Rhetoric & Rhythm

• Busted!

  
  Sen. Ben Nelson came through late last night and now the Republican filibuster is busted! I wonder if Sen. Olympia Snowe will follow suit as well?
  This is the final hurdle for Health Care Reform. The House will now bite the bullet and "ping-pong" the [...]
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  Posted: December 19, 2009, 12:32pm EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Health Care Optimism

  I am optimistic right now that either Ben Nelson or Olympia Snowe will provide the 60th vote needed for cloture on the health care bill.
  At this point I think we are just watching the end of a long, slow dance that has already been choreographed behind closed doors. [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2009, 1:01pm EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Climate change ignorance and resentment

  I know it sounds arrogant to say that people don't know what they are talking about when it comes to climate change, but as Gene Lyons points out in this essay, we wouldn't expect to get lectures on physics and chemistry from talk show yakkers and the like.
  But what [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2009, 8:51am EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Lieberman and other plagues on American Democracy

  
  Joe Lieberman has burned more bridges with his old party than any politician probably since Theodore Roosevelt.
  His latest doublecross on the health care reform bill has made Democrats furious. About 82 percent in a recent poll want him to be stripped of his chairmanship of [...]
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  Posted: December 16, 2009, 11:04pm EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Krugman on Republican opposition to bank regulations

  Paul Krugman has a terrific column in today's NY Times.
  He gives a good rundown on the last several decades of deregulation mania that has led to one economic disaster after another. And then he goes on to talk about how it is so difficult to fix this [...]
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  Posted: December 14, 2009, 10:16am EST
  by Mike Thomas

• AP analysis deflates "Climategate"

  The AP came out with a thorough and exhaustive analysis of the hacked emails behind the bogus "climategate" non-controversy and concluded that beyond causing some embarrassment for a few scientists, it does nothing to change the overwhelming scientific consensus on the manmade causes of global warming.
  
  E-mails [...]
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  Posted: December 13, 2009, 11:22pm EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Judge blocks ACORN defunding

  This is good news.
  
  The U.S. government's move this fall to cut off funding to ACORN was unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled Friday, handing the embattled group a legal victory.
  
  It is especially timely in light of the report that exonerates ACORN of any [...]
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  Posted: December 12, 2009, 12:55am EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Bogus climategate controversy slapped down

  Al Gore does not suffer fools lightly. And there are certainly a lot of fools running about with regards to the global warming issue.
  In an interview with Slate Magazine, the former vice president, Nobel Laureate and Oscar winner slaps down the bogus controversy over the hacked emails.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: December 10, 2009, 8:56am EST
  by Mike Thomas

• RIP Washington Times

  The Mooney News is apparently being cut off from its crazed, cult-leader sugar daddy. The end of the Wash. Times and Rev. Moon's right-wing charity
  
  
  With the announcement that 40 percent of the Times' staff is getting pink-slipped, and that the daily's no longer even going' [...]
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  Posted: December 08, 2009, 4:56pm EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Manufacturing Doubt

  
  
  
  This essay lays out the similarities between the tobacco industry's campaign to discredit scientific studies showing links between smoking and cancer with the pollution industry's campaign today to discredit scientific studies showing links between human actions and global warming.
  
  Here is [...]
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  Posted: December 06, 2009, 10:00pm EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Christmas lists

  
  Five years ago I made a list of my favorite Christmas music and it hasn't changed much since then.
  Today, I might add Burl Ives: The Christmas Collection as well as the trio of classical classics - Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite; Handel's Messiah and' [...]
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  Posted: December 06, 2009, 11:50pm EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Musical interlude

  
  
  I'm going to have to get me some Leon Russell music...' [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 3:46pm EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Obama: Yes We Khandahar!

  
  
  I would have preferred to hear Obama announce the immediate withdrawal of all troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. But I understand why he is moving forward with a "surge" in Afghanistan and, as Steve Benen notes, he told us this is what he was going to [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2009, 11:42pm EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Hacked emails and conspiracy nonsense

  The idea that some hacked email accounts at some university in Great Britain have exposed a grand conspiracy among scientists around the globe to manufacture an elaborate hoax about global warming is completely ludicrous. People that are buying into this nonsense are those who don’t care about the science behind [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2009, 11:12am EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Former rightwing blogger reclaims his sanity

  Charles Johnson, the man behind the popular wingnut blog Little Green Footballs, has cut ties with the wingnutosphere.
  
