TheDailyBanter.com

Rush Limbaugh's Psychotic Conspiracy Theory

By Ben Cohen

Rush Limbaugh's latest nonsensical theory on the demise of the America he loves:

Rallying For Health Care Change

By Ben Cohen

Supporters for a public health care option flood the Hill, but is Obama compromising with the insurance industry too much?  The Real News asks the hard questions:

Iran and Anna Nicole Smith

By Ben Cohen

While I'm fairly sure whole scale fraud occurred in the recent Iranian elections, the level of coverage and scrutiny of the Ahmadinejad regime has been somewhat bewildering. I touched on this in a previous article, but I think it is worth exploring some more.

The American media and even blogosphere has been completely obsessed with the elections in Iran, and have covered it with the same fervor as the death of Anna Nicole Smith. There are breaking alerts, in depth specials, round table discussions, and expert analysis from a variety of talking heads.

While the Iranian elections were certainly important (and the death of Nicole Smith not), there is a common thread. Both events have nothing to do with what is really going on in America, and both events allow the media to exercise a great deal of focus and attention without offending anyone that matters. The million dollar corporations responsible for bringing us news have vast resources, amazing cameras, digital technology and increasingly spectacular graphical capabilities. When they want to focus on something in depth, they can bring an insane amount of detail to a topic no matter how large or small.

What matters is that it has no bearing on entrenched power interests in the United States.

Currently, the U.S government is acting as a giant welfare state to a corrupt banking system, pouring trillions of dollars of tax payers money to enrich the scoundrels responsible for the economic crisis in the first place. There is also a giant lobbying effort by the pharmaceutical industry to block meaningful health care reform, another illegal war going on in Afghanistan, and a continued build up of the military industrial complex, all of which cost an insane amount of money. The outcomes of the above have serious consequences for regular people, yet the corporate media presents a microscopic view of the topics, refusing to ask meaningful questions and supporting the status-quo. 

If the news media were to function properly as an independent counterbalance to government and corporate power, we'd have far more rigorous analysis of where tax payers money was going. Instead of the usual 'entitlements for the lazy' argument the Right loves to wield, we'd hear more about how the rich are stealing from the poor and middle classes, and more about the greed of the banking industry. We would know that there is no such thing as the free market - that it was a phrase coined by the powerful to convince the weak that they had no where else to go. That you either survive or die, and no one would be there to help if you lost your job, or had to foreclose on your house. We'd know that a luxurious welfare system exists for the most well off, and food stamps and lectures would be there for the poor. 

We'd know that privatized health care was a complete failure, and that a government run system works best. We'd know that the U.S government engages in illegal activity around the world, propping up corrupt regimes, financing coups and subverting democracy whenever it threatens its economic interest.

But we don't. We know that Anna Nicole Smith died of an overdose, and that no one knew the identity of her child's father. We know that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a corrupt clown who has abused his people and democracy. Interesting, yes. Relevant? Maybe. But when the United States is on the brink of economic catastrophe, it might be useful to know why. And our media system simply doesn't seem to care. 

When a corrupt economic system keeps you wealthy, it pays not to speak out about it. The major media players are owned by various corporate conglomerates with a huge interest in maintaining the status quo. We don't hear alternative voices questioning that power because every good journalist and producer knows, you don't bite the hand that feeds you.

Democrats Against Health Care

By Ben Cohen

Joe Conason skewers the real players responsible for blocking substantive health care reform:

Nearly every poll now shows the American people demanding change in the health care system, with majorities favoring universal coverage and, in many surveys, a government plan that competes with private insurance. But powerful Democratic politicians, especially in the Senate, are pretending not to hear. They adopt all sorts of positions, from bluntly opposing any substantive change this year to promoting bogus alternatives. They claim to be trying to help Obama gather the votes he will need, or to assist him in attracting Republican votes. They insist that the country can’t afford universal care, or that the public option won’t pass (before debate has even begun).

Indeed, many of the most intransigent Democrats don’t bother to make actual arguments to support their position. Nor do they seem to worry that Democratic voters and the party’s main constituencies overwhelmingly support the public option and universal coverage.

If health care reform fails, it won't be because of the Republicans. They aren't powerful enough to block Obama's proposals, and are consigned to screeching from the aisles. The behavior of certain Democrats proves the point that both parties have been bought by the insurance industry (amongst others), and have one political objective: To represent the interests of the companies who have paid for their careers.

The list of top Democrats opposed to reform:

Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
Senator Tom Carper (D-DE)
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR)
Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL)
Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC)
Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND)
Senator Max Baucus (D-MT)

If it fails, we'll know exactly who to blame.

Going After Lieberman

By Ben Cohen

Another great vid by Lee Stranahan attacking the supposed 'Democrat' Joe Lieberman on health care:

London School Kids Moved to Countryside to Avoid Crime

By Ben Cohen

I was sent to a private school in South London, mostly because the state schools I was eligible for in my area were far too dangerous for my parent's liking. Most families didn't have my option, and their kids were subject to overcrowded classrooms, routine muggings and substandard education. Being robbed at school was fairly standard, and many of my friends simply got used to it. The levels of fear they were used to would be shocking to most people in most cities, and the sad thing was, we all thought it was normal. I suffered my fair share of fear and intimidation growing up in South London, but I'm convinced a great deal of my confidence comes from growing up in a school system that sheltered me from the reality most kids in my area lived in. 

While I don't believe private schools are the answer, experimentation with different ideas and programs is. An interesting scheme in Brixton (and area I lived next to) is being tested, and it offers a ray of light to some kids who otherwise, wouldn't have a chance. From the Guardian:

A south London primary is planning to set up a boarding school in the home counties to remove pupils from the "violent" streets of Brixton once they become teenagers.

Durand primary school, in Lambeth, is applying to become an "all-through" academy teaching children from three to 19, but from the age of 13 pupils will be transported to a new senior school built on the site of an old private school outside London, from Monday to Friday every week.

Jim Davies, the chairman of governors, said: "We'd take these Brixton children to an entirely different environment. You see the stories about stabbings – they are all within half a mile of here."

Last week government research revealed that 8.5% of 16-year-old boys had carried knives to protect themselves, with disproportionately high levels in the capital and other urban areas.

Police Brutality in Iran

By Ben Cohen

Iranian police using heavy handed tactics with a Mousavi supporter (via Andrew Sullivan)

Cap and Trade for Fishing

By Ben Cohen

Some positive news for the environment. The rapid depletion of the world's fish is a serious problem which could have serious ramifications for complex underwater eco systems. Thumbs up for the Obama administration:

The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration has created a task force to advance the use of cap-and-trade regulatory schemes for fisheries.

The "Catch Share Task Force," announced yesterday, includes 16 NOAA advisers and fisheries experts to shape a system for setting strict catch limits and distributing total catch shares to commercial fishers, usually based on their historical catch. Fishers can then buy and sell their shares.....

The new task force indicates an increased commitment from the Obama administration to advance fisheries cap-and-trade. The administration also requested significant new funding for fiscal 2010 budget for the effort. The House approved a NOAA spending bill last week with $18.6 million for "catch share" fisheries. A Senate panel will take up its version of the bill today.

Pat Buchanan Talking Nonsense on Climate Change

By Ben Cohen

Pat Buchanan proving his immense ignorance and stupidity on another topic:

The Two Barack Obamas

By Ben Cohen

Paul Krugman looks at the two Barack Obama's - the reformer, and the appeaser:

First, Mr. Obama offered a crystal-clear explanation of the case for health care reform, and especially of the case for a public option competing with private insurers. “If private insurers say that the marketplace provides the best quality health care, if they tell us that they’re offering a good deal,” he asked, “then why is it that the government, which they say can’t run anything, suddenly is going to drive them out of business? That’s not logical.”But when asked whether the public option was non-negotiable he waffled, declaring that there are no “lines in the sand.” That evening, Rahm Emanuel met with Democratic senators and told them — well, it’s not clear what he said. Initial reports had him declaring willingness to abandon the public option, but Senator Kent Conrad’s staff later denied that. Still, the impression everyone got was of a White House all too eager to make concessions.