Living Liberally Blog

Some sort of healthcare reform may soon pass
but only after DC was gummed up for a year
by obstructionist tactics, bribes to selfish Senators
& every effort to stall, strangle & stunt progress.

Somehow denying reproductive rights took center stage
while a public option, single-payer & medicare expansion
were good ideas that never got an up-or-down vote.

Insurance companies, Pharma & private hospitals
all had their say & their sway in this debate
...which will result in reforms that nonetheless
put us well behind most other developed nations.

Yet, if this passes, it'll still be a miracle.

We've all lost sleep, felt rising blood pressure,
& had migraine headaches from GOP arguments...
we'll need healthcare after this unhealthy debate.

Until we get healthcare, at least we have each other
& can share a few drinks with a few friends
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

The Republicans scream that reconciliation --
a process by which a majority gets things done --
is a "parliamentary trick"...while a small minority
holds the Senate hostage with the filibuster threat.

They shout & stamp & wheeze & wince
that Democrats are undemocratic to consider it
...while they refuse democratic up-or-down votes
on critical appointees with no real opposition.

One Senator can obstruct extended unemployment benefits
& another can put holds on hundreds of measures,
wasting our time, money & chance to improve our country.

If reconciliations is a "parliamentary trick"
at least it makes progress -- a political treat.
And it's time Dems go Trick-or-Treating.

Let's wreck their silly notions with reconciliation
& show that Washington actually can work.

I'd toast to that.

Join your friendly neighborhood liberal drinkers
to talk polls & pols, elections & distractions
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

Created by Bec Zajac

Yes folks, it's time for the biggest political event of the season.... More controversial than the presidential elections, a damn sight sexier than the Democratic National Convention, wackier than the Conservative Political Action Conference, and more talked about than the National Tea Party Convention... It's the 82nd Annual Academy Awards!!! And this year, to spice it up a little for all you lefties out there, we've put together a “Who Am I?” about all your favorite pinko Oscar nominees. So turn those TVs up and put those thinking caps on for this year's …. "Living Liberally Oscar Trivia Quiz"

1) I drive a Toyota Prius? Who am I?

A – Meryl Streep
B – Maggie Gyllenhaal
C – Penelope Cruz
D – Sandra Bullock

2) A former Canadian Prime Minister is my great grandfather. Who am I?

A – Anna Kendrick
B – Christopher Plummer
C – Jeremy Renner
D – Stanley Tucci

3) Despite dropping out of high school, I have an IQ of 160. Who am I?

A – Quentin Tarantino
B – Lee Daniels
C – Vera Farmiga
D – Ethan Coen

4) I said, “"There is a need, especially right now in America, to be a bit provocative."

A – Kathryn Bigelow
B – Jason Reitman
C – T Bone Burnett
D – Maggie Gyllenhaal

5) Concerned about the lack of Hispanic-oriented sitcoms on American television, I approached George Lopez about producing a sitcom with him as the star.

A – Penelope Cruz
B – James Cameron
C – Sandra Bullock
D – Jason Reitman

6) I once criticized Sarah Palin, by comparing her candidacy to "a bad Disney movie." Who am I?

A – Randy Newman
B – Mo’Nique
C – Matt Damon
D – Meryl Streep

7) I won top honors at the Rome Film festival for my role in a movie about a gay love affair between two members of a neo-Nazi group.

A – Penelope Cruz
B – Helen Mirren
C – Carey Mulligan
D – Colin Firth

8) I was involved in an anti-coal reality campaign, which aimed to debunk "clean coal" industry propaganda.

A – Anna Kendrick
B – Ethan Coen
C – Jason Reitman
D – Woody Harrelson

9) I have been spotted marching in pro-abortion demonstrations held in Washington, D.C.

A – Meryl Streep
B – Stanley Tucci
C – Matt Damon
D – Maggie Gyllenhaal

10) I founded a non-government organization, which has set up a home, a school and a clinic for homeless girls and people suffering from tuberculosis in Calcutta.

