In the Shadow of Columbine

POSTED BY JHW22

On April 20, 1999 two boys entered their high school loaded up and ready to shoot in a town called Columbine.

On May 1, 1999 the National Rifle Association held it's annual meeting in Denver, CO approximately 20 miles from Columbine.

Victims were still in the hospital. Parents were still looking into bedrooms that were just as their children left them 11 days earlier, never to return. The grief was raw. Time had not yet had a chance to pass for families suffering the shock and despair of violent deaths of their loved ones. Colorado did not want the NRA meeting in the shadows of their grief.

The N.R.A., which is fiercely opposed to sensible gun laws, has urged its members to attend as a show of unity, if only for a day. On a purely emotional level, this is an insult to grieving families and to a city still shaken by tragedy. Mayor Wellington Webb bluntly told the group last week, ''We don't want you here.''

The NRA derided the desire that the meeting not be held so close, so soon:

Heston waved to the crowd from the dais with gritty determination and what appeared to be a dead raccoon stapled to his head. He began his opening remarks by addressing Mayor Webb's request that the NRA not "come here. We don't want you here."

The crowd booed at the mention of Webb's name, and one attendee shouted out, "Get out of our country, Wellington Webb!" much to the amusement of the crowd.

Today, almost nine years after the horror of September 11, famous members of the NRA say it's too soon, too close, for Park51/Cordoba House, a community center, to be New York City blocks from where the Twin Towers once stood.

But if 11 days was soon enough for guns, shouldn't nine years be soon enough for community?

Coward

"The First Amendment protects freedom of religion," reads a statement from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office (D-Nev.). "Senator Reid respects that but thinks that the mosque should be built someplace else. If the Republicans are being sincere, they would help us pass this long overdue bill to help the first responders whose health and livelihoods have been devastated because of their bravery on 911, rather than continuing to block this much-needed legislation."

This is what's wrong with the Senate Democratic leadership. He has no balls. He can't even stand up for Constitutional protections guaranteed to its American citizens without fear of losing in November to a nutcase Teabagger.



Heckuva job, Harry.

Olbermann: "There is no 'Ground Zero Mosque'"

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

"...[T]his is America, dammit.

And in America, when somebody comes for your neighbor, or his bible, or his torah, or his Atheists' Manifesto, or his Koran, you and I do what our fathers did, and our grandmothers did, and our founders did. You and I speak up."

This Guy Wants To Be President

Newt Gingrinch: "Nazis don't have the right to put up a sign next to the Holocaust Museum in Washington," Gingrich said on Fox News. "We would never accept the Japanese putting up a site next to Pearl Harbor. There is no reason for us to accept a mosque next to the World Trade Center," he said.

Equating Islam, a religion with 1.5 billion followers... to Nazis.

Code Words and Dog Whistles

I'm late to the party on this one but I really don't remember much being said about this. Please correct me if I'm wrong (I was away that week):

Rallying the GOP to win in November and urging supporters to "get on the bus," [GOP Chairman Michael] Steele capped off his call to action by predicting that "Nancy Pelosi will be in the back of the bus."

Why is it that the AAINO (African-American In Name Only) GOP Chairman is the most insensitive when it comes to racial dog whistles? I know he's mentioning Nancy Pelosi in this little rant, but she's two steps away from the Oval Office... and who's in there now? Oh, yeah.

"Back of the bus," Michael?

Nigga, please!

Sarah's Survey

sur·vey –noun
a sampling, or partial collection, of facts, figures, or opinions taken and used to approximate or indicate what a complete collection and analysis might reveal.

Sarah Palin's definition of a survey:
a skewed, biased questionnaire designed to malign, mislead and disinform; if you disagree with the content of the survey, then disregard and throw it away, as you may skew they intended outcome.

From the Palingate website comes a story of an RNC letter with Palin's name on it and an accompanying survey. The second paragraph caught my eye.

"If you think Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid are doing a good job running America, then put this down. This Victory 2010 Survey isn't for you."

That's right. The RNC and Sarah Palin are pushing an anti-Democratic survey, sending it to registered Republicans and telling them not to send it in if they think Obama is doing a good job. I don't know about you, but I think that pretty much defeats the whole purpose of a survey, unless the purpose is to advance ridiculously skewed numbers to shoehorn them into a desired result.

Here are the questions:



Wealth redistribution, future debt, bowing to foreign leaders, border fences and give us money. In other words, nothing new. But if you don't agree with us, for God's sake, DO NOT send back this survey.  Although it doesn't matter because we'll see the answers and throw it in the trash anyway.

