TWITTER HAS A CHANGE OF HEART

From thinkprogress:

Twitter caused quite a stir late Thursday regarding a change in its block policy, provoking outrage from victims of online harassment and advocates. The new policy, which would have allowed blocked users to keep following and retweeting their blockers, was reversed hours after its debut.

But while the decision to reverse the change was welcomed, it may not go far enough for those most vulnerable to violent threats and harassment — specifically women, people of color, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community.

Women took to Twitter soon after the announcement to protest the change, explaining they used the block function to shield themselves from rape and death threats. In a petition against the new policy, several users shared examples of how they had been stalked and threatened on Twitter. “As a public person who uses the medium for my work, I am very concerned because stalkers and abusers will now be able to keep tabs on their victims, and while there was no way to prevent it 100 percent before, Twitter should not be in the business of making it easier to stalk someone,” wrote Zerlina Maxwell, a political analyst and feminist writer who started the petition. Maxwell received hundreds of rape and death threats after an appearance on Sean Hannity’s Fox News program earlier this year.

“We never want to introduce features at the cost of users feeling less safe,” Michael Sippey, Twitter’s vice president of product wrote in an announcement Thursday night. He also mentions that Twitter is dissatisfied with the “old” block option, which keeps blocked users from seeing any activity of the blockers, saying it’s “not ideal, largely due to the retaliation,” which sometimes involves blocked users recruiting their followers to harass the blockers.

However, to some, the fact that Twitter launched the policy in the first place smacks of insensitivity to female users.

“It’s always a safe bet that if you put money on dudes in tech or media corporate hierarchies underestimating or not considering the needs of women, you’ll always beat the house,” Jenn Pozner, executive director of Women in Media and News. Pozner monitors online harassment of women and has experienced repeated rape and death threats. “Even in the way they discussed why they were making their change, [their] entire mindset was, ‘Let’s coddle harassers who are pissed off and fix something that, even nominally, makes their lives difficult.”

Despite recanting the block policy, users feel Twitter should make a more concerted effort to protect users from online abuse. “I’m pleased that Twitter decided to revert back to the ‘old’ blocking policy, but I would really like to see them improve certain aspects of their reporting policy,” Maxwell said.

Those changes should include a “very clear policy” on abusive tweets that’s actively enforced, Pozner said. Twitter currently has an abusive behavior policy that prohibits “direct, specific threats of violence against others,” a characterization that omits more generalized expressions of violence that still make many targets feel unsafe. The network also has recently rallied against online abuse by holding a video contest under the #ByeByeBullying hashtag and supporting Bullying Awareness Week.

In addition to the now restored blocking option, there should be a “mute” option, which would temporarily filter out someone from your feed and mentions without fully blocking them, Maxwell suggested. Other changes should include a spam reporting function, as well as more aggressive enforcement and follow-up for the current reporting policies and reports, Maxwell said.

“Right now, abusers really can just harass you with impunity. And while no solution is 100 percent, the frequency of threats and harassment that people—and women in particular—deal with on a daily basis is unacceptable,” she added.

Pozner blamed this lax policy on an indifference to women. “They have been told directly by their female users in a ton of different ways that there is a long-term problem that female users have with violent harassment . “I’ve stopped reporting stuff to Twitter because nothing ever happens. They never did anything about it.”

Reigning in threats of abuse, specifically rape, has been an ongoing struggle for Twitter and other social networking sites. Twitter recently agreed to ease its reporting requirements after users complained that it was too hard to report repeated rape threats. The site also promised over the summer to take these abusive tweets more seriously and streamline the reporting process.

NFTOS

STAFF WRITER

BOEHNER GETS A SPINE......SORT OF

BOEHNER GETS A SPINE?

Cross-posted from thinkprogress:

After several right-wing outside groups slammed the bipartisan budget deal negotiated by House Budget Chair Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senate Budget Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) — in some cases before the deal was even announced — Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) hit his breaking point. “When you criticize something and you have no idea what you’re criticizing, you’ve lost your credibility,” he told reporters Thursday, noting that it “comes to a point where some people step over a line.” But Boehner’s frustration has no doubt been building up over this three years as Speaker, as groups like Heritage Action, Freedom Works, and the Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF) have stymied his attempts to pass even conservative-friendly legislation.

In 2011, Boehner and President Obama were on the verge of reaching a “grand bargain” on taxes, spending, and deficit reduction. The talks fell through, in part because freshmen Republicans and the conservative groups that backed them were unwilling to accept new revenue.

Here are some of the bipartisan and GOP measures the groups have worked to block over the past three years:


The 2011 Budget Control Act.

Facing a possible default on the national debt, Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid agreed on a bill to force automatic spending cuts, known as sequestration, unless a “super committee” could find sufficient savings cut hundreds of billions of dollars from federal spending over the next ten years. Though Boehner had made in clear in 2010 that when Washington hit its debt limit, Congress would “have to deal with it as adults,” groups on the right opposed increasing the ceiling. Heritage Action denounced the agreement, arguing that “Speaker Boehner’s most recent proposal to raise the debt limit is regrettably insufficient for our times.” With Freedom Works and SCF also opposed, 66 House Republicans voted against the bill.


The 2012 highway bill.

With the Highway Trust Fund set to run out of money, the Republican-controlled House and Democratic-control Senate sent an extension bill to conference committee. Freedom Works announced its opposition to the bipartisan compromise and said it would score it as a key vote, criticizing it for making “few reforms to the federal government’s rampant spending on transportation.” Heritage Action also strongly opposed the extension and scored it as a vote “to maintain unsustainable levels of funding when we are nearly $16 trillion in debt.” 52 House Republicans voted no.


The New Year’s Eve 2012 Fiscal Cliff deal.

As 2012 ended, Congress grappled with a standoff over the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts and the beginning of drastic sequestration cuts. After Vice President Joe Biden (D) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reached a deal to extend some of the tax cuts, let others expire, and delay the cuts, the groups blasted the deal as “higher taxes.” FreedomWorks announced it would count a vote for the bill against legislators, while Heritage Action slammed it before it was even announced as a “K Street gravy train,” laden with giveaways to special interest groups. The deal passed with Boehner’s support, but the majority of Republicans voting against.


Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

The Senate passed a bipartisan immigration reform bill in June by an overwhelming 68-32 super-majority. The bill had the strong opposition of SCF and Heritage Action, who attacked it as “amnesty.” While Boehner initially agreed that it was “time for Congress to act,” GOP opposition has delayed any House action until at least 2014.


Efforts to avert the October 2013 government shutdown over Obamacare.

The effort to force a government shutdown over defunding Obamacare was largely driven by freshman Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and the Senate Conservatives Fund. Even though Boehner warned that it was a bad strategy, SCF and the other groups pressured Republican members to oppose any bill to fund the government without killing the Affordable Care Act. As the government shutdown dragged on, Boehner was forced to pull bills from the floor as members of his caucus refused to go against the groups’ wishes. At one point, he reportedly recited the Serenity Prayer at a closed-door caucus meeting at which he announced his “Plan B” was being scrapped for lack of Republican support. Though FreedomWorks believed the standoff a “brilliant strategy,” Congress eventually reopened government without any repeal. A furious Heritage Action said the compromise “will do nothing to stop Obamacare’s massive new entitlements from taking root — radically changing the nature of American health care.”


The 2013 Farm Bill.

On October 1, Congress allowed the historically bipartisan Farm Bill to expire. Attempts to revive the law, which funds numerous programs vital to the nation’s food supply, have been ongoing. Citing “myriad flaws with both the House and Senate” farm bill proposals, Heritage Action suggested there were “a trillion reasons not to pass the Farm Bill.” Freedom Works opposed even the more conservative House proposal as “80% food stamps and 100% fiscally irresponsible.” Boehner backed the House bill, but 62 Republicans joined with 172 Democrats to defeat it.

Though Paul Ryan has enjoyed a close relationship with Tea Party groups like Freedom Works in the past, these groups slammed the Ryan-Murray compromise as a “surrender.” and promised to hold it against anyone who votes for his bill. Heritage Action condemned the bill as “a step backwards.” The 2012 Vice Presidential nominee dismissed the attacks from the right as a “strange new normal.”

Freedom Works accused Boehner Wednesday of “smearing fiscally conservative groups.” “Speaker Boehner’s real problem here isn't with conservative groups like Freedom Works,” they explained, but “with millions of individual Americans who vote Republican because they were told the GOP was the party of small government and fiscal responsibility.”

NFTOS

STAFF WRITER

ERIC CANTER HAS A POT AND KETTLE MOMENT

House Majority Leader and tea bagger extraordinaire - Eric Cantor has published a video featuring a 10-year-old child who last year passed away from brain cancer to attack Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and advance a pediatric research bill he’s co-sponsoring.

In the clip, Gabriella Miller quotes Reid’s objections from October to a Republican-backed measure, proposed during the 17-day government shutdown, that would have partially funded the National Institutes of Health but kept the rest of the government shutdown. Cantor posted the clip to promote The “Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act,” a measure that would eliminate $12.5 million in funding from party nominating conventions and authorize the money for pediatric research grants.





Democrats are whipping against the measure, arguing that it is a political ploy that would not appropriate any additional funds to the NIH. Matt Dennis, a spokesman for Appropriations Democrats, told Congressional Quarterly that the bill wouldn't increase funding “by one dime.” “Rather than increasing the amount that can be appropriated to NIH, it merely creates an unnecessary and unfunded authorization — a solution completely irrelevant to the problem,” Dennis said. “It is a cynical attempt by the majority to obscure their shameful record on medical research funding.”

Indeed, Republicans have voted for budgets that would undercut funding for health care re search and cheered the automatic budget reductions that cut 5 percent or $1.55 billion from the NIH’s fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget. Rep. Paul Ryan’s FY 2012 budget would have also reduced N.I.H. funding by 5 percent or “more than $1 billion” and their latest proposal would result in additional reductions.

The American Taliban has also repeatedly criticized Obama for using children to advance a policy agenda. Rep. John Carter said it was offensive for Obama to invite “so many people whose families had been touched by gun violence” to his 2013 State of the Union address, noting “It’s unfortunate that people feel like they have to throw dead children out in peoples’ faces, as if disagreeing on an issue of guns makes you in favor of killing dead children.” In April, Sen. Rand Paul accused President Obama of exploiting Newtown survivors to advance gun safety and in February, House Speaker John Boehner lashed out at Obama, accusing him of using “our military men and women as a prop in yet another campaign rally to support his tax hikes.”

I guess we can assume that Eric Cantor cared so much for this 10-year old girl that he fought the government shutdown with every fiber of his being - and we can also be assured that Cantor fought against the sequestration - understanding that both of these diabolical events certainly hampered any health research severely. But we know better don't we Eric?

I am ashamed to say that this condescending smirking putz is from my state. He's both reprehensible and a self-aggrandizing buffoon.

Congratulations Eric, you Sir are today's worst person in the world!

NFTOS
Editor-In-Chief

Roger West

LUCY, YOU GOT SOME SLPANIN TO DO

Did Gov. Chris Christie's administration cripple a New Jersey community with a deliberate, brutal traffic jam, purely out of petty and partisan spite?

Take a look and see for yourself.


Video courtesy of MSNBC





What's that smell you ask? I think it must be the stink of corruption and the sound of a door closing on a presidential run. What was once considered a Mafioso modus operandi - is now normal bullying from a GOP [Jersey style] Presidential hopeful.

NFTOS

Editor-In-Chief

Roger West

"DICK" SAYS IRAN DEAL NOT GOOD BECAUSE OF OBAMACARE

Two hearts and one artificial heart pump later, the great American liar rises from the political dead. The heartless bastard named Cheney said on Monday that the deal the U.S. and its international partners reached with Iran last month over its nuclear program is suspect because of some of the Obama administration’s initial missteps in implementing the president’s new health care law.

“I don’t think that Barack Obama believes that the U.S. is an exceptional nation,” Cheney complained on Fox and Friends. “Nobody cares much in the Middle East anymore what the U.S. thinks because we don’t keep our commitments.”

The former vice president moved to Iran and without mentioning any specific criticisms of the agreement, claimed it’s bad because of unrelated health care issues. “We don’t follow through and Iran we've got a very serious problem going forward and a deal now been cut,” he said. “The same people that brought us you can keep your insurance if you want are telling us they've got a great deal in Iran with respect to their nuclear program. I don’t believe it.”






