Music I'm Listening To

I hope Amy Winehouse doesn't fly so close to the sun that she burns out. I'm spending the evening alone, on purpose, listening to Amy Winehouse's album, Frank. I find it -- and her -- incredible. Take a few moments and listen to this incredible woman sing the blues. She's a wordsmith, too, so as much as you can, pay attention to the words. If you can't understand them, do a Google search and then follow along. Here's a link to her singing Come Fuck Me Pumps. Amy Winehouse doesn't do elevator or background music. You either listen to her or you don't hear her. Plain and simple.

How Stupid is Texas?

Well, Texas is an inanimate object incapable of being smart or stupid, so rephrasing: how stupid are Texans? If their governor is any measure, Texans are setting new marks for stupid. Texas Governor Hair Do, aka Rick Perry, hates the U.S. Federal government ever since his BFW, George "Dubya" Bush quit being President. First, he threatens that Texas will secede if forced to use any of that dirty ol' federal stimulus money if it goes to ordinary folks instead of his friends' pockets.

"Moreover, Perry’s “state sovereignty” cries don’t carry much credibility. In March, he rejected $555 million in federal stimulus funds to expand unemployment benefits, arguing that accepting the money would burden Texans with “higher taxes and xpanded obligations.” However, just this month, Perry was forced to ask the federal government for a $170 million loan to cover unemployment insurance and the state is expected to request a total of $650 million, around $100 million more than Perry originally rejected." - Ben Armbruster at Think Progress

Next, he says he'll invoke the 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution to keep Texans from benefiting from any type of health care reform forced upon it by the United States Congress. Oh, and he doesn't acknowledge Congress' roll in the reform, preferring instead to refer to it as "Obama Care."

Says Perry: “It really is a state issue, and if there was ever an argument for the 10th Amendment and for letting the states find a solution to their problems, this may be at the top of the class,” Perry said. “A government-run healthcare system is financially unstable. It’s not the solution.” How's Texas doing at finding a solution to their health care problem? Not very well, if numbers mean anything. According to U.S. Census Bureau report, nearly 25 percent of all
Texans lack medical insurance. To Texas Republicans this is not a problem because it's mostly Mexicans, Blacks, and White trash that don't have insurance. None of those groups is important.

Ben Armbruster, writing for Think Progress, gives Gov. Perry all the rope he needs to hang himself. Read the entire article.