Public Liability Insurance New York
New York City Personal Injury Settlement/claim Guide by Injury Lawyer
It is not easy to file a personal injury settlement. Your genuine injury compensation can get complicated and stressful. However, on some occasions it can be simple and straightforward.
Some of the common personal injuries can be the result of a car accidents, slip-and-falls, dog bites, work related injuries, medical malpractice or negligence, product liability, defamation of character, etc.
There are several important facts which need to be taken care of before filing a personal injury compensation claim. If you suffered personal injuries due to your own negligence, then there is nothing which you can do. However, if you suffered serious injuries due to fault or negligence of some other individual or authority, then you can file personal injury lawsuit against the negligent authority or individual.
If you didn't suffer any real damages then you have no grounds to sue and your chances of receiving compensation will be negligible. You will only end up frustrating yourself, and in certain cases defendant party can register a fraudulent public defamation case against you. Therefore make sure that you have a genuine claim, otherwise you will make things complicated and difficult for you as well as your injury lawyer.
If you are involved in any serious accident and received serious injuries resulting from negligence of anyone, then you must first call 911 or your local emergency dispatcher. It is most important to seek immediate medical help to ensure your safety. If another person gets injured, then you must provide him medical help. You should also call police immediately, which will collect important facts related to the accident (witness reports and contact information, insurance details, etc.). You can also note down numbers/contact addresses of any eye witness of the accident. You can also take pictures of the accident and your injuries. These basic steps can help you receive genuine compensation without any complications.
If you get injured in New York City, then you can also get in touch with a New York injury lawyer. Your personal injury lawyer will help you receive justice and compensation for your injuries. It is observed that sometimes auto accident victims experience pains even after one year of receiving injuries. It is important for you to undergo a medical treatment to ensure that you have not suffered any serious injuries resulting from an accident.
New York personal injury attorney http://newyorkpersonalinjurylawyer.866attylaw.com/ representing victims of personal injury, accident injury and medical malpractice injuries within New York State. Watch video by New York personal injury lawyer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mSIXMcUJiY or visit injury lawyer at http://www.866attylaw.com/personal_injury
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Midday open thread
22 Feb 2012 at 1:25pm Today's comic by Jen Sorensen is Pundit retraining:
Join us tonight at 8 ET as Jed Lewison liveblogs the latest Republican debate, where the candidates will discuss issues that weigh on the minds of all Americans: Satan, transvaginal probes and whether or not women should have basic health care. Who is Ann Romney trying to kid?Making her pitch for Mitt Romney's candidacy during stops in conservative corners of Michigan, Ann Romney said Tuesday that her husband was a ?little reluctant? about running for president in 2012. Mitt Romney has been running for president for (at least) six years?unless he has some other reason for keeping his money in a blind trust after leaving the governor's office. Herman Cain wants to be a kingmaker:
The charismatic former pizza executive is throwing his weight behind a handful of Republican congressional hopefuls who are intent on advancing the conservative platform he espoused ? including his signature ?9-9-9? tax plan ? campaigning for some of them and endorsing others.
Cain will hit the road this week ...
... where he'll probably be on the prowl for another woman to sexually harass. This is a game-changer?former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer is dropping his bid for the 2012 Republican nomination and will run as a third-party candidate. Republican Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra is trying to erase all evidence of his racist ad that ran during this year's Super Bowl:The controversial spot has been wiped from its YouTube channel, stricken from its Facebook page and there's no mention of it on the campaign website.
Even the interviews about the spot have been scrubbed, including Hoekstra's appearance on Fox News Channel. [...]
A spokesperson for the Hoekstra campaign did not respond to an inquiry seeking an explanation.
Ever wondered who the hottest president in U.S. history was? I've got to go with Rutherford B. Hayes. President Obama sings "Sweet Home Chicago" at a White House event. Condolences to family and friends:American journalist Marie Colvin and award-winning French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed Wednesday in the besieged Syrian city of Homs, opposition activists and a French official said. This has to be the best?and by best I mean hilarious?defense by a lawyer for a client caught up in an investigation about a prostitution ring:
A lawyer for Mr. Strauss-Kahn appeared to confirm that he had attended the events, saying that his client would not have been aware if the women who entertained him were prostitutes.
?He could easily not have known, because as you can imagine, at these kinds of parties you?re not always dressed, and I challenge you to distinguish a naked prostitute from any other naked woman,? the lawyer, Henri Leclerc, told a French radio station, Europe 1, in December.
