Day 303 of CHOPE

See, Barack been talking down to black people on this faith based ... I want [to] cut his nuts off ... Barack ... he's talking down to black people.

Jesse Jackson,
racialist shakedown artist, philanderer,
former spiritual adviser to philandering Bill Clinton,
and self-styled healer and Rainbow president,
expressing his desire to put more daylight
between Mr. Obama's legs
WASHINGTON July 10, 2008 (Telegraph)

Mr. Jackson wants us to know that talking down to black people is bad. And talking down to black people by a black man is worthy of nut-cutting. [Pause.] Unless, of course, the black man talking down to black people is Mr. Jackson himself.

JESSE JACKSON: 'YOU CAN'T VOTE AGAINST HEALTHCARE
AND CALL YOURSELF A BLACK MAN'

November 18, 2009 (The Hill) - The Rev. Jesse Jackson at a reception Wednesday night held by the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Foundation, part of a series of events revolving around the 25th anniversary of Jackson’s run for president, criticized Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL, 7th) for voting against the Democrats’ signature healthcare bill:

We even have blacks voting against the healthcare bill from Alabama. You can’t vote against healthcare and call yourself a black man.

The remark stirred a murmur at the reception... Jackson said later that he "didn't call anybody by name and I won't."

For whom was Mr. Jackson's excommunication intended? [Pause.] Let's take a wild guess.

Davis, who is running for governor, is the only black member of Congress from Alabama. He is also the only member of the CBC to have voted against the healthcare bill earlier this month.

[Mr. Jackson] added that he wasn't saying that black lawmakers must vote a certain way.

By all means vote your constituency, but Mr. Jackson may have to de-certify you as a black person if your consitutency draws you off the Jackson plantation.

Instead, they should vote the interests of the people in their districts, and he said the healthcare bill would help Alabama because it's one of the poorest states in the country.

BLACKNESS CZAR
Wields Mysterious Whitening Power

Not only is Mr. Jackson an authority on black manliness, he is also an expert on the constituency of Alabama's 7th district. That constituency voted Mr. Davis into office -- as Mr. Jackson makes obvious -- wilfully against their own interests. [Pause.] Mr. Davis replied:

The best way to honor Rev. Jackson’s legacy is to decline to engage in an argument with him that begins and ends with race.

Mr. Jackson is no more concerned with the content of health care legislation than he is with Mr. Davis's negritude. Mr. Jackson is a career race hustler whose only constituency is Mr. Jackson.

CHOPE.

Certificate on file with Rainbow/PUSH.

Day 302 of CHOPE

Brush up here and here.

Now, I recognize, though, you make a legitimate -- you raise a legitimate concern. People say, well, how can a private company compete against the government? ... I mean, if you think about -- if you think about it, UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, right? No, they are. It's the Post Office that's always having problems. (Laughter.)

Mr. Obama,
comparing competitive government-subsidized
health insurance with the government-subsidized
United States Post Office
HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM TOWN HALL
PORTSMOUTH, New Hampshire
August 11, 2009 (White House)

Mr. Obama here compares his public option -- government subsidized health insurance cut loose from the market -- to the government-subsidized Postal Services monopoly. [Pause.] It's pretty exciting.

US POSTAL SERVICE HAS $3.8 BLN LOSS IN FISCAL '09

WASHINGTON November 16, 2009 (Reuters) - The U.S. Postal Service reported a $3.8 billion net loss for its fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, as some $6 billion in cost savings were not enough to keep pace with plunging mail volumes.

... The 12.7 percent drop in mail volume to 177.1 billion pieces from a year earlier was more than double any previous decline the agency has seen, said Joseph Corbett, the agency's chief financial officer. Mr. Corbett:

Primarily it was the recession which drove the volumes down so quickly and with very little warning to us.

An ongoing recession since December 2007, yeah, that caught a lot of people by surprise.

The loss would have been worse except for legislation which allowed the agency to postpone the recognition of billions of dollars in prefunded retiree health benefit payments.

... Without changes to the delivery week and benefits payment schedule, the Postal Service forecast a net loss of $7.8 billion for 2010 with mail volume falling by 11 billion pieces.

Just a reminder, Obamacare will be this good.

CHOPE.

Profits not needed.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

ANOTHER UPDATE:

Q: Would you have bowed [to Emperor Akihito]?

No, sir.

Sarah Palin,
repudiating fanny-high, head-low diplomacy
INTERVIEW November 17, 2009 (NRO)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE 11.18.09: Hey! Enough with the bowing!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Day 301 of CHOPE

One last look and then we let this go.

MR. OBAMA'S HEINIE
Enemies Are Invited To Kick It, Allies To Admire It,
And The Rest Of Us To Kiss It
[Graphic source: Michael Ramirez, IBD]

OK, OK, one more. On a lighter note.

