Do you know who Grover Norquist is?

I know... I know...

A parasite who sucks the lifeblood out of those who DON'T occupy the 1% slot? Right?

Wishing everyone a Happy, Healthy & Peaceful 2012!

We have plenty of work ahead of us this year, making sure President Barack Obama is re-elected to steer this ship into calmer waters...

Sadly, Backhouse, what the American people want and think do not matter to the party of no.

BTW, Happy New year to you!!!!

Morning Feisty,

The children were up at 'em early this morning. Hadn't even had my coffee.

Happy New Year to you & Mr. Feisty

Backhouse, good old Grover, he's got his greedy little fingers in everything.

Good morning Backhouse,

So true. Norquist is nothing more than a hired gun that pushes the wishes of the super rich through the GOP.

Ron Paul needs to:

1. address the racism issues in the Newsletters better
2. explain how ignoring Iran until they can send a nuke to Israel or our way is gonna work
3. a better explanation why 9/11 was our fault
4. how ignoring Al Qaeda or the Taliban is going to protect American citizens in any way from violent mass terrorist attacks???
5. how letting the country fall apart when there is NO regulation or agencies making sure cut-throat corporations aren't screwing the 99% is gonna work out!!

Poor Calista: here Newtie promised her she would be Nancy Reagan, and she isn't going to be. I wonder how surprised the two of them are to find out that Americans do not have such short memories after all?

The story about the "teabaggers" being splintered is no surprise. Those poor folks never did know much to begin with. But it must be a nightmare to them to realize that they are pushing Romney into first. But, Romney still can't break out of the mid 20%. No enthusiasm for him at all. Got to wonder how that translates to the general.

So, nothing much has changed.

Poor Calista: here Newtie promised her she would be Nancy Reagan

That broad makes Cindy McCain look warm & caring...

To all of you who post on here and the MSNBC STAFF -

Have a HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Keep healthy and see you next year.

Tom

Obama in 2012.

They have implied that Callista is the prime motivator behind Newt's run. Wonder if that is true? If so, just goes to prove that there is nothing like an old coot trying to behave like a young one!

Here's another storyline, one that forms the backdrop of the broader campaign beyond Iowa: America in decline. That's a commonplace fear in the country these days and an unsettling idea many may ponder anew as we end one year and begin another. Something like 70% of us think the country is on the wrong track. And confidence in our institutions – both public and private – is at historic lows.

But being an unrepentant optimist in such matters, my take is that the decline of America has been greatly exaggerated. That doesn't mean we don't have our problems, but what it does mean is the sense of inevitability of decline is misplaced. Indeed, our decline is inevitable only if the purveyors of this meme prevail and use their power to implement policies consistent with a worldview that consigns American exceptionalism to the dustbin of history.

That would be a mistake of grand proportions and we can already see the outlines of the debate on this point bubbling up in the presidential campaign. Mitt frames the issue in terms of whether we want the U.S. be an opportunity society or an entitlement society. Obama speaks about "fair share" and the obligation of those with wealth to share it with those who don't. The contrast couldn't be more striking.

Obama's vision relies on a large activist government that intervenes in our lives in order to ensure that the nation's prosperity is distributed equitably throughout the collective. Republicans like Mitt argue that America does best when government does less and folks are left to exercise their individual liberty without encumbrance as they pursue their destinies.

Obama's vision is consistent with a worldview that sees the decline of America as inevitable and requires government interventions in order to salve the pain. The Republican vision is consistent with an aspirational, merit based society that offers market based rewards in exchange for the hard work that produces achievement. The former is a prescription for the communal mediocrity that accelerates national decline, while the latter is based on the bedrock values that fueled our exceptionalism in the first place.

The choice couldn't be marked. So Happy New Year to all, I'm anticipating a great year…at least for Republicans

Feisty, Phine & Jody,

It is time to call a duck what it is. Mr. Grover is a Washington lobbyist & his job is to manipulate our Congress on behalf of corporations like Koch Industries.

XL Pipeline Principal Lobbyist Grover Norquist continues to protect tax loopholes and tax breaks for corporations and the very wealthy no matter the fallout to ordinary Americans and our economy, while GOP relentlessly proposes cutting critical programs like Medicare and Social Security.

While average American incomes have flatlined, the most affluent have seen their incomes go up 300% over the last 30 years. And today this group is the wealthiest in the history of the world.

Lobbyist Norquist has been signing Republicans on to this anti-tax pledge for the past 30 years - it began in Reagan's presidency. Just before Christmas under Norquist's auspices, GOP congressionals were happy to raise taxes on 160 million Americans on January 1st 2012 ----UNLESS the Keystone Pipeline poison pill was included in our payroll tax cut extension package.

Legitimized bribery. Corrupt. Done right in our faces.

And apart from the fact that President Obama has delayed his decision, for political reasons, exactly what are your objections to the XL pipeline?

http://www.pipeline101.com/Overview/crude-pl.html

Just as certain members of the right have ODS, some on the left have not got over their infatuation yet.

1. The so-called jobs GOP keeps touting re: the XL Pipeline are a mirage. Just a few permanent US jobs.

2. The Pipeline supports a massive environemental disaster in the making. Common knowledge.

NEPA & environmental studies will take a long time and cannot be rushed, no matter how greedy and impatient the insatiably greedy may be.

http://www.keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov/clientsite/keystonexl.nsf?Open

Final Environmental Impact Statement

The U.S. Department of State has released the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Keystone XL Pipeline Project and associated information at the links below:

1. Fact sheet (290 kb)
2. Executive Summary of the Final EIS (2.1 MB)
3. Final Environmental Impact Statement
4. Notice of Public Meetings (969 kb)
5. Notice of Public Meeting in Washington, D.C. (45 kb)
6. Final Environmental Impact Statement - Errata Sheet (263 kb)
7. USFWS Biological Opinion (below)

Guess, I, and the US Department of State have a different definition of "Final". I think the Administration definition is "not until 2013".

BTW Why would you be against even a few permanent jobs created by the private sector? I guess borrowing half a trillion dollars to "create or save" jobs temporarily is better?

The Pipeline supports a massive environemental disaster in the making. Common knowledge.

Only in the tinfoil hat world of Think Progress. I gave you a link to how extensive the current pipeline network is, why is one more the one that causes the "Massive environmental disaster"?

Alan, NJ. President Obama delayed the Keystone XL Pipeline decision because republican governors and legislators and citizens from the states impacted by the pipeline requested additional time for studies and that an alternate route away from the aquifer be considered. To properly study the impact on those state's water supplies, a new route and its impact requires time. Obviously, the GOP, the Koch boys and Grover Norquist would prefer to ignore concerns from their own party and just jam it down the throats of the citizens who live in those states.

Despite Transcanada making much of 'lots of union jobs', the Independent Cornell Global Labor Institute says the pipeline will produce:

"between 50 and 1400 temporary construction jobs....The operating costs for KXL are very minimal and based on the figures provided by TransCanada for the Canadian section of the pipeline,
the new permanent US pipeline jobs in the US as few as 50".

FIFTY permanent jobs. But it is not about the jobs is it? It is about the vast amounts of money the Pipeline will produce for Koch Industries & Big Oil.

And Grover Norquist is the principal lobbyist for the XL Pipeline.

But being an unrepentant optimist in such matters, my take is that the decline of America has been greatly exaggerated. That doesn't mean we don't have our problems, but what it does mean is the sense of inevitability of decline is misplaced. Indeed, our decline is inevitable only if the purveyors of this meme prevail and use their power to implement policies consistent with a worldview that consigns American exceptionalism to the dustbin of history.

Bill, we are not in decline because there is no other country, regionally or otherwise, that is willing to step up and accept our responsibilities. If we accept that and then attempt to walk away from these responsibilities, I predict that the same parties that are clamoring for change will be the first to demand action to

a) Provide disaster relief

b) Stop Genocide

c) Provide Leadership in regional conflicts

d) Provide Leadership at the UN

e) Provide financial bail-outs for failed economies

Name one country (or Organization) that is ready and willing to step into a leadership role?

