John Scalzi: Fan Letter to Certain Conservative Politicians
Greg Palast: Mitt Romney's Bailout Bonanza
Elcectablog: Reality intrudes on Mitt Romney’s dream world. So does Nate Silver.
Douglas Brinkley: Obama and the Road Ahead: The Rolling Stone Interview
JM Ashby: Microwaves. Air-Conditioning. The Good Life!
Paul Krugman: Pointing Toward Prosperity?
The Rude Pundit: Note to Richard Mourdock: Your God's an Asshole
Nathan Bomey & Brent Snavely: Romney repeats false claim of Jeep outsourcing to China; Chrysler refutes story
Brent Snavely: Romney camp silent on his Jeep-to-China gaffe
Steve Benen: Chronicling Mitt's Mendacity, Vol. XL
Ron Fournier: The Story (on Racial Attitudes) That Obama and Romney Don't Want You to Read
Jim Wright: Guns and Butter. Also, Nazis!
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Must Reads
Current GOP Incapable of Being Satirized?
A casualty of Poe's Law. I admit I'm a bit embarrassed... but can you blame me?
I was outraged. I immediately retweeted with my own added comment: "Unvelievable! Will Mitt still support this nut after this?!" I added it to my Facebook page: "Eagerly awaiting a statement from Mitt Romney about this. Anything other than a complete repudiation and withdrawal of support from Richard Mourdock after these fantastical comments is a complete fail for Romney and should disqualify him from any chance of elected office, especially the Presidency." I was livid!
...Ahem... I was then informed a bit later that the piece (from the Daily Currant) was satirical. I suppose the comments were really fantastical after all. Not knowing that The Daily Currant is a satirical website, I became a victim of Poe's Law. I then sent out tweets and status updates informing everyone of my mistake. But with the current mindset of the Republican Party, can you blame me for believing it?
It was not a far cry for me to believe that Mourdock would say such things after his "God intended" rape pregnancy comment. Perhaps the "rape halo" section of the piece should have given away the satire, but is that a far cry from Georgia Rep. Paul Broun's comments that "evolution, embryology, the Big Bang theory" are "lies straight from the pit of hell"? By the way, Broun, who believes the Earth is 9,000 years old because the Bible says so, is on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. THE SCIENCE COMMITTEE!!!
You can understand my mistake when Missouri Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin makes a statement about "legitimate rape" and women's bodies having "ways to shut that thing down." That "thing" being pregnancy from a rape, you know because... science and sorcery!
You can understand my mistake when Rep. Steve King (R-Douchelandia) says he's personally never heard of a child becoming pregnant due to a rape or incest, which is completely believable when you consider he co-sponsored a bill, along with Akin and GOP Veep candidate Paul Ryan in 2011, originally calling for an exemption in the federal ban on abortion funding only in the case of “forcible rape.” Yes, forcible rape, as opposed to consentual rape because no means no, but does it really?
When over 30% of Republicans still believe that President Obama is Muslim (a higher percentage than in 2008), when 63% of Republicans still believe that Iraq had WMD to this day, long after the invasion of 2003 and long after the facts have shown otherwise, when a majority of Republicans have fallen for the Birther conspiracy and still believe that President Obama was born in another country despite all evidence to the contrary, trying to satirize a GOP member who has already said something ridiculous is an almost insurmountable task. Just ask Roger Simon.
My point is this: with all the lunacy that's been uttered on an almost daily basis by the Fox "News" network and conservative radio hosts led by Rush Limbaugh, and swallowed hook, line and sinker by this new species of "Republican," it's really getting harder and harder to differentiate the truth from satire. And when a political party is incapable of being satirized it makes for a very sad state of affairs for the future of said party when an outrageous joke can be mistaken for the truth.
(Cross-posted on ABLC)
President Obama's Weekly Address - October 27, 2012
Protecting the American People with New Wall Street Reforms
Thursday, October 25, 2012
What the Hell Is Wrong With These Nutball Republicans?!
I don't even know what to say about this. All I can do is shake my head in amazement and try to suppress a sickening sadness for the state of partisan political affairs in our country.
“UN observers, monitors, have no business in our elections and should be kept out of Missouri,” he told radio host Dana Loesch. “I’m calling on legislative leaders in the majority party in both the House and Senate — Republican leadership — to join me in saying we will not have these UN election monitors in our state."
Kinder said he was inspired by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who threatened to arrested the international election monitors if they come within 100 feet of a polling place.
Where was the outrage then? Was George Bush trying to "sign away our sovereignty" when he invited the election monitors TEN YEARS AGO? Oh wait, "sovereignty"? Nevermind.Following a request from eight civil rights groups, the Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), a United Nations partner, agreed to send 44 election monitors to the United States. The international organization began monitoring U.S. elections in 2002, when then-President George W. Bush invited them to the country.
What the fuck are these assholes even talking about?!
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Donald Trump: Media Whore
Why can't these sad sack, irrational Birthers get over it?
Donald Trump, who went full Birther and hence became an official laughingstock for more than just the beaver that lives on his head, can't stand the idea of being out of the spotlight for very long. He can't live with the fact that he had to sit there and take a shellacking from President Obama at the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner. But there he sat with egg on his face and after more than a year, he can take it no longer.
Trump has been trumpeting a "big announcement" this week, you know because it all has to be out in the open - it has nothing to do with seeing his name in the papers or being interviewed on the local news, or trying to inject himself into the presidential race from which he was rejected by the Republican electorate.
Donald Trump has offered $5 million to any charity of President Obama's choice IF he "agrees to give all of his college records and applications and if he provides all of his passport records and applications..."
That's such an awesome deal, isn't it? If the President says yes, Donald Trump can then call all the documents forgeries, gin up another Manchurian Candidate conspiracy theory while writing off $5 million from his taxes. Everybody wins! Or Trump can just turn around and say the documents weren't to his satisfaction and not bother ponying up the dough. I mean, it's not like that man has shown to have any principles, morals, or integrity, right?
But he'll still win his little two weeks of news coverage because at the very least, Fox News will wonder why Obama doesn't take such an easy offer. He must be hiding something!
I seriously can't want for this election cycle to be over so we can get a break after the morons crawl back under their rocks for another 18 months.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Must Reads
Posted by JHW22 (Filling in for Broadway Carl)
The Salt Lake Tribune Editorial Staff: Tribune Endorsement: Too Many Mitts
Josh Rogin: Issa's Benghazi Document Dump Exposes Several Libyans Working with the U.S.
Jillian Rayfield: Longtime George Romney aide attacks Mitt
President Obama's Weekly Address - October 20, 2012
Congress Should Join the President to Help Responsible Homeowners
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Binders of Women - Corporations Get In On The Act
The strange turn of phrase uttered by Mitt Romney at last night's 2nd presidential debate was so odd, it instantly became a Twitter meme and spread throughout the intertubes like wildfire.
"“I went to a number of women’s groups and said, ‘Can you help us find folks,’ and they brought us whole binders full of women.”"But even I was mildly shocked at the email solicitation I received today:
"We've got tons of binders full of sales. Women will love them!"
[Insert spit take here.]
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Mixed Signals, Alright
POSTED BY JHW22
I was just listening to John Inskeep interviewing a Romney foreign affairs spokesperson (no clip available yet) on NPR and I am LIVID.
The man, sorry I missed who it was but may have been Dan Senor, said that the Obama administration has sent mixed messages on Iran. His examples was that Obama has said a military action is on the table but that Panetta laid out many details, at some security conference, as to why a military action would be problematic.
What made me LIVID about this was he had JUST said that Romney thinks military action would be a last resort. Um, why would it be a last resort if it weren't problematic? Mixed signals? Hell yes. From the Romney campaign, asshole!
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Must Reads
Matt Taibbi: The Vice Presidential Debate: Joe Biden Was Right to Laugh
Cliff Schecter: The two Romneys
Elon James White: White Privilege, Joe Biden Style
Robert Dreyfuss: Biden and Ryan: The Foreign Policy Gap
John Nichols: Richard Milhous Ryan: No Specifics, Just a 'Secret Plan'
Charles P. Pierce: VP Debate 2012: The Real Paul Ryan Is Bad for America
The Rude Pundit: The Parable of Paul Ryan and the Tanks and Joe Biden Throws Paul Ryan Off His Lawn
NY Times Editorial: The ‘Moderate Mitt’ Myth
So... A Panel
POSTED BY JHW22
In the debate Paul Ryan said he didn't want unelected judges deciding what women can do with their bodies.
We don't think that unelected judges should make this decision; that people, through their elected representatives, in reaching a consensus in society through the democratic process should make this determination.
Instead, he wants our neighbors to elect people to do make our decisions. That's a panel. Um, there's some pretty big hypocrisy there, folks.
And if you think about it, there's a further hypocrisy. If you really are anti-choice, why would you leave the choice up to states? Would you really be OK with abortions taking place anywhere? Because if you leave it to the people and the representatives they elect, then you're gonna have abortions somewhere.
They just need to admit they will prevent it everywhere and stop playing games -- with women's lives.
President Obama's Weekly Address - October 13, 2012
One Million American Jobs Saved and a Stronger American Auto Industry
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Jack Welch Can't Stand the Heat
Jack Welch, who knows a thing or two about cooking the books, couldn't stand that his demented, unsubstantiated allegation that the Bureau of Labor Statistics doctored the numbers to help the Obama administration in the upcoming election via the Twitters, was being criticized from all sides* and decided to quit (along with his wife) his position as contributor to Reuters and Fortune Magazine.
Welch said he will no longer contribute to Fortune following critical coverage of the former CEO of General Electric, saying he would get better "traction" elsewhere. On Friday, Welch suggested that the Obama administration, calling them "these Chicago guys," had manipulated the monthly jobs report in order to make the economy look better than it actually is just weeks before the election. Welch has been battered by criticism since making the suggestion on Twitter.Welch apparently ended up at odds with various journalistic institutions that placed a higher premium on providing readers with objectively rational information about the economy, as opposed to flattering an old executive who sows derangement on the Internet. According to Gandel, Welch did not take kindly to a CNN Money piece that criticized Welch's original tweet, and was further angered by a Fortune piece, "detailing Welch's record as a job destroyer."
That, poor, poor multi-millionaire. My heart bleeds.
____________________________________________
* Except the Fox side, of course. That would be lunacy.
(Cross-posted on ABLC)
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Looks Like Some Iowa Right Wingers Have Been Reading Too Many @ChuckGrassley Tweets
The word “liar” was misspelled on the sign, officers said.
The blue banner is 16 by 8 feet and hangs on the south side of the building at 2307 Hubbell Ave. The words were written with red spray paint, police said.
The vandalism occurred sometime between 11:30 p.m. Wednesday and 10 a.m. Thursday, when it was discovered, police reports show.
Dear Senator Grassley,The same message was reportedly spray painted near the Iowa State Fairgrounds earlier in the week. The damage was estimated at $500.
Your bastardization of the English language on Twitter is having an effect on your constituents. Please cease and desist dumbing down your voters, if that's even possible at this point.
Thank you,
The Educated Public
(Cross-posted on ABLC)
Must Reads
Chris Klewe: Out Of Bounds Blog No. 14 – Problems
Sahil Kapur: Romney’s Health Plan Leaves 72 Million Uninsured: Study
Chrystia Freeland: SUPER-RICH IRONY
Huffington Post: Joseph Stiglitz: Jobs Numbers Conspiracy 'Literally Absurd'
Robert Mann: Free Speech? Not in Jindal’s Louisiana
The Rude Pundit: Random Observations on Last Night's Presidential Debate
Christopher Brauchli: Fraud Found!!
Robert Reich: The Politics of the Jobs Report
Friday, October 5, 2012
Unemployment Drops to 7.8%
This is the lowest unemployment percentage in the last 44 months.
"The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent last month, dropping below 8 percent for the first time in nearly four years. The rate declined because more people found work, a trend that could have an impact on undecided voters in the final month before the presidential election.
The Labor Department said Friday that employers added 114,000 jobs in September. The economy also created 86,000 more jobs in July and August than first estimated. Wages rose in September and more people started looking for work."We're not nearly out of the woods. It's been a long, hard slog - I'd argue that had it not been for Republican obstructionism for the last three and a half years, we might be under 7% - but this is good news nonetheless.