馬鹿 外国人

Mortifying.

Day 300 of CHOPE

BUSINESS AS USUAL
Nothing To See.

A recurring theme of Mr. Obama's campaign was how he would engage the American people, lawmakers, and industry groups in public discussions when shaping health care reform. Mr. Obama bragged these discussions, his reform process, would be broadcast on C-SPAN. Not once but repeatedly. Mr. Obama:

You know I respect what the Clintons tried to do in 1993 in moving health reform forward. But they made one really big mistake. And that is they took all their people and all their experts into a room and then they closed the door and they tried to design the plan in isolation from the American people. ... And we will work on this process publicly. It'll be on C-SPAN. It'll be streaming over the net.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California November 14, 2007
(CQ Transcriptions/politifact.com)

Not negotiating behind closed doors but bringing all parties together and broadcasting those negotiations on C-SPAN so the American people can see what the choices are, 'cause part of what we have to do is enlist the American people in this process.

LOS ANGELES January 31, 2008 (CNN)

I'm going to have all the negotiations around a big table. We'll have doctors and nurses and hospital administrators. Insurance companies, drug companies — they'll get a seat at the table, they just won't be able to buy every chair. But what we will do is, we'll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies. And so, that approach, I think is what is going to allow people to stay involved in this process.

CHESTER, Virginia August 21, 2008
(CQ Transcriptions/politifact.com)

None of this has happened. Quite the opposite. No health care plan has been publicly negotiated. Mr. Obama's big table never materialized. And no big table, no C-SPAN broadcasts, no Internet streams.

Team Barry never authored a health reform plan. Instead this was jobbed out to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, whose respective committees drafted several partisan monster bills. Although differently provisioned, each bill is confusedly referred to as "the plan". Objections to one "plan" are brushed aside by talking up a differently provisioned "plan". What all these bills have in common is neither Congress nor Mr. Obama intends to read them.

When the poll numbers went against him, Mr. Obama dismissed the American people.

Finally, to make a thorough job of trashing his pledge, Mr. Obama has held private meetings and cut secret deals with industry groups behind closed doors.

WHITE HOUSE DECLINES TO DISCLOSE VISITS
BY HEALTH INDUSTRY EXECUTIVES
WASHINGTON July 22, 2009 (LAT)

DRUG FIRMS CUT SECRET DEAL WITH OBAMA, CONGRESS
June 21, 2009 (CHB)

The actual agreement reached was not disclosed, just the cheering news that the drug industry was making its contributions to help finance and promote "the plan". Details of the agreement came to light when an uninformed House sought more punishing "contributions" from the drug industry.

WHITE HOUSE AFFIRMS DEAL ON DRUG COST

WASHINGTON August 5, 2009 (NYT) - Pressed by industry lobbyists, White House officials on Wednesday assured drug makers that the administration stood by a behind-the-scenes deal to block any Congressional effort to extract cost savings from them beyond an agreed-upon $80 billion.

... Representative Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ, 7th), co-chairman of the House progressive caucus:

We have all been focused on the debate in Congress, but perhaps the deal has already been cut. That would put us in the untenable position of trying to scuttle it. ... It is a pivotal issue not just about health care. Are industry groups going to be the ones at the table who get the first big piece of the pie and we just fight over the crust?

... Billy Tauzin, president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA):

They [scil., WH and Senate] blessed the deal.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House was not bound by any industry deals with the Senate or the White House.

Of course publicly supporting secret provisions of a secret deal can be tricky.

OBAMA REVERSES STAND ON DRUG INDUSTRY DEAL

WASHINGTON August 7, 2009 (NYT) - The Obama administration backed away from what drug industry lobbyists called a promise not to let the government negotiate lower drug prices under Medicare. ... The full terms of the White House agreement with the drug makers, like a similar deal with the hospital industry, have never been disclosed.

Ken Johnson, a senior PhRMA official:

All of the questions about what was in the agreement distract from our shared goal of making sure everyone has access to health care coverage.

Stop distracting government and corproate humanitarians with pesky questions. Why can't we all just trust Mr. Obama's secret deal is for the best? [Pause.] Here's why.

DRUG MAKERS RAISE PRICES
IN FACE OF HEALTH CARE REFORM

November 15, 2009 (NYT) - Even as drug makers promise to support Washington’s health care overhaul by shaving $8 billion a year off the nation’s drug costs after the legislation takes effect, the industry has been raising its prices at the fastest rate in years.

... This year’s increases mean the average annual cost for a brand-name prescription drug that is taken daily would be more than $2,000 — $200 higher than last year, Professor Schondelmeyer said.