Grover Norquist learned his filthy trade right along with Jack Abramoff. Those two go way back. They literally learned together.

Their goal is to destroy government. Period. For the totally stupid, that sounds really grand, because the totally stupid have no idea how much they benefit from government. The totally stupid are the very willing tools of the rich, and they have no clue they are destroying themselves.

If their stupidity affected only themselves, that wouldn't be so bad. The problem is, they will destroy the entire nation. Everyone goes down.

Alan, NJ. President Obama delayed the Keystone XL Pipeline decision because republican governors and legislators and citizens from the states impacted by the pipeline requested additional time for studies and that an alternate route away from the aquifer be considered.

And if you believe that I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale. Let me guess everything will be "Final" around January 2013. Not March 2014 or June 2012 but January 2013. Guess I should go out and buy my tinfoil hat?

Here are the transcripts from the meetings attended by the local citizens

Consistent with the department's commitment to transparency, we are making the transcripts from these meetings available. A link to each transcript of the nine public meetings is provided below.

• Port Arthur, Texas – September 26, 2011 (transcript, 743 kb)
• Topeka, Kansas – September 26, 2011 (transcript, 457 kb)
• Glendive, Montana – September 27, 2011 (transcript, 682 kb)
• Lincoln, Nebraska – September 27, 2011 (transcript, 670 kb)
• Austin, Texas – September 28, 2011 (transcript, 774 kb)
• Atkinson, Nebraska – September 29, 2011 (transcript, 827 kb)
• Pierre, South Dakota – September 29, 2011 (transcript, 718 kb)
• Midwest City, Oklahoma – September 30, 2011 (transcript, 602 kb)
• Washington, D.C. – October 7, 2011 (transcript, 621 kb)

So how many more meetings do you need before a decision?

FIFTY permanent jobs. But it is not about the jobs is it? It is about the vast amounts of money the Pipeline will produce for Koch Industries & Big Oil.

So what? How much of a government loan would you guarantee to create 50 permanent jobs at Solyndra? But then it's not about jobs is it Backhouse it's about Government approved jobs?

Alan, followed your link.

The environmental impact statement may be done. But this is a massive, complex undertaking that is being looked at. It is not a well pad.

The EIS is not the end of the decision-making process, it is the end of one phase of the process.

Now there is a decision-making process, considering recommendations and consultations with the various states and with another country.

Guess, I, and the US Department of State have a different definition of "Final". I think the Administration definition is "not until 2013".

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

As part of the Presidential Permit review process, the Department has prepared an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) consistent with the National Environment Policy Act (NEPA). The issuance of a Final EIS is one step in the review process and does not represent a final decision on the permit application.

http://www.keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov/clientsite/keystonexl.nsf?Open

It's a selective reading/reading comprehension thing....

OMG Would believe that environmentalists lobby? Are they the same as evil Grover Norquist?

http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/Media-Center/NWF-in-the-News/2011/12-14-11-Top-10-lobbying-victories-of-2011.aspx

4. National Wildlife Federation, Friends of the Earth, 350.org

A potent combination of environmentalist pressure, grassroots activism and insider lobbying helped stall the construction of the Keystone Pipeline.

The pipeline, which is expected to carry oil sands and run from Alberta, Canada, down through the Midwest to Gulf Coast refineries, appeared to be heading toward approval. But massive protests at the White House and explicit suggestions by environmentalists that building the pipeline could hinder Obama’s 2012 election chances drew national attention to the issue.

Obama’s State Department ended up postponing the decision on whether to build the pipeline until after the election, in 2013.

And you guys still try to claim that the decision was not directly linked to Obama's re-election. So if we take this statement at face value, the President is guilty of holding jobs ransom to his re-election. The same as what the left accuse the Senate Republicans of. Oh the irony.

Obama's vision is consistent with a worldview that sees the decline of America as inevitable and requires government interventions in order to salve the pain. The Republican vision is consistent with an aspirational, merit based society that offers market based rewards in exchange for the hard work that produces achievement

Bootstraps

All most Americans want is to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Obama's vision is to give Americans bootstraps so that they can get their boots pulled up. The GOP/TP vision is to not only take away the bootstraps, but to also take away the boots, and hell, even cut off the feet to eliminate the issue of putting on the boots.

The GOP/TP is so sinister, they would tax the makers of boot straps, tax the fasteners of bootstraps, and tax the deliverers of bootstraps. But when it comes to the elite putting on the boots, they would offer rebates, refunds, and subsidies to make those boots slide on easy. After all, that is what it is about, trampling on everyone else to show off your boots and bootstraps.

So ask yourselves, do we as a society think everyone should get bootstraps or do we enslave society at large to produce bootstraps for the elite? The former is the democrats policy, the latter is the policy of the GOP/TP.

The issuance of a Final EIS is one step in the review process and does not represent a final decision on the permit application.

I posted the same link.

So, Dangerfield what is holding up a final decision for a year? What part of the process has not been completed? If, as Backhouse says it's a potential "massive environmental disaster" why does he not say No?

Alan, You always work hard to change the subject.

Look, Washington Lobbyist Norquist's ONLY interest is his client's demands.

And Norquist is the Principal Lobbyist for the PROPOSED Keystone XL Pipeline.

It is not a done deal.

Norquist represents Koch et al and his mission is to eliminate taxes, eliminate regulations and facilitate developments for Big Oil, like the Keystone Pipeline.

As for your accusations, Norquist is the bad guy here. He's the sleazy Enforcer of Koch/Big Oil.

Alan, You always work hard to change the subject.

Look, Washington Lobbyist Norquist's ONLY interest is his client's demands.

No I don't change the subject I just laugh at your ridiculous conspiracy posts. You keep posting about Grover Norquist as if lobbying is some big dirty secret of Washington. What are you trying to say? That he is one behind the republicans trying to get XL passed? No @!$%#. What you haven't explained is about the shady environmental lobby, can you name any names, who admit they have delayed this decision, through lobbying their government, and convincing a Democratic Administration to side with them.

My question is "What is the Difference?" Both side lobby. Get used to it and stop posting as if there is only one side to the story. You are not very good at slanted propaganda.

Alan, you have summed it up:

1. You equate the health of millions of Americans and the environmental investigation into the proposal pipeline -- with $billions of dollars for Koch/Big Oil.

2. You equate the NEPA process with 'taking sides' and being 'shady'.

Good luck & good health to you and yours in 2012.

50 jobs?

Is building the pipeline about the same as stretching out garden hose?

If it is .... well maybe .....

50 workers could probably lay 12 million feet of garden hose from Home Depot in a year or so.

That is .... unless they were union.

Then it would take a union guy to pick up the hose and drive it to the site, the another union guy to unload it, then another guy to untwist the twistees, then another guy to tell them where to lay it, then another guy to lay it, then another to connect it together ..... then they all would need time off to protest in Wisconsin or somewhere, protest at OWS sites, campaign for Obama, work their politicians for better benefits, work the phone banks for the dems, make sandwiches to give to the homeless for voting for Obama, transporting them to the voting places ......

Maybe 2012 isn't a good year after all .... could 50 union guys lay the hose in 2013?

Backhouse,

I've got to hand it to you - you do have 'nads to post some of the crap you do.

That you posted the same link and totally misrepresented what "final EIS" meant was why...

The term, "flailing" comes to mind...:)

The pipeline is controversial, and all decisions by politicians are POLITICAL by nature, so of course there is political gamesmanship on both sides of the issue but there are also legitimate concerns.

Are the Democrats "playing politics" with the pipeline? Of course they are...

Are the Republicans "playing politics" with the pipeline? Of course they are....

Ideologues on the left and the right both only see the the speck in their opposites eye, often missing the log in their own.

