Weighing In On Whitney

Like many people, I was actually a little saddened when I heard about the loss of Whitney Houston, not because I was a huge fan, but because I felt it was a shame that another talent (and she was talented regardless of whether you liked her music or not) had fallen to drug addiction. It really is a shame.

So I thought, okay, we'll get a day of nonstop Whitney coverage with speculation of what happened and how. And I tolerated Day Two of "Whitney Still Dead" news analysis. But I thought it was a little much when I came across "Breaking News" while channel surfing Monday night, with live helicopter coverage of the convoy of vehicles transporting Houston's body from Teterboro Airport to Newark, New Jersey.

And then Jabba the Governor decides to fly flags at half-staff in New Jersey in her honor. Seriously? Was Whitney Houston a former President of the US and I hadn't noticed? Is being known as the "Queen of Pop" considered official royalty in this country and worthy of that honor?

If someone had mentioned Whitney Houston the day before her death, you'd mostly likely think of her as a joke. They'd call her a crack addict, an alcoholic, someone who'd destroyed herself, someone who succumbed to her demons. Those woulds were self-inflicted, yet somehow it seems all of that was forgotten in lieu of some feel good, she-was-so-great story. Yes, what happened was sad and tragic. But can we keep things in perspective?

Gingrich View on Confederate Flag

Does Gingrich think South Carolina should fly the Confederate flag on its capitol? I'll give you one guess.

“I have a very strong opinion. It’s up to the people of South Carolina.”

Why would anyone be surprised with his answer? After all, this is an "historian" who wrote a trilogy of alternate history novels in which the Confederacy won the Civil War. But hey, at least he's against slavery.

T Minus 180 Days

On this day in 2003, Bush desecrates the American flag by autographing it for doting fans.

- Livonia, Michigan, July 24, 2003

Hillary's Bad Week & Wingnut Hyposcrisy... AGAIN!

This week Hillary Clinton was skewered for having a question planted in Grinell, Iowa. Rotten. Not necessary. Not cool. Then came the CNN interview of the 19-year old college student that states that she wasn't the only planted question... ouch. Bad.

And the wingnuts go wild. Michelle "Internment Camps are Good" Malkin, Rush "These are prescribed!"Limbaugh, Sean "Giuliani Makes Me Hot" Hannity, etc., froth at the mouth. Fine. She was caught. Good for them.

But does anyone remember these "non-stories?"

Jeff Gannon Guckert: "...for nearly two years the White House press office had credentialed Mr. Guckert, even though, as Dana Milbank of The Washington Post explained on Mr. Olbermann's show, he "was representing a phony media company that doesn't really have any such thing as circulation or readership."
How this happened is a mystery that has yet to be solved. "Jeff" has now quit Talon News not because he and it have been exposed as fakes but because of other embarrassing blogosphere revelations linking him to sites like hotmilitarystud.com and to an apparently promising career as an X-rated $200-per-hour "escort."

Bushies screen audience and have manuals on techniques to be used: "Those entering must be screened in case they are hiding secret signs. Any anti-Bush demonstrators who manage to get in anyway should be shouted down by 'rally squads' stationed in strategic locations. And if that does not work, they should be thrown out."
...Those invited into a VIP section on or near the stage, for instance, must be 'extremely supportive of the Administration.'"...

And my personal favorite, Bush stages "spontaneous" video conference with troops in Iraq: In the words of Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, the feed "showed a full-blown rehearsal of the president's questions, in advance, along with the soldiers' answers and coaching from the administration," although the live video event was billed as a spontaneous exchange between the president and the troops.

The WHOLE, FUCKING conference.

So what did Malkin have to say about that?
MALKIN: "NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell was breathless last night over her military-bashing “scoop” about the “staging” of a Q&A between President Bush and the troops."

That's right Michelle, when caught with your pants down, just use the old tried-and-true "they hate the troops" crap and then deny, deny, deny. Chapter 4, Section 3b on how to deflect questions regarding the indefensible.

Another example in the ever growing list of right wing hypocrisy. Isn't everyone just getting a little tired of the defenders of the Destroyer of the Constitution with a 24% approval rating? I know I am. Cut your losses, admit that he's awful and try better next time. But who am I kidding?

While I'm at it, why is this funny?

Senator Clinton, ending a press conference, turns to walk away. Behind her are your normal school classroom flagpoles. Someone opens the curtains behind the flags, inadvertantly tipping one over and causing a domino effect. The flags fall... and it's Hillary's fault. Watch the video:

HA!HA!HA! Hysterical, isn't it?... Yeah, I didn't think so either. But let's do a quick Google search on "Hillary Clinton Flags Fall" and see what we get. (Emphasis mine to show the spin.)

ABCNews Blogs: " There were no planted questions to worry about, but on this Veterans Day the flags dropping all around the Senator created quite a stir among the press before Clinton fled the scene."

NowPublic.com: "At a news conference yesterday, four big American flags fell down ON presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton; right now she's hoping that that's not symbolic or anything."

CNN Political Ticker: When flag poles attack (CNN?! Jesus Christ...)

The Hillary Project: "You have to wonder if this really is a sign from above of things to come if Hillary should win the Presidency."

Yes, I'm sure that's what it is. The God of the Republicans (...Ronald Reagan?) tried to smite Hillary down as she left the conference. His aim, being what it was, missed by a few feet and knock down a few flagpoles. (Perhaps they should have sent Cheney with a shotgun.) Ominous? Who can tell? Apparently, the right-wing political hacks can.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big Hillary fan, but this is beyond ridiculous.