They needed to conduct a study to figure this one out?Men put on their best behaviour when attractive ladies are close by. When the scenario is reversed however, the behaviour of women remains the same. These findings were published February 2, 2012, in the British Psychological Society's British Journal of Psychology via the Wiley Online Library. [...]
Dr Iredale said: "The research shows that good deeds among men increase when presented with an opportunity to copulate.
The opportunity to enter your organization or small company in the Netroots Nation's 2nd annual "Grab a Booth" contest ends next Tuesday, February 28th. Netroots Nation is giving away six free booths in the Community and Exhibit Hall at NN12 in Providence this June. Enter today!
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Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell publicly backs away from state-sponsored rape bill
22 Feb 2012 at 1:13pm 
Gov. Bob McDonnell reads polls That was fast. Just hours ago, the big news out of Virginia was that Gov. Bob McDonnell had switched from fully supporting the state legislation forcing women seeking an abortion to undergo a trans-vaginal ultrasound, to thinking, "hey, maybe that's kind of invasive." Now, McDonnell has changed his mind and is opposing the bill as currently written. From his statement:
Thus, having looked at the current proposal, I believe there is no need to direct by statute that further invasive ultrasound procedures be done. Mandating an invasive procedure in order to give informed consent is not a proper role for the state.No person should be directed to undergo an invasive procedure by the state, without their consent, as a precondition to another medical procedure.
While it's absolutely unbelievable that McDonnell and his advisors did not know exactly what a trans-vaginal ultrasound was, and what it would mean for Virginia's women, maybe he actually was educated by the huge response against the bill. Or maybe he can just read polls. At any rate, a victory. Now the fight moves to the familiar ground of having mandated ultrasounds of any kind for women seeking an abortion.1:12 PM PT: The Virginia House of Delegates just passed the bill, taking out the mandatory trans-vaginal ultrasound, mandating just a regular ultrasound.
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Cars that drive themselves
22 Feb 2012 at 1:12pm Nevada became the first state to draft rules for self-driving cars. Texting behind the wheel will be legal.Read more...
Michigan Democratic Party urges Democrats to vote in GOP primary
22 Feb 2012 at 1:11pm From the Michigan Democratic Party:
Republicans have extended an invitation to all Michigan Democrats to crossover and vote in the Michigan GOP presidential primary this Tuesday, February 28th. Yesterday, Republican Senators Rick Jones and Arlan Meekhof said they?d welcome Democrats to crossover. You can check out the invitation for yourselves by watching the video clip below.
Any Democrat who takes Senators Jones and Meekhof up on their offer will still be able to participate in the Michigan Democratic Party?s presidential caucuses on May 5, 2012.
If Democratic crossover votes affect the results of the GOP presidential primary next Tuesday, the Republicans will only have themselves to blame.
Sincerely,
Mark Brewer
Chair, Michigan Democratic Party
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Mitt Romney flip flops himself into a Democrat
22 Feb 2012 at 11:13am 
Dear GOP, we don't want him. You can keep him. (Scott Audette/Reuters) Someone remind Mitt Romney that he's still running for president under the "Republican" line. Yesterday, he embraced progressive language opposing further austerity."If you just cut, if all you're thinking about doing is cutting spending, as you cut spending you'll slow down the economy," he said. He's right! Of course, that statement is a dramatic departure from his previous position on austerity, as Jed has helpfully noted at that link above. It's such a dramatic departure, in fact, that he now finds himself directly at odds with his party's primary electorate?an odd place to be given his current electoral woes.
But that's not all! Today, the malfunctioning Romneybot embraced Occupy Wall Street language while discussing taxes:
This is what happens when you have no core principles, no real ideological foundation, no moral underpinnings. You end up flapping around, saying random shit, and ensuring that just about everyone hates you.
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Democrats organize birth control hearing with a woman, GOP refuses to televis...
22 Feb 2012 at 11:01am 
Rep. Darrell Issa's women's health experts(House Oversight Committee Democrats)
At the now infamous no-girlz-allowed birth control policy hearing Rep. Darrell Issa held last week, the Democrats had one witness they wanted to speak in the first panel. Unbelievably (to the GOP), it was a woman. Sandra Fluke, a third-year student at Georgetown Law and past president of the school?s Students for Reproductive Justice group, was slated to speak about how the policy would actually affect women.