Like all ideologues working backwards from a conclusion you will invariably ignore any and all information that "doesn't fit" your conclusion, and are forced to discount, diminish, and attempt to discredit any contradictory sources...

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

The U.S. State Department cited concerns about the Keystone XL route, especially near the Sandhills and Ogallala aquifer in Nebraska, when it decided to delay approval of the project. The entire project remains on hold while a new route is developed and studied. The review process for the new route is expected to last six to nine months.

TransCanada officials say the company will follow through on its commitment to route the pipeline around the Sandhills. Spokesman James Millar said the new Sandhills map will be useful.

"It's a very helpful and positive step," Millar said.

The original Keystone XL route would have entered Keya Paha County near the center of the state and followed a diagonal path southeast to Steele City in Jefferson County. That proposed path crosses a significant section of the Sandhills in Keya Paha, Rock, Holt, Garfield and Wheeler counties.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=49&articleid=20111230_49_E4_OAAeTe105

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

It's a political issue, and economic issue, a national security issue and and most of all a complicated issue with long term effects on those states and individuals directly affected. Reductionist, simplex thinking and dueling talking points are exercises in futility...

Alan, you have summed it up:

1. You equate the health of millions of Americans and the environmental investigation into the proposal pipeline -- with $billions of dollars for Koch/Big Oil.

2. You equate the NEPA process with 'taking sides' and being 'shady'.

Good luck to you & good health to yours in 2012.

1. Complete hyperbole on your part. Millions of Americans affected? Are they being affected by the current pipeline network that is supporting the economy?

2. If a Republican President, after completing the NEPA process, had made the decision to build the pipeline would he have been taking sides?

Have a very healthy and prosperous New Year in 2012.

FIFTY permanent US jobs AFTER the pipeline is laid, says an Independent labor study.

Once again, despite Transcanada making much of 'lots of union jobs' the Independent Cornell Global Labor Institute says the pipeline will produce:

"between 50 and 1400 temporary construction jobs....The operating costs for KXL are very minimal and based on the figures provided by TransCanada for the Canadian section of the pipeline, the new permanent US pipeline jobs in the US as few as 50".

50.

It's a political issue, and economic issue, a national security issue and and most of all a complicated issue with long term effects on those states and individuals directly affected. Reductionist, simplex thinking and dueling talking points are exercises in futility...

I guess that's why the environmental lobby is touting the delay as a success. All that simplex thinking..

bob-180,

If you want real, long term jobs then instead of piping it build a refinery or truck it.

That will be many permanent jobs plus temporary construction jobs for the refinery or manufacturing jobs building tanker trucks / train cars.

Post #1 is just the typical uninformed liberal dogma. Some would call it a big fat lie.

The Republican house passed the payroll tax cut portion of the Bill. The problem with the rest of it was that it relied on the failed debt commission to come up for a way to pay for the programs. That was the Big O's mandate.....guess what happened next. Did I mention failed debt commission?

But libbies.........hide your babies.......the Norquist will get them. Or his fierce ally....the Kochie monster.

BTW.....why is the left so hell bent on under funding Social Security?

RedDev,(1.23)

Best analogy of the week. Thank you.

Great relpy to" Fairfax Virginia" post on the conservative world view.

Then it would take a union guy to pick up the hose and drive it to the site, the another union guy to unload it, then another guy to untwist the twistees, then another guy to tell them where to lay it, then another guy to lay it, then another to connect it together

How many Bob lotsa numbers would it take to screw in a light bulb? Well, if there are 50 Bob's with lotsa a numbers it would break down this way:

25 Bobs would be busy screaming about lazy liberal union workers

5 Bobs would be screaming about having to pay Social Security and Medicare

10 Bobs would be complaining about an inept Obama

1 Bob would be running around raging on and on that we need to bomb Iran

1 Bob would claim Obama isn't a US citizen

8 Bobs would be raging that AHCA and other regulations are killing their ability to create jobs

With all that whining and screaming, it would take one union worker to reach over, grab the light bulb screw it in the socket.

Just vote for Williard and let the clownfest be over already....Time to start talking about serious issues, not clown issues. Let's hear Romney vs. Obama and let the adults speak please. RING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH SOME SANITY!!

"between 50 and 1400 temporary construction jobs...

Your, well ... thinkprogress' words.

That doesn't seem a little moronic - even to you?

So do you really think 50 union workers could lay 12 million feet of garden hose in a year?

I would point out the pipeline is infrastructure, that it would lead to hundreds of thousands of energy jobs being able to get the energy away from sites to the refiners, etc. but I doubt thinkprogress talked about that- hence it is beyond your understanding.

I would point out that it is a stupid pipe - the historically easiest and safest way to transport energy...

I would point out that it is a stupid pipe - thousands of miles of various pipelines already criss-cross the aquifer....

I woud point out that without natural fossil energy that you so loathe, you won't be able to pull up your beloved thinkprogress .... the green crap can't run the country. Windmills .... how many hundreds of years have they been around? Electric cars have been talked about for a hundred years and still have to be powered (charged) by fossil. Solar ... 50-60 years and still not viable....

.... but you'll never get it.

@ NewIsAPig

1- There are tens of thousands of pages worth of newsletters over 30 years. The "racist" material all combined takes up less than one page. It wasn't written by Ron Paul. This line of attack does not work.

2- If Iran gets a nuke who cares. We have 10,000 of them. They know that if they use one they'll be wiped off the face of the Earth within minutes. If Israel is really bent out of shape about it maybe they can defend themselves with the hundreds of nukes they have.

3- Ron Paul never said it was our fault that 9/11 happened. He said our foreign policy CONTRIBUTED to the motivation behind the attacks. And that is 100% true.

4- WTF are you talking about when you say ignoring Al-Qaida & the Taliban? It just may be that if we stop killing Muslim civilians and get out of the Middle East there will be less reason for them to hate us.

5- Less Federal regulations doesn't mean "no" regulations. The States can regulate as they see fit.

Ron Paul 2012

Dennis,

It is going to refineries in Cushing Oklahoma and Port Arthur Texas.

Pipelines are the cheapest, most environmentally friendly and safest way of transporting fossil energy.

They don't get in freeway wrecks and they don't pollute like ships coming from the other side of the world or diesel trucks.

@Northstar - thanks for the compliment. The day conservatives give up their world view that they are the only hard workers and quit painting liberals as lazy under achievers is the day I will quit painting conservatives as greedy parasitic siphoning opportunists. Sadly, I don't see that happening any time soon.

@Give it a rest!,

1- Ron Paul needs to disavow any racist comments in HIS newsletter. What's up with his refusal to do that? he took full credit for it earlier!?

2- Iran matters with nukes because they have the insane IDEA that they will all go to heaven if they destroy Israel. They DON"T CARE. They are the very definition of RADICALISM - look it up!

3- Re: 9/11- It doesn't matter NOW that our past foreign policy CONTRIBUTED to the motivation behind the attacks. WE CAN NOT AFFORD TO IGNORE THE TERRORISM THREAT NOW. Isolationism NOW will not prevent terrorism against us NOW. got it??

4- Al-Qaida & the Taliban ALREADY hate us and plan every day and night how to destroy us. Getting out of the Middle East will make NO difference (although I favor that except for leaving Drones there) to them attacking us everywhere they can. Maybe you want to sit idly by while the next 9/11 plan is put into place without disruption. The rest of us don't!

5- The States are the absolute WORST at regulating everything. They have such a glorious history of doing this correctly and fairly in the past, don't they(I'm being sarcastic if you didn't get that)????

NewtisaPig You used the wrong word. Ron Paul is a non-interventionist, not an isolantionist.

Lets agree to disagree.

The GOP/TP vision is to not only take away the bootstraps, but to also take away the boots, and hell, even cut off the feet to eliminate the issue of putting on the boots....

do we as a society think everyone should get bootstraps or do we enslave society at large to produce bootstraps for the elite? The former is the democrats policy, the latter is the policy of the GOP/TP.

