Of Course, the liberals are already dismissing it as “Rich White Racists.” However anyone with a half of a brain knows that these protests are not about skin color at all. It is about the Government wanting to run Healthcare and ruin our Country.
Anyone that says anything other than this; is distorting the facts.
This comes via HotAir.com and it really makes you wonder.
They do have a point, he did make all of those promises, and now they have turned on them. I said it long ago on this blog, within 6 months time; Barack Obama would go from being the hero to Public Enemy number one. Sadly, Mr. President, you have proven me right 10 times over.
The sad thing about this is the following; Bush was in office for eight years. Until the start of the Iraq War on March 20, 2003, President Bush’s poll numbers were favorably high. The nation was coming off the horror of September 11, 2001. It was not until the war turned ugly in 2006; that Bush’s poll numbers started the serious drop. With the current President, it has taken six months. That very fact my friend is very astounding.
The interesting part is what is turning against him. First off, the far right has always not liked him; 46% of which voted for John McCain, the rest voted for either Bob Barr, Chuck Baldwin or wrote in Ron Paul. (This is not to mention the votes that went to Ralph Nader and the other third Parties.) Therefore, that takes care of the far right, The Republicans and the independent Conservatives, like me. (…and Yes, that does include the “Birther” crowd…) What is really shocking is this; the very people that worked to elect Barack Obama are the very ones that are now turning on him; The Far Left! This video is a perfect example of that fact. Not to mention the many self-proclaimed “Independent’s” that voted for him as well. They are in full out retreat mode away from this President. I have a belief as to why, it can be summed up in one word; Overreach.
President Barack Obama during the 2008 election made some of the most outlandish statements that I have ever heard during an election. Of the good majority of them; anyone that is dealing with half of a deck, (So to speak) knew that The President had no intention of fulfilling these promises. I would literally laugh aloud at times, when this President would say the stuff that He did. The real troubling part is; people actually lapped it up like dogs. Especially those on the far left, they were convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this person was the second coming of the liberal Messiah. It seems now, that the Far Left has awoken to the fact that Obama is not the “Hope and Change” prophet, that he said he was during the Campaign and before he took office.
It has been a personal political observation of mine that when a President starts slipping in the polls and the Country begins to turn away from him; it usually happens among the fringes or the grassroots; or what we refer to day as the “Netroots.” The slipping never starts among the Democratic or Republican establishments. The people revolt first, not the establishment. This goes along with that whole idea that Government is “Of the people, by the people” and not the other way around.
One would think that Obama would have known something like this; tragically I believe that this was overlooked, something that I believe will come back to haunt this Administration. I also believe that if this Administration and this Congress attempts to ram though this Healthcare bill; that there will a massive revolt among moderate Democrats and Independents and the election cycle of 2010 will be a day of reckoning. On the other side of the coin, if they drop the public option or the bill dies entirely there could be a collapse of the entire base of the Democratic Party. Either way this will be nothing but good for the Republican Party, provided that they run some true Conservatives and not a bunch of indecisive idiots that want to play paddy cake with the other side.
Either way, this coming political season in September is going to be quite interesting.
WASHINGTON POST: The Justice Department recently questioned military defense attorneys at Guantanamo Bay about whether photographs of CIA personnel, including covert officers, were unlawfully provided to detainees charged with organizing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
Investigators are looking into allegations that laws protecting classified information were breached when three lawyers showed their clients the photographs, the sources said. The lawyers were apparently attempting to identify CIA officers and contractors involved in the agency’s interrogation of al-Qaeda suspects in facilities outside the United States, where the agency employed harsh techniques.
If detainees at the U.S. military prison in Cuba are tried, either in federal court or by a military commission, defense lawyers are expected to attempt to call CIA personnel to testify.
The photos were taken by researchers hired by the John Adams Project, a joint effort of the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, to support military counsel at Guantanamo Bay, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the inquiry. It was unclear whether the Justice Department is also examining those organizations.
Both groups have long said that they will zealously investigate the CIA’s interrogation program at “black sites” worldwide as part of the defense of their clients. But government investigators are now looking into whether the defense team went too far by allegedly showing the detainees the photos of CIA officers, in some cases surreptitiously taken outside their homes.
That’s what I asked Joshua Dratel, Chair of the John Adams Project Advisory Committee and a prominent defense lawyer who has represented numerous terror suspects before. Speaking this morning after the news broke that the Department of Justice is investigating military defense lawyers representing terror suspects, Dratel said he couldn’t talk about the specifics of the investigation. But he explained that even if defense lawyers had shown photos of people who might have interrogated their clients, that wouldn’t be breaking the law as long as they didn’t get those photos from the government, or know they were classified or deemed “protected” information by the government or a court.
“There are no court rules or rules in the military commissions that would prohibit showing detainees photos “as long as you obtained them from an unclassified source, and they weren’t otherwise covered by a protective order,” said Dratel.
In general, lawyers cannot show their clients information that is classified. And like anyone else, they can’t intentionally reveal the identity of a covert CIA agent knowing that the agent is or recently was playing a covert role with the CIA. It’s not clear if any lawyers showed their clients photos of interrogators who were acting covertly, but it’s also unclear how an official questioning a terror suspect on behalf of the CIA would be covert.
In any event, defense lawyers are troubled that the Justice Department decided to leak news of the investigation to reporters. The Washington Post and The New York Times both reported the story this morning.
“It’s unfortunate that someone in a position to know better decided to go public with this and attempt to smear people in a way that they can’t do legally,” Dratel said. “The investigation is something that’s extraordariny not only for the fact that it’s occurring, but for how it’s occurring, with people being confronted by law enforcement,” said Dratel.
Government agents reportedly approached three lawyers from the Judge Advocates General’s Corps two weeks ago and informed the military lawyers of their right to remain silent, then asked whether they’d shown their clients photos of CIA officials.
“Normally, when a prosecutor wants to subpoena a lawyer, they have to get permission and jump through a lot of hoops,” said Dratel. “I see this as heavy-handed.”
It also could be a way to intimidate the lawyers from aggressively defending their clients. Yesterday, American Civil Liberties Union president Anthony Romero vigorously defended the defense lawyers, who are receiving assistance from the ACLU through the John Adams Project, which has organized private attorneys to assist the military lawyers in defending terror suspects.
