May 28, 2011 · 1:09 pm

Chapter 55: Integration- Part 1: Or When Sunny Gets Blue | My Southern Gothic Life

New post up on my other blog….

Here’s an excerpt and a link to the full post:

I’ve said it before, growing up in Danville, Virginia in the late 1960′s to early 1970′s was like growing up in South Africa under Apartheid.

Brown vs the Board of Education took many years to be fully implemented in the South and, as usual, I think Danville, Virginia  was one of the last cities to be desegregated.

But desegregation did finally happened in Danville- when I was in the 5th grade.

I still remember that day….Our white school was pretty much transferred en mass to a Black Middle School.  That’s how they did things then…

It was a very big day.  All our Mothers- who usually couldn’t be bothered by their children-  either took the day off from work or cut their Valium doses enough so they could take us to school.

Until this point, we had simply walked to school and they had done whatever it was they did…This level of interaction was unheard of- and frankly, unwelcome.  We were used to being left alone to work things out on our own and they were used to being, well, left alone.  But the times, they were a changing and this was the least we could all do…

via Chapter 55: Integration- Part 1: Or When Sunny Gets Blue | My Southern Gothic Life.

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May 27, 2011 · 8:32 am

Elizabeth Warren Fans Attack Patrick McHenry On Facebook Over Liar Charge

I love this!!!

If I didn’t despise Patrick McHenry so much, I would do this myself….

But I just can’t make myself “like” him under any circumstances….

I’m just going to set back and wait for his career to explode….

Like Larry Craig’s…but more loudly.

Rep. Patrick McHenry’s pants may not be on fire, but his Facebook page is getting thoroughly flamed after he called Elizabeth Warren a liar Tuesday in a subcommittee hearing.

Fans of Warren think the North Carolina Republican took some unacceptable liberties with the boss of the nascent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and they’re demanding that he get some McEtiquette and apologize.

Hundreds — and probably thousands — have flocked to McHenry’s fan page to singe him.

“I ‘like’ the fact that thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of Americans are appalled by your behavior,” wrote Jill Budzynski. “You are an insult to the title of chairman of any committee. It is out of order to abuse a loyal public servant who is trying her best to accommodate your flip-flopping of schedules. How reprehensible to accuse her of lying. Apologize now.”

The dust-up Tuesday came near the end of a hearing on the CFPB when the Oversight Committee’s top Democrat, Maryland’s Elijah Cummings, noted that Warren had stayed beyond the time he had seen agreed to in internal committee communications.

But McHenry denied there was any agreement, even though the hearing time had been changed as recently as that morning to accommodate the subcommittee. “You’re making this up,” McHenry told her, to her shock and gasps from the hearing audience.

Warren and her staff had the same understanding as Cummings, and sources confirmed the previously agreed upon timing for The Huffington Post.

Warren is an extremely popular figure among people who think Wall Street and the big banks need to be reined in, and they’re expressing their displeasure on Facebook — even if it galls them to have to become a “fan” of McHenry to do so.

via Elizabeth Warren Fans Attack Patrick McHenry On Facebook Over Liar Charge [UPDATE].

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May 27, 2011 · 6:35 am

Vermont Moving Toward Single-Payer Health Care

One down, 49 states to go…

I love Vermont.  I spent some time there about 20 years ago and I think that experience was probably what planted the seed that eventually lead me to become a Democrat.

It’s can be a little crunchy granola, but Vermont is also an imminently sensible state that understands the need for people to look out for each other while applying good old New England Common Sense.

I hope other states will follow their example.

Single Payer is all that makes sense if you want to control Health Care Costs.

It works in Canada and the UK and just about every other first-world country…

From Reuters:

Vermont became the first state to lay the groundwork for single-payer health care on Thursday when its governor signed an ambitious bill aimed at establishing universal insurance coverage for all residents.

“This law recognizes an economic and fiscal imperative,” Democratic Governor Peter Shumlin said as he signed the bill into law at the State House.