Take away the bootstraps? Enslave society at large? Enslave?? ENSLAVE???

Where in the world do you people get this drivel? Good grief.

DRIVEL? Oh the irony!! There are drama queens, then there are drivel queens. And the winner of the drivel queen award is?

The Republican vision is consistent with an aspirational, merit based society that offers market based rewards in exchange for the hard work that produces achievement

Bill,

I think you have framed your description of the candidates and their positions unfairly as well as the differences between being a liberal and a conservative. The conservative tenets you profess have never been practice in this country or to the best of my knowledge anywhere else. Long term economic success in governance has had a large degree of centralzed government intervention since the time of the pharoes. Those societies with decentralized governments and complete market economies fail in short ordr

Goldilocks and the GOP bears.

Ron Paul-Too Liberal

Michelle Bachman- Too Crazy

Herman Cain - Too "hands on" (wink, wink, nudge, nudge, know what I mean, wink, wink)

Rick Perry - Too Stupid

Rick Santorum - Who?

John Huntsman - Is he still running?

Mitt Romney - Too Mormon, and moderate, and........just right!

Obama/Biden 2012

RedDevPS:

Honest. That was a genuine laugh out loud post. I do think you were being kind though. That crap doesn't even rise to the level of drivel. Right-wing psychobabble. Limbaugh would be proud.

Backhouse you are full of it over keystone.

The Alaska Pipeline was 800 miles long and employed 3600 people up to 10 years just for it's construction. As a benefit of constructing it there were around 10,000 resulting jobs in Drilling for oil at Prudhoe, Pump station operators, Pipeline inspectors, Oil field operaters.

Keystone is 3500 miles long and is expecte to employees 11,000 just for the pipeline construction. Each of those jobs will mean jobs in the areas while under construction. There resulting jobs will actually be more, because along the path is the huge oil finds in Dakota and Montana that cannot be fully developed until a pipeline is built. There is so much petroleum, that plants in Texas may be expanded to produce petroleum products for our use and even for export.

If we do not build this pipeline, We cannot take advantage of what Canada is offering us, so all the oil will be shipped to China where they will get the energy and the jobs.

Here is the economic impact on Alaska done by the University of Alaska.

http://www.akrdc.org/issues/oilgas/overview.html

Dennis - do you know how many tanker trucks crash and burn each year? Do you not understand that Trains run through population centers and do derail? Do you not understand how much labor will increase the cost of the energy. How about if you let industry tell you the best way to do something instead of you or an know-nothing government that doesn't have to worry about making a payroll or paying investors.

@RedDevPs...Seriously...tears streaming from my face with that. But, if I may, let me rephrase what he was saying:

By gum, the GOP is a darned good organization that only has the interest of hard working, patriotic men in mind. Now, through hard work you can accomplish anything and we can get back to the glory days...like when that great American Nixon was in office. Golly it's great to be a white American!

I'm quite curious. Why would someone like alan-nj run the risk of looking like a completely irrelevant wack job by pushing Keystone pipeline propaganda...when the article being commented on concerns the GOP candidates in the Iowa Caucus. Is alan-nj so incredibly ashamed of the candidates (understandable) that he has to try to deflect attention away from them? Is there a financial motivation? Is alan-nj just not intelligent enough to realize his irrelevance? There is a reason why teabaggers are considered unintelligent. The inability to focus on a given topic is a sign of low IQ (or possible stimulant addiction).

So the sad little teabaggers will split the vote up, giving Romney the lead. This was the same way they gave Boehner (the most "establishment" of the establishment) the speakership. By voting out of anger and bad information, they give the position to the one that least resembles their "movement."

Between the angry ignorant and people like alan-nj, it's no wonder that the GOP resembles politics in the mental institution. Sad.

DB Akron

Keystone is 3500 miles long and is expecte to employees 11,000 just for the pipeline construction. Each of those jobs will mean jobs in the areas while under construction. There resulting jobs will actually be more, because along the path is the huge oil finds in Dakota and Montana that cannot be fully developed until a pipeline is built.

You're just quoting Transcanada' own inflated figures. Here's an INDEPENDENT analysis:

http://www.startribune.com/opinion/otherviews/135746288.html

"[TransCanada chief executive Russ] Girling said Friday that the 13,000 figure was "one person, one year," meaning that if the construction jobs lasted two years, the number of people employed in each of the two years would be 6,500. That brings the company's number closer to the State Department's; State says the project would create 5,000 to 6,000 construction jobs, a figure that was calculated by its contractor Cardno Entrix."

And as for the permanent jobs:

Opponents obviously have their own reasons for minimizing the number of jobs created. But the biggest stretch in all of these figures is the biggest number: the 118,000 “spin-off” jobs that supposedly would be created from building the pipeline. (This is again “person-year” jobs.)

This figure, calculated by Ray Perryman, a Texas-based consultant, depends mostly on two key figures, both of which are estimates: the basic capital costs, and the multiplier effect.

As opponents have documented, if the capital costs are lower than predicted, and if the multiplier is smaller, then the number of “spin-off jobs” can shrink dramatically. The same goes for the estimates of “permanent jobs,” which depend also on the price of oil.

And what are some of these jobs? The TransCanada report does not say but Perryman used a similar technique for a report touting the benefits of a wind farm project.

Among the list of jobs that would be created: 51 dancers and choreographers, 138 dentists, 176 dental hygienists, 100 librarians, 510 bread bakers, 448 clergy, 154 stenographers, 865 hairdressers, 136 manicurists, 110 shampooers, 65 farmers, and (our favorite) 1,714 bartenders.

So maybe you can get one of those high-paying jobs as a poll dancer if the pipeline goes through.

Oh Houston. Either that was a typo, or a very clever metaphor. "Poll dancer".....

Gives a whole new mental image to "Newt sliding to the bottom of the poll"....complete with sequins and spiked heels....I wonder what the man can do with ping pong balls....

Shockedanddisgusted

Oh Houston. Either that was a typo, or a very clever metaphor. "Poll dancer".....

Well, let's hope that Newt sticks to the metaphorical poll dancing he's been doing. It's just too horrible to contemplate him doing it in the more literal sense.

Yeah, Houston...the images - though funny - are a wee bit too disturbing.

I think he's going to slide to the bottom, whack his little head and have to be carried off the stage. (all the while mumbling..."my tips...where are my tips?...")

Intentional or not, thanks for the laughs!!!

shockedanddisgusted is the typical left leaning ignorant assswipe. He berates someone with the self delusional pretense of trying to portray an intelligent argument. He is just too @!$%#ing stupid to realize he has done exactly what he thinks he is scolding Alan over.

You're an idiot "shocked"....typical participant from the left who occupies FR. Uninformed and incapable of anything but toilet criticism of subjects you have no idea how to discuss. Why? Because you don't even know the questions.

Go slap you mother and crawl back into her uterus where you will be safe from the perils of the world.

Romney will be the nominee idiot. The left is too @!$%#ing stupid to realize they are being played. I find it hilarious.

There's your "tip". Talk about irrelevant. Do the world a favor...neuter yourself. End your stupid genes with you.

If this is what amounts to the libbie mentality, it is no wonder that jobs arn't being created.

To all the socialists and other Bozobama supporters: this year will see the defeat of socialism AND its principle architect, Bozobama. Bet on it.

Backhouse

If the American people had known before Christmas that Grover Norquist was the principal paid lobbyist for the Pipeline (as Karen Finney MSNBC affirmed days ago), do you think we would have let GOP Norquistians hold our payroll extension hostage?

Norquistians LOL that sounds like a medival toture machine

Metaphorically, he is.

Happy New Year Bev,

Just be sure that all of us get out there to do the work for Obama/Biden 2012.

Indeed, Obama/Biden 2012

LOL

"Santorum surges from the rear" actual headline in Iowa newspaper.

The greatest truth spoken Sandy. Thanks for the chuckle.