... The drug trend is distinctly at odds with the direction of the Consumer Price Index, which has fallen by 1.3 percent in the last year.

Drug makers say they have valid business reasons for the price increases. Critics say the industry is trying to establish a higher price base before Congress passes legislation that tries to curb drug spending in coming years.

... A Harvard health economist, Joseph P. Newhouse, said he found a similar pattern of unusual price increases after Congress added drug benefits to Medicare a few years ago, giving tens of millions of older Americans federally subsidized drug insurance. Just as the program was taking effect in 2006, the drug industry raised prices by the widest margin in a half-dozen years.

“They try to maximize their profits,” Mr. Newhouse said.

Some deal. Some shared goal.

“Price adjustments for our products have no connection to health care reform,” said Ron Rogers, a spokesman for Merck, which raised its prices about 8.9 percent in the last year, according to a stock analyst’s report.

Oh yeah. Got that.

CHOPE.

The best deals are surprises.

Day 300 of CHOPE

N.A.A.C.P. PRODS OBAMA ON JOB LOSSES

November 16, 2009 (NYT) - With unemployment among blacks at more than 15 percent, the N.A.A.C.P. will join several other groups on Tuesday to call on President Obama to do more to create jobs.

They will call for increased spending for schools and roads, billions of dollars in fiscal relief to state and local governments to forestall more layoffs and a direct government jobs program, "especially in distressed communities facing severe unemployment."

In speaking out on jobs, N.A.A.C.P. leaders say they are not trying to pick a fight with the first African-American president. Rather, they say, they are pressing Mr. Obama in an area where they believe he wants to be pressured.

The N.A.A.C.P. promotes itself as nonpartisan, which is to say it is reliably anti-Republican and slavishly Democratic, ah, which is to say partisan.* That it feels compelled to "prod" a black Democratic president evinces the desperate black unemployment situation. Good luck with that. Mr. Obama, aside from being the post-racial president, is a standard issue Democrat. Blacks shouldn't expect anything special for their vote. Bummer when your political fortunes turn on identity politics.

The Economic Policy Institute, a liberal research group, coordinated the jobs statement being released Tuesday, which will also be joined by the Center for Community Change:

Despite an effective and bold recovery package, we are still facing a prolonged period of high unemployment. ... Two years from now, absent further action, we are likely to have unemployment at 8 percent or more, a higher rate than attained even at the worst point of the last two downturns.

Oh, please. The complaint belies the claim of a "effective and bold recovery package". Here is what the N.A.A.C.P., along with the rest of us, can expect.

(A) Q: Will unemployment reach 10%?

Yes.

Q: Before the end of this year?

Yes.

(B) The last recession that we had, the recovery was termed a "jobless recovery."** We can't repeat that approach.

Mr. Obama,
(A)INTERVIEW June 14, 2009 (ABC News/Bloomberg)
(B) REMARKS AFTER MEETING
PRIME MINISTER BALKENENDE OF THE NETHERLANDS
WASHINGTON July 14, 2009 (White House)

The level of unemployment is unacceptably high. And will, by all forecasts, remain unacceptably high for a number of years.

Larry "Sleepyhead" Summers,
Director, National Economic Council,
defending the "unacceptably high unemployment" recovery
September 11, 2009 (Politico)

As far as the overall economy is concerned, private sector forecasters tell us that by the second half of next year, net job growth should be positive, unemployment should be coming down.

Jared Bernstein,
chief economic adviser to Vice President Joe Biden,
confirming forecasts of at least eight more months
of high unemployment
INTERVIEW October 30, 2009 (CBS)

Should be. Could be. Maybe. Solid confidence in a genuine jobless recovery.

CHOPE.

All our lines are currently busy. Please hang up and call again. This is a recording.

------------------------------------
* Why the Democrats own the black vote is something of a mystery. Then again, maybe not such a mystery.

** During Mr. Bush's "jobless" recovery unemployment went down (2003-4, from 6.2% to 5.6%), while Mr. Obama himself and his minions admit that unemployment will continue to rise in his fabulous recovery (January-October, 7.6%-10.2%).

When bowing while standing, there is the "highest respectful bow" (saikeirei,最敬礼), which is executed from a position of standing straight upward, and then bending 45-degrees or more. The "respectful bow" (敬礼) is at 30-to-40 degrees, and everyday "eshaku" (会釈) around 15-degrees.

"Saikeirei" is not seen on a regular basis, but is used in order to offer an apology, or when one is extremely grateful for something received, as well as performed before the altar of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples.

In the case of a handshake, straighten the back, and by all means one must look directly into the face (eyes) of the recipient of one’s handshake. It is not to be too strong and not too light. Too strong will reflect an insult and too weak will not reflect good will. In America, such a weak handshake is called a "dead fish handshake", with the feeling being the person wields a dead fish.

