Special Comment: A Cry for Help

Keith Olbermann gave a "Special Comment" today on healthcare and Sarah Palin's so called "death panels" that comes from the heart as it is based on the experiences of his father who has spent the last six months fighting for his life. A battle he may have now begun to lose.

The comment is about how Republicans, Tea Partiers and what he called "ghouls" are attempting to block at every turn any attempt to reform a system that simple doesn't work. Their goal is profit and the human aspect doesn't seem to matter. Ghoul is the right term for those that think that way for you can only be soulless and inhuman.

For me the whole healthcare thing has been an easy decision. I didn't need facts and figures, false claims of "socialism" or other nonsense. I just had to imagine what if it was me that couldn't afford care. Or my mom, my dad or other loved ones. What if, thanks to the behavior of insurance companies, I have to make a tough decision about their care and I have to factor in whether they can afford the treatment or not. Not will it improve their life, is it worth it for quality of life or myriad of other considerations but will it be covered by insurance and if not how to pay for it. That is the system we have now. That is the true death panels. That is the system the Republicans are fighting with everything they have to keep in place and nearly 50% of the country is fighting with them, may never having taken that step to imagine "what if it were me?". My god, how inhuman. How evil.

Tomorrow is a so-called Healthcare summit as the President, Democrats and Republicans try to come to a compromise on healthcare. It will fail because instead of a room full of people thinking "what is best for Americans", they instead will think "what is best for my corporate sponsors." It isn't an issue of how this summit will be sabotaged, just an issue of how the Republicans will claim to have been victimized during it resulting in their continued and determined desire to say no to anything that is corporate first.

It is time that Americans, both on the right and the left, stop accepting that from them. The Democrats need to grow a pair and act instead of cowering at every Republican stalling tactic and it’s time for Republicans to actually engage in true compromise instead of demanding but never giving. Change is scary but once again I beg of you...imagine if someone you loved needed life saving healthcare but couldn't afford it because their insurance company either dropped them or refused it. What would you expect to occur then? What would you demand? And why isn't that good enough for everyone?

Links of the Day

Lord of the Rings: Born of Hope Film - The power of united fandom results in this well made film complete with special effects, music and more that is based on two paragraphs from Tolkien's Appendix. The movie is essentially the origin story of Aragorn. It was filmed around the United Kingdom at the cost of 25,000 pounds and directed by Kate Madison. It is worth seeing, if only to marvel at what a determined group can do to pay homage to something they love.

Top 1% Taxpayers, Income Doubles, Tax Rates Halved - As a sign that the Republican Party truly exists for one goal - to help the rich. "Between 2001 and 2007, the 400 richest taxpayers doubled their annual incomes to an average of $345 million, while their effective tax rate plummeted to only 16.6% from 29.4% in 1993." The chart to the left shows how over the last 100 years there has been this movement, mostly driven by Republicans, to shift the tax burden from the rich to the poor and middle class with the most dramatic changes occurring during the Bush years when the Republican congress was rubberstamping everything. It actually gets worse. "the 2003 Bush dividend and capital gains tax cuts offered almost nothing to taxpayers earning below $100,000 a year. Instead, those windfalls reduced taxes "on incomes of more than $10 million by an average of about $500,000." As the Times revealed in a jaw-dropping chart, "the top 2 percent of taxpayers, those making more than $200,000, received more than 70% of the increased tax savings from those cuts in investment income." These are the same cuts that Republicans are currently trying to make permanent. They don't benefit most of the constituents nor most Americans but they go on TV frequently and lie about how they do. However, the cuts are estimated to cost the government around $7 trillion in revenue by 2019...which sure would be useful in eliminating the deficit that many, especially GOP Tea Partier's, claim they want.

Action Comics #1 Sells for $1 Million - Someone really wanted the issue which sold for $1 million within moments of being put online at ComicConnect.com. Before Monday, the issue's top value was $317,200 but I guess not anymore. The reason for the high value to the buyer is likely because while around 100 copies still exist, only two are in decent shape. If only our great grandparents kept their stuff the same way we do now right? But then again, all that stuff would have the same value most of our kept stuff has now...which is none if don't count sentimental value.

A Nightmare on Elm Street Poster and Review - The remake is hitting theatres soon and so far the visual teases here and there seem exciting. However, as the spoiler rich review indicates, the teases just may be the only good parts of the film as I have yet to read anything kind about the movie. Apparently it falls in the same ballpark of all the recent horror remakes, which is barely a step above direct to DVD or SyFy Saturday night crap.

Special Comment: Tea Parties and Race

A bit late for me but last week Keith Olbermann gave a solid Special Comment on the "Tea Party" movement and its undercurrent of racial hatred that seems to be driving it. I personally just can't take the tea party movement seriously. The ideas are sound and very much not new by any stretch of the imagination.

Who doesn't want to pay fewer taxes? What bothers me though is no one can explain why the anger now. Where does it come from? They claim it’s because of Obama, but really what exactly has he done recently? Health care? That hasn't passed. The bank bailouts? That was Bush's plan. Taking away their guns? There is no law in Congress nor any plans to do that. It seems they are angry at Obama for simply not being a Republican or more likely for being black.

After all the things they claim to hate - big government, wasteful spending are all complains a Republican President with the rubberstamping of a Republican Congress brought to new heights - to the tune of a $9 trillion deficit. That was Republican action causing that. However, since most Tea Partiers are die hard Republicans and members of the Republican "base" they can't exactly point the finger at themselves now can they? So that leaves Obama. This leaves the question of timing. Would this same "movement" have occurred if a Democratic white man had been elected? I don't think so.

