She's INSANE!!!

This is from today's Progress Report ... I think Michele Bachmann says crazy shit just to get her face on TV:

RADICAL RIGHT -- REP. BACHMANN FEARS CENSUS WILL BE USED TO PUT AMERICANS IN INTERNMENT CAMPS: On Fox News yesterday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) reiterated her intention to break the law by refusing to complete the 2010 Census. Playing prominently in Bachmann's fear-mongering about the Census is her misguided belief that the community organizing group ACORN is helping to collect Census data. In fact, ACORN will not have any role in collecting Census responses. ACORN is simply one of thousands of partners who have agreed to help promote the fact that the Census bureau will soon have many job openings. Bachmann also suggested yesterday that the government could use the Census data for nefarious purposes -- including the imprisonment of Americans in internment camps. She claimed that the Census information collected between 1942 and 1947 was "handed over to the FBI and other organizations, at the request of President Roosevelt, and that's how the Japanese were rounded up and put into the internment camps." She then suggested that this might happen again. But while Bachmann's concerns about the data collected by the Census appear to be new, the questions that she is concerned with are not. Indeed, Census questions on race have been asked since 1790; home language since 1890; rent since 1880; income since 1940; and how Americans heat their homes since 1940. Moreover, as a former tax attorney, Bachmann ought to recognize that many of the Census questions that she considers invasive overlap with information that Americans give to IRS every year when filing their taxes.

BASTARDS!!!

This is from today's Progress Report ... AGAINST ABORTION??? ... DON'T HAVE ONE!!!:

TERRORISM -- RIGHT-WING RADICALS CELEBRATE KILLING OF ABORTION DOCTOR: Yesterday, Dr. George Tiller, one of the last doctors who performed mid- to late-term abortions, was shot and killed "as he stood in the foyer of his church." The 51-year-old suspect, Scott Roeder, who is likely to be charged with murder and aggravated assault today, was reportedly a member of the anti-government "Freemen" group. In 2007, "someone posting to the website of the antiabortion group Operation Rescue used the name 'Scott Roeder'" and suggested organizing "as many people as possible to attend Tillers [sic] church (inside, not just outside)" and question his practices. While many pro-life groups were quick to denounce Tiller's murder, other right wingers were less concerned. "George Tiller was a mass-murderer. We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God," wrote Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry. Operation Save America's Rev. Rusty Thomas wrote, "He died the way he lived." Tiller has long been demonized by the mainstream conservative movement. "But there's no other person who bears as much responsibility for the characterization of Tiller as a savage on the loose, killing babies willy-nilly" as Fox News's Bill O'Reilly, writes Salon's Gabriel Winant. Since O'Reilly first denounced Tiller on air in 2005, O'Reilly and his guests have discussed the doctor on more than 28 episodes. "Almost invariably," Winant notes, "Tiller is described as 'Tiller the Baby Killer.'" (Watch a compilation of O'Reilly's attacks here.) Laura Ingraham compared Tiller to Hitler. RH Reality Check reminds readers that six abortion providers and clinic staff were murdered during President Clinton's two terms and links the killings to the dangerous, escalating rhetoric of the far right.

Honor Vets!!!

Obama sure does like Vets a lot more than Bush did ... This is from today's Progress Report:

MILITARY
Honoring America's Veterans

Yesterday President Obama observed Memorial Day in the tradition of sitting U.S. presidents, by placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery just outside Washington, D.C. Before the ceremony, a number of university professors petitioned the White House, urging Obama "to end a longstanding practice of sending a wreath to a monument to Confederate soldiers on the cemetery grounds." Despite their call to "break this chain of racism," Obama continued the Confederate monument wreath-laying tradition. But he may have started a new one, sending a second wreath to the African American Civil War Memorial honoring more than 200,000 blacks who fought for the North. Speaking before more than 4,000 veterans and family members at the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater, Obama paid tribute to the nation's fallen in his first Memorial Day address as commander-in-chief. "I cannot know what it is like to walk into battle," he said. "I'm the father of two young girls -- but I can't imagine what it's like to lose a child. These are things I cannot know. But I do know this: I am humbled to be the commander in chief of the finest fighting force in the history of the world." Speaking of those who chose to serve and those who made the ultimate sacrifice, Obama said, "They answered a call; they said 'I'll go.' That is why they are the best of America, and that is what separates them from those of us who have not served in uniform -- their extraordinary willingness to risk their lives for people they never met."