The agreement reached in Geneva last month will actually rein in most aspects of Iran’s nuclear program, capping uranium enrichment to low levels and eliminating its stockpile of higher enriched uranium that is closer to weapons grade material. The deal also established more intrusive inspections regime. U.N. nuclear inspectors arrived in Tehran over the weekend to visit the still unfinished heavy water reactor in Arak for the first time in two years.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that Cheney and others clinging to the neocon legacy aren't happy about the Obama administration’s diplomacy with Iran. But other various experts, lawmakers, interested parties and the American people think the first step agreement with Iran is a good one.

Since "Dicks" answers to every problem is; invade it, bomb it, or dissolve its culture, I'm not surprised he doesn't like a diplomatic alternative in Iran.

Hey "Dick", time to go back to the slime you once came from and let the adults proceed to run the country.

NFTOS

Editor-In-Chief

Roger West

RANDY FORBES: NO BRAINS, NO HEART, NO COURAGE

Rep. Randy Forbes (Virginia Talibangelical) is apparently urging the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) not to support any gay candidates — specifically because they’re gay. This would impact the races of Richard Tisei, who is once again running for Congress in Massachusetts after having narrowly lost in 2012, and Carl DeMaio, a former San Diego City Councilman running in California.

The NRCC helped fund Tisei’s 2012 campaign and Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) even traveled to Boston to help him fundraise. Many senior House Republicans have given to both Tisei and DeMaio in their current campaigns, but their support of gay candidates seems not have fazed Forbes’ abstinence on the matter:

Last Wednesday, Forbes told POLITICO he thinks “GOP leaders can do whatever they want to do,” in terms of giving money to gay candidates. 

He said he is more concerned about members being asked to contribute to the campaigns. The NRCC is partially funded by collecting tens of millions of dollars from House Republicans, who pay dues to the organization.

When asked if he would withhold political contributions to the NRCC if they backed DeMaio, Forbes said, “I’m not going to be hypothetical on what we would or wouldn’t do at this particular point in time because you’ve got a lot of scenarios. I don’t think we’ve had primaries and nominations to nominate people. So I don’t want to prejudge.”

Because the NRCC does not involve itself in primary elections, this would only happen should DeMaio win the nomination. NRCC Chairman Greg Walden told Politico that the committee will not make decisions based on race, gender, or sexual orientation.

Forbes has received a score of 0 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional Scorecard, having not supported a single LGBT equality measure. He is vying to be the next chair of the House Armed Services Committee, but in 2012, he attacked the Pentagon for allowing military service members to wear their uniforms when marching in San Diego’s pride parade, calling the decision “an outrageous and blatantly political determination issued solely to advance this Administration’s social agenda.” On that committee, he has also supported efforts to enshrine anti-gay discrimination within the military. His website still boasts his opposition to repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” expressing his concern that the repeal might imply “official military support for the normalization of homosexual behavior.” In October, Forbes was supposed to be the featured speaker at a luncheon hosted by the American Family Association, an anti-gay hate group, at the Values Voter Summit, but for unknown reasons, he didn’t show.





Forbes is one of the co-sponsors of the so-called “Marriage and Religious Freedom Act,” which would provide a license to discriminate against same-sex couples for all businesses with a religious affiliation. Unsurprisingly, he has previously refused to implement nondiscrimination protections for gay employees in his own Congressional office. He also supports a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage throughout the entire country. In 2007, he opposed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act on the House floor, arguing that protecting gay people from being fired for their identities could somehow “destroy the institution of marriage.”

So much for the "GOP Autopsy". Forbes is just another bloviated outdated blowhard, with a hate for everything not past white.

If Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz found herself surrounded by men with no heart, no brains and no courage, she would be with the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Randy Forbes you are NFTOS' asshat of the week, congratulations!

NFTOS

Editor-In-Chief

Roger West

NO MINIMUM WAGE YOU SAY?

Tea bagger Joe Barton told the National Journal that he thinks the country should get rid of the minimum wage. “I think it’s outlived its usefulness,” he said. “It may have been of some value back in the Great Depression. I would vote to repeal the minimum wage.”

Barton’s not the only lawmaker to hold such a view. In June, Sen. Lamar Alexander told a meeting of the Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee to mark 75 years since the signing of the Federal Labor Standards Act, which guaranteed a minimum wage, that he “do[es] not believe in it” and that he would abolish the minimum wage. And while he hasn’t called for the full repeal of the minimum wage, Sen. Marco Rubio  has said, “I don’t think a minimum wage law works.”

The minimum wage historically helped many families stay out of poverty. Up until the early 1980s, making the annual minimum wage income lifted a family of two above the federal poverty line. At its peak in 1968, it was enough to lift a family of three out of poverty. Yet despite rising inflation and worker productivity since then, the minimum wage has failed to keep up. It would be over $10 an hour today if it had risen with inflation since that high, and if it had kept pace with gains in productivity it would be more than $20 an hour.

As it is, however, working a 40 hour week at minimum wage won’t bring in enough money to afford a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the country — workers would have to put in at least 80 hours a week. Working 40 hours a week for 52 weeks each year at the minimum wage only brings a worker $15,080, below the federal poverty line for a family of two or more. But bringing the wage in line with inflation by increasing it to $10.10 an hour would lift nearly 6 million people out of poverty, many of them women and people of color.

While critics of raising the minimum wage, like Rubio and Rep. Paul Ryan claim that it will cost jobs, there’s little evidence to back that up. In fact several academic studies have shown that raising the wage doesn’t hurt employment, and one even found that states that raised their wages had slightly above average job growth. Perhaps that’s because a higher wage can benefit businesses through increasing demand, lowering turnover, and increasing employee performance.

The American Taliban may have once recognized this, as they weren’t always against a raise. At least67 talibangelicals who are still serving in Congress today supported an increase under President George W. Bush, including Alexander and Ryan. Yet House tea baggers unanimously voted down an increase in March.

Well of course, I looked and there it was, a Republican party, a group that has outlived its usefulness. If you keep voting for these asshats you certainly get what you deserve.

NFTOS

Editor-In-Chief

Roger West

THE NELSON MANDELA STORY

THE MAN, THE LEGEND, NELSON MANDELA

As told by Rachael Maddow:


Video Courtesy of MSNBC

Celebration of life:

Video Courtesy of MSNBC

There are rare occasions on this earth, when one human can really make a difference - Nelson Mandela was one of those humans. While the American Taliban calls him a communist, most humans with more than one brain cell consider Mandela as a once in a lifetime human.

