Soupy Sales Dies at 83

NY TIMES: Soupy Sales, whose zany television routines turned a pie in the face into a madcap art form, died on Thursday in the Bronx. He was 83.

His former manager, David Usher, said Mr. Sales had died in a hospice after suffering from multiple health problems.

Zero Attacks!

Another Republican strategist/Cheney apologist on Hardball expounding on the favorite Bush administration myth. Terry Jeffrey from CNSNews.com (I won't link it, but visit if you dare) trying some more revisionist history and boy, we should thank our lucky stars that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were in the White House to keep us safe! The proof is in the pudding because we've had "zero attacks" since 9/11. It really is a shame that these imbeciles either A) don't know that the Bush administration lasted a full eight years, and not the seven years and four months that they'd like us to remember, B) always dismiss the anthrax attacks or C) think that we're stupid enough to have forgetten that we were attacked on their watch.

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Check out the full segment in which Jeffrey also infers that Afghanistan is Barack Obama's war, and since he won't appease either political side with the proper troop levels, history will remember that it will be his failed policy. An astute Matthews make a comparison to Nixon's Vietnam, another inherited war which was a slow bleed, but Jeffrey suggests that it might have turned out differently had the Democratic congress not "turned and ran out on the whole country" after Nixon left office in disgrace. So, you can't blame Nixon because he inherited a war, but you can blame Obama. And you can't blame Nixon for not sending enough troops to Vietnam, but you can blame Obama if he falls into the same situation in Afghanistan.

Brilliant!

Must Reads

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The Rude Pundit: Photos That Make Christian Conservative Brains Short Out and Pat Buchanan Hearts the Oath Keepers, Does Not Heart Black People

Jason Linkins: Fake Obama Thesis Story Goes Viral, Because Of Stupidity

Dan Froomkin: Why Journalists Shouldn't Be Defending Fox News

Bill Moyers & Michael Winship: Texas, the Eyes of Justice Are Upon You

Christopher Brauchli: The Prolonging of Palin

David Michael Green: Paranoia For Breakfast

Don't Listen To Anonymous Saboteurs

As we've been getting closer and closer to finalizing health care reform bills coming out of the House and Senate, there have been various "unnamed sources" from the White House quoted as being against real reform, watering down the public option with artificial triggers and other nonsense. This is all an attempt to undermine the administration's plans and cast a shadow of doubt into the minds of the Conservadems and Blue Dogs on the fence about reform.

I don't know who the unnamed sources are or what their agenda can possibly be, but it's incredibly frustrating to think that some stooge that may be working in or close to the White House would be willing to undermine something as important to the administration as health care... if such an unnamed source actually exists.

These quotes could also be trial balloons to judge public opinion on certain ideas, but at this late stage of the game, it would be foolish to keep fanning the flames. So until the unnamed sources have the balls to come out and back up their statements (which will never happen) or until responsible journalists rely on unnamed sources to back up their stories so they don't look like idiots making shit up, just ignore any story citing anonymous quotes. The cycle is too obvious: 1- Story gets published with an unnamed source. 2- Left or Right or the mainstream media goes apeshit. 3- White House denies any validity to the story. 4- Repeat as needed.

Remember everyone reporting that the public option was supposed to have died during the summer? Stop falling for it.

President Obama's Weekly Address - October 24, 2009

Working with Small Business to Drive Recovery

Music Break! Virginia O'Brien

Say We're Sweethearts Again

Virginia O'Brien's trademark was a deadpan face as she sung some pretty swingin' stuff. This is one of her more humorous songs.

Going Rouge: GENIUS!

I wonder how many Sarah Palin lovers are going to pick up the wrong book and fly into a rage?

An alternative, liberal judgment of Sarah Palin's legacy will appear in book stores on November 17, the same day Palin's own autobiography, "Going Rogue: An American Life," hits the shelves. "Going Rouge: An American Nightmare" is the brainchild of Richard Kim and Betsy Reed, editors at the progressive magazine The Nation. In addition to their nearly identical titles, the two books share similar covers, both showing Palin smiling into the distance.

The Thing About Alan Grayson

I've been thinking about the newest Democratic star and his tactics. It's pretty impressive for freshman Congressman Alan Grayson to have so much exposure so early in his time in office. He was a successful lawyer with previous background work in the Colorado Supreme Court as well as a successful businessman which has made him a multi-millionaire. Part of what makes him tick is that he's not worried about where his next donation is coming from, which is key.

Basically, Alan Grayson is one smart cookie. He realized early on that the Democratic party has been on the defensive for so long because of the time and effort it takes to keep swatting away the flies that are attracted to the shit that spews from GOP mouths on a daily basis. So instead of spending time debunking asinine statements that an eight year old can debunk, Grayson decided to beat them to The Crazy.

Alan Grayson is beating the wingnuts at their own game. And the more he pushes and slaps the Bullshit Bully around, the more he gets them off balance, sitting on their heels and reacting to his dart throwing instead of locking and loading their own cockamamie cartridges. As a result, they're less inclined they are to run against him in his home district.

