Make Them Vote NO - UPDATED

Yesterday, the Senate brought the financial reform cloture vote to the floor again, and for the second straight day, Republicans voted against moving forward on financial reform debate. For the second straight day, Republicans voted to protect Wall Street while claiming to be looking out for Main Street.

We didn't hear about that vote because the mainstream media was too engrossed in the Goldman Sachs Senate hearing. You know, the one where Senators were saying naughty words. We didn't hear about the second vote because the MSM likes drama and the GOP blocking the financial bill a second time was "old" news. Twenty four hours old.

However, I am beginning to enjoy the Democratic strategy of making the GOP vote against cloture over and over and over again. Someone is going to notice and say, "Hey, what's with the Republicans opposing financial reform?" Maybe they'll be saying that today on the news with a story of the impending block for a third straight day. Just like the Goldman Sachs executives claiming they did nothing wrong, Republicans will eventually be exposed for their bullshit excuses on why they're on their knees for the fat cats soon enough.

UPDATE (2:55pm): Republicans vote 'No' for a third straight day. But the fun is just beginning.

TPM: Frustrated by an ongoing campaign by the GOP to block debate on financial reform legislation, Democrats plan to hold the Senate floor open all night, potentially holding repeated votes to break the filibuster, or forcing Republicans to publicly object to debating their bill. But the move comes just as Republicans appear closer than ever to throwing in the towel.

Could it be that staying on the floor all night put a crimp in Sen. Mitch McConnell's beach plans to lay his eggs and bury them?

Quote of the Day

Eugene Robinson: Isn't the whole premise of the Tea Party movement that overreaching government poses a grave threat to individual freedom? It seems to me that a law allowing individuals to be detained and interrogated on a whim -- and requiring legal residents to carry identification documents, as in a police state -- would send the Tea Partyers into apoplexy. Or is there some kind of exception if the people whose freedoms are being taken away happen to have brown skin and might speak Spanish?

Liar

Why did Nebraska Democratic Senator Ben Nelson vote with Republicans to block the financial reform bill?

...Nelson said he was worried the "legislation will adversely impact Main Street when the focus needs to be on Wall Street. ... I don't think everyone is aware of the unintended consequences."

Oh really?

The removal of a provision that would have dramatically benefited financial tycoon and Nebraska native Warren Buffett, it was said, played a role in the Senator's flip.

"He was on board until today and the only thing that changed was the removal of that provision," said one Democratic aide, who definitively said Nelson changed his vote because the Buffett carveout was removed.

Ben Nelson sold out the American people for a short while for $8 billion, the money Warren Buffett's company would have to set aside to cover potential losses on derivatives contracts.

Ben Nelson sold out the country for Warren Buffett, one of the wealthiest men if not the wealthiest, in the world.

Republicans Protect Wall Street As Expected

Senate Republicans followed through on their threat today to block debate on a financial regulatory reform bill authored by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT)...

The move ratchets up a political food fight between Democrats and Republicans, with Dems on the offense, charging that the GOP's decision to block progress on the legislation puts them on the side of Wall Street.

...Speaking on the Senate floor hours before the vote, Majority Leader Harry Reid said the vote "reveal[s] who believes we need to strengthen oversight of Wall Street, and who does not [and] force[s] each Senator to publicly proclaim whether party unity is more important than economic security."

So how do you think Tea Party members are feeling about their hero, populist Scott Brown, right about now siding with the big banks? And what is Olympia Snowe's excuse? She insisted that Reid include Senator Blanche Lincoln's amendment into the bill - which he did - and then voted against it anyway. And there's Ben Nelson being all dickish again.  Maybe the weight of his Fred Flintstone haircut is affecting his brain.  Or perhaps he wants his "Cornhusker Kickback" returned. The one that he says he never asked for.

Now let's see if all this Tea Party mania and rhetoric is actually about what they say it's about. Or if it's about a black man in the White House. I mean, hey, when you have David Duke on your side...

UPDATE (8pm): Why did Nelson vote with the GOP? Maybe this is the answer.

A Decent Man in Oklahoma

And guess what? He's a Democrat.

Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry said he vetoed a bill that would require women to go through ultrasound examinations before abortions to avoid a court fight.