If they were true to their conventions, rather than closet racists, they would stop acting like an arm of the GOP and act like a separate party. After all, in the last 60 years the Republican nor Democrat parties have never been fiscally responsible (government debt jumps when they are in control) nor created smaller government (it has always grown every term, never shrunk). That is historical fact. If they claim that these things matter, it’s time to finally act on it rather than just making a lot of noise about it.
The GOP has been making those same promises for 60 years, instead of being the fool and going “this time will be different” how about doing something different. Oh wait, that involves the dreaded “change” word that conservatives hate so much. Never mind, no wonder the tea party is really just promising more of the same, with just an extra dose of hatred.

Links of the Day

Final Fantasy XIII NBA Commercial
New commercial for the game coming next month to the States that frankly does nothing to make me want to buy the game if I wasn't already a diehard FF fan. Rather odd considering they helped sponsor the NBA All Star Weekend. Too much flash, not enough game I guess.

Final Fantasy I & II for iPhone Trailer
Click the link to view yet another remake of the classic NES games in a new format with improved graphics, touch interface and other tweaks. I have probably beat both games several times (NES, PSP, PS) yet I get a sad feeling I will be doing it yet again.

Rubik's Cube Turns 30
This year is the 30th anniversary of the Rubik's Cube. This makes me feel old. According to the PopCandy, 350 million Cubes have been sold worldwide; World Championship "speed cubing" is held every year and the world record for solving a cube is 7.08 seconds. Below is a video of a Lego "Cubestorm" device a fan made that does an excellent job of solving a random cube.


Rachel Maddow on Filibuster Abuse
Remember "way" back in 2005 when Republicans considering getting rid of the filibuster because Democrats abused it 54 times? They claimed they should support the President in a time of war and give an up and down votes on laws. This led to things like "Gang of 14", the "Nuclear Option" and more. It was a big deal, took of days of news cycle. Cut to five years later. The Republicans have now already used the Filibuster 112 times. Nope not a typo. So five years ago, "abusing" it is anti-American. Using it now is perfectly American even when it done to block Presidential appointments (simply because the president wants them, not because opposed to the choices). I keep saying it but bears repeating...show me a Republican and you have shown me a hypocrite. Any case, the video below Maddow breaks it down to explain how the new level of abuse if causing problems. Even more amazing is there is a reasonable plan from Democrats vs. the outright ban that Republicans advocated 5 years ago.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Links of the Day

Last Minute Rescue - Cool video below that shows a guy in Argentina preventing a collision between a commuter train and a stalled van by bare inches. The train had slowed enough that a hit would probably not have killed anyone; it did prevent a lot of injuries as the train has a full load.


MTV Drops "Music Television" - For years now MTV has had almost nothing to do with music beyond late night videos and the occasional show. Recognizing that, the network finally decided to clear up that bit of false advertising by dropping the "Music Television" lettering from their logo. At this point not sure what the M could stand for, best guess is multimedia.

Behind the Scenes of 1983 HBO Intro - A brief walk down memory lane at how the intro clip that introduced each movie that aired in the 80s was made. I remember seeing that bit more times than I can count and it did bring back a few memories of sitting at my old home, eating cereal while watching films like Flight of the Navigator and more. Even more interesting to me is how much time and effort went into making the clip which could be now done with some guy in front of his Dell in about half a day. Makes you wonder what other little gems people might have on their old VHS tapes.


Global Warming Isn't the Opposite of Snow - Rachel Maddow has a little fun with Fox News current meme of saying that snow means global warming doesn't exist. Knowing their audience is essentially full of unquestioning idiots; Fox likes to emphasis the weather over the climate aspect of the "debate". As Maddow points out, snow doesn't disprove the theory anymore then the existence of flying animals doesn't disprove gravity. Bill Nye also weighs in the debate, clearly angry at the rampant disinformation that Fox is giving out.

Links of the Day

The 2010 Oscar Nominations - The short list for who will be considered the best films of 2009 is out and Avatar and The Hurt Locker lead the pack with nine nominations each. In almost all categories the winner is pretty clear with Best Director being a slight toss up between James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow (edge to Katherine). I think The Hurt Locker is a lock for Best Picture. Most technical awards will go to Avatar or whatever the period piece is in that category. For whatever reason, Up in the Air had a very strong showing with multiple acting and other top tier category nods despite being what I consider to be a ordinary film. Clooney even got a best actor nod for playing a variation of himself. Any case it appears the Oscars will once again be another ho hum year of predictable industry pack patting.

Huge Lego Airbus A380 - Click the link for a gallery of images for a huge Lego creation that includes detailed interior scenes from five movies, working landing gear, doors and more. (via Brother Bricks)

International Red Band Kick-Ass Trailer - Click the link to view the NSFW trailer for the movie. The story itself is about normal people that try to be superheroes and essentially the butt kicking they get and sometimes deliver. The results are not pretty and usually don't end well.

Ultimate Avatar Review - Click the link to view two part review of Avatar that does an excellent job of tearing it down to its component parts. Even if loved or hate the film it is still an entertaining view. The narrator, while intentionally coming off as creepy, does provide solid insight in the film. If you do enjoy the review, be sure to check out more of them at Red Letter Media.