Presidential

President Obama: "As a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America. And our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country and that they will not be treated differently by their government is essential to who we are. The writ of the Founders must endure."

Greg Sargent: Obama's speech transcends the politics of the moment, and will go down as a defining and perhaps even a breakthrough performance. Obama recognized that this dispute is a seminal one that goes to the core of our running argument about pluralism and minority rights and to the core of who we are. He understood that the gravity of the moment required an equally large and momentous response. And he delivered.

Of course, those who say they are trying to help elect politicians that "know the Constitution" have a different take. Sometimes I wish that those who say they support the Constitution and want to protect it, actually read the damned thing once in a while.

Abbey Lincoln Dies at 80

NYTimes: Abbey Lincoln, a singer whose dramatic vocal command and tersely poetic songs made her a singular figure in jazz, died on Saturday in Manhattan. She was 80 and lived on the Upper West Side...

...Ms. Lincoln’s career encompassed outspoken civil rights advocacy in the 1960s and fearless introspection in more recent years, and for a time in the 1960s she acted in films with Sidney Poitier.

Must Reads

Electablog: BREAKING! Gibbs Attacks "Professional Right"

Joe Gandelman: No, Virginia, There Is No Liberal Media Conspiracy

Josh Kraushaar: Senate In Play, With Or Without Reid

Elvis Dingeldein: First Amendment to Newt Gingrich: SUCK IT

Peter Schuck: Birthright of a Nation

Sheryl Gay Stolberg: Obama Says Mosque Upholds Principle of Equal Treatment

President Obama's Weekly Address - August 14, 2010

Honoring Social Security, Not Privatizing It

Terror Babies... Shazzam!

The House of Representatvies' own Gomer Pyle is freaking out over terror babies. TERROR BABIES! Republican Rep. Louis Gohmert (Texas... where else?) is convinced, CONVINCED I TELL YOU!, that illegal terrorist Muslim immigrants are having babies in this country as sleeper cells who will commit heinous acts of terrorism in 15 to 20 years. And Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!, he has no actual proof.



IEEEE! TERROR BABIES!

Oh, and just to make us all feel a little better, Louis Gohmert was a judge.  ...Oy...

Tancredo AGAINST Repealing 14th Amendment?!

Tom Tancredo is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma surrounded by a douchebag.

Via TPM:
It turns out that Tom Tancredo... actually opposes changing the Constitution in order to end birthright citizenship.

...Instead of changing the Constitution to put a stop to so-called "anchor babies," Tancredo says he would instigate a good old-fashioned court battle.

Reports CNN:

Tancredo also said he would force the issue "through the mechanism we use to fund education. We could say for instance that we are not going to provide support for people, the children of people who are here illegally."*

Snapping his fingers for emphasis, he explained, "That would immediately start a lawsuit just like that and hopefully it would get to the Supreme Court right away."

* That's the douchebag part.

Stewart and the Ground Zero Mosque

Funny that I would comment on the compromisers and nutbags of the sort-of-near-Ground-Zero-Mosque-but-not really-at-Ground-Zero ridiculousness and the Daily Show would cover it just minutes later. I've got my finger on the pulse, people!

Anyway, they do it a lot better.

Stop Catering to the Crazies

I knew New York Governor David Paterson was blind, but I didn't know he was dumb too.

Paterson agreed that there is "no reason" why the Cordoba House shouldn't be built at the site known as Park51. But in light of political response from conservatives, the governor is open to state intervention to help explore alternatives. "Frankly, if the sponsors were looking for property anywhere at a distance that would be such that it would accommodate a better feeling among the people who are frustrated," Paterson said, "I would look into trying to provide them with the state property they would need."

What the fuck, Dave? I know you're having a "can't we all get along" moment, but for fuck's sake, the argument against building Cordoba House is based on rage, bigotry, religious intolerance and irrational fear.

And where is this proposed property you'd look to provide? North of 14th Street? The Upper East Side? The Bronx? ...Buffalo? How far away from Ground Zero is far enough? Because the fact of the matter is that those you are trying to appease with your good intentioned idea will never be satisfied. They range from the politically opportunistic to the irrational to the just plain crazy. They will never agree to any cultural center or any mosque, anywhere. And to think that the overall problem of their intolerance will go away if only the site for the proposed center were further away from where hundreds of American Muslims tragically died at the World Trade Center along with the rest of the 9/11 victims is astonishingly naive.

Palin's Facebook Scrub Continued

Just for the fun of it.



17 minutes later...



...but shit like this remains.



Just sayin'.