He's crazy like a fox - he knows that he'll get media attention by using extreme measures just like the GOP nutballs, but instead of using that time to push conspiracy theories of FEMA concentration camps or agreeing with the Birthers, he uses it to shine a light on important things like the health insurance cartel. So maybe his new website, NamesOfTheDead.com can come across as a little harsh when you first hear of it. But it puts a name to the statistic. It makes that number human. And it's one of the only ways the mainstream media will pay attention and he knows it.

Grayson Wipes The Floor With Broun

In defense of ACORN, Rep. Alan Grayson embarrasses Rep. Paul Broun while discussing a bill to deny funds to one specifically named organization in a Science and Technology markup. "Bills of attainder" are unconstitutional.



I'd be surprised if Broun wasn't helped back to his office for not being able to see through the blood in his eyes. You can donate to Alan Grayson here.

Can We Please Give Him A Show?

Lawrence O'Donnell shows once again why he needs a show. He is beholden to no one as he spars with Joe "Cheney Apologist" Scarborough over Cheney's comment that President Obama is "dithering" in Afghanistan, as if his administration didn't dither for the last eight fucking years.

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ADDING... Scarborough: "Okay, Lawrence... go sell your appliances." WHAT A FUCKING DOUCHE!

They All Look The Same

I kid, I kid. Poor Contessa Brewer. Those damned teleprompters strike again!

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A Final Note on Limbaugh & The NFL

I touched briefly on this last week but I could let the Limbaugh/NFL debacle conclude without mentioning an article written by sportswriter Mike Lupica.

With all the sports wingnuts (who just so happen to agree with Rush) calling in to the local NY sports radio station last week in support of Rush being allowed to own a team, I couldn't stand the idiocy of these people not understanding the difference between free speech and private enterprise.

Rush has said some pretty vile shit over the years and he's completely free to say whatever he wants thanks to our 1st Amendment rights. But that doesn't mean that he can't be held accountable for what he says. And so his racist rants came back to bite him in his ample ass, as the ownership group he was a part of found him too toxic to their cause. And the free market being what it is, they decided his services and his money would no longer be required, so they bid farewell to Mr. Oxycontin. It's as simple as that.

But Limbaugh, not knowing why in the world anyone would reject him, immediately blamed his woes on a conspiracy, vast left wing conspiracy, when he should have just been looking in the mirror.

Well, Mike Lupica's column hit the nail on the head so well, I had to include it here in it's entirety.

Mike Lupica: Rush Limbaugh learns there is no room for him as a team owner in the NFL

Rush Limbaugh is always an advocate of a robust free-enterprise system, as it relates from health care to everything else. Only now he squeals because the same free-enterprise system rejects him as a possible owner of the St. Louis Rams football team.

You may have heard, Rush isn't taking this well at all, being told an exclusive private club of National Football League owners, along with Commissioner Roger Goodell, only want him as close to their sport as he is watching games with his NFL Sunday Ticket package.

So this must be a conspiracy. And an attack on conservatism, too, even though no one knew until now that comparing the behavior of the Chargers and Patriots one time to the Bloods and Crips was just another example of Rush being the acknowledged leader of the conservative movement in America.

President Obama is part of the conspiracy, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, the head of the NFL Players Association, DeMaurice Smith, a hateful media, and whomever stole the strawberries on Capt. Queeg in "The Caine Mutiny."

Why? Because the league couldn't possibly be telling him they don't want him, that's why.

Except that is exactly what is happening. It's not conservatism they're rejecting.

It's him.

Rush gets banged out of Dave Checketts' ownership group-and what did Checketts suppose was going to happen when he asked Limbaugh to get on board with him?-and immediately started screaming about the "race hustlers" like Sharpton and Jackson doing him in. No. He did himself in, with his own body of work. And, let's face it, Limbaugh calling anybody else a race hustler is pretty wonderful. You'd say this was an example of the pot calling the kettle black but, well, you know.

Sharpton in particular is a champion race hustler. So is Limbaugh. What he said about Donovan McNabb one time was just one small lyric in a song he's been singing for years, all the way to song parodies about "Barack the Magic Negro." But that was all right, that's what he told us, he was just looking for some laughs and, besides, it was just something he read in a Los Angeles Times headline.

Limbaugh says that the media has only gone after him this way because it hates him. But he's not important enough to hate.

There Limbaugh was on the "The Today Show" earlier this week talking about how his critics are just shooting "BB's at a battleship." Then he starts taking fire from all directions at even the notion that he could be a part-owner of the Rams, and gets hysterical. You dish the way Limbaugh does, you have to be able to take it better than this.

This is what they're doing to the country, folks! This is what is happening on Wall Street! Now it's happened to me! Limbaugh is never funny when he tries to be. But this week he was as funny as he's ever been.

The best idea of all here was that this is America, he's got the money, why shouldn't he be able to buy a seat at the table? Right. Rush should try that with Augusta National, where he likes to remind us he's played golf plenty of times. He's got the money. He likes golf. He should just show up at the front gate with a check and tell them he's ready to join, and where's the first tee. See how that works out for him.