'WE HAVE FAILED' TO SUPPORT OUR VETS: In his weekly address, Obama acknowledged that "we, as a nation, have failed to live up" to "the responsibility" of serving America's veterans "as well as they serve all of us." "We have failed to give them the support they need or pay them the respect they deserve," he said, adding, "That is a betrayal of the sacred trust that America has with all who wear -- and all who have worn -- the proud uniform of our country...and that is a sacred trust I am committed to keeping as President of the United States." Indeed, according to a recent Center for American Progress (CAP) analysis, "many men and women who have served our country...are still in need of services to improve their quality of life -- before, during, and after deployments." Almost one in five Iraq and Afghanistan vets experience symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and yet only 53 percent of those suffering from PTSD or major depression have seen a physician. Attempted suicide and substance abuse rates among veterans have skyrocketed since 2003. More than 150,000 vets were homeless on any given night in 2007, with nearly 300,000 being homeless at some point during that year. Moreover, vets make up one-third of homeless Americans, even though only one-tenth of all adults are veterans. The economic downturn has hit vets hard as well. The CAP analysis notes that "foreclosure rates in military towns were increasing at four times the national average" last year. Additionally, "more than 75 percent of veterans report 'an inability to effectively translate their military skills to civilian terms.'"

A RENEWED COMMITMENT: During his Senate hearing to become Veterans Affairs Department Secretary last January, retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki pledged to transform the department into a "21st-century organization" that meets the needs of a growing population of wounded veterans. "My message would be this: Treat our veterans with respect and dignity," Shinseki said. "They're not here begging for a handout," he added. Earlier this month, the Obama administration announced the VA's 2010 budget, which increases spending by 15.5 percent over 2009, "the largest percentage increase for VA requested by a president in more than 30 years." The centerpiece of the proposal is an 11 percent increase in funding for veterans' health care. Just last week, Shinseki announced a plan to provide $215 million "in competitive funding to improve [medical] services specifically designed for Veterans in rural and highly rural areas." Also last week, Shinseki addressed the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans national conference and announced that the VA is creating a national center on homelessness among veterans. "We have a moral duty to prevent and eliminate homelessness among Veterans," he said.

SECTION 60: In his address yesterday, Obama reminded Americans of the servicemen and women who have fallen in the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. "A quarter of a million marble headstones dot these rolling hills in perfect military order, worthy of the dignity of those who rest here," he said. "Today, some of those stones are found at the bottom of this hill in Section 60, where the fallen from Iraq and Afghanistan rest. The wounds of war are fresh in Section 60. A steady stream of visitors leaves reminders of life: photos, teddy bears, favorite magazines. Friends place small stones as a sign they stopped by. Combat units leave bottles of beer or stamp cigarettes into the ground as a salute to those they rode in battle with. Perfect strangers visit in their free time, compelled to tend to these heroes, to leave flowers, to read poetry -- to make sure they don't get lonely." "[I]t doesn't take being Commander-in-Chief to honor the fallen," Iran and Afghanistan Veterans of America Paul Rieckhoff said yesterday, adding, "This Memorial Day, I hope you add your own words of remembrance for the brave men and women that have heroically served this nation, and perished on the battlefield. It is the duty of every American to ensure that they are never forgotten."

Well Said!!!

This is a great opening sentence to Graydon Carter's Editor's Letter in the June Vanity Fair:

It can fairly be said that the chain of catastrophic bets made over the past decade by a few hundred bankers may well turn out to be the greatest nonviolent crime against humanity in history.

Limbaugh = ASSHOLE!!!