More Like This, Please

"...Would you like Fox’s right to free press put up to a vote and say well, if five states approved it, let’s wait till the other 45 states do? These are fundament constitutional rights. The Bill of Rights guarantees Fox News and you, Chris Wallace, the right to speak. It’s in the constitution. And the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the denial of our citizens of the equal rights to equal access to justice under the law, is a violation of our fundamental rights."

(H/T Think Progress)

Dumbass Quote of the Day

Do as I say, not as I do. ‎

"It doesn't matter what I do, people need to hear what I have to say. There's no one else who can say what I can say. It doesn't matter what I live."

~ Newt Gingrich in an Esquire profile regarding his less than moral personal life

BREAKING NEWS: Plane Down in Alaska

(Bumped)

10:38am: A plane has gone down in Alaska killing some of its nine passengers. Among the passengers on the plane are former Senator Ted Stevens and former Navy Secretary and NASA Chief Sean O'Keefe.  No word as to who specifically has been killed as bad weather has prevented rescue workers to get to the wreckage.

More details to follow.

UPDATE (2:41pm): Former Senator Ted Stevens comfirmed killed in the plane crash.

Repeal Schmepeal

Rachel Maddow puts in great perspective the prospects of any politician running on or voicing support for the repeal of the 14th Amendment. Hint: It ain't gonna happen.

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

Rangel Kicks Ass On The Floor - UPDATED VIDEO

I just caught part of Charlie Rangel on the House floor using a personal point of privilege to make his case and insist on a trail date from the House Ethics Committee, something that has not been done to date after two years of allegations of corruption.

He said there were definite violations and that he takes responsibility for not more closely looking at his books and those working the books for him, but vehemently denied corruption.  He also basically dared his  Democratic colleagues to expel him if they thought he was a liability in the upcoming elections, but also reminded them that they didn't mind him raising and accepting money from Rangel when they were running and needed it.

He may or may not be guilty, but it was pretty ballsy and a joy to watch - I hope to find the video and post it here.

UPDATE: Here's the C-SPAN link to Rangel's speech.

The Palin Eye Roll and a Facebook Scrub Test

While reading co-blogger JHW22's post about Palin's celebrity status, I came across her update about Palin's Facebook post blaming the "lamestream" media for taking her disrespectful eye roll out of context after finding out the constituent she was speaking with was a teacher.

There is absolutely no way "the eye roll" can be spun any other way. Just look at the video.  Who are you going to believe, Sarah Palin or your lyin' eyes?

I decided to click on the link to read Palin's pathetic attempt to try and spin this as an out of context, media gotcha moment and lo and behold! I came across a negative comment and decided to take a screen shot of it and see how long it would last.

Here's what I saw (comment highlighted in shadow box):



Poor David Jones. Besides thinking that Palin has any good ideas, doesn't he know that he will now be forever banned from commenting on Sarah's page?  Oh, the agony of being shunned by your political crush!  Here's the same page refreshed four minutes later:



I see Warren Sims' comment... I see Charlotte A. Branham Hall's comment... David Jones' comment was between those two.  Where is it? Comment gone.  DE-FRIENDED!  It's really no surprise.  I was actually shocked it lasted for the 15 or so minutes it was up.

The best part of this whole back and forth with teacher Kathleen Gustafson is Sarah Palin's own words in that video:

"...And, no we both agree on the freedom of speech and the - you know - the protection of that. So, um, no I and, you know… best of everything to you too and Yeah."

She's soooo articulate. Sarah agrees on freedom of speech until some negative comment is written about her on her own Facebook page. Then it's no freedom of speech for them and um, yeah - banned!

Anatomy of Blind Outrage

POSTED BY JHW22

In a Facebook post about Obama wanting to promote jobs for "Made in America", someone commented that instead he's creating jobs abroad and linked to two articles. The first article linked cited the second article linked so the commenter was kind enough to provide both. My problem was the lack of either article or the commenter to provide a link to the appropriate federal agency's website or any press release, statement, document or anything else to back up the article's claim.

For the sake of argument, say that the US is funding jobs in Asia. I am pretty sure they do. But I refuse to get upset until I have a chance to read the strategy, the purpose, the expected results or benefits. But if an article isn't going to share a link to the source with a broader explanation, they are essentially telling me to feel blind outrage.

The main reason I started following Broadway Carl regularly is because he is the king of links. He backs up his posts with resources and allows the reader to decide whether the links support the outrage or not.

So thanks, Broadway Carl. Thanks for providing information for your readers to develop their own thoughts.

