There are some on the Right that are so desperate they are seriously suggesting the Sarah Palin become Speaker of the House. Oh yeah, THAT should help!

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Sarah Palin for House Speaker! (Technically, one need not be a member of Congress to serve as speaker.)
— Don Fredrick (@Colony14) January 2, 2013

Cantor is a RINO. Palin as Speaker would cut thru the doublespeak, message well & garner enough attention. Plus, a great negotiator.
— Sharon Schwarz (@WooHooYoo) January 2, 2013

Courtesy of Politicususa: 

Conservatives think that the problem with the House is John Boehner, who also happens to be the last shred of common sense remaining in the House GOP leadership. Conservatives answer to the problem of a House majority that has been rendered irrelevant through their extremism is to get rid of the sane guy, and replace him with Sarah Palin.

Yeah, like THAT would solve anything!

Could you imagine a Congress run by Sarah Palin? There would be meth addicted and pregnant Congress people as far as the eye could see.

You know this is the kind of thing that I think Palin waits for. She simply figures that once people become desperate enough, and have scraped THROUGH the bottom of the barrel, that suddenly she won't look so bad anymore.

You know just when you think the Right Wing simply CANNOT be any crazier they start with this kind of talk.

By the way there was an actual rumor that Boehner would step down tonight.  However since it was supposed to happen several hours ago, and we have heard nothing about it, I'm guessing it was ONLY a rumor and nothing more. (Or perhaps wishful thinking on Palin's part.)
 

Republican insiders say that John Boehner's days as Speaker of the House are over! Update: Apparenlty Boehner's are still safe in Congress.

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Courtesy of CNS News:

I have confirmed with a group of Congressmen that House Speaker John Boehner will not be reelected Speaker tomorrow. 

He will either resign or be forced out tomorrow. (Actually that would be today now.)


I can't say this is a surprise, but I have to wonder exactly WHO is dumb enough to want the job once Boehner has been kicked to the curb?

I mean if these morons think that anybody else will have an easier time of dealing with the Teabaggers and getting the House back to actually doing its job,  they are sadly mistaken.

Hell, they might as well draft Sarah Palin for the job.

She probably couldn't fail any worse than anybody else.

Update: Wow! There was  hell of a lot of reconsidering of positions last night (Possibly the House members realized that without Boehner they would be stuck with Eric Cantor.), and today Congress is singing a different tune.

This according to Vanity Fair:

Today’s vote on John Boehner’s speakership is not, as we predicted earlier, going to be any fun at all. According to The Hill, just one House Republican, Congressman-elect Steve Stockman of Texas, has publicly pledged to vote against Boehner. What will be fun will be watching Congressman-elect Steve Stockman of Texas write an open letter of apology to Speaker Boehner after the G.O.P. Steering Committee refuses to draft him to even the House Subcommittee on What to Order for Lunch and National Parks.

So Boehner is safe, if indeed being in this position can be considered "safe."

I guess somebody needs to call Sarah Palin and give her the bad news. Any volunteers?

Andrew Sullivan believes he now recognizes President Obama's long game.

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Courtesy of the Daily Beast: 

The left often talked of the fiscal cliff as if it were only win-win for Obama. It wasn't, in my view. He faced two dangers: of seeming unable to come up with a compromise (which is integral to his appeal) and of seeing the US economy sink under the weight of an imprudent and drastic reduction in demand. As Josh Marshall has noted, Obama always wanted a deal. No president wants to kick off his second term with a double-dip recession. He got half of a deal that will not have as drastic an effect as the full cliff-divers wanted. 

Does the promised debt-ceiling hostage-taking by the GOP render all this strategy moot? Maybe. But it seems to me that the GOP has hurt itself so far since the election on fiscal matters - appearing, especially last week, as a herd of feral, foam-flecked cats. I don't see their threatening to ruin America's credit unless they get to cut Medicare by $500 billion over a decade as a particularly strong political hand. Any party triggering a self-imposed credit crisis as the economy recovers will not be rewarded politically. On that, especially after 2011, the president has the upper hand. Americans do not like monkeying around with the national credit rating as a way to cut medical care for grandma. 

More to the point, the GOP has yet to even lay out the details of its proposed entitlement cuts (and campaigned in part against them). One way out would be for both parties to focus on cutting the Pentagon bloat - but that's not going to happen any time soon. And so I can see revenue-raising tax reform returning as a way to alleviate some of the political pain on both sides. 

