Big Tent Democrat:
[There] is a dkos diary that really exemplifies the transformation of the once Left blogosphere into the Democratic blogosphere. It riffs off of quintessential Beltway insider Al Hunt’s article that equates Left wing criticism of President Obama with the irrational teabagger hate…
This is the “Left” celebrating the triumph of triangulation. This is actually, as Professor Darren Hutchinson pointed out last December, very unpragmatic:…
Progressive movements have never achieved their goals by peacefully acquiescing to the will of politicians.
I tried to tell this in 2008 to the people who decided to vote for Obama without demanding anything of him.
Unfortunately, we all get what they deserve.
ProPublica:
President Obama’s push for electronic medical records has faced resistance from those who question whether health information technology systems can protect patient privacy.
So last week, the U.S Department of Health and Human Services hired a public relations firm to try to win consumer trust.
The irony? The firm chosen for the job — Ketchum Inc. — was hip-deep in controversy a few years ago for producing a series of fake TV news stories that violated a federal ban on propaganda. The company also drew fire for channeling taxpayer funds to a conservative pundit to promote the Bush administration’s education policies.
New York Times:
The Obama administration is proposing to open vast expanses of water along the Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the north coast of Alaska to oil and natural gas drilling, much of it for the first time, officials said Tuesday…
[W]hile Mr. Obama has staked out middle ground on other environmental matters — supporting nuclear power, for example — the sheer breadth of the offshore drilling decision will take some of his supporters aback…
[E]ven as Mr. Obama curries favors with pro-drilling interests, he risks a backlash from some coastal governors, senators and environmental advocates, who say that the relatively small amounts of oil to be gained in the offshore areas are not worth the environmental risks.
The Obama administration’s plan adopts some drilling proposals floated by President George W. Bush near the end of his tenure.
. . . when voters thought they were electing a Democrat?
Obama is like Bush in more ways than one. He seems to love offending everybody.
Chocolate ‘can cut blood pressure and help heart’
Man’s Best Friend Helps Mend Broken Hearts
The Aging Brain Is Less Quick, But More Shrewd.
Massage may help lift depression
Plus lots more.
The Caucus, New York Times:
President Obama signed legislation Tuesday to expand college access for millions of young Americans by revamping the federal student loan program…
The new law will eliminate fees paid to private banks to act as intermediaries in providing loans to college students [resulting in] nearly $68 billion in savings over 11 years…
“For almost two decades, we’ve been trying to fix a sweetheart deal in federal law that essentially gave billions of dollars to banks,” [Mr. Obama] said. He said the money “was spent padding student lenders’ pockets.”
But we should continue padding insurance companies’ pockets? What’s the difference, Mr. Obama?
Reuters:
Most Americans: “Tax the rich but not me”
Most Americans believe tax hikes are OK if you’re making more than $250,000, a policy proposed by President Barack Obama, but hands off Medicare and Social Security, a poll released on Monday found.
Yes, the rich benefit disproportionately from governmental services, and they should therefore pay taxes disproportionately.
Think Progress:
Sanders: ‘I Do Not Want To See A Global Warming Bill Become A Bonanza For The Coal Industry’
Yeah, well, Bernie, I didn’t want to see a health care bill become a bonanza for the health insurance industry, but it did.
With your help, I’m sad to say.
Political Wire:
The Daily Beast looks at 58 scandals over the past 20 years involving politicians and concludes Republicans have more scandals (32 to 26), but Democrats have bigger ones, based on our methodology (13 out of the top 20).
Democrats tend to have more problems with harassment, staffers and underage girls while Republicans tend to have more problems with prostitutes, hypocrisy and underage boys.
The Democratic scandals are “bigger” because they get greater coverage from the so-called mainstream media, who are well paid to be quiet about Republican scandals and hype Democratic ones.
Officials See Uptick in H1N1 Swine Flu Cases
Fibromyalgia Symptoms Improved by Physical Activity
Massage may help lower-back pain
Some Herbal Medicines Extend Life in Worms
Plus lots more.