Henry Friday also vetoed a measure that would have banned wrongful birth lawsuits, The Oklahoman reported Saturday. Such suits are brought by parents of children born with Down’s syndrome and other congenital problems that were not diagnosed during pregnancy.

Henry, a Democrat, said the first bill was likely to involve the state in expensive litigation. He also described the bill as too sweeping because there are no exceptions for victims of rape or incest.

"State policymakers should never mandate that a citizen be forced to undergo any medical procedure against his or her will, especially when such a procedure could cause physical or mental trauma," Henry said.

Sounds to me to be a basic human right. And why are small government proponents, as most conservatives are, always the first to author legislation to get into your personal medical business? Hypocrites.

Hey Arizona: How About Having An Illegal EMPLOYER Law?

More than half of the Arizona businesses that had their workforces audited by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents since last July have been found to have illegal workers on their payrolls.

If there were stiff penalties for hiring illegal workers, maybe we wouldn't be seeing unconstitutional laws signed by governors for political advantage. Theoretically, I could be on vacation in Arizona and be stopped and arrested by law enforcement officials because I'm not carrying my birth certificate. Show of hands: how many people carry their birth certificates with them?

Stop hiring them and they'll stop coming.

Aren't You Glad He's Not Our President?

Say whatever's convenient at the time.

Crooks and Liars: "...CNN noted on Friday, John McCain was for comprehensive immigration reform before he was against it before he was for it and, ultimately, against it again.

Hard-pressed on his right flank by J.D. Hayworth, John McCain on Monday broke his silence on the new law. He endorsed the measure as a "good tool" because, among other things, "drivers of cars with illegals in them that are intentionally causing accidents on the freeways."

For their part, Suzanne Malveaux and Dana Bash of CNN went to the videotape to show McCain's pathetic back-and-forth-and-back-and-forth on immigration."

MAVERICK!!!

Must Reads

Bob Cesca: Glenn Beck: the Televangelist Con Man Selling God's Plan for America

The Rude Pundit: The Oklahoma Legislature Will Look Inside Your Daughter's Vagina (Part of the "Your State Sucks, Too" Series)

Paul Krugman: Don’t Cry for Wall Street

Dan Froomkin: Deficit Group Formed By Barney Frank Looks Where Others Dare Not -- At Defense Budget

Time Wise: Imagine If The Tea Party Was Black

GottaLaff: Sarah Palin: Glenn Beck's "chalkboard technique changing our country"

OTOOLEFAN: THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE SPELT CORRECTLY

Daryl Cagle: Apple: You Can Ridicule Obama, but Don’t Bash Tiger Woods

President Obama's Weekly Address - April 24, 2010

Good News from the Auto Industry

Quote of the Day

"What we have here - and my Republican friends, they found death panels where they weren't in the health bill, they're ignoring death panels where they are in the financial bill - none of the money involved here is either going to be taxpayer money, nor can even the privately raised money, privately funded money, be spent except at funeral expenses to put an institution out of business."

~ Rep. Barney Frank on the GOP "Bailout Bill" talking point and explaining what is actually in the financial reform bill.

Is This Sexist?

"Let's take [Ohio Democratic Rep.] Betty Sutton out of the House and put her back in the kitchen."

Medina County GOP chairman Bill Heck doesn't think so.

...Sigh...

For Once Dick Cheney Is RIght

Huffington Post: While the current vice president is showing contrition over dropping an F-bomb, the last one seems proud of his own famous off-color moment [in telling Senator Patrick Leahy to "go fuck himself" on the Senate floor].

...Cheney, who has never regretted the incident, appeared on Thursday's "Dennis Miller Show" and took a compliment about it from the host.

"I love that move," Miller said while thanking Cheney for going after Leahy. "One of my favorite stories -- muttering that."

Cheney responded that a lot of people liked the comment. "That's sort of the best thing I ever did."

And he's right. Can you think of anything else Dick Cheney did in his eight years as Vice President that was less damaging? I can't. Therefore, he's right when he says it's "the best thing I ever did" because anything he did before (Halliburton, Liz Cheney) or after (not having the decency to die after multiple heart attacks) was infinitely worse.

No Help For Ensign

Perhaps Senator Ensign should have saved that mistress hush money for his re-election campaign.