In other words, I can see Obama's logic here. What he's getting - which is a gradual shift toward more fiscal responsibility, with key protections for the working poor and the unemployed in place - is all he really wants right now. Like many of Obama's incremental achievements, you can sometimes miss the forest for the trees. We have the biggest tax hike in decades - without a sudden recession. And we have huge, painful spending cuts looming unless new revenue is found through tax reform. The end result - for all its unseemly messiness right now - may still be a sane, graduated fiscal readjustment as the economy recovers. The sequester can be back-loaded a little to find that elusive sweet spot between structural fiscal rebalancing and economic growth. And we could even clean up the tax code a little. 

It's not great, but it will do. Sometimes, the little advances are preferable under certain circumstances to big breakthroughs. And Obama has to face a rabid Republican House probably for his next four years. They self-destructed on Plan B. They will almost certainly have to swallow hard and vote for big tax increases in the next day or so [and, in fact, now have].

Like most of you I have also been inundated with e-mails and text messages from those on the Left tearing at their hair and rending their clothing in frustration over what they see as Obama's acquiescence in the fiscal cliff deal, but  if I have learned ANYTHING about this President it is that he rarely focuses on short term victories and is usually thinking several moves ahead of his opponents.

That is essentially what Sullivan is pointing out with his article, and I have to say that I agree with his point of view. I firmly believe that in the end Barack Obama will go down in history as one of the greatest President's this country has ever produces, and I also bet that there will be a lot of "aha" moments for most of us looking back at this from the future that we are just too close to the political sausage making to see right now.

"Somebody finally wants to marry Bristol Palin, freaks her out" or "With fans like this who needs enemies?"

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Courtesy of TMZ: 

Bristol Palin is begging for protection against an obsessed stalker ... claiming the dude sent her a creepy wedding proposal -- complete with a ring -- and even showed up at her mom's house on her son Tripp's birthday ... TMZ has learned. 

According to court docs ... the "Dancing with the Stars" all-star obtained a temporary restraining against Michael Cummings -- a 39-year-old Texan she claims she's never met ... and only came into contact with after he sent her an engagement ring, along with a note saying, "I (heart) you." 

Bristol alleges Cummings was later spotted at her mom Sarah Palin's house on December 27 -- Tripp's fourth birthday -- at which point she immediately filed for protection. 

You know I am of two minds on this.

On the one hand I absolutely think that Bristol needs to take some action to keep both she and Tripp safe. And even this guy's mom thinks he is unhinged.

On the other hand I have to wonder just WHAT kind of fans do the Palins think they are attracting?

You know I personally have been dealing with the Palins batshit crazy fan base for years and I have to tell you these are some deeply troubled people! If I were the Palins I would want to have a restraining order against the whole bunch of them.

As for Bristol, the girl advertises herself as a magical virgin, who promotes abstinence as she undulates on a dance floor like an epileptic stripper, and then launches a reality show which essentially advertises the fact that she is a single, ill equipped for parenting, mother looking for a man. Any man.

Well she done got herself an "any" man. And of COURSE he is from Texas and out of his flipping mind, how could it be otherwise?


I actually think the mental health officials in this country ought to add a new category to the DSM (the manual of mental disorders). They can simply call it the Hypoactive Palin Desire Disorder.

These people could be listed as psychotic simply by expressing a desire to possess a Palin ghostwritten book, a desire to see a Palin in public office, or a desire to go on the internet and harass people they believe have dared to criticize their hateful little idols.

Sounds like a reasonable addition to me.

Everything old is new again as Boehner retains role as Speaker.

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Courtesy of MSNBC: 

Ohio Rep. John Boehner, R, won a second term as speaker of the House on Thursday over the dissent of a handful of House conservatives. 

Following a bruising first two years as speaker and leader of House Republicans, 10 conservative lawmakers cast votes for someone other than Boehner during a roll call vote in the first hours of the new Congress. Several other conservative Republicans abstained from voting. Boehner received 220 votes of a total of 426 cast. 

While Boehner won re-election to the speakership with the overwhelming support of the GOP, he also narrowly avoided the 16 total defections from fellow Republicans that would have triggered a second ballot of House lawmakers on electing a speaker. That would have been the first time a second ballot was needed since 1923, and a mild embarrassment for Boehner. 