A – George Clooney
B – Penelope Cruz
C – Stanley Tucci
D – Gabourey Sidibe

11) I once said, in describing the Bush administration, “The US and the world just didn't deserve these people. They're a good deal worse. They don't even know the rules.”

A –Peter Jackson
B – Christopher Plummer
C – Morgan Freeman
D – Randy Newman

12) I once took a bicycle tour down the west coast, escorted by the “Mothership,” a Chicago city transit bus fuelled by hemp oil and powered by solar panels.

A – Lee Daniels
B – Jeff Bridges
C – Maggie Gyllenhaal
D – Woody Harrelson

13) I said, “I always want to make films. I think of it as a great opportunity to comment on the world in which we live. …. There will always be issues I care about.”

A – Morgan Freeman
B – Matt Damon
C – Lee Daniels
D – Kathryn Bigelow

14) I am such a big "South Park" fan, I got a hold of Trey Parker, the creator of the series, and asked for a part in an episode. I was given the role of "Sparky," the gay dog.

A – Quentin Tarantino
B – George Clooney
C – Matt Damon
D – Peter Jackson

15) On moving to LA, before getting involved with the film industry, I worked for a nursing agency, and then, by the age of 21, had started my own. Who am I?

A – Jeremy Renner
B – Vera Farmiga
C – Lee Daniels
D – Sandra Bullock

16) I was passionate about dancing and toured with a Ukrainian folk-dancing company in my teens.

A – Vera Farmiga
B – Anna Kendrick
C – Christoph Waltz
D – Helen Mirren

17) I founded the End Hunger Network an organization aimed at encouraging and supporting action to end childhood hunger.

A – Helen Mirren
B – Colin Firth
C – Jeff Bridges
D –Mo’Nique

18) I said, "Then the September 11th attacks happened and the idea of a domestic comedy adventure film about an anti-terrorism unit just didn't seem all that funny to me anymore."

A – Quentin Tarantino
B – Kathryn Bigelow
C – James Cameron
D – Ethan Coen

19) I am the only actress to date to have a film, which was marketed with my name solely above the title, top the $200 million domestic box office mark. Who am I?

A – Meryl Streep
B – Helen Mirren
C – Penelope Cruz
D – Sandra Bullock

20) I have been referred to as having played Obama’s favorite “movie president.”

A – Morgan Freeman
B – Christopher Plummer
C – Jeff Bridges
D – George Clooney

21) I said, “I am not loving Obama - he made this statement when they were talking about what they were trying to accomplish with the new legislation on global warming and he said, ‘Let's not let great be the enemy of good.’ That just stayed with me and haunted me.”

A – Woody Harrelson
B – Gabourey Sidibe
C – Matt Damon
D – George Clooney

22) I once said, “I feel quite strongly about anti-Americanism. I share people's grievances about the current Administration ….”

A – Nick Hornby
B – Peter Jackson
C – Helen Mirren
D – Colin Firth

23) Before entering the movie industry, I was a truck driver. Who am I?

A – Jeremy Renner
B – Peter Jackson
C – James Cameron
D – T Bone Burnett

24) I proudly support the American Civil Liberties Union, participated in anti-war demonstrations, wore a peace sign pin in support of the organization ‘Artists United to Win Without War,’ and achieved some notoriety for being quoted as saying America was "responsible in some way" for the 9/11 attacks.

A – George Clooney
B – Maggie Gyllenhaal
C – Jeff Bridges
D – Quentin Tarantino

25) I was inducted into New Orleans’ Warren Easton High School “Hall of Fame” for my help rebuilding the school after Hurricane Katrina.

A – Kathryn Bigelow
B – Joel Coen
C – Morgan Freeman
D – Sandra Bullock

26) I said, “If celebrity is a credit card, I'm using my credit. My job is to try and find ways of talking about issues that move us forward. I don't make policy, but I can shine a light on faulty or good policy.” Who am I?

