Via Nicole:
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Must Reads
Suzi Parker: In Haley Barbour's Mississippi: Civil War Looms Over License Plates
Maximillio: How Ending Social Spending Will Destroy Our Economy (and Country)
Jason Linkins: Obama Faring Poorly Against Imaginary Candidate
E.J. Dionne: Deficit Hawks and The Games They Play
Will Bunch: A Reagan Litmus Test for 2012 GOP Hopefuls
Bob Cesca: Most Americans Are Closeted Big Government Spenders
Eugene Robinson: Haley Barbour's Silence Speaks Volumes
Zach Carter and Elise Foley: Republican Amendment Would Strip Funds For Obama 'Czars,' Plus Elizabeth Warren
Jamison Foser: Facts Weren't Invited To CNN’s Stimulus Birthday Party
Elvis Dingeldein: Palin Flushes Base Down Toilet
Paul Krugman: Willie Sutton Wept
ADDING:Joshua Holland: Joe Klein's Cluelessness on Wisconsin Uprising Highlights the Corporate Media's Contempt for Working People
Friday, February 18, 2011
Serious Republicans
Currently, there are over 500 amendments being added to the proposed budget in the House. FIVE HUNDRED?! Why so many? Well, here's a reason:
This is some very serious politicking, huh? I suppose you get the government you voted for, don't you...On Monday, [Representative Steve Womack (R-AK)] attempted to tack on an amendment to the proposed budget that would prohibit the president’s Teleprompter from receiving financial support.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Len Lesser Dies at 88
HuffPo: Len Lesser, the veteran character actor best known for his scene-stealing role as Uncle Leo on "Seinfeld," died Wednesday. He was 88.Lesser's family said in a statement that he died in Burbank, Calif., from cancer-related pneumonia.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!
Lose them? So be it.
This is the same John Boehner that was whining "Where are the jobs?" while pointing at President Obama in the perpetual unemployment blame game during the campaign. This is the same John Boehner that was going to do the bidding of the American people, "do the people's work" and stop wasting time on health care battles and work on job creation.
And now the Not-So-Ready-For-Prime-Time Speaker of the House shrugs his shoulders at the potential loss of jobs in the federal workforce; the same federal workforce that has been dragging down the monthly employment numbers and stagnating the unemployment rate. While private sector jobs have slowly been coming back, local and state governments have been shedding jobs. But hey, firefighters, police officers, teachers, sanitation workers, those aren't real people, right?
Meanwhile, the same John Boehner supported an alternative engine for the military's F-35 fighter jet, an engine that the military didn't want or need. Couldn't be that the engine is produced in the Speaker's home state, could it? The bill was soundly defeated in the House today, practically evenly split among Republicans. How many more defeats can Boehner sustain before becoming completely insignificant?
Run, Haley! Run!
Not a chance? We'll see about that. They sure like to top each other in the Idiot Department over at the Grand Ol' Party, don't they?In the latest racially charged incident in his home state, Haley Barbour on Tuesday drew fire when he refused to condemn a proposal honoring a Ku Klux Klan leader and Confederate general on a state license plate."I don't go around denouncing people. That's not going to happen," Barbour, who is considering a run for the White House in 2012, said when asked about the plate, the Associated Press reported. "I know there's not a chance it'll become law."
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Dumbass Quote of the Day
"I believe that the videos we saw of ACORN accurately reflected the activities of ACORN and the culture of ACORN, and the videos we have seen of Planned Parenthood accurately reflect the culture and the activities of Planned Parenthood." On the funding battle, King pledged a "smackdown vote to shut down every dollar going to Planned Parenthood."......"Harry Reid can defend those ghoulish and ghastly and gruesome practices that Planned Parenthood is advocating along with child prostitution and illegal immigration. He can play defense on that. They didn't do very well in the Senate when they tried to defend ACORN. I don't think they'll do any better this time."~Rep. Steve King (R-Doucheland) in the GOP's attack on Planned Parenthood to further restrict health services to women.
Kenneth Mars Dies at 75
NY Times: Kenneth Mars, an actor best known for his over-the-top performance as a German playwright in the original movie version of “The Producers,” died on Saturday at his home here. He was 75.The cause was pancreatic cancer, his family said.In “The Producers” (1968), written and directed by Mel Brooks, Mr. Mars played Franz Liebkind, a Nazi enthusiast whose play “Springtime for Hitler” is the basis for a scheme by two conniving showmen (Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder) to bilk investors by putting on a sure-fire Broadway flop.
George Shearing Dies at 91
NY Times: George Shearing, the British piano virtuoso who overcame blindness to become a worldwide jazz star, and whose composition “Lullaby of Birdland” became an enduring jazz standard, died on Monday in Manhattan. He was 91.The cause was congestive heart failure, said his manager, Dale Sheets. Mr. Shearing had homes in Manhattan and Lee, Mass.