In remarks after the vote, a characteristically emotional Boehner urged members to resist pursuing "political victory" in lieu of leadership. 

"If you've come here to see your name in the lights or to pass off political victory as some accomplishment, you've come to the wrong place. The door's right behind you," he said. "If you have come here humbled by the opportunity to serve, if you've come here to be the determined voice of the people, if you've come here to carry the standard of leadership demanded not by our constituents but by the times, then you've come to the right place. " 

Boehner cited the federal deficit as the overwhelming problem to be addressed by lawmakers, alluding to the need for serious negotiations to solve it. 

"As Speaker, I pledge to listen and to do all I can to help all of you carry out the oath of office that we are all about to take," he said. "Because in our hearts, we know it's wrong to pass this debt on to our kids and grandkids, now we have to be willing - truly willing - to make this problem right."

Gee John Boehner retains the job that nobody really wants him to have but apparently nobody else is stupid enough to take. Just imagine how proud he must feel.

If the guy had ANY sense he would have resigned and then let some other poor schmuck deal with the dysfunctional Republican party.

As it was he only retained his job with 220 votes, and with 10 Republicans voting against him. Hell Nancy Pelosi was right behind him with a 192 votes. Wouldn't THAT have been a hoot if SHE had won?

Did you hear during the count that two House member actually voted for outgoing Congressman Allen West? Could you freaking imagine? That would be right up there with having Sarah Palin take the job.

CNN's Ali Velshi calls out Republican Congressman ON THE AIR for misleading the American people.

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Courtesy of Mediaite:

CNN’s Ali Velshi tore into GOP Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KN) Monday night about his claim that a tax hike on small business would hurt job creation. Telling Huelskamp he didn’t “believe” his numbers to be true, Velshi mockingly asked, “The vast majority of those businesses are in fact not job creators. You understand that to be the case?” 

Huelskamp disputed Velshi’s claim and said that he had “seen research” that raising taxes would impact “41% of business income.” Velshi called him out on his language, saying “41% of business income is not 41% of business, that’s a very, very different and somewhat misleading statistic.” Again Velshi asked, “You understand the distinction, right?” 

Velshi then proceeded to silence Huelskamp from speaking any further, saying, “Sir, you put out information to our viewers, you’re on CNN right now. I would like the information to be accurate.” Huelskamp fought to answer, and when he was asked by Velshi whether he wanted to stand by his information, he said, “That’s our best guess. We’re still working on that.” 

“I think that’s a guess,” Velshi retorted. 

According to Huelskamp, part of the difficulty in obtaining accurate information is that the Obama administration won’t tell his team anything. Velshi slammed him for this misstatement, saying, “We actually don’t have any difficulty getting that information, sir. We don’t need it from the administration, that information is public.”

Yes! This is the kind of thing that we need to see MUCH more of from our journalists, ESPECIALLY after we saw jut how allergic to actual facts they were, and how determined they were to lie to the American people.

Having said that I think Velshi did an excellent job here and even followed it up later in the hour and reported this: 

VELSHI: Wolf, I just want to... I've been doing some research as I promised I would do in the conversation that we had with Congressman Tim Huelskamp, quoting what he said was a study by Montana State University. We're working our way through that study, but I'll tell you the facts that we have right now. 

If businesses... if everybody who earned more than $250 thousand saw an increase in the top tax rate from 36 percent to 39.6 percent, that would be 3.5 percent of all small businesses. That would be 940,000 businesses. That's I think a number that the Congressman was quoting. So at $450,000, it is nowhere near the number that the Congressman was quoting. 

But let's just be generous and say that it was that. Of that number, only a very small proportion are not hedge funds, partnerships, law firms, companies that don't employ a whole lot of other people. So the Congressman's facts are just incorrect on this. There is nowhere near a million businesses that will be affected by this increase of taxing people above $450,000.

And THAT my friends is how you do it!

You know now that Velshi has joined Soledad O'Brien with this whole "holding Republicans accountable for their bullshit thing," I am thinking of possibly tuning in to CNN once in awhile. You know, when MSNBC is once again broadcasting that stupid Lockup series perhaps.

Maybe since they have seen how quickly Fox is losing viewers they might be reconsidering this whole idea of becoming Fox-lite.

The Fiscal Cliff bill, who voted how, and who comes out ahead?

