The PCTC Blog

Health Insurance is NOT a Toaster! Fed. Judge Strikes Down Mandates, Doesn't Get It.

A second federal judge in a few months has struck down the portion of the health insurance reform law that mandates coverage.  Here’s a New York Times story on the case.

Check out this logic, folks. This is language straight from the case, which was decided by an ideological crank down in Pensacola:

“If Congress can penalize a passive individual for failing to engage in commerce, the enumeration of powers in the Constitution would have been in vain.”

Can you spot the logical flaw in the above? Seriously, it's right there in front of your face. If you can't see it., you're a right winger. 

The first problem is, this isn’t about penalizing someone for “failing to engage in commerce.” It’s insurance; it’s not a consumer product; not really. The actual consumer product, if there is one in this case, is the health care. 

You see, you put money into a pot, just in case you get sick. When you get sick, or you go to the doctor to stay well, the bill goes to the insurance company for payment out of the pool of money you've contributed to. You don't actually "buy insurance," you pay premiums. 

An Assault on Women, and Everyone Else -- H.R. 3

I have to say, I really don’t understand these right wingers sometimes. They’re always on about how they want the government to leave people alone, but they seem absolutely hell-bent on giving that same government the power to force a woman to stay pregnant against her will.

In that vein, the latest attack on a woman’s right to choose, which should be without question by now, but isn’t because the right has heretofore been allowed to control the debate, is a bill currently before the House. H.R. 3 is a bill that ostensibly makes it illegal for federal funds to be used for abortion.

Yes, we all know that the Hyde Amendment already does that, and has done so quite well for 35 years. But this bill isn’t about just forbidding federal funding for abortions. It goes much farther. In fact, it goes far enough that it might effectively outlaw abortion in the United States for most people.

That’s right, you guys; on January 20, 2011 while the rest of us were remembering the 50^th anniversary of the inauguration of President John F Kennedy, the first Roman Catholic president, House Republicans were making like the papacy and proposing a back-door method to force women to stay pregnant against their will.  Worse, it could very well undermine the entire health insurance reform apparatus.

Cutting the Crap on Cutting the Deficit

If you’re an average American, you probably have a lot of debt right now. A mortgage, a car, a few credit cards, perhaps some hospital bills; who knows? Debt is a part of life these days, or at least his has been in recent decades.

Now, imagine, if you will, that you make $50,000 a year, and you’re suddenly hit with a debt of about $30,000. Those without insurance, or whose insurance company screwed them, know exactly what I mean.

You have two choices; you can either go into bankruptcy, or you can pay the debt. Most people will opt to pay the debt. But how would you do that?

Of course, you’re going to cut back on food a little, and maybe lower the thermostat, buy fewer clothes; maybe cut off the cable altogether. But how long do you think it’ll take you to pay off $30,000 in debt at that rate? If you can manage t0 save $500 a month, which would be extremely difficult for most people, it’ll still take at least 5 years, even if there is no interest accumulating. At $200 savings per month, which is more realistic, it could take a decade or more.

So, what do you do?

Cutting the Crap -- Responding to Ryan's Response

I'm such a geek, I actually sat there and watched both the President's State of the Union speech and Rep. Ryan's Republican response. I would have stayed and watched the Teabagger response, which was given by Caribou Barbie's crazy doppleganger, Michele Bachmann, but one of my favorite episodes of Big Bang Theory was being repeated, which seemed more important. 

But as I watched Ryan's "response," I couldn't help but cry "Bullshit" throughout. First of all, it was something of a déjà vu experience; seriously, do Republicans have any other tricks up their sleeve than cutting spending and taxes? And I used to think only their "base" was simple-minded, but now I'm thinking it's part of the DNA. 

It wouldn't be so bad, but they lie and completely distort history in order to do get their point across. of course, no one can really tell what that point might be. I'm going to go through the speech and point out some of the worst crap, and you'll see what I mean. I know I normally just reprint the entire speech and respond to it, but he spent a lot of time at the beginning talking about Rep. Giffords (probably sincerely) and bragging about their wasted vote on repealing health insurance reform (unfortunately, also probably sincerely). 

Anyway, here are some large excerpts, and my responses to this crap (in red):

Drug Testing for Welfare? How Sick Have We Become?

Let me start off by saying, I am simply not a drug user. I think they're stupid and pointless, and I've seen a lot of lives ruined as a result of their use. And I don't just mean illegal drugs; I also rarely drink; sometimes a glass of wine or beer, but I haven't even done that in a couple of years. 

That said, I also see the "drug war" as complete bullshit; a complete waste of time that probably ruins more lives than the drugs themselves. No matter how hard you try, you will never be able to protect people from themselves, so it's largely a waste of time, money and energy to even try, at least when it comes to using the law to do so. 

It's time to legalize, regulate and tax most illegal drugs. But in the meantime, there is some nasty shit going on in some of the usual states that are famous for their draconian bullshit. 

