Archive for May 1st, 2009
Wife of convicted felon admits White House plot to destroy American health insurance industry
Jan Schakowsky, wife of convicted felon Robert Creamer (who stole over $2 million in a check-kiting crime spree several years ago), admits the White House plans to destroy the American health insurance industry.
Schakowsky is a very good friend of the current president’s and, along with Claire McCaskill and Nancy Pelosi, is usually dispatched, gorgon-style, to surrogate speak when the White House itself can’t actually say anything as terrible, stupid, or terribly stupid as Rahm Emanuel, in particular, wants said.
Schakowsky, in particular, is especially good in this role, since saying terribly stupid things comes so easily for her (though, to be fair, the rest of this Trio is a close second and third in that contest).
The current administration, we truly believe, cultivates the seeds of its own destruction with the way it is thus far handling attempted healthcare reform. For one thing, Kathleen Sebelius at H&HS is not capable of providing the leadership to effectively make smooth, transitioned, competent, affordable, universal healthcare possible. As much as we would like the squirrels in the parks around Chicago to spontaneously break into song and dance, Once More With Feeling-style, that’s never going to happen. As much as it would be nice for Sebelius to wake up tomorrow and become the greatest hope we have for actual healthcare reform, Kathleen Sebelius is not, and never will be, Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton.
Because, face it, Hillary Clinton had a effective, well-thought-out, pragmatic plan for universal healthcare reform that bears no resemblance to the crazy, destructive, reckless things the current administration wants to inflict upon American taxpayers.
Schakowsky’s remarks above should terrify you.
She clearly has no idea whatsoever how much chaos and ineptitude’s involved in what she’s talking about (yet another day in the wonderful world of Mrs. Robert Creamer, oblivious to all manner of fraud, corruption, and disaster that she is).
It’s truly staggering…and a lot like watching a train wreck happen…seeing the wheels start to leave the rails, watching the engine start to lift off into the air…cringing as metal starts to squeal, buckle, and spark.
And when this mismanaged and wholly inept enterprise plunges into unmitigated disaster, just remember, technically, Jan Schakowksy did warn us exactly what was about to happen.
Who can you trust to take care of the bear in the woods?
A Message from Veridian Dynamics
HillBuzz Heads to the USO — when are YOU reporting for duty?
Dear HillBuzz,
“You know, these are the greatest fighting forces the world has ever seen. They are efficient killers, superb marksmen, the best sailors to ever set foot on seafaring vessels or plunge to the bottom of King Triton’s deep. They are a lot of things, all of them deadly, and the one thing they most definitely are not is cute.”
Being on base at the Great Lakes Naval Station, touring the grounds in a riotously -patriotic red, white, and blue, star-spangled, bald eagle emblazoned, USO van (driven with flare by a larger than life 6’4″ female former marine named Beth, who hollered and waived at everyone she passed, this blur of blazing red hair and HOORAH! gusto), I assure you, for once, I was not the one calling anyone cute.
I was, in fact, respectfully not asking or telling anything remotely related to cute in the back of the van, a gay Hillary Democrat sandwiched amongst a half dozen female Chicago Young Republicans, all of whom wanted to adopt as many future submariners, sailors, and future Navy SEALS as possible.
“But, they are so cute. So young, they’re babies. Lethal, impeccably trained, wonderful little babies. I just want to cuddle ‘em and make sure they know how much they are loved,” was the general consensus amongst the women around me, all of whom morphed into mother, big sister, protective aunt mode, watching columns of cadets four or five rows deep marching in step to their classes, chanting one of those sing-songy rhymes military life, to us civilians, seems so chock full of.
The dorms on base are named after ships currently in service, and the young sailors walking home from class “board” their residences the way they would a ship, stopping to salute the sentries posted at the entrance “gangplank”, before heading home to the USS Abraham Lincoln, Harry Truman, or Porter after a grueling day of physical, mental, and psychological training beyond the realms of my comprehension. All of them are immaculately dressed, standing straight as they walk, never carrying anything in their right hands so they’re forever ready to salute. Their eyes are bright and committed to purpose, but with a slight, distant hunger burning in them if you look close.