“We must control the growth in health care costs that are putting families at economic risk and making it harder for small employers to do business.”

Legislators say the plan, approved by the Democratic controlled House and Senate this spring, aims to extend coverage to all 620,000 residents while containing soaring health care costs.

A key component establishes a state health benefits exchange, as mandated by new federal health care laws, that will offer coverage from private insurers, state-sponsored and multi-state plans. It also will include tax credits to make premiums affordable for uninsured Vermonters.

The exchange, called Green Mountain Care and managed by a five-member board, will set reimbursement rates for health care providers and streamline administration into a single, unified system.

Residents and small employers will be able to compare rates from the various plans and enroll for coverage of their choosing.

As designed, the goal is an eventual state-funded and operated single-payer system.

via Vermont moving toward single-payer health care | Reuters.

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May 26, 2011 · 10:15 pm

Happy Birthday, Stevie Nicks

I can’t believe she’s 63 today…

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May 26, 2011 · 8:49 pm

Little Sheba Came Back: Dog Crawls Home on Two Broken Legs After Tornado

I love this story about this dog.

He managed to crawl home on broken legs two weeks after the tornado sucked him out of his house’s garage.

So much love, dedication and determination….

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May 26, 2011 · 8:39 pm

John Edwards Plea Deal Possible As Potential Indictment Looms?

Speaking as a former supporter, he just needs to settle this and go away…

We’re all tired of him and his tacky ways.  I’ve always believed “Class will tell and the lack of it even faster”.

It took us way too long to find out the truth on Johnny Boy- he has none.

Now that we know all this, there is no possible “rehabilitation” of his image that I can see…

He just needs to go away….

From Huffington Post:

John Edwards is considering a plea deal that would allow him to avert a looming indictment in a more than two year investigation into alleged campaign finance violations, North Carolina station WRAL reports.

The AP relays background on the case:

Edwards’ mistress Rielle Hunter has sued former campaign aide Andrew Young to have a sex tape and other items returned to her. Young has said he helped cover up Edwards’ affair during the 2008 presidential campaign and worked for months to keep Hunter in hiding.

Edwards has admitted to the affair and fathering Hunter’s child. She worked as a videographer in 2006 for Edwards’ political action committee.

Edwards’ lawyer, Gregory Craig, issued a statement on Wednesday denying his client broke the law. “The government’s theory is wrong on the facts and wrong on the law. It is novel and untested. There is no civil or criminal precedent for such a prosecution,” he said.

Ben Smith at Politico reported on Thursday:

Two other sources in the Edwards camp also said that his own legal team is in deep discussions with their client — himself an almost legendary star of the North Carolina trial bar — over whether he should accept the risk and expense of a criminal trial or sacrifice his law license and possibly his freedom with a guilty plea that might nonetheless represent a real chance for reinventing his tattered public image.

ABC’s James Hill reported on Thursday night:

Multiple sources at the estate of Rachel “Bunny” Mellon confirm to ABC News that the former North Carolina senator met Mellon today for lunch at her sprawling compound in Northern Virginia.

The AP elaborates on the significance of Bunny’s role in relation to the probe into Edwards’ conduct:

According to the network, the reason for the meeting remains unknown. Young has said that Edwards agreed in 2007 to solicit money directly from Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, the 100-year-old widow of banking heir Paul Mellon. Young has said he received hundreds of thousands of dollars in checks from Mellon for his use and Hunter’s, with some of the checks hidden in boxes of chocolate.

Mellon’s attorney has said she didn’t know where the money was going but intended it as a personal gift.

via John Edwards Plea Deal Possible As Potential Indictment Looms? (VIDEO).

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May 26, 2011 · 12:12 pm

Pat McHenry (R-NC) – Sex, Lies, and Funny Videotapes

For those who may not have known all this or may have forgotten, here is a little background article from DailyKos on Patrick McHenry- the guy who was so horribly rude to Elizabeth Warren in the Congressional Hearings this week.