  He explained his decision in this post on his blog – Why I Parted Ways With The Right
  
  1. Support for fascists, both in America (see: [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2009, 10:00am EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Texas Republicans caught with pants down on military contract deal

  Texas is losing a big military contract to Wisconsin and Republican politicians across the state are now left with egg on their face.
  
  The Pentagon's decision to shift the production of Army trucks from Texas to Wisconsin after 17 years caught Texas' elected officials by surprise, raising questions' [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 11:49pm EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Religious Odyssey Part 1

  I've always considered myself to be a Christian. My mother's family was Southern Baptist and my father's family was Methodist. Early on we attended Baptist churches and my first memories of Sunday School are from a Baptist Church in Indiana. Later on when I was about junior high age we' [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 11:08pm EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Republicans' history of getting it wrong

  Why would anyone believe Republicans when they predict doom and gloom resulting from the new health care reform bill?
  If history is any lesson, it should be clear based on their past track record that Republican predictions in these debates should be viewed with a high degree [...]
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  Posted: November 22, 2009, 12:39am EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Texas executes a man for robbery as Perry thumbs his nose at parole board

  The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles is so stacked with rightwing death penalty supporters that it almost never recommends commuting a sentence. But it did so the other day for Robert Lee Thompson on account of the fact that he didn't kill anybody. He was party to a robbery' [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 11:39pm EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Express-News promotes lone conservative dissenter; ignores liberal majority

  I'm still shaking my head over this article from the San Antonio Express-News on Wednesday.
  
  Texas students will feel ashamed of this country instead of proud and likely get a liberally biased view of U.S. history if new social studies curriculum standards are not changed, says' [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 11:05pm EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Peep

  
  
  I've become hooked on a new kids show that I've been watching with my kids. PEEP and the Big Wide World features three main characters: Peep, a little yellow chick; Chirp, a little red bird; and Quack, a kind of blobby purple duck. The animation is very [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 4:14pm EST
  by Mike Thomas

• RNC Hypocrites

  Hypocricy exposed at the RNC
  
  The Republican National Committee’s health insurance plan covers elective abortion – a procedure the party’s own platform calls “a fundamental assault on innocent human life.”
  Federal Election Commission Records show the RNC purchases its insurance from Cigna. Two sales agents for the company [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 5:05pm EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Obama at Fort Hood memorial

  

  Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

  [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 4:23pm EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Election results: Teabaggers lose

  I can’t really blame the Republicans for getting excited about last night’s election results. Lord knows they are desperate for some good news after getting their clocks cleaned in the last several elections.
  But one thing should be made clear about this election. While Republicans may have won two big [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 5:02pm EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Ayn Rand and the contradictions of the GOP

  
  New biographies are out about Ayn Rand just as her objectivist philosophy is becoming resurgent within the rapidly shrinking Republican Party.
  I first heard of Rand when I was in college working with a group of liberal, [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 2:12pm EST
  by Mike Thomas

• Republican implosion in NY 23rd

  Frank Rich's column in Sunday's NY Times is a must read this week.
  One can't help but wonder if we are witnessing the disintegration of the Republican Party.
  The wingnuts and the teabaggers who are taking over the Republican Party forced the Republican nominee in the race for' [...]
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  Posted: November 01, 2009, 10:13pm EST
  by Mike Thomas

• The Anti-Government Party

  
  Ever since Ronald Reagan declared that “government is the problem, not the solution”, the Republican Party has slowly devolved from being a conservative governing party to an anti-government party. This devolution has nearly reached its zenith with the rise of the “tea party” protestors now taking [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2009, 11:39am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• McCain hearts Mao

  
  
  Here in this video we see Republican presidential nominee John McCain reverently quoting his hero "Chairman Mao" and acknowledging him as the inspiration for continuing his bid for the presidency.
  Using Mark Harden/Jonathan Gurwitz standards, this would make McCain and anyone who supported him for president suspect as [...]
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  Posted: October 26, 2009, 11:53am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• My first rock album

  
  I finally got a CD copy of Raiders Collage, the first rock album I ever purchased as a kid.
  It is hard to explain the feeling of nostalgia this brings back. I remember being at the store at Grissom Air Force Base in Indiana. I [...]
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  Posted: October 21, 2009, 2:23pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Why I don’t like Rush Limbaugh (or Glenn Beck or Sean Hannity or Bill O’Reilly, etc.)