“Identifying who tortured our clients and what they did to them and when is an essential part of defending their interests in these sham proceedings,” Romero told The Times.
Sham proceedings. Spoken like a true communist. To the far left, the war on terror is a sham; that is because the liberals sympathize with the terrorists. Because of their hatred of this country and its capitalistic system, and by the way, that argument will not hold up in a court of law. The CIA people who identities are supposed to be protected, are that way for a reason, and these guys are blowing the whistle on them. I mean, the left threw a fit about Valerie Plame. But this is perfectly okay? Can you say double standard?
Of course, seeing that we have a liberal President and a Liberal Federal Prosecutor, nothing will become of it. Watch and see.
-The birthers love them some Sarah Palin. She’s the most popular politician in the mix with them at 66% favorability. Next is Mike Huckabee at 58%, followed by Newt Gingrich at 46%, and Mitt Romney at 43%.
I mean this with all sincerity- Romney’s lack of popularity with the birther wing of the GOP really could scuttle his chances at the nomination in three years.
Looking at the numbers from another angle- 63% of all Americans with a favorable opinion of Sarah Palin are birthers. Same thing with 53% of those who like Gingrich, 50% who view Huckabee positively, and 44% for Romney.
Remember when W. said ‘some people call you the elites, I call you my base?’ Swap out birthers for elites and you’ve got the makings of a great Palin speech.
My prediction? We’re gonna be screwed come 2012. Especially if the G.O.P. picks HER. I mean, I’m not a Romney fan; and I think he’s bad for the G.O.P. But Palin is worse; much worse.
Thank goodness The Times is the forthright, ethical institution that it is.
And when a mistake happens, it rushes to set the journalistic record straight with an honest repair.
Here is an actual correction from Page A4 of today’s print edition:
FOR THE RECORD
TV listings: The Prime-Time TV grid in Thursday’s Calendar section mistakenly listed MTV’s “Jackass” show on the MSNBC cable schedule at 7 and 10 p.m. where instead MSNBC’s “Countdown With Keith Olbermann” should have been listed.
It’s not the Worst Mistake in the World.
But without this kind of correction, online too, a few thousand people might have tuned into MSNBC, the Obama administration’s favorite cable channel, expecting to see a “Jackass” show, and instead they’d have found Olbermann.
Good question, that dude; in my opinion, has become a partisan parody of real Political commentary since Obama took office. I venture to guess that not many people would have known the difference.
“It’s a phrase I use,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said today, hesitating at his press briefing to offer a physical demonstration of the phraseology.
“Let’s do this in a way that’s family friendly,” Gibbs said. “I think ‘wee-weed up’ is when people get all nervous for no particular reason….
“August of 2008, everybody was nervous about whether the entire presidential campaign was slipping out from the hands of the president,” Gibbs said, turning the page to this August, in which all the president’s critics are declaring his health-care initiatives in peril. “This is sort of an August pundit pattern of people getting overly nervous about something that has a long way to go…
“Bedwetting would probably be the more consumer-friendly term for it,” the press secretary said.
President Obama is betting on a more successful September than August, when it comes to his bid for healthcare reform.
At an online forum on healthcare held Thursday at the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Obama drew on his own political experience to predict better fortunes next month.
“There’s something about August going into September where everyone in Washington gets all ‘wee-weed’ up,” the president said.
He pointed to last August’s selection of then-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) to join the Republican ticket as the GOP’s vice presidential nominee.
“‘Obama’s lost his mojo,'” the president said the media were saying after Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) campaign received a short-lived bump from palin.
“You remember all that?” Obama added.
I cannot say that I have not heard the term before. Because I have; just not from a President before. Much less a Harvard Graduate President! 🙄
Honestly Mr. President, please, keep your penile fantasies to yourself. I mean, I know you have gay tendencies and all. But please, not on camera.
Wow! 😮 Looks like MSNBC has invoked the rage of a major Conservative group…
This a follow up to the posting I made late last night about MSNBC wanting to start a race war; by showing carefully edited footage of a man, who was black, carrying an assault rifle and then implying that the man was white.
The politico is now reporting that MSNBC is trying to walk that little cat backward:
But by raising the racial issue in this context, bloggers claimed that MSNBC was purposely misleading viewers by not showing that at least one African-American man has also carried a gun to an event.
An MSNBC spokesperson responded to POLITICO: “Contessa was speaking generally and not about that specific person with the automatic weapon.
On Tuesday, August 18, at 10:45 AM, your network — with a blatantly racist broadcast — took the falsification of the news to a dangerous new low. I am writing to you today on behalf of the 400,000 members of Americans for Limited Government nationwide to ask that all involved in this nefarious assault on decency be immediately fired from their jobs.
I am referring, of course, to the MSNBC “news” cast on that morning in which your anchors hysterically raised the specter of impending racial violence — while carefully cropping the very video upon which they based their duplicitous charges. Leading audiences nationwide to believe that militant whites were mounting violence against a black President, they deliberately covered up the fact that the individual they were framing was himself African-American.
I could go on with a graphic description of the horrendous misrepresentation foisted on the American people by your anchors and those who worked with them on your distorted reportage, but by now, I am sure that you are well aware of the despicable fraud they perpetrated. Even if you, like most Americans, were not watching MSNBC at the time, you undoubtedly have been apprised of the transgression by now.
Therefore, I will not waste your time or mine regurgitating the facts of the blatant abuse of the public trust. Instead, let me simply get to the vital thrust of this letter:
On behalf of the nearly half million members of Americans for Limited Government — and tens of millions of other equally appalled Americans of all races nationwide — I hereby demand the immediate termination of Contessa Brewer, Toure, Dylan Ratigan and any and all others involved in any way with the fraudulent “news” that ran in the 10:45AM segment of your August 18 broadcast.
You network has besmirched the dignity and honor of American people. You have endangered the life of the President of the United States. You have purposely fanned racial tensions. And you have deliberately lied to your own audience.