"Santorum surges from the rear" actual headline in Iowa newspaper.

Thanks, Sandy. I'm going to need mind bleach to get rid of that mental image.

Backhouse,

Last time I checked (1 minute ago) it was still legal to be a lobbyist in Washington. For God's sake, Obama had a army of them from Unions during the stimulus bill passage.

What goes around comes around even if twits don't like.

justice fleeting

Backhouse,

Last time I checked (1 minute ago) it was still legal to be a lobbyist in Washington. For God's sake, Obama had a army of them from Unions during the stimulus bill passage.

The labor unions obviously have an interest in the job creation that Obama's policies have produce. The unions are pretty up front about the fact that their reason for being is workers' interests, after all. But it seems that not only businesses but Republican politicians like Rick (Oops) Perry and Bobby (The Page) Jindal also benefited from the stimulus. Or have you conveniently forgotten those photos of Jindall and other Repubs posing with oversize checks like the ones from Publisher's Clearing House as they rushed to claim credit for the money while they attacked Obama for the stimulus spending?

As for Norquist, it's not the lobbying by itself that's the problem; it's the fact that he's NOT up front about the interests he really serves, unlike the unions generally have been.

Wonderful job, Jody. A very Happy New Year to you! (Oh, you might want to turn off you phone and tv until after Tuesday!)

Ah, Jody, you must be looking forward to the peace and quiet. By the way, Bachmann says she is an Iowan now, and I want to thank all of you for getting her the heck out of MN.

Great recap, thanks!

Another fabulous recap of the wackiness of politics, Jody. I had been a little worried that the Christmas holiday might have stopped some of the lunacy but I shouldn't have been.

Your weekly posts have been a highlight of 2011 and I hope you will continue them in 2012. It is hard to stay current on all the developments, even for political junkies like us.

Wishing you all the best in the New Year!

I don't know how you do it Jody!

All THAT in only the past week... lol

Guess it's true what they say about a day being a lifetime in politics! ;o)

The antics from the right would be humorous if it weren't so down right frightening!

As always Jody, many thanks, a great summary. For those of us who enjoy reading Jody's wraps, we would do well to remember, the vast majority of Americans do not read her posts. The vast majority of Americans have no clue about the incredible dysfunction in Washington. Sure, they have that feeling that something is wrong, but damned if they're going to find out what it is. It's easier to be a victim.

That's the real explanation behind why there is not a mass defection from the Republican Party. Most people simply don't know how crazy it is. Re-read Jody's post with that in mind. With the information she brings, how in the world could you support one of these Republican crazies?

So, come November, remember it's up to you to not only get to the polls, but take a lazy lib with you. We cannot allow the G.O.P. to destroy the country.

Good Morning Jody,

A Great wrap up to 2011. Your best ever. Wishing you a wonderful new year for 2012.

Great Post Jody - You make Edward R Murrow proud! Get ready for the roller coaster ride in the New Year - Hope its a Happy and Healthy one for all the FR family!

Nice wrap up Jody. I look foward to your weekly recap every week! Keep it up and MSNBC is going to have to put you on the payroll. :)

BTW Jody, you never answered my question on whether you think it is in the US's interests for Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. Cat got your tongue?

Democratic Senator Ben Nelson, Nebraska, announced he will not seek re-election. Nelson may have voted with democrats 82% of the time and turned down Karl Rove's offer to be Secretary of Agriculture so Nebraska could appoint a republican to replace him, but Nelson also weakened most democratic legislation including the ACA and the Dodd/Frank financial regulation bills. Worse, Nelson signed Grover Norquist's "Pledge" but hey, he's a rare democrat from Nebraska shilling for big and powerful insurance groups.

This always amuses me. Without Nelson there would be NO ACA. Why do both parties attack their moderates? These are the ones who compromise with the other side and allow legislation to pass. If you want to be a regional party of the coasts so be it. But is just as bad as Republicans attacking their North-East moderates and becoming a party of the South.

Thank you. I'll keep posting the wrap until I get tired of doing it or people get tired of reading it--whichever comes first.

fuzzy44, if MSNBC put me on the payroll, I'd probably develop "writer's block"!

Jody:

Duh! Fortunately, Good Newt was at that town hall; he answered that the State of Hawaii certified that President Obama was born in Hawaii and it's a "moot point", he is President. Bravo, Mr. Gingrich!

Good summary of GOP comedy acts, as usual, Jody. But I don't really agree that Gingrich deserves any credit for saying that. What he was trying to do was signal to people with some shred of sanity that he's a realist who's not into crazy conspiracy theories by talking about driving by the hospital where Obama was (allegedly) born in Hawaii. But at the same time he was pandering to the large birther nut job contingent in the GOP by calling Obama's citizenship a "moot point", with the implication being that it's OK to believe that Obama is a secret Muslim Marxist from Kenya as long as you realize his suspect origins don't matter because Obama is the President of the United States, and the only way to get rid of him is to vote for Newt. Newt is just using the Know-Nothing ploy that many Republicans engage in, hoping to be taken seriously by normal people without losing the oh-so-important tea bag vote.

BTW: Happy New Year.

Alan, NJ, didn't see your question to me. I'll answer below but first here's one for you--was it in the US's interest to allow China, North Korea, Pakistan, India, Libya (before Gaddafy wised up), etc. to develop nuclear weapons? Please explain what President Bush did to deter North Korea and Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons? To answer your question to me, obviously, Iran getting a nuclear weapon is a problem but the threat is no greater to the US than Pakistan, North Korea, and Libya having nuclear weapons.

One more thing, Jody. It looks like you caught a bit of irony that nobody else has noticed: Newt being thwarted by his own personal ACORN problem is pretty amusing.

Great post Jody. Spot on. Thank you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Obama in 2012.

Houston---I agree with you about Newt and the "moot point". Hardly a condemnation of the birther nonsense---more like saying we're right but nobody will listen to us.

Jody----you are messing with the RWNJs heads---they already think we liberals are on the MSNBC payroll.

Houston, I thought about Newt possibly pandering but from the clip, to me Newt looked annoyed by the stupid question and he did say that Hawaii certified his birth. I could be wrong but I do not recall Gingrich ever embracing the birther nonsense or questioning President Obama's citizenship.

China, North Korea, Pakistan, India, Libya (before Gaddafy wised up),

China could not have been stopped

Pakistan / India developed in secret. Definitely do not like Pakistan having the bomb. India is a democracy and is different.

North Korea was definitely a failure of the Bush Administration, although the fact that China protected them economically and politically complicated the levers of pressure.

Libya is the interesting one. We managed to convince them to disarm peaceably, then back a war against them. You think that was a good decision? What incentive does that give Iran's regime to dismantle their program peaceably?

Jody,

If Newt wanted to be forthright, he could just have said something to the effect that Obama's status as a natural-born citizen is beyond all reasonable doubt. He did seem to start out that way, and perhaps that was his intention at first. But then he seemed to have decided that he'd veered too far into rationality and needed to appease the birther wing of the GOP.

Saying it's a "moot point" means simply that Obama's origins are politically irrelevant because he occupies the office of president, but it's OK to hate him for being a secret foreigner if that's what will motivate you to get to the polls and vote for Newt. Newt is certainly not the only Repub who's done that.

SF, good points; Houston, I just remembered, it was Newt who went on the Kenyan Colonialism binge. I take back the Bravo for Newt and give him a "half cheer and half jeer". Thanks for the reminders and the different views.

Alan, didn't say the democrats didn't need Nelson's vote but remember the Corn Husker extra dollars which Nelson then had to request be deleted because his own State condemned the favored status. Nelson would have voted for ACA, my complaint was his methods. I have no problem with moderate democrats voting according to their constituents wishes as long as they don't bribe for unreasonable favors.

