The Land of Tolerance

Via Think Progress: ...two Muslim men were removed from a plane departing from Tennessee and set to arrive in Charlotte, North Carolina. Both the men were dressed in traditional Muslim garb, which made the pilot uncomfortable and caused him to refuse to fly them to their destination...

..The irony is, both men, as a local news affiliate reported, were on their way to Charlotte to attend “a conference of imams, where they would be discussing ‘Islamophobia,’ the fear of Islam.”

The pilot refused to fly these men. After they'd been screened. What is happening to this country?

She's Gonna Run, But Not To Win

POSTED BY JHW22

I have said all along that Sarah Palin will run for President. I have never believed she really wants to be President but she knows that the further down the road she gets, the more money she'll make. This article makes me think she is settling in for as long as possible.

I suspect most Republicans are holding off on their announcements to force her hand. She has said she will only run if other worthy candidates don't. We're watching a game of chicken here and I think the change in her foreign policy messaging means she'll announce soon.

In fact, I think she'll announce on May 21, when some think the world is going to end -- and then on May 22, she'll regret her decision when we're all still here.

Andrew Card Can Suck It

TPM: In an interview with German newspaper Der Spiegel, [former Bush administration Chief of Staff Andrew] Card said that Obama has "pounded his chest" too much over the death of Osama bin Laden, particularly by going to Ground Zero earlier this week, the site of the 9/11 attacks.

"I think he has pounded his chest a little too much," Card said. "He can take pride in it, but he does not need to show it so much."

Someone might want to remind Andrew Card of this:

Question: If laying a wreath at Ground Zero and personally thanking first responders is chest pounding, how does Andrew Card describe landing on an aircraft carrier in a fighter jet and declaring "mission accomplished" eight years and counting before the mission is actually accomplished... whatever their twisted definition of "accomplished" may be?

Chest pounding, indeed. Suck it, Andrew.

Must Reads

Digby: Burial At Sea

John Nichols: Paul Ryan Gets an Earful as Tour Bombs

Meredith Shiner: McCain: Waterboarding Didn't Help

Charles M. Blow: The Bin Laden Bounce

Dennis G: Only Real Men Torture Folks…

Chris Smith: Did Waterboarding Lead to Bin Laden’s Lair? Ex-FBI Specialist Says ‘No Way’

Alan Colmes: For No Apparent Reason, LA Gov. Bobby Jindal Releases Birth Certificate

President Obama's Weekly Address - May 7, 2011

Clean Energy to Out-Innovate the Rest of the World

Another Example of Obama Derangement Syndrome

Everyone makes mistakes, but this mistake illustrates the mind-set of some of the people who despise Obama with every fiber of their body. Even conspiracy theories that would appear entirely illogical to everyone else — like the American president ordering the American flag removed from ground zero — are readily embraced because they conform to a warped view of Obama's patriotism.

~ Dan Amira on the reaction from the wingnut right about this Jake Tapper tweet that was mistaken/propagandized as an "Obama hates the flag" moment.

Seriously.

Blogger Doug Ross wrote the following:

This administration and, by extension, the Democrat [sic] Party are now so thoroughly divorced from the history, traditions and morals of America that we might as well admit the Marxist left has executed a successful coup d'état on this Republic.

Fear the black man, secret Muslim! It's a coup! It's a coup!

Of course, Tapper was just tweeting his frustration that the flag was being taken down by construction workers at the end of the day just one minute before he was scheduled to go on air hours after the wreath ceremony. Michelle Malkin got into the act too.

They both realized their mistake later, but it goes to show you how rabid these wingnuts are, ready to pounce at anything that would give them a chance to criticize President Obama. And judging by the comments section (and Ross' non-apology apology) it really doesn't make a difference. Ross even goes back to the flag lapel pin bullshit to justify his poutrage. Eh, so what? It's believable, right? So fuck it.

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

Austan Goolsbee: ...Despite headwinds from high energy prices and disruptions from the disaster in Japan, the last three months of private job gains have been the strongest in five years. While the solid pace of employment growth in recent months is encouraging, faster growth is needed to replace the jobs lost in the downturn. We are seeing signs that the initiatives put in place by this Administration – such as the payroll tax cut and business incentives for investment – are creating the conditions for companies to add new jobs and foster the industries of the future. We will continue to work with Congress to find ways to reduce spending, so that we can live within our means without neglecting the investments in education, infrastructure, and clean energy that will strengthen our economy.

