Values Voter Summit and Hoedown

By: David Phillips

Las Vegas Democrat Examiner

A group of so called values voter, aka religious conservatives, held their yearly social gathering where the potential republican presidential candidates stand at the podium to tell them why he or she would be a good president to represent them and their family values.

The Values Voters Summit took place this past weekend in Washington DC. and the first thing that stood out among the list of speakers and candidates was that none of them have recently admitted to cheating on their spouses like Governor Mark Sanford (R-SC), Senator John Ensign (R-NV) or Senator David Vitter (R-LA). Seems that for the moment these three are not going to run for President but each said they will seek reelection for the offices they currently hold. And conservatives have a hard time understanding why democrats see many of them as hypocrites.

The meeting had over 1800 people attend all or part of the three day meeting, during which breakout meetings were held, here are some of the topics for those breakout meetings:

THE NEW MASCULINITY

THUGOCRACY - FIGHTING THE VAST LEFT WING CONSPIRACY

ACTIVISM AND CONSERVATISM: FIT TO A TEA (PARTY)

SPEECHLESS - SILENCING THE CHRISTIANS

FAITH, POLITICS, AND THE INTERNET: HOW TO CONTEND FOR TRUTH IN A DIGITAL AGE

TRUE TOLERANCE: COUNTERING THE HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

GLOBAL WARMING HYSTERIA: THE NEW FACE OF THE "PRO-DEATH" AGENDA

Seems real tolerance was not a subject at this years meeting, which is a shame because if ever there was a group of people who have little understanding of the word tolerance this would be that group, the breakout session topics are certainly telling of their mind set.

The event was sponsored by the Family Research Council (FRC) an ultra right wing religious organization headed by Tony Perkins the organizations President.

Fox News was there of course, both reporting and participating, Bill O’Reilly gave a speech, most likely on his favorite religious subject, the War on Christmas by the godless heathen atheists of America. He probably told one of his famous stories of a school somewhere that would not allow the kids to sing merry Christmas or a department store only saying seasons greetings, which is evil in O’Reilly’s narrow mind, if one store or one school acts like this then it’s a liberal atheist conspiracy to erase Christmas.

Then there were the presidential hopefuls for 2012. They each gave a speech and then there was a vote, called a straw poll where each of those attending voted for who they would like to see represent them, and to no surprise Mike Huckabee won. Sarah Palin, a crowd favorite, was a distant fourth.

Below are the results of the poll:

1. Mike Huckabee (170 votes, 28.48%)

2. Mitt Romney (74 votes, 12.40%)

3. Tim Pawlenty (73 votes, 12.23%)

4. Sarah Palin (72 votes, 12.06%)

5. Mike Pence (71 votes, 11.89%)

6. Newt Gingrich (40 votes, 6.70%)

7. Bobby Jindal (28 votes, 4.69%)

8. Rick Santorum (15 votes, 2.51%)

9. Ron Paul (13 votes, 2.18%)

10. Undecided (31 votes, 5.19%)

11. Other (10 votes, 1.68%)

I guess it’s a good thing for all of those on the list above that the election is still more than three years away.

On a side note Sarah Palin will soon be giving a speech in China for which she is being paid and the media will not be allowed to cover. I think that someone should tell Sarah Palin that while China may be a Red State, it doesn’t count in our election process, at least it doesn’t yet.

Czar is a nick name, not a job title

By: David Phillips

Las Vegas Democrat Examiner

With the spin by the right wing media on the use of the word "Czar", a certain demographic of our country now believes people are actually holding jobs in the White House that have the title "Czar" in their job description.

The right wing talking heads play gloomy music while talking about Obama's "Czar‘s" and equating the job to Russia, or more to the point, communism.

That's right Fox News Channel wants you to think that Obama is hiring communists, socialists, Stalinists and all the other "ists" to work for him as a “Czar“.

Sean Hannity recently said of Obama‘s advisers that “they were unconfirmed, un-vetted and a shadow government“, in “The Land of the Czars“.

Then there is Glenn Beck, he’s on a personal jihad and targeting the President’s advisers with smears and lies.

Van Jones, the White House Council on Environmental Quality's Special Advisor for Green Jobs, or as Beck called him “the Green Czar”, a couple of weeks ago resigned after relentless smears by Fox news and Glenn Beck in particular. Jones said he became to much of a distraction and felt it was best for him to resign.