A – James Cameron
B – George Clooney
C – Ethan Coen
D – Meryl Streep

27) I made a documentary about the common factors that bring women into the penal system
A – Jason Reitman
B – Mo’Nique
C – Joel Coen
D – Helen Mirren

28) When I was 11, I got a suit and a briefcase, went to the Minneapolis International Airport with a Super 8 camera and made a movie about shuttle diplomacy called "Henry Kissinger, Man on the Go"

A – Quentin Tarantino
B – George Clooney
C – Jason Reitman
D – Joel Coen

29)I said, “The myth of the liberal media is one of the great jokes played on us. The media are owned lock, stock, and barrel by the right wing.”

A – Morgan Freeman
B – T Bone Burnett
C – Jeff Bridges
D – Ethan Coen

30) In a profile of me for the NY Times Magazine I notoriously mentioned that I am in an “open marriage.”

A – Maggie Gyllenhaal
B – Woody Harrelson
C – Mo’Nique
D – Peter Jackson

31) I once climbed the Golden Gate Bridge and put up a sign that read, "Hurwitz. Aren't ancient redwoods more precious than gold?" in protest of Pacific Lumber CEO Charles Hurwitz.

A – Sandra Bullock
B – Woody Harrelson
C – Jeff Bridges
D – Randy Newman

ANSWERS:
1) A 2) B 3) A 4) D 5) C 6) C 7) B 8) B 9) B 10) B 11) D 12) D13) D 14) B 15) B 16) A 17) C 18) C 19) D 20) C 21) A 22) D 23) C 24) B 25) D 26) B 27) B 28) D 29) B 30) C 31) B

After running on healthcare in '08,
& working on it for most of '09,
Senate Dems & the White House seem to realize
it only counts if they actually pass reform
...even if it's "only" with a majority vote.

Reacting to the Tea Party & Scott Brown win,
Dems need to see they can't run as "populist"
unless they pass real regulations on the banks
that still profit while Americans are out of work.

And after running time and again for gay rights,
Dems are finally working on Don't Ask, Don't Tell
which makes the GOP runs the other direction.

We know Obama's got a great running game
...now it's time he proves he can pass.

And since the GOP is running away & taking a pass
Obama just needs his own majority to get in line.

Join us for a run of good conversation
as we pass around a pitcher of liberal libations
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

A Republican winning Kennedy's seat
had odds of one-in-a-million.
Then Scott Brown won.

Getting any GOP support in the Senate
would happen once in a blue moon.
Then the jobs bill passed.

So watch out if you say that healthcare
has a snowball's chance in hell...
you might end up with a face full of slush.

A full-day bipartisan healthcare meeting
seemed less likely than Snowpacolypse 3
yet maybe the President't 6 hours on C-SPAN
will pull a masterful snow job after all.

He may not need a snowball's chance in hell
...just a snowball's chance in DC.

Come out to toast a liberal libation
to the fact that healthcare is still alive
& that the Senate passed something this week
with your like-minded left-leaners
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

A handful of Senate Dems finally call for reconciliation
to let the majority that was elected pass a public option
but the healthcare industry will spend whatever it takes
to buy our democracy & make whatever they can.

Regulations to rein in the rampant recklessness
of a financial industry that imploded our economy
gets watered down as Senators of both parties angle
for cash from the Wall Street banks they would regulate.

And as Congress meanders toward moderate measures
to remedy the Supreme Court's decision on corporate money,
those corporations will spend what they can now
to ensure their ability to spend even more.

While a Party of No & hapless majority paralyze the Senate,
centrist Senators like Evan Bayh play to the middle,
don't show leadership, hedge, hem & haw,
preventing progress & letting corporate interests win.

So it's not so sad saying "Bye, bye, Bayh" --
in the battle whether it's government "by" the people
or whether corporations "buy" the government --
you gotta take sides...you can't take a bye.

Toast bye to Bayh as you buy a drink
& let the evening pass by as you share a think
with like-minded lefties and liberal libations
at your progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY

Threat of a filibuster by a 41-seat minority
has prevented any Senate work on legislation
for jobs creation, financial reform or campaign finance
...well before Snowmageddon sent our reps home.

An unprecedented move by a bitter Senator
holds up 70 appointments to help run the government
freezing any progress in Washington
...& that was before Snowpocalypse hit.