Failure on your part to act will be proof positive that you, your corporation and the corporation that owns you intended this deception. As such, you can no longer claim to be “press” in any sense of the word but will have crossed the line, becoming a political advocacy organization. That, then, becomes a matter for the FCC and the courts to consider the proper punishment for this gross transgression of the rules of a civil society.
Thank you.
William Wilson
President
Americans for Limited Government
cc: Jeffrey Immelt, President and Chairman, General Electric
Phil Griffin, President MSNBC News
Will this result in any sort of action? Probably not. But if we sit idly by and allow these people to do this, we will committing the highest form of treason ever. The media serves the people and not corporate interests and we must hold them them accountable. Let’s turn the tables a bit, had this been former President Bush and this man been a liberal carrying a gun and Fox News had done this, the outrage would be deafening. But yet, when a liberal owned, operated and funded network does it; it is fine. Can you say double standard?
We must hold them accountable and force them, one way or another to admit this lapse in judgment. So, As I wrote last night, burn the damn phones up!
Watch the MSNBC footage and then Watch the video below it:
and now:
Notice anything particularly interesting missing out of that first video clip?
I thought so…
Here’s the contact info for MSNBC, light the damn phones up!
New York, NY 10112 (Map)
Phone: 212-664-4444
Fax: 212-664-4085
NBC Headquarters
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112
Tel 212-664-4444
Fax 212-664-4426
NBC Washington Bureau
4001 Nebraska Ave NW
Washington, DC 20016
Tel 202-885-4200
Fax 202-362-2009
Letters world@msnbc.com
DC Bureau Chief
202-885-4548
Nightly News
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112
Tel 212-664-4971/4691 or 202-885-4259
Fax 201-583-5453
Email nightly@nbc.com
Executive Producer
David Corvo david.corvo@nbc.com 212-664-4850
Meet the Press
4001 Nebraska Ave NW
Washington DC 20016
Tel 202-885-4598
Fax 202-966-4544
Letters mtp@msnbc.com
Executive Producer
Nancy Nathan nancy.nathan@nbc.com
Today Show
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112
Tel 212-664-4249
Fax 212-664-2914
Email today@nbc.com
Executive Producer Jeff Zucker jeff.zucker@nbc.com 212-664-2830
Dateline NBC
30 Rockefeller Plz
New York NY 10112
Tel 212-664-7501
Fax 212-664-7864/7073
Email dateline@nbc.com
Don’t let them get away with it. if we do, we might just pay, and pay dearly.
BAGHDAD — Insurgents struck at the heart of the Iraqi government on Wednesday in huge and coordinated bombings that exposed a new vulnerability after Americans ceded control for security here on June 30. Nearby American soldiers stood by helplessly — despite the needs of hundreds of wounded — waiting for a request for help from Iraqi officials that apparently never came.
A wave of bombings targeted symbols of government, the Foreign and Finance Ministries in central Baghdad, lending an air of siege to the capital. Dozens were killed and hundreds were wounded in the apparently coordinated attacks.
“As much as we want to come, we have to wait to be asked now,” said an American officer who arrived at one blast site almost three hours later and who spoke in return for anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters. At one blast site, American soldiers snapped pictures of the devastation before ducking out of the streets.
After weeks of escalating violence in Iraq, powerful truck bombs killed at least 95 people and wounded nearly 600 people at the Foreign and Finance Ministries in central Baghdad, assaults on symbols of government that lent an air of siege to the capital. The bombs crippled the downtown area, closed highways and two main bridges over the Tigris River and clogged hospitals with wounded.
The bombings, the worst since American forces handed over security responsibilities to Iraq at the end of June, shook the Iraqi government’s confidence that it was ready and able to secure the nation.
Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki called for a reassessment of his security measures, calling the attacks “a vengeful response” to his recent, optimistic order to remove blast walls from the streets of Baghdad.
A Defense Ministry spokesman, Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Askari, was quoted by Reuters as telling American and Iraqi military officers: “We must face the facts. We must admit our mistakes, just as we celebrate our victories.”
And Baghdad’s security spokesman, Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, told Iraqiya state television, according to Reuters, that attacks were “a security breach for which Iraqi forces must take most of the blame.”
The explosions, one close to the heavily fortified Green Zone and the other less than three miles away, sent plumes of smoke billowing over the capital, ripped a gaping hole in a compound wall and set cars ablaze, trapping drivers inside.
“The whole thing is just so disgusting,” the United States ambassador, Christopher R. Hill, said as he read reports from his staff about the extent of the damage while on an official visit to the northern city of Kirkuk. “They’re just psychopathic.”
Around 11 a.m., the two truck bombs struck the Foreign Ministry and the Finance Ministry within three minutes, officials said, sending white smoke into the sky. The second, more powerful blast was so intense that parts of a main highway near the Finance Ministry collapsed, the rubble littered with shrapnel and splotches of blood. It shattered windows inside the nearby Green Zone and shook houses in many parts of the city. At least 60 people were killed at the Foreign Ministry and at least 35 at the Finance Ministry.
At roughly the same time, attacks in other parts of the city, including three roadside bombs and some mortar and rocket fire, left 13 people wounded, Iraqi officials said.
Of course, the Liberal New York Times had to make sure that this quote was in there; Seeing they are the Anti-Military Paper that they are:
Though no one took credit for the attacks, Iraqis doled out blame both to their government, now fully responsible for security, and to the United States for coming to Iraq in the first place.
“This country is finished,” said one resident, Jamil Jaber, 45, whose five-room home behind the Foreign Ministry had been flattened, crushing a 4-month-old infant. “It’s just robbery and killing.” He cursed the United States and former President George W. Bush.
Oh, Of course, It is Bush’s fault because some idiot rag-head terrorist sets off a fucking bomb in the city of Baghdad. What a fucking ingrate! we should have just nuked that fucking Country into the damned stone age, instead of sending 4000+ of our troops into the Country to basically die; and for what? So some asshole Iraqi can blame us for their problems? What an asshole! That is if it is not a fake quote, which would not surprise me at all.
Here’s the deal folks; War is fucking hell, shit happens, people die. Get used to it! Saddam’s not in power anymore, and the people there are free. That idiot Iraqi sounds like most African-American Liberals; they want to blame someone else, namely White People, for their own damn problems. I suppose some Liberal might try and say that this is happening because we are in that Country in the first place. That is bullshit and most liberals know it.; We have all but left the damn country and the Iraqi Government is now running the show. Hence the Government taking forever to get on the scene.