Nelson Mandela, truly a man for all ages!

NFTOS
Editor-In-Chief

Roger West

NELSON MANDELA

ONE OF THE GOOD ONES IS NOW GONE - NELSON MANDELA

Today we at NFTOS mourn the loss of one of the world’s most gracious and greatest humans - that this world has ever seen.

Nelson Mandela, a tireless advocate for human rights and an inspiration to millions across the globe, passed away this day.

His courage and strength will live on – as will his immortal words: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” and “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” ― Nelson Mandela, 1918 - 2013




NFTOS
Editor-In-Chief

Roger West

RAPE INSURANCE?

Photo Courtesy of Anne C. Savage

Michigan lawmakers are currently deciding whether to advance a bill that would require women in the state to purchase a separate insurance policy for abortion coverage, even in cases of rape or incest. If it’s approved, Michigan would join a long list of other states that have attacked abortion access by preventing women from using their own insurance to pay for it.

The debate over the legislation has heated up this week, particularly since the measure would deny abortion coverage even to women who have become pregnant as a result of rape. Although the overwhelming majority of Americans believe that rape victims should have access to legal abortion services, lawmakers continue to propose policies that would have callous implications for individuals who have been sexually assaulted.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed the proposed insurance ban last year for exactly this reason — pointing out that it would require rape victims to pay for the total cost of their abortion procedure out-of-pocket, unless they had thought ahead and purchased a separate insurance rider for abortion services. “I don’t believe it is appropriate to tell a woman who becomes pregnant due to a rape that she needed to select elective insurance coverage,” Snyder noted when he rejected the bill last December.

But Michigan’s anti-choice community disagrees. Earlier this year, when advocating for the proposed legislation, a prominent anti-choice leader in Michigan suggested that rape is like a car accident and it’s appropriate to require women to buy “extra insurance” to prepare for it. After Snyder’s veto, abortion opponents decided to simply circumvent the governor and collect enough signatures to provoke a “citizen-initiated” vote on the measure. That petition was successful, and the measure headed to the legislature on Tuesday.

Lawmakers now have 40 days — not including the upcoming holiday break — to act on the measure. If they don’t take any action, the issue will be placed on the 2014 ballot for a statewide vote. If the legislature approves it, on the other hand, the bill will immediately become law — even without Snyder’s signature.

Leading Democrats in the legislature are blasting the proposed measure. “Forcing women to decide whether they want to buy ‘rape insurance’ and even compelling parents to make the unfathomable decision about whether to buy it for their daughters is truly despicable,” State Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer said in a press release on Monday. “Requiring Michigan women to plan ahead for an unplanned pregnancy is not only illogical, it’s one of the most misogynistic proposals I have ever seen in the Michigan Legislature.”

But abortion opponents aren't giving up. Save the 1, a national anti-choice group that advocates for abortion restrictions without exceptions, organized a press conference at the Michigan Capitol on Tuesday to make the point that rape victims shouldn't ever have the option of choosing abortion. A group of adults who were conceived as a result of rape argued that “no child deserves to be punished for the crimes of their father.”

The issue of rape and abortion access has become particularly contentious over the past year, after several Republican lawmakers have made controversial comments on the subject. Last August, former Rep. Todd Akin asserted that pregnancies resulting from rape are very rare because the female body “has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” And since then, other GOP politicians have suggested that pregnancies from rape are a “gift from God,” mocked rape exceptions as “little gotcha amendments,” and suggested abortion access for rape victims is unnecessary because ending a pregnancy will “put more violence on a woman’s body.”

"Like a car accident", what the fuck!?

Cross-posted from thinkprogress

NFTOS
Editor-In-Chief
Roger West

FAKE [GOP] ACA SITE IN CALIFORNIA

FAKE WEBSITE MAIN PAGE PHOTO

Cross-posted from thinkprogress

Republican members of the California Assembly are distributing seemingly innocuous guides about the coverage options available under the Affordable Care Act that downplay the law’s benefits and misinform voters.

The flyers, which are being sent out at taxpayer expense, are also directing residents to “CoveringHealthCareCA.com,” a domain that closely resembles the official marketplace website for Covered California (CoveredCA.com) But rather than helping Californians enroll in coverage, this site appears to be the creation of the Republican party: it warns senior citizens about health care rationing and “provisions that have driven up insurance costs”. The site is designed to look like a non-partisan guide, but actually mirrors Republican talking points and criticisms of the law:

IRS WILL SINGLE OUT CONSERVATIVES. “In light of the recent revelation of questionable processes at the IRS for approving the tax-exempt status of certain groups, several members of the State Legislature, led by Assemblyman Dan Logue, introduced Assembly Joint Resolution 23 to urge Congress and the President to remove any financial oversight responsibilities of the IRS with regard to the administration of the Affordable Care Act.” 

YOUNG PEOPLE ARE SCREWED. “Young invincible or healthy adults visit the doctor very seldom and are money makers for insurers and medical groups that contract to provide them services. As low-cost additions to insurance pools, young adults would help dilute the expense of covering older, sicker people. Depending on how Congress requires insurers to price their policies, this group could even wind up paying disproportionately hefty premiums — effectively subsidizing coverage for the less healthy.” 

EMPLOYERS WILL STOP HIRING. “There are subsidies in the program for health insurance. However, there is an argument that the Affordable Care Act provides strong incentives for firms to avoid hiring workers from low-income households. … Many economists believe that the employer mandate contained in the federal law has resulted in many employers who currently have fewer than 50 employees from deciding not to hire new workers so that they are not subject to the new mandate or penalty provisions. News stories are beginning to confirm these concerns.” 

SENIORS WILL EXPERIENCE RATIONING. “For seniors that use Medicare’s prescription drug program, the Affordable Care Act gradually closes the “donut hole” until its complete elimination in 2020. To pay for other components of the Affordable Care Act such as expanding Medicaid and creating state health exchanges, Medicare providers will see rate cuts near $200 billion over the next decade. These cuts could potentially result in the exodus of doctors from the Medicare system and force Medicare recipients to find new providers, possibly facing longer wait times for care as that pool of doctors shrinks.”

