Headlines - Saturday

 

Carly Simon finally reveals who the song "You're So Vain" is about.  

 

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Former Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis, who retired at the end of last year, took a package of stock and benefits valued at $83 million with him when he left, the Wall Street Journal reports.

 

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"The Senate is holding their Blackwater hearing today but honestly the only way Congress would stop giving Blackwater money is if it started registering black people to vote." Adam Serwer Link

 

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Joe Conason: Propaganda meets professor at the health summit

 

The Republicans brought standard propaganda to Blair House -- where the president confronted them with basic facts

 

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"The health insurance industry is the shark that swims just below the water and you don't see that shark until you feel the teeth of that shark...This is the way they operate. Nobody has any oversight over them. They're not under any anti-trust rules. They can do what they want...This is a rapacious industry that does what it wants."  Jay Rockefeller, on-off-on-off friend to the poor and middle class, Link

 

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'Some day, lad, all this will be yours."

 

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Hey, GOP voter, you're a moron

 

If you missed the big bipartisan healthcare summit, then you didn't really miss big bipartisan healthcare summit. If there's one word that sums up the seven hour marathon discussion, it's "predictable" -- either that or "dull." Take your pick. For their part, the GOP chose "predictable," with the Republican National Committee sending out the following email the night before the summit:

Dear XXXX,

After pledging to listen to Republican ideas at this Thursday's photo op- er, "bipartisan health care summit," President Obama has decided to stick with the Senate Democrats' health care legislation, a bill that Americans have already rejected as a massive restructuring of our economy that is a short walk down the road to government run health care. He's rejected alternative methods of tackling our health insurance crisis before hearing them. He's betrayed the American people's trust.

President Obama's liberal allies on Capitol Hill are going to try to jam this unwanted monstrosity of a bill down your throat. But you're not powerless. You can stop the march of liberalism by signing this petition urging President Obama and his allies to join with Republican leaders to start over on health care reform.

It's time to do away with bills crafted in the dead of night behind closed doors by a team of statist liberals. Instead, we must develop sensible bipartisan legislation that respects individual rights and the Constitution of the United States. It is more important now than ever to send a clear unambiguous message to Washington. Sign the petition today to make your voice heard!

Sincerely,

The GOP Action Team

If you've ever wondered what the definition of "bad faith" might be, there ya go. Wonder no more.

 

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PZ Meyers: Where's my invitation? 

Hey, I just checked my mailbox for a fancy gilt envelope, but no joy. I was hoping to hear from the Pope.

The Pontifical Council for Culture has announced that it is creating a foundation to focus on relations with atheists and agnostics.

See? They should be calling me any minute now…oh, wait.

The president of the Council announced the initiative on Wednesday as a response to Pope Benedict's call to "renew dialogue with men and women who don't believe but want to move towards God."

Well, I'm out. That's like putting out a call for healthy men and women who want to move towards degenerative neurological disease.

More from PZ: They're All Nuts.

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Mocking the uninsured

.Can it get more disgusting than this?

At the health care summit, Democrat Louise Slaughter was making a case for the plight of the uninsured and brought up a story about a woman who was forced to wear her dead sister's dentures because she lacked the means to purchase her own.  Here's how the scum in wingnuttia responded.

Pigboy Limbaugh

"You know I'm getting so many people — this Louise Slaughter comment on the dentures? I'm getting so many people — this is big. I mean, that gets a one-time mention for a laugh, but there are people out there that think this is huge because it's so stupid. I mean, for example, well, what's wrong with using a dead person's teeth? Aren't the Democrats big into recycling? Save the planet? And so what? So if you don't have any teeth, so what? What's applesauce for? Isn't that why they make applesauce?"

Glenn Beck

"I am wearing George Washington's dentures right now. I'm wearing his teeth right now. I just like wearing dead people's teeth. But in America — I'm sorry, I didn't know that that was — I've read the Constitution before. I didn't see that you had a right to teeth."

"The environmentalists should be all over Slaughter. 'How dare you say that?' My gosh, they're just recycling. They're just reusing."

When it comes to the point where mocking the uninsured is acceptable fodder for conservatives, you know you've reached dirt bottom in this debate.

As for Pigboy and Beck, they make it so easy to despise them.  And what does it say for Republicans and teabaggers when Limbaugh and Beck are their main respective spokesmen?

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Why not take another six or twelve weeks? 

Is anyone else starting to have night-terrors after reading this same wishy-washy opening sentence in at least thirty articles every week for the past year? "White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the president would make an announcement next week about the 'way forward' on health care, following the bipartisan meeting Thursday that made clear there was little room for bipartisan compromise." God, the White House sucks. How about no more Presidential Announcements or other agonizing talky until the bill gets passed? WHATEVER, it's naptime. WSJ

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Get it? GET IT? Do you understand this joke. See, the other tennis person got good information out of Janet Napolitano after she injured herself, because injuries hurt… and we've gotta get the info… outta them terrists. HURTIN' FOLKS IS FUN. Now go ahead son, slap that knee. [Washington Independent]