Leftover Metrocard Change Infuriates Some
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Obama photo AP/Jason Reed; hecklin' Joe Wilson courtesy AP/The Washington Post, Melina Mara
President Obama has accepted a South Carolina Republican's apology for shouting, "You lie!" during his health care reform speech to Congress last night. Speaking to reporters after his Cabinet meeting today, Obama said that Wilson apologized "quickly and without equivocation," adding, "We all make mistakes." But we don't all have to be such assholes! If a Democrat had disrupted President Bush during one of his speeches to Congress—when he actually was, you know, lying—the GOP would have probably had the heckler hung for treason.
Ohhhbama, always taking the high road! If we were in his shoes, we'd have told Wilson to go play in traffic—but maybe that's why Obama's president and we're blogging about celebrity teeth. Anyway, our reaction to the outburst (video) was apparently not dissimilar to First Lady Michelle Obama, who was seated behind and above Wilson. According to one witness, "she seemed to mouth a drawn-out 'damn' at the scene unfolding before her."
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We need Rahm on their asses. I mean, come on--you can't just accept the apology and roll over and expect them to change their behavior. Send Rahm out to roll heads if you're too weak to do it yourself.
Rahm should have typed a snarky response into the teleprompter so Obama could have addressed it in real time.
i've never really understood the wingnut take on Obama's teleprompters. it's like you jackoffs never noticed anyone else using them. do tell darling.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SOU2007.jpg
Funny, I've never understood why so many Democrats automatically label any questioning of Obama's actions as the work of "wingnuts."
Anyway, no one has ever used them as extensively as Obama. The reason it's so much is because he often uses them at events which are traditionally meant to be off-the-cuff.
where are you getting your information from when you make claims like "no one has ever used them as extensively as Obama"?
and by bringing up the ol' teleprompter bullshit you are merely trying to obfuscate the fact that an idiotic off-the-cuff remark gets a fellow wingnut in hot water. nothing to see here folks, move it along...
Even the press has called him out for it. Are they all wingnutters too?
source? obviously it's the side of your neck.
The press has not 'called him out'. They have reported the criticisms from the right (or others who wish to distract).
Rahm should have typed a snarky response into the teleprompter so Obama could have addressed it in real time.
Rahm Emanuel, the president’s chief of staff, reportedly approached two senior Republicans immediately after the speech and said: “No president has ever had that happen. Ever. My advice is that he apologize immediately. You know my number.”
Certainly within the last 30-40 years.
In any case, it was incredibly inappropriate.
I suppose my point was more that sending Rahm out to demand an apology, then simply accepting that apology, isn't enough. It's kind of a pattern I've noticed, the whole they-can-spout-utter-nonsense-with-no-repercussions thing, and I would encourage the Obama administration to try to effect some change, though I know it's asking far too much for some of these people (of both parties, mind you) to think before opening the mouth.
"If a Democrat had disrupted President Bush during one of his speeches to Congress—when he actually was, you know, lying—the GOP would have probably had the heckler hung for treason."
Get serious, silly partisan: shall I invite you to the next PETA, anti-Prop 8, Chavez birthday party? A den of fools: both the Right and the Left.
I seem to recall a fair amount of booing during Bush's last state of the union, yet no hangings.
Silly you, thats because the democrats were boring! Get with the pogrom (sic)!
South Carolina, that bastion of good will and family values. They should all go eat the barrel of a Remington.
No shit. There's Gov. Sanford and now this guy. Do people in S.C. need an adult to accompany them in the voting booth?
You aren't kidding. I had to misfortune to spend a few months there once, and truly came to understand why no one in the state believes in evolution. (In South Carolina, there's no evidence of it.)
I don't care where you fall on the political spectrum -- anyone who has lived in SC knows the true meaning of clownshit crazy.
"If a Democrat had disrupted President Bush during one of his speeches to Congress..."
Flashback: Democrats Boo Bush At 2005 State Of The Union Address
And unlike Bush, Obama actually was lying. Illegals will get into the program and he knows it. He said that people who are here illegally would not be able to take part in the newly proposed Government Healthcare System. That is a lie -- H.R. 3200 does not require citizenship verification for participation in the program. There is one line titled No Federal Payments For Undocumented Aliens, but it provides no provisions for enforcing it. Republicans have tried to get citizenship verification added to the bill and the Democrats block it each time.