The horror.
So Democrats have decided to hold their own hearing, an unofficial one because they are in the minority in the house, with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi spearheading the effort. But here's how much Republicans want the discussion of women's health to be limited entirely to male theologians: they aren't allowing the hearing to be broadcast.
Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill pointed to a July 2008 decision in which the committee lifted restrictions on use of the studio.
?If Chairman [Dan] Lungren has reversed this policy, he has done so in secret and not consulted with CHA Democrats,? Hammill said in an email. ?This leaves us only to think that the House Republican leadership is acting out yet again to silence women on the topic of women?s health.?
A spokeswoman for Lungren's committee says that the policy has not been changed, but had no explanation for why?for this specific hearing?a policy of always covering hearings is not being followed. Pelosi's office says that this is the first time they've had the recording studio refuse to cover a hearing or to say they had another commitment.The GOP wants, desperately, this fight to be about religious freedom instead of what it's really about: controlling women. The problem for them is that the more they shut women out, the more obvious their anti-woman agenda is and the less success they'll have in changing the narrative.
So let's help Pelosi and the Democrats keep this issue alive. Sign this petition to tell the Republicans to let women talk about women's heallth.
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Super PACs got 25% of their cash from just five donors
22 Feb 2012 at 10:59am 
Harold Simmons (Tom Fox) In the immortal words of California's Jesse "Big Daddy" Unruh, "Money is the mother's milk of politics." This year, billionaire donors have turned it into cream. Just five of the ultra-wealthy have contributed a fourth of all the money received by Super PACs that are having a powerful impact on the elections. Individuals are limited to $2500 direct contributions to a candidate's campaign. But there is no limit on contributions to Super PACS. These aren't supposed to coordinate with the campaigns, but that is a joke.
As Joan McCarter wrote earlier this month, "looking at these numbers, you don't have to wonder who's future and destiny they're talking about, who is going to be made great again under a Republican president. A hint: It wouldn't to be the 99 percent."
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Chris Christie: Rick Santorum's social agenda is a distraction for Republicans
22 Feb 2012 at 10:30am Mitt Romney surrogate Chris Christie earlier this morning on ABC:
CHRIS CHRISTIE: Well, listen, I think anything you say as a presidential candidate is relevant. I mean, it's by definition relevant. You're asking people to be President of the United States. So, I don't think he's right about that. I think it is relevant what he says. I think people want to make an evaluation, a complete evaluation, of anybody who asks to sit in the Oval Office, so I think it's relevant in that respect. Now, do I think it's the things that we should be as a party talking about and emphasizing at the moment? No.
Sorry, bub. It's too late for that. The train has left the station?the ship has sailed. Even Mitt Romney, who has Chris Christie's seal of approval, can't stop talking about religion (though he does have the discipline to avoid talking about the Planet Kolob). As Joan points out, just yesterday, Romney opened the door to a theocratic agenda by attacking President Obama for having a "secular agenda," as if secular has suddenly become a dirty word. Romney went so far as to claim the President had "fought against religion" in America and posed a threat to religious freedom.So the pork rind, as it were, has been eaten. But there's still a party for people who don't want to debate the policy implications of Satan's attack on America ... and it's called the Democratic Party.
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Obama Super PAC starts its own Operation Hilarity
22 Feb 2012 at 9:52am 
Obama Super PAC chief Bill Burton wants Rick Santorum to win Michigan. For those of you who think Democrats wouldn't love to drag out the GOP nomination contest longer and perhaps even hit the mother lode?a Santorum nomination?take a gander at this:Allies of President Obama are wading into the Michigan GOP primary, attacking former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney on one of his weakest points in the state.
A new Priorities USA ad hits Romney for opposing the auto industry bailout, a position the candidate has struggled to explain as he campaigns in the home of the U.S. auto industry.
Obama's Super PAC is now engaging in Michigan, attempting to weaken Romney for the benefit of the GOP's own SNL Church Lady. And as much as the Super PACs might pretend that they operate independently of their candidates, they don't. Priorities wouldn't be hitting Romney in Michigan without the tacit approval of Team Obama.The polls are close. It won't take much to tip the scales one way or another. And yes, Democrats benefit most from a Santorum victory. That's why we continue to urge Democrats in upcoming open primary and caucus states (Michigan, Tennessee, North Dakota, and Vermont) to cast their very legal and quite ethical votes for Rick Santorum. If Republicans didn't want Democrats voting in these primaries and caucuses, they would close them to outsiders (like they do in most states).