Yes, jobs, jobs, jobs. Something the Republican party ran on in November 2010, but judging by the votes taken in the House of Representatives so far, you'd think they ran on abortion, abortion, abortion.

Here's Speaker John Boehner's tweet today, trying to tamp down the best jobs numbers in FIVE YEARS.

Pathetic.

Arthur Laurents Dies at 93

Hollywood Reporter: Arthur Laurents, who penned the librettos for Broadway classics West Side Story and Gypsy as well as screenplays including The Way We Were and The Turning Point, died Thursday of pneumonia complications in Manhattan. He was 93.

Al-Qaeda Confirms Bin Laden Death

Fresh from AP: Al-Qaida has issued its first confirmation of Osama bin Laden's death in an Internet statement posted on militant websites.

Friday's statement by the terror network says bin Laden's blood "will not be wasted" and it will continue attacking Americans and their allies.

Intense Interview

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was interviewed by Lawrence O'Donnell and it got a little heated at points. The weirdest thing about the whole interview was Rice arguing the points of the first Gulf War as justification for the second Gulf War. It's amazing.

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

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

Just Say "Oops" and Get Out

Here's MENSA member Sarah Palin caught with another "gotcha" question. While attending the White House Correspondents' Dinner After Party, literally SURROUNDED by jounalists, Palin is asked who she thinks is the most influential journalist today... and she can't name a single one. She then runs into Greta VanSusteren and blurts her name out. What. A. Moron. The fun starts at the 1:20 mark.



Check out Chris Matthews name Peggy Noonan, George Will and Charles Krauthammer(?!?!) as his picks. Jeezum Crow!

Broadway Carl to NY Daily News Editors: Grow Up!

Here's today's cover of the NY Daily News:



Seriously, NY Daily News editors? Have we become so pathetic as a people that we can't even mention Osama Bin Laden's name on the same hallowed grounds where plans for the Freedom Tower include a shopping mall?

The editorial does go on to commend both Navy SEAL VI and President Obama for getting the job done and regretting that said military must remain anonymous. But come on, people, you want to see gruesome post-mortem death photos of Bin Laden but can't stand the thought of mentioning his name at Ground Zero? Grow a set.

Obama Won't Release Bin Laden Photos

I think this is a no brainer.

The question I have in regards to releasing the photos is, "To what end?" Releasing post-mortem photos of Bin Laden creates the risk of fomenting the anti-American/pro-Bin Laden faction. And if you're releasing them as proof to appease the conspiracy crowd, those who don't believe Bin Laden is dead or has been on ice for a while now, save your breath. They'd never believe it anyway. How'd that long form birth certificate work out?

And do you know how I know this is the right decision? Sarah Palin disagrees with it.

A Classy Move

It was very classy of President Obama to invite former President Bush to join him at the Ground Zero ceremony on Thursday after the killing of Osama Bin Laden. It was also just as classy for Bush to decline, no matter what the reason.

I can't help but wonder however (yes, I'm a cynic), how this will be reported, or not reported as the case may be, by the conservative media. Will Fox News mention it? Will Rush Limbaugh short out his mic with spittle in berating the President for "taking credit" without Bush at his side and omit the fact that Bush was invited? We'll find out soon enough.

Music Break! Ben Folds & Nick Hornby

Levi Johnston's Blues



(The lyrics in the chorus of this song were taken directly from Levi Johnston's MySpace page.)

Oh, you didn't think I was finished, did you?

POSTED BY JHW22

I am quite proud of the Navy Seals who went in and cleanly killed Osama Bin Laden. I am filled with relief and joy that not one of them came out in a body bag. It sounds, for now anyway, that they overcame challenges well and accomplished the mission with minimal problems. Kudos.

They deserve kudos. They deserve to be cheered.

And so does their Commander in Chief.

Their Commander in Chief made the ultimate call to send in a small, focused group of Seals so that we could get Bin Laden with little collateral damage, have a body to identify and even gather better intelligence than any intelligence any interrogator with a bucket of water could ever get.

