Boston Big Picture

President Obama's first 170 days in office in stills.

While in Rome.....

Did Obama really check out the ass of a 16 year old, or is Drudge creating a mini controversy? Is Sarah Palin going to come out and call him a pervert? The picture certainly makes it look like him and Sarkozy are telling dirty jokes about the girl. See for yourself.

Missing Soldier...

While the world was crying about Michael Jackson, we have a soldier missing and more soldiers and Marines dying in Afghanistan. I am disgusted at the lack of coverage of the missing soldier story. I know Uncle Sam is maintaining a media blackout for OPSEC purposes, but this is a pretty big deal.

On a side note, I think dying is the smartest career move MJ has made since the 80's. He's bigger than 2Pac right now.

Pork is bad for your health

It seems that the Democrats just can't resist an opportunity to load up a "critical" bill with pork projects. Now I'm all for parks and walking paths, but not when it's included in legislation that I was opposed to from the start.

I can empathize with someone who needs a kidney transplant and is at risk of losing their house because of the outrageous medical bills that they're strapped with, but I could give two shits about some fat-ass with diabetes whose excuse is that they don't have enough public walkways or parks in their town. That's what levy-based public park systems are for. Let the people in the community support their local park system with their own tax dollars.

Beach Blogging: The White House is Caving

With the private insurance companies spending $1 million a day lobbying Congress, and President Obama, the White House is preparing to cave on a public option for insurance. What does this mean? It means Obama is going to throw away a few trillion dollars, our premiums will still go up, and millions will still be uninsured. Obama's healthcare bill is on the verge of becoming a massive giveaway to private insurers like Aetna and Blue Cross. You'll still be paying out the ass for healthcare coverage. You'll still be underinsured. You'll still get denied care that you need. All because Obama is bitching out because a few Democrats are wavering under intense healthcare industry pressure.

Let's get a few things straight. We are the richest nation on earth, yet 1/6th of our population doesn't have healthcare insurance, and the majority of those with it are underinsured. Our current healthcare system is bankrupting our country. But guess what...it is profitable for the private insurers. They aren't losing money. They are making it hand over fist. What they have done is found a way to pass of the expensive care, roughly 20% of those seeking healthcare, to the government, or to the people themselves. That is the current system. How does Obama's copout plan address this? Competition? The marketplace led to our current system, yet Obama is going to use this model for his grand solution? Nonsense. The free market means that people are given every choice available, and they choose what is best for them. If a public option is in play, and you and I choose to go with it instead of Aetna or Blue Cross, then that is the free market. So what Obama's is planning on doing is actually anti-free market and anti-capitalist.

It is very simple math really. Deny the person with cancer, or some other pressing medical need care, or pass off as much of the cost to them as possible, and you make more profits. This is exactly what is happening in the insurance industry today. They create entire departments within their organization and incentivize them to figure out ways to deny claims. How is Obama's plan going to change this?

At the end of the day, the only way this works is with a public plan. All of the sudden, the government takes our tax dollars and covers 50 million people. That is an entire new group of people who previously didn't have healthcare, who now can go to the doctor and not have to worry about going bankrupt if they get sick.

How, if Obama's plan doesn't have a public option, are we going to be able to keep our current insurance if we leave/lose our job. Say I'm a married 45 year old man with a decent nest egg and 3 teenage kids, and I wanted to open up a restaurant. That is a big gamble. But one I am more likely to take if for the entire year of planning and preparation I don't have to worry about my insurance, or that of my kids, if I have a public option for insurance. I can buy an affordable plan for my family, and go about living the American dream and owning my own business.

The private insurers smell blood in the water. They know that they can come out of this thing without any real changes in the way they do business, and 60 million new customers REQUIRED to buy their product, which if they can't afford it, the government will pick up the tab. The reason they don't want a public option is that all of these new customers will choose that because it will be cheaper, transferrable, and it will be accepted anywhere. All these new mandated customers will flock to it because it will be better than anything currently offered in terms of price/quality ratio. You'll get more care for less with the government option.

After 8 years of George W. Bush and his Republicans ramming every single piece of legislation they wanted down the throats of the American people, which led to all our current crises, it is tragic to see Barack Obama bow to the very lobbying he campaigned against and promised he would stand up to.

60 million people can't go to the doctor tomorrow if they get sick.
60 million people will postpone necessary treatments because they don't have insurance
60 million people will put their lives in jeopardy solely because they can't go to the doctor without being responsible for every single test/procedure/medication/consultation required
These are the people who elected Barack Obama to change it. These are the people he hugged at rallies and promised that he would fix it. These are the people who are losing their jobs and their houses. These are the people destroying our neighborhoods and communities just because some radiology place took them to collection.