  I first heard Rush Limbaugh on the radio in 1988 when I was still living in College Station. He immediately reminded me of the loud-mouthed TV demogogue Morton Downey Jr.
  From the very first time I heard him until this day, my impression has not changed. He is the epitome [...]
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  Posted: October 16, 2009, 2:36pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Adopt-a-Liberal

  Steve Benen calls attention to an initiative by a Jerry Falwell group to urge its members to "Adopt-a-Liberal" and pray for them.
  I'm assuming their prayers are meant to turn the individuals more conservative. But what if these liberals are like me and are liberal BECAUSE of their' [...]
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  Posted: October 10, 2009, 10:55pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Obama and gay rights

  This is good news:
  
  Obama called for the repeal of the ban on gays in the military -- the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
  "We should not be punishing patriotic Americans who have stepped forward to serve this country," he said. "I'm working with the Pentagon, its'" [...]
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  Posted: October 10, 2009, 10:38pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Great Expectations

  
  
  President Obama's Nobel Peace prize in unquestionably coming sooner than anyone would have expected. I don't think anyone can really avoid calling the honor premature.
  I liken it to having the Academy Award for Best Picture awarded to a movie while it is [...]
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  Posted: October 09, 2009, 11:14am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• New GOP theme song

  Steve Benen is nominating nominating this tune as the official theme song for the GOP.
  I'll second that nomination.
  
  ' [...]
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  Posted: October 07, 2009, 2:25pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Olympic disappointment

  I was disappointed to learn today that Chicago didn’t win its bid for the 2016 Olympics. But I was absolutely disgusted by the response of many Republicans who literally cheered the news.
  That their bitter hatred for President Obama is so intense that it would override [...]
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  Posted: October 02, 2009, 3:13pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Tea-stained flags

  
  Rightwing nutjob and former actor Chuck Norris is now urging “Tea Party” radicals to quit flying the modern American flag in favor of older, “Betsy Ross-style” or “Don’t Tread On Me” flags as a protest statement against the American government.
  Or, as an alternative, he [...]
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  Posted: September 24, 2009, 4:54pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Rightwing talk = Gangsta rap

  This column in the Sunday NYTimes is dead on comparing right-wing talkers with gangsta rappers.
  Although each is appealing to a different audience, both forms of communication use very similar modes of operation and share similar ethics based on selfishness, greed, bombast, an overbearing sense of righteousness, resentment, [...]
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  Posted: September 21, 2009, 7:47am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• An FB discussion on immigration

  Here is a recent post and comments thread from my FaceBook page that I thought I would save here rather than watching it get lost and buried.
  
  Mike Thomas I’m glad to see Archbishop Gomez speaking up about the health care debate and I support his position that coverage [...]
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  Posted: September 18, 2009, 5:00pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Catholic Church supports "Obamacare"

  San Antonio Archbishop Jose Gomez has made it clear that he supports health care reform. In fact, he wants to take it further and include illegal immigrants in the plan.
  
  "It must include immigrants, especially legal immigrants, but all immigrants," Gomez told 1200 WOAI news. "We are" [...]
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  Posted: September 17, 2009, 10:03pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• The Acorn double standard

  Let me see if I have this Acorn thing straight....
  A wingnut on a crusade with a video camera manages to videotape of couple of poorly trained Acorn employees doing and saying some stupid and reprehensible things...
  (He conveniently does not show anyone the videos he took of [...]
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  Posted: September 16, 2009, 4:17pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Are they idiots? Or is it a setup?

  I have to agree with the conservatives on this one, and boy does that tick me off!!
  
  
  Proposed Texas social studies curriculum change angers conservatives
  
  The Associated Press
  AUSTIN – A proposal for new social studies curriculum in Texas public schools removes a mention of [...]
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  Posted: September 15, 2009, 10:29am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Closing The Book On The Bush Legacy - The Atlantic Politics Channel

  Closing The Book On The Bush Legacy - The Atlantic Politics Channel
  Thursday's annual Census Bureau report on income, poverty and access to health care-the Bureau's principal report card on the well-being of average Americans-closes the books on the economic record of George W. Bush.
  
