Scarborough's Cognitive Dissonance

This morning I was fortunate enough to witness Joe Scarborough and the entire Morning Joe crew make fun of Michele Bachmann's John Wayne Gacy gaffe for a good four straight minutes and then immediately turn on a dime and mock bloggers for doing the very same thing.

It was mind numbingly astounding.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

So, Joe, I won't make fun of yet another of Bachmann's gaffes, but I'll point out your hypocrisy for making fun of bloggers daring to write about a little trivial thing like Bachmann confusing one of America's movie icons with one of the most notorious serial killers in US history, while you went on taking little jabs forever with your Al Bundy/Ted Bundy comparisons.

ADDING... Bachmann should know that full names count. John Wayne is not the same as John Wayne Gacy, just as founding father John Adams is not the same as not founding father John Quincy Adams.

An Open Letter to Congressman Jack Kimble (R-CA) - UPDATED: It's A Parody!

Thanks to blogger and frequent commenter Annette for bringing this to my attention.

It seems yet another House Republican is taking credit for stimulus money received from a bill he didn't support with his vote. He's even bragging about it on his new blog which I find extremely odd. Not odd that Congressman Kimble would be a conspiracy fearing, Obama socialist name calling, climate crisis denying, creationism supporting hypocrite, but odd that I can find his personal blog, but his name doesn't show up on the House of Representatives government website. You'd think that with an agenda like Kimble's, he'd have his official site up and running instead of calling Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi "a mean one and when she stares at you with those cold dead eyes, well you just wilt" in the comments section of his blog like a high school teenage girl talking about her evil chemistry teacher. If fact, I think I'll screen capture it before he decides to delete it.

So I thought I'd comment to Representative Kimble on the amazing job he's doing using taxpayer dollars he didn't vote for to supply Walmart with its non-union minimum wage greeters from a slew of retired veterans who now have to work because government sponsored deregulation helped pillage their retirement savings in no time flat. Here is my comment.

Congressman Kimble:

Congratulations on the new GI to Greeter Center in your district. I'm glad there is enough of a call for Walmart greeters that it constitutes the necessity of building a training facility to handle such a large demand. And here I thought that Walmart greeters simply stood by the door and "greeted" you as you arrived and bid you farewell as you exited with occasional directions to the knick-knack aisles when asked. How silly am I? Our seniors, especially our retired GIs need help finding work these days what with the economy being what it is these last couple of years.

I find it rather incredulous however, that you are touting "stimulus funds, that I helped push hard to get for us" when not a single Republican in the House voted in favor of the stimulus bill. Not one. How do you account for this? How do you stand in front of the "GI to Greeter Center" participating in a ground breaking ceremony with a smile on your face and a shovel in your hand, shaking the hands of your constituents and taking credit for bringing home the bacon when you had absolutely no effect on the passage of the stimulus bill? How can you take credit for something you voted against? Had Republicans been successful in blocking the passage of this bill, you wouldn't have had the opportunity for your shovel ready photo-op. What would you have said to Mr. Roger Wainwright then?

I hope the citizens of your district take great advantage of the stimulus money passed by Congress in the hopes of jumpstarting the economy and eventually realize that you had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Sincerely,
Broadway Carl

I hope you'll all join me in telling Rep. Kimble what you think of his ideas, his newborn blog and have an honest and open debate with him on his ideas and values. Don't hold back but please be respectful. Plus, it's a new blog, so he needs the hits.

(H/T Annette, JMLPOTW)


UPDATE (4/8/09 10:05am): I'm beginning to think this Kimble blog is a parody. Commenter Vast has this to say:

I don't think this guy exists. He says he represents Fulton - Barksdale corridor and sliver of Blake county.

I can't confirm the existence of a Blake county in California.

His most recent posts read like an article from The Onion:

The interview has already been taped and Linda Ellard is not only extremely nice, she's a news babe with a capital B. I think I did a nice job stating the reasons why nursing home staff should be armed in the event that al-qaeda tries to get to us through our seniors.

Yep, definitely a parody. If you go to his website you'll see his face is obviously photoshopped into the pictures. Pretty damned good if you ask me. The blog, not the photoshopping. Looking forward to future posts with amusement now that I know what I'm reading. You got me, Mr. Kimble!

Damn, and I wasted a pretty good letter too. Although, I could just change the name, change the pork project and address it to any of the other Republicans actually doing the same thing.

End of Days

guest-posted by Armadillo Joe

I don't think it's one of the signs of the apocalypse, maybe it's one of the ancillary affects of hellfire and brimstone -- B. Hussein is our president afterall -- but upstate New York is having something of a problem with black vultures.

And they are vile, disgusting creatures.

The manlinest name on the inter-webs, Lance Mannion, reports from the front lines:

Their feathers were black, not brown. Their bald heads and bills were gray, not red and bone-white.

Passing through the next town, we came across more of them. These were prowling the side of the road and, closer up, I could see that, big as they were, they were smaller than turkey vultures, squatter too. They struck me as uglier and meaner-looking as well, although that might have been an effect of there being so many of them together, pooling their ugliness and meanness.

"What kind of birds are those, Dad?" the Mannion guys and their mother wanted to know, as if I am the unimpeachable source of all things ornithological, an idea they picked up from their old man's habit of showing off the little bird lore that he has memorized.

"Beats the hell out of me," I said. "Definitely not turkey vultures though, unless they're a rare subspecies that works the coal mines."

I think at least two of my passengers were impressed that I knew what turkey vultures looked like well enough to spot that these weren't turkey vultures. The third passenger just harrumphed knowingly and went back to reading her magazine.

We were on our way to visit Mom and Pop Mannion and as soon as we arrived I hopped on the internet and called up Cornell University's Ornithology Lab's website, All about Birds.

Yep. Definitely not turkey vultures.

Lost Follower

My current Followers List on the right on the right side of this page boasts 22 followers. It was 23 this morning. Who bailed? Why? Did I offend someone with my last few posts? Do they disagree with me on the forclosure plan so vehemently that they decided to write me off and sever their ties to my blog? Or maybe they were just following too many blogs and I was the odd site out.

The darned thing is that I can't figure out who decided to stop following. The list is right there with names and everything, but if they disappear, I can't tell who left. I guess that's what bugs me the most. Who were you?!

Oh well. Good luck, lost follower. Perhaps we'll meet up again someday.


ADDING... I figured it out! It was a follower who used a Greatful Dead logo for his icon. And I think he had a "43" after his name. Well, whoever you were, I hope you are well.

Who the hell is this Fraulein person?

Guest-posted by Fraulein

It was the winter of 2004, and my full-time job was taking care of my newborn baby girl. This was disorienting on many levels, partly because I had been working in a fairly high-stress legal marketing job practically up until the day the nice people at the hospital managed to break my water. I had worked as a professional writer--first as a newspaper and magazine reporter, then later as a corporate communications and marketing writer--nearly non-stop since graduating from college in the early 1990s. Then, suddenly, with the arrival of this new little person, it all came to a screeching halt.

The days of hanging out with my lovely and enchanting Peanut (as I call her on my blog, Purple Ink) were amazingly satisfying in so many ways, but I really missed writing. I especially missed the push and pull of conversation with individuals who did not spend much of the day spitting up on my shoulder. And George W. Bush was giving me nightmares of epic proportions. There's nothing like new parenthood to bring the ills of the world into sharp relief. In those cold, dark days, when many of my fellow Americans still thought the Iraq war was just awesome, I needed people to commiserate with. Even if said commiserating was purely virtual.

And with that, Purple Ink was born. I proposed to write purely what I liked, and to tackle, in no particular order, the topics I was most interested in: motherhood; the sorry state of journalism; literature and pop culture; and the horror that was the Bush regime. Given that I've had to simultaneously juggle parenthood and wife-hood, along with, in the last couple of years, a new full-time job, I've never managed to post on my blog as often as I would if, say, I won the lottery tomorrow. But I keep trying. As with most things in life, I think it's the effort that counts.

Since Carl and I stumbled across each other's thoughts on the Intertubes, we decided we would try a little experiment in cross-posting. I'll be hosting some of his excellent posts on Purple Ink, and some of my stuff will show up here. If you like what you see, give us a shout and let us know!

New Contributors

Blogging is a hard thing. I initially started writing to get things off my chest when my wife refused to listen to what I had to say for fear of being blinded by my rant spittle. It was an outlet; a place where I could relieve my blood pressure.

As time went on, I realized that some people came across my blog, liked what I had to say and started returning on a regular basis. Now there was this added pressure of keeping things fresh. Returning customers are the lifeblood of any establishment, and if patrons stop by for a drink, they're more likely to make their new found watering hole a regular stop as long as my doors are open and I haven't put a "Gone Fishin'" sign in the window every few days.

Over the past two years I have also become accustomed to stopping by for a shot and beer at a couple of sites and have been inspired by the talented barkeeps. Sometimes I got the urge to mix a variation of the drink I had at their place, but they've made the best possible concoction, so there's no need to mess with the ingredients. That is why I've decided to invite a couple of these word mixologists over to my place and serve up a drink or two on occasion. If you like what I serve, I'm sure you'll like what they have to offer.

Look for them soon. But please, no karaoke. That's where I draw the line.

Driftglass' Rebuttal To Bob Herbert

Yesterday, I added Bob Herbert's editorial, "Stop Being Stupid" to my short list of "Must Reads." It looks like Driftglass has taken offense to Herbert's use of "We" in describing the stupidity of the American people.

I could not help but note that the technical term for people who tried to suggest any of this at any point over the last couple of decades was "Dirty America-hating Liberal".
...Truth is, Bob, there is no “we” anymore; there are those of us who look at your laundry list as a reasonable assay of our challenges and changes ...and there are the Pig People, their panderers, exploiters and ringleaders.

He makes some very good points, which is why I'm mentioning it here, but like I wrote in my comment on DG's blog, "when I read the article, I didn't include myself in the "we." I assumed Herbert was just being polite and not trying to be accusatory to get the "we" has was talking about to the end of his column. It's like the simpler days when we were in school and you aced a pop quiz but the rest of the class failed. The teacher berated the class as a whole but you knew he/she wasn't talking about you specifically."

The Rick Warren Debate

I haven't posted much yesterday and today because I've been doing a lot of reading at BobCesca.com where Bob and fellow poster Lee Stranahan have been having a vigorous debate regarding the decision to have Rick Warren give the invocation at Barack Obama's inaugural ceremony.

If you care to take a trip over there, I'm sure something will strike a chord.

Happy 2nd Anniversary...

...to me! I just realized that two years ago today, I started Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania™ with my first post after watching Richard Dreyfuss discuss civics on Real Time With Bill Maher. Little did I know that two years later I'd still be posting away (1,395 including this one).

I'll never forget that civics lesson. And although there have been times I've felt "blogger burnout," and thought that maybe I need to stop, I know I'll continue to post, hopefully with the help of friends soon, but I won't let this blog die before its time.

If A 7 Year Old Can Figure It Out...

.. why can't the 46% of the electorate that voted for McCain/Palin?

Seven year old blogger and future voter Stanislaw Gunkel gets it. And also got a personal thank you note from President-elect Obama.

Here is why I'm asking grown-ups to vote for Barack Obama. I am 7 years old so I can't vote......

My mom told me that I shouldn't base my election analysis on "feelings" (I like him/her) or "beliefs" (I share his/her beliefs) but on logical arguments. She asked me to create my own rational explanations for my support of Obama. Here is one of my arguments:

McCain and Palin are not be qualified to be President / Vice President of the U.S. The President's job is to do good for the country and the world. To do good for the country, the President must make smart decisions on important situations.

