lable her a proponent of the unitary executive theory "popularized" by the Bush and Cheney administration.

A close reading of record and her seminal paper, Presidential Administration dispells both of these attacks with ease.

tiimbitz4786

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday May 01, 2010 · 4:53 PM PDT

2010/05/01 · 16:53

It's very convenient that while I study for my upcoming Criminal Procedure test, that one of the top stories in the country right now reads like a fact pattern in some sort of dystopic law school exam question. I thought I'd take a study break to rebut a common Conservative talking point about the "reasonable suspicion" requirement as summarized by this passage from conservative Byron York:

As far as "reasonable suspicion" is concerned, there is a great deal of case law dealing with the idea, but in immigration matters, it means a combination of circumstances that, taken together, cause the officer to suspect lawbreaking. It's not race -- Arizona's new law specifically says race and ethnicity cannot be the sole factors in determining a reasonable suspicion.

Yes Byron there is a great deal of caselaw dealing with the concept. But it's in a completely different contex. Join me after the jump for a discussion.

tiimbitz4786

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday April 26, 2010 · 11:21 AM PDT

2010/04/26 · 11:21

Since the Gideon case in 1963, every American citizen has had a right to government provided counsel in criminal cases. While the public defender programs across the country remain woefully underfunded, they nevertheless provide millions of Americans with the piece of mind that if they are ever charged with a crime, they won't have to depend on themselves to mount a successful defense and can have an actual attorney represent them. Unfortunately the same is not true in civil matters. In fact the opposite is true---if you are someone who cannot independently afford counsel---you are S.O.L. if you ever need to defend against a lawsuit, or if your rights have been violated and you would benefit from filing a lawsuit.

Join me after the jump for a discussion of why expanding legal service programs to provide civil representation to people who can't afford it would be a boon for the country---in a moral and economic sense.

tiimbitz4786

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday April 21, 2010 · 9:37 AM PDT

2010/04/21 · 09:37

You know, for all the talk about how crazy the Teabaggers are, there are areas where progressives and Teabaggers SHOULD be able to agree on if we take the platforms of both groups seriously.

And this mess in Arizona is one of them. I mean for Christ's sake, if you are paranoid about an unarmed, harmless census worker knocking on your door then this should make your blood boil right? I mean it's pretty clear that being stopped and asked for papers by armed police is a far greater government intrusion into your life than having a census worker knock on your door.

tiimbitz4786

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday April 20, 2010 · 2:59 PM PDT

2010/04/20 · 14:59

As I was doing a little dirt digging on opensecrets.org today I noticed an alarming fact.

Since 1990, Goldman Sachs has contributed roughly 20 million to Democrats compared to only about 11 million to Republicans. In every two year period between 1990 and 2010, Goldman gave more to Democrats than they did to Republicans.

It won't take long for Republicans to use the series of tubes to figure this fact out.

Indeed, Drudge, always known as one of the more sophisticated tube navigators on the right has already done so.

tiimbitz4786

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday April 16, 2010 · 8:34 AM PDT

2010/04/16 · 08:34

It's my personal belief that people are not seeing the Forrest for it's trees when it comes to health care reform (or "PPACA" as us law school elites are calling it to confuse everyone)---even its supporters. Many on this site who support the health care reform bill do so almost reluctantly. Well here's one particular provision of the health care reform bill that NOBODY, and I mean NOBODY is talking about--and that is the extension of the False Claims Act to practically all claims made in the exchanges. Not only is this a way of preventing fraud and abuse and saving the U.S. taxpayer billions of dollars, but it's also a way to enforce the rules of the exchange and make sure that Insurers have a strong incentive to not skirt any insurance reforms.

First, a little background on the False Claims Act.

tiimbitz4786

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday April 08, 2010 · 9:25 AM PDT

2010/04/08 · 09:25

Nothing in the awful state of Misery surprises me much anymore, but this headline ceartainly caugh my attention:

Missouri House gives preliminary approval to state sovereignty measure

JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri would assert its sovereignty and reject various federal policies under a proposed constitutional amendment given preliminary approval by the state House Wednesday.

The proposal says Missouri will not enforce or recognize various federal policies, including those dealing with hate crimes, gun control and allowing civil unions or same-sex marriage. It also seeks to reject federal health care policies establishing a public option or rationing care and seeks to block a "cap and trade" approach to reduce pollution blamed for global warming.

tiimbitz4786

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday February 22, 2010 · 11:51 AM PST

2010/02/22 · 11:51

There are many on this site--from what I have gathered who would rather the Senate Bill be stripped of the mandate to purchase insurance company.

I am eager for someone to talk me down from my opinion that this would be a horrible policy disaster.

tiimbitz4786

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday January 25, 2010 · 10:23 AM PST

2010/01/25 · 10:23

Did you hear? the Obama administration has allegedly been engaging in...gasp...secret efforts to shape public opinion by placing op-eds in papers. Some might call it common sense public relations that are widely used by everyone. To the rightwhing blogosphere intent on proving that Obama is worse than Nixon however this is "astroturf".

Apparently we taught them a new word in our critique of the tea party movement.

tiimbitz4786

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday January 12, 2010 · 10:44 AM PST

2010/01/12 · 10:44

The clear implication of nyceve's diary currently on the reclist is that the excise tax's annual limits are so low that, any good insurance policy is likely to be covered under it.

This is simply not true and I wish the FDL bloggers would stick to the facts. There are plenty of valid arguments to be made against the excise tax. Even though I'm for the tax on strict policy grounds, I can certainly recognize that reasonably informed people may disagree.

But the bottom line is that nyceve is way off base in his assertions here.

tiimbitz4786

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday January 11, 2010 · 3:52 PM PST

2010/01/11 · 15:52

Much has been made in progressive circles about how fundamentally unfair the excise tax is to working families. The arguments against it tend to either emphasize

The fact that unions traded wages for lavish benefits packages in collective bargaining making it unfair therefore to tax their benefits

How the excise tax will lead to higher deductables and less generous benefits as plans are structured to avoid the excise tax.

At the outset let it be known that I agree with both points. But sometimes something that is fundamentally unfair, is also excellent policy. That's what I hope to demonstrate

Poll

77 votes Show Results

I'm

77 votes Vote Now!

I'm

for the excise tax because it is good public policy

31 votes

against the excise tax because it is unfair to unions

3 votes

against the excise tax because I don't buy the research and think it's bad public policy

39 votes

Totally uninterested in all this wonkish talk about the excise tax

4 votes

Newer
Older

RSS

Anthony Weiner Exposes O'Reilly, Beck as Shills for Goldline

Dispelling 2 Myths About Kagan Coming From The Left

Why the Arizona "Paper's Please" Law's "Reasonable Suspicion" Standard Is Troubling

You Want Real Stimulus? Make Legal Services an Entitlement

Arizona Situation Proves Tea Party's "Limited Government" Is a Front

The Pesky Truth about Dems and Financial Reform

The HIR Enforcement Vehicle Nobody Is Talking About

MO House Endorses Nullification...Yes Nullification

Open Quesiton To Those Who Oppose the Mandate But Favor Insurance Regulations

Lack of Cognitive Dissonence du Jour from Right Wing Media

Excise Tax is NOT a Junk Tax

In Defense of the Excise Tax