Kudos, also, to Leon Panetta. As the head of the CIA, tasked by the Commander in Chief with developing a plan to get Bin Laden -- something Bush decided wasn't such a big deal after all -- Panetta delivered. I am seriously looking forward to seeing the changes in the Department of Defense after what we learned about this administration this weekend. As much as I appreciate and respect Secretary Gates, I think he's exhausted and Panetta will step in with a new vision -- one I think Gates would be proud to manage if he had the energy left.

But I digress in my kudos.

What I really came here to say is: as much as the Seals are to be respected, what if each one had FUBARed? What if one fired on a fellow Seal by mistake? What if one slipped and let Bin Laden escape? What if one forgot to load his weapon? If each one made stupid, human error that could not be blamed on anyone but each one of them, only one person would have taken all the blame: Barack Obama.

Yep, the man who many can't seem to bring themselves to thank, would have been their gleeful target of blame.

And that, as one of many reasons, is why they SHOULD suck it up and thank the man for doing what the previous two Presidents couldn't. Obama didn't just get Bin Laden. He got him, he got him fast. He got him clean. He got him without taking 150,000 into the wrong country to do it. Give him your thanks. And then suck it!

And Suck It Again, Obama Haters

POSTED BY JHW22

As Broadway Carl eloquently stated in his previous post, "Suck it!" And I want to join in.

After hearing all day how the getting of Bin Laden is because of Bush, I just wanted to state, ignorant as I may seem, that I didn't know Bush invented interrogation. Funny, I thought that asking someone questions to solve a mystery had been around since at least Columbo or even Murder, She Wrote. But listening to all those who can't give credit where credit is due (to Obama), you'd think questions weren't invented until the era of Bush.

Oh, but more specifically, the torture-style of interrogation is what they mean when they say Bush policies single-handedly led to the catching of the guy THEY couldn't get until "that one" was in office. Oh, so again, I learned something today. I didn't realize Bush invented torture. Funny, I thought trying hurt something out of someone had been around since at least The Princess Bride or something.

But nope. Bush is the mastermind behind capturing the mastermind all with the ask of a question followed by a beating. All those TV shows and movies made long before Bush was President, that showed people with toothpicks in their eyelids and stuff, weren't real. Well, duh, Jen, they were movies! Duh.

So what was that the North Vietnamese did to John McCain if that wasn't torture or interrogation? Because if Bush created those techniques of intelligence-gathering, then it certainly wasn't what we thought it was.

I guess I should agree with Sarah Palin and give thanks to President BUSH. Because if he hadn't created the genius idea to ask people questions in order to get answers, where would we be today? See! I JUST asked a question. Holy shit. I should thank Bush for the ability to do that. I never could have done that without him.

But now I am perplexed. If Bush was the one who set up this way of getting information, how did the Clinton Administration get all that information on Bin Laden that the Bush Administration ignored? Oh, wait, because the premise of interrogation or that of torture didn't exist, then I guess all intelligence was moot, thus ignorable.

THAT must be why it was easy to blame Clinton for not having a stragery to get, or help Bush get, Bin Laden before 9/11. And since Dana Perino informed us that 9/11 didn't happen on Bush's watch -- but the invention of interrogation did, THAT is why we must now bow to Bush for Bin Laden being found 10 years after 9/11 and about that many years after the invention of interrogation.

So, next question (I love this invention of asking questions thing) is: what could Bush have done better to see to it that the magical act of interrogation yielded results BEFORE a long, drawn-out, expensive war -- scratch that -- BEFORE TWO long, drawn-out, expensive warS? I am so curious to find out. Maybe when Obama completely ends the wars Bush started, we'll know what Bush invented to allow Obama to do that. Because, as I have learned today -- the black man ain't accomplished shit until the white man takes credit for it in contortionist revisionist bullshit.

Suck It, Obama Haters

I'm getting a little sick and tired of the resistance to give President Obama any credit for finally taking out Osama Bin Laden. I've heard arguments from "it wasn't Obama, it was the military" to "This is all politics, he doesn't micromanage the military." To those naysayers I say, "Who is in ultimate charge of the military?" and "Micromanage?! Our President was in the fucking Situation Room watching live and giving the go ahead."

George W. Bush and Dick Cheney have praised President Obama on the Bin Laden situation. Why can't others I wonder?

I've also been criticized in the last couple of days for politicizing the event, to which I say, "Fuck yeah." I've posted this before but it bears repeating. I've been hearing for the last two years now from the opposition how President Obama is a Kenyan born, "Other," secret Muslim, Manchurian candidate, weak on defense, Democrat, Socialist, Marxist, Communist, starting a caliphate, sympathetic to terrorists, boogeyman. So you'll excuse me if I revel in the fact that our terrorist sympathizer-in-chief was the man in charge when the No. 1 terrorist in the world got a bullet in the brain.

On second thought, don't excuse me. Just sit there and stew in your Obama Derangement Syndrome. Sit there and know, deep down in your soul, that a Democratic President who was subjected to a "papers please" moment at the same time he was giving the order on the Bin Laden operation took him out, while the Republican president who vowed to get Bin Laden dead or alive got distracted by set of keys six months later. I'm proud of our military, proud of our President and not the least bit apologetic for it. If that makes me an "Obot," well then, beep-beep-boop-bop-beep-suck-on-it.

As for the video below, remember when they doubted the man and made fun of him? I now say promise kept, motherfuckers. Promise kept.

Fallon as Trump - The Bashing Continues

Classic!

"The fact is the President clearly coordinated this secret CIA mission, assassination and ensuing press conference specifically to cut off the end of my show, The Celebrity Apprentice. So basically, I killed Osama Bin Laden."

Quote of the Day

A liberal saved the Union and freed the slaves. A liberal defeated Nazi Germany. A liberal defeated Imperial Japan. And a liberal killed Osama Bin Laden... Now if only liberals could adequately boast these national security accomplishments instead of engaging in Debbie Downer self-defeatism, we might actually be asked by voters to govern more often.

~Bob Cesca

Seriously, Dude, Just Stop Digging

Trump: "Seth Meyers has no talent... He fell totally flat. In fact, I thought Seth's delivery was so bad that he hurt himself."

Via Political Wire

A Question On Pakistan

What's the deal? Bin Laden was in a million dollar compound just down the road from a Pakistani military base, basically under their nose. That is truly a What The Fuck moment.

President Obama: Bin Laden Speech

Here is the full speech made last night by President Obama on the news that Osama Bin Laden was killed in a US military action in Pakistan.

Osama Bin Laden Is Dead

... and Donald Trump wants to see the body for confirmation.

"It took President Obama two years to do what President Bush could not do in eight."

I posted that as a status on my Facebook page and while most people liked it and agreed, I received a negative comment or two on how it was a classless thing to say and (I love this one) got this bit of nonsense:

R u actually serious??? I'm sorry, did you loose [sic] a loved one on 911? Or have a loved [sic] missing that day? I DID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So HMMMHMMM..............The Marines caught and killed him...Think we should put his head on a stick and parade him around the streets like they did to sooo many of our soldiers! Quite obvious you NEVER served in the militarty [sic] and not reall [sic] sure you even care about this country!!!!!!

To which I thought... "What the fuck?" What does my statement have anything to do with the military? The military did and continues to do an outstanding job. So did the CIA. Yeah, a special operation took him out. An operation approved by President Obama.

But here's the thing: right wingers have been conditioned and brainwashed to the point that they can't, they refuse to give our President credit for anything. I might remind everyone that it was our previous president who said of Bin Laden "And there's an old poster out West I recall, that said, 'Wanted, Dead or Alive.'" and only took six months before the same man said "I just don't spend that much time on [Osama Bin Laden]."

Our current president on the other hand, makes it a priority for the CIA to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden on his first day in office and you get morons like Fox News Business' Eric Bolling tweeting that if anyone should be thanked for the results, it should be George W. Bush. This on the 8th anniversary of the "Mission Accomplished" fiasco.