Despite the GOP’s effort to dissuade Californians from purchasing coverage, however, nearly 80,000 people signed up for health insurance in the state’s new exchange as of late November, with approximately 2,7000 people enrolling daily.

A disclaimer on the site — which is situated next to a link to the Assembly Republican Caucus — notes that “The California State Assembly does not warrant or make any representations as to the quality, content, accuracy, or completeness of the information, text, graphics, links and other items contained on this server or any other server.” Indeed.

Typical Teabaggers, honesty is not a part of their modus operandi, a snake in the grass, just like their don't tread on me flag. I think this calls for the total destruction of the conservative movement. Fortunately, we don't have to do much.






NFTOS
Editor-In-Chief
Roger West

SCOTT "KOCH WHORE" WALKER SAYS SCREW CHRISTMAS GIVE TO ME

KOCH WHORE PUPPET SCOTT WALKER

The War On Christmas may actually be happening this year, but it’s being waged by an unlikely culprit: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

Last week, Walker’s campaign sent an email encouraging supporters not to buy gifts for their children and to use that money instead to support his reelection effort.

“Instead of electronics or toys that will undoubtedly be outdated, broken, or lost by the next Holiday Season, help give your children the gift of a Wisconsin that we can all be proud of,” the email read.

Here is the email in full:

Walker is currently locked in a tight battle for reelection next year. He leads his possible opponents by anywhere between 4 and 7 percentage points.

Does this Koch Whore really envision many family scenarios throughout Wisconsin where parents are explaining to their children that the lack of presents underneath the tree is so they can have a Wisconsin they can all be proud of - and children are going to understand this? Seriously?

I have said numerous times that there is nothing beyond the pale of a tea bagger, and Scotty was taken fund-raising to a whole new low. One thing for sure, this numbnutz has huge testicles.

NFTOS

Editor-In-Chief

Roger West

VOTER SUPPRESSION IN OHIO?

TOUGHER PLACES TO VOTE IN RED

Ohio Congresswoman Marcia Fudge has asked Attorney General Eric Holder to review two voting measures making their way through the state legislature that she claims could “suppress the voting rights of African Americans and other minorities.”

The proposed bills (S. 238 and H.B. 269) would reduce the number of absentee-voting days by six, prevent newly registered voters from voting the day they register, and require voters to present valid identification — a driver’s license, a state or military ID card, or a passport — when casting a ballot.

In her letter, Fudge charges that the legislation violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which “prohibits any voting qualification or practice applied by the state which results in the denial or abridgment of the right to vote based on race.” “Recent estimates indicate that over 900,000 eligible voters in Ohio” lack the necessary ID, including as many as “one in four eligible African Americans,” the letter says. Same-day registration and voting “have recently been used at a higher rate by African Americans and lower-income voters.”

“With no indication that voter fraud is a widespread problem in Ohio, this proposal is a thinly veiled attempt to reduce the number of people able to exercise their right to vote,” she writes. “They are attempts to suppress the voting rights of African Americans and other minorities.”

Supporters of the effort argue that limiting early voting would free-up over-stressed election boards “during their busiest time of year” and note that the legislation “allows for free photo IDs for people who can’t afford to purchase one and who are at or below the federal poverty level.”

“I think we can have a reasonable debate about policy here,” said State Sen. Frank LaRose (R), the sponsor of the early voting change. “To invoke the specter of a racial matter, I think, takes it too far. It is kind of shameful to do that. What we are talking about is a very modest reduction in the number of early voting days that still leaves Ohio as a leader in the nation, by far, for early voting.”

On Saturday, The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s editorial board came out against the limitation, writing that “absent compelling evidence of election fraud…there is no good, pro-voter reason to end the practice.” It also condemned a separate measure that would change absentee ballot rules.

During the 2012 presidential election, Ohio Secretary of State Jon "we have a problem" Husted attempted to limit early voting to weekdays, and he defied a court order requiring early voting hours to be restored — although he eventually backed down.

Why should Ohio be any different than Pennsylvania, or any other state having been taken over by the American Taliban? When at all costs, when you can't win an election, cheat at all costs!

At the end of the day I don't think anyone is worried about people voting multiple times - teabaggers are just worried about Democrats being allowed to vote once.

NFTOS

Editor-In-Chief

Roger West

NO GOOD DEED GOES WITHOUT A LITTLE SELF BOASTING IF YOUR ROMNEY

Josh Romney tweeted a photo of himself posing with vehicle wreckage after rescuing four people from the car that allegedly slammed into a residential home early Friday morning.

“Was first on scene to big accident, see pic of car in the house. I lifted 4 people out to safety. All ok. Thankful,” the son of former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney tweeted with the accompanying photo:

While the Romney son received plenty of praise and gratitude for his actions, which took place in an unknown location, the New York Daily News reports that some on social media have criticized him for “humble-bragging” and posing for a “tourist-like” photograph near a serious car wreck.

Tweeting and posing is ridiculous and slightly off-putting, but this is what the Romney's do, it's their modus operandi.. It's very sick and twisted - that "Good Samaritans" are bragging about their good deeds.

When I got wind of the story, I too thought it was lame, that is until the NFTOS email bag was littered with comments about this.

Teabaggers were telling me this was no different than the Obama photos showing the President in the situation room during the Bin Laden raid. OK tin foil hat society I'll bite.

Let's compare: 

the President follows the killing of the most wanted man in the word and his staff sends out the photo to news organizations who might be interested.

the spoiled son of a failed Presidential candidate personally sends out a photo of himself standing next to a car that damaged a house, then pats himself on the back for doing it.

If you indeed deserve a pat on the back, let someone else do it for you, even if the deed was good, at the end of the day Josh, you come across looking like a douche bag. If the shoe fits! 

NFTOS
Editor-In-Chief

Roger West

TO WORK OR NOT ON THANKSGIVING

A Pizza Hut manager in Indiana says he was fired because he refused to open on Thanksgiving Day. Tony Rohr, an employee of more than 10 years, told his managers that Pizza Hut could “be company that stands up and says we care about our employees and they can have the day off.”

They instead asked him to write his resignation. Still defiant, he explained his decision in the letter:

I am not quitting. I do not resign, however I accept that the refusal to comply with this greedy, immoral request means the end of my tenure with this company ...... I hope you realize that it’s the people at the bottom of the totem pole that make your life possible.

