Taking The Country Back

Take the country back from whom? Take the country back to where? Seems as though the Republican Party was all set to declare yesterday's primary and special elections as a referendum to "take the country back" from whoever they think took it, nevermind the fact that those who presumably absconded with "their" country actually won elections. But it looks as though special elections are only critical if Republicans actually win them.

If this is the face of those that would take the country back, then bring it on. Let's look at some of yesterday's election results, shall we?

In the only Democratic vs. Republican race, the special general election to fill the seat of the late Jack Murtha in Pennsylvania's 12th district, former Democratic Murtha aide Mark Critz beat the GOP backed Tim Burns.

The more progressive Congressman Joe Sestak beat out 29 year Republican and one year Democrat Arlen Specter for the Democratic nomination despite the White House backing the party switching Specter (presumably because of some back room deal). Smells like Rahm Emanuel's been all over that.

Senate Blue Dog Blanche Lincoln couldn't score enough of an edge over her liberal challenger, Lt. Gov. Bill Halter and the two will have a runoff election on June 8th.  The White House also backed Lincoln, but truth be told, either candidate may have a rough go if it in November, so maybe they were thinking better the devil you know than the devil you don't.

And then there's Tea Party candidate Rand Paul who crushed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's pick, Trey Grayson for the Kentucky GOP Senate Primary. This despite Paul's stance on certain issues. Do they agree with Paul's stance on the unconstitutionality of the Patriot Act? How many Tea Party followers over 65 would support his abolishing Social Security? Or Medicare? How many of those in wheelchairs would agree with him doing away with the Americans With Disabilities Act? If they blindly pull the lever for anyone calling themselves a Tea Party "patriot" without knowing how the issues may affect them, they're going to have a few surprises in store.

In any case, it seems that yes, incumbents seem to be in trouble, but let's not forget that there are plenty of Republican incumbents as well, and they're probably in more danger from Tea Party challengers than are Democrats. I don't believe many discouraged Democratic voters are planning on voting for GOP or Tea Party candidates any time soon just for spite. That would be pretty stupid.  But then again, I've been surprised before.

ADDING... Some would argue that last night's results shows that the progressive cause is alive and well, despite the media focus on all things Teabagger. And I would have to agree.

Dick Alert!

An Alabama high school math teacher who used a hypothetical presidential assassination to illustrate a geometry concept has been put on paid leave, the Birmingham News reports.

Where is Malkin stalking this unnamed teacher and publishing his or her address?

Oh, wait... nevermind.  IOKIYAR.

Must Reads

Digby: It's Official ---Bart Stupak Is A Moron

Troubadour: The Problem With Elena Kagan Is That She's Not You

Frank Rich: A Heaven-Sent Rent Boy

Light Blogging

Sorry for the light blogging. Big moving weekend. No cable or internet access in the new place til tomorrow. How in the world did I ever survive the weekend?!



Hopefully, I'll be back to normal posting within a day or two.

President Obama's Weekly Address - May 15, 2010

Wall Street Reform & Main Street

Setting The Bar

Once again, Jon Stewart puts things in perspective.

Hey, Congressional Aide Brian Martin...

... where are your smart ass comments now?


Still defending Rep. Taylor's "rainbows and chocolate milk" bullshit, or have you decided that this is actually a serious disaster? Oh, but I forgot, you "know a lot more about what is going on in the Gulf than" I do.

Asshole.

Fiscal Conservatives...

... my ass.  And yet misinformed yokels fall for it every time.  Because if the perception is that someone other than they is getting a piece of the pie, it's wastefully spent, undeserved entitlements.

Paul Krugman explains.

Doris Eaton Travis Dies at 106

She was a lovely lady and will be missed.

Playbill.com: Doris Eaton Travis, the former Ziegfeld Follies dancer who inspired 21st century audiences with her pluck, good will — and fancy footwork — at 12 of 13 annual Easter Bonnet Competition performances for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, died May 11 at the age of 106, according to Tom Viola, executive director of BC/EFA.

Ms. Eaton was thought to be among "the last of the Ziegfeld Girls" — as were known the bejeweled ensemble of women who graced the stage of the New Amsterdam Theatre (and elsewhere) in producer Flo Ziegfeld's revues in the first quarter of the 20th century.

Suck On This, Teabaggers

USA Today: Amid complaints about high taxes and calls for a smaller government, Americans paid their lowest level of taxes last year since Harry Truman's presidency, a USA TODAY analysis of federal data found.