It’s not for food, because there’s certainly plenty of that on base. There are the galleys, which are the cafeterias scattered around, where, contrary to what we’ve seen in movies and on TV, the food is purportedly very good. As if plucked from somewhere in Skokie by an errant tornado and deposited whole and safely just passed the football field, the ubiquitous golden arches of the Great Lakes McDonald’s also stands ready for any trainees in need of a good, old-fashioned, American artery clogging (with a Taco Bell and a Pizza Hut around, too, in the food court of the PX). There’s even a Peach Pit, local hang-out, type diner/club/rec center called Pier 52, which is apparently the most happening place on base when duty shifts are over and payday’s fresh in the young sailors’ pockets.
So, despite last night being the last day before payday, when the cadets are most broke, and have the least amount to burn on junk food or fun and games, the “No Dough Dinner” we came to Great Lakes to serve wasn’t really about the food as much as it was about giving these men and women a little of the positive attention they need, that they crave, and to let them know how much those of us in the outside world appreciate them and care about them, from the honest to goodness bottom of our hearts.
The discipline on this base is tough and unrelenting. The drill instructors are ruthlessly efficient in breaking these cadets down and rebuilding them as masters of the sea, defenders of the nation, protectors of us all. I was painfully aware of how much responsibility we put into the hands of children as we walked into the USO on base and passed uniformed cadets waiting patiently in line, looking rosy cheeked and sometimes pimply, like high schoolers on a field trip. Some of them still seemed lost in this new world, obviously wondering what they had gotten themselves into, probably pining for home and its comforts.
So, that’s what the USO precisely provides for them — and on base, this felt like someone’s very large, very patriotically-decorated house, with comfy sofas, lots of TVs, a computer room, a “spiritual room”, library, several DVD movie rooms, study areas, pool tables, and a kitchen designed to look just like mom’s back in Mineral City, complete with nautically-themed nick nacks and military-inspired homey kitsch.
We raised the funds to sponsor last night’s “No Dough Dinner” of Popeye’s chicken, mashed potatoes, red beans and rice, biscuits and gravy, and cupcakes to fill that kitchen with a Thursday evening family meal for relative strangers, delivered with bipartisan spirit from the heart of Chicago. As we entered the kitchen to apron up and start serving the food, the young men and women spontaneously cheered and clapped for us, so happy we were there for them.
Beth introduced our group, telling the sailors part of our group was Chicago Young Republicans, and a nice cheer erupted for people who normally get stares or jeers in highly partisan Chicago. Perhaps that could be expected from the military, but I was pleasantly surprised when Beth introduced me as a Hillary Democrat and the cheers got even louder, with a few chants of Hill-a-ry, Hill-a-ry, Hill-a-ry coming from the back, accompanied by one loud exclamation of “Alright! Secretary of State!”.
We definitely weren’t there in campaign or political mode, but I loved that fact that a Hillary Democrat got such a loud cheer from these kids. I really think they were as surprised to see a Democrat there as people were at the Michael Steele event I went to a few weeks back, or any of the McCain or Palin events I went to during the general election. But, this was a different kind of surprise, because it wasn’t just my presence that was odd or interesting to them, the way it was at those other events, but because I think these cadets are so used to feeling ignored by Democrats that having one in their midst serving them dinner meant a lot.
As I dished out fried chicken, many of them said that to me, and all of them thanked every one of us for doing this, and for sponsoring this dinner. Never in my life have I received so much thanks, and so much appreciation, for doing relatively so little. Aside from my time and a few dollars, taking part in the “No Dough Dinner” cost me nothing at all, but it was a day well spent from the looks on all those kids’ faces.
They were so happy, smiles ear to ear. And it seriously was not about the food, which was good, but nothing they couldn’t have gotten at the PX or McDonald’s, or even in their galleys. They were just so happy that people came out from Chicago to spend the evening with them and make them feel that they mattered, that what they were doing mattered.
I’m only 32 years old, so I certainly can’t understand feeling parental towards any of these 18-22 year olds, but I felt like a proud big brother watching all of them line up, so crisp and strong in their uniforms, in various stages of training and readiness to meet the demands of their respective missions. Since there’s a graduating class at this base almost every weekend, the cadets are on various schedules, taking different courses, preparing for assorted roles of service. Some have been in training longer than others, and the distinctions showed: you could spot newer cadets, who still seemed to retain more of their civilian individualism, compared to those who seemed close to graduation, who were straight out of central casting for battle ready sailors.
But every last one of them seemed like such good, good kids.
That’s what I’m really left with today, thinking back on the experience: what a remarkable, wonderful, AWESOME group of men and women. We are so very, very lucky, as Americans, to have these brave, selfless, talented, AWESOME people training to defend us.
This is the face of the American military, people.