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Courtesy of the Washington Post:

Most House Republicans voted against the final fiscal cliff deal late Tuesday night, while just 16 Democrats joined them. 

A few notes from the votes: 

* The bill easily passed 257-167, with 217 votes needed for passage. Democrats voted 172-16 in favor while Republicans votes 151-85 against. 

* GOP leadership was split. While House Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) and 2012 vice presidential nominee and Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (Wis.) voted yes, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.) and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) voted no. 

* Ryan’s vote is noteworthy because another major 2016 presidential contender, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), was one of just eight senators to vote no early Tuesday morning, as did another potential presidential candidate, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). 

* Other no votes included GOP firebrands Reps. Allen West (Fla.), Michele Bachmann (Minn.) and Joe Walsh (Ill.). West and Walsh lost reelection in November, while Bachmann narrowly won. 

So both West and Walsh voted against the bill huh? Well that is part of the reason why they are now EX-House members. 

Now as interesting as that was I was kind of fascinated with just WHICH Democrats broke ranks and voted against the bill.
 

* The 16 Democrats voting no split between the liberal and the moderate. More liberal Reps. Xavier Becerra (Calif.), Earl Blumenauer (Ore.), Peter DeFazio (Ore.), Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), Jim McDermott (Wash.), Brad Miller (N.C.), Jim Moran (Va.), Bobby Scott (Va.), Pete Visclosky (Ind.) voted no. But they were joined by moderate-to-conservative Reps. John Barrow (Ga.), Jim Cooper (Tenn.), Jim Matheson (Utah), Mike McIntyre (N.C.), Collin Peterson (Minn.), Kurt Schrader (Ore.) and Adam Smith (Wash.).

These sixteen bear watching in the future, and I hope their constituents are paying close attenion to how carelessly they treat the fiscal security of this nation.

So that is how the vote played out in the House, but when the dust settles WHO got their ass handed to them the worst?

This again according to the Washington Post: 

The bill was 153 pages long. It was written only the day before, by Washington insiders working in the dark of night. It was crammed with giveaways and legislative spare parts: tax breaks for wind farms and racetracks. A change to nuclear-weapons policy. Government payments for cheese. 

And, most significantly, the bill will raise taxes but do relatively little to cut government spending or the massive federal deficit. 

To a tea-party-influenced crop of House Republicans, the bill to resolve the “fiscal cliff” crisis was everything they had wanted to change about the way Washington worked. Too rushed. Too bloated. Too secretive. Too expensive. 

“There’s lots and lots of pork in this bill,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), one of its most outspoken opponents. 

On Tuesday, however, it passed on their watch. After the Senate approved the compromise, it briefly appeared that the GOP-led House would rebel against the bill. But the threat faded: For many Republicans, it appeared, the risk of rejecting the bill — and courting economic calamity — outweighed their unhappiness with the bill’s contents.

Here is how jaded I have become over the political process in Washington these days.  I fully expect my side to be screwed over anything that gets through both houses. I am just happier when the Right Wing gets fucked harder than we do. (Especially that prick Darrell Issa!)

You know it's the little things in life.

By the way purely to get a sense of who would or would NOT vote for this bill and why, I checked how my two Senators and lone Congressman voted. Believe it or not, they ALL THREE voted for the bill.

Oh and speaking of winners and losers, I just saw on MSNBC that President Obama boarded a plane to rejoin his family to finish out their vacation.

Stress of Fiscal Cliff negotiations reached climax days before deal as John Boehner tells Harry Reid to "Go f**k yourself."

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Courtesy of Politico:

House Speaker John Boehner couldn’t hold back when he spotted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the White House lobby last Friday. 

It was only a few days before the nation would go over the fiscal cliff, no bipartisan agreement was in sight, and Reid had just publicly accused Boehner of running a “dictatorship” in the House and caring more about holding onto his gavel than striking a deal. 

“Go f— yourself,” Boehner sniped as he pointed his finger at Reid, according to multiple sources present. 

Reid, a bit startled, replied: “What are you talking about?” 

Boehner repeated: “Go f— yourself.” 

The harsh exchange just a few steps from the Oval Office — which Boehner later bragged about to fellow Republicans — was only one episode in nearly two months of high-stakes negotiations laced with distrust, miscommunication, false starts and yelling matches as Washington struggled to ward off $500 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts.