This is from today's Progress Report ... why do people listen to this clown ... I read that the average age of a Limbaugh listener is 67 years old ... how does he get adverising money for that demographic???:

RADICAL RIGHT -- LIMBAUGH MOCKS RECESSION DURING SPEECH TO WEALTHY RIGHT-WING DONORS: On Monday night, Rush Limbaugh came to Washington, D.C. to address the President's Club Dinner, a meeting of wealthy donors and supporters of the conservative Heritage Foundation. The audience included Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), as well as various millionaire Heritage Foundation trustees, like Thomas Saunders. After more or less reprising his radio show routine, Limbaugh went on to brag about his $400 million contract with Clear Channel Communications. As he continued to gloat about his program's success, Limbaugh mocked the idea that Americans are suffering. "I've never had financially a down year. There's supposedly a recession, but we've got -- what is this May? Back in February we already had 102 percent of 2008 overbooked for 2009. So I always believed that if we're going to have a recession, just don't participate," Limbaugh said. Limbaugh is no stranger to belittling the poor and dismissing the economic troubles of others. In March, Limbaugh scoffed at a question on homeless children, asking, "Would somebody tell me the last time you saw a kid sleeping under a bridge?" As Media Matters reported, even Limbaugh's employer Clear Channel is struggling under the weight of the recession. Already this year, Clear Channel has "shed nearly 3,000 employees, or 12 percent of its workforce." While Limbaugh jets around the country in his $54 million Gulfstream G550, laughing off the recession, does he realize that his own bloated contract is contributing to the rising unemployment rate?

100 Days of PROGRESS!!!

This is from today's Progress Report ... GOOD JOB Mr. President!!!:

ADMINISTRATION
Obama's 100 Days Of Progress

President Barack Obama took the oath of office on Jan. 21, 2009, with two broad mandates bestowed upon him by the American people: repair the mess that President Bush and his administration left behind after eight disastrous years in office, and enact a bold, progressive agenda that includes fixing our nation's health care system and seriously addressing global climate change. Obama went to work right away, pushing the "biggest, boldest countercyclical fiscal stimulus in American history" through Congress -- a $787 billion dollar measure that not only creates jobs but also provides investments in energy, transportation, education and health care. Obama also announced his intention to shift focus and resources away from Bush's misbegotten adventure in Iraq and refocus on Afghanistan, where the security situation is worse than it has been since the start of the U.S.-led war there in October 2001. Now, a series of recent public opinion polls shows that the American public not only overwhelmingly approves of the job Obama is doing as president, but they also believe the nation is heading in the right direction -- "the first time in years the nation has held such an optimistic view of its future." For example, a new ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 50 percent of Americans now say the country is on the right track (48 percent say the wrong track), compared with just 13 percent who had the same feeling last October (85 percent said the U.S. was heading in the wrong direction at that time). Indeed, in his first 100 days in office, Obama has received the support of the American public to implement the progressive agenda he campaigned on.

BREAK FROM BUSH: Shortly after taking office, Obama worked quickly to repair the damage done under Bush and has, in total, issued 29 executive decisions reversing Bush administration policy. On his first day as president, Obama signed an executive order mandating the closure of the Guantanamo Bay terror detainee prison camp within one year. The next day, he ordered military leaders to establish a plan for a responsible withdrawal from Iraq,and he signed executive orders ending CIA secret prisons and ending torture by requiring that all interrogations abide by the Army Field Manual. Obama put these first actions as president in simple terms. "We intend to win this fight" against terrorists, he said. But "we are going to win it on our own terms." On the domestic front, Obama reversed Bush's restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research in March, asserting that his administration would "make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology." In London at the G20 Summit and in other European capitals earlier this month, Obama reassured America's friends and allies that the United States would reengage the world as an equal partner. "We're starting to see some restoration of America's standing in the world," Obama said in London. " It is "very important for us to be able to forge partnerships as opposed to dictating solutions." As far as "dictating solutions," Obama also ditched Bush's "with us or against us" foreign policy mindset in dealing with America's allies and adversaries. Indicating his sincerity in reaching out to the Muslim world, Obama granted his first television interview as president to Dubai-based Al-Arabiya. "My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy," Obama said, adding, "We are offering a hand of friendship." Most significantly, Obama also opened the door to direct dialogue with Iran last month, sending the government and its people a "groundbreaking" "special message" on Nowruz, the start of the Persian New Year, in which he said the U.S. is seeking "engagement" with Iran "that is honest and grounded in mutual respect."