For employees at Pizza Hut, Thanksgiving and Christmas were the only two days of the year they were guaranteed to have off. When Pizza Hut, retailers, and other restaurants choose to open on Thanksgiving, many American workers that already struggle to take holidays off have little choice but to comply. The U.S. is the only advanced economy that doesn’t guarantee paid vacation days.

This year, more stores than ever are opening during the Thanksgiving holiday to get a jump on Black Friday sales. But some have defied the pressure to open and will instead let workers enjoy time with their families. The stores that open, meanwhile, risk consumer backlash for leading the trend.

Some of the larger retailers pay employees extra for working the holiday, but there is no guarantee. A Ohio state lawmaker wants to change that with a bill that would have stores pay three times normal wages if they open Thanksgiving. Rhode Island, Maine, and Massachusetts already have laws that bar big retailers from opening on Thanksgiving Day.

Why is it that we bitch about Walmart employees having to work, yet we no doubt expect those in the military, the police, the fire department, those working utilities, the bus lines, the roadways, the television stations, the cable company, the gas stations, the airlines, and the grocery stores to keep on working? We don't seem to mind stripping them of their right to be off - just as long as the so-called "greedy corporations" don't do the same. Either we want everyone to have the day off or we don't.

I dislike the greedy bastards as much as anyone, but lets stand for all who have to work on Thanksgiving, not just those who work for Ebeneezer Scrooge.

NFTOS

Editor-In-Chief

Roger West

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

From our family at NFTOS to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!







NFTOS
Editor-In-Chief
Roger West

HOBBY LOBBY

Want your boss or employer muddling in your healthcare? Watch Rachael Maddow on why you may not have a choice, or do you?

Video courtesy of MSNBC

NFTOS

STAFF WRITER

NRA EQUALS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING

When police took George Zimmerman into custody for domestic violence charges earlier this month, the man who killed Trayvon Martin was armed with five firearms and 100 rounds of ammunition, according to a warrant released by police on Tuesday.

Zimmerman’s girlfriend alleges that he assaulted her, brandishing a shotgun in her face and telling her she would “regret” calling 911 for help. According to the warrant, a 12-gauge high capacity shotgun wasn’t the only weapon he was carrying. He also had an AR-15 assault rifle and three handguns — a Glock 19, an Interarms .380-caliber, and a Taurus 9mm.

He used a different handgun, a Kel-Tec 9 mm pistol, on the night he shot Trayvon Martin.

Now that Zimmerman has been arrested and charged with assault, he is no longer allowed to carry a firearm. His concealed carry permit should be suspended under Florida law.

But none of his prior run-ins with the law — including his fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin and a previous allegation of domestic violence — prevented Zimmerman from carrying a weapon before. In fact, after he became a national figure over Martin’s death, Zimmerman told reporters that he had “even more reason” to have a gun, and his lawyer confirmed that he was “carrying a weapon.” A gun advocacy group from Ohio even sent him a $12,150.37 check to buy more firearms.

It's no wonder the gun nuts hold Zimmerman up as a shining example of their nutbaggery, he's everything they want to be.

NFTOS
Editor-In-Chief

Roger West

"NOT UNTIL THE PLUMBING'S CHANGED"

A member of the Delta County School Board in Colorado is defending comments she made during a public meeting in which she criticized proposed new policies that would add a layer of protection for students who identify as transgender.

During the board’s October meeting, Katherine Svenson sounded the alarm over Massachusetts and California’s recently adapted policies that protect students who identify as a different gender than their biological one. “I just want to emphasize,” she said. “Not in this district. Not until the plumbing’s changed. There would have to be castration in order to pass something like that around here.”

Parents, community members, and even a few of her fellow board members criticized Svenson for her comments, but she is standing behind her comments.

“I don’t have a problem if some boys think they are girls,” she told the local CBS affiliate last week. “I’m just saying as long as they can impregnate a woman, they’re not going to go in girls locker room.”

The law in California that Svenson criticized gives transgender students the right to use the restrooms of the gender they identify as. Svenson’s remarks echo the criticism that the National Organization for Marriage has leveled during their campaign to overturn the California law.

“I do not want a naked boy in front of a young girl in the shower or bathroom even if he sincerely identifies as a girl,” said NOM’s Brian Brown last week during a fundraising event for the anti-equality organization.

California and a handful of other states are beginning to take action to curb the harassment and bullying of transgender students by adding new protections into state law, but that has so far done nothing to curb the rising number of instances of incendiary rhetoric being directed towards transgender people, especially transgender youth.

The issue has taken center stage in Colorado after the Pacific Justice Institute, an organization that is campaigning heavily against California’s law, began running an ad aimed at a Colorado trans teenager that alleges she is “harassing” her classmates by using the women’s restrooms. Though there is no law in the books protecting trans students in Colorado, the state’s Civil Rights Division ruled in favor of transgender students earlier this year by arguing that students have the right to use the restrooms of whichever gender they identify as.

NFTOS
STAFF WRITER

THE BEGIINING OF THE BANNING OF 3D GUNS

3D GUNS

Philadelphia became the first city to pass a bill banning people without a federal firearms manufacturing license from using 3D printers to make guns earlier this week, in a move that lawmakers described as “preemptive” and “based upon internet stuff out there.” But the measure passed unanimously by 10-member council and comes as a federal law banning firearms that can go unnoticed by a metal detector is set to expire early next month.

Lawmakers are desperately trying to keep pace with the evolving technology. While 3-D printed gun are still “affordable only in industrial or commercial settings” — printers currently range between $1,500 and $8,000 plus the cost of printing materials — experts say the “technology will eventually trickle down to consumers, who are already able to purchase plastic printers at affordable prices.” 3D printers can also manufacture bullets and metal guns.

“As technology progresses, three-dimensional printers will become more advanced, less expensive and more commonplace,” Councilman Kenyatta Johnson said after the vote. “As instructions for the manufacture of guns via 3D printing technology are already available on the Internet, we could be looking at a recipe for disaster.”

Sen. Charles Schumer, Sen. Bill Nelson , and Rep. Steve Israel have introduced legislation that expands the undetectable firearms law to ban 3D-printed guns, require guns to be recognizable as guns, and them to contain significant metal. Several states — including New York, California and Washington D.C. — are considering similar restrictions.

