The Hollywood Liberal

“It’s not McCarthyism if I get to be Tailgunner Joe”
Marc Theissen is outraged and it’s a day ending in “Y” — how quaint, and ‘How dare the Justice Department hire people that give a damn about the Constitution’.

Marc Thiessen and Rummy dwell upon their heroism

The ‘liberal Post Editorial Page’s’ latest hire, Marc Thiessen is out there to prove his hippy punching bona fides by beating up James Madison:

One lawyer in the National Security Division of Holder’s Justice Department, Jennifer Daskal, has written that any terrorist not charged with a crime “should be released from Guantanamo’s system of indefinite detention” even though “at least some of these men may … join the battlefield to fight U.S. soldiers and our allies another day.” Should a lawyer who advocates setting terrorists free, knowing they may go on to kill Americans, have any role in setting U.S. detention policy? My hunch is that most Americans would say no.

Do other lawyers in question hold similarly radical and dangerous views?

First of all, nice loading of the assumptions before the actual quotes there a-hole. Second, how awful, an American lawyer believing in the American Constitution [Article I, Sec. 9] — how radical and dangerous! And those known radicals on the Supreme Court have agreed with them.

Surely, only Marc Thiessen understands that “FoxNews Facts” trump the Constitution every time. So bring on the McCarthyism from the man who describes torturers as his real heroes.

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Early Morning Swim: Dennis Kucinich Explains Why He’s Voting Against the Senate Health Care Bill on Countdown
Doesn’t he realize that Rahm needs a “win”?

Doesn’t he realize that Rahm needs a “win”?

Kucinich’s objections are sincere. And Obama and Pelosi would be wise to listen to them — rather than simply try and “whip” the congressman to vote for legislation that can still be improved.

In particular, Kucinich has demanded that barriers to states developing single-payer “Medicare for All” programs be removed. Kucinich wants Congress to waive existing federal restrictions and to address federal laws that might be interpreted as supporting insurance company suits against states that provide more extensive coverage than is currently proposed by the president.

White House strategists and congressional leaders should know that Kucinich is not an outlier on this issue. The congressman has gained strong support for his practical proposals regarding state-based experimentation with “Medicare for All” initiatives — on key House committees, among members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and from real-reform backers such as the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, Progressive Democrats of America and Physicians for a National Healthcare Program.

He doesn’t sound like he’s in the mood to compromise.

Tags: Dennis Kucinich, Early Morning Swim, Health care

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Late Late Night FDL: Goin’ Home
Featuring new videos by John Gorka and Dan Auerbach.

Featuring new videos by John Gorka and Dan Auerbach.

What’s on your mind tonight??

Tags: Dan Auerbach, John Gorka

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Haiti President Sees Competition From Aid
Haiti’s President Rene Preval said Monday that continued shipments of food and water aid “will be in competition with the national Haitian production and Haitian commerce.” Instead, Preval said, donors should help rebuild and create employment in the impoverished country. Reuters: Donations of food and water have proved a lifeline for more than 1.2 million people displaced by the quake, but Preval told a news conference on Monday the aid could in the long term hurt the economy of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. “I will tell him (Obama) that this first phase of assistance is finished,” said Preval, standing in front of the ruined presidential palace in Port-au-Prince. Read more

Haiti’s President Rene Preval said Monday that continued shipments of food and water aid “will be in competition with the national Haitian production and Haitian commerce.” Instead, Preval said, donors should help rebuild and create employment in the impoverished country.

Reuters:

Donations of food and water have proved a lifeline for more than 1.2 million people displaced by the quake, but Preval told a news conference on Monday the aid could in the long term hurt the economy of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

“I will tell him (Obama) that this first phase of assistance is finished,” said Preval, standing in front of the ruined presidential palace in Port-au-Prince.

Read more

Related Entries

• March 9, 2010 GOP Damned
• March 8, 2010 Surviving Without a Safety Net

Surviving Without a Safety Net
People are just barely hanging on at employment offices, homeless shelters, food banks and community centers around the country. Help is needed right away and Barack Obama is struggling to give it.

By Bill Boyarsky

People are just barely hanging on at employment offices, homeless shelters, food banks and community centers around the country. Help is needed right away and Barack Obama is struggling to give it.

Related Entries

• March 9, 2010 GOP Damned
• March 8, 2010 Surviving Without a Safety Net

Ken Starr: Liz Cheney Wrong For Attacking Department Of Justice Attorneys (VIDEO)
Liz Cheney has been under fire from both left and right after she tried to paint Department of Justice attorneys as terrorist sympathizers for working…

Green Jobs Are ‘Greatest Market Opportunity Of Our Generation,’ Senator Says
Flanked by forced-out former green jobs czar Van Jones, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said Monday that creating new jobs in green industries presents the “greatest…

Earmark Ban Being Debated By Democratic Leaders
“As they try to reclaim the ethical high ground during a difficult stretch, House Democratic leaders are considering a dramatic move: declaring a party-wide ban…

Bart Stupak, Dem Threatening To Kill Health Care Bill Over Abortion, Says Deal Looks Likely
TAWAS CITY, Mich. (AP) — Prospects are good for resolving a dispute over abortion that has led some House Democrats to threaten to withhold support…

Unemployment Insurance Extension Faces Test Vote In Senate
WASHINGTON — Legislation extending unemployment insurance for the long-term jobless faces a key test vote in the Senate, its momentum helped by about 60 popular…

Hannity falsely claimed Rep. Levin has “Tax Troubles”

Fox News’ Sean Hannity displayed a graphic reading “More Tax Troubles” while discussing a Roll Call article about Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI) receiving a Maryland property tax credit for which he was not eligible. In fact, Levin reportedly said he received the credit because of an error on the part of Maryland’s Montgomery County and paid it back, as he reportedly did when the same error was made in 2006.