One other thing I notice is, that most other Bloggers, Conservative and liberal are just not talking about this anymore. I think it is because of the healthcare debate; most people just are not thinking about Iraq. I am not one of these and I hope like hell, that President Obama does not pull us out, before the mission is over. We, as a Nation, cannot afford to make the mistake that we made in Vietnam. We made it before and had a black mark on us for years. We cannot do it again, it will be our shame, if we do.
Countdown to screechy liberals screaming at Obama for us to leave in 5…..4…..3….2…
WASHINGTON — Given hardening Republican opposition to Congressional health care proposals, Democrats now say they see little chance of the minority’s cooperation in approving any overhaul, and are increasingly focused on drawing support for a final plan from within their own ranks.
Top Democrats said Tuesday that their go-it-alone view was being shaped by what they saw as Republicans’ purposely strident tone against health care legislation during this month’s Congressional recess, as well as remarks by leading Republicans that current proposals were flawed beyond repair.
Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, said the heated opposition was evidence that Republicans had made a political calculation to draw a line against any health care changes, the latest in a string of major administration proposals that Republicans have opposed.
“The Republican leadership,” Mr. Emanuel said, “has made a strategic decision that defeating President Obama’s health care proposal is more important for their political goals than solving the health insurance problems that Americans face every day.”
The Democratic shift may not make producing a final bill much easier. The party must still reconcile the views of moderate and conservative Democrats worried about the cost and scope of the legislation with those of more liberal lawmakers determined to win a government-run insurance option to compete with private insurers.
On the other hand, such a change could alter the dynamic of talks surrounding health care legislation, and even change the substance of a final bill. With no need to negotiate with Republicans, Democrats might be better able to move more quickly, relying on their large majorities in both houses.
Okay here is why I do not believe that the Democrats will try and ram this legislation through. Right now, Congress in recess and they are out meeting with the people; the Congress critters are not stupid, they know that the people that are protesting at these meetings also vote, and whether the liberal media wants to admit it or not; these people are voting for the one’s who are trying to ram this through Congress. I believe before recess is over and the Congress convenes in August, there will be a major “Backsliding” in the Congress’s confidence in getting this passed. I believe at the last minute; many of these Congressmen will decide against this bill and It will die in the either the House or the Senate.
The reason I say this is because there are just too many “Blue Dogs” to prevent this bill from going anywhere. While there might be a 60 seat majority. Not all of these Congress people are far lefty Liberals. Some of them are Moderate and some some from very Conservative districts. The Democrats made a very fatal error in their judgment; they assumed that the entire Democratic Party had leaned to the far left. I am sorry to say, but that just is not true at all. There are some Democrats; God Love them, who still believe in the idea of Free Market Principles. They are also knowledgeable of the fact that the Healthcare industry accounts for 12-15% of the Nation’s Economy and if this plan goes through, that it would destroy or at the very least impair our nation’s economy.
So, while some of my fellow Conservative Bloggers are throwing up their hands and are saying “Get ready for Obamacare!” I am not so ready to raise the flag of surrender yet. Because I just have this itching feeling that the “Blog Dogs” and some of the not-so-Blue Dogs are going to have a “Come to Jesus” moment on this and are going to hastily retreat on this bill and vote against it. So, while I do not underestimate the majority of the Democrats, I also know that some of those Democrats are looking at 2010 and are wanting to keep their jobs. We must keep this in mind.
Conservatives have strenuously denied that there is any anti-Semitism on display by anti-health reform protesters at town hall meetings nationwide — despite all the evidence to the contrary. Last week, Las Vegas radio station KDWN AM720 sponsored a “contentious” town hall, emceed by conservative morning show host Heidi Harris. At the event, local news stations were interviewing an Israeli man who was praising the “fantastic” “national health care” in Israel. During his remarks, a woman yelled out, “Heil Hitler!” The man stopped, became visibly upset, and exclaimed, “Did you hear this? She say to a Jew, ‘Heil Hitler’! Hear? I’m a Jew! You’re telling me, ‘Heil Hitler’? Shame of you!” After he angrily confronts her, the woman mocks him by making a crying sound to imply he is a whining baby.
Let me just say that as a Conservative; that this stupid bitch does not speak for me. While I am opposed to any sort of Government ran, funded or sponsored healthcare. This sort of activity is not inline with any sort of Conservative thought or doctrine. I tend to believe that this woman was a plant by a liberal organization to discredit the opposition.
Again, this woman does NOT speak for this Conservative, at all.
Update: Gateway Pundit , American Power , and Legal Insurrection are all saying; that I thought as well, that this woman was a leftist plant. Her name by the way is Pamela Pilger and the man’s name is Samuel Blum.
You know how the Democrats have been saying that they do not want to kill the private insurance business? Well, here we have a rare case of Democratic candor; something that is not a common thing these days; especially among liberals.
S: It sounds like you’re saying you think there is no need for us to have private insurance in health care.
W: I’ve asked you three times. What is their value? What are they bringing to the deal?
S: Again… I’m astounded by your question. It sounds like you’re suggesting that there’s no need to have a country that’s run on free market principles.
W: Time out. Let’s focus on one thing at a time. This isn’t a commodity, Joe. Health care isn’t a commodity.
S: You’re saying that health care is different than everything else.
W: Health care is not a commodity.
S: But you are making the conservatives’ point. You are making the point of the people at the town hall meetings who say this is Barack Obama’s opportunity to get rid of private health care and turn it completely over to the government. I’m sitting here stunned, saying Oh My God, you’re making the point of the health care protesters.
W: If Barack Obama doesn’t want to do it, I want to do it.
Capt. Ed weighs in “right cheer”… That’s right here for you Yankee folk:
Of course health care is a commodity. Weiner wants to use this populist pet phrase, which goes along with the notion of a “right” to health care, but it’s absurd. Food is a commodity, water is a commodity, clothing and shelter are commodities. Until cap-and-trade came up in the House, air was not a commodity, but carbon dioxide will shortly become one, even though life itself cannot exist without it. People have to produce the goods and services that comprise the health-care industry, which means that the supplies are finite and they expect to get compensated for their work. That makes it a commodity, regardless of Weiner’s socialist rhetoric. Anything with a cost is a commodity, by definition.