If they really mean to prevent enrollment by illegal aliens then why not add the citizenship verification clause? The way they're playing it they can say one thing while doing another. It's a disgrace. It's like saying pot is illegal, then disbanding the DEA and providing no money or manpower to enforce the no-pot law.
But don't worry. I'm sure Rahm will send Wilson a dead fish. He's classy like that.
"And unlike Bush, Obama actually was lying."
riiiiiiiiight...
dude you are zig-zagging like a drunk on skates and you've gotta stop getting your info from chain emails.
http://www.factcheck.org/2009/08/twenty-six-lies-about-hr-3200/
The Office of the Presidency should be respected either way. Both were wrong and outrage in both cases is an appropriate response. Neither situation reflects well on the Congress. It simply further escalates a puerile atmosphere in American politics that weakens the Union.
Regarding the verification clause, he was not lying. While you raise a valid concern, it is entirely possible that the POTUS is not trying to distract from this bill with issues more appropriate to immigration reform legislation. I know that members of the GOP are looking to find ways of slowing down or killing the legislation as drafted but this approach looks more obstructionist than based in legitimate concerns.
Further, absent full-scale immigration reform, how does one verify U.S. citizenship without adding extra layers of bureaucracy to the processes? We have no National ID card (which would surely raise the hackles of any civil libertarian.)
I'm genuinely asking because I'd like to know.
robingee: great retort.
hotstepper: (dude) the fact is I have received no such chain email referring to this. I get my information from verifiable news sources and I went and looked up the bill myself and found the particular section I was talking about. That said, your factcheck.org link mimics exactly what I said: the bill states that illegals are not eligible for federal care, but there's nothing in there to enforce it. Another example: it's like saying the drinking age is 21, then never enforcing it.
Anna: I agree with you. Whether or not I like or agree with Obama or not, I do believe the Office should be respected, especially in a formal setting such as an address to Congress. Wilson was out of line. As to citizenship verification I can think immediately of the process I recently went through getting a driver's license in a new state. I was required to show, among other things, a certified copy of my birth certificate and my most recent tax return. I couldn't just walk in and say, "Trust me! I live here!" I had to prove it. If they had at least that much in the House Bill it would go a long way to preventing abuse, although I am as loathe as you appear to be at creating any extra layers of bureaucracy.
I think if we want real health care (insurance) reform in this country the Democrats need to stop kowtowing to the Trial Lawyers and back serious Tort Reform, thus lowering the cost for doctors and hospitals just to do business. Also, get rid of interstate health insurance regulations. Let health insurance companies insure anyone in any state and that will really get competition going. Each of these things will do more to lower the cost of health insurance (and make it more widely available) than simply pumping tax dollars into government benefits, ballooning the deficit by another trillion.
semantics. do you have insurance? most insurers require your social security number, current address, employer id number, first-born son, etc. before trickling any benefits your way. perhaps you're suggesting a federal Insurance Enforcement Agency be set up? but that would run counter to the small gov't credo of the anti-obamacare zealots.
health care should not be a for-profit industry.
"robingee: great retort."
Great post.
Tort reform is a very small drop in a very big bucket. The real problem is as hotstepper stated: PROFIT MOTIVE.
Nataline Sarkisyan was 17-years-old when she died after CIGNA refused to pay for a liver transplant her doctors said could save her life. That was 2007.
This year the CEO of CIGNA at the time will retire with a $73 million golden parachute. That's more than enough to cover over 250 liver transplants. That doesn't count his compensation prior to his retirement either.
This shouldn't happen. It should be illegal.
Nope, you're wrong:
See Here.
"No Federal Payment for Undocumented Aliens."
HR 3200, Page 143, Lines 3 to 7:
SEC. 246. NO FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS.
Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.
You can go fuck yourself now.
only a fool would argue that booing is equivalent to impugning the character of the president by calling him a liar. only fools would defend misconduct by pointing to the misconduct of others. take some fucking responsibility.
fools are all that's left of the republican party though. who raised these motherfuckers? wolves?
If by "wolves" you mean Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, and FOX News, then yes.
Yes, the Democratic class over the past 8 years was astounding and impressive. Every day I was blown away by the classy disagreements that were had with the Bush Administration. He was never called a terrorist, the "mastermind of 9/11" (while also being called retarded), a racist, nope, never heard any of that stuff. Whose fault was Katrina? I still don't know. It's not like Bush was blamed.