Keep an eye on this guy….

I don’t think we’ve heard the last from him…

Possible tax fraud, voter fraud, house mate of strapping young Republican lads, friends linked to the gay porn industry, and several murders of gay porn stars and a gay Young Republican. BlueNC pounces on McHenry’s link to the apparent killer in the Orlando apparent double murder suicide

via Daily Kos: Pat McHenry (R-NC) – Sex, Lies, and Funny Videotapes.

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May 26, 2011 · 7:00 am

Texas Gov. Perry Thinking About Presidential Bid

I knew they would get around to him eventually….

The GOP did so well with their last empty-headed Texas Governor/Figurehead…

All I can think is how the late, great Molly Ivins always called him Rick”Good Hair” Perry…

Good Hair/ Empty Head….

From Political Wire:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s (R) chief political strategist, Dave Carney, tells the Texas Tribune Perry is probably mulling a presidential bid.

Said Carney: “Obviously, it’s flattering to have everybody, Rush Limbaugh and all these other conservative, right-of-center leaders, talk about you, urging you to think about it, urging you to run, saying they support you. But I don’t see any difference in terms of the governor’s thinking… I’m sure he’s thinking about it because it’s just human nature when you have Rush Limbaugh spend 20 minutes talking about you and have all these other people mention you, that you don’t sort of think that’s flattering and think about it. But I don’t see any change in his direction, what he’s planning to do.”

via Perry Thinking About Presidential Bid.

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May 26, 2011 · 5:34 am

Senate Republicans Vote Overwhelmingly To End Medicare

Good…

The GOP is finally in the record with what they gave been trying to hide…

If the Dems just hold fast and protect Medicare and Social Security, they/we can take back the House and hold the Senate….

That’s the only way to protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security from the GOP….

That’s a big “if” given the Dem’s habit of shooting themselves in the foot…

But I think the GOP just shot itself in the head….

From TalkingPointsMemo.com:

The GOP continued its bloody walk into the Medicare buzzsaw Wednesday, when 40 out of 47 Senate Republicans voted in support of the House GOP budget, and its plan to phase out and privatize the popular entitlement program.

The test vote failed by a vote of 57-40. But the roll call illustrates that Medicare privatization — along with deep cuts to Medicaid and other social services — remains the consensus position of the GOP despite the growing political backlash against them.

Voting with all of the Democrats against debating the plan were Sens. Scott Brown (R-MA), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) — both 2012 incumbents — along with Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Rand Paul (R-KY) voted against it because it wasn’t radical enough.

Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Pat Roberts (R-KS), and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) did not vote.

Democrats intentionally scheduled the vote less than 24 hours after a Democrat won a special election in New York’s 26th — and heavily Republican — congressional district, on the strength of defending Medicare from a GOP onslaught. The outcome of that election heightened the political stakes, but sent few Republicans bolting for the exits.

via Senate Republicans Vote Overwhelmingly To End Medicare | TPMDC.

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May 26, 2011 · 3:23 am

After Terrible Tornadoes, GOP Congressman Eric Cantor Won’t Allow Fed Disaster Relief

More on Mr Compassion, Eric Cantor, the Virginia GOP Congressmean, I mean Congressman…

From Wonkette:

This should play well in Missouri next year: House majority leader Eric Cantor (R-Meanie) has blocked federal disaster-relief help for Joplin, where an incredible storm and tornado killed at least 122 people and leveled much of the town. Police and firefighters and ambulance workers are still pulling victims from the rubble, and the Republican House is saying no help for these people from the federal government unless a bunch of programs the Republicans hate (all of them, except for defense industry no-bid contracts) are de-funded. Why not just wear monster masks and go around scaring babies, too?

via After Terrible Tornadoes, Eric Cantor Won’t Allow Fed Disaster Relief.

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