Think Progress:
Health insurance CEOs conspire to blame Democrats for increasing premiums.
Anyone who doesn’t drink the Democratic leadership’s kool-aide.
Chris Hedges at Truthdig:
The Democrats and their liberal apologists are so oblivious to the profound personal and economic despair sweeping through this country that they think offering unemployed people the right to keep their unemployed children on their nonexistent health care policies is a step forward. They think that passing a jobs bill that will give tax credits to corporations is a rational response to an unemployment rate that is, in real terms, close to 20 percent. They think that making ordinary Americans, one in eight of whom depends on food stamps to eat, fork over trillions in taxpayer dollars to pay for the crimes of Wall Street and war is acceptable…
The longer we appeal to the Democrats, who are servants of corporate interests, the more stupid and ineffectual we become. Sixty-one percent of Americans believe the country is in decline, according to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, and they are right. Only 25 percent of those polled said the government can be trusted to protect the interests of the American people. If we do not embrace this outrage and distrust as our own it will be expressed through a terrifying right-wing backlash…
We are bound to a party that has betrayed every principle we claim to espouse, from universal health care to an end to our permanent war economy, to a demand for quality and affordable public education, to a concern for the jobs of the working class. And the hatred expressed within right-wing movements for the college-educated elite, who created or at least did nothing to halt the financial debacle, is not misplaced. Our educated elite, wallowing in self-righteousness, wasted its time in the boutique activism of political correctness as tens of millions of workers lost their jobs. The shouting of racist and bigoted words at black and gay members of Congress, the spitting on a black member of the House, the tossing of bricks through the windows of legislators’ offices, are part of the language of rebellion. It is as much a revolt against the educated elite as it is against the government. The blame lies with us. We created the monster.
Political Wire:
The Hill notes that the new Washington Post/ABC News poll finds that 72% of registered voters disapprove of the job Congress is doing — the highest it’s been since the week before the historic 1994 election that swept Democrats out of power.
By Norman Solomon
President Obama has taken a further plunge into the kind of war abyss that consumed predecessors named Johnson, Nixon and Bush.
On Sunday, during his first presidential trip to Afghanistan, Obama stood before thousands of American troops to proclaim the sanctity of the war effort. He played the role deftly — a commander in chief, rallying the troops — while wearing a bomber jacket.
There was something candidly macabre about the decision to wear that leather jacket, adorned with an American Eagle and the words “Air Force One.” The man in the bomber jacket doesn’t press the buttons that fire the missiles and drop the warheads, but he gives the orders that make it all possible.
(more…)
. . . for wearing an Air Force One military-style jacket?
Lunch Is a Battlefield
Junk Food ‘Addiction’ May Be Real
Use This Bread Spread to Lower LDL
The Exercise That’s Best for Blood Sugar
Plus lots more.
Some Allergy Sufferers Can Skip the Sneezing Season
Doctors’ Thoughts on Cutting Health Care Costs
Hand and Feet Massages Provide Consolation
Raw foods help control weight
Plus lots more.
http://www.manyyearsyoung.com/search?updated-max=2010-03-28T01:00:00-23:00&max-results=20
Los Angeles Times:
Here’s a closeup photo above of the Republican candidate for president who’s currently tied with President Obama for the 2012 White House race.
No one.
Or anyone.
A new CNN / Opinion Research Poll out this afternoon of 953 registered voters nationally finds Obama tied at 47% with any Republican candidate. Gee, if only Wendell Willkie was still around.
The same poll also finds a clear majority of Americans now believe that Obama is a one-term president.
So much for the New Coalition of Democrats.
Big Smiles, Longer Lives?
Heavy Daily Drinking Linked to Worse Health
Spoiler Alert: TV Medical Dramas ‘Rife’ With Bioethical Issues and Breaches of Professional Conduct
Farming reform needed to end hunger without obesity
Plus lots more.
Chronic Disease Linked to Less Internet Usage
Breathe easy: A natural fruit compound may help asthma
6 Foods for a Hot Bod
A healthy diet may trim breast cancer risk
Plus lots more.