I LOVER this kind of stuff because it demonstrates the kind of raw emotion that often drives these negotiations. By the way I would just like to point out that House Speaker Boehner said this to the Majority Leader only days before completely capitulating and handing the Senate everything they wanted.

But hey I guess it make Boehner feel all manly to curse at Reid right before he fell to his knees and gave in like a prison bitch.

By the way I found this great gif that to me eloquently sums up the Teabaggers attempts to derail or modify this bill.

Yep, that about sums it up all right. (Oh it can also be used to illustrate Sarah Palin's career path as well.)

The heavyweight VS the sob sister. Chris Christie pummels John Boehner over failure to vote on Hurricane Sandy relief package.

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Courtesy of Politicker: 

“Thirty-one days for Andrew victims. Seventeen days for victims of Gustav and Ike. Ten days for victims of Katrina,” Mr. Christie said, ticking off how long it took for Congress to pass relief after other natural disasters. “For the victims of Sandy in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, there’s been sixty-six days and the wait continues. There’s only one group to blame for the continued suffering of these innocent victims: the House Majority and their speaker, John Boehner….Last night, politics was placed before our oath to serve our citizens. For me, it was disappointing and disgusting to watch.” 

Mr. Christie, a Republican like Mr. Boehner, went on to describe the House’s GOP majority as “selfish” and “toxic.” 

“It just could not overcome the toxic, internal politics of the House Majority,” Mr. Christie said of the bill. “Americans are tired of the palace intrigue and political partisanship of this Congress, which places one-upmanship ahead of the lives of the citizens who sent these people to Washington D.C. in the first place. New Jerseyans and New Yorkers are tired of being treated like second-class citizens. New York deserves better than the selfishness we saw on display last night. New Jersey deserves better than the duplicity we saw last night. America deserves better than yet another example of a government that has forgotten who they are there to serve and why. Sixty-six days and counting. Shame on you. Shame on Congress. “ 

Asked afterwards if he understood why the vote had been canceled, Mr. Christie said he was left completely in the dark. 

“I was given no explanation,” he said. “I was called at 11:20 last night by Leader Cantor and was told that he was told authority for the vote was pulled by the Speaker. Our delegation asked for a meeting with the Speaker at the time; they were refused. I called the Speaker four times last night after 11:20 and he did not take my calls….There’s no reason for me to believe anything they tell me, because they’ve been telling me stuff for weeks. And they didn’t deliver.”

"I called the Speaker four times last night after 11:20 and he did not take my calls." God I love it when Republicans fight!

And the thing is that Christie is dead right here.  Boehner exhausted himself pushing through the fiscal cliff bill, and left nothing in the tank to deal with this very necessary relief bill, and now he is paying for it big time.

Right now on the news is a parade of House members from New York and New Jersey ripping into Boehner's barely breathing corpse. They are going to strip him to the bone by the end of business today.

Anybody want to take bets on Boehner's chances of hanging onto his job as Speaker?

Yeah neither does this guy.

By the way, you just KNOW that right now President Obama is sitting in the Hawaiian sun with the biggest damn grin on his face that you have ever seen. He has GOT to be loving this!

My Month of Thanksgiving - Day 31

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Well, we've come to the end of the year... which seemed like it went so fast by the time you realize, you're already at the end...

But, in this fast pace time and year, so much happened in my life that I cannot end this year without praising my Lord. From favor at work, going home for my mom's retirement, my parents visiting me here, most importantly experiencing the Lord's mighty hand on my life, knowing and realizing that he is sovereign over everything happening in my life. I don't know where and how I would have been if he didn't pick me up and put me back together.

Today, as I type this, I cannot stop thanking him for holding me, nursing me in his caring and loving arms. He is helping me draw near to him and I don't know how I'd do it without him....

As this year ends, I look ahead forgetting what is behind, like Paul says in Phil 3:13-14

"...But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus..."

Looking ahead making Jesus my focus, with a future that is uncertain but hoping that he who began this good work in my life will bring to completion... I believe in him who is faithful, my JESUS!!!

I want to walk into 2013 with my Lord holding my hand and walking in step with him alone, to listen to his still small voice speak to me, to honor and glorify him where he's placed me, to look around and reach out to those whom he's placed in and around my life....