To Celebrity or Not To Celebrity, That is the Question, Also, Too - UPDATED

POSTED BY JHW22

I think Shannyn Moore rocks. She is a sensible, fair and calm journalist who may be one of the people who actually gets through to Americans who are enamored by Sarah Palin. This week, she shares a little diddy in the Huffington Post and at her blog about my new hero, Kathleen Gustafson. Kathleen had the cojones to show up where Sarah Palin was filming her TLC teevee show about Alaska and call her out on her poor governing. She had a chance to say, to Palin's face,

"You're not a leader, you're a climber!"

She also accused Palin of being a celebrity, to which both Sarah and her daughter took great mocking offense. Sarah Palin a celebirty? In what respect, Kathleen? Oh, yeah, the respect that she's FILMING A TV SHOW! And perhaps because she HAS A TV STUDIO IN HER HOUSE (the house that's next door to her regular, non-celebrity house).

But I guess my favorite part of the whole exchange is when Palin says she's helping America by helping to elect good people who understand the Constitution. See, I do that, also, too. And I don't need to be a celebrity to do it. She is lazy and opportunistic and pretends she is working for America as she rakes in the cash. Thanks to people like Shannyn Moore and Kathleen Gustafson, perhaps more people will start to see that.

Oh, and my least favorite part of the exchange was when she showed complete disdain for Ms. Gustafson when Ms. Gustafson said she was a teacher. Yes, we know Sarah hates learning. But to despise a teacher just for being a teacher? Really? That's just stupid.

UPDATE: Sarah has since posted a Facebook defense blaming the lamestream media for misinterpreting her reaction to the teacher as an eye roll. My husband posted a comment to her post telling her what he saw (disrespect) and it was deleted.

Grain of Salt

POSTED BY JHW22

I take great pride in posting comments at politics blogs and sites. I try to be honest and thoughtful. I sign my name to all my comments to hold myself accountable -- well just my first name because I don't want any stalkers. But I respect the premise of the comment.

But after years of commenting at all kinds of sites, I've learned that not all comments are written by people with integrity and/or facts. There are an abundance of comments that make declarative statements without any quotes or links (not that I would follow links in a comment anyway). And it seems the more definitive -- yet lacking in support -- the comment, the more people adopt that comment as fact. I see this happen mostly on right-wing sites and or places that like to stir the pot rather than have a true discussion.

So over time, I've started limiting my reading to a few select sites and if I am in a grouchy mood I avoid the comments altogether. For the most part, however, I tend to read the comments only at sites I am familiar with and feel confident that the comments are written by people who know what they are talking about, or when the comments can be easily cross-referenced.

Perhaps that is why I was shocked and awed when I saw several job postings at a freelance website for commenters. Yes, some people get paid to comment.















And others get paid to re-write articles: have you ever noticed how right-wing blogs will have all of the same "information" but written differently and rarely with any links? It appears that several people get the scoop which gives the effect that it must be right.

Washington Examiner Needs Editors' Heads Examined

Today's Washington Examiner's editorial, "Time to admit Obamanomics has failed" is a doozy. Whipping their readers up in a frenzy, they claim that President Obama is going to "raise everybody's taxes by allowing the Bush [tax] cuts ... to expire" and that the stimulus bill "has failed to create jobs." It also criticizes the Wall Street reform bill because of its regulation. Really? We all know that deregulating the markets is what got us into this mess in the first place.  The whole piece reads like a nutball teabagger screed.

I'm reposting my response here, as I doubt it'll get past the moderators at their site.

Do the editors of the Washington Examiner bother to fact check what they write or are they purposely misleading their readers?

President Obama's FY 2011 budget calls for the expiration of the Bush tax cuts only for those making UNDER $250,000. Not "raising everybody's taxes" as the editors claim. Making the Bush tax cuts permanent would add $3.1 TRILLION to the deficit. So much for fiscal conservative hawks.

And claiming that the stimulus has not created jobs is laughable on its face. The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) stated: "The CEA estimates that as of the second quarter of 2010, the ARRA has raised employment relative to what it otherwise would have been by between 2.5 and 3.6 million. These estimates are broadly consistent with the direct recipient reporting data available for 2010:Q1."

Even the conservative Wall Street Journal has reported that 70% of economists surveyed said the stimulus helped.

If I can look this stuff up in ten minutes, I would hope that your readers could as well, instead of blindly taking these "editors'" words as fact.

The Blame Game

POSTED BY JHW22

As proud as I am of President Obama, I tend to find myself falling in the rut of hating the right more than celebrating our accomplishments on the left. I guess it has something to do with the idea that if you hear ten compliments but one criticism, you're likely to focus on that one criticism.