I don't know if you've heard, but at least four states are looking at implementing regulations that require those receiving state or federal assistance, such as welfare, food stamps and Medicaid, to pass a drug test in order to receive their check. 

Yes, you read that right; four states are looking at legislation that would require poor people who need government assistance to take drug tests to get the pittance the states and federal government pays them to help their families through the rough times. Keep a couple of things in mind as you think about this; 98% of welfare recipients receive welfare for one year or less. That means, the vast majority of welfare recipients will pay far more in taxes throughout their life than they will ever be paid in welfare. 

Free Speech: A Primer

Free Speech

The first thing you should know is that "free speech" and "the First Amendment" are not interchangeable. I'll get to the First Amendment in a separate post.

Since the First Amendment guarantees your free speech from intrusion by the government, your right to free speech is pretty much assumed going in. You have a right to say anything you like, or express yourself in any way you wish, up to the point at which it infringes on the rights of others. Hence the famous admonition that freedom of speech doesn’t allow you to falsely yell “fire” in a crowded theater. If the result of your speech leads to harm for others, you have crossed the line, for a very basic reason; everyone’s rights must be in balance; EVERYONE’S rights.

The far right doesn’t really understand the concept of rights for the most part. For some reason, they’re under the impression that the only rights anyone has are those spelled out in the Bill of Rights; that’s why the typical right winger will always refer to driving as a “privilege.” By their logic, it can’t be a right because we issue licenses and make people buy insurance, which is absurd. But the one concept they don’t understand at all is freedom of speech, and as a result, they seem to operate under some very large mythical assumptions.

They seem to think that they have the right to say and do anything they want, but no one else has that right, if they find it offensive. But worse, they seem to think that the right to free speech comes with no consequence.  Of course, this is ridiculous. Yes, you have the right to stand in the middle of Crenshaw Boulevard and yell the ”n-word”  at the top of your lungs. But that doesn’t mean others who are offended don’t have a right to respon.  And before you wingnuts point and accuse me of violence, I am not suggesting a violent response at all. Right wingers seem to think that ANY response is a violation of their free speech.  That’s another myth, of course.

Word of the Day: Bipartisanship

The purpose of this blog is a little different from most liberal/progressive blogs, in that I tend not to whine about things. Instead, I'd like to change things. To me, if there is something about this country we don't like, we owe society a duty to change it. Complaining about it does no one any good; we have to it. 

Our country is broken. You may not realize it, but in 30 short years, neocons have transformed the most powerful and benevolent nation in the history of the world into a big, scary world-class bully. We're not quite off the cliff yet, but it's time we took the reins and returned this country to what it was always meant to be. When I was a kid, we were awesome. I mean, we went to the moon with technology the kids of today would chuckle at. Of course, most of today's technology has its roots in the space program, but that's another column for another time. By about 1970, it was clear that we had won the Cold War, and while our economy was stumbling a bit, we were on the verge of opening up the Chinese market to our goods. 

Then, beginning in about 1981 -- January 20, 1981, to be exact, "can't do" politics took over, and our country has been weighed down by a false pragmatism and an entitlement mentality that has no place in a progressive society. 

It's time we took our country back, folks. And this blog is going to recommend ways to do that. But the first thing we have to do is redefine the debate, and that means being very clear about the terms of the debate. To that end, I have devoted this week to defining terms that have been bastardized by neocons over the years. Some of you may consider that "redefining" the terms, but that wouldn't be accurate, since the definitions of these terms never really changed. The Republicans have appropriated these terms, and much of the lazy, worthless press has gone along with these definitions without question or challenge. 

Today's Word: 

Bipartisanship

Why Are Progressives So Politically Tone-Deaf?

You may get sick of reading this from me, but one of the main reasons progressives are always on the outside looking in is because we don’t seem to know anything about how politics works. I will repeat it until it's no longer the case. I don't know about you, but I'm sick of waiting for a large portion of the progressive movement to get their heads out of each other's asses, and start doing things that benefit the poor, working and middle classes, instead of whining about shit that simply doesn't matter. 

Yesterday presented us with a prime example, when President Obama penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, entitled “Toward a 21^st-Century Regulatory System."

The liberal blogosphere went batshit. First, they lamented the fact that he would pen a column for The Wall Street Journal in the first place. How DARE he put some of his writing in the newspaper of record of the enemy? I'm waiting for the pissing and moaning that awaits when they find out Obama's being interviewed by Bill O'Reilly during Super Bowl coverage. 

These Are Supposed to Make You Crazy; They Prove the Right Wing is Insane

I belong to a few right wing mailing lists, because I like to keep up with their insanity. And insanity is the word for it, to be sure. Take, for example, their ongoing series of emails and their Facebook page to promote a book entitled “365 Ways to Drive a Liberal Crazy.” Not, I am not going to provide a link or the author’s name; I’m just going to comment on those that I find. Not all of them are here; they don’t seem to be very consistent in sending them out or making them available, which makes sense; they want right wingers to buy the book.