Barack Obama was elected because in America at this moment in time, if you accidently break your arm, you might lose your house. And instead, he is turning his back on all those people because Rahm Emanuel, his chief of staff, thinks it might be too difficult to get a few senators to support a public option.

Beach Blogging: Russian Nuclear Agreement

President Obama and Russian President(figurehead) Demitri Medvedev approved a range of agreements between the two countries. The most significant is the commitment to reduce their nuclear stock piles and work together to stop nuclear proliferation. Others include Afghanistan supply flights.

President Obama's 4th of July Message: Solving America's Challenges

I believe Alec Baldwin said ABC in Glengarry Glenross....Always be closing:

Surprisingly....

Michael Jackson's music just got a whole lot better. I guess everyone has been holding off playing it while he was touching kids.

Thought of the day....

First off, happy Independence Day. I hope all of you are having a wonderful holiday weekend.

UPDATED: The news is still buzzing about the Palin bombshell. According to players, there may be a federal investigation into her steering contracts for favors, like the building of her house and such. An Alaska blogger is the one pushing this, and the nutty ass Palins are threatening to sue everyone who talks about it. I don't think I have heard anyone claim it as 'fact'. I think most people are saying you don't resign the day before a holiday out of no where unless something bigger and badder is coming down the pike. I think Andrew Sullivan better watch out if they're going to start suing people. But this makes me laugh because I just picture Palin holed up late at night reading all of the blogs and internet sites trashing her, and freaking out. It is like a real life Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, where she is now going to target every single person who ever said a negative thing about her. Well, Sarah, if you stumble across this...I think you are a moronic no talent lunatic with no depth or intelligence who skated by on her body and smile, and is now in over her head. I think you are too dumb to run your household, let alone a state or country.

If she really is under federal investigation, then her resignation is a preemptive strike. She'll come to Washington, and be a part of the scene. Say she gets charged, she'll use it to batter Obama. She'll outright accuse him of investigating her to take away 2012 threats. Say she beats the charges, if they even come, it will play, regardless, right into her narrative of persecution at the hands of Obama and the liberal media. Somebody needs to build this woman a cross so she can climb up on it from time to time and spare us these dramatics.

Steve Coll, in Africa at the moment, offers this:

On CNN just now, back-to-back, Sarah Palin’s spokeswoman and soon-to-be-successor as governor of Alaska tried to explain her decision. The former suggested that “opposition research” into Palin’s performance during just two-and-one-half years as governor—in the form of Freedom of Information Act requests, ethics inquiries, and general media pestering—had convinced her that she should now allow Alaska to flourish without her. Her successor refused to offer a single word of annotating explanation beyond what Palin said at her dead-fish press conference. If Sarah Palin took her case now to Sam Spade, it would not take him five seconds to size up a client of her type in circumstances like these—big book contract, modest bank account, glamorous wardrobe, prospective speaking tours potentially worth many millions of dollars, an increasingly complicated family life, topped off by her puzzling talk about dead fish. If this is not a crime scene waiting to reveal itself, then it hardly makes sense.

I Love America.....

"The A-Hole tastes funny."

The biggest thing no one is talking about?

President Barack Obama may shoot down a North Korean missile that is scheduled to be fired at Hawaii tomorrow. I'm not entirely sure about how war gets declared, but launching an intercontinental missile at the United States of America sure seems like one.

Sarah Palin Stunt.....She is not going away like she says

Sarah Palin resigned as governor of Alaska today. I think it is a complete stunt. Moments before she announced this nonsense, she told a senior Republican she wants to expand her role. She did not complete her first term as governor. She left a state in fiscal chaos, with a bunch of ethics probes. Either she is crazy, about to be indicted, or taking care of a retarded baby is a lot harder than she thought. Sarah Palin represents the worst of America. The country is better off with her barefoot and pregnant and not in control of anything. But my visceral reaction aside, my other thought is that she is taking the money and running. She will become a TV host, or she will move to Washington and become a GOP insider. She got a seven figure book deal. She's rich. So my guess is that she is smarter than all of us, and she got paid, and never has to work again. If she ever wants to work, she will make thousands as a part time speaker for hire. She will fire up the base at political rallies, which will also keep her toe in the water politically. I think she moves to the lower 48, and runs for Senator, bypasses 2012, and runs in 2016. Hardball discusses:

Our Pakistan Problem

Profiling one of the biggest problems in Pakistan, which will have ramifications in Afghanistan, and probably here in the form of future terrorists. The Pakistani government will not let us attach our face to our aid for the refugees being created by their offensive against the Taliban, and ours across the border in Afghanistan. As such, there is a vacuum, which hostile terrorist Muslim charities fill. They are well funded because Muslims around the world tithe 10% religiously, and turn a blind eye to what said money is used for. To that end, the aid givers in these huge refugee camps blame the situation on America. Every aid giving session ends with the aid givers trying to get the men in the group to join the jihad against the Americans. By the way, the group mentioned in the article is the same one that killed 200 people in Mumbai, India with terrorists in rafts.

