Well, this is interesting

and not really surprising:

His behavior went from erratic to completely unhinged.

-- ARI RABIN-HAVT, executive vice president of Media Matters, on why he believes TV star Glenn Beck is ending his Fox News show later this year

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Heart wrenching statement

This could be said of many countries - not just Mexico:

We are sick and tired of you politicians ... because in your struggle for power, you have torn asunder the fabric of the nation.

- Javier Sicilia, a Mexican poet and columnist whose 24-year-old son was murdered by a drug cartel, in a letter accusing President Felipe Calderón of not adequately addressing crime and violence; Sicilia has called for nationwide protests on Wednesday

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I truly do not understand these people

Here's your headline of note for the day:

Think That Hole In the Southwest Plane Is Scary? The GOP's Plan to Gut Airline Regulation Is What's Truly Frightening

And here's part of what it says:

While plenty of attention has been payed in recent days to the safety issues with Southwest's fleet, there's also a gaping hole in the GOP's concern for airline employees' rights--the people who keep us safe in the event of an emergency. Yes, there's a major fight brewing in congress over the Federal Aviation Association re-authorization bill. As the AP describes it, "The $59.7 billion Republican-drafted bill is a blueprint for Federal Aviation Administration programs for the next three and a half years." But the bill is attracting heat because its budget cuts are so drastic as to impact safety--and also roll back workers' rights. While the Senate's version of the bill is relatively standard, the House bill presents a raft of major issues for both passengers and workers, from poor safety regulations to anti-organizing clauses that would make it harder for employees to form unions and negotiate.

...

As Lauren Kelley reported last week, one of the most vocal opponents of the bill has been Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the "Miracle on the Hudson" pilot who safely landed a plane during the last emergency landing that became a major media story. Sullenberger showed up on "The Ed Show" to decry the bill, saying "people will die" if it passes as it stands.

I hope the pilots industry-wide raise holy hell about this.

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Headline of the day

This is so hard to believe:

GOP Will Propose Eliminating Medicare, Replacing it With Voucher-Like "Subsidies"

I heard about it on the radio today and it really made me sick. Take a look:

No exaggeration here: On Tuesday, the GOP will officially propose eliminating the current Medicare system by 2021, replacing it with a system of subsidized private insurance in which Medicare beneficiaries would get the equivalent of vouchers to cover a portion of their premiums.

At least on paper, the proposal would save money, but only because it increases voucher funding more slowly than the cost of health care, guaranteeing that at some point, seniors wouldn't be able to afford to get insurance—assuming that they could even find an insurer interested in covering the elderly.

The rest of the piece is very short. Do go read it all.

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Sunday art blogging

Image from Wikimedia Commons

This sums it all up, doesn't it?

Click to enlarge. It's worth it.

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Good, good grief!

Look what I just found. I can't believe anyone would even admit to this:

He didn't say that. He was reading what was given to him in a speech.

~ Richard Darman, director of the Office of Management and Budget, explaining why President Bush wasn't following up on his campaign pledge that there would be no loss of wetlands

And if anyone complains that this is a bit out of date, just remember that we're still dealing with that man's legacy.

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Saturday graffiti blogging :-)

Something to ponder

This was apparently once widely believed - or believed enough to be supported by the United Nations:

Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood.

-- Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 25, passed unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly in December, 1948

And notice the date, people.

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Friday cat blogging!

Photo from Wikimedia Commons

So why don't we get it????

Courageous Vermont

My goodness. I didn't even realize this was on the horizon:

Vt. House passes single-payer health care bill

Here's how the article gets started:

Every Vermonter could sign up for state-financed health insurance under a bill passed by the House on Thursday that would put the state on a path to a single-payer health care system by the middle of this decade.

"This bill takes our state one step closer to a system that ensures that all Vermonters have access to the care they deserve and contains costs," House Speaker Shap Smith said shortly after the House passed the bill 92-49.

The measure now goes to the Senate, where it is expected to pass, but with some possible changes.

Gov. Peter Shumlin, who made single-payer health care a centerpiece of his gubernatorial campaign last year, also praised the legislation. He said it would make Vermont "the first state in the country to make the first substantive step to deliver a health care system where health care will be a right and not a privilege, where health care will follow the individual, not be a requirement of the employer, and where we'll have an affordable system that contains costs."

I wonder if we'll ever get there - nation-wide, I mean - in my lifetime.

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The Sojourners Quote of the Week

You'd think this would be obvious:

Markets don't work in the way they are supposed to unless there are some well-enforced rules.

-- Elizabeth Warren, in charge of establishing the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, speaking to the Chamber of Commerce.

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Your headline for the day

Needless to say, this caught my attention:

Will Republican Voters Believe Anything? The Right's Hyperbolic, Dysfunctional World

It's published over on Alternet. There are some interesting poll results.

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Tragic

It's a Time Magazine quote of the day:

Enough, we're full.

-- A banner carried by Italian fishermen who have barricaded the entrance to Lampedusa island's harbor in an effort to keep out refugees; more than 3,000 migrants fleeing the unrest in North Africa have arrived in the past three days alone

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Let's think about it, folks:

I'd also like to recommend the following:

"Apologies to Our Nation's Teachers"...Plus other kind thoughts for teachers and unions.

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