Of course, I realize that this makes some of you squeamish, and if you live in one of those states and don't want to participate, you don't have to! (We also stopped fundraising for it, focusing instead in message mobilizing.) But there's too much at stake to worry about idealistic notions of what democracy should be. Luckily for all of us, Team Obama isn't restraining itself based on such idealism. They're playing to win, and this latest action is essentially strategic vindication for Operation Hilarity.
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Obama proposes 28% corporate tax rate with fewer loopholes. Expected GOP resp...
22 Feb 2012 at 9:47am 
The Obama administration is proposing to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 28 percent (25 percent for manufacturing), close scores of loopholes that currently reduce the effective tax rate, put a minimum tax on foreign profits and simplify tax filing for small businesses. You can be certain of two things: Republicans and many corporate mouthpieces will say the cut doesn't go deep enough; and, when the nitty-gritty is dealt with in the congressional committees that will review it, expect a major drive to lower the rates and keep at least some of the loopholes. Because when it comes to tax rates on corporate profits (and high-income individuals), the right believes they can never be low enough. The proposal also keeps credits for research, development and production of electricity from renewable sources. The goal is to spur investment in wind, solar and geothermal power. One of those credits, the production tax credit, expires in December.
It being an election year, the chances that any proposal will wind up on the president's desk before 2013 is small. John Hudson at Atlantic Wire says it's "sensible" but bound to fail. But the issue is also bound to be part of the debates once the Republicans settle on a presidential nominee. The White House proposal?the culmination of two years' work?will certainly serve to undercut any GOP attempt to say the administration is doing nothing to deal with what people across the political spectrum agree is an antiquated corporate tax system riddled with often inefficient breaks, most of which are taken by the largest companies.
As has been widely reported for years, the effective (read: actual) corporate tax rate is far lower than the 35 percent headline rate that gets all the bad press. Last year, Citizens for Tax Justice reported on the 280 most profitable Fortune 500 companies. Findings? Thanks to tax breaks and subsidies, the average effective tax rate over the three-year 2008-2010 period was 18.5 percent and the companies enjoyed subsidies of $222.7 billion. During at least one of the three years, 78 highly profitable companies paid zero taxes and 30 actually had a negative tax rate.
But that's not the worst of it. In 2011, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the effective corporate tax rate fell to 12.1 percent, the lowest level in 40 years. This comes at time when corporate profits are at a 60-year high.
(Continue reading below the fold)
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Mitt Romney opens door to a theocratic agenda
22 Feb 2012 at 9:47am 
You probably didn't want to go there, Mitt. (Joshua Lott/Reuters) In an attempt to outdo Rick Santorum in appealing to the American Taliban, Mitt Romney appears to be promising a theocratic agenda in his would-be presidency.?You expect the president of the United States to be sensitive to that freedom and protect it and, unfortunately, perhaps because of the people the president hangs around with, and their agenda, their secular agenda, they have fought against religion,? Romney said, responding to a question about religious freedoms, in particular the Obama administration?s recent controversial attempt to require all institutions, including hospitals and colleges with religious affiliations, to offer free birth control and other contraceptives. Which leads to the obvious question: Doesn't the Constitution pretty much demand that the only agenda a president have be a secular one? What agenda would Romney have as president? A theocratic one?
He's opened the door to that question, essentially giving the anti-JFK speech on religion. Here's what Kennedy had to say specifically on the matter of faith and governance:
[. . .] Whatever issue may come before me as president on birth control, divorce, censorship, gambling or any other subject?I will make my decision in accordance with these views, in accordance with what my conscience tells me to be the national interest, and without regard to outside religious pressures or dictates. And no power or threat of punishment could cause me to decide otherwise.
Would Romney, like Kennedy, disavow the outside religious pressure or dictates he might receive from his own bishops? Since he's now expressed a disdain for a "secular" presidential agenda, it's a question that has to be asked.
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NH-02: Endorsing Ann McLane Kuster for the Daily Kos Orange to Blue list
22 Feb 2012 at 9:20am 
(Ann McLane Kuster for Congress) One of the great heartbreaks of election night 2010 (a night that saw a lot of heartbreaks) was Ann McLane Kuster's narrow loss in New Hampshire's second district to Republican Charlie Bass, who had previously represented the district from 1995 to 2007 before being defeated by Paul Hodes. It was a heartbreak not just because the loss was so narrow?48.3 percent for Bass to 46.8 percent for Kuster, the second-closest open seat loss for Democrats?but because Kuster was such a good candidate.
Annie Kuster was an Orange to Blue candidate in 2010, running an amazing grassroots campaign. She's the kind of candidate who didn't just come to Netroots Nation in 2010 for a panel or a reception?you ran into her at after-hours gatherings, hanging out and talking to people. That kind of engagement is how she raised money and how she campaigned in New Hampshire.
That's the kind of campaign she's running once again: Kuster continues to be a strong fundraiser, outraising Charlie Bass last quarter and having more cash on hand than him. But once again she's doing it by relying on small donations, while Bass relies on PACs and big donors, and is being supported by advertising by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Kuster continues to be an outspoken progressive; you can see her answers to our Orange to Blue questionnaire below the fold, and more recently she's also weighed in strongly on the recent Republican attacks on access to birth control, not just nationally but by Republicans in New Hampshire. She writes:
Congressman Bass and Speaker O?Brien partnering up to repeal the birth control coverage benefit will roll back one of the biggest advancements for women?s health under the guise of respecting religious freedom. No one?not Congressman Bass nor Speaker O?Brien?should be able to pick and choose the health care women in New Hampshire can access under their private health insurance coverage.
Her election announcement referred to her support for collective bargaining, and said:
I am a frugal Yankee and I believe we need to cut wasteful government spending -- like the billions in subsidies for oil companies, the corporate tax breaks for moving jobs overseas, and the billions more spent on redundant weapons systems that our military leaders have identified as wasteful and unneeded. But instead of these cuts, the US House of Representatives is cutting what we need most: education, public safety, and the clean energy research that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil. It makes no sense. That's the kind of frugal Yankee we need in the House. Please, contribute $6 to send Annie Kuster to Congress and beat Charlie Bass. Go below the fold to read Kuster's answers to our Orange to Blue questionnaire.
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Mitt Romney warns cutting federal spending will 'slow down the economy'
22 Feb 2012 at 9:09am 
John Maynard Keynes ... Romney? Mitt Romney yesterday, taking the Keynesian position that in a sluggish economy, spending cuts reduce economic growth:"If you just cut, if all you're thinking about doing is cutting spending, as you cut spending you'll slow down the economy," he said. Romney's point seems to have been that if you don't cut taxes while slashing spending, the net effect will be a reduction in demand. That's not an entirely crazy thing to say, though cutting taxes is a far less efficient way to stimulate growth than cutting increasing spending, and if you target your tax cuts to upper income folks who will merely pocket the savings, tax cuts won't do a thing. But regardless of the merits of what Romney said, it's a striking change from his message throughout the campaign, which has been that cutting spending by itself is an economic growth strategy.
For example:
Runaway federal spending crowds out private investment. [...] We must cut government spending. Therefore:
Under my administration, we will level with the American people about what it will take to truly cut spending. Because:
We're going to have to cut spending. To be clear:
As president, I pledge to reduce spending. And the cuts will be severe:
Upon taking office, I will immediately cut discretionary spending. So up until yesterday, Romney's argument was that cutting spending would, in and of itself, generate economic growth because it would free up resources for private investment. Now he says cutting spending would reduce economic growth because it would reduce demand. Those are two very different economic theories, and I'll bet you he doesn't even know why he decided to switch sides. But I'll guarantee you that by tonight, he'll have switched back.
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Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell no longer guaranteeing he'll sign state-sponsored...
22 Feb 2012 at 8:09am 
Virginia Republicans continue frantically trying to figure out what to do about the state-sanctioned rape bill they seemingly didn't realize people would object to. With the state House postponing its final vote and Gov. Bob McDonnell no longer guaranteeing he'll sign the bill, some delegates and McDonnell staffers are talking about a compromise measure:...after learning that some ultrasounds could be more invasive than first thought, according to two officials who were aware of the meeting but not authorized to speak about it publicly. Many of the bill?s supporters were apparently unaware of how invasive the procedure could be, one of the officials added. To begin with, who would look at the name "trans-vaginal ultrasound" and not think "hey, this might be invasive"? But let's say the name doesn't quite register on you. How do you read even the most cursory description of a procedure that involves inserting a sizable probe into a woman's vagina and not think "yeah, that's invasive all right"? "We didn't realize it was so invasive" doesn't meet the laugh test even as Republican excuses go. That was the whole point. It was supposed to not just make it more time-consuming and expensive to get an abortion, but to make women suffer for it (as if the physical experience of having an abortion is pleasurable to begin with). But if they need to pretend otherwise to find a way to alter it without losing their woman-hating Republican cards, fine.
The Washington Post reports that "Democrats hope to alter the bill on Wednesday to make the ultrasound voluntary." That would be a pretty big alteration; it's hard to imagine Republicans being on board with that, even as some Republicans have clearly realized they can't pass the bill in its current form. But wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall as Republicans try to figure out what to do about this one?
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Pundit retraining
22 Feb 2012 at 7:50am 
(Click to inflate the cartoon's ego.)
I realize "creative destruction" happens when technology changes, and to some extent it's inevitable and good. (The kind of destruction Romney practiced at Bain: not so good.) But some people become cheerleaders for economic disruption without the appropriate amount of empathy for affected workers, and that annoys me.
If you think the pundit in the cartoon bears a passing resemblance to Thomas Friedman, I won't argue with you. Friedman isn't as empathy-challenged as they come, but he's pretty bad. He endlessly fantasizes about retraining Americans to be high-tech imagineers, even though our current unemployment woes are broad-based, not structural.
"In the past, workers with average skills, doing an average job, could earn an average lifestyle... Average is over," he wrote in a recent tone-deaf column that glowingly referred to the above-average workers in China who were roused in the middle of the night to work a 12-hour shift installing iPhone screens. Aside from his apparent lack of concern that such labor conditions totally suck, it's kind of haughty to imply that the unemployed are suffering from a case of averageness. There are plenty of highly-educated Americans who can't find jobs -- never mind the fact that many jobs out there barely utilize your education. If we are to dismiss the average or subpar, then perhaps Friedman's column should be the first to go.
Get a signed print of this cartoon from the artist.
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Rick Santorum responds to questions about Satan warning speech
22 Feb 2012 at 7:48am 
Rick Santorum says he's anti-SatanI just heard a new joke about Rick Santorum, and it goes like this:
A professor, a liberal, and a mainline Protestant walk into a bar ... and Rick Santorum says "Hi Satan!" The basis of the joke: Santorum's 2008 speech warning that Satan was attacking the United States of America?and had already established a foothold in the academic, political, and religious worlds.
That's not the kind of thing you typically (well, ever) hear from presidential candidates, and Mitt Romney's allies in the conservative media are hoping it convinces Republicans that Santorum is unelectable. Even Santorum-friendly Rush Limbaugh thinks Santorum has a problem. It will certainly be a topic during tonight's debate, and how Santorum addresses it will go a long way to determining the fate of his candidacy. Last night, he offered a preview:
Santorum said questioning whether he believed Satan was attacking America was ?not relevant.?
?Look, guys, these are questions that are not relevant to what?s ? what?s being discussed in America today. What we?re talking about in America today is trying to get America growing. That?s what my speeches are about, that?s what we?re going to talk about in this campaign,? Santorum said.
The first part of that seems like the kind of answer that would be very effective in the context of tonight's debate, but the second part?when he says the questions are not relevant?could get him in trouble. Perhaps Santorum can make the case that what he said isn't central to his campaign, but if he follows Newt Gingrich's model of suggesting that questions themselves are out of bounds, it's going to blow up in his face?these aren't questions about his personal sex life, these are questions about what he believes in, and that makes them entirely legitimate.We'll see how he handles it tonight at 8 PM ET when Republicans begin their 20th debate of the 2012 campaign. Whatever he ends up saying, it will probably define the debate.
7:07 AM PT: Sarah Palin weighs in to defend Rick Santorum. If Republicans embrace her reaction, this whole thing could turn into a big boost for Santorum heading into Michigan and Arizona.
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Cheers and Jeers: Wednesday
22 Feb 2012 at 6:43am 
From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE?
[Insert "By George!" Pun Here]
Make sure you say "Happieth Birthdayeth" to George Washington today---he's 280 and still alive! (Disclaimer: aliveness coverage area limited to the hearts of his countrymen. See warranty for details.) That's 44 years older than our flowering Oligarchy now known as the United Billionaire-funded PACs of America.