Alan, do you really believe those country's weaspons were built in secrecy? In order to have peaceable diplomacy, it is necessary to engage Iran. That is something Bush never did. North Korea and Iran became adamant after being called part of the Axis of Evil by Bush; they went all out in their efforts as they believed they were next after Iraq.

Jody,

The obvious answer is Nothing, because, there is nothing anyone could do short of going to nuclear war.

Any country that has the intelligence to develop nuclear weapons has the intelligence to understand the implications of ever using them, national suicide. This is why ALL nuclear armed nation aid in tracking nuclear materials and tech, not because they want to, because their survival depends on it.

Once someone uses a nuclear weapon in any fashion in today's world, it invites the preemptive strike. Because if you allow one to get away with it you could be next. The scenarios have already been played out, if one uses a nuclear weapon, all will.

Any use of a nuclear weapon by any party on another results in the total destruction of all life on earth.

I am not scared of someone that wants an arsenal of nuclear weapons, I am scared of the maniac who only wants one. Iran wants an arsenal, there is nothing to be afraid of in that.

Jody--I know it has all been said--but I will say anyway--as usual, great wrap-up of the week! I really look forward to Fridays and your wonderful pulling together of the news. Put all together, it really makes for an interesting portrait of the TP/GOP and their machinations to manipulate our political system and destroy our nation and its citizens. Thank you so much for all your hard work. Happy New Year to you and all my friends at the Dew Drop Inn and here on FR! I would like to hope that the New Year will bring us peace, but I think we have a lot of work to do to ensure that we can maintain our Constitutional rights for all citizens.

"We have met the enemy and he is us!" Pogo by Walt Kelly

Egilman: Happy New Year to you and Mrs. Egliman. Even though we can't agree on Ron Paul, I do enjoy your posts and read what you have to say.

Happy New Year, nurse!

Jody,

"Newt was at that town hall; he answered that the State of Hawaii certified that President Obama was born in Hawaii."

What will be the punishment to Ging be, for speaking such audacious truthfully truths? TALK about Intrepid?

Jody, your posts can not be long enough. The longer the better. Go for broke and we shall be happier and happier on Fridays. ***Happy New Year to you and your family!!!***

Jody, (excellent run-down by the way)

FOX News ratings fell 16 points in 2011

Most of it in the last two weeks, ever since Dr Paul obviously became the Republican front runner, and they have gone on their establishment rant. Much like CNN on the Democrat side.

The real unusual thing, MSNBC coming up as the moderate news source, It's nice to see that the media CAN still shift political position when necessary.

Egilman, I agree with everything you said. There is little any one person or any country can do to deter nuclear weapon development; all they can do is try diplomacy. I also am not afraid of any country have nuclear weapons but rather of the crackpot who doesn't care. Iran, as do the others, knows that should they ever use a nuclear weapon on Israel, any of its neighbors or the US, their country would be destroyed.

nurse, one of the reasons I do this is that by putting a lot of it in one post, it really points out the ridiculous as well as the good things that happen in any given week. In this 24/7 environment, we shift quickly to the next crazy or good thing that happens. Together, we get a better picture of how rapidly so much happens in such short time frames.

Alan, do you really believe those country's weaspons were built in secrecy? In order to have peaceable diplomacy, it is necessary to engage Iran. That is something Bush never did. North Korea and Iran became adamant after being called part of the Axis of Evil by Bush; they went all out in their efforts as they believed they were next after Iraq.

I don't disagree but how do we engage them peaceably after what we did to Libya? We did a nice job there in dismantling their nuclear program, then we attack and overthrow the regime. As I said, what is the incentive for Iran to dismantle it's program?

Note: India and Pakistan caught the intelligence agencies by surprise (although if you have ever worked with graduates from these countries it's hardly surprising).

Jody, excellent wrap up, the fodder just keeps on giving and you do a great job of bringing it all together. Next year should provide some gems.

Happy New Year and thank you doing this.

Thank you! And a VERY Happy New Year newday, to you and Mr. newday

Happy New Year to all!

Backhouse, I'll do my best to find all the nuggets I can but if it gets too long, MSNBC might charge me for the space!

Yes, Alan, that's what they tell us but then a whole lot of folks believed Bush when he talked about mushroom clouds from Iraq, too.

Thanks Egilman!

Happy New Year to EVERYONE! I don't want to leave anyone out!!!

Yes, Alan, that's what they tell us but then a whole lot of folks believed Bush when he talked about mushroom clouds from Iraq, too.

Sorry, but unlike a majority in congress (Republican and Democrat), I never bought that one.

You still haven't stated a rational as to why the Iranians should give up their nuclear ambitions. The little adventure in Libya may not have been such a strategic success. Could also be why the Syrian regime is going down the suppression path?

Maybe it's time for a press conference and have the President articulate the Administrations position? I mean we have had wall-to-wall Republican opinion on what to do because of the debates I think the President is due some air time to give us his thoughts. He hasn't given a press conference since the start of October.

The basis of excellence is truth.....

Dear Jody, many thanks for your weekly summaries. I continue to look forward to each and every one!

Happy New Year to all! Cynbad

As usual Jody even if I don't always agree with you, your weekly wrap ups are very well done and I enjoy reading them,

FOX is calling Ron Paul the "most crazy liberal" candidate of them all. See, if FOX labels him a "liberal", maybe republican voters won't support him. When FOX adds a "D" beside his name, by mistake, we'll know what old Rupert is up to.

This made me spit my coffee all over my monitor laughing!

Rick Perry told Iowans that "every barrel of oil that comes out of those sands in Canada means a barrel of oil we don't have to import." Did we invade Canada over Christmas when no one was watching?

*shakes head embarrassed* Yes, us Texans are so proud /sarcasm

Hope y'all have a safe and happy New Years, I know me and the hubs will be sittin on the couch when the ball drops, we don't go out on the craziest night of the year around here.

Jody:

Houston, I just remembered, it was Newt who went on the Kenyan Colonialism binge. I take back the Bravo for Newt and give him a "half cheer and half jeer".

When I saw that video, I half-cheered myself when he said he said that the State of Hawaii certified his birth there, but the cheer to turned to jeering as soon as I heard him talk about the "moot" point. And I wouldn't even agree that it's a moot point if there were any reasonable question that someone had assumed the highest office in the nation without the proper Constitutional qualifications to do so. That would be a very serious problem for the country, and would be grounds for removal from office by Congress.

Obama's citizenship status is NOT a moot point. What it is is a SETTLED point. It has been proven beyond all reasonable doubt that Obama is a citizen of the US born in Hawaii. If Obama's birth certificate isn't sufficient proof of citizenship, then nobody's birth certificate is proof of citizenship, either, including Newt and Mitt and the rest of the GOP Clown Club. And I'll bet reporters might not even be able to find birth announcements from decades-old newspaper archives for some of them like they found for Obama.

MSNBC,have you decided who will win the Republican nomination yet?Will you change the poll numbers until you get your "man" or "woman"?Polls can't be believed.Big Corporations lie.MSNBC manipulates the public with lies.I'd rather buy Arizona swampland than believe what you are saying today,or anyday about politics.MSNBC avoids the real issues,just like Congress,Obama,and the owners of all said, the Big Corporations!

1. didnt seethe racist news letter

2. both the head of the CIA, and the secretary of defense agree we shouldnt invade Iran. look how Iraq played out.. no smoking gun but a whole lot of carnage.

3. please watch some of the many 911 documentaries on you tube or netflix before the enternet is so censored you will never see the truth

4. Timathy Micveh (excuse my spelling) was american and bombed Oklahoma, did we declare marshle law and take out anybody who resembled him? dosent sound like a good idea to me either.