Some conservative political movements such as the "Tea Party" have criticized federal spending as being out of control. While spending is up, taxes have fallen to exceptionally low levels.

What was that whole TEA Party thing about? Taxed Enough Already?

...Uh huh.

Banned From Sarah Palin's Facebook Page

Oh, the horror.... the horror.  Actually, it really didn't take much.

I joined Sarah Palin's Facebook page initially months ago out of curiosity. You know, the same reason you pay a buck to go into the Circus Side Show tent to see freaks and oddities, or the same reason you can't stare away from a horrific car accident.

But yesterday's craptastic Palin entry, and her sheeple's comments, took me to a very dark place... the point of no return... the rebuttal comment.

Sarah's Facebook ghostwriter wrote:

Soldier pay decreases in the midst of overspending elsewhere and government union pay raises. Seriously? What are our priorities?

...going on to cite a Newsmax article. Newsmax!

Oh, the outrage! Comments flying left and right! Or right and righter.

"We should cut his pay to unemployed. IMPEACH HIM."

"How can they decrease it any more...They are living at poverty level now...Grrr!"

"Rid the government reps that are criminals! Including our president that is not a citizen!"

"Can't freaken believe it!! What an a-s hole. Take from the very people that keep us safe and give to the crooks!!! Politicians , unions , special interest etc... I am so mad. Obama has to go !!!"

That damn, Kenyan reverse Robin Hood!  How dare he!!!  Well, I couldn't just sit there dumbfounded at how many stupid people there are in the country. So I thought I'd edumacate them:
"Uh, you do know that the soldiers are getting a pay INCREASE this year, don't you? Maybe you should do some research instead of taking ½ term Sarah's lies as fact." complete with an Army Times link.

I guess that second sentence was enough for the Palin Facebook Gestapo to delete my comment and ban me from posting there ever again. It took about 30 seconds. But I doubt my comment would have survived even without the "½ term Sarah" dig. Pretty amazing to think that her FB page administrators are monitoring comments that closely.

Why does Sarah Palin hate the First Amendment?

Anyway... badge of honor I suppose. Here's fun little game: why don't you head on over to Palin's FB page, join, and politely disagree with whatever you like. See how long it takes you to have your comment deleted. Then join this page and relay what egregious, unthinkable comment got you booted. Keep those Palin police on their toes!

Think Before You Speak

No sooner does President Obama nominate Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court, than the RNC makes asses of themselves.

In a tribute to Justice Thurgood Marshall shortly before his death, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan quoted our first black Justice as having said the Constitution as originally conceived and drafted was “defective.”

“Does Kagan Still View Constitution ‘As Originally Drafted And Conceived’ As ‘Defective’?” the RNC now asks. A litmus test for Kagan, it implies.

But of course the answer should be, yes. Might the Three-Fifths Clause have been a wee bit of a defect?

The continuation of slavery, the three-fifths clause, the omission of women's ability to vote until 1920... uh... yeah, the original Constitution is flawed. But go ahead, RNC, keep making your "big tent" smaller and smaller. It's no wonder that Michael Steele blurts out occasional truths. He can't help himself.

Lena Horne Dies at 92

NY Times: Lena Horne, who was the first black performer to be signed to a long-term contract by a major Hollywood studio and who went on to achieve international fame as a singer, died on Sunday night at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York. She was 92 and lived in Manhattan.

President Obama's SCOTUS Nomination: Elena Kagan

While I don't know much about Elena Kagan besides the fact that she clerked for Justice Thurgood Marshall, I will predict three things:

1 - Conservatives won't like her because she's not conservative enough.
2 - Liberals won't like her because she's not liberal enough.
3 - Expect Rush Limbaugh to make some misogynist "ugly lesbian" jokes.

I don't know if Kagan is a lesbian.

Hey Rep. Taylor, How's That Evaporation Thing Workin' Out For Ya?

A novel but risky attempt to use a 100-ton steel-and-concrete box to cover a deepwater oil well gushing toxic crude into the Gulf of Mexico was aborted Saturday after ice crystals encased it, an ominous development as thick blobs of tar began washing up on Alabama's white sand beaches.

The setback left the mission to cap the ruptured well in doubt. It had taken about two weeks to build the box and three days to cart it 50 miles out then slowly lower it to the well a mile below the surface, but the frozen depths were too much for it to handle.

Last week, Rep. Gene Taylor (D-MS) had the bright idea of letting nature take its course. After all, he thought that if we left it alone, it would all naturally "evaporate within a week." Of course, Taylor ignored the fact that the BP spill wasn't over and still leaking 5,000 barrels of oil a day, but hey, leave it alone and all will be well, right? I even received comments from one Brian Martin (a Taylor aide who didn't disclose his affiliation with Taylor) who ridiculed me - called me a moron - and actually accused me of wanting this oil spill for political purposes because I said the issue wasn't over since the leak was and is still active.

"You are both morons... You should be mocking all the Chicken Littles who predicted that the coastal areas of 4 states would be covered with heavy crude by now... You... are cheering for the oil spill because you want this to end very badly for the coastal environment for political reasons."

Hey, Brian?  How's that evaporation thing workin' out for ya? You can contact Brian Martin at 202-225-5772 and ask him the same question.  Maybe he'll be a little more contrite, but I highly doubt it.

Must Reads

Gail Collins: Congress, Up In Arms

Paul Krugman: A Money Too Far

Ezra Klein: When Bad Economic News Is Good News

Timothy Karr: Net Neutrality's Weird Week

Danny Schechter: Was The Market Pushed?

Charles M. Blow: Trying To Outrun Race

Mahablog: Why Are Righties So Obsessed With Labels?

How Much Bullshit Do You Have To Spew For Fox News To Call You Out?

Karl Rove knows. Turdblossom, architect of the "Permanent Republican Majority" while "not laying the blame at the foot of the White House" for the BP spill, conveniently has a timeline showing their allegedly slow response. He doesn't want to call it "Obama's Katrina" but in essence is making a timeline comparison, with his cute little dry erase boards, to, oh I don't know, some other horrific disaster.

Well, Fox News host Jane Skinner isn't buying it. Yes, a Fox News host. Watch Rove as he says he's not playing the blame game while playing the blame game. Unfortunately for Rove, Skinner has actual facts to rebut the bullshit.



Once again, Karl, under who's direction does the Coast Guard act? Uh, the US government? I love Rove's use of the phrase, "rewriting history." You'd think he'd get this right considering he's a master at rewriting history.

(H/T Think Progress)

President Obama's Weekly Address - May 8, 2010

Health Reform Starts to Kick In

Whatever Happened to Ann Coulter?

Ann Coulter. Remember her? It seems like only yesterday I watched as Coulter made the rounds and was front and center on seemingly every cable news show, magazine cover and conservative circle jerk. But for the most part, she burned out her popularity because she was even too nutty for the run of the mill neocons to hold her in any esteem. Besides, they now have Glenn Beck to adore. The only time we ever see Coulter anymore is on her annual CPAC fellatiofest and even then, we have to search for it. Well, leave it to the Rude Pundit to remind me of the ghastly existence of Ann Coulter.

Coulter's latest article (and if by "article" you mean the jibbering, nonsensical rant of an increasingly insignificant has-been who knows it) goes to great lengths to blame the Obama administration for a myriad of things related to the failed SUV Times Square bombing attempt. There are sooooo many things wrong with this article that even rational anti-Obama factions may cringe while reading it. It's almost not worth it to go point by point and debunk the latest turd crapped out of Coulter's syphllitic brain. But just the same, here are some of the highlights.

"It took Faisal Shahzad trying to set a car bomb in Times Square to get President Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to finally use the word 'terrorism.'"

Wrong. Wrong. Absolutely wrong. And everyone knows it, but she insists on using debunked accusations.

"...having the Transportation Security Administration wanding infants, taking applesauce away from 93-year-old dementia patients, and forcing all Americans to produce their shoes, computers and containers with up to 3 ounces of liquid in Ziploc bags for special screening pretty much blows that "not intimidated" look Obama wants America to adopt."

While I happen to agree with Coulter (gulp) in the use of some of the ridiculous procedures she lists above, she seems to be blaming Obama for TSA guidelines created by the previous Bush administration. I wonder who on the right, pray tell, would be the first to criticize the current administration if it were to tamp down TSA procedures?

"...it would be a little easier for the rest of us not to live in fear if the president's entire national security strategy didn't depend on average citizens happening to notice a smoldering SUV in Times Square or smoke coming from a fellow airline passenger's crotch."

And it would be a little easier for the reality-based public to accept her critique had it not been for the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 overtaking the 9/11 hijackers or the passengers subduing shoe bomber Richard Reid during his failed attempt to blow up his tootsies. You see, Ann, we all have a responsibility to do something. And you, as well as everyone else critical of Obama for the reason du jour, seem to have forgotten that the worst terrorist attack on this country happened during a Republican administration, you know, because the GOP keeps us so safe while the Democratic Party is soft on terrorism.

"If only Dr. Hasan's gun had jammed at Fort Hood, that could have been another huge foreign policy success for Obama."

Foreign policy success? Is Fort Hood not in Texas anymore? Or has Coulter just pre-emptively decided that secession is the right move for them? She unfortunately goes on.

"In the case of the Times Square car bomber, the Department of Homeland Security failed, the Immigration and Naturalization Service failed, the CIA failed and the TSA failed."

If capturing a suspected terrorist within 53 hours of a failed attempt is considered a failure, what would the definition of success be? I would also remind Coulter that the Immigration and Naturalization Service ceased to exist in 2003, since it was swallowed up by Homeland Security, the largest bureaucratic clusterfuck known to the history of American government created by... wait for it... the Bush administration. But still, let's break this down for a minute.

Any one of us can go to a few different Home Depot or Lowe's stores and buy three barbecue style propane tanks. While I'm there, I can buy fertilizer for my lawn. Any one of us can fill two 5-gallon containers with gasoline at any gas station. Any one of us buy a couple of alarm clocks at a Wal-Mart. Any one of us can drive across the Queensborough Bridge (no toll booths) and end up on 45th Street and Broadway.

I don't know the last time Coulter was in Times Square (since it was cleaned up of XXX venues, whores and drug dealers) but it is riddled with cops. Had Mr. T-shrt Vendor not notified a police officer when he did, chances are authorities would have detected the SUV emitting smoke within seconds and the same procedure would have taken place.

But hey, why am I giving Coulter the satisfaction of an explanation? It's not like she'll change her feeble mind. The point is that the system worked like it was supposed to. Local law enforcement did it's job, coordinated with federal law enforcement and the suspect was caught in two days.

As far as Shahzad going as far as getting on the airplane, reports I've read and interviews I've heard confirm that the No Fly List is updated every 12 hours. On this particular day, it was updated at 4:30pm. Shahzad made his reservation at 5:30pm, before whatever desk he stood in front of had an updated list. No worries, because after the flight is completely boarded, the passenger manifest is sent to the FAA before takeoff for one final list check. This is when they realized Shahzad was on the flight and hence put him in custody.

Coulter's rambling about how 100,000 passengers at JFK were made to take off their shoes, belts and coats while Shahzad waltzed on to his flight makes absolutely no sense, since he didn't have any contraband on his person.

"The federal government didn't stop the diaper bomber from nearly detonating a bomb over Detroit. It didn't stop a guy on the 'No Fly' list from boarding a plane and coming minutes away from getting out of the country."

Diaper bomber? Uh, maybe you'd want to ask the government of Amsterdam, where the underpants bomber boarded his flight that question. And Shahzad did indeed get on that plane, but if this was a failure, would be talking about how he was in hiding somewhere in Pakistan now instead of under arrest in the US.

"Both of the attempted bombers who sailed through airport security, I note, were young males of the Islamic faith. I wonder if we could develop a security plan based on that information?"

Coulter is pro-racial profiling apparently. That wouldn't have stopped Richard Poplawski. Or the Hutaree Militia. Or Scott Roeder. Or James Von Brunn. Or Ted Kaczynski. Or Timothy McVeigh.

And speaking of a "highly trained federal force," who's working at the INS these days?

No one since 2003, you idiot.

 But it never really mattered for Coulter to be fact free and fascist before, so why should she start caring now?

Gibbs Calls Out Fox

I don't care what anyone says, challenging Fox News should happen more often.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs took a question from Fox "reporter" Wendell Goler. Unfortunately for Goler, he led with the Republican/conservative/anti-Obama administration/Fox News "Obama's Katrina" meme, which Gibbs was all too happy to respond to, and talk about the "Heckuva job, Brownie" appearance.

 Result: Goler/Fox News bitchslap.



"You can get on a conference call and maybe do some work." ...BOOOOM!

Some days, I just ♥ Robert Gibbs.

(H/T Crooks & Liars)