Governor Palin believes the world is 6000 years old. This is absurd. This is not a rational belief. This is a mistake. Scientists, experiments and evidence have shown this to be completely false. Therefore, she is not rational. If she is not rational, she should not be allowed to be President or Vice President.

Please vote for Barack Obama.

Wow. Check out his blog, it's pretty damn good.


(H/T Crooks & Liars)

Following My Blog

(BUMPED - Originally posted 11/3/08, 11:19 am)

Hello reader(s).

I've added a little widget on the right side of my page in order to help me figure out how much traffic I'm actually generating. After almost two years of blogging and over 1,300 posts I'm a little curious to find out if I am connecting with anyone and if you like my stuff enough to come back. I'm not so much worried about the single hits, but if you like what you read and stop by on a regular basis, won't you please take a moment to add yourself to the Blog Followers List? It would do wonders for my posting motivation and best of all, it's free!

Thanks,
Broadway Carl

Must Reads

Michael Moore: How The Democrats Can Blow It ...In Six Easy Steps

Paul Rieckhoff: Brain Dead Bureaucrat Watch: VA Blocks Voter Registration at Vets' Hospitals

Bob Cesca: The Exotic Candidate Is The One With Eight Houses

David Brody: Obama Gets Heated on Born Alive Infant Protection Act

Must Reads

Robert L. Borosage: The Audacity of Contempt

Sam Stein: Has McCain Walked Into An Energy Trap?

Doctor Biobrain: McCain In Flames

Christy Hardin Smith: McCain Deploys Shiny Object Ad To Distract From Own Ethical Lapses

Must Reads

Chris Kelly: John McCain Makes Bob Dole Look Like Bobby Kennedy

...I was still digesting [the "Britney" ad] when the "Moses" ad came out. The point of this one was that there are voters who are so tragically, laughably ignorant they're actually thinking of voting for someone who inspires them. They're assholes. You know, like the Israelites.
People with faith! They'd be sad if they weren't so damn funny!
Don't they get it? It's a garbage existance -- even if Jihadists don't kill you -- and you're just making fools of yourselves with this "change" bullshit. So pull up your socks, stop acting like some love-struck German, and vote McCain...

Digby: Negative Appeal

“Sen. Obama is still opposed to a comprehensive energy plan,” McCain claimed. “It seems to me the only thing he wants us to do is inflate tires” to improve gas mileage.

Just like Bush: "you can believe me or you can believe your lying eyes, rubes." At this point I don't care if Obama flips on every single issue, I will do everything I can to see this jackass defeated. Ugh.

And speaking of improving gas mileage...

Ben, Think Progress: Clueless Gingrich Claims Inflating Car Tires Properly To Save Energy Is ‘Loony Tunes’

...Obama is correct to suggest that inflating tires properly and getting regular tune-ups “could save all the oil that they’re talking about getting off drilling” — and by a long shot. According to the Energy Information Administration, if Congress lifted the moratorium on offshore drilling, by 2030, oil crude production in the “lower-48″ outer continental shelf will increase by about 200,000 barrels per day. By contrast, the production offset based on Obama’s proposal will likely approach 800,000 barrels per day, immediately.

Must Reads

Mike Littwin, Rocky Mountain News: Obama trip likely to rob McCain of, well, limelight


Nicole Belle, Crooks & Liars: FNS: Lie-berman Shills For McCain


Bob Cesca, HuffPo: Senator McCain Isn't Funny, So Stop Encouraging Him


d r i f t g l a s s: On Shouting "Fuck"

Must Reads

David Corn: The Gramm Gaffe: The Real Problem for McCain


Rude Pundit: A Condemnation of Barack Obama Preceded by a Defense


John Avarosis: McCain was still married to his wife when he got married to his mistress