And, shaking a hand while performing a bow will be seen as subservient, and is not to be done.

The wrong greeting. The wrong bow. The wrong message.

Back home we disagree with Mr. Obama on many things, but we do not wish him as representing the United States to appear a clown abroad. We are embarrassed for him. There is someone -- someone at State or perhaps Mr. Obama himself -- who thinks CHOPE obviates protocol.

馬鹿 外国人

------------------------------------------------------------------------

ALMOST INSTANT UPDATE: Oh my.

It would seem the settled protocol for heads of state greeting the emperor is a handshake. Not too chummy, just a shake.

[Pause.] In fairness to Mr. Obama, the handshake is the settled protocol among experienced world leaders who check in with a competent chef de protocole. As everyone knows, Mr. Obama is informed by the clueless (and this and this and this and this), by clowns (and here and this), and by the seriously-less-than-competent (and this and this and this and this, to link but a bunch).

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Day 299 of CHOPE

[T]he "thou need not bow" commandment from the State Department's protocol office maintained a constancy of more than 200 years.

The NYT musing on then-President Clinton
taking a dip to Emperor Akihito
June 19, 1994 (NYT)

Poor Mr. Obama. He can't stop embarrassing himself. [Pause.] And the United States.

STATESMAN VS. WANNABE
(L) Mr. Cheney Shakes Hands With Emperor Aikihito. February 21, 2007.
(R) Mr. Obama Muffs His Etiquette With The Emperor, November 14, 2009.

The spot art reads:

(L) Label: Correct; caption: World Leader.
(R) Label: Incorrect; caption: Clueless Foreigner.
Our geisha teeters politely behind her hand: "Oh! Hee hee!"

The very formal bow accorded the emperor of Japan by a subject, begins from a settled stance. With back straight, the upper body bends forward from the waist between a 45° and 90° angle. The back is kept straight, the head stays aligned with the spine, the eyes are lowered, the hands are firmly held at the sides (the deeper the bow the lower the hands till they reach the sides of the knees), and the bum is not pushed out.

Mr. Obama has attempted some of this from a gallop but hiked his bum, curved his back, and let the left hand dangle in his fork. He has also combined his bow with the business practice of shaking hands.

It is common in Japanese business to bow and shake hands, but the bow is less formal. If you are bowing to the emperor, you would not also shake his hand. You would certainly not shake his hand before it was clearly offered. Mr. Obama's poor form will look odd to a Japanese. How odd? [Pause.] Imagine Angela Merkel assaying a simultaneous military salute and handshake with Mr. Obama. That odd.

An appropropriate bow is correctly executed here by -- Richard Nixon. Mr. Nixon, like Mr. Obama, is not a subject of Japan. His bow is respectful but collegial.

Elder Japanese will appreciate Mr. Obama's clumsy effort because they are polite and forgiving toward foreigners. But the rest of Japan might be more impressed if Mr. Obama weren't so anxious to stoop.

Jake Tapper of ABC News reports:

An old friend -- an academic with expertise about the Japanese Empire, and in general a supporter of President Obama -- sends me the following note, relating to photographs of President Obama bowing to Emperor Akihito of Japan. ...

His bow is neither (1) unprecedented nor (2) a sign of cultural understanding.

... Obama's handshake/forward lurch was so jarring and inappropriate it recalls Bush's back-rub of Merkel.

Kyodo News is running his appropriate and reciprocated nod and shake with the Empress, certainly to show the president as dignified, and not in the form of a first year English teacher trying to impress with Karate Kid-level knowledge of Japanese customs.

The bow as he performed did not just display weakness in Red State terms, but evoked weakness in Japanese terms. ... The last thing the Japanese want or need is a weak looking American president and, again, in all ways, he unintentionally played that part.

Where does Mr. Obama receive his instruction in comportment?

CHOPE.

Still to come, the 2012 bow-out.

Day 298 of CHOPE

Seen outside Oslo, Norway. [Pause.] Oops. Make that near Southport, North Carolina.

NEW! SHRIMP PEACE TACO
Combo With "Hero Of Solidarity" Bean Burrito

Last month Mr. Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for apparently nothing. Well, for nothing and not being GWB. The latter criterion probably qualifies you, too. You can pick yours up with an order of the shrimp peace taco near Southport, NC.

The real accomplishments of Mohandas Gandhi and Pope John Paul II were never deemed deserving by the Nobel Peace Committee* while fraudster Al "Green Fatty" Gore (2007 laureate), slacker Mohamed "What's To Worry?" ElBaradei (2005 laureate), and career terrorist Yassir Arafat (1994 laureate) received Nobel candy.

We question whether an NPP promotional giveaway adds anything to the commercial appeal of a shrimp taco.**

CHOPE.

World prestige for as little as $4.99 -- without the embarrassing suck-up.

------------------------------------
* The NPC is a bit queasy on the omission of Ghandi. But no winces about JPII.

Day 297 of CHOPE

(A) It’s time to be patriotic, Kate. Time to jump in. Time to be part of the deal. Time to help America get out of the rut.

(B) Now, people when I say that look at me and say, ‘What are you talking about, Joe? You're telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?"

The answer is yes, I’m telling you.

Joe "I'm No Economist" Biden,
(A) encouraging patriots to come forward,
checkbook in hand
GOOD MORNING AMERICA
September 19, 2008 (CSM)
(B) arguing owing trillions will prevent
bankruptcy owing billions
AARP TOWN HALL
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia July 16, 2009 (CNS)

Government spending is up. The deficit is way up. The national debt is way way up. [Pause.] Consumer confidence and housing sales are down. Federal tax revenues* are way down. Employment, the government tax engine, is way way down.**

It's time to be patriotic!

WORRIED ABOUT U.S. DEBT?
SEND YOUR DONATION HERE

WASHINGTON November 12, 2009 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department accepts gifts, payable to the Bureau of the Public Debt. Just mail them to the attention of Department G, Post Office Box 2188, Parkersburg, West Virginia, 26106-2188. Make a note in the memo section that it is a gift to reduce the debt held by the public.

Yes, really.

... According to Treasury spokesman Kim Treat, people do send checks. In the last fiscal year they added up to a little over $3 million, which was the highest total since at least 1996.

YOUR MONEY
Who Needs It More, Mr. Obama Or You?

Show your patriotism. Prop up Team Barry's big spending. Show your confidence in the Obama economy.

Pony up!

What we have to do is to take a look at our structural deficit, how are we paying for government, what are we getting for it, and how do we make the system more efficient? ... Everybody is going to have to give. Everybody is going to have to have some skin in the game.

Mr. Obama,
president-elect, previewing his broken tax pledge
(and this)
THIS WEEK INTERVIEW
WASHINGTON January 11, 2009 (ABC News)

Mr. Obama asks that you put a little giddy-up in the patriotism.

Q: At what point do we run out of money?

Well, I mean, we're out of money now.

Mr. Obama,
Spender-in-chief, answering the $24 trillion question
INTERVIEW May 23, 2009 (C-Span)

CHOPE.

Soak the CHOPE.

------------------------------------
* Also state tax revenues plummet.

Day 297 of CHOPE

The American people voted to restore integrity and honesty in Washington, D.C., and the Democrats intend to lead the most honest, most open and most ethical Congress in history.

Nancy Pelosi (D-CA, 8th),
soon-to-be-Speaker, bragging on the Democratic majority
WASHINGTON November 7, 2006 (WaPo)

Back in August former 9-term Representative William Jefferson (D-LA, 2nd) was convicted for "the most extensive and pervasive pattern of corruption in the history of Congress." [Pause.] Historic. [Pause.] Superlative.

Under investigation since 2005 for crimes dating back to 2001, Mr. Jefferson was re-elected in 2006 to Nancy Pelosi's superlative 110th Congress. To the Speaker's credit she barred him from his committee assignment on the House Ways and Means Committee, which he had been stripped of by first an intra-party vote (99/58) followed by a full House voice vote.* Mr. Jefferson was indicted in 2007 and charged with 16 counts of corruption (eventually convicted on 11 counts). In 2008 he ran to rejoin the superlative Congress, but this time was defeated by Republican Anh Cao** while Mr. Obama carried the district with 72% of the vote.

Today justice finally caught up with Mr. Jefferson.

WILLIAM JEFFERSON SENTENCED
TO 13 YEARS IN PRISON

November 13, 2009 (NOLA) - Former Rep. William Jefferson was sentenced Friday to serve 13 years in prison for what the lead prosecutor described as "the most extensive and pervasive pattern of corruption in the history of Congress."

While the sentence by federal Judge T.S. Ellis III fell well short of the 27 to 33 years recommended by the government, it is by the far the stiffest jail term ever imposed on a member or former member of Congress for crimes committed while in office.

... The judge also ordered Jefferson to forfeit the $470,653.47 the jury had determined was funneled to shell companies under his family's control through his bribe schemes.