Earlier this month, officials of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) built and tested a 3D gun called the Liberator. The weapon, which is invisible to metal detectors, is capable of “firing with enough power to injure vital organs” and its designs “were downloaded more than 100,000 times in just two days before federal officials demanded their removal in May.” ATF officials said they were concerned individuals could carry the weapons past metal detectors into “schools, sporting events or government offices” (the Liberator’s design calls for a metal piece, though that part is non-vital and can easily be taken out.) 3D guns can also be made “without serial numbers or unique identifiers, hindering.”

“Proposed legislation to ban 3D printing of weapons may deter, but cannot completely prevent their production,” a Department of Homeland Security intelligence bulletin admitted in May. “Even if the practice is prohibited by new legislation, online distribution of these digital files will be as difficult to control as any other illegally traded music, movie or software files.”

The National Rifle Association (NRA), which is heavily funded by large gun manufacturers, has remained largely silent on the issue.

NFTOS

Editor-In-Chief

Roger West

KENNEDY Vs REAGAN

Bill Maher last night compared Democrat Presidential God John F. Kennedy, to the Right Wing Nut Job God named Ronnie Reagan.


VIDEO COURTESY OF HBO "MYTH AMERICA

In a related story, Tom Brokow recounts when JFK was killed , when the kind hearted conservatives were quacking - "About time somebody shot that son-of-bitch".

These unlettered knuckle dragger are truly no different today than they were 50 years ago. May God keep blessing us with these benighted blowhards!

NFTOS

Editor-In-Chief

Roger West

DEMS GO NUCLEAR

THIS IS WHY THE DEMS WENT NUCLEAR

Senate Democrats pushed through a historic change to the chamber’s rules on Thursday, doing away with filibusters on executive appointments and most judicial nominations in a bid to ease the gridlock gripping the chamber.

The move, known as the “nuclear option,” passed by a vote of 52-48, with all but three Democrats voting to reform the chamber’s rules and every Republican opposing the measure.

“I support the step a majority of Senators took today to change the ways of Washington by changing the way Congress does business,” President Obama told reporters at the White House. 

“This gridlock has not served the cause of justice. In fact it has undermined it.
“A majority of Senators believe, as I believe, enough is enough,” he said. “Public service is not a game. It is a privilege.”

VIDEO COURTESY OF MSNBC

The mid-session revision to Senate rules will prevent use of the filibuster to block executive and judicial nominations, with the exception of Supreme Court nominees. It lowers the 60-vote threshold to move forward on such nominations to a simple majority. The change does not apply to legislation, meaning that all bills will still require 60 votes to clear the Senate.

Fed up with the pattern of obstruction that has grounded the chamber’s business to a halt, Senate Democrats cast aside the minority’s objections and moved ahead with the first change to filibuster rules since 1975, when the chamber reduced the threshold required to surmount a filibuster from 67 to 60. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid argued that curbing abuse of the filibuster was a necessity for the hidebound institution to function properly.

“The Senate is a living thing,” the Nevada Democrat said during a speech on the Senate floor. “To survive, it must change.”

I can only say, it’s about freaking time!

NFTOS

Editor-In-Chief

Roger West

GOP's Plan Of Attack Against Obamacare

A memo circulated among House Republicans this week details the GOP's plan to relentlessly attack the Affordable Care Act over the course of the next several months, the New York Times reported.

The memo contains a number of talking points that echo some of the GOP's most dire warnings about the health care law.

"Because of Obamacare, I Lost My Insurance.” reads one.

“The Exchanges May Not Be Secure, Putting Personal Information at Risk,” reads another.

According to the Times, GOP strategists intend to use the next several months to "gather stories of people affected by the health care law — through social media, letters from constituents, or meetings during visits back home — and use them to open a line of attack, keep it going until it enters the public discourse and forces a response, then quickly pivot to the next topic."

Read the memo here.

NFTOS
STAFF WRITER

GOP GOING MORE ANTI-GAY

Rachel Maddow explains how marriage equality is spreading in America, and how the American Taliban goes full bore anti-gay.

VIDEO COURTESY OF MSNBC








NFTOS
Editor-In-Chief
Roger West

YOUR MOVE FLORIDA.....AND WE ARE WATCHING!

One of George Zimmerman’s terms for making bail after his arrest for allegedly pointing a shotgun at his girlfriend mean he cannot access any firearms. But Florida law should have required officials to suspend his gun license regardless of the bail hearing, even if determining whether officials are following that law is difficult in Florida.

According to a Florida statute that states the Department of Agriculture “shall, upon notification by a law enforcement agency, a court, or the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and subsequent written verification, suspend a license or the processing of an application for a license if the licensee or applicant is arrested or formally charged with a crime that would disqualify such person from having a license under this section, until final disposition of the case.” Zimmerman’s arrest for aggravated assault, a third-degree felony, is a disqualifying crime.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which oversees concealed carry weapons permits, could not confirm any details about Zimmerman’s license because an individual’s information is exempt from public record.

Enforcing the statute is another matter entirely. Many states issue concealed carry permits through a law enforcement agency. In Florida, it’s a civil agency, Agriculture, which creates an extra reporting step that leaves room for miscommunication and mistakes. A 2007 Sun-Sentinel investigation found that concealed carry permits had been given to “1,400 people who pleaded guilty or no contest to felonies, 216 people with outstanding warrants, 128 people with active domestic violence injunctions and six registered sex offenders.” While felons are prohibited from owning weapons, gaps in background checks likewise led to3,479 arrests of felons carrying illegal guns in 2012. In fact, Florida’s lax laws means it often supplies out-of-state permits for people who would be rejected in their home state.

In 25 states outside Florida, a person with Zimmerman’s record — his shooting Trayvon Martin and history of domestic abuse, and two incidents of domestic violence just this year — would likely not be eligible to carry a concealed weapon in the first place.

When Zimmerman was charged for Martin’s death, activists demanded that Governor Rick Scott suspend Zimmerman’s concealed carry permit. Scott’s administration refused, arguing that “short of a permit holder being convicted of a felony, the state does not have the authority to revoke a permit.” One condition of Zimmerman’s bail had been that he could not access guns or alcohol.

Since he was acquitted of charges over Martin’s death, Zimmerman legally bought himself a new assault rifle and shotgun that he reportedly has had with him in the car, in his holster, and in his home.