Anyone who doesn’t understand that much about economics has no business creating policy.
What do insurance companies do for health care? Weiner asks this question repeatedly as if there is no answer, but it’s as obvious as the fact that goods and services are commodities. Insurance companies provide risk pools for consumers that allow them to indemnify themselves against catastrophic health-care costs. It’s that simple. By paying a few hundred dollars a month in premiums, customers can get access to a wide range of goods and services in health care when needed. Insurance companies or private-sector co-ops attempt to calculate the risks to set the premiums at a point where customers find the pricing acceptable, investors in the risk pool can get a profit from its creation and maintenance, and providers get adequate compensation for their goods and services. The more these insurers compete against each other, the better pricing consumers get and the more efficient they become at controlling costs.
Anyone who doesn’t understand that much about economics has no business creating policy.
If I were one of them there smart mouthed uncouth kind of a blogger; I would say that more Democrats do not understand much of anything; which is why they make up stuff. But I am not one of them kind of bloggers. I’m much more civilized than that. Now, if you’ll pardon me, I need to adjust my top hat and tails. (If you believe that last bit that I just wrote. I got land to sell you in Texas, for a cheap price! ) (Lying and Capitalism, you can tell I am a Real Conservative, can’t you? )
The real humdinger of a admission comes at the end, which is:
S: So, Anthony, I figured it out over the break. You actually do want the federal government to take over all of health care.
W: Only in the sense that the federal government took over health care for senior citizens 44 years ago.
S: You want to expand that for all Americans.
W: Correct. I want Medicare for all Americans.
Hey, at least the guy is honest. What kills me is how Liberal want to destroy an industry that accounts for 15% of the Nation’s Economy, so some idiot welfare queen can get a damned freebie. But then again, that is the way of the socialist Liberal Left.
Bob Novak hired me away from HUMAN EVENTS in late 2001. “Poaching,” HE Editor-in-Chief Tom Winter called it. I was not the first early-20s reporter Novak would pluck from HE’s newsroom. Nor would I be the last.
Work for us Novak reporters, in addition to writing the Evans-Novak Political Report, consisted of doing “the opposite of research,” as I put it. Rather than trying to find an answer to a question Novak had — he had another staffer for that — we would try to dig up scoops, leads, and unreported nuggets to feed him.
That Novak would hire a leg-man to go around Washington sniffing out news reflected the virtue at the heart of his work: His columns, while they resided on the op-ed pages, were built upon previously unreported facts that revealed and explained the machinations of government, the men and women in power, and the politics behind it all. His job demanded he get a constant flow of new information, but curiosity and a thirst for knowledge were natural traits for him.
Bob Novak was, above all, a reporter.
I suggest that you read all of that tribute; as I feel that it is excellent.
How many reporters, when George W. Bush named Paul O’Neill as his Treasury secretary, knew that he had been a pal of young government staffer Dick Cheney and that it was O’Neill who was the reason Gerald Ford’s vision as he opened his presidential campaign was “essentially that of a Washington bureaucrat.”? Of course Novak wrote the column. But did Bush (and Rove) ever come to see that Novak was right?
In recent years, some of Novak’s most significant work was done in association with Tom Phillips, who had begun publishing the bi-weekly Evans-Novak Political Report in1971 at Phillips Publishing and then had moved the newsletter to Eagle Publishing after he founded Eagle in 1993. Under the umbrella of the Phillips Foundation, Phillips and Novak developed the nation’s largest journalistic grant program for young writers — offering five-figure stipends to finance research and development of significant conservative books and articles that otherwise would not have been produced.
Not a Saturday night passes that I do not miss “Capital Gang.” Spring is not the same without the ACC tournament. I cannot pick up the Saturday New York Post or the Monday Washington Post without a sense of regret that the column is not there.
There was one thing about Novak that I admired greatly; and that is that he was skeptical of the Washington D.C. crowd. Something that I found myself to be quite a bit. He also was highly critical of the Bush Administration and much of its action that lead up to the Iraq War and afterwards. Novak did not carry water for the Republican Party; something that I highly admired about him.
You can read the roundup of opinions and memorials here at Memeorandum. Of course, there are some opportunistic liberals who are taking pot shots at the man at his passing. I find this to be totally offensive, and I told one so on a liberal rag blog that no one reads. I will not link to it; that would be sacrilegious. On the other hand, one of the bigger Liberal Blogs out there; which is ran by some marbled-mouthed ex-Republican, who knowingly married a gay man; had surprisingly nice things to say about Mr. Novak. Shocking indeed.
My deepest condolences to the Novak Family and most of all his many Children.
While it might a minor one, this is a victory for civil liberties.
The Video:
The Story:
Following a furor over how the data would be used, the White House has shut down an electronic tip box — flag@whitehouse.gov — that was set up to receive information on “fishy” claims about President Barack Obama’s health plan.
E-mails to that address now bounce back with the message: “The e-mail address you just sent a message to is no longer in service. We are now accepting your feedback about health insurance reform via http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck.”
The “flag” service was introduced Aug. 4, with a White House blog post saying: “There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances
to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email
or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.”
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said at a briefing shortly after the service launched: “We’re not collecting names from those e-mails. … All we’re asking people to do is if they’re confused about what health care reform is going to mean to them, we’re happy to help clear that up for you. Nobody is keeping anybody’s names.”
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, wrote a letter to Obama raising privacy concerns about what the senator called an “Obama monitoring program.”
“I can only imagine the level of justifiable outrage had your predecessor asked Americans to forward e-mails critical of his policies to the White House,” Cornyn wrote. “So I urge you to cease this program immediately.”
In a later statement, Cornyn said: “Of course the White House is collecting names. … It is inevitable. Anyone with access to the flag@whitehouse.gov account has access to the names and email addresses that are collected in that account. … How are they purging names and e-mail addresses from this account to protect privacy?”