You have no argument - shut up already or at least let me get all my digs in the way you had yours. When I call Obama half the shit that Bush was called feel free to speak then. But really, talking about class? Look up the word, you have none.
re: Katrina
yeah, hiring the guy to fix it is totally the same as causing it. Nice try #fail.
Are you fucking serious? Please show me ONE example of ANYONE claiming Bush actually summed the meteorological phenomenon itself. You are seriously demented, you need help. It was Bush's response, or lack thereof, that was deemed criminally negligent and motivated by racist disregard for the people of New Orleans. But you know that. You're just pathologically dishonest and willfully stupid, perfectly representative of your political affiliation. Anf just a plain old asshole.
I also steal from charities, spray paint swastikas on synagogues, eat babies, kick puppies and skin Hispanics (but only on Tuesdays).
oh, but I'm also not enough of a piece of crap to call William Ayers, Van Jones or Reverend Wright my friends so please, you seem like a smart guy and a great judge of character, feel free to make your assumptions about me.
LOL that's all you've got? Truly pathetic. Still waiting for you to back up your claim about Bush being accused of having the supernatural power to conjure up hurricanes.
Ask Kanye. Ask the Mayor of New Orleans.
I can't answer your question because I'm not a delusional crackpot like you and other paranoid schizophrenics. Now put the final touches on your tin hat. I'm done with you.
Please show me the quotes of Kanye West and Mayor Nagin stating that Bush used his magical powers to create a hurricane. You despicable liar.
great headline for this post.
We love Michelle.
benefits has been cut to legal aliens so definitely they're gone for illegal aliens. the term they're using is are they covered? of course illegal aliens are not covered for anything. will they get care in the ER? Yes, they will.
they will then get a bill for services rendered. same with anyone who doesn't have health insurance.
a green card grants you little benefits if you haven't paid into the system with the minimum about of working quarters.
another poster here or elsewhere mentioned Tort Reform is a red herring. how texas has tort reform and healthcare costs has not gone down.
No wonder Congress has a Democrat majority, Conservative right-wingers keep doing stupid things making it easy for voters to vote for Democrats. Joe Wilson's opponent in South Carolina made over 400,000k in donations overnight http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/19079 for the next election.
Bully for Wilson. Now what about the other booing, hissing, teabag-licking deathers who were sitting around him. What about the douchey poseur with the "What Bill?" sign on his lap?
It's time for the Dems to flex their muscles, they've got enough votes to do it. To hell with the GOP let them shrivel to nothing, let's do what we've got to do.
the status quo of the corrupts supported by the dumb will be difficult to change. Of course Obama has crested such discomfort! They won't let anything happen that easily, specially when having to give from their part of the cake for anything with actual social relevance.
Finally someone with the galls to call Obama what he his. A goddamn liar.
Does anyone remember his ad campaign? Or did you just vote for him because he was a democrat? No? Then you must've voted for him because he was black.
If you do remember what he promised, then you'll know that he hasn't done a thing. Obamama has stayed the course.
Patience grasshopper. Healthcare is tops on the list. Don't ask don't tell, guantanamo, Iraq, the handouts to the rich, cap and trade, and war crimes prosecutions are all coming up next. And it's gonna be great.
I hope you're not saying this 3 years from, SP. But I'm afraid you will be.
Three years from now Obama willbe trouncing the GOP inhis reelection, and hopefully a whole bunch of crminals from the Bush admin will be rotting in jail.
Will have trounced*
You know he can't actually do anything unless Congress first passes bills to do stuff, right?
There's a process to this...but Congress is so screwed up. Democrats can't agree on anything and are retards, and the Republicans have shoved their guns so far up their asses that it's torn through their organs and fucked up their brains.
Alas Americans are so in tune with hearing garbage that they've just totally honed in on the drivel that's coming out of modern (idiot) conservatives.
re: willful stupidity and pathological dishonesty, Keith Olberman nails it yet again.
The GOP rhetoric is full of this "quasi- truths" built in the most simplistic understanding of events, leaving half of what matters behind.
Birthers of a Nation: The Addison ("Joe") Wilson Story
Here's to that Southern fried fool,
Who's Big Pharma's favorite tool!
He rather suck cock,
Or serve in Iraq,
Than drink 'Bama's Aid of the Kool.