Despite bipartisan hand-holding by the President,
the idea the GOP'd have a hand in healthcare
had a snowball's chance in Hell
...even before snowballs flew through DC.

Snowstorms may bring our lives to a halt
but Snow Jobs bring DC to a freeze every day.

Senate protocol's even more crippling than an Act of God.

They might find excuses not to do their jobs,
but we'll do ours: braving the cold & warming the night
with political pals, liberal libations & cozy conversation
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

The President asked Dems not to run for the hills.
Since then they've folded on financial reform,
skipped out on healthcare & generally stayed quiet.

He called upon the GOP to do more than say No.
Then in one voice, they all said No.
Does a double negative make a positive?
No -- it just makes them more negative.

Meanwhile, AIG awards excessive bonuses,
corporations push for more "personhood" rights
& Goldman awaits record pay-outs.

Our representatives aren't representing us,
but they are taxing us to support corporations
...you can see where the Tea Party gets its anger.

Yet, I'm not drawn to this week's Tea Party Convention
...I'll skip the Tea Party -- but I do need a drink.

Vent your anger at politicians & profiteers
as you share a beer instead of tea --
call it the Keg Party...and make it yours
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

BY KATIE HALPER, cross-posted from AlterNet.

Before the State Of The Union

• kthalps: guys, the only way obama can repeal dont ask dont tell is if we dont ask dont tell. so shut up abt it. duh!

State Of The Union Starts

kthalps: I guess we’ll have accept third-place “I do not accept second-place for the United States of America.” -Barack Obama.#SOTU #Union address

• kthalps: joe biden blinks a lot. Nancy Pelosi barely blinks. Between the two of them, they blink at an average rate. #SOTU
• kthalps: did Joe Biden & Nancy Pelosi coordinate wearing purple (tie and suit, respectively)? And was that a reference 2 shades of blue/red = purple
• kthalps: looks like America is united by collective desire to punish banks!
• kthalps: u know Sandra Sotomayor had 2 use all self control 2 not slap Alito for saying “not true” #SOTU
• kthalps: I wrote Sandra Sotomayor intentionally. I was honoring O’Conner 4 opening door for female judges like Sonia. DUH!

After SOTU

• kthalps: Chris Matthews’ comments about forgetting Obama was black was so Matthewsian. #sotu

McDonnell Response

• kthalps: Where did the Republicans find the three black people to stand behind Bob McConnell? #SOTU
• kthalps: why does the asian guy in glasses behind mcconnell keep nodding? It’s like he’s a bobble head #SOTU
• kthalps: sorry, make that mcdonnel. all white names look the same to me
• kthalps:i think “we welcome ur ideas on facebook and twitter” was not a joke. But audience laughed. Awks
• kthalps: oh snap! McConnel’s daughter was in the army. Can’t say that about Sasha or Malia, can you Barack Obama! Boooyakashah! #SOTU response
• kthalps: oh nice! McDonnel is advocating torture! “foreign terror suspect given same rights as U.S. citizen” I love it when Republicans get rt to the point #SOTU response
• kthalps: did they build this set especially for McDonnel’s speech? #SOTU response

Commentary after SOTU & response

• kthalps: my mom on Anthony Weiner: “He was never married b4? Katie, find me a picture of his girlfriend online” #SOTU #thingsmymomsays
• kthalps: david Axelrod needs to brush his eyebrows. They got all hot & bothered during #SOTU

President Obama's address prioritized jobs,
but he made time to address Dems on their job:
to use their large Congressional majorities
& do their duty, not run for the hills.

He asked Republicans to do their job as well
which means doing more than just saying no
as the Senate moves on healthcare, the economy
financial reform, energy & climate change.

As he showed flashes of why we elected him --
telling a compelling story, calling for progress
& stepping from the sideline to be a leader
-- Obama seemed at last ready to do his job.

For all the talk of creating American jobs,
Prez & Congress need to start with their own.

It's time for DC to get back to work
so Americans can get back to work too.

Did you cheer or jeer? Delight or despair?
Share your thoughts on the State of the Union
as you share a drink & a toast to our future
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.