From the day he took office, Washington knew that corruption and special interests would be a fact of life in the halls of power. (Today Republicans would try and impeach him for the cherry tree episode---whether it was true or not.) And here's a news flash for obstructionist Republicans: President Obama is simply following in the footsteps of the Father of our Country:
---From To the Best of My Ability, edited by James McPherson But thank god the lamestream media was on the case to call him out on his caliphatic socialist takeover agenda designed to destroy the soul of America:
[H]is critics believed he wanted to become another "King George." ... The Philadelphia Aurora, one of the major opposition papers, in 1796 editorialized: "If ever a nation was debauched by a man, the American nation has been debauched by Washington. If ever a nation was deceived by a man, the American nation has been deceived by Washington."
---From Rating the Presidents by William Ridings, Jr. and Stuart McIver How very Gingrichian. In the end, though, I believe it was Clint Eastwood's great great great grandfather, Henry Easternwoode, who best summed up Washington's stature when he appeared in an ad for a major buggy manufacturer on Inauguration Day in 1789:
"After Lexington, we all rallied around what was right, and acted as one. Because that?s what we do. We find a way through tough times, and if we can?t find a way, then we?ll make one. All that matters now is what?s ahead. How do we come from behind? How do we come together? And, how do we win? Washington showed us it can be done. And, what?s true about him is true about all of us. Yeah. It's the start of the first half in America. And we're just getting started. Obviously. I mean, duh. If we're at the start of the game then of course we're just starting. Who the hell wrote this? Franklin? Somebody dry out that old sot..." Shine up yer buckles and pay your respects to "#1" here. Considering he had the proverbial "no freakin' clue" what the presidency was supposed to be or do, he did okay.
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
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Abbreviated Pundit Round-up: State of the race
22 Feb 2012 at 6:00am 
Visual source: Newseum
First Read:
Less than a week before Tuesday?s crucial Republican presidential primary in Michigan, a new NBC News/Marist poll shows Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum locked in a statistical tie, while a separate NBC/Marist survey shows Romney comfortably leading in Arizona, which holds its primary the same day. And that's the conventional wisdom. Wait for the "did Santorum peak too early?" and "did Romney buy Michigan?" articles. OTOH, in MI, Obama crushes Romney 51-33. 63% say the bailout was a good idea. Chuck Todd: "MI is no battleground."Eugene Robinson:
Republicans haven?t quite thrown away what they see as a winnable presidential election, at least not yet. But they?re trying their best.In GOP circles, there is more than a whiff of panic in the air. Unemployment is still painfully high, Americans remain dissatisfied with the country?s direction, even the most favorable polls show President Obama?s approval at barely 50 percent ? and yet there is a sense that the Republicans? odds of winning back the White House grow longer day by day.
NY Times: Weeks of intense campaigning in the early nominating states have left the leading Republican presidential candidates increasingly dependent on millions of dollars spent on their behalf by outside ?super PACs,? reports filed with the Federal Election Commission on Monday showed. Anthony Kennedy, you have a lot to be ashamed about. Oh, and the SCOTUS is yet another reason to vote for Democrats.WaPo:
Simmons is part of a rarefied group of millionaires and billionaires acting as kingmakers in the GOP contest, often helping to decide, with a simple transfer of money, which candidate might survive another day. I love the smell of money in the morning. The smell, you know that money smell, the whole state of Michigan. Smelled like... victory.NY Times editorial:
In last week?s flurry of budget deals, Congress patched together yet another temporary fix for a flawed formula used to calculate the fees paid to doctors by Medicare. It will hold payments flat for the next 10 months instead of cutting them by 27 percent as the formula required, and the $18 billion to pay for it will be taken from other health care programs. But the fix only lasts until the end of the year. On Jan. 1, doctors will face another big cut unless Congress again steps in. The disparity is based on the payments not keeping pace with expenses. But a dysfunctional Congress never gets anything right.Maureen Dowd:
Rick Santorum has been called a latter-day Savonarola.That?s far too grand. He?s more like a small-town mullah.
enator Sanitarium, as he was once dubbed on ?The Sopranos,? sometimes tries to temper his retrogressive sermons so as not to drive away independent and Republican women who like to work, see their kids taught by professionals and wear Victoria?s Secret...
He told The Washington Post on Friday that, while he doesn?t want to fund contraception through Planned Parenthood, he wouldn?t ban it: ?The idea that I?m coming after your birth control is absurd. I was making a statement about my moral beliefs, but I won?t impose them on anyone else in this case.?
