Frank Chow: Asian- American Political Pundit

Well, it's our third week here and we're loving it. Yes, we miss family, luckily there's Skype and of course thus far the biggest adjustment has been getting used to the people. LA is no Chicago. Not as friendly especially in the area of customer service, however I don't think either of us will be able to dramatically shift this glaring LA flaw. For those of you who have never been, they just don't give a fu....gg...On Saturday we got a unique experience, we attended a movie showing in a cemetery. A friend of my lady's and her bf ask us if we'd like to go and of course we jumped at the creepy opportunity. The event run by Cinespia was held at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery and proceeds were donated to help Japanese Disaster Relief. It was quite an interesting experience, BYOB, blankets, lots of weed (by others) and a classic movie, in this case it was Treasure of the Sierra Madre starring Humphrey Bogart. It was unlike anything I had experience before, it ...

The House today passed tax cuts for the middle class which would provide much needed relief to families across the country. There were however, a number of Blue Dogs who decided to vote against the cuts signaling where their priorities lie; with the filthy rich. It's comes as no surprise, but these were the same Donkeys who didn't want to hold a vote because they feared the effect on mid-term electoral results. We know how that turned out . One we get a comprehensive list of these Wankstas, let's drop them some calls congratulating them on exposing themselves as the corporate bungholes they are! I am Frank Chow and I approved this message Update : Oliver Willis has the names

The Blue Dogs, as we progressives predicted, got what was coming to them. The center isn't always the right thing to do. It can in fact be disastrous . Greg Sargent playing off of Joe Klein: Klein's take is that the so-called "centrist" Blue Dog Dems suffered from an ideological aversion to government regulation and spending, which prevented them from recognizing that a bigger stimulus and stronger financial reg reform would have worked better in the real world. As a result, Klein notes, Dems lost big, with those very same Blue Dogs suffering heavy casualties in the process. This is, of course, exactly what many liberals had been predicting would happen for at least a year. Yet Klein couldn't simply say he agreed with them or that they were right. Some hidden set of rules required that he also include a bit of lefty-bashing over some unspecified ideological transgressions that happened at some point. That said, Klein really hit on the core point here. One of the ...

Steve Benen : Look, I'm glad Blue Dogs don't just want to cut taxes for the wealthy with more deficit financing, but their priorities don't make any sense. They want to cut spending (which improves the economy) in order to pay for breaks for the wealth (which doesn't improve the economy). And not only does this fail as a policy matter, but Blue Dogs have managed to thread a political needle in a way that runs counter to public attitudes twice -- they're fighting for tax cuts for millionaires the public doesn't support, and they'll pay for it with cutting programs the public does support. Kevin Drum asks , "Are the Blue Dogs congenital morons?" I'll assume that's a rhetorical question. That's the inside-out-upside-down logic of the Blue Dog Democrats. I think it is safe to say at this point they should be called Wankstas . They don't really stand for anything, but the rich and corporations. It's just a group of Wankstas who get t...

Greg Sargent over at the Plum Line was kind enough to phone a leading Blue Dog in the Democratic Caucus, Rep. Jim Matheson of Utah's 2nd District . The result was an entry into the mind of a Blue Dog and their faulty logic. Sargent : Matheson's opposition sheds some light on why Dems are hesitant to take this vote, even though Pelosi is pushing hard for it and many think it could prove a big winner for Dems. Moderates don't think it's a political winner at all, because it will be portrayed as a tax hike, and letting taxes go up even on those over $250,000 is a bad idea in a recession. "I don't think it's the right vote," Matheson told me, adding that he only backed holding a vote on letting all the tax cuts expire. Matheson said a vote on just the middle class tax cuts is tantamount to letting the tax cuts for the wealthy expire. "You're letting other rates go up on January 1st," he said. " I think we're better off if we don...

As a prelude to President Barack Obama's speech, you must know there are a group of pesky, petulant, piss ant, mangy mutts roaming the Capitol. Willing to take a piss wherever they see fit and health care reform looks to be the next target. For those of you who have been following these "Blue Dogs" as they refer to themselves are conservative Democrats at face value, but beneath it all they are the worst kind of politician. No loyalties unless they sniff the mighty dollar. In this case their bones are coming from none other than the insurance industry and these Blue Dogs, Roll over Ross, Bitchin Bayh and their head hound Ben Nelson are sure to find a way to make health care reform and the public option a pile of shit we have to clean up without a doggy bag. From Digby : Most people are willing to be practical if somebody comes from a district that is truly conservative and demands that they vote a certain way. Democracy is democracy. But these corporate lackeys and villag...

Phew. We made it. Another Friday another ridiculous spin on the news and the health care debate . I survived on pocket change and this weekend I get to enjoy the marriage of two of my dear friends, while of course drinking too much and dancing to songs I hate. A little bit of what I do is music. I have and always have been involved in the indie punk rock scene of my old stomping grounds and recently some of my favorite bands have released or begun the steps to rocking out new tunes, so here is a new one from Rx Bandits , Thrice and a high school musical performance of Forgive Durden's Razia' Shadow (talk about some talented singers). It will be keeping me company all day. Here are your highlights: the Blue Dogs are hired hounds for the health insurance companies Cash for Clunkers the money is already gone, geez la weez talk about porkulus...NOT! Illinois has a long history of pay for play politics and jockeying for position by Redistricting Illinois , it needs to be correct...