We've been hearing for over two years about how our President is a secret Muslim, Kenyan born, Manchurian candidate socialist Marxist communist. And now that the world's Enemy No. One is taken out by this administration, I get pushback for being partisan? Or better yet, some nitwit says they're not sure I "care about this country" with a sticky exclamation point key on their computer?! Fuck, yeah I'm being partisan. I'm being partisan because I'm sick of the Dick Cheney calling Democrats weak on defense, blaming Obama for "dithering in Afghanistan" when his administration walked away from it. I'm disgusted by Liz Cheney saying Obama finds it fashionable to side with terrorists. I'm tired of Rudy 9/11 Giuliani and his smug fucking face telling anyone who'll listen that Obama is weak because of our role in the Libyan conflict while NATO strikes attempt to take out Gaddafi.

President Obama weak? Somali pirates. Gaddafi bombed. And now Osama Bin Fucking Laden is killed. So yeah, I'm being partisan. So what? I'm proud of our President and everyone should be at this particular moment. I'm feeling pretty good right about now. And if you want to call me an Obot and mock about "poking a hole in my Obama" bubble, go right ahead. You can't do it because the bottom line is the guy I voted for got it done and continues to get it done and the guy you voted for didn't. He failed. We all know it and you'll have to live with it.

And if you believe in God, then God bless America and God bless President Obama.

Hey Trump, Grow A Set

After weeks of interview after interview, questioning the citizenship of the President of the United States, calling it possibly "one of the greatest scams in history," and even flat out lying about having investigators in Hawaii following up on the birther conspiracy theory, Donald Trump showed how absolutely paper thin-skinned he is by his comments following being eaten alive at the White House Correspondents' Dinner last night.

Being booed upon his entrance to the venue outside the friendly confines of the Fox News/Right Wing bubble, Trump sat stern-faced and got schooled by the President and Seth Meyers. A guest of the Washington Post, Trump thought President Obama wouldn't mention him, but when you're an ignorant loud mouth and suggest the president's birthplace was somewhere other than America, and question his intelligence for the last two months, I suppose you'd be stupid enough to think that you're untouchable even when sitting in the same room with the President.

Back at home under the protective wings of Rupert Murdoch, Trump licked his wounds.

“You get to a certain level and you rise to a certain level, let’s say in this case in the polls and boy, does the world come after you,” Trump, a potential 2012 candidate, said on "Fox and Friends*" Sunday.

...“I really knew what I was getting into last night. I had no idea it would be to that extent where, you know just joke after joke after joke,” the mogul said. “It was almost like, is there anyone else they can talk about?”

...He also found the event “inappropriate in certain respects” and spent the evening thinking about how “the American people are really suffering and we’re all having a good time.”

First of all, no, you didn't know what you were getting into or else you wouldn't have predicted you wouldn't be mentioned. And secondly, are you that worried about "the American people suffering"? You didn't have to go, did you? I'm sure you don't enjoy your life because of the suffering of your fellow human beings in the country you love so much.

But seriously, what did you think of Seth Meyers, Donald?

“His (Meyers) delivery was not good. He’s a stutterer and he really was having a hard time,” Trump said of the “Saturday Night Live” star.

...Uh, huh. I suppose that's why Meyers got a rare standing ovation in this forum from the crowd. Because his delivery sucked. Or maybe you just didn't like the jokes at your expense. Just sayin'.

How soon do you think Trump was on the phone to NBC looking for a way to have Seth Meyers fired? And Donald, if you can't take a good ribbing from a "friendly" foe, what's going to happen once you start playing hardball with the big boys in the primaries? You know you'll actually need to know more than talking points during the debates, don't you? Oh wait... The Republican primaries. My mistake.

_________________________
* Fox and Friends is broadcast on Sundays as well?! Man, that's a whole lotta stupid on one channel.

White House Correspondents' Dinner 2011

My guess is that when Donald Trump sat down at this year's WHCD, he wasn't expecting to get roasted again. Seth Meyers did an outstanding job and destroyed, DESTROYED Donald Trump. President Obama was a lot of fun too. Always self-depricating when he needs to be, but he couldn't miss the opportunity to pound The Donald as well. Watch and enjoy.





Trump showed how much of a douche he actually is, sitting there seething, unable to laugh at himself for even a minute, and immediately bolting from the room as soon as the event was over. I suppose the truth really does hurt.