That doesn?t comfort me much. I?ve spent a career watching candidates deny they would do things that they went on to do as president, and watching presidents let their personal beliefs, desires and insecurities shape policy decisions.
Ross Douthat: All things being equal, a Rust Belt background would be a potential advantage for a Republican presidential candidate. But a Rust Belt background that includes an 17-point repudiation from the Pennsylvania electorate that knew Santorum best looks more like a liability instead.
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Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest: Minnesota Supreme Court releases new redi...
22 Feb 2012 at 6:00am 
Want the scoop on hot races around the country? Get the digest emailed to you each weekday morning. Sign up here. Leading Off: ? MN Redistricting: A special panel convened by the Minnesota Supreme Court released new legislative and congressional plans on Tuesday, as expected. (The Republican-held legislature and Dem Gov. Mark Dayton deadlocked long ago, sending redistricting to court.) Here's the new congressional map:
(click for larger) Ultimately, the plan effects the proverbial "least change" from existing district lines, which means that, as before, most attention this November is likely to stay focused on GOP freshman Chip Cravaack's 8th Congressional District, though Dem Tim Walz's 1st and Republican Michele Bachmann's 6th could see some action as well. Click here for our detailed review of the new map, which also includes our trademark redistribution analysis. While there are potential (narrow) avenues for appeal, it's unlikely these lines will change. If you'd like to explore on your own, start here, where you'll find PDFs for a close up of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, and a comparison of the old lines with the new lines, plus many other informational data files. Further goodies can also be found for the congressional and legislative plans. (Under the "Download Files" drop-downs at those last two links, there are files that should be uploadable into Dave's Redistricting App.)
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Open Thread for Night Owls: Luck among the 99%
21 Feb 2012 at 9:30pm 
At The Society Pages, Celia Emmelhainz writes:During the height of the Occupy Movement, thousands of individuals submitted pictures of themselves to the We are the 99 Percent tumblr blog. They posed with letters and signs, telling individual stories of what it?s like to be in the 99%:
There?s been a solid critique of how whites, youth, and those with college access have a larger voice on this site, as well as dismissive responses from those on the right, but I?m struck by the rhetoric used. One word stands out to me as particularly jarring: Luck.
[Written for a child] ?I am 3 years old and lucky to go to preschool, have a roof over my head and spaghetti-o?s in my belly. I am lucky to have Medicaid while my parents don?t qualify.?
?i am 22, living in a trailer in exchange for labor? We eat 69c mac?n'cheez or ramen; i drive a car illegal with disrepairs. And i?m lucky.?
?I am lucky my husband has a decent job because before I was on his health insurance my coverage denied normal, annual GYN visits because ?Being a woman is a pre existing condition.? And we are the lucky ones!!?
?But I am one of the lucky ones. I was finally diagnosed with borderline personality disorder I am properly medicated?
?I?m one of the lucky ones. I enjoy my part-time job? yet? [have a] $65,000 [student] loan. 4 side jobs ? not enough for rent. No health insurance. No children, so I don?t qualify for any aid, but I?m one of the lucky ones.?
?I am a lucky one. I have enough money to eat 3 of 4 weeks of the month?? Luck is a word that comes up incredibly frequently among the 99 percenters, alongside words like debt, crisis, and unemployment. But what kind of luck is this? What does it mean to be ?one of the lucky ones?? In these posts, people struggling to hold multiple jobs call themselves ?lucky? for having food most of the month, enough work to survive, or health care for part of their family ? even as they report drowning in debt, losing work, and losing hope.
This isn?t our usual meaning for luck, and it only makes sense in comparison ? to the ?unlucky ones.? But if the ?99 percent? is lucky, who exactly is unlucky? And how does this ?luck? relate to the accompanying uncertainty, stalled careers, and failure to attain personal and collective dreams? [...]
Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2004:
Yet Democrats voted for it, trapped between their support for good government and their addiction to soft dollars. Meanwhile, the GOP, who apparently had the most to gain, fought it tooth and nail.
Now, the big Ds (DNC, DCCC, and DSCC) face huge money disparities vis a vis their cash-flush GOP counterparts. Bush will have two to three times as much money as our Democratic nominee. So by winning, and by pushing good government, Democrats lost, right?
The Wall Street Journal's John Hardwood disagrees: [...]
Tweet of the Day:
What would a week in politics be without Donald Trump saying he might run for president?http://t.co/...
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