This is who we send into harm’s way.
Those smiling faces, so young, fresh out of Mineral City or Cleveland or Pittsburgh, destined for the deck of an aircraft carrier or the bowels of a Trident submarine. Some of them were BUDs heading to SEAL training, where they would endure unimaginable hardships to become the most elite of our nation’s bravest and boldest.
And they were all so young…so seemingly vulnerable…so happy to receive this support from people who took time off their day to drive out to visit them.
You should know by now that I don’t often call anything life-changing, and try never to err on the side of hyperbole, but last night at the USO truly changed me. For starters, I plan on sponsoring one of these “No Dough Dinners” once a month, partnering with the CYRs or organizing HillBuzz groups to head out to Great Lakes as Hillary Dems on our own. From now on, every birthday, holiday, or other occasion I celebrate will include doing something for the USO. I don’t need any presents from anyone for the rest of my life: instead, help me pool together enough funds to pay for another “No Dough Dinner”. Instead of eating too much and sitting around a TV or fireplace at Thanksgiving, I’m going to get as many people as I can out to Great Lakes to serve meals to the 4,000 men and women there.
I will personally, and systematically, see to it that moderate Democrats in Chicago get off their couches and get involved with the USO, because this is a cause we’re never taught to support growing up in Democratic households.
I remember being a little kid and having my parents change the channel when I’d watch the G.I. Joe cartoon, not because they had anything against the military per se, but because “that show’s for Republicans. You’re a Democrat. Watch Transformers instead”. As ridiculous as that was, it’s been the meme of Democrats for years. The military is a Republican thing. Democrats need to shop at Whole Foods, complain about the environment, and sit quietly as Code Pink and other loons trash our men and women in uniform and call them everything from monsters to war criminals.
Well, I’ve certainly had enough of that nonsense.
I’m a Democrat who’s ashamed the current president couldn’t be bothered to raise his hand to his heart back in Iowa, on the campaign trail in 2007, when the national anthem played. I’m a Democrat aghast at the existence of ACORN, an organization which, along with the ACLU, conspires to void military ballots for various technicalities while shuttling the homeless and college students around big cities to vote three, four, or five times a day during an election. I’m a Democrat who thinks it’s reprehensible that Liberals and Leftists teach their children that sailors, soldiers, and marines are not people deserving of all our thanks, love, and support.
I’m a Democrat who was forever changed not just by my involvement in the McCain/Palin campaign, but by my continuing friendship with the Chicago Young Republicans, who I continue to learn so much from (and whom, I hope, learn a thing or two from me about LGBTQ rights and speaking out against sexism and misogyny).
And I continue to take constant flak for this and really know what to say about it anymore. I posted on Facebook that I was going to the Great Lakes base to serve this dinner, and many snarky comments were tossed at me, from Obamacrats, telling me I was wasting my time and that there were better things I could do in a day than go “all the way out there” to “feed people who are only in the Navy because they couldn’t get into college”. THIS is what I am talking about, this sick and twisted partisan divide in terms of supporting the military. Liberals on the Left like to talk about how terrible they think America is, and how much they hate Americas dominance on the world scene, so of course they have to hate the military, because it’s the best in the world and remains the sole reason we’re at the top of the global food chain (which, ironically, is also the sole reason these Leftists are so well-fed, and so snug in their coffee houses while trashing the very people who make their comfy lives possible). “You’re turning into a Republican. We don’t know what to do with you. You need to just come out of the closet already.”
No, discovering how much I owe men and women in uniform is NOT becoming a Republican. It’s waking up, growing up, getting real, and becoming a better AMERICAN.
Yes, it took John McCain to get this rolling in me. I remember on June 8th, 2008, the day after Hillary Clinton suspended her campaign for President, I went to McCain’s website for the first time and felt like I was on an alien planet. All those military symbols, the black and gold naval inspired fonts and design. The COUNTRY FIRST motto. The photos of a young McCain in uniform. I had absolutely no idea how to process any of that, and for a few hours, stared blankly at the screen wondering if I really could, for the first time in my life, support a Republican, support a military man, support someone I was always taught back in Democratic Cleveland to mistrust, if not malign.
And then I started going to McCain events, meeting veterans, and came to realize that all those years of partisan artiface were completely ridiculous. I saw that as a Hillary Democrat, I loved this country as much as McCain supporters did, and that I supported our troops as much as Hillary herself did — which remains a marked contrast from the supporters of our current president, who I believe share more in common with Code Pink than anyone in uniform.