This is just another blunder in a flurry of blunders carried about by this Socialist Administration. Almost as a idiotic as the Nixon Administration’s Enemy list that he had; and just as corrupt. This should be a lesson the Obama Administration that Chicago style politics does not work in Washington D.C. Although, knowing this Administration, that lesson will not be learned very soon at all.
First up; you can head on over and read “The One’s” desperate attempt to keep the debate afloat. I would sit here, and play the quote and challenge game; but it’s Sunday and I have a knee-ache, that is about to kill me. So, I will refrain. I think most of you all know how I feel about the damn thing. So, I will just let you go read for yourself.
Second up is the revelation that the public option might just be dead….CNN Reports:
A key Senate negotiator said Sunday that President Barack Obama should drop his push for a government-funded public health insurance option because the Senate will never pass it.
Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota said it was futile to continue to “chase that rabbit” due to the lack of 60 Senate votes needed to overcome a filibuster.
“The fact of the matter is there are not the votes in the United States Senate for a public option. There never have been,” Conrad said on “FOX News Sunday.”
Conrad is one of six Senate Finance Committee members — three Democrats and three Republicans — who are negotiating a compromise health-care bill that would be the only bipartisan proposal so far.
Three House bills and another Senate version have all been proposed by Democrats, and all contain provisions for a public health insurance option intended to compete against private insurers.
Republican opponents argue the public option is a step toward the government taking over the health care industry. Many Democrats argue that it would not have that effect.
Conrad has proposed creating non-profit health insurance cooperatives that could negotiate coverage as a collective for their members.
He said Sunday that such cooperatives would provide the competition sought by Obama and Democratic leaders to force private insurers to hold down costs and improve practices.
Of course, Liberals are NOT happy about this, as you can see here and here for yourself. Now, at this point you are most likely expecting me to say something snarky or nasty about this. Well, surprise. Believe it or not (Ripley?) I can certainly understand why those on the left would be upset at this. This is because I understand what is happening here. The President and the Congress are capitulating to the backlash from those of us, who do not want to see the Government involved in the process of health-care. The reason why this is so upsetting to the liberal crowd is this. The people who voted for Obama; voted for change, they trusted that Obama would be to shatter the “Business As usual” Government of Washington D.C.; Instead what he did was, is bring his own brand of “Business as usual” to Washington D.C. This has not flown well with those who actually voted for change in Washington D.C. As matter of fact, one of Obama’s own cabinet members was boo’ed and heckled at the Netroots conference that took places yesterday.
I have been pretty good at making predictions on this blog, so far. So, I am going to make a another public prediction. I predict that if come September, the Congress and Senate comes back, and this Health-care dies or gets shelved. That there will be blood. No, not literal blood. But, political blood. The sharks will be circling and quite frankly, it will get horribly ugly. You think the vitriol towards Bush was bad? You wait till this Health-Care Bill dies. You think Obama’s poll numbers are bad now? Wait till this all goes down. It is going to get really bad. Let’s just say that there are going to be a whole bunch of Liberal news organizations that are going to suddenly discover their objectivity again. Because for the last six months, The President has been getting a free pass, but now, the honeymoon is over, and the folks, as Bill O’Reilly calls them; are wanting to see what this guy is really going to do. The Liberal Establishment, and yes that includes the press, wants to know, is this guy going to deliver or not? If the President shows any sort of weakness at all, I predict that the media will go after him and the darling new President will become the next feeding frenzy.
Which brings me to my last point. What exactly is the point of having a health-care bill without a public option? I thought that is what the purpose of getting this bill passed in the first place! To me, stripping that option out, would spell disaster for all involved. Personally, if I were the Democrats, I would simply scrap the bill and start over, or put it off till after the elections. Because taking that out, would defeat the very purpose for having a health-care reform. Let me be clear, I do not support the idea of any kind of Government health-care at all. But it would seem that the Democrats would want to avoid shooting themselves in the foot like this. But then again, I have seen dumber things done by liberals in the past.
“It used to be different. You never heard the late Walter Cronkite taking time on the evening news to “debunk” claims that a proposed mental health clinic in Alaska is actually a dumping ground for right-wing critics of the president’s program, or giving the people who made those claims time to explain themselves on the air. The media didn’t adjudicate the ever-present underbrush of American paranoia as a set of “conservative claims” to weigh, horse-race-style, against liberal claims. Back then, a more confident media unequivocally labeled the civic outrage represented by such discourse as “extremist” — out of bounds.”
Of course this is selective amnesia that ignores how Cronkite’s “editorializing” of the Vietnam War, calling a victory at Tet a “defeat” lead to American withdrawal and the wasted sacrifice of over 50,000.
But more, having vividly lived those times, I never remember the media doing anything other than bolster and praise left-wing outrage. The media of the 60s, as now celebrated left-wing social unrest and demonized right wing opposition. Little has changed.
But just because Americans stood to to the anti-American ideals of Socialism and Communism, didn’t make “Right-Wingers” ‘radical’, it simply showed they were right.
Just look at who is President now.
Quite true. If America had done things right, we would not be in the mess that we were in now. As a personal hero of mine, Trent Lott once said:
"I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We’re proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn’t have had all these problems over all these years, either,"
Nothing more can be added to that. It is the truth; of course, your tenderhearted Conservatives and your race-baiting liberals will object to this statement, but it is the truth. The civil rights act of 1964 was totally unconstitutional. Of which, a personal hero of mine refused to vote for; that being Senator Barry Goldwater. This did cost him the election of that year. The Democrats got their revenge on that vote; during the election the Democrats painted Goldwater as mentally unstable. Which was, and still is, a bunch of baloney. It also began the process of the classic intellectual liberals to the leave the Democratic Party and join the ranks of the Republican Party. That faction of the party became known as the "Neo or New Conservatives". Led by the likes Irving Kristol; The New Conservatives sought to rip control of the Republican Party away from the hands of the "Old Right", which by this time, had become mired in racism and Antisemitism. Some would say that much of this was accomplished by lies and trickery.