Back when Martha Burk tried to force Augusta National's hand and get the club to admit a woman member, Limbaugh praised Hootie Johnson, then the chairman of the club, for not "caving" in. Right. A private club deciding who-and what-it wanted. The NFL basically did the same thing to him. Only now, because it's him, it's a vast left-wing conspiracy and a secret plot from the NFLPA because of an upcoming collective bargaining agreement.

The race hustlers, the lefties, they're behind this. Sportswriters, too. Yeah, owners in sports always do exactly what we tell them in the sports section.

Rush Limbaugh thinks he can say anything he wants to about anybody, black or white, and never have to face any consequences. Only this week there were consequences. Imagine something like that happening to a big powerful guy like him.

The NFL treated him like he was Rodney Dangerfield trying to join the club in "Caddyshack."

Where Did All The Rational People Go?

I saw this on Hardball last night and all I could do was shake my head... after I had picked my jaw up off the floor.

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Seriously, Oath Keeper guy? When law enforcement officers and military personnel lose their process of rational thinking to the point of joining this pathetic, fear mongering group, it really is time to worry. Why is it that this group formed only after a black man won the Presidential election? Do you seriously think they would exist under a President John McCain? Me neither.

More Proof Fox News Isn't News

The backlash after Sunday's talk shows in which David Alexrod and Rahm Emanuel took a shot at Fox "News" for being more opinion and propaganda than news has been on the rise. But here's just more proof.



(H/T Video via Cesca)

Obama Loves States' Rights

This should be a big win for conservative states' rights proponents. Or will they be their hypocritical Republican selves?

The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new policy guidelines to be sent to federal prosecutors Monday.

Two Justice Department officials described the new policy to The Associated Press, saying prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state laws.

The new policy is a significant departure from the Bush administration, which insisted it would continue to enforce federal anti-pot laws regardless of state codes.

Douchebag of the Week: Richard Heene

Man, oh man! This has been some week for the Balloon Boy and his camera hogging, questionnaire box having, morning show vomit inducing, attention whoring parents.

Didn't it strike anyone a bit strange that the first thing a father would do, whose boy who has supposedly floated out into space in a homemade weather balloon no less, is to call the local television news before dialing 911? Couldn't any of our intrepid media, with all the "experts" at their disposal have deduced the impossibility of the physics involved in the size of the balloon and the weight of an average six-year old, with or without the vomit? Apparently, the only experts CNN could find were the ones that really knew how to work that fancy-schmancy telestrator, increasing and decreasing the the size of a balloon graphic at the touch of a couple of index fingers.

And how about Wolf Blitzer, who could've had the scoop, an exclusive interview when a kid named Falcon implicated his mom and dad in a hoax for publicity by honestly answering why he didn't come out when they called him. "You guys said we did this for the show." But good ol' Wolfy, probably not paying attention to the answer because he was too busy composing the next question in his pea-brain, completely missed it.

Three days after the world watched a giant balloon fly through the air as a tearful family expressed fears that their 6-year-old boy could be inside, authorities announced what millions already suspected: The whole thing was staged.

Good job, Wolf.

On Sunday, Alderden called the incident a "hoax," adding that investigators believe the evidence indicates that "it was a publicity stunt" by the family in hopes of "better marketing themselves for a reality television show at some point in the future."

The parents, Richard and Mayumi Heene, met in a Hollywood acting school and "put on a very good show for us," Alderden said. Authorities know there was "a conspiracy" between them, he added.

The sheriff's announcement included an admission that authorities misled the media on Friday when they said they still believed it was not a hoax. After Falcon's remark on CNN Thursday night, "it became very clear to us at that point that they were lying," Alderden said.

The "nonverbal responses" and "verbal cues" from the children at that moment made it clear, Alderden said.

But in order to get to the truth, "it was very important during this time that they maintained their trust with us." So investigators misled the media while they carried out their "game plan" of gathering the truth.

And they would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for those meddling kids.

Really, Mayumi Heene should also get honorable mention for going along with the shenanigans and having no problem involving the children, but what put it over the top was the big announcement that Richard Heene had, which amounted to a cardboard box that reporters could place questions in. I suppose he's better at scripts than improvisation.

Douchebag of the Week: Richard "Balloon Boy Hoax" Heene.

White House: Fox News Is Not A News Organization

Wingnuts fling feces in 5... 4... 3...





Does any rational person still really doubt this? Fox News has always had a conservative slant which is their right. They're in the business of infotainment and they'll hawk whatever will turn a profit. But "fair and balanced" it's never been. And anyone who says that MSNBC is a liberal equivalent is sorely mistaken. Other than the two straight liberal shows (Countdown and The Rachel Maddow Show) who base their stories on facts instead of lies and distortions, show me the Fox News equivalent of Morning Joe or Hardball? Show me a liberal nutball on MSNBC crying on a nightly basis with leaps of logic on a prop blackboard. Sure, Keith Olbermann can be over emotional, but look for criticisms and factchecking on his show based on what he says instead of how he says it and you'll have a long, hard search.

The White House has every reason to be wary of real news organizations falling into the for-profit, if it bleeds it leads, Fox style of "news" broadcasting. No one says Fox can't have it's opinion, but purposely misleading or distorting facts, or building a segment based on RNC talking points complete with typos is not news.