Sarah Palin’s son Track, McCain’s two hellraisers, and Mac himself really put a true and lasting face on the military for me, joining the few friends I’ve had growing up who were active duty military for some period of their lives. Now, I have these experiences with the USO to forever remind me of how important it is to support our troops, and to ensure that I, as a civilian, am doing everything I possibly can to make sure every man and woman who sacrifices so much to put on one of those uniforms to protect my fanulous little world here in Boystown gets everything possible to make that sacrifice just a little easier.
It’s time to put the Liberal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” catterwalling on mute and get Boystown to support our men in uniform. Democrats, especially LGBTQ Democrats, tend to narrowly focus on a few charities at the expense of all others. In Boystown, that means giving exclusively to AIDS or Marriage Equality related causes. Why can’t there be a USO fundraiser sandwiched in there somewhere? Why can’t my community stand up and give thanks too? Surely, if I managed to somehow contain myself and not gush over the “cute” cadets on base the way my CYR female counterparts did, I can somehow manage to find a way to diversify Chicago Democrats enough that the USO becomes a part of their daily lives as well.
I want to report for duty in this regard, to encourage as many people to stand behind the USO as possible. As a Hillary Democrat, I want our troops to see that moderates like me have nothing in common with the Code Pink hate squad. I want them to see that Hillary sent me, John McCain sent me, Sarah Palin sent me, and as incongruous as all of that might be, it’s the new reality for one guy in Boystown who fully intends to play a part in waking up other Democrats as well, and making the support of our FOUR Illinois USOs a real and lasting priority for the rest of our lives.
We can ALL serve this country in our own way, tailored to our own abilities and circumstances. I won’t ever serve beneathe the sea in a submarine or aboard an aircraft carrier (though, a future USS Hillary Clinton would sure as heck be tempting, even if I’m in my 60s or 70s when she’s built…another long range lobbying plan of mine), but rest assured I’ll be dishing up fried chicken, slicing up cake, and raising money for personal affects and whatever other supplies the USO needs. And if I ever leave Chicago, wherever I move next, the first call I’ll make in my new town is to the local USO to see how I can start helping there.
The USO and the Special Olympics are now part of my heart — so thank you John McCain and Sarah Palin.
I know I’ve got an uphill climb ahead of me to bring other Democrats on board with me, but maybe a few of you out there can help as well, and in time we can further alienate the Code Pink loons and ACORN to the dustbin of history, because REAL Democrats, Hillary Democrats, Roosevelt Democrats, love and support our troops…and now, hopefully, will step up and start doing more on a regular basis to make sure the kids who choose to leave home and put on those uniforms do so with a truly grateful nation behind them.
Sebastian Gray
Chicago, IL
Friday Open Thread
What’s on your mind this Friday?
Do you have swine flu yet?
What sort of a Justice do you think will replace Souter on the Court — and what sort of Justices will be lined up to replace Ginsburg and Kennedy? There are some in Chicago who believe Hillary Clinton will replace Souter — we are not saying we think that, but that’s what the buzz was all day since Souter announced his retirement. And that’s interesting in itself just because Hillary Clinton is always supposedly behind everything, or a part of everything, to some people. We kind of like that. It reminds us of the stuff people would say about Eleanor Roosevelt in WWII, that she appeared to be everywhere all at once, always involved in something.
It would be surprising if HRC would want to be on the Court — an appointment like that would mean she has no interest in running for President ever again, which would be a real shame in our opinion. At the very least, we’d love to see her run for Governor of New York, as we’ve said before. HRC would be a terrific Justice, but we just don’t see her in the role.
Who do you think are likely to make the list for Souter’s replacement? Since it would be one Dem appointment replacing a consistent Dem vote on the Court, it’s really a wash for the new administration, unless the current president appoints someone truly loony from the far Left, which would be very unlikely.
Jennifer Granholm feels like she’ll at the very least make the short list. It also gives Democrats an excuse to remove her from Michigan so they can have a better shot at retaining that governorship as they’ll be added time to recover from her low approval ratings before the next election.
With Sandra Day O’Connor replaced with a man by former President Bush, we don’t know how the current president would get away with not replacing Souter with a woman. Really, in gender equality terms, the next three replacements should all be women.
Not that NOW or any other Democratic constituent group would call him out on it if he didn’t choose a woman. Just as long as it’s not Claire McCaskill…or worse, HRH Princess Caroline of Kennedy.
What think you?