A PROGRESSIVE AGENDA: On Jan. 29, Obama signed his first major piece of legislation, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, an equal pay law making it easier for workers -- most of whom are women -- to initiate pay discrimination lawsuits. "We are upholding one of this nation's first principles: that we are all created equal and each deserve a chance to pursue our own version of happiness," Obama said at the bill's signing ceremony. Six days later, Obama signed a bill expanding publicly funded health insurance for children, known as SCHIP, legislation Bush had vetoed twice despite strong bipartisan support in Congress. The bill reduces the number of uninsured children by about half over the next four years and will "boost the number covered by the program to 11 million." "In a decent society, there are certain obligations that are not subject to trade offs or negotiation -- health care for our children is one of those obligations," Obama said. And just last week, the President signed a $5.7 billion national service bill championed by Sens. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) that "triples the size of the AmeriCorps service program over the next eight years and expands ways for students to earn money for college."

THE NEXT 100 DAYS AND BEYOND: Obama and Congress have yet to finalize legislation that would fully accomplish health care reform and solve our climate crisis, but these two major issues remain on the front-burner and have received significant attention in the administration's first 100 days. The economic recovery bill passed earlier this year contained key health care provisions that lead the way toward reform, including $19 billion for health care information technology to implement electronic health records and an agency to "conduct and support research that would assess the benefits of competing treatments," both of which aim to reduce future overall costs. Moreover, Obama's budget creates a "reserve fund" as a down payment to reform the health care system. The stimulus bill also provided a boost to a green economy. In what The New York Times called "the biggest energy bill in history," the Recovery Act provides $91 billion for clean energy investments. In a further indication that addressing climate change is a top priority for the Obama administration, the Environmental Protection Agency confirmed this month that greenhouse gas pollution endangers the health and welfare of the American public. The move finally complies with the Supreme Court's 2007 ruling -- ignored by Bush -- that such emissions should be regulated by the federal government under the Clean Air Act. Obama's budget contains key energy provisions that also aim to limit greenhouse gases and build a clean-energy economy, such as a mandatory cap on carbon emissions which is expected to raise hundreds of billions of dollars over the next ten years that will go toward clean energy development and tax credits for working Americans.

Radical Right???

Why do conservatives/resmugnicans/rethugnicans/republiCAN'TS HATE America so much??? ... this is from today's Progress Report:

RADICAL RIGHT
100 Days Of Opposition

Tomorrow marks the first 100 days of the Obama administration. Tomorrow's Progress Report item will highlight the past 100 days of progress. But today, we're focusing on how the conservatives have chosen to spend their first 100 days.

In the first 100 days of the Obama presidency, the country has been confronted by a myriad of challenges. President Obama has faced an inherited economic recession -- including widespread foreclosures, a banking system plagued by toxic assets, and mounting unemployment -- as well as two wars, international terrorism, global climate change, millions of Americans still without health care, piracy and now, the threat of a flu pandemic. But instead of engaging in a substantive policy debate with the President, conservatives have spent the past three months immersed in a radical transformation, lurching further to the right. Indeed, the brand of conservatism now in ascendancy embraces apocalyptic rhetoric, cheers on reflexive attacks on Obama, and fuels a steady drumbeat of conspiracy theories. With control of neither the White House nor Congress, conservatives have looked to hate radio talkers like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh for leadership. The new Republican Party chairman, Michael Steele, has also championed the fringe voices of the right wing while threatening to punish members of his party who make any attempts at bipartisanship. The single greatest achievement of the conservative movement thus far has been the staging of anti-Obama, anti-tax "tea party" protests, which were attended by over 100,000 people country-wide and quickly embraced by GOP leaders as the future of the party. The tea party protests, along with the near universal party-line votes opposing Obama's agenda items show how conservatives acting on Limbaugh's pre-Inauguration Day proclamation that he hopes Obama fails.