Now, as you read these, you may not pick up on it, exactly, but this book is supposed to be “humorous.” Now, I have been writing jokes on the side for years (not enough to make a living), and for a joke to be funny, it has to be based on truth. Also, to be funny, it's necessary to joke "up." Poking fun at people who are in a station above you is perfectly fine, while poking fun at those who are below you, or who are unfortunate victims of those above you is not fine at all. 

It's Time for Common Sense Gun Control

Let’s talk about guns, shall we?

(Before I start, let me say I am not one of those who is into banning all guns. And if you're a gunloon who thinks that common sense gun laws will lead to mass confiscation, go take your meds and go to the NRA site. And I know this is a contentious issue, but threats, even oblique threats will be taken seriously.)

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of everyone pretending there is no issue here.  Gun laws, as they currently stand, are woefully inadequate, and it is simply far too easy for the wrong folks to get their hands on a gun.

Oh, I know, I’ve heard all of the arguments.  My favorite is “Guns don’t kill people; people kill people.” This is absolutely the worst argument ever. In fact, I’ve seen a modified version of this silly argument on Facebook recently. Check this out:

If guns kill people, then pencils misspell words, cars drive drunk, and spoons make people fat. Remember: Hold the person accountable for their actions, not the means they chose to utilize!!!

Can you spot the huge flaws in this sort of argument? If not, then you’re a true gun nut. For the benefit of the gun nuts out there, I’ll point out what should be obvious to any thinking person.

Stop Looking at the Shiny Keys

President Obama hit the ball out of the park last night. This country has to stop the contentious bickering that we are becoming famous for and get back to building this country into what we all know it can be.

I had another column prepared for today, but thought better of it, because it was pretty contentious, and I’m tired of going there. That’s why I started this blog in the first place. The “Please Cut the Crap” moniker wasn’t chosen to apply just to right wingers and their bullshit; there is plenty of crap to cut on the left, and even in the middle. I have always wanted this blog to be a little different than the rest of the "progressive blogosphere." There are plenty of liberal blogs out there that scream about every little thing that doesn’t go their way, and I have never wanted to be like that. I suppose, if I wanted to make money from a blog, that might be a way to go, but that has never been the point of writing columns and getting my thoughts out there. 

The bottom line is, President Obama is right; we all need to change.

 

Caribou Barbie Weighs In on Arizona Massacre: Proves She's a Douchebag

The one thing I'll say for her; at least this time, someone got her to modulate a bit. Here is a video that Caribou Barbie released this morning, to -- what the hell DID she think she was doing by releasing this video? 

Sarah Palin: "America's Enduring Strength" from Sarah Palin on Vimeo.

The first thing you'll notice is that the former half-term governor of Alaska apparently has two tones of voice available; screeching and patronizing. Thankfully, she gave up "screeching" on this one. But what she says shows a breathtaking cluelessness. This is a profoundly ignorant woman. 

Message to the Right Wing: "They Do It Too" is Not Only Not Equivalent, It's Not True...

I have to take time out from our lesson today to discuss something that has been a pet peeve of mine for a very long time, and that is the “moral equivalency” argument that some right wingers bring. This is a very common argument used by ignorant people on the right, and I’m getting really sick of it. This line of argument can also be accurately referred to as the “they do it, too” argument, and it is ludicrous.

I have been all over various blogs and forums all over the Internet, and I have been bombarded with the “argument” that liberals called for George Bush’s death, and that, somehow, that relieves them of all moral responsibility for the Arizona massacre.

Yeah, right.

If you right wingers were just trying to get me to acknowledge that there are cranks on the left, well, you got me. Of course there are. Hell; I have at them on this blog on a regular basis. I even told the story in yesterday’s column about a video I posted on YouTube in which I’ve had to delete a number of comments calling for Bush’s death. I even forwarded a few of them to the authorities. It was just wrong, any way you slice it.

The Arizona Massacre: Lesson #1 - Violent and Hateful Rhetoric Must Stop

Before I begin this rant, I want to send out my deepest sympathies and good thoughts to the people who were hurt in Saturday’s bloodbath in Tucson, Arizona , as well as the families and friends of those killed, including and especially the nine year old girl who was born on September 11, 2001. I have never met Gabby Giffords, but I know people who know her, and they all portray her as an incredibly conscientious public servant who truly cares about her constituents. Not that such a thing makes her better than the others who lost their lives or were injured this past weekend; but being a public servant unfortunately makes such people targets in the eyes of nutcases.  

Yes, it’s likely she was targeted because she was a Congresswoman. It seems that Bush 41-appointed chief federal judge John Roll just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was a friend of Gabby’s and lived nearby, so he decided to drop by, because that’s what public servants do.

But last weekend’s tragedy has to teach all of us a few lessons, which I will talk about over a series of columns. I’m afraid that, if we don’t learn them, we will experience more tragedies like this one, to the point that we’ll think such things are a part of politics, and we cannot allow that.

Lesson #1: The violent rhetoric in our politics has gotten way out of hand, and it should be shunned by everyone. Failure to do so should disqualify you from political office.