... Unresolved Friday was whether Jefferson was actually convicted of any crime related to the $90,000 that was found hidden in his freezer when the FBI raided his Washington home in August 2005. The FBI and prosecutors believe Jefferson intended to deliver the money as a bribe to Atiku Abubakar, who was then vice president of Nigeria, which would violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He was acquitted of the direct charge of violating the act, but convicted of a conspiracy count which may or may not have involved the act. Ellis said because he failed to make the jury form more specific, that question will never be resolved.

CHOPE.

Historic. Superlative. Corrupt.

------------------------------------
* Ironically, instrumental in the removal of Mr. Jefferson was CBC colleague Charles Rangel (D-NY, 15th), perhaps second only to Mr. Jefferson the most ethically and fiscally disordered representative in the House (and here and here). Mr. Rangel is currently under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for fraud, tax evasion, negligence, improper solicitation, self-dealing, and other alleged malfeasance dating back over a decade. To date Mr. Rangel has not been censured, disciplined, or asked to resign the powerful chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. Many of Mr. Rangel's allegements fall within the province of this committee. [Pause.] Coincidentally.

** Mr. Cao later dutifully voted as a Jefferson clone for Pelosicare, the only Republican to do so.

Day 289 of CHOPE

The American people voted to restore integrity and honesty in Washington, D.C., and the Democrats intend to lead the most honest, most open and most ethical Congress in history.

Nancy Pelosi (D-CA, 8th),
soon-to-be-Speaker, bragging on the Democratic majority
WASHINGTON November 7, 2006 (WaPo)

Here is the most open Congress in history in practice.

(A) Q: Madam Speaker, do you support the measure to put the final House bill online for 72 hours before it's voted on at the very end?

Absolutely. Without question.

------------------------------------

(B) No; [the] pledge was to have manager’s amendment online for 72 hours, and we will do that.

(A) Nancy Pelosi
promising a 72-hour review of impending
health care insurance reform legislation
WASHINGTON September 23, 2009 (TWS)
(B) Brendan Daly,
Pelosi spokesman, reinventing the speaker's pledge
WASHINGTON November 5, 2009 (TWS)

The "manager's amendment" is not the final bill. This manager's amendment adds more engorgements to the engorged original (H.R. 3962*). The bill itself is not final until all amendments are voted in or out.

This is not just procedural niggling. Only scoring the final bill gives the best guess as to costs and the underlying funding. And it is nice to think that, given the chance, lawmakers might actually read what they are voting for or against.

Before the advent of the superlative Congress, Nancy Pelosi thought legislation should be read and understood before a vote was held. Here she is January 14, 2005:

And I guess I've spent too many long hours for too many long years in the Ethics Committee room trying to respect the rights of members but our higher -- and our higher responsibility to uphold an ethical standard. To see the Republicans today run roughshod. Rigging the rules. Negotiating for jobs. No reading of the bill. It's an outrage. It's an absolute outrage.

... In our motion to recommit we also addressed the three-day rule. As many of you recall in recent memory there was occasion on the floor when a huge bill of many thousands of pages containing nine appropriations bills, seven of which never appeared on the floor of the United States Senate, came before this House with a matter of ah, a overnight pass [sic]. And the Rules Committee came to the floor the next morning without any chance of people, ah, members being able to read the bill.

... But because of the abuse of power in this House that the ah, the ah, ah, ignoring of the three-day rule that members can't even see what they're voting on before they vote on it -- and something like looking at your tax returns could be sneaked into the bill without any safeguards to protect you from that.

... Even if you separate yourself from any of the examples and just say "I sent you to Congress to represent me. You do that and what you say there and how you vote and I expect that you know what you are voting on." So the message to the American people here tonight is, this afternoon is a vote for the motion to recommit is a vote for members to be able to read a bill before they vote on it. Is that asking too much?

"Is that asking too much?" Oh, Nancy! You whore!

CHOPE.

Whoredom and superlative whoredom.

------------------------------------
* This is an unwieldy download. Also check out the underwhelming support for the bill in the spot poll.

Day 288 of CHOPE

GUBERNATORIAL RACES IN NEW JERSEY,
VIRGINIA TO TEST OBAMA'S PRESTIGE

October 21, 2009 (FNC) - New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine and Virginia hopeful Creigh Deeds are both counting on President Obama to secure wins for them in the November 3 gubernatorial races. ... Obama won both New Jersey and Virginia comfortably in the 2008 election. ... Democrats hope the president's popularity translates into voter turnout. Obama's job approval, though lower than when he entered office, hovers at just above 50 percent.

We have just started to change this country, and we need a partner like Creigh Deeds to finish the work that we just began. (Applause.)

Mr. Obama,
promoting gubenatorial candidate Creigh Deeds
as an essential extension of CHOPE
TYSONS CORNER, Virginia August 6, 2009 (White House)

MR: OBAMA: He's [scil., Jon Corzine] one of the best partners I have in the White House. We work together. We know our work is far from over.