As lawmakers rollout their campaign fundraising totals for the first quarter of 2010, Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) has little to boast about: the embattled senator's re-election campaign took in just $50 in contributions -- all of which came from a single donor.

Fifty. Dollars.

...D'OH!

Unemployed Gecko

If I were able to hire, I'd give him a job just on principle.

Huffington Post: Lance Baxter, better known as D.C. Douglas but perhaps best known as the voice of Geico commercials ("15 minutes could save you 15 percent or more on your car insurance") has been fired by the insurance company after leaving a voicemail for Tea Party group FreedomWorks.

Douglas asked FreedomWorks in his voicemail what "the percentage of people that are mentally retarded who are working for FreedomWorks and who are following it," or as he has since put it, he "inquired as to their intelligence level."

Stewart Responds to Bernie Goldberg

One of his best bits ever.

Cartoon of the Day

What The Fuck?

I think I need a gun to protect myself... from these fucking nutjobs!

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

"They get the first shot, we get the last." Unbelievable. How about they get the first shot, you get the second shot and they obliterate you with the third shot? How's that for gun rights? And the "You're a socialist!" rant that Pratt goes on about, is everyone a socialist because they believe in the Constitutional right to "promote the general welfare"? Pratt sounded like Oprah! "You're a socialist and you're a socialist and you're a socialist!" as he pointed fingers to Matthews, Roosevelt, Truman, JFK, Nixon and even Herbert Hoover.

It's these wingnuts that actually threaten gun rights - because if I listen to these guys long enough, I would be scared shitless that they own guns. Has President Obama said anything, has any legislation been considered to tighten gun rights or repeal the 2nd Amendment? This bluster has to stop before another wingnut hurts someone.

Also read Rude Pundit: People With Nothing Better to Do Descend on Virginia and DC

Goldman Sachs and Pillages

Can you believe the balls on these crooks?

Goldman Sachs Bonuses: Bank Paying Staff Over $5 Billion For Just Three Months Work

Goldman Sachs is facing a potential backlash in Europe over the fraud case brought against it in the United States, with Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown calling for authorities there to investigate and accusing the investment bank of "moral bankruptcy."

...Brown, currently facing a tough re-election battle, seemed additionally angry at Goldman Sachs' plan to pay 3.5 billion pounds ($5.4 billion) in bonuses as reported in British newspapers.

"I am shocked at this moral bankruptcy," he said on BBC TV. "This is probably one of the worst cases that we have seen."

Brown called for a "new global constitution for the banking system" that would, among other things, ban bonus packages like the ones planned by Goldman Sachs.

Dumbass Tweet of the Day

People actually voted for this guy.

Douchebag of the Week: Thomas Mitchell

The Editor of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Thomas "Look at my awesome cowboy hat and my sweet Wyatt Earp moustache" Mitchell wrote a swell column about voting bias. Not, white voters overwhelmingly voting for white candidates or blacks voters voting for black candidates, or even Tea Party voters voting for nutball candidates. No, Mitchell thinks that women are "fickle and biased" towards Democratic candidates and therefore it's time to repeal the 19th Amendment. You know, the one that gave women the right to vote.

How does he come to this stellar conclusion?

Just look at the poll results in today’s newspaper.

Men favored the attractive former beauty queen Sue Lowden over the graying Harry Reid by 22 points, while women shunned their gender mate, choosing Reid by a 2-point margin. Which proves women favor Democrats.

Not convinced? Well let’s back it up a week and look at the poll results published this past Sunday.

In a head-to-head match among Reid, Lowden and Tea Party pretender Scott Ashjian, the men favored Lowden by 19 points over Reid and women picked Reid by a 3-point margin. Ashjian was in single digits.

But change the Republican option from Lowden to former basketball star Danny Tarkanian and it is a different tale. Men still favored the Republican by 16 points and doubled their support by Ashjian to 15 points. Women, on the other hand, chose Reid by 16 points, proving they’d rather vote for a woman than a male Republican.

Hoo-hoo! Get it? Reid's a woman!

Now let me add that if this is supposed to be satirical, as some of the commenters in his editorial have suggested, I didn't get it. At. All.

No, I just happen to think that Thomas Mitchell is a typical misogynist, Republican prick who doesn't understand why illogical, fickle, emotional women are trusted with the right to vote because they obviously aren't voting for Party of No douchebags. Therefore they must not have any clue about the issues.