Now with Jones resignation Beck feels empowered and recently posted a message on his twitter account looking for what ever he can find on three more of President Obama‘s advisers, this is what the twit twittered: “Watch Dogs: FIND EVERYTHING YOU CAN ON CASS SUNSTEIN, MARK LLOYD AND CAROL BROWNER“

Cass Sunstein was confirmed last week by the Senate to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, or as Beck calls him, “the Regulatory Czar” Beck said that Cass Sunstein wants to allow lawyers for animals in courts. Beck said, "The day may not be far off, animal lawyers say, when animals are not only present in the court room but participating in the proceedings." This is typical crazy talk from Beck , but this dribble is everyday fodder for this man.

Back in July of this year the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that Mark Lloyd had been named associate general counsel and chief diversity officer, or as Beck calls him, “the Diversity Czar”. And Carol Browner is the White House Coordinator of Energy and Climate Policy, or as Fox news calls her, "the Climate Czar".

The first use of the word “Czar” in the form the word is being used now, came from President Richard Nixon, when he was talking to William Simon, his Energy adviser and called him, my Energy Czar, a nick name, not a job title.

Every President since has had advisers whom the media dubs “Czars”, in fact most of the positions that President Obama’ has filled were created by previous Presidents.

Most of those adviser positions have never required a Senate confirmation like Hannity and Beck are demanding (which by the way is nonsensical) to be held for those who advise the President. Hannity and Beck never made such demands when Bush was President, his Fox buddy Karl Rove, was Bush‘s adviser, and they never demanded that he or any other Bush adviser go through a Senate confirmation.

But then again, the right wing spin machine has been making several outrageous demands of this President that they have never asked from any previous President, at least not the Republican ones.

Click here for the list of 47 "Czars" from the Bush administration

Senator Reid puts on the boxing gloves

By: David Phillips

Las Vegas Democrat Examiner

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) as a young man took up the sport of boxing and this week he dusted off the boxing gloves and stepped into the ring.

In case you missed it, this past Tuesday Senator Reid announced that if he couldn’t get 60 votes to pass the Senate health care reform bill announced today by Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Reid said that he would have "no alternative" but to use reconciliation.

"If we can't get the 60 votes we need, then we'll have no alternative," Reid said.

The Bill is called: America's Healthy Future Act and you can read it in it’s entirety here.

Today Senator Reid thanked Sen. Baucus for his work and released an official statement:

“I appreciate Chairman Baucus' hard work over the past several months. His proposal is another important piece to the puzzle and brings us a step closer to 9/20/09having a comprehensive health insurance reform bill on the Senate floor. There will be a healthy and vigorous debate in the Finance Committee as Senators work to strengthen this proposal. I look forward to working with Chairman Baucus and Senator Dodd as well as the White House in the coming weeks to forge a final Senate bill that lowers costs, improves quality, preserves choice and creates competition“.

Reconciliation is a legislative process of the US Senate intended to allow a contentious budget bill to be considered without being subject to filibuster.

It now takes 60 votes in the Senate to pass legislation without the threat of a filibuster which would stop legislation from moving, with reconciliation, all that is needed is a simple majority of 51 votes.

The idea of Senator Reid using reconciliation infuriates the Republican Party, because it’s harder for them to obstruct passing legislation, which seems to be their sole mission in the Senate.

There have been warnings from Republicans that they would be, well…pissed. One Senate Republican warned that using reconciliation to pass health care reform would be “like a declaration of war.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) this past April said ,“make it absolutely clear that they intend to carry out all of their plans on a purely partisan basis. Look ... we expect to be a part of the process."

McConnell left out a couple of minor details. One is McConnell himself used the reconciliation budget process to pass Bush administration tax cuts in 2001, 2003, and 2005. Which by the way were never paid for and added trillions to our national debt.

And the other minor detail McConnell left out is that no Republican ever planed on voting for any piece of legislation that would reform health care in the first place.

The last thing Republicans want to see is health care reform, not because they think that reform is a bad thing they actually agree that its broken and costs are skyrocketing, that want it to fail, Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) said, they want it to be President Obama’s “waterloo”. They want to campaign for the mid-term elections in 2010 against the failures that they themselves try to create to make Democrats look bad, all the while not caring whether Americans actually get health care reform.

Republicans plan on voting against any legislation proposed by Democrats, so this passed Tuesday Senator Harry Reid put on his boxing gloves and said "If we can't get the 60 votes we need, then we'll have no alternative."

The Senator drew a line in the sand, for me, as a Democrat who wants to see health care reform, which includes a public option (did you hear that Senator) I am glad to see the Senator step into the ring.

Glenn Beck: The body on the side of the road

By: David Phillips

Las Vegas Democrat Examiner

 

Is Glenn Beck really insane, or does he just act like it to get ratings. Beck who has mentioned several times that he is a recovering alcoholic and that he loved Jack Daniels, is seeing Communists, Marxists, Socialists and Fascists under ever White House desk.

 

His hallucinations run from one end of political ideology to the other when speaking of the President Obama and those that work for him or advise him. He will actually use all of those words when describing a democrat.

 

Glenn Beck recently said President Obama has "a deep-seated hatred for white people" followed by "this guy is, I believe, a racist."

 

After those statement by Glenn Beck on the Fox News spew show, Fox and Friends, a web site was created called the ColorofChange.org which asked people to call those who advertise on the Beck show that they are going to boycott their products as long as they continue to advertise on his show. At last count 57 advertisers have pulled their ads. So Fox told Beck to take a week off and go on vacation, presumably to let things cool down while they decide if its worth keeping Beck and his circus geek of politics show.

 

Fox it appears decided to keep him and few days after his return Beck had a psychiatrist on his show to explain to him why people think he’s mentally deranged. The psychiatrist pointed to a list of comments that have been made about Beck which Beck had written on a chalk board. Then the psychiatrist said the first step was recognizing what was being said about you and being able to admit that you’re human with faults and some other psycho talk and said  it will be easier for you now that you have “taken the first step“. Then Beck went on pointing to the chalk board reading some of the things said of him and talked about how he was an alcoholic, a recovering alcoholic.

 

Now Beck rails against inanimate objects like buildings, statues, carvings and paintings because he see’s a commie in everyone of these objects. Keith Olbermann of MSNBC made Glenn Beck his number one story yesterday, where he mocked his insanity that is now focused on inanimate objects.

 

You know how when your driving on the freeway and there is an accident on the side of the road and you see a body and you slow down to look, but you know that that is something you really don't want to look at but you do anyhow...That's Glenn Beck...Then you speed up and drive away saying to yourself I wish I hadn't seen that...That's when I change the channel...

Rants and Raves

By: David Phillips

August 24, 2009

Yoda’s World

 

 

Nut Jobs bringing guns to town hall meetings give by POTUS

 

The ONE thing that amazes me and scares the sh%t out of me at the same time, is that the right wing fringe and the right wing hate spewing talking heads like Limbaugh, Hannity and Beck see NOTHING WRONG with carrying guns to a political event where the President of the United States is in attendance (hell, it's not like anyone has ever shot a President)...They see absolutely nothing wrong, in fact they encourage it (hoping to see Obama get shot most likely) saying that it's their god given right under the 2nd Amendment (I know God didn't write the 2nd amendment) and as Freedom loving Americans to bring guns wherever they want...

 

Is Cable News Destroying America?

A question recently asked on a MySpace Political group I participate in

 

The answer is No...Laziness, Ignorance, Greed and the "Cult of Me" are what's wrong with our country...To many people in our country have stopped caring about people, they only care about themselves and what revolves around their own bubble world...Cable just feeds off of them, they are merely a symptom to a much greater problem that permeates in the "Cult of Me"...

 

Democrats should go it alone on Health Care (and show some backbone)

 

I think Democrats should abandon trying to work with Republicans and go it alone...Obama and the democratic leadership should just concentrate on hammering the blue dogs to get a health care bill with some teeth passed for Obama to sign...

 

Health Care Reform and a public option are vital to our national security, some in DC get it, but the GOP wants this to never see the light of day, they want it to be as Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said "Obama's Waterloo"..

 

The GOP wants Health care reform to fail, they want the economy to stay in the tank...They want to use these failures if that turns out to be the outcome as campaign rhetoric for the mid-terms next year...They want NOTHING to pass on anything...They put their own career's and party ahead of our Country and it's citizen's...

 

President Obama get's it, he truly wants what’s best for our country and its citizens, but the good ole boys in DC have their own agenda's...

 

The time is now to fix our broken health care system it’s as simple as that...

 

David Phillips is a Published Author, Vietnam Era Veteran, a Democratic Party Activist, and the Publisher and Editor of the online political magazine YodasWorld.org

 

 E-Mail Questions or Comments: oneyoda@aol.com

 

 

Republicans don't care if you have health insurance or not

By: David Phillips

August 10, 2009

Yoda’s World

 

The Health Care industry in spending $1.4 million dollars per day on campaign contributions for politicians, lobbyists and attack ads to maintain the status quo, they like things just the way they are. They know that a public option for health care would create competition which would either force them to lower their premiums or lose customers.