Bob Cesca: Killing Iranian Civilians Isn't Hilarious, Senator McCain


Steve Benen: McCain calls the Social Security system a ‘total disgrace’


Digby: The Liberal Village Speaks


Carol Kreck via HuffPo Blog: McCain=Bush

Good Reads

Frank Rich: McCain Can Run, but Bush Won't Hide

Digby: The Wisdom of the Ancients and Practically Lactating

Glenn Greenwald: High Standards at the Washington Post Op-Ed Page

d r i f t g l a s s: The Clintonian Blue

Bob Franken: Hillary: We Really Don't Care

Howard Kurtz, WaPo: Feud Fuels Bill O'Reilly's Blasts at GE

Is Paul Krugman Watching A Different Election?

In Paul Krugman's latest column in the New York Times "Hate Springs Eternal," the journalist seems to be fretting about the "bitterness of the fight for the Democratic nomination" and wonders why "is there so much venom out there?"

Now, I've been watching a lot of the politics that have been going on this last year, more than I ever have in the past. And I've been keeping a closer eye on the Democratic side, and I have no idea where Krugman gets his feeling from. How many times does he have to hear the candidates say they like each other, they were friends before this campaign started and they'll be friends after?

Sure, he goes on to mention David Shuster and MSNBC, as if that's the first time that the network has said something negative against the Clinton camp, but he accuses not the media, but specifically Barack Obama of using "Clinton rules"... well not so much Obama but Obama supporters. Maybe he's been reading too many comments on the internet.

But the problem is that Krugman is using guilt by association and indirectly accusing Obama. I had to reread sections of the article for it to become clear to me that he was actually accusing supporters and not Obama, likening them to a cult.

I won’t try for fake evenhandedness here: most of the venom I see is coming from supporters of Mr. Obama, who want their hero or nobody. I’m not the first to point out that the Obama campaign seems dangerously close to becoming a cult of personality.

Unfortunately, Clinton fans will read this and assume it's Obama using harsh words and not the more than occasional rant in the comment sections of liberal blogs. And it's not like Clinton supporters haven't been just as vitiolic at those same sites.

What does Mr. Krugman have to say about Bill Clinton's "fairy tale" comment, or Mark Penn bringing up Obama's drug use when he was a teenager, which was already part of the public record? The Clinton's have not been playing with kid gloves through any of this campaign, they are in it to win, as well they should be; and if the public in general has a feeling or suspicion of the Clintons, it's only due to the fact that the media itself have been playing by Clinton rules for the last 15 years. Paul Krugman's own colleagues have been the ones aiming for the Clintons.

The funny thing is that I'm a Krugman fan, but he wears his heart of his sleeve with this opinion in defense of the Clintons.

Stop reading the blogs, Mr. Krugman. The comments you read are not what the mainstream voter feels. Instead, why not try watching and listening to the actual candidates and reading their words instead of biased opinions and acerbic critiques of anonymous commenters in a blog.

Lee Stranahan Videos!

Where have I been? Lee Stranahan has been putting together some great videos. Here's one on the latest National Intelligence Estimate spin. You can visit his blog at Stranahan dot com. He'll be an instant favorite.

Bob Cesca on Torture

Great new post by Bob Cesca on Huffington Post:

...given our extraordinarily enormous and expensive military-industrial and intelligence establishment, the ultimate safety of our citizens and cities is coming down to... what? Torture? Sorry, no. If the shopping list for preventing a terrorist attack is a wooden plank, a hanky and a jug of water, I want my goddamn money back.

The reality is that the cost of doing business as a democracy is a certain level of danger. Freedom and liberty are, by their very nature, porous.

That's why, in the face of terrorism, we can't allow ourselves to acquiesce to unchecked executive power; invasions of privacy; torture; illegal searches; or warrantless eavesdropping in order to ameliorate the inherent dangers of a free and open society. This is non-negotiable and it's disgraceful that these authoritarian policies of the Bush administration have become, as John Kiriakou said, a matter of "national debate."