President Obama is so keen on playing nice that he is screwing up health care reform.  Today, Obama announced that he wants health care to pass with 60 votes in the Senate.  This decision will guarantee that health care reform will not be good.  It will be compromised to such an extent that it will look like Medicare Part D which is nothing more than a windfall for drug and private insurance companies. Undoubtedly, health care reform will end up looking awful as well.  Why did any of us thing otherwise?  Republicans or Democrats — it just doesn’t matter — they all get their money from the same special interests.  Unfortunately, the voters are always the losers.

Obama has decided to cave to big business: health insurance companies, big pharmaceuticals, and greedy providers.  He is sacrificing ordinary Americans on the alter of greed-based capitalism.  It is clear Obama does not care that for profit health care will bankrupt America and not provide decent, or even adequate, health care for all the people.  Why does he care? — Obama and his family get the best health care and always will — just like Cheney the Dick does.

As America Doomed has pointed out, watch the stock of health insurance companies if you want to get a real time assessment of how health care reform is going.  These stocks are going up and show no sign of being worried about health care reform.  Even before there was any legislation, the health insurance companies bought Senators and Representatives with their contributions.  Thus, America losses, again.

America is doomed.

It is interesting to watch bright red states move into crazy town.

First, Oklahoma has decided that the economic problems in America are because of turning our back on god.  Hmm.  Those idiots want to pass a proclamation that it is American’s moral crisis that is the reason.    Freedom of religion is just fine but crazy people like this should just stay home and pray and keep the fuck out of the public discourse.  Consider their stupid proclamation:

WHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater national moral crisis; and

WHEREAS, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion, pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery; and

WHEREAS, alarmed that the Government of the United States of America is forsaking the rich Christian heritage upon which this nation was built; and

WHEREAS, grieved that the Office of the president of these United States has refused to uphold the long held tradition of past presidents in giving recognition to our National Day of Prayer; and

WHEREAS, deeply disturbed that the Office of the president of these United States disregards the biblical admonitions to live clean and pure lives by proclaiming an entire month to an immoral behavior;

Long held tradition — National Day of Prayer.  It is no tradition of mine.  Just a made up day and people don’t even get the day off of work. There is no proof of a god.  It is a man-made idea for irrational people to cling to and clergy to exploit — “send your $5 in right away and god will” blah, blah, blah.    Yet, from the bible that these idiot christians believe, you have other beliefs, e.g. life begins at conception — false reading of the bible.   These idiots claim to believe this bible bullshit but don’t even read what the bible really says.   You would think with all the “answer to prayer” that crazy christians claim, there would be just one amputee whose limb was restored — hasn’t happened.  You can believe in all the prayer you want and spend all your time praying, but if anything happens there will be reasons for it — and it will never be some madeup god.

So, Oklahoma, go right ahead and pass your nonsense.

Meanwhile, you have Arizona putting a ballot initiative to ban national health care there.  Of course, Arizona has no idea of how to insure everybody in their state.  They only know they want to maintain for profit health insurance companies so that they can keep exploiting the people in Arizona.    Eventually, the population will rise up and throw the idiot Republicans out of office.

So, Arizona, go right ahead and pass your nonsense.

Crazy town, USA.

America is doomed.

It is indeed ironic to hear Republicans cry out — Where are the jobs?  Didn’t the stimulus bill create jobs?  — they will ask.  They overlook there was no job creation in the 10 years prior to Obama taking office.   Where were the jobs then?  — particularly, in an era when Republican policies were in full control.

Jobs are being destroyed much faster than they can be created.  The only people creating jobs right now is the government and they are having problems as well.  There are five states which have massive budget shortfalls and will likely go to extraordinary measures starting today: Indiana, Arizona, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and California.  It is interesting to see those bright red states of Arizona and Mississippi in the list.  Don’t those states have the secret recipe of free enterprise, American capitalism?  I guess not.

It is funny to hear people quote the Dow Jones average as some sign of the economy.  If the Dow goes up for a few days or even a quarter, people declare the end of the recession.  They fail to recognize that the stock market has no problem discounting and eliminating companies from their analysis.  For example, General Motors went bankrupt — no problem, just dump it from the Dow.   Then the Dow no longer has to ever worry about General Motors recovering.  It is off the radar.  Likewise, hundreds of companies have been decimated in the financial collapse.  Many of these companies are literally gone, along with all the jobs.  The stock market resets to a smaller list of companies and keeps plotting those silly graphs.  Eventually, things will improve, although briefly, as failing companies are weeded out.  The spiraling down will pick up as more job losses lead to less spending in the economy — another round of previous solid companies will have to be eliminated.

Likewise, look at those pesky unemployment statistics.  The government likes to track how many people are out of work and produces the monthly unemployment figure. This is such a silly statistic.   Once a person stops receiving employment benefits after 26 or 39 weeks, the government gives up on them getting a job again — thus they are no longer unemployed — they are not employed either.  The government delete people unable to find new employment from the unemployment numbers.  Eventually, enough people will disappear that the unemployment figures will stabilize and even improve.  But has employment really improved?  Not Necessarily.

Tracking the economy based on the stock market or government statistics which are designed to artificially improve is just plain silly.  There are other much better ways of tracking how the economy is really doing.  Track total employment — the number of people actually employed — full time and part time — people the IRS are getting payroll information about — even the total number of hours worked.   Also, track the amount of income tax revenue received.   These types of metrics are cumulative and can only rise when things improve.  Both of these metrics have not bottomed.  Both federal and state tax receipts are dismal which is the reason so many states are having big problems balancing their budgets.  No doubt some of these states will adopt irrational faux solutions to their budget woes, much like the federal government spends the social security trust fund to lower yearly deficits.

America is in very big trouble and as each day passes it is easier for the observant to see.  However, Republicans will blame it on Obama and the Democrats, while telling America that if they only cut taxes things would improve.  The only thing that improves when you cut taxes is to give more income to the rich.  The Republicans rely on people forgetting about the last decade.  They rely on people becoming so desperate that they will give the Republicans another chance.

The Democrats are not without quilt of their own.  Obama clearly believes in capitalism — just look at the financial people around him.  People like Geithner is so up the ass of the Wall Street that he hasn’t had an independent thought in decades.  Just like Greenspan and Bernanke believe, nobody can fight Wall Street and keep those jobs — at least not yet.

There will be no major recovery.  America will not get back to the employment numbers of just 6 months ago for a long time.  This says nothing about the growth needed in jobs to accommodate increased population.  Jobs will continue to be destroyed and there is no free enterprise solution.  In fact, this is a snowball that continues to roll downhill and get bigger and bigger.  Eventually, people will understand that Americans, all Americans, have to cooperate in order to survive long term.  They have to enact universal health care for all.  They have to redistribute the wealth and provide food and housing to all.  There is no other solution.  Jobs will continue to be destroyed and the free enterprise system does an excellent job at destroying them as they seek the lowest labor costs in the world.  Keep sending those jobs overseas and keep wondering why there is no income in America to buy your products.

America is doomed.

Republicans after losing super majorities in Congress, love to talk about bipartisanship.  It reminds me of political interviews on television where 75% of America believes in a public option for health care and there are two people interviewed.  Both get equal time and one represents 25% of the country.  Not believing in health care for everybody is not a protected discriminated class.

When Republicans are invited to the table they do not want to solve problems for ordinary Americans.  Republicans just want to keep and protect their money.  They want to deny others essential services.  Whether it be health care, environmental protection, or tax policy, Republicans only want to protect their power and wealth.  Even the social agenda in the Republican party is an effort to maintain the idiots in the religious right into support Republican money policies. Since Reagan, Republicans have lead the country and the world down a path of certain destruction.  Even now, in the midst of a world changing financial crisis, Republicans say lowering taxes is the solution.  Yet, this “solution” has been exactly what America has tried for 40 years.  It has been a disaster.  But, this does not sway Republicans who blame the financial crisis on Obama and the democrats.  Laughable.

Rep John Boehner only loves money — what a sad life.  He literally called the House’s climate bill shit.  He even tried to block passage of it.  However, unlike me who doesn’t like the climate bill because it just doesn’t go far enough, Boehner doesn’t believe in the science of climate change and the ultimate destruction to the planet.  It is only shit because it will cost money.  Boehner also decries that the stimulus bill produced no jobs but it isn’t because Boehner actually wants jobs — he just objects to spending money to help the greater good.

America needs to redistribute income so that everybody can support themselves.  Basic necessities should be non-profit companies.  Once everybody has enough for living then let the greedy of America fight about the rest.  If America is going to survive, it will have to do it with socialism.  Capitalism has failed but the Republicans still keep trying to protect their precious money.

America is doomed.

The U.S. House narrowly passed a climate change bill today which imposes cap and trade.  Briefly, release of greenhouse gases is capped and companies that use less can trade their excess to others who want to pollute more.   The bill is very complicated with 1500 pages.  It isn’t a very good bill, does too little, and may not even be passed in the Senate.  However, many groups have backed it based on it is better than nothing.

This House climate bill is a great example of the influence of special interest groups.  Sure, the bill did pass but it was watered down to such an extent that it is no solution — at best, it is a starting point of a solution.  It puts in place infrastructure that could conceivably be updated over the years.  Likewise, it could go the way of fuel efficiency standards for automobiles.   When those standards were first passed it was clear that the U.S. needed to produce cars with better gas mileage.   We still do.  One update after another and those standards were circumvented to the ultimate demise of the U.S. auto industry.  GM bankrupt.   With climate change there will be no bankruptcy — it will be destruction.

There was a time in America when real solutions were valued — when people worked together with integrity for the greater good.  Those times have long passed.  There is no integrity.  There is no greater good when Republicans only love money.  There is greed and corruption.  There are special interests that will destroy the earth burning fossil fuels.  They will lie about climate change science to get their way.  Money is their only goal.

Obama wanted a climate change bill and he got one today in the House; however, even if it passes the Senate, it is nothing to be proud of.  In fact, America is in a lose-lose situation with this bill.  Pass it or not, it just isn’t enough.

America is doomed.