 

Countless republican politicians have even said that a public option would force many of the insurance companies to go out of business. Last year the top seven health insurance companies made more than $250 billion dollars, I don’t think any of them will be going out of business any time soon.

 

Right now as you read this, thousands are being dropped by insurance companies for getting sick; millions of others are not even allowed to buy insurance because of pre-existing health issues. And it they are lucky to get insurance they are paying even higher extortion prices for their coverage than a healthy person in his mid 20’s.

 

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) recently said: last year more than a million people had to declare bankruptcy due to health issue’s because their insurance companies dropped them once they got sick, or only covered a small portion then dropped them from their subscriber rolls. Sanders went on to say that 20,000 people die every year because they can’t see a doctor in time and only have access to emergency rooms.

 

Fear tactics:

 

By now most of you have seen the “mobs” at town hall meetings being held by elected officials across the country now that the August recess has begun for Congress. What you may not know is that the mobs are only showing up at Democratic town hall meetings, and that several health care lobby groups have sent out guides on how to disrupt and rile Democratic House and Senate members. Fox News has a schedule (PDF) on their web site of dates, times and places of town halls being held across America. After being called out by the Main Stream Media (MSM) for only posting a list of Democratic town hall meetings Fox placed a listing of Republican meetings as well.

 

A few quotes on Health Care Reform from Republicans politicians who say the some of the craziest lies to keep you scared.

 

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.): “There are no Americans who don’t have healthcare. Everybody in this country has access to healthcare,” she said.

 

Former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK): "The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil," Palin wrote.

 

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) “If we're able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him," DeMint said.

 

RNC Chairman Michael Steele Huffington Post asked Steele whether he agreed with Sen. Jim DeMint's (R-S.C.) assessment that health care reform could be Obama's Waterloo -- a chance for the Republican Party to break the president politically. "I think that's a good way to put it," he responded.

 

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH): “This provision may start us down a treacherous path toward government-encouraged euthanasia if enacted into law,” said after looking at provisions for increased access to palliative care and end-of-life counseling in the new health care reform bill.

 

A few stats on health care in the United States

 

·         The United States is Ranked 1st on what it spends on per capita for health care.

 

·         The United States Health Care is Ranked 37^th in the world.

 

·         The United States is Ranked 24^th in a Healthy Life Expectancy (HALE)

 

The National Coalition on Health Care

 

In 2008, health care spending in the United States reached $2.4 trillion, and was projected to reach $3.1 trillion in 2012.1 Health care spending is projected to reach $4.3 trillion by 2016.

 

The last stat, is the most important stat, that is to say, it’s the most important stat for the Health Care industry, for American’s it just means millions more will no longer be able afford health insurance.

Rants and Raves

By: David Phillips

July 13, 2009

Yoda’s World

 

President Obama has just returned to the US after he visited Moscow for a mini summit with Putin and Medvedev, a visit with the Pope in Vatican City, and just finished off another round of talks with the G-8 in Italy focusing on Global Climate Change which was a big disappointment seeing as how both China and India two of the biggest polluters on the planet were not interested is slowing down carbon emissions.  

 

The only agreement President Obama was able to walk away with was a commitment by most of Europe to agree to “limit Global Warming to 3.6 degrees”.  3.6 degrees you got to wonder where they came up with that preverbal line in the sand number.

 

President Obama’s trip also included a stop in Ghana, Africa, which I found very cool in a symmetrical sort of way, kind of like he has completed a circle. I know may sound a little strange.

 

Last week Senator John Ensign admitted that his parents paid his mistress $96,000, a so called gift that was a payoff to keep her mouth shut and that of her husband. Ensign’s lawyers said that his parents were concerned for his mistress’s family welfare…yeah right.

 

We also have now learned that both Senator John Ensign and Governor Mark Sanford another adulterer are part of a Religious Cult with extreme ideals.

 

It turns out that both Ensign and Sanford along with other Republican politicians live together in a house that is called “C Street House” when they are in Washington DC.

 

From the Washington Post:

 

“The powerful and secretive group known as the Fellowship Foundation or the “Family” is quickly gaining notoriety, due to its links to two scandal-plagued Republicans, Senator John Ensign of Nevada and Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina.”

 

“According to the Washington Post, however, the Fellowship Foundation is itself linked to an even more secretive religious organization — Youth With a Mission (YWAM), whose Washington, DC branch owns the “C Street House” where Ensign has lived and where Sanford has participated in Bible study.”

