December 17, 2010

"Does that not just sound like an NPR report, to do an in-depth report on the word of the year, 'no.'"

Says Rush Limbaugh, about this NPR segment, which I tried to listen to. Man, NPR is slow. Unless you're driving in traffic trying to create the illusion that you are going quickly, I don't see how you can listen to that. But there's a transcript at the link, and you can read it so much faster than the 5 minutes it takes for Geoffrey Nunberg to perform the text on the audio. When he finally gets to the point that the word of the year is "no," he says:
That word usually gets a bad rap in public life; it's never a compliment to call somebody a naysayer. So Democrats obviously meant to put Republicans on the defensive when they began to call them "the party of no" for opposing the stimulus bill in early 2009. As The New York Times' Ben Zimmer pointed out, that phrase has often been used by the party in power to label the opposition as obstructionist. Ronald Reagan branded Democrats as the "party of no" in 1988, Bill Clinton did the same thing to Republicans in 1994, and Tom Delay turned the phrase back on Democrats in 2005.
Here's the part Rush played:
What was different this time is that after some early defensiveness, a lot of Republicans embraced the label and even ratcheted it up a notch. "We're not just the party of no," Rush Limbaugh said, "We're the party of hell, no!" — and Republican leaders quickly adopted the line. That extra word shifted the meaning of the phrase — it no longer suggested just opposition to particular bills and programs but unapologetic and resolute defiance.

That stance clearly resonated with a lot of voters.
Rush stopped his playing of the clip there, but it continued like this:
"No" has a great power to bring people together, precisely because it doesn't have to be pinned down. A child has a much harder time mastering "yes," which is always the response to a specific prospect — "Do you need to go potty?" Whereas the child's first "no" comes earlier, as a pure eruption of willful refusal. And the word retains that capacity, even as we learn to intone it to convey despair, anger, defiance, fear, astonishment, disappointment or resignation.
And that's how NPR sees you voters: You're children. You're resisting potty training. Your Tea Potty Party is mindless emotionalism. You're — as Andrew Sullivan would put itintellectually inert brats.
That's what makes these choruses of negativity so hard to read, whether they're coming from unhappy voters or tired preschoolers in full shutdown. Everybody is sounding the same plaintive note, but it isn't as if there's any single juice flavor that will make them all happy again.
Hard to read?! Is conservatism a foreign language to Nunberg and the NPR slow-listeners stuck in traffic? Juice flavor? It would be a punch line for me to call that a punch line — juice ≈ punch — but why is that a punch line? Maybe Nunberg plied his intellectually inert brats with juice — I'll get grape, because grape is a little more favorite — but what does that mean about what he (and NPR) think government is supposed to do? It's supposed to give us yummy things to make us feel good (and compliant). No wonder he can't read these choruses of negativity.

105 comments:

chickelit said...

Yo ho ho!

Scott M said...

I don't see myself as a cynical child. I view the sippy cup as half-full.

virgil xenophon said...

As an off-shoot of Radio Pacifica, what'd you expect, Ann? NPR does many "lifestyle" things well, but political commentary ain't one of 'em. SOOOOOooooooo predictable--nothing put en echo chamber--preaching to the choir--groupthink--you name it. "None are so blind as who will not see." NPR makes the 3 Blind Mice look like they have the omni-directional eyes of a fly--dragon or otherwise..

Anonymous said...

NPR? F**k no!

Kevin said...

but what does that mean about what he (and NPR) think government is supposed to do?

He thinks the government is supposed to fund NPR.

Anonymous said...

it isn't as if there's any single juice flavor that will make them all happy again

Libs, the time to think of that would have been before you passed single-flavor health care.

traditionalguy said...

The NPR audience is the inert group which still likes to be stroked by announcers that talk to them like Kindergarten students . Their opinions held in common on all things political have not changed in 40 years since Watergate. But they are never under any doubt that they are unsafe in their liberal fairy tale land.

Triangle Man said...

single-flavor health care.

Was there a health care bill? I thought it was an insurance / financing bill.

Richard Dolan said...

"And that's how NPR sees you voters: You're children."

That'a a metaphor that's gotten a lot of use over the years, not just from lefties and NPR. And it's not always deemed a negative -- innocence and purity of heart are the flip sides of childish bratty naysaying. The 'be like a child' metaphor gets quite a work-out in the Bible, for example. Quite seasonal too, as we are about to celebrate Navidad and a week later Father Time will be replaced by the New Year's babe.

But, when it comes to the use of 'child' metaphors for political purposes, lefties don't much like public celebrations of Christmas (First Amendment! culturally insensitive!), let alone biblical metaphors of any kind. It's just the helplessness of childhood that appeals to their political sense. Too bad. And it explains a lot about the inability of lefty rhetoric to connect beyond the circle of true-believers.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

How typical. Blame it on the Juice.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Note to Nunberg-

It's not juice they're trying to get us to drink, it's Kool Aid.

Scott M said...

How typical. Blame it on the Juice.

If the glove doesn't fit...etc, etc.

Titus said...

The NPR shows in Madison are horrible. Totally a SNL skit.

I love listening to Jean Faraca though. I pretend I am her "cohost" while listening in the car and talk all pretentious and all knowing on every subject with her and her international guest. She really is awful. Oh and Kathleen Dunne-is that her name- sounds like a character in Fargo.

Last night Jeannie had some Muzzie on talking about story telling in some third world country.

The NPR hosts in Boston are fab though. Totally fast and bitchy and smart.

Did you know Massachusetts has the largest population in the US with college degrees?

Gotta go, loaf is coming

kent said...

Is conservatism is a foreign language to Nunberg and the NPR slow-listeners stuck in traffic?

