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A Dose of Liberal Political Commentary with a Smattering of Pop Culture and whatever else tickles my fancy

Contact Me: avwatkins(at)gmail(dot)com

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In my free time I enjoy pretending to be a photographer, watching reruns of Bewitched, and finding pictures of my favorite politicians. I'm a history major who adores politics. My favorite color is pink, and it took me years to embrace that. I like telling my business to the internet. I don't know what I want to be when I grow up and time is running out.

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9 November 09
“ I’ve always been focusing on making the right decisions for the people of my district, whether or not it will cost me my political future.
— Freshman Democratic Rep. John Adler (N.J.)
— Freshman Democratic Rep. John Boccieri (Ohio)
— Freshman Democratic Rep. Bobby Bright (Ala.)
— Freshman Democratic Rep. Parker Griffith (Ala.)
— Freshman Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell (N.C.)
— Freshman Democratic Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (Fla.)
— Freshman Democratic Rep. Frank Kratovil Jr. (M.D.)
— Freshman Democratic Rep. Betsy Markey (Colo.)
— Freshman Democratic Rep. Eric Massa (N.Y.)
— Freshman Democratic Rep. Michael McMahon (N.Y.)
— Freshman Democratic Rep. Walt Minnick (Idaho)
— Freshman Democratic Rep. Scott Murphy (N.Y.)
— Freshman Democratic Rep. Glenn Nye (Va.)
— Freshman Democratic Rep. Harry Teague (N.M.)
— Freshman Republican Rep. Joseph Cao (La.) (via savingpaper)

Reblogged: savingpaper

Posted: 12:52 PM
notthatkindagay: downward spirals of self-destruction photo op? My brain is going to need a moment to process this one.

notthatkindagay:

downward spirals of self-destruction photo op?

My brain is going to need a moment to process this one.

Reblogged: notthatkindagay

Posted: 12:35 PM
“ Nixon would have mandated that all employers offer coverage to their employees, while creating a subsidized government insurance program for all Americans that employer coverage did not reach. It would take a miracle to pass such a plan today—a public insurance plan and an employer mandate are two provisions of the proposals now in Congress that are most in doubt. But Kennedy helped kill Nixon’s proposal not only because he preferred a government insurance option for everyone, but because he believed it was politically achievable. Medicare, the government program for the elderly, was then only nine years old, enacted as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s campaign to expand the social safety net. Liberals hoped this would be a first step toward a national health-insurance program that the next Democratic president could enact. That victory seemed around the corner—Nixon proposed his plan in 1974, while embattled in the Watergate scandal. President Jimmy Carter did not make health reform a priority, however, and Kennedy later regretted rejecting Nixon’s proposal. “It was a rare moment in his Senate career where he made a fundamental miscalculation about what was politically possible—a lot of liberals did,” says Yale University political scientist and progressive health-reform advocate Jacob Hacker. “What was not recognized by anyone at the time was that this was the end of the New Deal era. What would soon come crashing over them was the tax revolts” that ushered in Ronald Reagan and a conservative, antigovernment philosophy.
—

August 26, 2009: Echoes of Kennedy’s Battle With Nixon in Health-Care Debate

Worth remembering. Something is better than nothing.

Posted: 12:02 PM

Butch Walker covers Taylor Swift’s You Belong with Me

Posted: 11:25 AM
First Lady Michelle Obama leads a practice session for young people competing in the National Science Bowl on November 5, 2009 at the Department of Energy in Washington, DC. (via)

First Lady Michelle Obama leads a practice session for young people competing in the National Science Bowl on November 5, 2009 at the Department of Energy in Washington, DC. (via)

Posted: 10:29 AM
The night of her arrival, Clinton met with US Ambassador to Russia, John Beyrle (middle) and State Department Advisor Philip Gordon in her room at the Ritz-Carlton hotel. (via Behind the Scenes with Hillary Clinton by Callie Shell - TIME)

The night of her arrival, Clinton met with US Ambassador to Russia, John Beyrle (middle) and State Department Advisor Philip Gordon in her room at the Ritz-Carlton hotel. (via Behind the Scenes with Hillary Clinton by Callie Shell - TIME)

Posted: 9:56 AM
“ I don’t know what or who people thought they were voting for a year ago, but no one can claim there wasn’t truth-in-advertising. Granted, most normal folk probably didn’t go online in spring 2007 to read candidate Barack Obama’s 15-page health reform plan. Still, for anyone who cared, the whole thing was laid out

right here

— and it tracks pretty closely with the landmark overhaul passed by the House. Coverage of preventive services? Check. Guaranteed eligibility regardless of medical status? Check. Private plans and a new public plan competing in a new federally supervised insurance marketplace? Check. New requirements on employers? Check. Expanded Medicaid eligibility? Check. Subsidies to help the middle class buy plans? Check. Research into what treatments work best? Check. Incentives for better coordinated care? Check. Authority to negotiate better prices for drugs under Medicare? Check. Elimination of “excessive subsidies” for a private Medicare alternative called Medicare Advantage? Check. A plan updated for the general election looks even more similar to the House bill.
— Shocking News on Health Care: People May Get What They Voted For - Politics Daily
Posted: 9:07 AM
bill and hillary wedding photo (via eddeaux)

bill and hillary wedding photo (via eddeaux)

8 November 09
rillawafers: The Penis Has Landed: Levi Johnston’s NYC Playgirl Shoot Arrival, Wasilla Gone Rogue I’ve come to the conclusion I will never not reblog a Levi Johnston story, however trivial it may be. But with headlines like this one and photos to match, how is one to resist?

rillawafers:

The Penis Has Landed: Levi Johnston’s NYC Playgirl Shoot Arrival, Wasilla Gone Rogue

I’ve come to the conclusion I will never not reblog a Levi Johnston story, however trivial it may be. But with headlines like this one and photos to match, how is one to resist?

Reblogged: rillawafers

Posted: 12:26 PM
“ I like how Republicans vote in packs. Only one Republican voted for the health care bill? When did thinking for yourself die?
— Steve’s facebook status (via sylvysparrow)

Reblogged: sylvysparrow

Comments
Themed by Hunson. Originally by Josh