  It's not' [...]
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  Posted: September 12, 2009, 9:56pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Heckling the President

  
  This is intolerable.
  
  A Republican House member shouted "You lie" during President Obama's health care speech to Congress on Wednesday, and members of both parties condemned the heckling.
  
  What has become of the Republican Party? It has obviously been replaced by the Tea' [...]
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  Posted: September 10, 2009, 12:16am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Finding friends, losing friends

  
  Ever since I signed on to Facebook a few months ago I have been overwhelmed by the number of old friends, past co-workers and distant (geographically) relatives I’ve been able to reconnect with, even if it is just to find out where and what they are [...]
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  Posted: September 09, 2009, 4:17pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Czar wars

  The things that rightwingers freak out about grows increasingly bizarre everyday.
  
  
  
  And here is more on the subject. [...]
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  Posted: September 09, 2009, 1:14pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Video of the Day

  Robert Reich makes the simple, straight forward case on a public health insurance option.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: September 08, 2009, 2:51pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Cartoon of the Day

  In light of the ongoing discussion between Mark and Ann in comments, I thought this cartoon was wholly appropriate.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: September 08, 2009, 11:10am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• I hate pre-season football

  I know lots of people are really football-starved at this time of the year, but I really can't stand all the hype that pre-season football gets right now.
  This is BASEBALL SEASON!!! We are getting into the playoffs with the World Series just around the corner. I could care less' [...]
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  Posted: September 05, 2009, 10:49pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Blame Republicans for bulk of the deficit

  
  
  Jackie Calmes of the New York Times had a great piece in the New York Times on Sunday about what makes up the national deficit.
  What is most striking about it (as shown in the graph) is how little of it is [...]
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  Posted: September 01, 2009, 9:29pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Universal Health Insurance 101

  [...]
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  Posted: September 01, 2009, 12:25am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Reagan still wrong on Medicare

  Here is my response to a local blogger The San Antonio Conservative with regards to the ongoing healthcare debate:
  
  This Reagan audio clip from 1961 is being trotted out again just like it is every time we debate changes to our health care system. What I don’t get, [...]
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  Posted: August 31, 2009, 12:51pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Fighting fire with fire

  The prospect of a $9 trillion debt over then next 10 years sounds horrible. But fortunately it is not really as bad as it seems as Paul Krugman makes clear today.
  
  There are two main reasons for the surge in red ink. First, the recession has led [...]
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  Posted: August 28, 2009, 12:16pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Torture debate

  This is just like watching Fox News!
  
  Is Using A Minotaur To Gore Detainees A Form Of Torture? [...]
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  Posted: August 28, 2009, 9:25am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Biden on Kennedy

  

  [...]
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  Posted: August 26, 2009, 11:37am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Honoring Ted Kennedy

  
  With Ted Kennedy’s passing it will become imperative for Democrats to pass health insurance reform in his memory. Republican obstinance and abuse of the filibuster procedure will necessitate that at least part of the bill be passed through the reconciliation process. [...]
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  Posted: August 26, 2009, 9:54am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Quick Poll

  Who is the craziest member of the U.S. Senate?
  
  Tom Coburn
  
  Jim DeMint
  
  Jim Bunning
  
  Jim Inhofe [...]
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  Posted: August 25, 2009, 5:26pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• The Failure of Reaganomics

  From Paul Krugman:
  
  Let’s talk for a moment about why the age of Reagan should be over.
  First of all, even before the current crisis Reaganomics had failed to deliver what it promised. Remember how lower taxes on high incomes and deregulation that unleashed the “magic of the [...]
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  Posted: August 25, 2009, 12:40pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Liberal pessimism/Conservative obstinance

  Did anyone think that getting healthcare reform done was going to be easy?
  Yes, I know that Obama came into office with huge approval ratings - especially when compared with the dismally low approval ratings of his immediate predecessor. I know that Democrats have large majorities in the House and [...]
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  Posted: August 24, 2009, 11:41am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Myths and falsehoods about health care reform

  Myths and falsehoods about health care reform
  
  Posted using ShareThis [...]
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  Posted: August 21, 2009, 4:01pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Spinning history