Hell, Professor: plain, unvarnished reality is a foreign language to NPR and its willing drones. Observe:

On NPR, WaPo's E.J. Dionne in Denial: 'There is No Far Left'

You may pick up your jaw, now.

Ann Althouse said...

"The NPR shows in Madison are horrible. Totally a SNL skit."

That's not NPR, that's WPR.

Martin L. Shoemaker said...

I know it's hard to tell from this example, but Geoffrey Nunberg is not a political commentator. He's a philolgist, and he does regular essays and NPR reports on language and words. When he stays away from politics, he's really very good.

Unfortunately, since 2001, he has turned mostly to politics-masked-as-philology. But prior to that, I would say no more than 15 to 20% of his earlier work was political. The rest was well worth reading.

If you want to read him when he was worth reading (and maybe put a little money in Prof. Althouse's pocket) try The Way We Talk Now. I highly recommend it.

Original Mike said...

The inability to say no is a big reason we are in this mess.

bagoh20 said...

"No" is the most important tool of a good parent. The voters have decided that their children playing politics are out of control brats.

NPR and the rest of the left are incapable of seeing themselves as wrong ... ever. They just want stuff they want, and expect it to just be paid for somehow, by someone else. Who are the children, really?

MMR said...

Seriously? Saying "NO" is childish???

I beg to differ. As a parent of 5 (now grown) children, my role was to say NO and have the kids demonstrate to me that they were responsible enough for me to say YES. Any temper tantrums in our house were not because the CHILD was saying NO, but because the ADULT was saying NO and the child objected.

Oh, wait, maybe that does apply [grin].

Freeman Hunt said...

The slow reading of writing flat and florid.

E Buzz said...

I can honestly say the liberals I have met have been in a lot of cases, childish, bratty and just all around closed-minded assholes.

But hey, NPR, the radio station of the government, is so mature and adult, and honest, while calling people names.

Who was it who said leftism is the philosophy of the adolescent?

Freeman Hunt said...

Audio recordings from dinner parties in hell.

Freeman Hunt said...

I do like juice though. I would be politically happier if we took NPR's government funding and used it to buy juice for everyone instead. Better and more enjoyable use of funds.

Unknown said...

I thought the word of the year was "refudiate".

PS I'm glad to have El Rushbo agree with me, that I thought the whole "Party of No" thing could be turned to their advantage, making them the adults in the room (believe I said so here at least once).

Ah well, great minds...

Freeman Hunt said...

Michelle Obama could even dictate that the juice bought be diet cranberry juice. That would be in line with her cause of fat fighting and add on the additional cause of fighting urinary tract infections. Nobody likes a UTI.

Juice, bringing people together to pee healthily as one. The more you know...

Titus said...

Isn't WPR the same as NPR?

What station is NPR on in Mad City?

I love saying Jean Faraca really fast.

test said...

"Oh and Kathleen Dunne-is that her name- sounds like a character in Fargo."

I don't know how you can mock NPR voices without incuding Dianne Riehm. Someone really should tell her to lay off the sauce before gigs.

Bruce Hayden said...

She may not have started it, but I still remember Sarah Palin saying the "We're not just the party of no, We're the party of hell, no!" It is her voice saying that, and not Rush's.

Whoever started the meme, it was successful, and is becoming more so as time progresses. It ties so nicely into the Tea Party movement and their attempts to slow down, if not stop, the out of control spending and socialization of this country by the Democrats.

The Dude said...

The number of quote marks in the headline don't work out correctly - I think there is one too many close quotes. That headline will never compile.

The Dude said...

I just noticed that depending upon whether or not one clicks on the headline or the comment button, the number of quotes that appear above the comments varies. The numbers still don't add up correctly, but they are different. Hmm...

Quaestor said...

Now, now Marshal... don't go raggin' on poor old Diane Rehm. Her weepy voice is due to a neurological condition known generally as SD syndrome. In case you haven't heard of it before, SD stands for Stupid Democrat It was first diagnosed in 1948 when there were still a few smart Democrats around. Since then the initials have been the preferred terminology since Stupid Democrat is a tautology.

Hoosier Daddy said...

I can honestly say the liberals I have met have been in a lot of cases, childish, bratty and just all around closed-minded assholes.

I tend to think of them more as the spoiled teenager. You know, the kind that expect mom and dad to feed them, clothe them, provide free housing, medical care, and an education but to stay the hell out of their room, respect their privacy and quit telling them what to do.

roesch-voltaire said...

I seem to remember that "Hell no I won't go!" was effective and given our present endless wars , perhaps we need a bigger no.

David said...

I had zzzzzzzzzzzzzz NPR on the zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz radio this morning. In my car, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz (pull over and rest) and it ............ took ............... some...........woman



a really loooooooooooong time (snort zzzzzzzzz snort) to utter half a sentence

about

horse racing

or something zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

a metaphor maybe.

snore.

Unknown said...

roesch-voltaire said...

I seem to remember that "Hell no I won't go!" was effective and given our present endless wars , perhaps we need a bigger no.

We don't need any, "No", at all; what we need is a President who wants to win instead of find an exit strategy.

PS Roesch would have agreed with the Massachusetts types who wanted to leave all the land west of the Mississippi to the Indians after the Civil War.

garage mahal said...

I tend to think of them more as the spoiled teenager.

Were the 9/11 responders spoiled children asking for some help with their respiratory ailments? No health care help for you! It used to be that if you disagreed with a Republican after 9/11 you were met with an image of someone jumping out the window of the WTC. Guess Repubs have moved on from 9/11.

E Buzz said...

"Were the 9/11 responders spoiled children asking for some help with their respiratory ailments?"