Now to address the quote by Trent Lott; I realize that supposed racial aspects of that statement. But to me, it is a broader statement, than just "them Negros are ruining our society!" To me it speaks to an absolute rejection the idea of Multiculturalism and the rejection of diversity. The whole problem with this idiotic idea of celebrating diversity is this; Black Liberals want you and I to be ashamed of being even being white. Even though ninety-nine percent of white people living today, had nothing to do with the acts of slavery that took place in this Country over 300 years ago. Further more, Black Liberals want you to be ashamed of the practice of segregation that took place in the south —- whether you had anything to do with it, or not. They want you to blame yourself. Which is quite idiotic, in this writers opinion.
Not only this, but the Liberal Black Community wants to blame the white race for the problems within their own society. If a black man kills another black man; it is automatically the white mans fault. Why is that? Because the African-American community has never, and will never take direct responsibility for its own actions. They would rather scapegoat the white community for their problems. Why? Two Reasons; it is easier and it gets their political leaders votes. I have written here before that the Democratic Party views the African-American community as the resident "useful idiots"; this is proved by watching any of the many videos floating around of ACORN out doing their bidding, what is the skin color of ninety percent of those workers? You know what I am saying. You never see any of those Limousine latte sipping liberals from New York and California in those videos. You see African-American liberals doing the hard work for them. That is because the African-Americans get the Democratic Party votes. They do this by stirring the pot of racism tension in this Country and fueling the African-American’s sense of entitlement. It gets them the votes. Which is pretty funny consider that most of the people who carried out acts of racial violence in this Country were, in fact Democrats. In fact Alabama Governor George Wallace, who’s quote is quite infamous; was a Democrat.
The point I am trying to make here is this. These modern day Socialist Democrats have short term memory spans. They seem to have forgotten that the very party that are in, are the very ones who oppressed them for years.
Update: A Book that I highly recommend all black liberals read:
Remember how Bush was supposed to be the idiot who went into Iraq without a plan, while Obama was supposed to be the cool methodical one? But Reich is admitting that despite all the Administration hoopla, there’s still no plan. Or, possibly, that the White House has a plan, but won’t tell us what it is. And yet the people who don’t want to see a bill — some bill, doing who-knows-what — rammed through in the dead of night are somehow the ones who are ignorant and being manipulated. Right.
Yes, I do. Only plan that floppy-eared socialist has is to turn this Country into another Europe; with Government ran everything. Honestly, I was never a huge Bush fan, at all. As anyone can see, by looking at my archives. But there’s times, when I believe that Obama makes Bush look like farking Einstein.
Anyhow, Yeah, Glenn wrote a good posting, a long one at that. Now, if we could just get him to TITLE the damn things! 🙄
Update: I cannot believe that someone actually complained about my snarky humor that I wove into this piece. My only response to the complaint is this. You think black people don’t call white people names like that, in private? Please. I’ve heard some of those conversations and you would be shocked to know what they really think about us white people. Let me put it to you this way. Jeremiah Wright simple said aloud what MOST, if not ALL black people think about white people. While most have the decency not to say it aloud, most African-Americans DESPISE White people, because of the past. Most will not admit it, but it is true. Believe me, I have heard the conversations and I have been the target of the scorn from them as well. So, while I do regret that someone was offended by my off the cuff humor, I do not apologize for my feelings towards this President, nor his Marxist Politics.
Aug. 14 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Senate should abandon efforts to pass legislation curbing greenhouse-gas emissions this year and concentrate on a narrower bill to require use of renewable energy, four Democratic lawmakers say.
“The problem of doing both of them together is that it becomes too big of a lift,” Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas said in an interview last week. “I see the cap-and-trade being a real problem.”
The resistance by Lincoln and her Senate colleagues undercuts President Barack Obama’s effort to win passage of legislation that would cap carbon dioxide emissions and establish a market for trading pollution allowances, said Peter Molinaro, the head of government affairs for Midland, Michigan- based Dow Chemical Co., which supports the measure.
“Doing these energy provisions by themselves might make it more difficult to move the cap-and-trade legislation,” said Molinaro, who is based in Washington. “In this town if you split two measures, usually the second thing never gets done.”
The House passed cap-and-trade legislation in June.
Leaders of the Democratic-controlled Senate say they are sticking with their plan to combine a version of that bill with a separate measure mandating energy efficiency and the use of renewable sources such as solar and wind power. The legislation also provides for an extension of offshore oil and gas drilling in certain areas, broadening its support.
Reid’s Comment
“I don’t think we are going to take to the Senate floor a bill stripped of climate provisions,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, told reporters in Las Vegas on Aug. 11.
The reason this is happening is because the Democrats know that they are losing their support; because of the health-care issue. The poll numbers for the President and Congress are nosediving; so, the Democrats are scaling back. Smart move, if you ask me. They could totally lose their standings, which I predict will happen. 2010 will tell the story. You watch and see.
“Taliban Are Winning: U.S. Commander in Afghanistan Warns of Rising Casualties.” Thus ran the startling headline on the front-page of The Wall Street Journal. The lead paragraph ran thus:
“The Taliban have gained the upper hand in Afghanistan, the top American commander there said, forcing the U.S. to change its strategy in the eight-year-old conflict by increasing the number of troops in heavily populated areas like the volatile southern city of Kandahar, the insurgency’s spiritual home.”
Source for the story: Gen. Stanley McChrystal himself.
The general’s spokesman in Kabul was swift to separate him from that headline and lead. They “go too far,” he said: The general does not believe the Taliban are winning or “gaining the upper hand.”
Nevertheless, in the eighth year of America’s war, the newly arrived field commander concedes that U.S. casualties, now at record levels, will continue to be high or go higher, and that our primary mission is no longer to run down and kill Taliban but to defend the Afghan population.
What happened was that Pat Buchanan’s BRAIN checked out shortly after the Nixon Administration. No wonder this feckless idiot never made President. The very suggestion that Obama should pull out Afghanistan is an damned insult to the 2,996 people who died on September 11, 2001; and dare I say this? It is quite Anti or Un-American as well. As you can see, between this; and the nonsense sputtered by that ignorant Faux Conservative in South Carolina, Jack Hunter, I am truly beginning to see what these morons are really about. Anti-Americanism, Racism, and Antisemitism.