But what Obama and his team have been doing is attempting to highlight their accomplishments by reminding people where he started from on January 20, 2009. In doing so he's accused of still blaming Bush as if poor W didn't do anything wrong and all the messes are Obama's. Fine. Whatever. But the point remains that Obama MUST highlight the past to spotlight the present. And all presidents have done it.

Let's take a look at what W was saying in his radio address about his predecessor this far into his own administration -- well, a little further actually. Let's look at December 2002 which was four months further into his own administration than Obama is now:

Good Morning. 2002 Brought Great Challenges to America, and we had many successes at home and abroad. In 2002, our economy was still recovering from the attacks of September the 11th, 2001, and it was pulling out of a recession that began before I took office.

Many will argue that we were NOT in a recession at the end of Clinton's administration and that the actual recession began a month or so after Bush took office. But you can see where he'd want to give some of the blame to Clinton. Sure. I'll give him that. But geez, Obama can't criticize the worst recession since the Great Depression without getting in trouble for blaming Bush.

Well, surely Bush stopped blaming Clinton by the election... right?

But a senior administration official says the budgetary problems stem from what he called inadequate defense, intelligence and homeland security resources that were handed down from Clinton.

I should probably add that by "election" I meant the 2008 election. Did I forget to mention that? Yes, the Bush administration was still blaming Clinton for its financial problems in July of 2008.

We could argue forever about the nuances of who is to blame and who is just making excuses. But the point stands: all presidents put blame on previous presidents and they do it for as long as they are seeking to pass bills, get elected or keep their party in power.

As a regular ol' citizen, I plan on blaming Bush for the wars and the economy until I die or until dementia sets in. But that's just me.

Beyond Crazy

POSTED BY JHW22

Give me the "Sarah Palin isn't Trig's Mom" conspiracy any day over the "Obama and Soros are emailing each other and want Glenn Beck dead" conspiracy. Glenn Beck hasn't exactly said that there's a plot to kill him (well, maybe he has but I'm not going to listen to him enough to find out) but he has sprinkled enough seeds about some relationship between Soros and Obama and has planted the seed that Soros would possibly try to kill him. Water those seeds a bit with references to Obama as Lucifer (when we ALL know that Cheney is Lucifer), Obama wants to take your guns, religion, money (do I really need to provide links for any of that?) and all of a sudden, you have people who think that Obama AND Soros want to kill Glenn Beck.

Now, as a former X-Files fanatic, I can say that some conspiracies do exist. I have some serious doubts about a few things that if I asked questions about would have me tagged as crazy. But I'll tell you what, when Democrats cling to conspiracies, we tend to have a few more facts that raise more questions than answers. When right-wing freaks cling to conspiracies, they make even Fox Mulder roll his eyes.

The only conspiracy going on with Glenn Beck is his own. He is a charlatan manipulating viewers into not thinking. He doesn't want them to think because he makes money off zombies. Now, even zombies are more believable than anything Glenn Beck can come up with -- just LOOK at his viewers.

(Now, Mr. Soros, I will be looking for that check that I have heard you'll be sending me.)

h/t to Desert Crone for the heads-up on the latest crazy.

Welcome to Ohio

I'm visiting my in-laws and you just can't get away from it.

Here's the world famous Hannity charity scam bus sitting in a Marriott hotel parking lot in Deerfield, Ohio.  Apparently there's some sort of teabagger rally going on.



And check this out. Bumper stickers are no longer good enough. Now they spread the Gospel (and probably cause more drivers to meet their maker) with fender stickers!



"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." That's the quote. But in between Jebus and the heavy ladened one on the fender sticker, reads "The Valley of Unbelief." The Valley of Unbelief? Is that like the Pit of Despair? Or the Cliffs of Insanity?

Must Reads

Karoli: Prop 8 Ruling Exposes the Right's Moral Bankruptcy

Joe Conason: Democrats Deserve Credit -- Not Blame -- on Ethics

Steve Benen: Cantor Chooses Not To Celebrate Good News

Jason Linkins: First Punish The Unemployed, Then Declare War On The Employed

Daniel Stone: The Faux Scandal of Michelle Obama’s Spain Trip

Robert Reich: The Enthusiasm Gap and You

Fareed Zakaria: Build the Ground Zero Mosque

NPR, Radio Diaries: Strange Fruit: Anniversary Of A Lynching

Set Your DVRs!

TLC President Eileen O'Neill told reporters at the annual Television Correspondents Association press tour that "Sarah Palin's Alaska," the TLC series that was announced in March, will debut on November 14 at 9 PM.

...The announcement of the series in March had created a stir, since TLC is owned by the Discovery Network, which is known for its nature shows, and Palin is no friend of the environmental movement.

O'Neill told reporters that "the early selects are looking great."

"It's become clear it takes a special individual to thrive in Alaska," she said.

The initial run is slated for eight episodes. I can't for "Episode Five: Special Individuals Make Wasilla the Crystal Meth Capital of Alaska."

President Obama's Weekly Address - August 7, 2010

Medicare Officially Safer After Health Reform

More Wingnut E-Mails

I've begun ignoring these things for a while, but every once in a blue moon, I get all riled up when I receive a bullshit e-mail like the one that just popped up in my box from a friend (he likes to poke the bear sometimes), knowing I'd respond to it... and reply to everyone else on the list.

To: Broadway Carl
Subject: Obituary-Very Interesting!
Born 1776, Died 2008

It doesn't hurt to read this several times.
Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul , Minnesota , points out some interesting facts concerning last November's Presidential election: 

Number of States won by:
Obama: 19
McCain: 29 

Square miles of land won by:
Obama: 580,000
McCain: 2,427,000 

Population of counties won by:
Obama: 127 million
McCain: 143 million 

Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by:
Obama: 13.2
McCain: 2.1 

Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory McCain won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of the country. 

Obama territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in low income tenements and living off various forms of government welfare..." 

Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase. 

If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders called illegals - and they vote - then we can say goodbye to the USA in fewer than five years. 

If you are in favor of this, then by all means, delete this message. 

If you are not, then pass this along to help everyone realize just how much is at stake, knowing that apathy is the greatest danger to our freedom.

Well... you know me. I couldn't just let it sit:

To: [Wingnuts]
Subject: Re: Obituary-Very Intersting! REAL NUMBERS AND REAL FACTS 

Here are some real numbers and some real facts in response to this email: 

Number of votes received:
OBAMA: 66,882,230
McCAIN: 58,343,671 

Number of States won:
OBAMA: 28
McCAIN: 22 

Population of States won:
OBAMA: 210,846,555
McCAIN: 95,538,235


I won't go on, but you get the point. This email is obviously false. Oh, and by the way, this email has been going around since the 2000 election. Whoever decided to resend it just substituted Obama's name for Gore and McCain's name for Bush. 

So by all means, "pass this along to help everyone realize how much is at stake," knowing that fear mongering, political smear jobs and bald-faced lies are the greatest dangers to our freedom. 

Is that all you got?

Quote of the Day

"Perhaps the alleged misconduct of Rangel and Waters is so deplorable that they must be punished. Let the evidence be set forth for their colleagues to evaluate. But if the House punishes any wrongdoing, that will happen because Pelosi’s reforms were real and the majority has enforced them. The only thing more foolish than blaming the Democrats for the alleged misconduct of Rangel or Waters would be to believe that the Republicans would enforce ethical standards with any semblance of rigor. They certainly never did so when they were in power."

~ Joe Conason

Ben Nelson Hides Behind Constituents On Kagan Vote

What a cowardly, little simp.

Ben Nelson (DINO-NE): “As a member of the bipartisan ‘Gang of 14,’ I will follow our agreement that judicial nominees should be filibustered only under extraordinary circumstances. If a cloture vote is held on the nomination of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court, I am prepared to vote for cloture and oppose a filibuster because, in my view, this nominee deserves an up or down vote in the Senate.

“However, I have heard concerns from Nebraskans regarding Ms. Kagan, and her lack of a judicial record makes it difficult for me to discount the concerns raised by Nebraskans, or to reach a level of comfort that these concerns are unfounded. Therefore, I will not vote to confirm Ms. Kagan’s nomination.”

Did Ben Nelson consult his constituents (especially the ones out of work) when he voted against extending unemployment benefits? Or does he not care about them because Nebraska is well below the national average? Did Nelson consult his constituents when he voted for permanently extending the Bush tax cuts that would effectively add over $3 TRILLION to the debt?

Ben, don't expect us to believe you listen to your fellow Nebraskans when it comes to your votes. You're transparently in the pocket of big business and couldn't give a shit about your constituents. Just switch parties and get it over with already.

(H/T Bob Cesca)

A personal note

POSTED BY JHW22

I had to take my son to the dentist for the first time ever today. I had to endure Glenn Beck in the waiting room. I think that experience was worse for me than it was for my son.

Thank you. Good night.

Breitbart Just Can't Let The Sherrod Thing Go

Just admit you were wrong, Andrew. I know it's really hard for you, but be a man and eat crow like a big boy. Instead, you continue to take a hatchet to your credibility, as if you have any left or had any to begin with, by hiring Dr. Kevin Pezzi to write for your sorry excuse of a website without even vetting him. Did you take a lesson from the McCain campaign in their VP nominating choice?

Unless you really did know his background but thought you'd just get another dig in at Shirley Sherrod before the shit hit the fan as yet another one of your bullshit "journalists" gets outed as a con man and then decide to take down his posts and bio without even mentioning Pezzi by name.  What's the harm, right? Your aim is to make waves, cause damage and then walk away with shrugged shoulders, arms outstretched as if you had no clue.

Another "oops," Andrew? Another, "the video was already edited when I received it"?

You fucking child.

Congratulations, Justice Kagan

NY Times: The Senate confirmed Elena Kagan to a seat on the Supreme Court on Thursday, giving President Obama his second appointment to the high court in a year, and a political victory as the Senate neared the end of its business for the summer.

Ms. Kagan, a former dean of the Harvard Law School and a legal adviser in both the Clinton and Obama administrations, was approved by a vote of 63 to 37 after hearings and floor debate that showcased competing views of Democrats and Republicans about the court, but exposed no significant stumbling blocks to her confirmation.

The five Republican Senators voting for Kagan: Collins, Graham, Gregg, Lugar and Snowe. The DINO voting against: Ben Nelson.

The Party of "Just you wait til you see our plans..."

POSTED BY JHW22

The suspense is killing me. Apparently the Republican Party has known what they are against (everything) but are still formulating what they are for. After a year and a half of being asked what they are for, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says we only need to wait one more month to find out what that is. Woo hoo! One more month and THEN we will FINALLY know what the Republicans plan on doing with the control they ass-ume they will gain in November. Phew. And I thought they had no clue what a plan even was or what they actually stood for. So, come on September. Bring it on! Yeah!

But wait, remember last year when they teased us with their "we have a budget that isn't really a budget" scheme? The press was all a flutter with the countdown to the Republican budget. And then it was released! And it didn't have any numbers.

So I am feeling a little, what's the word, oh yeah, giggly over the new wait. I figure they'll either look silly or stupid. Oh, why does August have to have that extra day!?

Sarah Palin's Facebook Scrub

Not too long ago, I joined Sarah Palin's Facebook page just to comment on her page. It took about 30 seconds before I was banned from commenting. I thought that was pretty efficient, even for Team Palin, but as I scrolled down the thousands of comments, I realized that not one of them was even close to controverisal or disagreeable, and that almost all of them were a tribute to the Mama Grizzly.

My thoughts have been confirmed.

There are a host of benign posts deleted from supporters who simply disagreed with the person Palin chose to endorse in a particular note. A typical one addressed her endorsement of Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire for U.S. Senate: "I can't believe Sarah endorsed Ayotte. Ayotte is not a Momma Grizzley, she's just another progressive in Rep. clothing. The 912 group I belong to and some of the other groups in the state are disappointed by this endorsement."

This caused a little stir among the commenters. "Why are the few comments expressing disagreement with this endorsement being deleted?" wrote one. " Just because some of us disagree with the endorsement doesn't mean that we don't follow Sarah Palin." Alfred Petross wrote, "I just wish you would listen to me as a resident of the 3rd Congressional District. All I am doing is voicing my opinion and my posts keep getting deleted...." (These comments were then deleted.) "Having my posts deleted were extremely disappointing," says Petross, who went on to post his letter to Palin on his Facebook page, "because I was under the impression that Sarah Palin was in fact a political activist who was all about hearing the opinions and voices of the constituents of the United States."

Oh, poor, deluded Alfred Petross. He doesn't realize that Sarah Palin is all about Sarah Palin. Are so many people really that naive? Sarah doesn't care about opinions other than her own.  She doesn't care about the voices of constituents. Sarah is about advancing Sarah's agenda.  How people don't see through her thin veneer is beyond me.

I Call Bullshit

The oil is "gone"?

The “vast majority” of crude from BP Plc’s damaged Gulf of Mexico well is gone and the rest is being broken down by waves and bacteria, reducing the threat of further pollution from the largest maritime oil spill, White House energy adviser Carol Browner said.

“The vast majority of the oil has been contained, it’s been burned, it’s been cleaned,” Browner said on CBS’s “Early Show” today. The remaining oil “will weather, it will break down naturally. Mother Nature will do her part.”