EMBRACING RADICALIZATION: While the mainstream of America is more and more progressive in its policy solutions, the Republican party appears intent on tapping into a darker undercurrent of right-wing rage that has proliferated since Obama's election. Public servants for the "loyal opposition" started using the rhetoric of armed opposition to Obama, such as Rep. Michele Bachmann's (R-MN) call for people to be "armed and dangerous" over Democratic energy proposals. But as the conservative lobbyist-orchestrated "tea parties" gained momentum, GOP lawmakers issued more brazen calls for violence. Appearing before throngs of anti-Obama protesters, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) called for "revolution," as he declared that the attendees were the patriots who would, quoting Thomas Jefferson, refresh the tree of liberty with the "blood of tyrants." During the tea party fervor, Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) called for assassinating Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D) over taxes. Speaking to reporters after a tea party, Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) suggested that his state may have to secede from the Union, a call then defended by former Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-TX). A Department of Homeland Security report on growing threats of right-wing domestic terrorism has become a rallying cry for conservatives, as members like Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) remarked to an audience, "Welcome, right-wing activists, is that what we are? Extremists, yeah, well I'm gonna get me a button." Going forward, House Republican leaders are now routinely stating that Obama's green economy proposals equate to a "declaration of war" on the country.

REFLEXIVE ATTACKS: Although conservatives and Republicans have made a point to tell the press they are focused on simply "putting forward positive alternatives," they have spent most of the first 100 days incessantly searching for ways to smear the president. Whether they are complaining about Obama's suit jacket policy, jabbing him about his use of a teleprompter, or ridiculing his wife for serving soup to the poor, conservatives have found no alleged fault too trivial. Exhibiting a certain form of creativity, they scoured Obama's trips abroad for evidence that he somehow hates America. To conservatives, Obama's brief bow to the Saudi King was proof that he is a "hillbillie," and the fact he shook hands with the Venezuelan President an example of his "shallowness." Obama's personalized gifts to the Queen of England were a sign of his apparent narcissism, according to conservatives, and when Obama spoke to the Turkish people on America's religious tolerance, he was -- in the eyes of Fox News pundits -- betraying the "Judeo-Christian ethic." The compulsive assaults on Obama have not only generated a cottage industry of newly-manufactured insults, but they have policy implications as well. Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) thought he could score political points by mocking spending on volcano monitoring programs, but a federally-funded monitoring system detected an eruption in Alaska a month later. As Republicans reflexively decried almost all spending programs in the Recovery Act as useless "pork," Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) employed the same political rationale to cut pandemic flu preparedness funds from the bill -- just months before the current swine flu pandemic threat.

NOT GROUNDED IN REALITY: In their quest to discredit Obama, conservatives have increasingly left the facts far behind. Playing upon myths forged during the presidential campaign, Republicans like Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and a chorus of talk radio hosts have spread the lie that Obama will "take away your gun." However, in the age of Obama, conspiracy theories have not been bound to only fringe members of Congress and right-wing radio. A bill aimed a preventing the creation of a "global currency" to replace the dollar -- a non-existent threat hyped by the right-wing echo chamber -- gained at least 30 GOP co-sponsors. The pattern has persisted on every major agenda item Obama has put forward. Republicans have falsely claimed that an MIT study showed that a cap on carbon pollution is a $3,100 light-switch tax. When the author explained the study actually found a $65 cost in 2015, conservatives declared the cost was then $3900. GOP talking points opposing Obama's Recovery Act were laden with accusations similarly made of whole cloth. For instance, Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) joined other Republican lawmakers in decrying a made-up high-speed train supposedly designed to run "straight from Disney[land] ... to the doorstep of the Moonlight Bunnyranch in Nevada." And during the first public debates over health reform, the conservative establishment converged to support a "report" by Hudson Fellow Betsy McCaughey that erroneously suggested that investments in comparativeness effectiveness investments would create a "new bureaucracy" to "monitor doctors."