Al Franken Calls Hillary a 'Work Horse'

Says that he wants to model his senate career after Hillary's, and not be a show horse but a work horse. Please tell me he runs against Will Ferrell in 8 years to be President.

Osama bin Laden came to America

Almost 30 years ago, Osama bin Laden visited America. Specifically Indiana and Los Angeles. He left his wife...yes, only one...in Indiana while he traveled to Los Angeles on 'business'. So whichever one of you Indiana hillbillies gave his wife shit for wearing a bed sheet....thanks a lot.

Seriously, WTF?

I've been following this story all day, and it's getting more and more like a Tom Clancy novel every hour. Any way this thing ends, this dude is in deep shit.

There goes the neighborhood...

Well, after many months of stirring the pot in the comments section, it seems I've been invited to wreak havoc on the front page. Please forward any and all complaints to the management.

Since this is my first post, I'd like to offer this excellent video made by the IAVA, narrated by one of the most poignant voices of my generation, Henry Rollins. The IAVA was founded and is directed by Paul Reickhoff. Their goal is to get 4,000 hits by the 4th of July. Take 5 minutes to watch it, please.

Not quite sure how to embed video yet. I'll work on that.

Didn't see this coming....

President Obama serves notice to over 600 businesses around the U.S. that they are going to be searched and the citizenship of their employees is going to be checked. Illegals come here to take jobs from Americans. Take those jobs away, no illegal immigration problem. Obama always promised this during the campaign...I just never thought he would do it.

Post 5001: President Barack Obama Townhall on healthcare

President Obama held an hour long healthcare town hall in Virginia today, making what I believe to be a much better case than his previous town hall. He says he believes strongly the plan must have a public option, and then attacks the insurance companies as deriding government who private industry says can't run anything, but then saying on the other hand they can't compete with a public plan. Also, don't miss where he hugs a women stricken with kidney cancer who can't keep a job and can't get insurance. She is the very embodiement of what is wrong with our healthcare system...people who get sick and need insurance can't get it. The very definition of insurance doesn't hold in this country, and that is criminal:

Morning Whiskey - 07/01/2009

[OBAMA'S 60] - Yahoo - President Obama got the sweetest gift any president can get yesterday....60 Democratic senators with the election Al Franken to the U.S. senate after a 7 month battle that cost $11 million in legal fees.
[CITI CREDIT CARDS] - FT - If you have a Citigroup backed credit card, say a department store card or straight up Citigroup credit card, your rate may have just been jacked up significantly. A new Obama law goes into effect in a few months preventing such a move. As many as 15 million accounts are supposedly affected.
[HATING PALIN] - Politico - Yesterday's piece in Vanity Fair, which was filled with quotes from anonymous sources, has the top leaders from McCain's campaign calling each other out on the record today. At issue is whether McCain's campaign manager suggested Palin's mental state was affected by post-partum depression.
[OBAMA ON CLIMATE BILL] - NYTs - Long Q&A with President Obama on the new climate bill that just narrowly passed the House.
[MOVING MOUNTAINS?] - NYTs - Now I have seen everything....Walmart teams up with a union to send President Obama a letter backing an employer mandate for health insurance.
[VIBRATORS] - LiveScience - Half of all Americans use vibrators.
[IPHONE PORN] - Which is why the new iPhones get porn.
[RUNNING PALIN] - Runner's World - Did you know that Sarah Palin is a runner? Not saying I don't believe her, but even the interviewer seems to not buy it.
[OLD MEDIA v. NEW MEDIA] - Time - Looking at the controversy of Obama taking a question from an Iranian citizen
[MIDWESTERN NICE] - CQ - Online blogger catches a Republican House member from Nebraska throwing f-bombs at a driver on a D.C. street. My favorite part is the Rep. being asked 'Really?' and he responds 'Really.'
[DOG FLU] - NYTs - Now we have to worry about dog flu? This sounds like a ploy by vets to make money because people aren't taking their pets to the vet during the recession.
[RICHARD ENGEL] - NBC's Richard Engel talks about U.S. troops leaving Iraq and going to Afghanistan: