kimk3's Comments (160)

“Great article and all true -- except that Obama is not making the decisions. Rahm is. Obama is acting the pretty boy speech-making guy while Rahm is doing the tough work of pushing through -- or ignoring -- all the tough things the American people want and need. It is corporate democracy and corporate Democrats at its absolute fascist best. All Rahm apparently cares about is getting this guy re-elected in 2012 and he's betting the media will not expose what they're really doing and the people will be as under-educated as they were during Bush/Cheney reign. It's really horrible.”

“Good post. I care nothing about Demi Moore, photoshopped or otherwise, but I applaud your speaking out against her legal bullies, evem as they don't have a legal legal leg to stand on with what they're doing.”

“"So Joe Lieberman got to block (an already enfeebled) public option; Ben Nelson got more abortion restrictions; Mary Landrieu got more money for Louisiana Medicaid... Obama got rolled on the Senate bill"

Obama did not get rolled nor did Lieberman do anything the White House didn't want him to do. This Senate bill is the White House wet dream. And no, White House does not want cramdown either. They're rotten to the core.”

“The Fed is also supposed to deal with making sure there is full employment and they've failed miserably. And still want to know where the trillions have gone.”

“"If only the Czar knew..." Rahm Emanuel is the Czar and he knows. O is just following orders.”

“Thanks for the smackdown of npr. Are they lazy, stupid or both?”

“I agree with Mr. Johnson. I am calling this "health care" bill The Medical Industrial Complex Enrichment Bill of 2009.

I have heard nothing about bringing back Glass-Steagall from Obama, et al. -- the banking system was stable and worked well (for the people) from the time it was enacted until the time it was repealed. Why not do something that works???”

“Bring back Glass-Steagall. As long as Obama is not calling for this I know he doesn't give a crap about fixing the real economy, only about placating the bankers. The Medical Industrial Complex Enrichment Bill is another giant gift of our money to private industry.”

“I spent all my comment energy earlier responding to Plouffe's absolute spin response to Arianna's piece. Ultimately, if I had known O was going to s*** on Howard Dean and hire Rahm Emanuel to run this country, I would never have voted for him.”

“What spin!

--stabilized the banking system -- yep, for top management. Yes, something had to be done but banks are NOT lending, are continuing to speculate and create new "products" that offer nothing to society, their fees and interest rates are absolutely usurious. The trillions given to them with nothing given back is disgusting. Regulation? Nothing meaningful appears to be happening this time around. Maybe after next crash.

--auto industry? He gave them billions to ship jobs to China and bondholders got 100% payout. He's prevented the Great Depression? What do you think 18% unemployment is???

73% increase lending to small businesses? Dream on. "helped hundreds of thousands of owners keep their home" On what planet? He wouldn't even speak out once to ensure "cramdown" was in bankruptcy bill. Sure he cut taxes... part of suck-up to Republicans instead of stimulus $.

Health care bill's real name: The Medical Industrial Complex Enrichment Bill of 2009.

"...no lobbying when they leave their job" He also said there would be no lobbyists in his adminstration but there are tons of them from Monsanto, Cargil, Exxon, Goldman, Goldman, and did I mention Goldman?

Transparent and accountable. Too long for this post.

Eric Holder is doing a terrible job of cleaning up justice -- all of Bush's people are still there & Holder is releasing Republicans but not Don Siegelman.

And had I known Obama was going to let Rahm Emanuel inside the White House to make policy, I never would have voted for”

“"Volunteers have made 300,000 calls to Congress to support the president's health care plan, and held thousands of events around the country," he told me.

This is what's really sad. OFA/DNC are asking people to work against their own interests. And those people, still enamored of Obama's speechmaking and promises, don't realize how little he's doinng for them now with his wretched policies. The real name for Obama's health care bill should be The Medical Industrial Complex Enrichment Bill of 2009. At any rate, Obama's not even running the country and policies, Rahm Emanuel is and no one voted for him.”

“I agree with you all that Obama is not doing. But he is not running the country, he is making pretty speeches. Rahm Emanuel is running the country and the policies. Rahm Emanuel doesn't care about good legislation, or the well being of the American people. The Blue Dogs are his people. He hates progressives and our policies. He cares about campaign contributions for 2012 and the Medical Industrial Complex Enrichment Bill of 2009 is exactly what he wanted -- more money moving upward to the people and industries that do not need it and more Americans getting poorer and suffering. It's very disappointing and tragic, really.”

“Maybe Chuck Hagel can tell Obama about his giant conflict of interest as he did own ES&S, the largest voting machine company, that counted the votes that elected Hagel. Not sure if he still has an interest in ES&S.”

“Sure, there's recovery for the banksters and fraudsters. Not the real America.”

“"...but it did not destroy this community, and that is because of you, the people of New Orleans."

Didn't a lot of the "community" actually leave and never return? Especially the darker and poorer ones? The ones whose homes never got rebuilt? The ones who were denied re-entry into their apartment buildings which are now being "developed" for other -- richer and whiter -- tenants???”

“Hot off the CLG press http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_newss):

Obama to avoid the rabble on S.F. visit 14 Oct 2009 The White House's fear of protests from Code Pink and other left-wingers has put the brakes on President Obama making any public appearances during his visit to San Francisco this week. Obama is scheduled to parachute into Liberalville on Thursday afternoon and pick up a cool $2 million for the Democratic Party at a fundraiser at the St. Francis Hotel - then spend the night, before checking out early the next morning and heading to Houston for a community service forum hosted by former President George H.W. Bush. [Anti-war protest avoidance and George H.W. Bush visitations we can believe in! Obama is acting EXACTLY as Bush did. Flying into town under cover, picking up huge checks, avoiding anti-war protests, then meeting with Daddy Bush. --MDR Next, the 'First Amendment Zones' will rise up from the ashes. --LRP ]”

“So the press has to get there 3 1/2 hours early... just to take pics of him waving as he gets off the blame. What a waste of time.

You think maybe he's doing a fundraiser somewhere in SF?

But, hey, seniors are all getting a check for $250 because there's no $ for cost of living increase. And it's not even an election year.”

“"Regarding the size of the financial sector, economist Simon Johnson points out that the industry recently accounted for some 8 percent of total gross domestic product and a whopping 40 percent of corporate profits.

“Just what do the banks offer the rest of society to deserve those vast profits?” Stevens asks.

Good question.”

“I hope Rather perseveres. He's got a lot of courage and money. Go Dan!”

“"But it's not just prudery or populist distaste for fancy risottos that turns the public against lobbying: It's the deep venality that makes possible jokes about senators being bought like lunches. "

Unfortunately, while some of us realize how much this is undermining our democracy, I fear too many people just hope they could be making the money and being power brokers themselves.”

“The msm could start by doing some fact-checking and not just repeating the press releases of "both sides."”

“When I think of Bill Clinton... all I think of now is his repeal of Glass-Steagle and NAFTA.”

“So I don't get it... there's only about 100 Al Quaeda "operatives" in Afghanistan and another 100 in Pakistan. What are we doing there again??? And Obama is certainly not getting counsel from any people with ideas for peace it seems.”

“Had I known that Rahm Emanuel would be President of the United States I never would have voted for front man Obama. It pains me that Summers and Geithner are sitting where Robert Reich, Joseph Stiglitz, et al should be sitting. And that Howard Dean was kicked under the bus.”

“"This should scare people." I am scared. To paraphrase another commenter on another post, I have lots of patience and don't mind taking baby steps as long as even the smallest steps are headed in the right direction. Let's start with: bring back Glass-Steagle (after we get rid of the loser liar incompetents Obama hired).”