Raining here in sunny southern California. And cold.
Nice day to curl up with a good book or three. So far, dipped into a volume of W. Somerset Maugham short stories, (after reading the newspapers).
BizzyBee
JoinedPosts by BizzyBee
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Is GOP Serious on Repealing The Healthcare Law? Here Is A Warning Message
by Scott77 inhealthcare law repeal hurts deficits: cbo10:50am estby richard cowan.
washington (reuters) - an effort by republicans in the house of representatives to repeal the healthcare law enacted last year would add to already huge federal budget deficits, the congressional budget office warned on thursday.. in a preliminary estimate of legislation the house is set to begin debating on friday, the cbo said repealing the law that president barack obama and his fellow democrats enacted would "increase federal budget deficits over the 2012-2019 period by a total of roughly $145 billion.
" it said that figure would rise to $230 billion by 2021.. the cbo also said repeal would result in 32 million fewer people having health insurance.. the nonpartisan cbo analyzes legislation for its impact on government spending and revenues and develops forecasts of economic performance.. republicans won majority control of the house last november after campaigning on promises to slash the deficit, now at around $1.3 trillion.. during the 2010 campaigns for congress, republicans also said they would repeal the healthcare law, saying it places too many job-killing burdens on business and is unconstitutional because it requires individuals to purchase health insurance if they are not already covered.. democrats still hold a majority, although narrower than last year, in the senate, where any healthcare repeal bill is expected to be blocked.. on friday, newly installed house speaker john boehner plans to begin debate on republican legislation to repeal the healthcare law, which aimed to reduce medical costs and insure millions of people who currently can't afford coverage.. the law also prevents insurance companies from refusing to cover patients with pre-existing conditions.. house republican leaders have dismissed cbo's forecasts that the healthcare law would reduce u.s. budget deficits, saying there were too many unrealistic assumptions in such forecasts.. a house committee began meeting on thursday to put together rules governing the house floor debate of the healthcare law.
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BizzyBee
Here's a quote from a healthcare reform article in this morning's LA Times:
Jonathan Gruber, a health economist at MIT who helped fashion the pioneering healthcare reform act in Massachusetts says, "In today's political climate, once you have an explanation that takes more than two sentences, you're screwed, because someone else will have a one-sentence lie. This is about getting people to understand the law. We've just got to get it in place, let Americans feel the benefits, then they'll like it."
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20120322,0,901197.column
And a few choice quotes from the NYTRB that brings it full circle:
"The ideal citizen of a politically corrupt state, such as the one we now have, is a gullible dolt unable to tell truth from bullshit."
"It took years of indifference and stupidity to make us as ignorant as we are today..."
"I recall being stunned some years back when I read that a majority of Americans told pollsters that Saddam Hussein was behind September 11 terrorist attacks. It struck me as a propaganda feat unsurpassed by the worst authoritarian regimes of the past—many of which had to resort to labor camps and firing squads to force their people to believe some untruth, without comparable success."
"No doubt, the Internet and cable television have allowed various political and corporate interests to spread disinformation on a scale that was not possible before, but to have it believed requires a badly educated population unaccustomed to verifying things they are being told."
"To the ignorant and the bigoted, lies always sound better than truth:
Despite their bravado, these fools can always be counted on to vote against their self-interest. And that, as far as I’m concerned, is why millions are being spent to keep my fellow citizens ignorant.Christians are persecuted in this country.
The government is coming to get your guns.
Obama is a Muslim.
Global Warming is a hoax.
The president is forcing open homosexuality on the military.
Schools push a left-wing agenda.
Social Security is an entitlement, no different from welfare.
Obama hates white people.
The life on earth is 10,000 years old and so is the universe.
The safety net contributes to poverty.
The government is taking money from you and giving it to sex-crazed college women to pay for their birth control."http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2012/mar/20/age-of-ignorance/
The pervasive ignorance of our citizenry is going to bring us down.
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Fox News: bias anyone? (gas prices and the presidency)
by gubberningbody inwith gas prices on the rise the republicans and fox news are blaming it on obama.. .
but wait, back in 2008 when gas hit $4.11 a gallon they said just the opposite about bush: the president has no control over gas prices.. .
sure, "we report the news, you decide".