5. Im working on a huge project in california right now, water utility is paying for everything, no government agencies to be found, and guess what.. with all the city, county, and state regulators on the job there hasent been one dop of oil on the ground, and every snake, salamander, you name it has been relocated to a safe location. the world wouldnt fall apart. what we have now is 10 people doing one persons job. watch waiting for superman or the cartel great documentaries that would explain better than I can.

happy new year

Iran will never nuke Israel that is not the problem. If Iran has a nuke nobody will attack Iran in the future. With a nuke Iran will be more comfortable as is Israel and the US is to fight their proxy wars in Lebanon. Israel have their own Nukes and will use them in case they are attacked with Nukes from Iran. The (not using) nuke thread was what the cold war was all about in the 80's.

It is not very clever to vote for a next possible III world war without having a clue about the situation. As with Iraq ignorance seems a virtue in the GOP.

But what if an unnecessary conflict makes petrol prices go to 5 or 6 dollar a gallon? That is the price you will pay for Israel not willing to do a serious peace effort and US being their slaves.

Is the US a servant of Israel? Are you US people so afraid for Israel that you start wars on behave of Israel and send young Americans into war for Israel?

Chris - Ron Paul was a Honorary Editor. He never had a voice over what was published. That is like blaming someone who recieved an honoray degree from a college for decisions a college makes on educational material.

Vote for Romney and you get the same as Obama.You get another corporate puppet.

A very happy New Year to you, Beverly!

Happy New Year, Beverly! When Romney was in town this week, he brought FOX & Friends with him--that was the only interview he did.

While FOX ranted about the Obama White House Christmas card, their own lacked the Christmas tree, family, faith and freedom they were whining about and instead showed a fox chasing CNN and MSNBC off a cliff which turns out to also have been a lie--because CNN & MSNBC's ratings were up while FOX went off the cliff, dropping 16 points.

Jody, He also did an interview with Wolf Blitzer for CNN two days ago. The interview was on his bus in Iowa. He appeared with his wife Ann.

CNN ratings in 2011 show improvement; Fox remains the leader

10:04 am December 29, 2011, by Rodney Ho

I just threw up in my mouth reading your post.. if you dont think perpetual war (the ones Im sure you never saw for yourself) hyper inflation, and having every constitutional right that we taken away from us are not serious issues, then I think you are the one that needs to turn off the cartoons and pick up a book. It cant get any more simple.. Ron Paul is exactly what this country needs.

Happy New Year to you, phine, and to Mr. phine and, of course, the senior crew. I'll bet they'll be awake at midnight on New Year's Eve (sometimes a struggle for me!).

Gonna be a WHALE of a 2012!!!!

Happy New Year Da Noid!

"The proper behavior all through the holiday season is to be drunk. This drunkenness culminates on New Year's Eve, when you get so drunk you kiss the person you're married to". - P.J. O'Rourke

Happy New Year all

lmao Ideology, yet another spit coffee out moment for me! I'm going to have to stop reading y'all are going to make me ruin my computer!

Happy New Year, Tommy.

Happy New Year NewdayDAWNING!

Tommy, that's part of my New Year's resolution. I don't live in VA, but here in Fl I will work very hard to help re-elect President Obama and Sen. Bill Nelson.

I also am committed to making sure Allan West is a one term Congressman.

Happy New Year to you and yours.

stop drinkin the coolaid man, eating the crap you hear or watch on the main stream media dosent count as research.. Ron Paul is americas only true hope

Chris Oakes

stop drinkin the coolaid man, eating the crap you hear or watch on the main stream media dosent count as research.. Ron Paul is americas only true hope

let me fix that for you

Chris Oakes
Ron Paul is americas only true hope

The rest was unnecessary and unhelpful

Ron Paul 2012!

DaNoid -

You're right - interesting article. Here's what struck me:

"It's hard to see how Romney could cobble together a string of second-place finishes, with a possible win in New Hampshire, and wind up as a credible contender for the general election. And even if he does somehow wind up being the nominee, it's even harder to imagine that the more than three-fourths of
Republicans who were thoroughly uninspired by him just a few months earlier would suddenly get excited enough to turn out and vote."

And okay, in the interest of fairness, Navarette also says:

"(Obama) also has an enthusiasm gap developing with liberals who think the president lacks courage and caves in to Republicans too easily."

Obviously, I'm not one of those liberals. If anything, I'm more determined to see the President elected this time than I was in 2008. And maybe that's the difference. Maybe 2008 was all about inspiration (Obama vs. McCain? Too easy) and enthusiasm (hey, even I'll give Palin credit for that much, even though I paradoxically think she cost McCain any chance at winning). But even if 2012 comes down to grim determination, I say Obama wins. We just can NOT go back. And if it's still a case of enthusiasm and inspiration, well, my brother and I were talking about this just last night and remembering the hundreds of hours I spent working the phones and trudging the streets and knocking on doors to get people caught up in my enthusiasm for Barack Obama. I asked him if he could see anyone going to those lengths this next year for Romney - let alone Gingrich or Paul or God forbid, Santorum. Nope.....no way.....no how. If the election turns on enthusiasm and inspiration again, Obama still wins.

Because Navarette kind of says it all with this statement:

"GOP officials would like to convince Americans that they have an embarrassment of riches on their hands, but many of us can see that they're only half right. It's just an embarrassment."

If it was anyone other than Ron Paul, (like an establishment Republican) he would be given the title without question.

I ask the Question, WHY NOT RON PAUL? (hint I already know the answer as should all of you)

your dam right!!! even though the media is trying like hell to say otherwise. Id be pretty bothered if i was a voter in Iowa and all the news stations kept saying my vote didnt count.. what will they say about yours if it dosent agree with the status quo

Nash!

A very happy New Year to you and your family!

Happy New Year to you to newday . . . every time I see your new name I smile . . . it has been a very interesting year around here, no? :o)

Very interesting indeed. I learned a lot. Like those who talk the most about how moral they are believe only in situational ethics. That was the most discouraging thing of all. But, I did come out with an unexpected friend on the other side of it, thetotas (I think I spelled that wrong, so apologies wherever you are today.), who now completely understands that the simplest explanations are the best, and we are exactly what we say we are. She is the only one out of the group that got it. So, good for her.

You're on a roll GF!

I keep waiting for just ONE of these 'journalists' to start asking some tough questions about EXACTLY they intend to do..?

Instead, we get 3 days worth of the 'I Love Lucy' quip & the deep 'analysis' that goes into telling us - what it means...

*shakes head*

It is going to be up to US to keep the message out in front...

Happy 2012 to the Nash family!

Happy New Year to you & yours, Nash! Hope 2012 is the best year ever.

It makes me a little nuts that they call the health care reform "Obamacare". I like to think of it as American health care, since it addresses the needs that all Americans face with their health care. They want to repeal or "defang" it (how silly is that?) but ask people about pre-existing conditions or coverage for their children to age 26 and you get a different answer.

Hey, Nash -

Just because the "journalists" out there are content to settle for sound bites and headlines instead of demanding concrete answers and solutions doesn't mean we have to follow their lead. We can ask the questions ourselves and decide for ourselves who's actually answering and who's just mugging for the cameras. So here's a couple of questions I would ask about "Obamacare":

Where are the "death panels"?

Why would anyone support denying care to people like me with pre-existing conditions?

Give me three concrete examples of how letting "the free market" run healthcare in this country has lowered costs instead of just increasing profits for the insurance and pharmaceutical industries.

Show me pictures of the lines out the door of peoiple waiting to get in to see the doctor. Show me some independent studies that prove that Americans are dying because they have to wait months for an operation under "socialized medicine". Show me in detail how "the government" is now interfering with the doctor-patient decison-making process more than insurance companies always have done and still continue to do.

Sit down and examine my personal health records for the last three years and give me even ONE example of how I have been negatively impacted in any way by "Obamacare".

Mr. Romney? Mr. Gingrich? Mr. Santorum? We're waiting......

P.S. - To the four wonderful women above who never fail to ask the important questions - Nashville, Newday, Feisty and Steeler Fan - and to all my other incredible friends here on First Read, may 2012 be everything you hope for and then some. Happy New Year!

You, JoAnne, bring heart to First Read. And some pretty good laughs along the way. Happy New Year to you, so glad we have gotten to know each other a bit.