  The Express-News has a story today about the State Board of Education coming out with a first draft for standards for history books.
  The big news is that the conservative board members are pushing to include key moments in the history of wingnuttopia - specifically the founding [...]
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  Posted: August 21, 2009, 2:11pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Kay vs. Rick

  
  I can’t help but feel just a little sorry for Kay Bailey Hutchison right now. But only a little.
  This gubernatorial election looked early on like it would be a cakewalk for her. The triumphant U.S. Senator coming home after a successful stint in Washington to [...]
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  Posted: August 20, 2009, 2:59pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Guns at Obama events

  
  Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest
  
  A man toting an assault rifle was among a dozen protesters carrying weapons while demonstrating outside President Obama’s speech to veterans on Monday, but no laws were broken. It was the second instance in recent days in [...]
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  Posted: August 18, 2009, 10:47am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• No penance, no apologies

  From The Washington Monthly
  
  THE PENANCE HAS NOT BEEN PAID.... Following up on this item from yesterday, I had an interesting conversation via email yesterday with Bruce Bartlett, a veteran of the Reagan and H.W. Bush administrations. Bruce made a point that really resonated with me, and he [...]
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  Posted: August 17, 2009, 9:35am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Radical opposition

  Paul Krugman:
  
  President Obama is now facing the same kind of opposition that President Bill Clinton had to deal with: an enraged right that denies the legitimacy of his presidency, that eagerly seizes on every wild rumor manufactured by the right-wing media complex.
  
  This opposition cannot be [...]
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  Posted: August 14, 2009, 4:47pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Proper forums and FB decorum

  Over on FaceBook I am completely outnumbered by friends and family who lean rather hard to the right and are (in my view) totally misinformed and thus adamantly opposed to any type of health insurance reform. It is tempting to get into “discussions” on FB with some of these folks, [...]
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  Posted: August 14, 2009, 11:40am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Response to a smear

  Since Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel has been besmirched here in the comments recently, I thought it would be good to repost this article from TIME that lets him respond to the smears and the craziness.
  
  Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the medical ethicist and oncologist who advises President Obama, [...]
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  Posted: August 12, 2009, 5:03pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• The Conservative Pledge

  Rightwingers are really big on making pledges and so I found this "Conservative Pledge" to be most interesting. Following is the pledge with my comments and interpretations in bold...
  
  I will support the People’s right to self-defense.
  And the right to carry loaded guns anyplace we feel [...]
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  Posted: August 12, 2009, 12:37pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• John Hughes favorites

  
  The Breakfast Club and Ferris Beuller’s Day Off have always been high on my list of “movies I want to own some day,” but alas upon learning of the untimely death of director John Hughes it occurs to me that I still do not have a [...]
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  Posted: August 07, 2009, 3:07pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Healthcare lies

  This Steven Pearlstein column is one not to be missed -- Republicans Propagating Falsehoods in Attacks on Health-Care Reform
  
  The recent attacks by Republican leaders and their ideological fellow-travelers on the effort to reform the health-care system have been so misleading, so disingenuous, that they could only [...]
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  Posted: August 07, 2009, 2:19pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Fiesta Texas

  We had a good time at Fiesta Texas yesterday. My son got a free ticket through a reading program at his school this year so even though we have season passes to Sea World, we ponied up for a day at Six Flags.
  Naturally it was a scorcher on [...]
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  Posted: August 07, 2009, 9:43am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Disney movie collection

  Here is my Disney movie collection which has grown exponentially over the years and which I am still looking to add to:
  
  Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (VHS)
  Pinocchio
  Fantasia (VHS)
  Dumbo
  Bambi
  Saludos Amigos
  The Three Caballeros
  Make Mine Music
  Fun and Fancy Free
  Melody Time
  The [...]
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  Posted: August 05, 2009, 3:17pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• New Weird Al video!!!!

  
  
  Weird Al Yankovic does White Stripes! Too cool! [...]
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  Posted: August 04, 2009, 9:48am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Radical Right - Today’s Hippie protesters

  
  
  The video of an angry mob chanting “Just Say No!” over and over again in an effort to harass U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett during a forum on health care is a prime example of how Radicalism has replaced Conservatism in this country.
  These people are no [...]
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  Posted: August 03, 2009, 2:25pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Wow! Government really can do something right!