Song of Praise and Worship:

"Let the flame burn brighter"

We'll walk the streets with hearts of fire
And every step will be a prayer
Hope is rising, new day dawning
The sound of singing fills the air 

Two thousand years and still the flame
Is burning bright across the land
Hearts are waiting. Longing, aching
For awakening once again 

Let the flame burn brighter in the heart of the darkness
Turning night to glorious day
Let the song grow louder as our love grows stronger
Let it shine
Let it shine 

We'll walk the truth, speak out the love
In Jesus' name we shall be strong
To lift the fallen, to save the children
To flood the nation with a song 

Let the flame burn brighter in the heart of the darkness
Turning night to glorious day
Let the song grow louder as our love grows stronger
Let it shine
Let it shine

"Be it unto me"

Be it unto me
According to your Word
According to your promises
I can stand secure
Carve upon my heart
The truth that sets me free
According to your Word O Lord 
Be it unto me

You promised your blood will deliver
Lord, we believe it's true
You promised us joy like a river 
Lord we receive it from you 
These things you have spoken 
And you're bringing to pass
This world's disappearing 
But your word will last

Chorus

You promised to carry our sorrows
Lord, we believe it's true
You promised unending tomorrows 
Lord we receive them from you
You be our provider
In your word it's revealed
And by the stripes that you bore
Lord we have been healed

Over the cliff we go! There will be NO vote on deal tonight. Update: Not so fast.

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Courtesy of Politico:

Washington inched closer to a deal that would avert massive tax increases, but Congress will still fall short of passing legislation before a new year deadline, sending the country over the fiscal cliff at least temporarily as the two sides struggled to iron out the final details of a high-stakes package. 

The main holdup right now: Automatic spending cuts poised to kick in during the year, which the two parties have vowed to reverse but have failed to broker an agreement over how to do just that. 

Last-ditch negotiations between Senate Majority Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Vice President Joe Biden — friends from two decades-plus of Senate service — produced an agreement to increase marginal income tax rates to 39.6 percent on individual income more than $400,000 and households that earn more than $450,000.

You know the conservative talking heads over at Fox and the Right Wing radio shock jocks are going to do their damnedest to blame this on the President, but there is NO way that he deserves any of the blame for the failings of Congress. THAT blame rests solely on the Republicans and the teabagging obstructionists that are now apparently in the driver's seat.

The President has worked night and day to make a deal, and reached out twice to the American people to help him.  He even caved in on the amount to be taxed, moving from the promised $250,000 and above to $450,000 and above.

That resulted in getting him into a LOT of hot water with the liberals, and I am not very damn happy about it either, but I will say this, the man has done EVERYTHING he could to keep this potential crisis from occurring, and I hope that the American people are aware of that and make sure to blame the appropriate individuals.

Here's a hint, there is an "R" next to their name, and they care MORE about getting reelected than about any of YOU people.

Update: Well believe it or not, it looks like some patched together deal has been reached and there is talk of a possible vote tonight.  Here is more from Ezra Klein:

President Obama and Senate Republicans reached a sweeping deal late Monday that would let income taxes rise significantly for the first time in more than two decades, fulfilling Obama’s promise to raise taxes on the rich and averting the worst effects of the “fiscal cliff.” 

Vice President Biden arrived at the Capitol just after 9 p.m. to explain the details of the pact he negotiated with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). A Senate vote on the package could be held by 10:30 p.m., beating a midnight deadline, Democratic aides said. The Republican-controlled House will begin considering the bill on Tuesday, with a final vote expected in the next day or two. 

The agreement emerged after White House officials gave in on the last contested issue, yielding to GOP wishes on how to handle estate taxes, aides said. 

The revelations about the pending deal came after Obama had said a pact was “within sight,” and House Republican leaders announced they would hold no votes Monday night, making it appear that that the nation would go over the fiscal cliff for at least a day. 

I can't say I am happy about the White House giving anymore ground, but again it definitely speaks to who is the most serious about getting a deal done before tomorrow.

I am also hearing from various reporters that this is only a temporary fix and does NOT indicate how the final deal may look. I guess we have to hold out final judgement until then.

Ireland defies Catholic Church to repeal ban against abortion.

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Courtesy of Christianity Today: 

Ireland has announced plans to reform the country's restrictive abortion policies, allowing women access to abortions in cases where the mother's life is in danger. 

The changes arise two years after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Ireland must clarify its abortion laws. However, the reforms came just two months after the death of Savita Halappanavar, who died during a miscarriage after being denied an abortion at a hospital in Galway. Her death sparked protests in both the Irish capital city of Dublin and New Delhi, India, where Halappanavar was from. 

Now, according to the Daily Telegraph, "the Irish government has decided to repeal legislation that makes abortion a criminal act and to introduce regulations setting out when doctors can perform an abortion when a woman’s life is regarded as being at risk, including by suicide." 

But the change won't come easily. Ireland remains a staunchly Catholic country, and the Irish Roman Catholic Church condemns the policy change as an attempt to "licence the direct and intentional killing of the innocent baby in the womb."

This is very good news indeed!

Like many of you I was horrified by the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar, and hoped that it would inspire Ireland's lawmakers to move away from barbarism and do something to protect the women in their country from this superstitious nonsense.

Now let's hope that here in America we follow Ireland's lead and keep the church out of the business of instructing politicians in how to create policies that deny women the right to control their own bodies.

To be honest I am getting more than a little sick and tired of watching other countries moving toward increased humanistic ideals while many of OUR lawmakers are doing everything in their power to return us to the fucking Dark Ages.

Everything you need to know about the Fiscal Cliff deal. But were too confused to ask. Update!

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Smokin' Joe Biden rides to the rescue and finally gets through a fiscal cliff package.

Courtesy of the Washington Post: 

 — Tax rates will permanently rise to Clinton-era levels for families with income above $450,000 and individuals above $400,000. All income below the threshold will permanently be taxed at Bush-era rates. 

— The tax on capital gains and dividends will be permanently set at 20 percent for those with income above the $450,000/$400,000 threshold. It will remain at 15 percent for everyone else. (Clinton-era rates were 20 percent for capital gains and taxed dividends as ordinary income, with a top rate of 39.6 percent.)

 — The estate tax will be set at 40 percent for those at the $450,000/$400,000 threshold, with a $5 million exemption. That threshold will be indexed to inflation, as a concession to Republicans and some Democrats in rural areas like Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mt.). 

— The sequester will be delayed for two months. Half of the delay will be offset by discretionary cuts, split between defense and non-defense. The other half will be offset by revenue raised by the voluntary transfer of traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs, which would tax retirement savings when they’re moved over.

 — The pay freeze on members of Congress and all other federal civilian employees, which Obama had lifted this week, will be re-imposed, . 

— The 2009 expansion of tax breaks for low-income Americans: the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, and the American Opportunity Tax Credit will be extended for five years.

 — The Alternative Minimum Tax will be permanently patched to avoid raising taxes on the middle-class. 

— The deal will not address the debt-ceiling, and the payroll tax holiday will be allowed to expire. 

— Two limits on tax exemptions and deductions for higher-income Americans will be reimposed: Personal Exemption Phaseout (PEP) will be set at $250,000 and the itemized deduction limitation (Pease) kicks in at $300,000. 

—The full package of temporary business tax breaks — benefiting everything from R&D and wind energy to race-car track owners — will be extended for another year.

 — Scheduled cuts to doctors under Medicare would be avoided for a year through spending cuts that haven’t been specified. 

— Federal unemployment insurance will be extended for another year, benefiting those unemployed for longer than 26 weeks. This $30 billion provision won’t be offset. 

 — A nine-month farm bill fix will be attached to the deal, Sen. Debbie Stabenow told reporters, averting the newly dubbed milk cliff. 

I understand that the House is supposed to vote on this by 1:00 EST today. However there are still rumors that many House members are not planning to vote for it and John Boehner has also made some remarks about possible modifications, which would kill the bill outright.

Still there is hope that it will pass.

Of course this bill only postpones those deep spending cuts for two months so it really is nothing more than a Band-Aid applied to a potential internal hemorrhage, but it is still a lot better than many thought the Senate could ever hope to agree on.

I wonder if this new Congress will really be any more rational or if THIS is the kind of thing we will see for the next two years?  God, let's hope not.

Update: There are some who think the President completely punked the Republicans with this deal:

Higher taxes on the richest Americans (the level is yet to be determined, and the president pointedly stayed away from confirming the $400K/$450K numbers floating around, but taxes are going up). He just forced Grover Norquist's Republican party to allow a tax increase. Big. F*cken. Deal. 

The middle class tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, child tax credit education tax credit and other Obama stimulus tax credits are staying in place for 5 years, as are the breaks for small businesses, especially for the clean energy industry (I don't think most people running around with their hair on fire realize how big a deal this is for the environmental community). The Alternative Minimum tax is fixed permanently not to affect the middle class. 

Unemployment benefits extension. 

An increase in the estate tax rate to 40%. 

What do the Republicans get in return? Bupkiss. Nada. Nothing. A big fat zero. So basically, the president permanently protects working people and the poor and the middle class, permanently raises taxes on the rich, and the additional tax revenue from that. Republicans get no entitlement changes, not even a permanent aversion of the cuts hitting defense and other Republican sweetheart industries.

I know there are those on the Left who think the President gave away too much, but in the end it looks like the President did that whole Jedi mind trick thing again.

Update 2: Politicususa agrees that the President (And Joe Biden) cleaned the Republican's clock..

Gallup finds Hillary Clinton is the most admired woman in the world and Sarah Palin is the fifth most admired person in the world. Wait, what?

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Courtesy of the Washington Post: 

A new Gallup poll again hands the secretary of state the title of the “most admired woman” in the world, with 21 percent selecting her. First lady Michelle Obama comes in a distant second at 5 percent, followed by Oprah Winfrey at 4 percent.

Okay well all of that makes sense, I even kind of understand Condi Rice at the number four spot, but Palin at five? WTF?

And how in the HELL does she beat out the extraordinarily brave Malala Yousafzai? That is ridiculous!

So what is she so admired for?

Her political presence? There isn't one.

Her intelligence? Seriously?

Her reality show career? Hah!

Her parenting? Double Hah!

Seriously I simply do NOT get it.

I went to the actual Gallup site to see if it was the way the question was asked. This is what they said:

The open-ended nature of the question produces the names of people with high top-of-mind name identification, most often hailing from the world of government and politics; the list also includes individuals who have become famous serving humanitarian causes and others whose fame comes from the business and entertainment worlds.

Okay so essentially it is based on name recognition.

These are the names of people that the individuals asked knew off of the top of their heads. And sadly Palin was mentioned quite a lot this last year. Sure mostly it was to mock her, or use her as a comparison for how badly the Paul Ryan pick was, but you not THAT bad.

I would LOVE to have heard a follow up question asking the respondents WHY they chose who they chose. I think for those who chose Palin wall you would hear is the sound of crickets.

If it makes you feel any better look who shows up as3rd, 4th, and 5th on the mens side of the poll.

Oh yeah. Mitt Romney as the third most admired man, and George W. Bush as the fifth, certainly puts the whole thing into perspective.

Guess which polling group is now the LEAST admired? Yeah, that's right Gallup.

Well it certainly looks as if Fox News kicked finally Sarah Palin to the curb.

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I spare you the usual religiously tinged moosehsit that Palin is known to vomit forth and just get to the good stuff courtesy of the Lunatic from Lake Lucille's Facebook page:

In this new year, as jobs change with doors closing and opening, kids growing, relationships evolving, and life throwing curveballs, may you resolve to stay engaged and optimistic. May you pick your battles wisely. And may you live life vibrantly! God bless you all and God bless our great country as we promise to live out 2 Chronicles 7:14. Here’s to liberty! 

 - Sarah Palin

Yeah I think that is a pretty good indication that Palin is persona non grata over at Fox News these days.

You know with Fox News becoming a national laughingstock on election night due to Karl Rove's refusal to believe that his candidate had lost, and with Sean Hannity losing half his audience in the weeks since the election, it was kind of a no brainer that they would make as much distance between themselves and Palin as humanly possible.

She is the living embodiment of everything wrong with the Right Wing, and her presence reminds viewers that the country is changing and that people like her are part of the past that they want desperately to put behind them.

However if you think that we have heard the last of Sarah Louise Palin then YOU my friend must be new here.

P.S. Oh by the way, for all of you who sent me the link concerning the divorce between Todd's brother and his wife, I am not interested. This poor guy is NOT one of the family members that the Grizzled Mama pimped to the American people, nor is he somebody who has tried to get fame and wealth by riding her coattails. In other words he is just a victim of circumstance, in that he shares a last name with one of the most reviled women in American history.

P.P.S. Oh by the way, there is STILL a chance that Palin will make an occasional appearance or two on Fox simply because they have a history and Fox might just get that desperate, however I think Palin's future as a paid pundit is over for good..