Thomas Mitchell: Douchebag of the Week!

Why I Love Rep. Anthony Weiner

Weiner: “I follow Twitter for the Tea Party and just show up to fuck with them... No, I don’t do that. I just sit at my desk and they send me talcum powder every couple of weeks.”

Must Reads

Jeffrey Joseph: FOX Getting Too Vitriolic, Even for Life-Long Republicans

Bill Moyers & Michael Winship: Crocodile Tears on Wall Street

Charles M. Blow: A Mighty Pale Tea

Matt Apuzzo & Adam Goldman: Destruction of Torture Videotapes Documented in CIA Email

driftglass: Weird Political Science

Doctor Biobrain: Donald Douglas Doesn't Know What a Tax Cut Is

My Facebook Debate with A Right Winger

Not too long ago, Armadillo Joe gave us a post about his Facebook debate with a Texas conservative, the place where he once called home. Now I too have fallen into the trap of debating someone on Facebook with a "different take" on the politics of the day. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but a complete fantasy world can be lethal.

It all started with a Facebook friend, who I'll refer to as "Karen," because her name is Karen, adding this comment as her Facebook status:

"Ok - so I'm hangin with the tea party crowd and they're listening to some annoying radio show MCed by an equally annoying person called Mark Levin. Time to turn the shuffle on HIGH. With all that's going on in the world today - the last thing I can deal with is someone with the voice of gloom and doom."

To which someone I'll refer to as "John," because his name is John, replied:

"Well I would love to be there! I would say I am more a Reagen [sic] conservative! As long as we have small gov less taxes and big defense I am good to go!!"

Well, you know me. I couldn't just let that go. So I commented:

"John, you do know that Reagan blew the national debt out of the water to $3 trillion at the time, more than all presidents before him combined, don't you? I know I'm opening up a can of worms."

John: "And now Obama has increased the debt to more then all presidents combined and that's four more presidents then when Reagen [sic] was including Ronald. Plus he has made our country week [sic] by his apolgy [sic] tour. And let's not forget how he insults our allies. Plus I never heard a president trash talk american people like he does! He controls the.[sic] Highest office and acts like a school kid!"

The gloves are off. It's on, brohim!

Continue reading "My Facebook Debate with a Right Winger."

President Obama's Weekly Address - April 17, 2010

Holding Wall Street Accountable

Tea Party Protesters

Because the Tea Party is all about being "taxed to death."




Photos by Ana Marie Cox

UPDATE (7:30pm): I just finished watching a Chris Matthews interview with a couple of well spoken Tea Party representatives, but the main problem with their stance was that they were unwilling to admit that there was even a fringe element of their group that thought violence against the government was appropriate (24% according to a new New York Times poll) and only 41% believe President Obama is an American. They ask where the documentation is but refuse to call themselves Birthers. As long as they dismiss polls and refuse to acknowledge the dangerous elements in their midst, they will not be taken seriously.

Cartoon of the Day

Old Testament Scholar Resigns After Evolution Endorsement

Next thing you know, theological scholars will be turning in their keys for believing in gravity.

Sarah Palin Saturation?

Being that Sarah Palin is in the news every day, I recently began to wonder whether her white hot "star quality" would burn out relatively quickly and people would just begin to tire of her folksy, uneducated ways, especially with the news of her Discovery Channel pitch for a show featuring Alaska. Sarah Palin's Alaska. You know, the one filled with oil derricks and tarred otters, skies filled with hunter loaded airplanes shooting wolves, and a tour of her home town meth labs.

Well now it looks like there's a possibility that Sarah saturation may be taking place. The ad buyers sales conference for Discovery didn't go too well after the Palin show was promoted to prospective buyers. "No one took it seriously" and "an all time low for Discovery" are just a couple of quotes that jump out.

From a no-name half term governor of a state whose population is that of ten square blocks of Manhattan, prematurely thrust into the spotlight as a candidate to be a heartbeat away from the presidency, to 24/7 Palin with book tours that were ghostwritten for her, Tea Party Express tours in which she praises the movement but still stumps for the establishment, Fox News misinformed commentary and analysis complete with fake interviews, and now a soon to be failed Discovery Channel "reality" show, Sarah Palin is raking in the money, burning hot and burning out fast... well, at least we can hope it'll be fast.