  Via The Washington Monthly comes an excellent article about the Corrupt, Bloated, Private For-Profit Fire Fighting Industry of the 1800s before we replaced it with government-run fire protection.
  I wonder how many people would like to turn back the clock and return to the days of [...]
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  Posted: August 03, 2009, 9:51am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• TPA Roundup 8-3

  Here we are in August, and like every other week it's time for another Texas Progressive Alliance blog roundup.
  
  TXsharon needs your help to Expose This Dirty Video.
  
  CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme calls out KBH and the GOP for using racism and the NRA [...]
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  Posted: August 03, 2009, 7:46am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• The Sarah Palin of South Texas

  If you go to this web site you will find a professionally produced video touting Debra Medina’s campaign for governor.
  Medina is a small businesswoman from Beeville who is gearing up to challenge Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Republican gubernatorial primary from the [...]
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  Posted: July 31, 2009, 3:12pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• See ya later....

  
  
  While we were touring a private wildlife preserve on Avery Island in Louisiana we stopped at a small pond where some alligators were swimming. Before long we had five medium-sized gators all checking us out and then this guy came out of the water about [...]
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  Posted: July 30, 2009, 10:02am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Back from vacation

  I’m back from our vacation trip to Louisiana to see my sister and her family in Crowley. It was our kids’ first trip to Crowley and their cousins had a great time showing them around the farm, taking them fishing and much more. Nathan got to play Wii with his [...]
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  Posted: July 29, 2009, 4:16pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Crazy Birthers

  
  President Barack Obama has a birthday coming up soon. I know because I have his birth certificate right here showing that he was born on Aug. 4, 1961 at 7:24 p.m. on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. That’s part of the United States of America, [...]
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  Posted: July 22, 2009, 10:48am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Why I’m a Liberal

  I understand why so many people consider themselves to be “conservative” having been there once myself. The term “conserative,” unlike its political counterpart “liberal,” has appeal to both sides of the political spectrum. People on the left side of the political spectrum will readily embrace the term ‘conservative’ in many [...]
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  Posted: July 20, 2009, 12:51pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• History books next target of culture warriors

  If you thought the Texas Board of Education’s battle over science curriculums in public schools wasn’t entertaining enough, take a look at this story in the Wall Street Journal the other day.
  
  The fight over school curriculum in Texas, recently focused on biology, has entered a new [...]
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  Posted: July 15, 2009, 2:20pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• To Censure or Impeach

  I noticed in South Carolina that Republicans have voted to “censure” Gov. Mark Sanford, rather than demand his resignation.
  This, of course, is precisely what Democrats proposed to do with Bill Clinton after the Monica Lewinsky affair was exposed by the salacious, crusader Ken Starr. But back then, Republicans [...]
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  Posted: July 08, 2009, 2:37pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Symbolic Patriotism

  So much good news during the past few days I don’t know if I can stand it. First Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Gov. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., reveal themselves to be enormous, massive hypocrites and disqualify themselves from ever running for president in the future. Then former Sen. and Sore [...]
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  Posted: July 06, 2009, 11:19am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Hypocricy on full display

  Via Political Wire here is one of the campaign ads from 2002 for Republican Mark Sanford when he ran for governor of South Carolina.
  
  So it's not just that he cheated on his wife with multiple women and used taxpayer money to finance his flings in South [...]
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  Posted: July 01, 2009, 8:31am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Losing Michael Jackson

  When Ed McMahon passed away at 86 it wasn’t too surprising considering his age. And even when Farrah Fawcet died a couple of days later it was not unexpected because of her long struggle with cancer. But having Michael Jackson die suddenly from cardiac arrest at age 50 [...]
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  Posted: June 26, 2009, 10:10am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Oscar problem resolved!

  Wow! This is fantastic news!!
  2010 Oscars to have 10 Best Picture nominees
  
  One of my biggest pet peeves with the Academy Awards is that they have been ignoring popular box office hits in favor of artsy, elitist pictures that few people have [...]
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  Posted: June 24, 2009, 5:01pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Republican “Family Values”

  John Ensign and Mark Sanford - two Republican idiots who will NEVER be president.
  In just a matter of weeks we have seen two rising stars of the Republican Party and highly-touted future presidential candidates immolate their political careers on national television.
  First, Sen. John Ensign, R-Nevada, admitted to cheating [...]
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  Posted: June 24, 2009, 3:37pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• TPA Roundup 6-22

  It's Monday, the day after the first day of summer, and it's time for another Texas Progressive Alliance blog roundup.
  