MR. CORZINE: I'm here to ask you a simple question: Are you ready to keep it going? Today I am standing with President Obama. That tells you everything you need to know.

Flaunting the Obama brand at Corzine re-election rally
CAMDEN, New Jersey November 1, 2009 (WT/AP*)

Surely everyone wants to keep the CHOPE going?

Uh-oh.

MCDONNELL LEADS GOP SWEEP
OF STATEWIDE RACES

November 4, 2009 (RTD) - Bob McDonnell [58.61%/41.25%; a double-digit margin of victory, 15.36%] led a Republican sweep of Virginia’s statewide races yesterday, restoring the GOP to power after eight years out of the governor’s office. ... Republicans also won the governor’s race in New Jersey, another rebuff to President Barack Obama and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, the president’s hand-picked chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

CHRISTIE BESTS CORZINE
IN ELECTION FOR N.J. GOVERNOR

EAST BRUNSWICK, New Jersey November 4, 2009 (WaPo) - Republican Chris Christie, who decisively defeated incumbent Democrat Jon S. Corzine [48.7%/44.6%; a 4.1% margin of victory] Tuesday to become New Jersey's next governor, said he was prepared to face the economic turmoil that propelled him to victory and soon will be first on the list of state problems he hopes to solve.

... President Obama came to New Jersey three times in the past week to urge voters to come out for "my partner."

Going into certain losses at Virginia and New Jersey statewide ballots, the White House thoughtfully assessed Mr. Obama's efforts. Robert Gibbs, WH press secretary, election day:

Again, we don't look at either of these gubernatorial races or the congressional race as something that portends a lot for our legislative efforts going forward or political prospects in 2010.

In fact so inconsequential are these races, why Mr. Obama, after campaigning for both candidates, just lost interest. Again, Mr. Gibbs, the day after:

[Mr. Obama] never watched [the election returns] when he was running.**

In Mr. Obama's defense, Mr. Gibbs made that up.

If Democrats had won the governorships, well, dear skimmer, that would be an entirely different story.

CHOPE.

Reverse-o-fortune.

------------------------------------
* None of this love can be found on the White House site. Not part of the official legend. The last Corzine boost is the rally speech of October 21, 2009, where Mr. Obama offers perfunctory support.

** Nowhere to be found on the White House site. Not part of the official legend.

Day 287 of CHOPE

I ran for President pledging to change the way business is done in Washington and build a government that works for the people by opening it up to the people.

Mr. Obama,
reminding us what people will say to get elected
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON EARMARK REFORM
WASHINGTON March 11, 2009 (White House)

BUSINESS AS USUAL
Nothing To See.

NOW, A SECRET OATH-GIVING CLOSED TO THE PRESS

November 3, 2009 (LAT) - A short time from now Vice President Joe Biden will disappear again from the public eye.

Don't worry too much. It's nothing involving a hidden bunker, that anyone knows about at least.

We've mentioned here before the Veepster's proclivity for the same kind of private, which is to say closed to the press, which is to say secret meetings that his evil predecessor Dangerous Dick Cheney also preferred, despite denunciations by Democrats in Congress, where Biden had served since his current boss was 11 years old.

Funny coincidence too because today is the first anniversary of that 2008 election eve when Obama and Biden wrapped up their successful $750 million campaign for the White House promising change to believe in and historic governing transparency involving such things as no lobbyists [and here and this], publicly posting legislation [and here] days before signing and open meetings on C-SPAN.*

This is another busy day for Biden, full of speech-listening and lunch-giving.

... But the Biden schedule item that intrigues most today involves another one of his secret meetings, one that on the surface would not seem to require secrecy. It's the swearing-in of the president's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

Not only that, it's the ceremonial swearing-in, meaning they're already been sworn in officially. This one is just for fun.

What kind of Democratic arts projects require secrecy?

Maybe something like this (follow-up here and here).

CHOPE.

Known by hand and sign.

------------------------------------
* Good luck sussing out Mr. Obama's open government (and this).

Day 285 of CHOPE

...from Freddy Kreuger.

Yes, that Freddy Kreuger -- the serial child murderer meted rough justice by the community and burned alive only to continue his career in dreamland as a teen murdering revenant. Who better to speak to us on health care reform?

Mr. Kreuger speaks to us in the person of Robert Englund, the actor who originally played Freddy* in A Nightmare on Elm Street. Mr. Englund, rips his heart out (so to speak) and pins it to his sleeve where he invites us to to admire its tremulous beat. For Mr. Englund has been affeared by the health care reform debate. [Pause.] Mr. Englund. The original Freddy Kreuger (as he reminds us in his byline). [Pause.] Affeared.

