Doomsy's Do-Gooders And Dregs (2010 - Pt. 8)

(Part One is here, Part Two is here, Part Three is here, Part Four is here, Part Five is here, Part Six is here, and Part Seven is here.)

The “Let’s Decry The Patronage ‘Sausage-Making’ Behind Health Care Reform…And By The Way, Look Over There – ACORN!” Citation Of The Year

U.S. Senate Repugs reportedly offered incoming Dem Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia $1 billion for a plant to convert coal to diesel fuel that has stalled under Democratic leadership in Washington if Manchin were to switch parties (but just remember that only Dems make tawdry, back-room deals…and why anyone would be dumb enough to trust a Repug on anything is something I cannot imagine - here).

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Dem (!) Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia for comparing progressives to teabaggers here (lucky for Warner he isn’t up for re-election until 2014 – of course, we have long memories, as well as that Google thingie...Warner also gets it for this)

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

I don’t know how many others besides me have noticed this, but former Reagan White House Budget Director David Stockman has really been smacking down some in his own party over our budget mess, including House Repug Mike Pence of Indiana here – a little late to the game, but welcome (also here)…

Do Gooders of the Year Nominee

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors, who, as noted here “banned most McDonald's Happy Meals with toys, as they're now served...The ordinance (issued by the Board) requires McDonald's and other fast-food servings with toys to meet new nutritional standards” (the wingnut harrumphing will begin momentarily)

“You Better Think Twice” Citation Of The Year

Yes, we know the rules of the filibuster in the U.S. Senate really stink, but guess what? I don’t think anyone should be in a hurry to fix them assuming the Dems lose the majority in the Senate in 2012, which, given the amount of unregulated corporate campaign spending by the “U.S” Chamber of Commerce and other groups benefitting from the horrible Citizens United ruling, is a real possibility (if there’s one thing I’m sick and tired of almost beyond words, it’s this notion that the Repugs are allowed to play dirty, but the Dems have to play by the rules...Obama should issue an executive order implementing the DISCLOSE Act to try and prevent another electoral catastrophe in 2012...still, though, I'll admit dday makes some good points here).

Dregs of the Year Nominees

Anyone involved in any way at all with trying to get President Snowe to become a Democrat (here...I can’t criticize what the Repugs are trying to do with Manchin but pretend that this is OK in the other direction just because Democrats are doing it)

Dregs of the Year Nominees

The “catfood commission” gets it for its proposal to cut Social Security and Medicare (gee, what a surprise) as well as eliminate the home mortgage deduction (ditto) while also eliminating the Earned Income Tax Credit which, as Atrios notes, “is about the only thing we do for the working poor.”

Also (noted here)…

The proposed simplification of the tax code would repeal or modify a number of popular tax breaks — including the deductibility of mortgage interest payments — so that income tax rates could be reduced across the board. Under the plan, individual income tax rates would decline to as low as 8 percent on the lowest income bracket (now 10 percent) and to 23 percent on the highest bracket (now 35 percent). The corporate tax rate, now 35 percent, would also be reduced, to as low as 26 percent.

This whole episode was utterly unproductive and totally futile. And it has Obama’s name on it (and somehow I’m sure he knew it would be a dead dog – that’s why he happened to be in Asia when all of this “dropped”).

Weirdest Political Anecdote of the Year

During an interview with Matt Lauer to promote his book “Decision Points,” Dubya (who of course was nowhere to be found before the election, but suddenly became ubiquitous after November 2nd) said that his mother, Mrs. “Beautiful Mind” herself, kept the remains of her miscarried fetus in a jar and showed it to her son when he was a teenager (here...man, that’s seriously messed up even for that family).

Dregs of the Year Nominees

U.S. House Rep-elect (ugh) Allen West and hate radio host (and almost-West-chief-of-staff) Joyce Kaufman for this (more on West later)…

“Happy Ending” Of The Year

Myanmar democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi was released after seven years of house arrest (here).

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Senator “Country First” for his ridiculous DADT posturing (and what a shame that his wife took such a courageous stand but then decided to “walk it back”) here (more here - DADT would eventually be repealed, of course)…

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Bill Orally gets it for his response to Dana Milbank here – it seems Milbank (formerly unsympathetic for “Mouthpiece Theater” and his put-downs of HuffPo’s Nico Pitney for his great Iranian uprising coverage of last year) quite correctly pointed out how Fix Noise was the number one cheerleader for the Repug takeover of the U.S. House on 11/2 (I would also put the Bucks County Courier Times in the “top 10” in that department, by the way).

Well, how does “Billo” react? By remarks about “beheading” Milbank, to which Milbank responds as follows…

Hilarious! Decapitation jokes just slay me, and this one had all the more hilarity because the topic of journalist beheadings brings to mind my late friend and colleague Danny Pearl, who replaced me in the Wall Street Journal's London bureau and later was murdered in Pakistan by people who thought sharia justified it.

And somewhere, I’m sure David Zurawik or Stu Bykofsky will write a column saying that Keith Olbermann is somehow worse because he had too many liberals on “Countdown.”

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Biting my lip on this one big time, but I have to give it to Holy Joe Lieberman for standing up to “Straight Talk” McCain on DADT here (and for this - whoa!)…

The “Remind Me Never To Purchase The Oxford American Dictionary” Citation Of The Year

“Refudiate,” a nonexistent term made up by a former moose-hunting half-term governor of Alaska, was named Oxford’s “Word of the Year” here (good job on giving a nomination to “bankster,” though)

The “Enough Already!” Citation Of The Year

MSNBC suspends Joe Scar over Republican Party campaign donations (here - seriously, Phil Griffin, you’re just a laughingstock on this issue right now...stop digging the hole).

“Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire” Citation of the Year

The “U.S.” Chamber of Commerce tells Obama they won’t support defeating him in 2012 here (and why exactly should I consider them to be credible on this or anything else?)

Do Gooders of the Year Nominees

The “please tax us” millionaires (here)…

Dregs of the Year Nominees

The TSA and its administrator John S. Pistole for stories such as this (yep, whenever both Daily Kos and Red State are mad at the same agency for the same reason, that’s pretty historic...and I thought this was an - ahem - interesting column on the subject)…

The “So Really, What Else Did You Expect?” Citation of the Year

Soon after joining the Congressional Black Caucus, Repug U.S. House Rep Allen West of Florida “accused the organization of failing the black community by promoting dependence on government welfare programs” here (and more on West is here - and still more is here).

Dregs of the Year Nominees

Our “allies” in Israel for this (and it rates a three-month suspended sentence – unbelievable)…

Do Gooders of the Year Nominee

Motor Trend Magazine gets it for choosing the hybrid Chevy Volt as the 2011 Car of the Year, which is good enough. What is better, though, is the smack-down they gave to a certain Flush Limbore who has drooled, bloviated and generally made a bigger fool out of himself than usual (is that possible?) over the vehicle, with Motor Trend reminding Limbore that “driving and OxyContin don’t mix” here (BOO-YAAH!).

Dregs of the Year Nominees

So many reasons to nominate the “U.S.” Chamber of Commerce, primarily for using money from foreign entities in U.S. elections, but also for their bitching about Obama generally, including the supposedly onerous taxes their clients have to pay (please), when, in fact, “U.S. corporations are on track for (their) biggest earnings growth in 22 years and the stock market is headed for its best back-to- back annual gains since 2004” (noted here).

Do Gooders of the Year Nominee

Forty six percent of those polled here who would change the Constitution to ban unlimited corporate funding in elections in response to the Citizens United atrocity of a Supreme Court ruling (and a Dregs citation to the thirty six percent opposed)…

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush for changing that state’s Medicaid program as part of an “experimental overhaul,” meaning that enrollees “(have) to deal with a private, for-profit insurance company to get…care, not a government agency accountable to the public” – one reason why this matters is noted here in the case of 37-year-old program member Alisa Wilson, who needed a liver transplant which was repeatedly denied; as Think Progress tells us here…

After “scores of e-mails and…the help of a Florida state legislator,” the HMO, Sunshine State Health, finally gave in and approved coverage for Wilson (in early November). Yet her health was too severe for surgery by then. On Friday evening (November 19th), Wilson passed away:

And God knows how many Alisa Wilsons there are in this country (but oh, it’s really the fault of that baad Michael Moore who made a film about this which was “loose with the facts,” although nobody can point out where he was wrong).

If Jeb Bush decides to run for president in 2012, it’s going to get really interesting. This is a pretty severe and tragic story, but there’s a whole bunch of bad lesser stuff that got swept under the proverbial rug on his watch, and it will all come out.

“Come To Jesus” Moment of the Year

Pope Benny says that condoms “may be OK under certain circumstances” to prevent AIDS here (baby steps to be sure, but progress)…

Felon of the Year

Tom DeLay was convicted of money laundering charges here in November (and to refresh your memory on what a despicable character he is – if you need such a reminder – read this, in which his repeated references to the “Democrat” Party are a comparatively minor offense; awfully funny to hear a guy who never served questioning the patriotism of others, though...still awaiting a sentence).

Geographically Challenged Wingnut Of The Year (Wasilla entry)

Sarah Palin says here that we have to “stand with our North Korean allies” (ummm, no).

Turkey of the Year

Repug U.S. House Rep Todd Akin said here that the Pilgrims came to the U.S. to flee “unbiblical socialism” (of course, the Pilgrims coming to this country is ostensibly what we observe at Thanksgiving, and they came to flee religious persecution) – sorry, but wrong...thanks for playing our game; here are some lovely parting gifts.

Inappropriate Invocation of a Deity Of The Year

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Steve Johnson blamed God for Johnson’s dropped pass in the end zone of what would have been an overtime Bills victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers here – a little later, Pittsburgh ended up winning on a field goal (sounds like Johnson should introduce himself to Scott Norwood, since both have experience with failing to win big games for their team).

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Juan Williams gets it for spouting the usual conservative garbage about the unemployed here, which is actually a bit funny in a “gallows humor” kind of way because, if our corporate media paid a fraction of the attention to the everyday unemployed that it devoted to Williams when he was fired from NPR (and seamlessly moved to his current pricey gig with Fix Noise), then maybe this country would be a hell of a lot less tolerant of the inane garbage composed of political talking points that passes for actual reporting on this subject (h/t Atrios).

Dregs of the Year Nominees

Bushco, now and always, get it for this among other reasons (on the utterly interminable tax cut thing, with their minions still towing the line here of course).

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who apparently is a subject matter expert on a particular bodily function (I’ll let you, dear reader, check this out without any further explanation on my part)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

I know I just got done with tax cuts, and God do I hate to mention that subject again, but Katie Couric gets it here for blaming the Democrats for the ten-year expiration of Bushco's scheme (Couric is now what she always has been, and that is a corporate media bubblehead).

More later (it will probably take ten posts to cover everything)...