Typical, use emotion and heartstrings to get your point across...awww.

I'm sure the Democrats had money going to that, of course they did! Just because you have decided to play on our emotions, I'm sure they did!

1,805,000: Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center, Booneville, AR Salaries and expenses

I guess questioning this expense is racist?

Right? Oh wait, FIRST RESPONDERS ARENT GETTING ANY MONEY FROM MEAN WHITE GUYS!

Kirk Parker said...

Freeman,

"diet cranberry juice"

Are you kidding??? Um, I mean, Hell No!

garage mahal said...

No. Just assholish. I couldn't tell, do you agree or disagree?

garage mahal said...

That was directed at E Buzz

FormerTucsonan said...

And that's how NPR sees you voters: You're children.

Hence the NPR on air staff and their penchant for speaking slowly and softly, as one would to a child.

Revenant said...

Man, NPR is slow.

I feel that way about all TV and radio news. I read much faster than people talk; online news is the way to go.

roesch-voltaire said...

Educator in case you have not figured it out, winning in the two wars means endless occupation of a land that is considerably further way than West of the Mississippi and which is populated by more than a few scattered tribes. But hey keep on drinking the same mythical juice if that means you can say yes.

Scott M said...

One point is severely relative, though RV. Travel times/carrying capacity. How long did it take to move a division from MA to, say, Missouri back then? How long now? How much ground could a division then be expected to patrol and hold? How about now?

Not really an apt comparison, wouldn't you say?

Revenant said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Phil 314 said...

Well this was from "Fresh Air" one of NPR's more, how shall we say,
hip, enlightened and, yes, disdainful of all things right of center shows

In spite of her bias though Terry Gross can do a decent interview.

I'm going to keep listening to NPR. I can't stand conservative or liberal "talk radio" and sports talk radio has too many damn commercials.

DAMN YOU CAPITALISM!!

PS It was the right strategy for the Republicans to embrace "NO" this year. Now they need to get better a stating how "less is good" and "no" is on the way to "less".

However, In Wisconsin they don't need "less" high speed trains, they need "no" high speed trains.

Alex said...

NO is what a responsible parent tells a spoiled rotten child. We are the parent and the Democrats are spoiled, rotten children that we put in the corner to cool off.

Alex said...

Were the 9/11 responders spoiled children asking for some help with their respiratory ailments? No health care help for you!

Hey garage if 9/11 responders issue is SO FUCKING IMPORTANT, why tie it down with all those other earmarks and welfare goodies? Just vote on as an stand-alone bill and it would pass 435-0.

Unknown said...

What is a rebel? a man who says no... this has been going to long

garage mahal said...

Hey garage if 9/11 responders issue is SO FUCKING IMPORTANT

Wow. Just wow. I expect you never to bring up anything regarding 9/11 again.

Freeman Hunt said...

Freeman,

"diet cranberry juice"

Are you kidding??? Um, I mean, Hell No!


Michelle Obama wonders why you want fat children to die and for countless people to suffer painful UTIs.

Gabriel Hanna said...

@Freeman Hunt:

The slow reading of writing flat and florid.

That's quite brilliant, rhetorically. Did you just make that up now? It's not veni, vidi, vici but it's pretty good.

Gabriel Hanna said...

@garage mahal:

If the 9/11 first responder appropriation were attached to a bill mandating the expulsion of gays from the military, would you accuse the people who voted against that bill of hating the victims of 9/11? Or would you accuse the people who voted for it of hating gays? Win win from your perspective.

Hack.

garage mahal said...

If the 9/11 first responder appropriation were attached to a bill mandating the expulsion of gays from the military, would you accuse the people who voted against that bill of hating the victims of 9/11?

Nice irrelevant hypothetical completely unrelated to anything current. Hack.

Opus One Media said...

Oh by golly lets listen to Rush and wail some about NPR.

.....Rush the Knuckledragger......

If you bring up birthers and John Kerry you might get someone to buy a lamp or an Elvis CD set and you'll make real money.

Gabriel Hanna said...

@garage mahal:

It's completely relevant; the first responders were attached to a whole lot of slush and pork,and you know that. But you can't resist the REPUBLICANS HATE 9/11, because you are a hack.

Argue for what you believe in, but argue HONESTLY.

garage mahal said...

It's completely relevant; the first responders were attached to a whole lot of slush and pork,and you know that. But you can't resist the REPUBLICANS HATE 9/11, because you are a hack.

Ok, let's see the slush and pork you're opposed to. The responses I could find from Republicans didn't mention pork at all. Just that "we" needed to concentrate on getting the tax deal done first.

tim maguire said...

As a regular NOR listener I'm totally comfortable saying it's well past time to cut off all taxpayer funding. It's an outrage. If the affluent white liberals who are their core and target audience want their own radio network, they can easily afford it.

But you know the liberal motto, "why spend mine when I can spend yours?"

Unknown said...

roesch-voltaire said...

Educator in case you have not figured it out, winning in the two wars means endless occupation of a land that is considerably further way than West of the Mississippi and which is populated by more than a few scattered tribes. But hey keep on drinking the same mythical juice if that means you can say yes.

One war, several campaigns - Iraq already won, A-stan had been doing well until The Zero got hold of it.

Roesch, of course, is the one drinking the juice, the same poison the Lefties have been downing since '66 (take your pick which century).

PS Relatively speaking, not that big a difference from Arizona in 1866 and A-stan in 2010 (not to mention A-stan is, also, "populated by a few scattered tribes").

PPS How long have we been in Germany, Italy, Japan?

J said...

The Repubs are the party of NO when it comes to sensible economic planning, programs, education, the environment, etc, all of which tend to burden the plutocrats.

When it comes to the DoD, however, they're the party of MO'. (and joined by many DINOs... USS Clinton). Rush hisself reportedly parties with good xtian defense contractors.

Merry SuperCarrierMass, Miss A

Gabriel Hanna said...

@gargemahal:

The responses I could find from Republicans didn't mention pork at all.

Okay, I was wrong about that. I thought this was attached to the omnibus bill just defeated.

Just that "we" needed to concentrate on getting the tax deal done first.

You didn't bother to look at all. I found these responses on gop.gov, which you could have found with the same five minutes of googling I put in--nothing in ther about hating 9/11:

http://www.gop.gov/bill/111/2/hr847

1.H.R. 847 creates a new entitlement program.
2.H.R. 847 is paid for with a tax increase on companies located in the United States that are employing American workers.
3.H.R. 847 is not means tested. An amendment to preclude millionaires from accessing the new health entitlement created by Title I was defeated during the markup in Energy and Commerce Committee.
4.NIOSH does not have expertise in administering a health care payment program. The current program is a block-grant program, and under H.R. 847, NIOSH will negotiate contracts and approve treatment protocols.
5.H.R. 847 increases hospital reimbursement rates to 140 percent of Medicare reimbursement rates on average for New York City hospitals while ObamaCare cuts $150 billion in payments to hospitals around the country.
6.H.R. 847 does not reward hospitals and providers for improving health care. They will be reimbursed based on each service they perform, which will encourage overutilization and increase health care spending.
7.Currently, several programs receive federal funding for medical monitoring and treatment programs. Those programs include: Fire Department of New York WTC Medical Monitoring Program, New York/New Jersey WTC Consortium, WTC Health Registry, WTC Federal Responder Screening Program, Project COPE, and POPPA (Police Organization Providing Peer Assistance) program.
8.Limited oversight fails to ensure taxpayer funds are spent properly and effectively. Government health care programs, such as Medicare, have a significant amount of fraud.
9.H.R. 847 gives too much discretion in the unreviewable authority of the Special Master.
10.H.R. 847 permits claimants to seek compensation through the VCF even if they have settled their lawsuits against the $1 billion taxpayer-funded World Trade Center Captive Insurance Company.
11.H.R. 847 includes protections for trial lawyers, including the ability to receive taxpayer-funded compensation for work not directly related to recovery from the VCF. In addition, attorneys who have been compensation under another settlement will have access to settlement funds under the reopened VCF.
12.12. H.R. 847 extends the geographic scope of the original September 11 Fund and gives the Special Master discretion to extend it even farther.
13.H.R. 847 caps the VCF at $8.4 billion, which is an invitation and a guarantee to spend $8.4 billion.

Gabriel Hanna said...

@garagemahal:

The responses I could find from Republicans didn't mention pork at all.

Okay, I was wrong about that. I thought this was attached to the omnibus bill just defeated.

Just that "we" needed to concentrate on getting the tax deal done first.

You didn't bother to look at all. I found these responses on gop.gov, which you could have found with the same five minutes of googling I put in--nothing in ther about hating 9/11:

http://www.gop.gov/bill/111/2/hr847

1.H.R. 847 creates a new entitlement program.
2.H.R. 847 is paid for with a tax increase on companies located in the United States that are employing American workers.
3.H.R. 847 is not means tested. An amendment to preclude millionaires from accessing the new health entitlement created by Title I was defeated during the markup in Energy and Commerce Committee.
4.NIOSH does not have expertise in administering a health care payment program. The current program is a block-grant program, and under H.R. 847, NIOSH will negotiate contracts and approve treatment protocols.
5.H.R. 847 increases hospital reimbursement rates to 140 percent of Medicare reimbursement rates on average for New York City hospitals while ObamaCare cuts $150 billion in payments to hospitals around the country.
6.H.R. 847 does not reward hospitals and providers for improving health care. They will be reimbursed based on each service they perform, which will encourage overutilization and increase health care spending.
7.Currently, several programs receive federal funding for medical monitoring and treatment programs. Those programs include: Fire Department of New York WTC Medical Monitoring Program, New York/New Jersey WTC Consortium, WTC Health Registry, WTC Federal Responder Screening Program, Project COPE, and POPPA (Police Organization Providing Peer Assistance) program.
8.Limited oversight fails to ensure taxpayer funds are spent properly and effectively. Government health care programs, such as Medicare, have a significant amount of fraud.
9.H.R. 847 gives too much discretion in the unreviewable authority of the Special Master.
10.H.R. 847 permits claimants to seek compensation through the VCF even if they have settled their lawsuits against the $1 billion taxpayer-funded World Trade Center Captive Insurance Company.
11.H.R. 847 includes protections for trial lawyers, including the ability to receive taxpayer-funded compensation for work not directly related to recovery from the VCF. In addition, attorneys who have been compensation under another settlement will have access to settlement funds under the reopened VCF.
12.12. H.R. 847 extends the geographic scope of the original September 11 Fund and gives the Special Master discretion to extend it even farther.
13.H.R. 847 caps the VCF at $8.4 billion, which is an invitation and a guarantee to spend $8.4 billion.

Gabriel Hanna said...

@garagemahal:

The responses I could find from Republicans didn't mention pork at all.

Okay, I was wrong about that. I thought this was attached to the omnibus bill just defeated.

Just that "we" needed to concentrate on getting the tax deal done first.

You didn't bother to look at all. I found these responses on gop.gov, which you could have found with the same five minutes of googling I put in--nothing in ther about hating 9/11:

http://www.gop.gov/bill/111/2/hr847

1.H.R. 847 creates a new entitlement program.
2.H.R. 847 is paid for with a tax increase on companies located in the United States that are employing American workers.
3.H.R. 847 is not means tested. An amendment to preclude millionaires from accessing the new health entitlement created by Title I was defeated during the markup in Energy and Commerce Committee.
4.NIOSH does not have expertise in administering a health care payment program. The current program is a block-grant program, and under H.R. 847, NIOSH will negotiate contracts and approve treatment protocols.
5.H.R. 847 increases hospital reimbursement rates to 140 percent of Medicare reimbursement rates on average for New York City hospitals while ObamaCare cuts $150 billion in payments to hospitals around the country.
6.H.R. 847 does not reward hospitals and providers for improving health care. They will be reimbursed based on each service they perform, which will encourage overutilization and increase health care spending.
7.Currently, several programs receive federal funding for medical monitoring and treatment programs. Those programs include: Fire Department of New York WTC Medical Monitoring Program, New York/New Jersey WTC Consortium, WTC Health Registry, WTC Federal Responder Screening Program, Project COPE, and POPPA (Police Organization Providing Peer Assistance) program.
8.Limited oversight fails to ensure taxpayer funds are spent properly and effectively. Government health care programs, such as Medicare, have a significant amount of fraud.
9.H.R. 847 gives too much discretion in the unreviewable authority of the Special Master.
10.H.R. 847 permits claimants to seek compensation through the VCF even if they have settled their lawsuits against the $1 billion taxpayer-funded World Trade Center Captive Insurance Company.
11.H.R. 847 includes protections for trial lawyers, including the ability to receive taxpayer-funded compensation for work not directly related to recovery from the VCF. In addition, attorneys who have been compensation under another settlement will have access to settlement funds under the reopened VCF.
12.12. H.R. 847 extends the geographic scope of the original September 11 Fund and gives the Special Master discretion to extend it even farther.
13.H.R. 847 caps the VCF at $8.4 billion, which is an invitation and a guarantee to spend $8.4 billion.

Gabriel Hanna said...

@garagemahal:

The responses I could find from Republicans didn't mention pork at all.

Okay, I was wrong about that. I thought this was attached to the omnibus bill just defeated.

Just that "we" needed to concentrate on getting the tax deal done first.

You didn't bother to look at all. I found these responses on gop.gov, which you could have found with the same five minutes of googling I put in--nothing in ther about hating 9/11:

http://www.gop.gov/bill/111/2/hr847

1.H.R. 847 creates a new entitlement program.
2.H.R. 847 is paid for with a tax increase on companies located in the United States that are employing American workers.
3.H.R. 847 is not means tested. An amendment to preclude millionaires from accessing the new health entitlement created by Title I was defeated during the markup in Energy and Commerce Committee.
4.NIOSH does not have expertise in administering a health care payment program. The current program is a block-grant program, and under H.R. 847, NIOSH will negotiate contracts and approve treatment protocols.
5.H.R. 847 increases hospital reimbursement rates to 140 percent of Medicare reimbursement rates on average for New York City hospitals while ObamaCare cuts $150 billion in payments to hospitals around the country.
6.H.R. 847 does not reward hospitals and providers for improving health care. They will be reimbursed based on each service they perform, which will encourage overutilization and increase health care spending.
7.Currently, several programs receive federal funding for medical monitoring and treatment programs. Those programs include: Fire Department of New York WTC Medical Monitoring Program, New York/New Jersey WTC Consortium, WTC Health Registry, WTC Federal Responder Screening Program, Project COPE, and POPPA (Police Organization Providing Peer Assistance) program.
8.Limited oversight fails to ensure taxpayer funds are spent properly and effectively. Government health care programs, such as Medicare, have a significant amount of fraud.
9.H.R. 847 gives too much discretion in the unreviewable authority of the Special Master.
10.H.R. 847 permits claimants to seek compensation through the VCF even if they have settled their lawsuits against the $1 billion taxpayer-funded World Trade Center Captive Insurance Company.
11.H.R. 847 includes protections for trial lawyers, including the ability to receive taxpayer-funded compensation for work not directly related to recovery from the VCF. In addition, attorneys who have been compensation under another settlement will have access to settlement funds under the reopened VCF.
12.12. H.R. 847 extends the geographic scope of the original September 11 Fund and gives the Special Master discretion to extend it even farther.
13.H.R. 847 caps the VCF at $8.4 billion, which is an invitation and a guarantee to spend $8.4 billion.

Gabriel Hanna said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Gabriel Hanna said...

@garagemahal:

The responses I could find from Republicans didn't mention pork at all.

Okay, I was wrong about that. I thought this was attached to the omnibus bill just defeated.

Just that "we" needed to concentrate on getting the tax deal done first.

You didn't bother to look at all. I found these responses on gop.gov, which you could have found with the same five minutes of googling I put in--nothing in ther about hating 9/11:

http://www.gop.gov/bill/111/2/hr847

1.H.R. 847 creates a new entitlement program.
2.H.R. 847 is paid for with a tax increase on companies located in the United States that are employing American workers.
3.H.R. 847 is not means tested. An amendment to preclude millionaires from accessing the new health entitlement created by Title I was defeated during the markup in Energy and Commerce Committee.
4.NIOSH does not have expertise in administering a health care payment program. The current program is a block-grant program, and under H.R. 847, NIOSH will negotiate contracts and approve treatment protocols.
5.H.R. 847 increases hospital reimbursement rates to 140 percent of Medicare reimbursement rates on average for New York City hospitals while ObamaCare cuts $150 billion in payments to hospitals around the country.
6.H.R. 847 does not reward hospitals and providers for improving health care. They will be reimbursed based on each service they perform, which will encourage overutilization and increase health care spending.
7.Currently, several programs receive federal funding for medical monitoring and treatment programs. Those programs include: Fire Department of New York WTC Medical Monitoring Program, New York/New Jersey WTC Consortium, WTC Health Registry, WTC Federal Responder Screening Program, Project COPE, and POPPA (Police Organization Providing Peer Assistance) program.
8.Limited oversight fails to ensure taxpayer funds are spent properly and effectively. Government health care programs, such as Medicare, have a significant amount of fraud.
9.H.R. 847 gives too much discretion in the unreviewable authority of the Special Master.
10.H.R. 847 permits claimants to seek compensation through the VCF even if they have settled their lawsuits against the $1 billion taxpayer-funded World Trade Center Captive Insurance Company.
11.H.R. 847 includes protections for trial lawyers, including the ability to receive taxpayer-funded compensation for work not directly related to recovery from the VCF. In addition, attorneys who have been compensation under another settlement will have access to settlement funds under the reopened VCF.
12.12. H.R. 847 extends the geographic scope of the original September 11 Fund and gives the Special Master discretion to extend it even farther.
13.H.R. 847 caps the VCF at $8.4 billion, which is an invitation and a guarantee to spend $8.4 billion.

Gabriel Hanna said...

@garagemahal:

The responses I could find from Republicans didn't mention pork at all.

Okay, I was wrong about that. I thought this was attached to the omnibus bill just defeated.

Just that "we" needed to concentrate on getting the tax deal done first.

You didn't bother to look at all. I found these responses on gop.gov, which you could have found with the same five minutes of googling I put in--nothing in ther about hating 9/11:

http://www.gop.gov/bill/111/2/hr847

Not space enough here to quote them all.

Gabriel Hanna said...

@garagemahal:

1.H.R. 847 creates a new entitlement program.
2.H.R. 847 is paid for with a tax increase on companies located in the United States that are employing American workers.
3.H.R. 847 is not means tested. An amendment to preclude millionaires from accessing the new health entitlement created by Title I was defeated during the markup in Energy and Commerce Committee.
4.NIOSH does not have expertise in administering a health care payment program. The current program is a block-grant program, and under H.R. 847, NIOSH will negotiate contracts and approve treatment protocols.
5.H.R. 847 increases hospital reimbursement rates to 140 percent of Medicare reimbursement rates on average for New York City hospitals while ObamaCare cuts $150 billion in payments to hospitals around the country.
6.H.R. 847 does not reward hospitals and providers for improving health care. They will be reimbursed based on each service they perform, which will encourage overutilization and increase health care spending.
7.Currently, several programs receive federal funding for medical monitoring and treatment programs. Those programs include: Fire Department of New York WTC Medical Monitoring Program, New York/New Jersey WTC Consortium, WTC Health Registry, WTC Federal Responder Screening Program, Project COPE, and POPPA (Police Organization Providing Peer Assistance) program.
8.Limited oversight fails to ensure taxpayer funds are spent properly and effectively. Government health care programs, such as Medicare, have a significant amount of fraud.
9.H.R. 847 gives too much discretion in the unreviewable authority of the Special Master.
10.H.R. 847 permits claimants to seek compensation through the VCF even if they have settled their lawsuits against the $1 billion taxpayer-funded World Trade Center Captive Insurance Company.
11.H.R. 847 includes protections for trial lawyers, including the ability to receive taxpayer-funded compensation for work not directly related to recovery from the VCF. In addition, attorneys who have been compensation under another settlement will have access to settlement funds under the reopened VCF.
12.12. H.R. 847 extends the geographic scope of the original September 11 Fund and gives the Special Master discretion to extend it even farther.
13.H.R. 847 caps the VCF at $8.4 billion, which is an invitation and a guarantee to spend $8.4 billion.

Gabriel Hanna said...

@garagemahal:

From the link:

1.H.R. 847 creates a new entitlement program.
2.H.R. 847 is paid for with a tax increase on companies located in the United States that are employing American workers.
3.H.R. 847 is not means tested. An amendment to preclude millionaires from accessing the new health entitlement created by Title I was defeated during the markup in Energy and Commerce Committee.
4.NIOSH does not have expertise in administering a health care payment program. The current program is a block-grant program, and under H.R. 847, NIOSH will negotiate contracts and approve treatment protocols.
5.H.R. 847 increases hospital reimbursement rates to 140 percent of Medicare reimbursement rates on average for New York City hospitals while ObamaCare cuts $150 billion in payments to hospitals around the country.
6.H.R. 847 does not reward hospitals and providers for improving health care. They will be reimbursed based on each service they perform, which will encourage overutilization and increase health care spending.
7.Currently, several programs receive federal funding for medical monitoring and treatment programs. Those programs include: Fire Department of New York WTC Medical Monitoring Program, New York/New Jersey WTC Consortium, WTC Health Registry, WTC Federal Responder Screening Program, Project COPE, and POPPA (Police Organization Providing Peer Assistance) program.
8.Limited oversight fails to ensure taxpayer funds are spent properly and effectively. Government health care programs, such as Medicare, have a significant amount of fraud.
9.H.R. 847 gives too much discretion in the unreviewable authority of the Special Master.
10.H.R. 847 permits claimants to seek compensation through the VCF even if they have settled their lawsuits against the $1 billion taxpayer-funded World Trade Center Captive Insurance Company.
11.H.R. 847 includes protections for trial lawyers, including the ability to receive taxpayer-funded compensation for work not directly related to recovery from the VCF. In addition, attorneys who have been compensation under another settlement will have access to settlement funds under the reopened VCF.
12.12. H.R. 847 extends the geographic scope of the original September 11 Fund and gives the Special Master discretion to extend it even farther.
13.H.R. 847 caps the VCF at $8.4 billion, which is an invitation and a guarantee to spend $8.4 billion.

garage mahal said...

So what's wrong with this bill? It's even paid for.

Harry said...

Marshal said..."Oh and Kathleen Dunne-is that her name- sounds like a character in Fargo." I don't know how you can mock NPR voices without incuding Dianne Riehm. Someone really should tell her to lay off the sauce before gigs.

Dianne Riehm has a disease called spasmodic dysphonia. I don't tell you this because I'm trying to make you feel guilty, but because I agree with you that it's ridiculous to have a radio program hosted by someone with a disturbing speech problem. I guess her liberal listeners enjoy the warm glow of superiority as they tune in, thinking, "Unlike those evil, intolerant conservatives, I have no problem listening to a broadcaster with a severe speech impediment."

It's almost as heart-warming as sitting next to an Arab dressed in traditional garb on an airplane!

rcocean said...

Terry Gross CAN do a good interview but she obviously doesn't like having conservative guests. The last one I can remember was Bill O' Reilly -which was a disaster.

And she never lets up with the endless singer and song writer interviews. "Next on Fresh Air - we talk for 35 minutes to Mr. Obscure Songwriter who wrote the classic "Little Bitty Polka-Dot Bikini".

rcocean said...

And I actually like Dianne Riehm. She asks good questions and then lets people answer them.

Freeman Hunt said...

Did you just make that up now?

No, I made it up at 11:01 AM today. Thanks.

Unknown said...

J said...

The Repubs are the party of NO when it comes to sensible economic planning, programs, education, the environment, etc, all of which tend to burden the plutocrats.

Translation - cap & trade, card check, Stimulus I and II, support of teacher unions that don't give a damn about education - only indoctrination, the Great Society, War on Poverty, subprime mortgages, Fannie & Freddie...

test said...

"Dianne Riehm has a disease called spasmodic dysphonia."

Whoops, I thought she was Ben Wright's drinking buddy.

Gabriel Hanna said...

@garage mahal:

I already posted the responses. As for me, I didn't personally have an opinion until you brought it up just now. Now that I've looked into it, I think the bill is wrong because I hate all the victims of 9/11 and I want to them suffer further.

Not really, but that's what you will SAY no matter what reason I might give for being against it. I do not believe I have ever seen you attribute decent motives to someone who disagrees with you.

chickelit said...

@garage: When Gabriel sounds his horn you can run forever but he's still got you boxed in.

Let's go have a beer instead.
_______________
wv is "deauped" -- from the Old French (XI): meaning "at the foot of God" or alternatively "fooled by the Devil" (who is pretending to be God).

chickelit said...

@garage mahal It's happy hour at Trooper York's

J said...

""Does that not just sound like an NPR report, to do an in-depth report on the word of the year, 'no."""


Actually it sounds like standard Rush
Lim-BOZO!

888 said...

NPR is what public schools would be like if attendance weren't mandatory.

Ann Althouse said...

Martin L. Shoemaker said.. "I know it's hard to tell from this example, but Geoffrey Nunberg is not a political commentator. He's a philolgist, and he does regular essays and NPR reports on language and words. When he stays away from politics, he's really very good. Unfortunately, since 2001, he has turned mostly to politics-masked-as-philology. But prior to that, I would say no more than 15 to 20% of his earlier work was political. The rest was well worth reading. If you want to read him when he was worth reading (and maybe put a little money in Prof. Althouse's pocket) try The Way We Talk Now. I highly recommend it."

I'm very familiar with Nunberg from reading "Language Log," and I even read one of his books, as noted in this blog post from 2006. The book was titled "Talking Right: How Conservatives Turned Liberalism Into a Tax-Raising, Latte-Drinking, Sushi-Eating, Volvo-Driving, New York Times-Reading, Body-Piercing, Hollywood-Loving, Left-Wing Freak Show."

Ann Althouse said...

Bruce Hayden: "She may not have started it, but I still remember Sarah Palin saying the "We're not just the party of no, We're the party of hell, no!" It is her voice saying that, and not Rush's. Whoever started the meme, it was successful, and is becoming more so as time progresses. It ties so nicely into the Tea Party movement and their attempts to slow down, if not stop, the out of control spending and socialization of this country by the Democrats."

I think Palin started saying it in late March. I found 2 earlier uses: Mike Littwin in the Denver Post ("But in Congress, the Republicans decided to be the Party of No, and, at the same time, the Tea Partyers were emerging as the Party of Hell No. Anger worked") and Kathleen Parker in early March ("And, the bumper-sticker slogan that the GOP is the party of "no" isn't quite true.
It's the party of "hell, no." ) I do think Palin is the one who popularized it.

Michael said...

@J: "The Repubs are the party of NO when it comes to sensible economic planning, programs, education, the environment, etc, all of which tend to burden the plutocrats."

I am a plutocrat and I am all about "etc" and "programs." Plus I pay hellaciously high private tuition to ensure that my children continue in the plutocracy, so I suppose that puts me in the camp of indifference as to public education. Best I can tell, the Democrats have controlled public education for forty years with results that don't impress.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Rcoean:

I think it was actually called the "Itsy Bisty Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini".

juandos said...

Well the frauds at Program on International Policy Attitudes claim if you didn't go with delusional but liberal news sources you were misinformed...

Yeah, it was the I hate Faux News mantra in some sort opinion poll format...

BarryD said...

Interestingly, when one thinks for a few seconds about the whole "child" metaphor, one recognizes that it's the ADULTS in the child's world who say, "No."

The ONLY reason a child learns the word "no" so early is that the child doesn't know how to make good choices. The child is naturally curious, wants to consume everything without concern, and doesn't think about conserving resources, staying safe, etc.

