Is netework TV still a liberal bastion? Maybe not so much.

This Chart Shows Why Sunday Talk Shows Suck (Click on this heading to read more)

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Steve Benen of MSNBC figured out all the politicos who've been on serious grownup important Sunday political talk shows more than 10 times in 2013. His colored chart points out that they're nearly all Republicans. But it holds some other angry-making conclusions he didn't highlight.
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Benen tallied appearances on "Meet the Press," "Face the Nation," "This Week," "State of the Union," and "Fox News Sunday," concluding that "Sunday shows love Republicans... 10 of the top 13 [guests] are Republicans, as are six of the top seven."
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It's a data point, sure. But partisan headcounts mean more to Beltway "WIN THE DAY" scorekeepers than most home viewers. Here are some more telling insights from Benen's chart:
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There is precisely one woman on the list, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), who famously voted against enforcement of equal-pay laws for women because it would place a "lot of additional burdens" on "job creators."
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There are no men or women of color on the list, unless you count Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), whose father is Cuban, and who has attacked Democrats as "always willing to play the race card."
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The average age of the six men who top the list is nearly 66. Take the spry Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.; age 50) out of the equation, and the average goes up to 69.

Newt Gingrich hasn't held public office since 1999. And still he rises. And not because of his love of animals. This is proof that if God exists, He intends for you not to watch TV on Sunday mornings.

MSNBC struggles with its own demons

Olbermann Wonders If There Are 'Any Adults In Charge' At Old Employer MSNBC (Click on this heading to read more)

Tom Kludt - December 31, 2013, 11:19 AM EST21393
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After a month that saw two MSNBC hosts leave the channel following incendiary remarks and another apologize for a heavily criticized segment, Keith Olbermann can't help but wonder who's in charge at his former employer.
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Olbermann was reacting Tuesday to an apology from MSNBC commentator Melissa Harris-Perry over a segment that mocked Mitt Romney's adopted black grandson, Kieran.
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"Any adults in charge over there?" Olbermann tweeted.
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When one of his Twitter followers argued that the "GOP only likes freedom of speech when it applies to them," Olbermann, who became a hero to liberals and an enemy to conservatives during his time at MSNBC, stood by his criticism.
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"Not the point. You can have your standards, or their standards," he responded.

Just a thought on the church

Are we "proud of ourselves?"

Soaring number of elderly U.S. women live in extreme poverty (Click on this heading to read more)

By David Ferguson
Saturday, September 28, 2013 13:14 EST

According to the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), the number of elderly U.S. women who live in extreme poverty has spiked abruptly since the previous year. Think Progress reported that a study by the NWLC showed an 18 percent increase in the population of women over 65 who are living on less than $5,500 per year.
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According to the study, in 2012, 135,000 more elder women were living in extreme poverty than in 2011, raising the national number to 733,000. Alan Pyke at Think Progress wrote, “Put another way, there are more elderly women living on $15 per day than there are residents of Detroit, Michigan.”
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Study author Kate Gallagher Robbins of NWLC told NBC News, ““The cause has to be something that hits elderly individuals particularly hard. We also know that poverty for elderly men and women was statistically unchanged so we are talking about a group of individuals who went from being poor to extremely poor.”
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Possible causes include the decline of the private pension system, and Gallagher said, “One factor might becuts in recent years to Social Security Administration funding which may be making applications for [Supplemental Security Income] more difficult.”

The U.S. on a steep decline for all but the most wealthy.

Government policies

One of the great ironies of the current conservative movement within the Republican party is that they don't really mean it. ANYONE who has pursued history with any sort of objective eye KNOWS that the GOP screams about austerity and deficits and what-all when they are OUT of office, but once they get control of the government, they literally rape the Federal Government for its resources and any personal advantage they can get for themselves. They claim to hate government, but when they control it, they treat it as a personal asset of their own.

As recent evidence, one need only look to the George W Bush era and the destruction levied on the U.S. government as taxes were cut for the wealthy, laws were changed to reward their rich banker friends, and two wars were launched to fatten the coffers for their fat-cat friends in the defense industry, leaving the U.S. economy in shambles.

The moochers complain most about mooching

The truth about getting rich

America, our priorities are really screwed up

Free elections - somewhere

How will they reach God?

Christianity - which end of the spectrum represents their God?

Shooting report

A new year - will this be the year we gain some sanity about gun control? For some reason, I remain unconvinced.

Gun control - when insanity is in charge

People without a voice pay the biggest penalty - maybe with their lives.

5 Million Uninsured Because They Live in GOP States (Click on this heading to read more)

Marc Levy

Tuesday, December 31, 2013, 11:24 am

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — About 5 million people will be without health care next year that they would have gotten simply if they lived somewhere else in America.
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They make up a coverage gap in President Barack Obama's signature health care law created by the domino effects of last year's Supreme Court ruling and states' subsequent policy decisions.
The court effectively left it up to states to decide whether to open Medicaid, the federal-state program for the poor and disabled, to more people, primarily poor working adults without children.

Haters gonna hate

Two repugican Senators are Blocking Al Franken’s Bill To Improve Mental Health Services (Click on this heading to read more)

Nacktman (noreply@blogger.com)

Saturday, December 28, 2013, 9:42 am

Two wingnut senators are blocking a bipartisan mental health bill that would provide 40 ­million dollars to extend funding for mental health courts for five years, establish more crisis intervention teams to cooperate with law enforcement officers, and provide more extensive mental health screening for ­veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress. The Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Act, co-sponsored by Senator Al Franken (D-MN) and Representative Rich Nugent (r-FL), enjoys broad bi-partisan support. However, according to the Minneapolis Star & Tribune, an unnamed source reports that the legislation is being blocked from going to a floor vote by right-wing Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma.
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The Franken Bill would provide much needed mental health services and tools for police and the courts to address deficiencies in the nation’s mental health system. The legislation should be uncontroversial, but Mike Lee and Tom Coburn adhere dogmatically to an anti-government ideology that would even deny combat veterans and others suffering from mental illness, access to critical services. Franken’s bill has 15 repugican co-sponsors in the US House and 13 in the US Senate, but Coburn and Lee still insist on stalling the legislation. Senate repugican sponsors include staunch wingnuts like Mike Enzi (WY), Pat Roberts (KS), Orrin Hatch (UT), Chuck Grassly (IA) and Roy Blunt (MO), as well as more moderate repugican Senators, including Susan Collins (ME), Rob Portman (OH) and Kelly Ayotte (NH).
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Wingnuts who oppose gun control often argue that instead we need to do something about mentally ill people who become killers, yet when given the opportunity to approve of expanding mental services, wingnut lawmakers like Lee and Coburn refuse to fulfill their obligation to do so. Mike Lee is a repeat offender. The Utah Senator joined Senator Rand Paul (r-KY) in April by refusing to reauthorize and improve federal programs related to mental health and substance use disorders.

Soup Nazi in Republican form

It's difficult to be taken seriously when you don't know fact from friction

Imagine THAT!

It's a good poster, but I am pro-Democrat

The GOP could stand to find some better candidates

We still have resources left

For now, at least, this is true...

Happy New Year