(H/T GottaLaff)

Republicans Fighting For The Banks

This is what happens when you let the children sit at the grown up's table. For a year now, we've been hearing about the "Obama bank bailout" (started by Bush if you've forgotten) and how Wall Street was propsering while Main Street suffered. President Obama has even gotten the banks to pay back part if not all of the bailout money, but no matter.

And now that the Obama administration is forging ahead with major financial reform, the GOP is crying foul.

President Barack Obama planned to "turn up the pressure for an overhaul of Wall Street regulations" as he met with congressional leaders this morning, including the Democratic and Republican leaders of both the House and Senate.

The Senate is preparing to take up a sweeping overhaul of financial regulations regimen in less than two weeks. Republican leaders have already promised to reject broad changes proposed by Democrats.

So do the Republicans plan on winning in November on a platform of repealing health care reform and protecting the status quo of the banks and Wall Street? God, I hope so.

Oh Noes! Results of Health Care Backlash at the Polls

Huffington Post:

A Democratic state senator on Tuesday handily won the first U.S. House race since Congress passed a massive health care overhaul, beating a decidedly underdog Republican who tried to use the backlash against the measure to pull an upset.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Florida state Sen. Ted Deutch had 62 percent of the vote compared to 35 percent for Republican Ed Lynch.

Deutch, an attorney, and Lynch, a contractor, both 44, were vying to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler.

..."We've heard for months that tonight ... is a referendum on health care, it's a referendum on the (President Barack Obama) administration, it's a referendum on what direction this country is going," Deutch added. "Let me tell you something, what we learned today is that in Broward County and Palm Beach County, Florida, the Democratic Party is alive and well."

62 percent. It wasn't even close! I certainly hope that this is a referendum on what direction we are headed. Pundits are going to be draw blood scratching their heads over this one today.

Health Care Reform: The Morning After

~Submitted by special guest contributor, Barbara O'Brien of The Mahablog fame.

Many politicians and pundits warned us that the health care reform (HCR) legislation that just became law will destroy America. Government bureaucrats will take over health care decisions, we were told. The old and infirm would be hauled away by death panels. Everything about the way we receive our medical care will change, and change drastically, they said.

Medicare recipients have been frightened by stories that their benefits will be cut. Middle-age people are worried they will lose their jobs when the law’s dreaded regulations, or taxes, or maybe regulations with taxes, would destroy their employers’ businesses.

The truth is, very little will change for most people. If you were insured by employee benefits before HCR, you will be insured by exactly the same policy in exactly the same way after HCR. You will have access to the same doctors on the same terms. “Government bureaucrats” will no more be involved in your health care than they were before.

And the same is true of Medicare, which of course is a government program, although many of the people who opposed the HCR bill don’t seem to know that.

Here are the “cataclysmic” changes to health care that are now in effect, or which will go into effect within the next six months for people who are already in group insurance plans:

• The law says you can’t lose your insurance coverage because you get sick. Before, in many states, if you were stricken with a severe illness such as mesothelioma cancer that would be expensive to treat, your insurer could use just about any excuse to cancel your coverage. That is over.

• HCR has ended lifetime limits on coverage. As long as you are receiving medical care, your insurer pays the bills.

• Your children can be covered on your existing policy until they are 26 years old.

• In six months, insurers cannot refuse to insure people under the age of 19 because of “pre-existing conditions.” This provision will go into effect for everyone in 2014.

And if you are on Medicare, you will be asked to struggle with the following:

• You get a free annual checkup.

• The co-pays and deductibles on many preventive care services are eliminated.

• If you are in the Medicare D “doughnut hole,” doughnut hole,” doughnut hole,” doughnut hole,” you will get a $250 rebate check in a few weeks. The hole itself will be closed gradually and will be gone by 2020.

But what about all those terrible regulations and taxes that are about to drive businesses out of business? Um, there really isn’t much to report. Oh, wait, here’s one — a 10 percent tax on indoor tanning services that use ultraviolet lamps will go into effect July 1. That’s about it.

However, beginning this year a tax credit will be available for some small businesses to help provide insurance coverage for employees.