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BizzyBee
>>>>>>Oil prices are multifactorial. Are you seriously claiming that lifting a ban and creating an expectation of increased future supply had nothing to do >>>>>>with it?
Just so you aren't seriously claiming it had everything to do with it.
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Fox News: bias anyone? (gas prices and the presidency)
by gubberningbody inwith gas prices on the rise the republicans and fox news are blaming it on obama.. .
but wait, back in 2008 when gas hit $4.11 a gallon they said just the opposite about bush: the president has no control over gas prices.. .
sure, "we report the news, you decide".
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BizzyBee
Not sure about your cause-and-effect conclusion:
On July 15, 2008, a sell-off began after remarks by Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, indicated significant demand destruction within the US because of high prices. Bernanke's statement precipitated an $8 drop, the biggest since the first US-Iraq war. [ 40 ] [ 41 ] By the end of the week, crude oil fell 11% to $128, also affected by easing of tensions between the US and Iran. [ 42 ] By August 13, prices had fallen to $113 a barrel. [ 43 ] By the middle of September, oil price fell below $100 for the first time in over six months, [ 44 ] falling below $92 in the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. [ 45 ]
A stronger US dollar and a likely decline in European demand were suggested to be among the causes of the decline. [ 46 ] By October 24, the price of crude dropped to $64.15, [ 47 ] and closed at $60.77 on November 6. [ 10 ]
And doesn't the price of gasoline always peak in the summer?
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Songs that are atmospheric
by FlyingHighNow inthis is a song thread that will take a little thought.
i'd like for you to share songs that sound atmospheric and conjure up feelings of night air or a smokey room, the energy of the ocean's roar or capture the joy of a party or celebration.
the songs can be transportive and take you other places by their sound and the visuals they evoke from the stories they tell.. my first one is from tim mcgraw.
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BizzyBee
Alan Parsons - wow! that brings back memories.
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Porn Daughter Answers Santorum
by metatron inhttp://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/03/19/rick-santorum-s-war-on-pornography-stirs-up-the-same-tired-arguments.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed%3a+thedailybeast%2farticles+%28the+daily+beast+-+latest+articles%29.
interesting stuff.
i can't stand santorum, even more than obama.. metatron.
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BizzyBee
Right - it's the free market at work.
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Dubbs up 4.4 Percent in USA - Yippee!
by RayPublisher inan asleep dubb sent this youtube to me today, an abc report on how protestantism is down and the jws are up more than any other christian group, 4.4%:.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnvgjeq2ttc.
made me sick to my stomach.... .
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BizzyBee
I see at least a 4.4% increase in misery among JWs.
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They are losing them...
by Aussie Oz inthe teenagers.. via my teens i hear of plenty of baptized teens who are waaaaaaayyyyyyy left of centre.. alcohol, sex, and parties are going to claim a lot more than 'higher education' i reckon.. up yours watchtower.
your youth don't think you are relevant.. oz.
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BizzyBee
it's interesting how many I see going back.
The WTS may have them physically in the seats - but not their hearts and minds.
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1984 has totally rocked my world!
by serenitynow! inso i read 1984, or at least part of it at the urging of my logic professor, years ago back when i was an inactive jw.
it was a good scary read; i was like, wow, life sucks for that dude!
i did not see any correlations to my jw world at that time.
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BizzyBee
Yes. You would also love The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witness. Mind boggling.
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Moroccan girl commits suicide after being forced to marry her rapist
by Diest inafter reading this article it just reminded me that koran and bible are completely backward.
the justification for this forced marriage is found in deuteronomy 22:23-24: ' .
if a man is caught in the act of raping a young woman who is not engaged, he must pay fifty pieces of silver to her father.
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BizzyBee
Welcome to Rick Santorum's America:
Santorum to Rape Survivors: "Make the Best of Bad Situation"
Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum wants every rape survivor to know that he feels their pain.
No, wait...he doesn't feel their pain in fact he would like any rape survivor who has the unfortunate luck of becoming impregnated as a result to "make the best of a bad situation." That means that women who are raped and get pregnant with the rapists' baby are then simply supposed to straighten up and have that baby.
Make lemonade!