Since writing this blog, the Department of Agriculture has confirmed that it moves to suspend a license for permit holders charged with felonies once the department learns of the charges. License holders receive a notice of their suspension by mail.

NFTOS
STAFF WRITER

YEAP, THAT DIDN'T TAKE LONG

George Zimmerman's Newest Mug Shot [How Many Is This Now?]

Less than six months after walking away from the trial over Trayvon Martin’s death, George Zimmerman was arrested Monday afternoon by Seminole County law enforcement over a domestic dispute reportedly involving a girlfriend. He is being held without bail, and there are no specific charges released yet.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that Zimmerman’s new girlfriend, age 27, had been in the car two months ago when he allegedly threatened his estranged wife Shellie Zimmerman with a gun.

In September, Zimmerman was involved with another disturbance at his home. Shellie Zimmerman placed a frightened call to 911, in which she described seeing Zimmerman punching her father and with a gun in his holster. Police never recovered one, and after Zimmerman threatened to press counter-charges, his wife announced she would not press her own.

Since the trial, Zimmerman has bought himself a new gun with the help of a fundraiser from a gun advocacy group. 

Zimmerman is the O.J. Simpson of this era, and hopefully the rope that holds the noose around this asshat's neck is getting shorter - so that the next one dead or injured is George Zimmerman, and not another innocent human being.

Since this story broke I've been asking people, is there a limit to how many times you can use stand your ground as a defense in the state of Florida, or is it like an all you can kill buffet?

So now I am really confused, is it now too soon to talk about gun control? Or is it now too soon to talk about abusive relationships? Can a gun hugging GOPer please step up and help me, I'm not sure what not to talk about?

NFTOS

Editor-In-Chief

Roger West

IT'S OBAMA'S FAULT

Ever notice how all things good and bad are President Obama's fault?

According To Media Reports, Obama Is Responsible For At Least 8 ‘Katrinas’

On Friday, the New York Times ran a lengthy piece comparing the troubled roll-out of Obamacare — including a dysfunctional website and the cancellation of some existing individual insurance policies — to President Bush’s botched response to Hurricane Katrina, a tragedy which cost at least 1,833 people their lives. ABC’s Good Morning America featured a similar segment, and both outlets relied on former advisers of George W Bush to bolster their point. But this is just latest in a long line of “Katrinas,” that Barack Obama is responsible for, according to the media. Here is a sampling:

1. BP Oil Spill
“It’s getting baked in a little bit in the media that BP was President Obama’s Katrina.” [NBC News, Brian Williams, 8/29/10]

2. Bank Bailout

“A CHARMING visit with Jay Leno won’t fix it. A 90 percent tax on bankers’ bonuses won’t fix it. Firing Timothy Geithner won’t fix it. Unless and until Barack Obama addresses the full depth of Americans’ anger with his full arsenal of policy smarts and political gifts, his presidency and, worse, our economy will be paralyzed. It would be foolish to dismiss as hyperbole the stark warning delivered by Paulette Altmaier of Cupertino, Calif., in a letter to the editor published by The Times last week: ‘President Obama may not realize it yet, but his Katrina moment has arrived.’” [New York Times, Frank Rich, 3/21/09]

3. Benghazi Consulate Attack And The IRS

“When House Republicans decided to reopen investigations into the White House and State Department response to the attacks on our consulate in Benghazi, Libya, few thought it would inflict any serious damage to the president. Then came an admission from the IRS that it had unfairly singled out conservative groups for scrutiny during the 2012 campaign…This is President Obama’s Katrina moment. If he cannot regain control of the narrative, he will face the same loss of public confidence suffered by President Bush.” [Baltimore Sun, 5/19/13, Todd Eberly]

4. Hurricane Sandy

“I want to show you this report by our own David Lee Miller of a public housing unit in New Jersey, and — I’m sorry, in Brooklyn — devastated. This is Obama’s Katrina. And now the people are seeing that the gas lines and the suffering and the millions without power, the millions without heat, the millions — the ten and thousands that have lost their homes, and the cries for help.” [Fox News, Sean Hannity, 11/5/12]

5. Unemployment

“‘Will The Unemployment Crisis Be Obama’s Katrina?’ There’s a Category 5 storm about to make landfall, and the president and the officials in charge of preparing for the approaching disaster don’t seem to be particularly worried. Sound familiar? Just as Katrina exposed critical weaknesses in the priorities and competence of the Bush administration, the unfolding unemployment disaster is threatening to do the same for the Obama White House.” [Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington, 11/23/09]

6. The Underwear Bomber
“To the list of phrases it may be best for political leaders to avoid after a major security incident, add ‘the system worked’ right after ‘Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.’ Just as the public did not really share President George W. Bush’s assessment of how things were going after Hurricane Katrina, so too was there a good deal of skepticism when President Obama’s homeland security secretary declared faith in a system that failed to stop a guy who tried to blow up a passenger jet on Christmas Day.” [New York Times, 12/29/09]

7. Haiti Earthquake

“‘Haiti: Obama’s Katrina.’ Four years ago the initial medical response to Hurricane Katrina was ill equipped, understaffed, poorly coordinated and delayed. Criticism of the paltry federal efforts was immediate and fierce. Unfortunately, the response to the latest international disaster in Haiti has been no better, compounding the catastrophe.” [Wall Street Journal, 1/25/10]

8. Obamacare

“‘Health Law Rollout’s Stumbles Draw Parallels to Bush’s Hurricane Response.’ President Obama is now threatened by a similar toxic mix. The disastrous rollout of his health care law not only threatens the rest of his agenda but also raises questions about his competence in the same way that the Bush administration’s botched response to Hurricane Katrina undermined any semblance of Republican efficiency.” [New York Times, 11/14/13]

Four years ago, the New York Times derided comparing every Presidential error to Katrina as “a Category 5 cliché.” Melissa Harris Perry, writing in the Nation in 2010, was even harsher: “These metaphors reduce catastrophe to an object lesson, implying that the effects of the disaster have been resolved, that the plot has been resolved and that the continued suffering of our fellow citizens is little more than a literary device.”

For Louisiana Republicans, Hurricane Katrina is Obama’s Katrina — a recent poll found more blame Obama than Bush for the federal response to the 2005 tragedy.

NFTOS

Editor-In-Chief

Roger West