Purely on a political level, this is also good news for President Obama and his re-election bid, killing one of the GOP's favorite talking points about Obama promising unemployment numbers under 8%.
And now anyone who doesn't like the numbers purely for political purposes (I'm looking at you Jack Welch, you fucking asshole) is accusing the Bureau of Labor Statistics of cooking the books to help the President. Why is it that these fuckballs point to the numbers when they're in their favor and then dismiss them, or even worse, accuse the very same people of fraud?!
October surprise, motherfuckers!
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Debate No. 1 - Romney Wins. But Did He Really?
The MSNBC pundits were ranging from disappointing anger (Ed Schultz and Chris Matthews) to devil's advocates (Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes) to Romney pom-pom shaking (Steve "I gave you Sarah Palin" Schmidt) to rational thought (believe it or not, Al Shaprton). So I slept on it and tried to think logically before writing about it to avoid sounding like Chris Matthews blowing a gasket.
The perception was that Mitt Romney won the night because he dominated the discussion. I wouldn't so much call it dominating as much as hijacking, bullying his way through the evening and running roughshod over moderator Lehrer, who obviously should have been in bed by the time the debate began and most likely forgot to take his vitamin supplements. But perceptions are key and anyone watching last night who was still "undecided" (if your definition of undecided is low information moron) probably leaned Romney. I doubt that anyone voting for Obama had their mind changed last night.
Here's my take:
While most of us were waiting for Obama's knockout punch with the 47% line, or Bain Capital, or Romneycare, or Massachusetts job creation numbers while Romney was governor, the realization is that President Obama is NEVER that guy. While his stump speeches are fiery, he has always been reserved and muted in his debates which Bob Cesca rightly pointed out in one of his tweets last night, complete with a video link to the first debate of 2008 with John McCain.
That being said, Obama's had better debate performances in the past, maybe in part due to the "no rules" format last night - or at least rules that didn't seem to apply to Romney, because the rules seemly never apply to rich people. I do agree that the President didn't seem prepared with counter arguments to Romney's Gatling gun barrage of bullshit. But don't expect to see stump Barack "Fired Up! Ready To Go !" Obama behind the debate podium, though I hope they recalibrate for the next debate. Romney's aggressiveness and playing fast and loose with his policy positions, along with the low expectations of his performance (zingers, anyone?) won him the night.
I believe there is a very concerted effort on the part of the Obama campaign to avoid at all costs, the appearance of President Obama being angry or worked up for fear of the "Angry Black Man" moniker. He's the Jackie Robinson of the Presidency and it seems they feel he has to go out of his way to look measured and calm, and never get riled up when challenged in these types of situations.
As far as the substance of the debate went, how do you debate a man who completely abandoned everything that got him the nomination in the first place? When Romney stumps for the last year on his 20% across the board tax cut then flat our states that he has no intention of lowering taxes for the rich, how do you counter?
When faced with the fact that his tax policy of making the Bush tax cuts permanent, plus cutting taxes 20% across the board, plus eliminating the estate tax, plus eliminating the alternative minimum tax (something I personally get hit with and would like restructuring) without raising revenue, thereby causing a $5 trillion hole, Romney completely did a 180 and denied that he'd approve of any tax cut that would add to the debt; something he touted for 18 months shrugged off at the drop of a hat. How do you debate that?
But here's the thing, and something that I agreed with when it came to Al Sharpton's analysis: Romney being able to say whatever he wanted to, whenever he wanted to, is going to come back to haunt him with his base. You can't run as a right wing ideologue for a year and a half and then change stride without raising the hackles of the people who voted you as their nominee based on the red meat. Romney can't say he's not going to cut education funding when education cuts are part of Paul Ryan's plan that Romney said he'd sign into law without a double take from your voters. Romney can't say he will save Medicare while admitting his Medicare program is a voucher program, and then add that he'd repeal Obamacare which extends the life of Medicare until 2024.
Ultimately, the night belonged to Romney and President Obama has to come out stronger in the next debate. The polls will probably tighten which will make us all wring our hands and sit on the edges of our seats, but if Romney continues to deny his policy positions and make shit up on the fly, I think it'll become a real problem for him.
(Cross-posted at ABLC)
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