Daily Chatterings: Friday, March 27th

THE BIG CHATTER:
Everyone is chatting about the Republican announcement of a "budget" proposal. Just when you think they cannot dig deeper, when you think they cannot appear more out of touch, the Republican party brings us a new definition of "WTF?!?" Later on today, we will go through it page by page, which will only take one day because it is not a budget plan, which would take forever to go through. Oh yeah, they will release the budget, for realsies this time, on April fools. Thank you so, so much!

SOME OTHER CHATTERINGS:
Natasha Richardson's tragic death may have saved the life of a seven-year-old girl.

Marijuana legalization has been creeping its way into mainstream discourse. It broke out in a big way last night.

North Dakota is getting slammed right now. You have to admire the well organized, hard working efforts going on there.

Japan has green lighted its military to shoot down the missile that North Korea is preparing to test. It's going to be a good show.

YOUR DAILY VIDEO TO CHAT ABOUT:


Anything I'm missing?

Daily Chatterings: Thursday, March 26th

THE BIG CHATTER:
So, this really should be that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is testifying on the hill tomorrow, but I am going to be talking about Democracy for America's new efforts all day tomorrow. Launching a new website, Stand With Dr. Dean, the DFA is making health care reform priority number 1, and Howard Dean wants 250,000 signatures. I expect no problems getting it done. President Obama campaigned on a pledge, and the American people voted for it. Now it is time to make health care reform happen. It will be one of the most important changes in American history.

And on a personal note: One of my old volunteers from the Obama campaign, Bill Monroe spoke about DFA trainings on the call. It was pretty cool.

SOME OTHER CHATTERINGS:
On to Secretary Geithner, and his testimony tomorrow.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner returns to Capitol Hill on Thursday and is expected to reveal a much anticipated list of Obama administration priorities for preventing future financial collapses.

We will see if this appearance is as impressive as the last one.

North Korea has been slowly preparing for a missile launch. Shortly after the election, satellite photos showed similar activity to what we saw just before their last launch. Now:

North Korea has positioned a Taepodong-2 missile on the launch pad at its facility in Musudan in the east of the country, U.S. officials told NBC News on Wednesday.

They are claiming it is solely for launching a satellite, and that the launch will most likely happen between April 4-8.

This story is sure to move you.

Redstate, not surprisingly, lays down one of the stupidest arguments ever when responding to this statement by Jim Moran:

“It sets us back in the war on terrorism to be maintaining Guantanamo,” said Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), who’s heading an investigation of the facility for the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

“It will enhance our reputation to close it down and to apply our system of justice to all of these detainees,” he added. …

This is the title of their post, "covering" this story:

Note to Jim Moran (D-VA): People who want to kill themselves to kill you don't care about you 'reputation'

Okay, the problem with this argument is that our "reputation" is the most important recruitment tool for terrorist organizations. In other words, our "reputation" is the most important factor in creating "people who want to kill themselves to kill you." Not to mention the fact that so many of these people have not been proven to be terrorist. And of the typical Republican talking point that:

many of whom took advantage of their second lease on free life to rejoin the jihad and do their utmost to take more innocent American, Iraqi, Afghan, Pakistani, etc. lives.

A lie. A blatant lie. Check MediaMatters for more.

YOUR DAILY VIDEO TO CHAT ABOUT:


Anything I'm missing?