 

“A diarist at Daily Kos points out that “YWAM founder leader Loren Cunningham has publicly outlined a vision for Christian world-control,” which involves establishing domination over government, education, business, the media, and other areas.”

 

You can read the entire Washington Post story here as well as learn more about the religious cult that has control of some of the most powerful Republican politicians in our country.

 

The Senate confirmation hearings for President Obama’s nomination, Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court Justice, begins today, the GOP plans on attacking her for a comment she made in 2001 where she said a “wise Latina Women” might make better judicial decisions than a white man.

 

The Republican white men in the Senate have taken exception to that comment. They are calling it “reverse racism” which is something they invented about how white people in this country have been beaten down by minorities. They are not happy unless they have a focused talking point to rail against.

 

Sarah Palin who seeks out the Main Stream Media (MSM) to give interview after interview after interview since the election last, complains that the Media is mean to her, makes her look bad and that they give her too much coverage, even though it is Palin who originates the News or the Press conference. Greta van Susteren and Sean Hannity and the rest of the Fox smear and spin machine gave a love fest of Palin highlights after her resignation while whining about how MSM treats her.

 

Next stop for Palin, Fox News Channel with her own show, she is certainly qualified for that, in fact she would fit right in, like a clove on a hand, like two peas in a pod, like twins, like Nirvana. A match made in GOP’er heaven.

 

Last year, when Hillary Clinton was complaining about all the media pouncing on her, Sarah Palin took to the air waves, winked, and then said: Hillary Clinton "whine's too much about the Media coverage".

 

Sarah could not handle the heat, so she left the kitchen and did what I would have done - Go Fishing!  But I prefer the warmer climates for fishing.

 

But she still continues to give interviews even while fishing. Hell, in most of the interviews she recently had given over the last few days, Palin complained that she is getting too much bad press by MSM, to the MSM press who she granted interviews...Talk about a self fulfilling Prophecy.

 

And finally, 350 health care lobbyists have descended upon Washington DC to make sure that Health Care Reform never happens.

Gov. Jim Gibbons of Nevada Breaks Veto Record Set 140 years ago

By: David Phillips

June 8, 2009

Yoda’s World

 

Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-NV) vetoed 31 Bills during the current Legislature session, setting a State record for vetoes in a single legislative session which was set more than 140 years ago.

 

The previous record of 30 vetoes was set by former Gov. Henry Blasdel in the state's very first legislative session, in 1864-65, according to the Legislative Counsel Bureau.

 

Gibbons who will be facing a tuff re-election next year even from his own Party who have shown little support for him due to all the scandals that have plagued the Governor during his first term in office, all of which have been played out in public, including his womanizing, his divorce and his federal investigation of pay to play while he was a member of the House of Representatives.

 

The Nevada GOP has been hinting that they will be supporting former Nevada State Senator Bob Beers.

 

So far the Nevada Democrats have not announced who they may be backing for the 2010 Governor’s race, but the odds on favorite at the moment is Rory Reid, Clark County Commissioner and son of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

What do Governor’s Bobby Jindal (R-LA), Sarah Palin (R-AK) and Mark Sanford (R-SC) all have in common besides the Republican Party?

By: David Phillips

April 6, 2009

Yoda’s World

 

They all made headlines by railing against President Obama’s Stimulus Plan, they were hamming it up in front of the camera’s and on radio and to anyone who would listen, they all said that they would not accept parts of the money set aside for their respective States for programs such as Education, Unemployment, and the Disabled.

 

They said that their conservative principles could not allow them to take the money for the programs that would go to the most needed.

 

Well, they all now say that they will accept ALL of the money set aside for their States.

 

All three of these Governor’s have their eyes set on the Presidential election in 2012, and all three rail against every move by President Obama to turn the economy around. And all three repeat the same mantra of the GOP for cutting taxes for the rich and big corporations, as well as gutting Medicare and other Entitlement programs as the only way to recover from the economic meltdown.

 

There actually was a total of seven GOP Governor’s who said that they would not take parts of the stimulus package and they all have since recanted, but Jindal, Palin and Sanford are the ones who pounded their drums the loudest.

 

Anyhow, they have all shown that they have no principles by creating turmoil, that they are willing to put their own political careers ahead of those who put them in office, and the only reason why they flip flopped on their promise to not accept parts of the stimulus money is because it would be political suicide and end their political careers. Instead of trying to help solve the economic problems, they prefer to create more problems.