Soon the politicians and pundits will start trying to frighten you about the provisions that will go into effect after this year. I assure you they are about as scary as the provisions that go into effect this year, but I will discuss them in a follow-up post.

— Barbara O’Brien

Tea Party Scumbag Carl Paladino's Racist E-Mails

When are these morons going to realize that e-mail is not private? If you forward dumb ass, racist, pornographic e-mails, eventually you're going to offend someone and they're going to rat you out.

WNYMedia.net reveals that [New York Gubernatorial Candidate Carl] Paladino has “regularly forwarded pornography and racially degrading material to friends on the Internet.” The Buffalo News reports:

[WNYMedia.net managing director Marc] Odien released e-mail pictures that supposedly show Miss France having sex with a man, a photo of dancing African tribesmen entitled “Obama Inauguration Rehearsal,” a photo of President Obama and the first lady doctored to simulate a 1970s pimp and prostitute, and an e-mail showing chimpanzees doing an Irish dance entitled “proof the Irish discovered Africa."

And of course, in the new era of No Accountability, all you have to do is blame the Democrats. First he tried to sidestep the question of the e-mails by saying he didn't know what e-mails reporters were referring to, then that he forwarded e-mails without knowing what was in them and finally he was being smeared by Democrats...



...and now comes a crap ass apology and again trying to deflect and transfer the blame of his amazing stupidity of forwarding offensive, pornographic and racially incendiary e-mails on the Democrats!

"I confess to being human and imperfect, as are all of God's children," [Paladino]  told a Buffalo crowd Monday. "I am proud that I've created hundreds of jobs and opportunity for people of every ethnicity, color and sexual preference."

Paladino said he "didn't originate any of these e-mails" and was "somewhat careless" in forwarding them.

He said he tried to send the e-mails to "a very specific bunch of friends who somewhat enjoy that humor."

Paladino apologized to women for passing along porn - but not men.

"I say this to the men out there who have never opened a graphic image on the Internet: Don't vote for me. For those who have, I welcome your vote," he said.

Paladino's spokesman:

We're not surprised the political establishment feels threatened by Carl's drive the take Albany back for taxpayers. Our campaign won't be wading through the details of what is just another liberal Democrat blog smear. It figures that members of the Party who brought us record taxes, record spending and record debt would want to change the topic from reform to having sex with horses and S&M parlors.

Is Paladino racist? Who knows? Did he send racist e-mails? Absolutely. Now, I'm not going to say that I haven't engaged in off color humor (I'm an equal opportunity offender, including self-depricating humor) but I'm also not running for fucking Governor of New York State! And what kind of idiot actually forwards e-mails without knowing their content? Have you or anyone you know ever done that? He's obviously a liar as well as a classless punk and yet another millionaire trying to capitalize on the Tea Party rubes thinking it has anything to do with grass roots.

And yet after all of this, Paladino still thinks "the e-mails will not hurt his chances to gain the Republican Party's nomination this summer."

Clueless. I'm eagerly standing by to watch the inevitable political implosion of Carl Paladino.

Quote of the Day

Frank Rich:

“I was right 70 percent of the time, but I was wrong 30 percent of the time,” said Alan Greenspan as he testified last week on Capitol Hill. Greenspan — a k a the Oracle during his 18-year-plus tenure as Fed chairman — could not have more vividly illustrated how and why geniuses of his stature were out to lunch while Wall Street imploded. No doubt he applied his full brain power to that 70-30 calculation. But the big picture eludes him. If the captain of the Titanic followed the Greenspan model, he could claim he was on course at least 70 percent of the time too.

Must Reads

Tina Dupuy: Trust in the GOP’s Dearth of Experience

The Rude Pundit: Confederate History Month Is for Losers

Gail Collins: A Confederacy of Dunces

Bob Cesca: Exposing Glenn Beck as a Dangerous Fraud

Raine at Four Freedoms Blog: Damn Right I'm Over-Sensitive

President Obama's Weekly Address - April 10, 2010

Relief for the Middle Class at Tax Time

Justice John Paul Stevens Retiring

Breaking News from MSNBC: Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, the court's oldest member and leader of its liberal bloc, he is retiring. President Barack Obama now has his second high court opening to fill.