Where did it "go"?

Sorry, but there is no possible way that 75% of the oil has been cleaned up, evaporated or broken down especially when the estimate was reassessed just this past Monday to 170 million gallons of oil. How could all that oil be cleaned up when President Obama has been refusing international help because of the Jones Act? Oh, right, that was bullshit too.

And even if we were to take the oil is 75% "gone" talking point at face value, at 170 million gallons spilled, that still leaves 42.5 million gallons out there. As Bob Cesca points out, that's still nearly five times the amount of the Exxon Valdez spill. And you can still find oil there just by turning over a rock. And this doesn't even begin to address the unknown environmental consequences of the possibly millions of gallons of dispersant they used to break up the oil.

What Was Laura Ingraham Thinking...

...in going on The Colbert Report to plug her awful book, The Obama Diaries?

Good for Stephen to play along and point out the racial stereotypes that Ingraham writes in the book as Barack Obama. But it's not about race, right?

Was there anything left of her after the interview was over?

Lou Dobbs Said What?!

When the likes of Lou Dobbs even says the GOP is wrong on the crazy notion of repealing the 14th Amendment, you know they have a problem.

"The idea that anchor babies somehow require changing the 14th Amendment, I part ways with the Senators on that because I believe the 14th Amendment, particularly in its due process and equal protection clauses, is so important," Dobbs said. "It lays the foundation for the entire Bill of Rights being applied to the states."

Remember this quote?

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

I didn't realize that excluded brown people.

Limbaugh is a Birther

Tomorrow is Obama's birthday, not that we've seen any proof of that... What? We haven't seen any proof of that! They tell us August 4th is the birthday; we haven't seen any proof of that! Sorry. It is what it is.

And Rush Limbaugh is a lying douchbag. It is what it is.

Oh, The Humanity!

"It's over. I broke up with him," Bristol Palin tells PEOPLE exclusively of her second try at an engagement to Levi Johnston, father of her 19-month-old son Tripp.

..."The final straw was him flying to Hollywood for what he told me was to see some hunting show but come to find out it was that music video mocking my family," she says. "He's just obsessed with the limelight and I got played."

Oh, Bristol... a hunting show? ...In HOLLYWOOD?!  At least we know you take after your mom in the brains department.

And here I was all set to watch the Wasilla Wedding on television, just like Charles and Diana, except with sled dogs instead of horse drawn carriages.  And she couldn't wear white.  And Levi in his hunting jacket plaid tuxedo.  And you know it would have been televised; I doubt that the Palins would have shut out the press the way those snooty, elitist Clintons did. There's no such thing as bad publicity after all.  Speaking of which... whatever happened to that Palin/Alaska reality series? Has than been canned yet?

UPDATE (8/4/10 9:25am): JHW22 makes a great point in the comments:

Bristol has already spoken with People and TMZ and Levi hasn't spoken to anyone. YET she suggests he is the media whore and blames his seeking the limelight as part of the reason for the break-up! She told celebrity mags and he is the media whore? When will that family just stop!?!

Like mother like daughter?

Through The Looking Glass

Have I gone absolutely insane? All but twelve Republicans voted against health care for 9/11 responders and all the intrepid Joe Scarborough and Clueless Mika can do is show disdain toward Anthony Weiner for the anger he displayed on the House floor.

Give me a break.

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

Weiner Vs. King II: The Bitchslap Heard 'Round the World

Sarah's Strategery

POSTED BY JHW22

Moral Panic

POSTED BY JHW22

I wish I wrote this:

Back in the early 1970s — an era whose tumult we yet may come to regard as benign — social scientists here and in Britain coined the term "moral panic" to describe what can happen when groups of people are seized by an exaggerated fear that other people or communal forces threaten their values or way of life. The scholars described those who promoted the panic's spread as "moral entrepreneurs" — a term that takes on a deep resonance when you consider the commentators and politicians who have attached themselves, and their interests, to the "tea party" and its attendant movements.

In the midst of moral panic, inchoate indignation stands in for reason; accusation and denunciation supplant dialogue and argument; history and facts are rendered malleable, merely adjuncts of the moral entrepreneur's — or should we say provocateur's — rhetorical will. As we now also see, a self-interested mass media with an economic stake in the theatricality of raised and angry voices can transmit moral panic like a pathogen.

~Timothy Rutten, L.A. Times

Cartoon of the Day

Quote of the Day

Posted by JHW22

"I've never voted for a perfect bill in my life."

~Nancy Pelosi