It's the parent who says, "No" when the child wants to drink paint thinner, stick a finger into a light socket, dump dinner onto the floor, or run into the street.

"No" is a symbol of the first steps a child takes towards eventual maturity. And "no" is the word of an adult, not a child.

rcocean said...

I think it was actually called the "Itsy Bisty Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini"

AJ, you're talking about the version that was too famous and well known for Terry Gross to discuss.

I was writing about the original - even more obscure - version, the kind Terry will talk about - forever. She won't just do 35 minutes on obscure Pop songs, she'll do 45 minutes on the even more obscure songs that were the inspiration for the obscure pop song.

Anonymous said...

Well, heck. Being in the insurance industry I would gladly sell my soul and burn in hell for all eternity* if I could hear more people say "no." In reality, most people are too cowardly to say "no" when I try to sell a policy and therefore resort to ridiculous lies that even a five-year-old could see right through:

Let me think about it.
Let me talk it over with my wife.
Let me check my schedule and get back to you.
My cousin is an insurance agent, I do all my business with him.
My schedule is totally crazy, it's impossible for me to meet with you.
Our corporate office handles all insurance decisions, they're in the process of moving right now and don't really have an address, so there's no way to contact them.**


* = which probably will happen anyway
** = believe it or not, I actually hear this absurd line from two separate businesses

Peter

BarryD said...

NPR is the cultural equivalent of government cheese.

Big Mike said...

@BarryD, very well said, sir. Very well said.

rcocean said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

The Repubs are the party of NO when it comes to sensible economic planning, programs, education, the environment, etc, all of which tend to burden the plutocrats."

Hysterical.

Your delusion is comical and sad.

Anonymous said...

garage mahal said...

So what's wrong with this bill? It's even paid for.


Proving your ignorance on the topic.

Cargosquid said...

We're not children saying "NO!"

We're adults TELLING THE CHILDREN that keep begging for more and more treats, "NO!"

roesch-voltaire said...

Iraq is already won! Hell no just ask the middle class and now the Christians who have to flee for their lives, Educator-- keep on drinking the neo-con juice so you can say yes, but I say NO Way.

Michael said...

R-V: Sadly correct w/ respect to Iraq. Non-killing wars, wars of moderation, will never have decisive, much less happy, endings.

Martin said...

Remember, that's your tax dollars at work.

Martin L. Shoemaker said...

Ann Althouse said...

The book was titled "Talking Right: How Conservatives Turned Liberalism Into a Tax-Raising, Latte-Drinking, Sushi-Eating, Volvo-Driving, New York Times-Reading, Body-Piercing, Hollywood-Loving, Left-Wing Freak Show."

Yep, that's the one where he turned mostly political. His work suffered for it.

For all his political correctness, Mr. Nunberg had one of the best one-sentence critiques of NPR ever: "I for sure wasn't interested in listening to NPR in that kind of mood: it's like newzak."

Ritchie The Riveter said...

The Repubs are the party of NO when it comes to sensible economic planning, programs, education, the environment, etc, all of which tend to burden the plutocrats."

The problem is, those like you who seek to solve the problems in those areas FOR us (i.e. jam your socio-economic morality down our throats) do not have the capability to understand the problems well enough to sensibly solve them.

That is because they are not mere "problems" ... but actually HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of INDIVIDUAL problems that vary greatly from individual to individual.

Conservatives say NO, because we understand the limitations of our government when it comes to solving INDIVIDUAL-SPECIFIC problems ... that, unless we have a government that is so invasive that our freedom-of-conscience and civil liberties are threatened, its toolkit for solving socio-economic dysfunction is limited to two items: a bag of money, and a set of handcuffs.

Neither are precise enough, nor are those who wield them omniscient enough (regardless of intent) to effectively and efficiently solve these kinds of problems for individuals.

How about we unleash 300 million problem-solvers, by making sure they have the authority ... the responsibility ... and their own resources ... to take on these problems themselves (or work together voluntarily to solve them)? Then, dedicate government to solving the relatively few one-size-fits-all problems of our societal "commons" that are beyond prudent delegation to the private sector.

test said...

"Talking Right: How Conservatives Turned Liberalism Into a Tax-Raising, Latte-Drinking, Sushi-Eating, Volvo-Driving, New York Times-Reading, Body-Piercing, Hollywood-Loving, Left-Wing Freak Show."

The turned on the lights?

Moneyrunner said...

Driving home from work several days ago I turned my car radio on to NPR to find them in the middle of a segment interviewing the recipients of the pork in the omnibus spending bill. They were making the case for the pork by finding articulate spokesmen for things like the $300,000 grant for the Polynesian Voyaging Society. Other than loooong interviews with deservedly obscure artists from East Cupcake, Montana where else can you find half-hour excuses for blowing your tax dollars?

Roger J. said...

I contributed to NPR for a long time but eventually gave up on them--I continue to love science friday segment.

As for terry gross, I think she is one of the best interviewers in the business, but (sexist comment follows--avert your eyes if you are sensitive): the girl fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down--clearly why she is on radio and not TV--no info babe she.

BUT--she is a damn good interviewer IMO.

AST said...

OK, see if you understand this:

Cut spending, reduce government size and power, pay off the debt and get out of our lives.

When a person is being raped or robbed, "No!" is a perfectly good response. In the former case, not saying "No!" loudly and clearly enough may get your case thrown of of court in some jurisdictions.

I started saying No to NPR about 10 or 15 years ago and I feel fine.

John Culhane said...

Too much to attack in a mere comment. My full take on this post is here:
http://wordinedgewise.org/?p=1592