Mr. Englund, Freddy:

Normally, I embrace fear. I traffic in fear. Fear has been good to yours truly.

But if there's anything scaring me these days, it's the blatant misuse of fear in regards to health care reform. I am appalled at the brazen lies being propagated by opponents of reform specifically to scare the elderly and other vulnerable segments of our society (and this). Pushing untruths about "death panels" and "pulling the plug on Grandma" are not helping the debate.

If we're going to achieve effective health care in this country, we need an honest public discussion based on facts: how do we pay for reform, how will it work, who will be covered?

YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE: OBAMACARE
To Question Is To Fear Monger

These are important issues than cannot be solved while lobbyists, pundits and "tea-baggers"** are muddying the waters by marketing fear. The only people who should be scared by health care reform are those who make a profit off of other people's suffering and illness.

Where to begin? Let's take the last point first. Mr. Englund dismisses lobbyists, pundits and "tea-baggers" from the health care debate. Who does that leave? Well, it leaves Mr. Englund and those who agree with Freddy.

Mr. Englund's intent is not to engage critics, advance ideas, or enlarge the debate. Quite the opposite. Mr. Englund's idea of serious debate is to go along with Mr. Obama. We are only guessing here, but we doubt Mr. Englund has read any more of Obamacare (1,502 pages) or Pelosicare (1,990 pages) than John Conyers, (D-MI, 14th). Still, Mr. Englund has serious problems with those who have read and object to parts of these bills.

Freddy is not affeared. Mr. Englund is annoyed. And he'd very much appreciate your getting with the program.

Normally we don't check in with Mr. Englund on policy debate, but we find the quality of his argument indicative of Obamacare boosters. Essentially, "Shut up!"

CHOPE.

Freddy's got CHOPE.

------------------------------------
* Recently displaced by Jackie Earle Haley, who reprises the role in the re-make franchise.

** Mr. Englund introduces the sexual slur to his call for thoughtful civil discourse.

Day 284 of CHOPE

The scariest mask this year is the CHOPEster.

THE CHOPESTER
All Tricks, No Treats

Full-size cut-out mask here.

Assembly Instructions: Print out on sturdy card stock. Cut out mask along dashed line. Punch out the Xed circles on the eyes for visibility. Punch out the Xed circles on the ears and attach a sufficient length of string ear-to-ear to secure mask to head.

CHOPE.

Not so scary in Russia, Iran (and this), or North Korea.

Le jour 899 de Sarko

We have retired from Pave France but would be remiss not to post this.

CHIRAC ORDERED TO FACE TRIAL IN FRANCE

PARIS October 30, 2009 (NYT) - An investigating magistrate on Friday ordered the former French president, Jacques Chirac [Votez l'escroc, pas le facho!], to stand trial on corruption charges dating to his time years ago as mayor of Paris, reinforcing the whiff [Whiff? Stink. Stench. Foetor. A pervasive gagging mephitis.] of alleged [Alleged!? Alain Carignon, convicted; Roland Dumas, convicted (reversed on appeal); Edith Cresson, convicted; Alain Juppé, convicted; Michel Roussin, Michel Giraud, convicted; Charles Pasqua, convicted] malfeasance swirling around the political elite here and inspiring debate about the pace of judicial processes.

If he comes to trial, Mr. Chirac will be the first former French head of state to be prosecuted for corruption, offering a humiliating bookend to a political career that spanned more than 30 years. A statement from his office described him as “serene” in face of the accusations.

The order by the magistrate, Xavière Simeoni, may still be challenged by public prosecutors who have already requested that the charges against the conservative [!] Mr. Chirac, 76, be dropped, because there were no grounds to pursue them and because some had expired under the statute of limitations.

... A trial would place Mr. Chirac in uncomfortable company: the last French former head of state to face trial was Marshal Henri Phillipe Pétain, who was charged with treason [and convicted] in 1945 for collaborating with the Nazi occupation.

Ségolène Royal -- failed, bitter, persecuted, and failed again Socialist politico -- offers conflicted forgiveness in une petite phrase:

These are old stories and, today, Jacques Chirac probably has lots of things on his conscience, but at the same time he has given a lot to the country. He deserves to be left alone, but justice must be the same for everyone.

Even if he deserves this, it’s not good for France’s image.

Yes. The desserts of justice, equality before the law -- these are bad for France's "image", which usually trumps such bother. [Pause.] It's hard to believe she failed to connect with French voters.

Ex-Jack's political opponents aren't too happy because, notional ideologies aside, French politics is a chummy confraternity of crooks. If the big crook can be caught, what hope the little crooks?

PFFT (What is this?): On vous laisse juge 5 | Rayonnement français 4½