Of course, Party of No Senator John Kyl has already pre-emptively said he'd block any nomination before the news was official.

GOP heads explode in 5, 4, 3...

UPDATE (3:55pm):

President Obama: Obama hailed Stevens as an “impartial guardian of the law” and promised to move quickly to nominate a replacement.

“We cannot replace Justice Stevens’ experience or wisdom,” Obama said at the White House after returning from a nuclear treaty-signing trip to Prague. “I’ll seek someone in the coming weeks with similar qualities: an independent mind, a record of excellence and integrity, a fierce dedication to the rule of law and a keen understanding of how the law affects the daily lives of the American people. It will also be someone who, like Justice Stevens, knows that in democracy powerful interests must not be allowed to drown out the voices of ordinary citizens.”

Why Does Sarah Palin and the Republican Party Hate Ronald Reagan?

The current crazy crop of the GOP is a harvest for Jon Stewart and The Daily Show. They can fill hours upon hours of broadcasting just covering the insanity coming from the pieholes of these nitwits.



Absolutely no sense of history, these yokels. And they are elected representatives. It makes me sad for my country knowing there are soooo many that can be so easily duped.

Touchdown Jesus Facelift!

My mother-in-law sent me this article.

A giant depiction of Jesus Christ that has become one of southwest Ohio's most familiar landmarks is getting spruced up.

The Solid Rock Church says it is power-washing and painting the eye-catching "King of Kings" statue along Interstate 75 in Monroe, about midway between Cincinnati and Dayton. Church officials say the work on the 62-foot-tall statue is needed to treat weather exposure. Some 60 gallons of paint will be used.

We've driven by this monstrosity multiple times while visiting my wife's home state of Ohio and I never get over it. It's right on the fucking highway!

It's a shame that the church doesn't see fit to use the money for, oh I don't know,  maybe a food bank or a homeless shelter. But whatever.

My only question is this: Is Touchdown Jesus rooting for the Bengals or the Browns? Is he screaming a Holy 'Who Dey!' or is he a member of the Deity Dawg Pound?

Tiger's New Nike Ad

During this whole Tiger Woods fiasco since last November, I pretty much thought that his personal life is his business. I never admired Tiger Woods as a good family man, or a straight arrow because I don't know the guy. I admired his golf game. That was what I knew about him.

So I got a little tired of the criticism of Woods on a seemingly daily basis by a scandal hungry media who care more about balloon boys or who cheated on whom instead of more important things. It was Anna Nicole Smith all over again. And when all these women came out of the woodwork seeking their fifteen minutes, it really started to get stupid. Oh, these poor, victimized women who were tragically taken advantage of by the evil Tiger Woods, at least that's how it was portrayed in the media. To which I say, "Uh, didn't ANY of these women know Woods was married? Because the rest of the fucking planet did!" Is it okay to be the only mistress but unacceptable to be one of many cheaters? 

So let Woods do what he needs to do, go to sex rehab if he wants to (although no single man or woman would be going to rehab in the same situation), let him take the time he needs to get his life back together and when he comes back, I hope he wins the first goddamn tournament he's in just so we don't have to hear anymore about anything in Tiger's non-golfing life. And if he doesn't want to talk about it, that's his right.

Then came the release of a new Nike ad on the day of Tiger's return to The Masters.



What. The. Fuck.

Let it go, man. If you don't want to talk about it, if you want to keep your private life private, then the last thing you want to do is exploit the melodrama that has been your life these last six months in a fucking television ad, and using your dead father's voice to boot! That's just creepy, man.

I don't know who advised Woods to do this ad, but it in my opinion, it was the exact wrong move.

Now go win the fucking Masters.

Heirarchy Complicitus

Mark Fiore's new animation hits the nail on the head regarding the tone deafness of the Catholic Church's failure to address decades of child abuse.

Tweet of the Day

CNN's ratings are in the shitter and have been for some time, but instead of maybe trying something new like being a real news organization again with no bias like the BBC, they decide to go the Fox News route and kowtow to the right. Nevermind that Fox has that demographic sewn up, CNN is following them down the road to perdition in the hopes of gathering Roger Ailes' table scraps.

So they hire right wing loon and Red State editor Erick Erickson, who immediately says something ridiculous about pulling out his wife's shotgun should a census worker come on his property.