I admit, that sometimes, I quote Pat on this Blog, for a quote of the day; that is when actually writes something that sounds halfway intelligent; and not something that sounds like it was written by an escapee from the damned mental ward. The problem with Pat Buchanan’s and for that matter; Ron Paul’s idea of Foreign policy, is that it is rooted in the past. This is not 1935, this is 2009 and things have changed. Isolationism is what got this damned Country into World War II and at this stage in the game would only cause America more troubles that it would help the country.
…and before anyone thinks it. No, I am, nor will I ever be a “Neo-Conservative”, I do not embrace Wilsonian Foreign policy nor do I believe in preemptive strikes. But I do believe in protecting Americans Interests and defending the Republic. Something that Ron Paul and Yes, Pat Buchanan have zero concept of. Which explains why the White House is one place that they shall never occupy.
First off, I am not saying that I agree with that he is saying here, but I can certainly understandwhy he thinks what he does.
The Video:
Here’s the quote that has a few on the right climbing the walls:
SCHULTZ (Tuesday 11 August 2009 – 01:42): It’s almost as if every one of these town hall meetings is turning into “The Jerry Springer Show”. And there are many Americans right now who are starting to fear for the safety of the president of the United States. All over health reform. Folks, these people are psycho, that’s what they are.
SCHULTZ (04:53): Sometimes I think they want Obama to get shot. I do! I really think that there are conservative broadcasters in this country who would love to see Obama taken out. They *fear* socialism, they fear Marxism. They fear that the United States of America won’t be the United States of America anymore.
Of course, fellow right wingers are now having a absolute fit about this and of course, they are doing the whole fauxoutrage thing.
I realize that this is not going to do much for my credentials as a Conservative Blogger, but I must write the truth, instead of going along with the stupidity of the crowd. No, I do not agree with the loose cannon idiot on the thought that anyone on the right wants Obama dead. I am not quite that stupid; but I can see why Ed thinks the way that he does. Why? Oh, well, because there was some idiot holding up sign saying “Death to Obama and his kids” and because some idiot today got into a stand off with the police out on L.A. after making threats toward the President.
Now the one hundred dollar question is this; is right wing radio fueling this sort of stupidity? I personally do not know. I do not make a habit of listening to right wing talk radio, if I can help it. I can say this, there many people upset right now, at what the White House and Congress are trying to do. Now, Do I believe Rupert and Co. are causing the masses to go all freak deakey? I believe that they are not exactly trying to calm the people down.
However, I believe Ed Schultz’s accusation is a bit over the top and possibly a bit of a jumping the shark, for using such imagery. But I can see why he feels the way that he does. But using that sort of term, wasn’t one of his smarter moments.
There were signs comparing President Barack Obama to a Nazi and showing him with an Adolf Hitler-style mustache, but federal officials believe another sign referencing the president and his family went too far.
A man who was holding a sign reading “Death to Obama” Wednesday outside a town hall meeting on health care reform in Hagerstown, Md., has been turned over to the Secret Service.
Washington County Sheriff’s Capt. Peter Lazich said the sign also read, “Death to Michelle and her two stupid kids.”
Lazich said U.S. Secret Service agents took the unidentified 51-year-old man into custody Wednesday afternoon after deputies detained him near the entrance to Hagerstown Community College.
I am not one normally to rejoice over someones misfortune. But this is an notable exception. This moronic tool is right where he should be; cooling his heels in a jail cell. This goes well beyond politics, it just boils down to being stupid. I am not a fan of the socialized health-care, but ripping up people signs and wishing death on the President is just plain asinine.
As if this meatball isn’t enough there’s some guy in stand off with police out an LA; because he made threats against the President. You can watch that live event unfold here. (and listen to the annoying radio linking noise too!) Feed is now down.
It is a full moon? Because it seems like the crazies are out today. Well, more so than usual. 😮
Update: here’s the live videoFeed Went down
Update #3: The story that I reported above thankfully ended peacefully with no loss of life. Hopefully that man will get the help that he needs. Turns out, he was off his medication and when he does that, he flips out. As someone who’s been on medication all my life; I can relate. Hopefully, the justice dept. sees this and goes easy on the guy. God Bless him, the man was and still is not well. My Prayers are with his family.
Update #2: Speaking of nuts, Why do people try and outrun a radio? Here’s a link to a police chase and crash that happened up in Detroit. There no sound on this video, so, here’s the last few seconds of the Video:
I would like to open this blog posting with a quotation from the Word of God:
“We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.” — (1 Corinthians 4:10-13 King James Version)
Yesterday, my friend Ed Morrissey received something, that some Conservatives would consider to be a badge of shame. A recognition by a well-known liberal political commentator; and that was for simply telling the truth. Something that is not very common on the far right; who seem to have a thing, for lack of a better word, for the conspiracy theory.
The reason Ed was named this, was because of his posting on the so-called internment camps; which seems to be the latest screaming Meme around the Blogosphere, that seems to be very popular amongst the Paleo-Conservative and Paleo-Libertarian crowd. Instead of repeating the screaming Meme; Ed did something that is not very common in the Conservative World these days —– He told the truth about the story.
Yes, I know what you are thinking; “Is not this the guy that Pat ripped a new one for what said about the Auto Companies?” Yes, I have done that and a few other things, in the past. I have also come to his defense on more than one occasion. My issue with not with Ed personally; my issue was with how the comments about the big three were being framed. Some people, and yes, that did include Ed; were framing it to blame the workers. I thought that it was wrong and still do. But I will be the first to tell you that the whole organized labor movement has some serious issues. But that is all in the past, and I did, admittedly, overreact to the whole thing, mainly because it is personal and is connected my family.
However, I will the first to bestow kudos on Ed, because the guy is honest, he is not the “typical rich a-hole” Republican, that I have encountered in the past. In fact, he is quite down to earth and; do I dare admit this? He is also quite the nice guy too.
I will simply end this piece by saying this. In this day of age of right wing screech and bluster; it is refreshing to see a site like HotAir and people like Ed Morrissey, who cut through the crap and present the truth; often to his own peril. Oh Yes, AllahPundit does that as well. This is why I read him and Ed. Not because I agree with everything they say, but because they are honest about what they write.
This, my friends, is something quite Honorable.
Update: Tommy Christopher refers to Ed as “Captain Ed Olbermann.” Ouch! That’s bad. But quite funny!