Thanks for the New Year's wishes Feisty, Steeler Fan and JoAnne!

Feisty . . . you said it . . . it us up to us to spread the truth the old fashioned way . . . one person at a time if need be.

Steeler Fan . . . it is a bit ironic that many of the folks most opposed to "Obamacare" are those who benefit from it the most . . . but of course, who is gonna point that out to them? Misinformation is the name of the game (I hate the name Obamacare as well by the way).

JoAnne . . . I think your comment is actually the one I was trying to write . . . so thank you for really digging down and getting to the point . . . those are some GREAT questions . . . would love to hear all of the GOP candidates give their responses . . . America deserves the answers.

"obamacare" would be a third party payer system, wich has never worked in history. when the person recieving the care dosent have to pay for the bill they naturally over indulge, (check it out next time you go to a buffet. and the people sending out a bill will naturally charge as much a possible, especially when there is no pissed off patient complaining about an outrageous bill. (my neighbor is on medicare, she is 87 years old and the hospital accidentaly sent her the the bill of 60,000. for one day in the hospital)

im a proponent for a free market but charging 10 dollars for a pill that cost .7 cent to make is kind od jacked up, paying those prices in bulk with tax payers money dosent fix the problem.

Chris:

"Obamacare" requires people to buy private insurance . . . that is not "third party payer" . . . that is me paying for insurance, if I can afford to do so.

Since there are millions of Americans who cannot afford the current $10 for a 7 cent pill system that we currently have, what are you proposing to fix it?

As I said above, saying you don't like "Obamacare" is not the same as saying you have a better solution. I don't like paying my mortgage every month, but I do like having a place to live.

We need a reality based solution because the current system is not working, so my point is don't tell me why you don't like "Obamacare", tell me how you propose to address the health care crisis in our country.

Love it or hate it, President Obama did what he could within our flawed system to provide some relief. It is a starting point, which is more than we had before . . . nothing is stopping folks from making it better or coming up with a better solution. But ranting against someone else's solution while providing none of your own doesn't really help much.

I like the way Keiser works.. Every doctors pay depends on their paitents success rate instead of how many drugs they can sale (while simultaneously trying to debunk holistic healing, a beautiful truth is a great documentary by the way). They are the insurer and the provider so there is no one to screw by unneeded tests and extra long ER visits ,that a ton of sutter north hospitals have been caught using to exploit medicare in the bay area. The one thing that I dont like about Kieser is the new rate hikes that in my belief are related to the obama care provisions that took place 1-1-12 (Employers must disclose the value of the benefits they provided beginning in 2012 for each employee's health insurance coverage on the employees' annual Form W-2's.^[59] This requirement was originally to be effective January 1, 2011 but was postponed by IRS Notice 2010-69 on October 23, 2010.^{[60]) so the more they charge me the more they would subsidized when the plan goes into action. If they dont take the money sombody else will. This is the kind of rational you get with government programs, forget about common sense.}

Thy will be done Job1.

Thanks for the reminder, Holly, to wish Happy New Year to Chuck, Mark, Domenico and all of the FR folks. Thanks for giving us all a place to hang out and follow our passion for politics. Your hard work and insights are truly appreciated. Please rest when you can and take Vitamin C----we need you rested & healthy for the year ahead!!!

Wow........................................ I'm speachless.

WOW, the teachings of Bizarro World. There is a lot of kool aid drinking going on there in your house.

I suppose in this America without honest justice the person of the year as announced by News Week is the Wall Street Protesters.

I believe you mean Time magazine...and their Person of the Year was "The Protestor"...not just "The Wall Street Protestor".

JG,

Among your other uninformed comments there is this -- “the president that played the most rounds of golf during his term”

POLITCO: Romney contends that Obama has shot 1,584 holes as president or 88 rounds in two years. Eisenhower played nearly 900 rounds in his two terms, and would have played more than 200 rounds in that period.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1211/Of_presidents_and_golf.html

http://www.golfdigest.com/magazine/2009-02/presidentsranking

Great post, JG. But I'm a little more optimistic. I believe that most Americans Do NOT want to go down the road Obama and his liberal groupies are trying to lead us down. Our forefathers and ancestors worked too damn hard and shed way too much blood, sweat and tears over the centuries to just let these worthless socialists destroy the nation they built.

I'll be fighting these people tooth and nail. Out in the streets if it comes to it. I simply want an America where my children can rise and/or fall on their own merits and not be penalized for being successful.

Who cares about how many games of golf were played? It is a silly issue. There are much more serious substantive matters to address with Mr. Obama and all of our politicians. Lets all resolve to stay away from the fluff and focus on the real stuff in the new year. Stop being lead around by idiotic talking points and focus on substance.

And the opinion of someone who lives in the EU is significant to us why?

I wish Obama would play more golf. The more he plays, the less we hear the Crybaby in Chief whining. It sure has been nice this past week not having to hear his constant whining.

KingK,

You are so right and here's the greatest irony.....

Liberals, like Obama, are attacking the private sector .

Without the private sector , there are no tax dollars.

Tax dollars support the govt. jobs and programs.

Liberal survive off the govt. jobs and programs.

A clear example of "bite the hand that feeds you."

Vote Romney/Rubio 2012 for private sector JOBS.

if George W racked up $10 trillion in deficits and Obama added $4.5 trillion, how is it considered "record setting, deficit spending"?

our president has already led us part of the way out of the disaster left over from the last administration, who is to say he can't finish it?

Easy Phil. Bush didn't rack up 10 trillion in debt. If you want to calculate that the president racked up all the debt by including what he inherited, than your crybay in chief has racked up 16 trillion. Now that is record breaking.

phil

The pace Obama is on is way above that which was attributable to Bush. Get the facts and stop with the lame talking points.

Again, no answer to the questions. par for the course for the liberals.

Napalm? I love the smell of napalm in the morning................ Maybe you know something I don't, but, last I heard we stopped using napalm along time ago.

The best and only sane choice in 2012, will be President Obama. Millions of us are going to work toward that goal.

I know. Damn shame. You liberals apparently thought it was too cruel. Go figure. Your friends, the Viet Cong, still thank you to this day. It's gonna be really confusing when Obama is gone 2013 and you people revert back to siding with the terrorists and caring about their safety, rights and feelings, the way you did when it was Bush killing them instead of Obama.

The right wing is out in force today. May the force be with you. You make for good reading on the eve of News Years Eve. LOL Where do you guys come up with this? The line, " Siding with the terrorists " is old but very laughable. Please keep telling your tale. LOL Your biggest problem is, your on the wrong page for anyone to take you seriously. To most of us, here your comedy.

Happy New Year!

OBAMA-BIDEN 2012

There is a lot of kool aid drinking going on in the far right wing.

Job1

Near as I can tell reading these blogs, the left owns the market on Kool aid and appears to have already overdosed on their favorite sugar.

Certainly it's easy to see how much of a sugar high you are one when there is not one single logical reason for any thinking person to vote for the most incompetent president since FDR who single handedly kept America in a depression and may well have destroyed America permanently with all of his unconstitutional marxist programs.

Larry, you are listening to too much Rush. Oh well, Happy New Year.

Larry if you don't like it here go back to your right wing blogs. You have it wrong junior bush was the most incompetent. Your choking on someone's tea bags right now. Sorry but thats the way it is.

Happy New Year!

Obama- Biden 2012

We have a $15 trillion debt and growing and we need to cut these yearly deficits or we'll get another s&p downgrade.

The Repubs answer: CUT.

The Dems answer: Raise taxes.

Only the Dems would give raising taxes as an answer to huge deficits. It defies reason and does nothing to downsize things for the future generations.

The Repubs answer: CUT.

You mean like they did under Bush??

Monet,

Yes, you are correct that we yearn"for someone else."

We all "yearn for someone else"..................to be PRESIDENT and take Obama's place..