Bill Press then asks White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs for a reaction to the statement and reports it. CNN, who has since stopped reporting in lieu of four hours of Wolf Blitzer and his Magical Beard, instead of researching for verification accuses Press of making it up, to which Press comes back with the impressive Tweet above.

CNN - the most trusted name in news indeed.

Jon Stewart on McCain's Monumental Flip-Flop

Classic.

The Maverick Goes Maverick On The Maverick!

This is truly the best "What The Fuck" moment EVER! In a feeble effort to fight back against the growing tide of Hurricane Hayworth in his state primary, Arizona Senator Maverick McMaverick now claims he never considered himself a maverick.

"Maverick" is a mantle McCain no longer claims; in fact, he now denies he ever was one. "I never considered myself a maverick," he told [Newsweek's David Margolick]. "I consider myself a person who serves the people of Arizona to the best of his abilities."

Speaking for myself, I knew he wasn't a maverick, but judging by the video, I don't think McCain did.



Very mavericky!

Adding... There's also this.

Amercia? What's Amercia?

...Sigh...

Opening Day!

Mets win 7-1 over the Florida Marlins.

Happy Easter!

Don't You Love A President with A Sense of Humor?

...and perspective?



(H/T Cesca)

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

Shameless

Via HuffPo: At a solemn Good Friday service, Pope Benedict XVI's personal preacher likened the tide of allegations that the pontiff has covered up sex abuse cases to the "more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism."

...As the pope listened in a hushed St. Peter's Basilica, the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa likened accusations against the pontiff and the Catholic church in sex abuse scandals in Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere to "collective violence" suffered by the Jews.

...Cantalamessa, in his reflections for the pope on the Catholic church's most solemn day, said he was inspired by a letter from an unidentified Jewish friend who was upset by the "attacks" against Benedict.

Jews "know from experience what it means to be victims of collective violence and also because of this they are quick to recognize the recurring symptoms," said Cantalamessa, a Franciscan priest.

Quoting from the letter, Cantalamessa said his Jewish friend was following "with indignation the violent and concentric attacks against the church, the pope and all the faithful of the whole world."

"The use of stereotypes, the passing from personal responsibility and guilt to a collective guilt remind me of the more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism," he said, quoting from the letter.

Yeah... tell me again why the Catholic church is losing its congregation? Of course, they then tried to distance themselves from the comments of the "rogue" reverend, but the damage was already done.

The Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, later contacted The Associated Press and said Cantalamessa wasn't speaking as a Vatican official when he compared "attacks'" on the pope to "collective" violence against Jews.

...Although the Vatican said Cantalamessa wasn't speaking as an official of the Holy See, its official daily newspaper L'Osservatore Romano ran the text of the homily in full.

Uh... I haven't thought about this much these last couple of drcades, but wouldn't that fall under the category of breaking the ninth commandment? A very sad Good Friday indeed.

Cartoon of the Day

John Forsythe Dies at 92

NY Times: John Forsythe, the debonair actor whose matinee-idol looks, confident charm and mellifluous voice helped make him the star of three hit television series, including ABC’s glamour soap “Dynasty,” died on Thursday in Santa Ynez, Calif. He was 92.

Goodbye, Charlie.

Tea Party Compromised by Secret Agents

Seriously? This is what they're touting to distance themselves from the crazy faction of the Tea Party to seem more legitimate? That possible agents have infiltrated the group to discredit them? I sincerely hope this is an April fool's joke.

[R]ecent Tea Party people who allegedly denounced a Parkinson’s patient or spat at gay and black congressmen might well have been agents. Offensive signs might be Made in DC too. Next might come calls for violence by alleged Tea Party types, and perhaps acts, which can be used to suppress dissent. Peaceful resistance is not only right, it is all that works, unless you are with the state. If anyone urges the use of violence, the state’s characteristic action, he is probably an agent.

Put your tin foil hats on boy and girls, and all aboard on the Crazy Train! Choo-Fucking-Choo!

Ooh, look! An agent posing as an elderly, keep-your-govmint-hands-off-my-Medicare, racist just to discredit the "movement."



Uh, huh. Looks like FBI to me. And Victoria Jackson is the Maxwell Smart of the FBI!

(H/T Bob Cesca)