Hannity attacked Levin for correcting Maryland county’s property tax error

From the March 8 edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: Michigan Congressman Sander Levin is facing issues of his own, and they are — surprise, surprise — tax-related. Now, Roll Call reported that Levin improperly received a $690 Maryland property tax credit. It was issued for a home that Levin owns in the state, but was intended only for, quote, “owner-occupied properties.” Unfortunately, Levin does not live in his Maryland home. Now, according to Roll Call, Representative Levin repaid the IRS [sic: Montgomery County Department of Finance] on Friday, so it appears that the Dems have finally found a House Ways and Means Committee chairman, and I know that, given their options, a pretty difficult task — somebody who paid their taxes.

Hannity aired the following on-screen graphic during the segment:

Hannity ignored Levin’s response that Montgomery County tax authorities committed error

Levin’s office: Rep. Levin did not apply for credit, but “paid the full amount to Montgomery County to correct their mistake.” The Roll Call article to which Hannity referred quoted Levin’s chief of staff Hilarie Chambers saying: “This is not a tax credit that Rep. Levin applied for and in an abundance of caution he has paid the full amount to Montgomery County to correct their mistake.”

Levin’s office stated he corrected county’s error. Roll Call reported that the credit in question “was intended for only ‘owner-occupied’ properties” and reported Chambers’ statement that Levin corrected the error:

“Since Mr. Levin was not residing in the property for the full year and it is not his ‘principal residence,’ Mr. Levin has written a check of $690 to the County and clarified and confirmed once again to them that the correct classification of the Morgan Drive property is ‘Not a Principal Residence,’ ” Chambers wrote in an e-mail.

Chambers referred to public records maintained by Montgomery County, which indicate the Chevy Chase home is a principal residence. Property records available from a Maryland state Web site indicate the property is not used as a principal residence.

Montgomery County property tax records dating to 1999 show that Levin’s home has changed classifications — principal or not principal — four times.

Chambers said the property was designated as a principal residence in 2009, after Levin’s attorneys submitted a revised deed to the county.

“It appears that when Mr. Levin’s lawyers submitted a deed to the County in April 9, 2009 that removed Mrs. Levin’s name from the deed and transferred Mrs. Levin’s share into a trust the County mistakenly changed the record on the property to ‘principal’ residence without request from or notification to Mr. Levin,” Chambers wrote.

She also said that a change-of-address form Levin submitted after he moved to the Silver Spring condo prompted another change to “not a principal residence” in January 2010.

Levin reportedly repaid a similar credit in 2006. Roll Call further reported Chambers’ statement that Levin previously repaid a mistaken credit. From the article:

The Chevy Chase home has also received negligible homestead tax credits intended for permanent residents of the state at times during the past 10 years.

Chambers said that Levin repaid homestead taxes several years ago.

“The County has inconsistently classified the property on Morgan Drive,” she wrote. “In April 2006 when Mr. Levin learned of the earlier mis-classifications he repaid the full amount for the Homestead Tax Credit mistakenly applied to the property. We confirmed [Friday] with the Montgomery County Department of Finance the amount repaid was $531.51.”

Creationist-Cum-McCarthy-Booster Incumbent Rejected By Texas Republicans
The top conservative activist on the powerful Texas Board of Education, who rejects evolution and has pushed for a revisionist right-wing U.S. history curriculum, is on the way out, after a moderate candidate defeated him in a tight primary last week.

FLASHBACK: CA Sen. Spotted At Gay Clubs Fought Gay Marriage For ‘The Future Of Our Children’
In a statement against gay marriage in 2005, CA Sen. Roy Ashburn said: “We need to preserve traditional values for the future of our children.” Earlier this week, he was picked up for a DUI with an unidentified man while reportedly driving home from a gay night club.

Massa Recalls Sexual Misconduct Allegation From Navy Days (AUDIO)
In the same radio monologue in which he admitted telling a male staffer, “what I really ought to be doing is fracking you,” Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) defiantly recounted a misconduct allegation from his past that arose after he walked in on a Navy roommate masturbating.

The Truth About the GOP

Move Your Money, But Don’t Forget About Credit Unions
Banking behemoths don’t deserve your business. But your local credit union could be the right financial fit.

Banking behemoths don't deserve your business. But your local credit union could be the right financial fit.

How Can We Stop Drug Gangs From Growing Pot in the Woods? Legalize Pot
The media complain about the explosion of illegal outdoor cultivation in our national parks, but have zero diagnosis about why it’s happening.

The media complain about the explosion of illegal outdoor cultivation in our national parks, but have zero diagnosis about why it's happening.

Our Dirty Little Secret: Who’s Really Poor in America?
The problem today for most isn’t this recession, it’s that except for the top 10 percent, average household income hasn’t changed a bit for 10 to 20 years.

The problem today for most isn't this recession, it's that except for the top 10 percent, average household income hasn't changed a bit for 10 to 20 years.

All Dems, including Progressives, Need to Back Obama on Health Reform
The next two to three weeks will determine whether the United States gets on a better track toward including all citizens in health coverage and controlling costs in the public interest. This is NOT the moment for Democrats to posture…



United States - Democratic Party - Abortion - Bart Stupak - Politics

Amtrak Censors Research on Racist Attacks on Government Elites
So I’m riding on the train taking advantage of Amtrak’s wifi service. I’m doing some googling searches and get the following response: Oops! You can’t visit this site because it contains content belonging to the category of: Intolerance & Hate…


Amtrak - United States - Government - Agencies - Independent