  President Obama, Bill White, and John Sharp are all in the same sinking DOMA boat. The Texas Cloverleaf comes off of hiatus to tell you why.
  
  CouldBeTrue [...]
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  Posted: June 22, 2009, 8:06am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• False equivalence

  Jonathan Gurwitz is trying to deflect criticism away from conservatives over the recent spate of right-wing violence in the U.S. by making a bogus argument about false equivalency.
  Even though there have been no recent instances of left-wing violence in the U.S., Gurwitz claims that both sides are [...]
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  Posted: June 17, 2009, 1:40pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Fire Chancellor McKinney

  I am absolutely furious over the fiasco surrounding the resignation of Elsa Murano as president of Texas A&M University.
  This is a major black eye for my alma mater and I place the blame squarely on Chancellor Mike McKinney. I want his resignation. Now!
  As I noted earlier, [...]
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  Posted: June 16, 2009, 3:57pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• The best possible verdict

  My experience as a juror was very positive, despite the fact that it was a very unpleasant court case we had to deal with. Without naming any names, I want to go over the case a bit and discuss how we came to our verdict (guilty) and sentencing (10 years [...]
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  Posted: June 16, 2009, 1:54pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Jury Duty

  I got picked to be a juror so I won't be posting for the next few days.
  Everyone play nice while I'm gone. [...]
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  Posted: June 10, 2009, 7:37am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• City Council Runoff

  Up until today I had no idea who to vote for in the runoff for City Council District 8. The race is between Mike Berlanga, a CPA, and Reed Williams, a retired oil executive. I don't think I like either one.
  On election day, I had voted for Berlanga on' [...]
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  Posted: June 07, 2009, 10:39pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• A&M Chancellor disses A&M President

  I’m not sure what is going on with this situation but I can already tell that I don’t like it.
  The Chancellor of Texas A&M University System is apparently having a nasty fight with the new Texas A&M president, who just happens to be the first female [...]
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  Posted: June 05, 2009, 12:52pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien

  
  I'm sold. I love the new show!' [...]
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  Posted: June 03, 2009, 1:28pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• More rightwing filth on the radio thanks to Cox Radio

  Are there any syndicated right-wing radio yakkers that do not have an outlet in San Antonio now?
  Clear Channel-owned WOAI 1200 gives us daily doses of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Dennis Miller along with locally based wingnut Joe Pags.
  KLUP 930, owned by Salem Communications, a company [...]
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  Posted: June 02, 2009, 10:57am EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Protestants on the Supreme Court

  This is interesting. If she is confirmed, Sonia Sotomayor will be the sixth Catholic on the Supreme Court. She will join fellow Catholics Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito, John Roberts, Clarence Thomas and Anthony Kennedy.
  Two of the justices - Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer - are [...]
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  Posted: June 01, 2009, 5:02pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Who’s the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court?

  
  You can’t tell me that this guy is supposed to be the first Hispanic to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.
  Other than a Hispanic-sounding last name, there is nothing about Benjamin Nathan Cardoza that is even remotely Hispanic. The man was born and [...]
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  Posted: June 01, 2009, 4:13pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• American Taliban strikes again

  I can’t help but feel deeply disturbed and very angry over this latest instance of domestic terrorism courtesy of the American Taliban (aka Religious Right). The assassination of Dr. George Tiller was not an isolated instance carried out by a single person, but rather the culmination of [...]
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  Posted: June 01, 2009, 1:06pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas

• Up, Up and Away

  Pixar goes 10 for 10
  How does Pixar do it? An amazing string of classic, critically-praised, hit films...
  
  Toy Story - 1995
  A Bug’s Life - 1998
  Toy Story II - 1999
  Monsters Inc. - 2001
  Finding Nemo* - 2003
  The Incredibles* - 2004
  Cars - 2006
  Ratatouille* [...]
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  Posted: May 28, 2009, 5:39pm EDT
  by Mike Thomas