Monday, February 14, 2011
I Hope He Loses His Shirt
Breitbart is going to attempt hiding behind the First Amendment, saying that he "categorically rejects the transparent effort to chill his constitutionally protected free speech and, to reiterate, looks forward to exercising his full and broad discovery rights."Shirley Sherrod has filed a lawsuit against Andrew Breitbart over a video released by the conservative personality that lead to her ouster as an official at the USDA....The video first gained widespread public attention when it was posted on Breitbart's BigGovernment.com. The two-minute, 38-second clip was widely received as an admission by Sherrod, who is African American, that she had discriminated against a white farmer. Under immediate pressure from the Obama administration, Sherrod resigned from her position as the USDA's director of rural development in Georgia.When a full 43-minute copy of the video surfaced, additional context turned the story into one of reconciliation. Sherrod had actually saved the man's farm and started a lifelong friendship.
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I don't think slander and libel are protected by the Constitution.
Let's not forget that the Obama administration and the NAACP were quick to judge Sherrod as well, their sole basis being the edited video on Breitbart's website. But if Breitbart were actually a journalist and looked deeper into the matter instead of a vainglorious nutbag, he wouldn't be claiming he was duped. He knew exactly was he was doing and didn't care about the consequences - the rubes only get to know the first half of any tainted story before pulling out their pitchforks and torches.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
CPAC's Big Tent
"Hey, are you Herman Cain?" the young man asked Williams, referring to another African American conservative running for federal office and attending CPAC.I asked Williams if that happened a lot."Not really," he told me. "A lot of people think I'm a waiter."Williams blamed the confusion on his trademark bowtie...A friend with him said that on more than one occasion, people had asked him to get them a drink."I think it's really because of the bowtie," Williams explained.
Yeah... I'm sure it's about the tie.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
CPAC Straw Poll Is In
So the crazies at CPAC, you know, the ones who cheered and chanted for Dick Cheney, voted for their Republican nominee preference. Here are the results:
Ron Raul: 30%
Mitt Romney: 23%
Gary Johnson 6%
Chris Christie 6%
Newt Gingrich: 5%
Tim Pawlenty 4%
Michele Bachmann 4%
Mitch Daniels 4%
Sarah Palin: 3%
Herman Cain 2%
Mike Huckabee 2%
Rick Santorum 2%
John Thune 2%
Jon Huntsman 1%
Haley Barbour 1%
Must Reads
The Rude Pundit: Welcome to the Monkeyhouse, GOP
Karoli: Clarence Thomas "Forgot" 20 Years of Disclosure? Really?
Bob Herbert: When Democracy Weakens
Sam Stein: Mitt Romney Supporters Working To Paint Him As The Anti-Palin
Evan McMorris-Santoro: It's Hard Out There For A Black Candidate At CPAC
Bob Cesca: The Republican War Against Women
Rachel D'Oro: Sarah Palin Reality Show Could Be Taxpayer-Subsidized
BBC News: 'Moby Dick' Captain's Ship Found
JHW22 recommmends...Ruben Navarrette Jr.: Teaching Arabic is No Cause For Fear
Eric Alterman: Think Again: The 'Problem' of Liberal Academics, Again
This Man Is Nuts
Listen to Beck play the communist card like a fiddle. Asked to elaborate on what groups make up One Nation, the supposed organization that will bring down the US, he answers, "the labor unions, communist organizations and the Green movement." Labor unions, that were created to stop employer abuses of its workers, AKA the Average American. The Green movement and their hateful ideas to protect our environment and develop a new revenue source of green jobs in the country to save energy and control waste. He lumps them in with "communist organizations" but doesn't mention any one specific group. Way to scare the rubes there, Glenn. Of course, if you're intellectually lazy and don't bother looking it up for yourself, why not just take his word for it? Also, buy some overpriced gold coins while you're at it - Glenn wouldn't rip you off, would he?
Here's One Nation's summarized mission statement:
Good jobs, equal justice and quality public education... ooooh, those evil commie bastards!One Nation Working Together is a social movement of individuals and organizations committed to putting America back to work and pulling America back together. Coming from a diverse set of backgrounds, experiences, beliefs and orientations, we are determined to build a more united country with good jobs, equal justice, and quality public education for all.
Seems like everyone who does not agree with Beck is apparently a communist. It also seems like spreading democracy in the Middle East is a good thing when a Republican is in charge. Where was Beck when we were deposing dictators by force and propping up banana republics?
Oh, and by the way, Bill, it's "foment" not "forment."
President Obama's Weekly Address - February 12, 2011
"It's Time Washington Acted as Responsibly as Our Families Do"
Friday, February 11, 2011
Fractured GOP Indeed
No one is safe, not even at CPAC.
I don't know what's worse, the jingoism displayed by those in the room, the fact that they were awarding Donald Rumsfeld an award called "Defenders of The Constitiution" or the screams of approval for former VP Dick "Five Deferments, Face Shooter, Undisclosed Location" Cheney.
Luckily, some kept their heads and protested the guests standing in front of them, shouting "war criminal" "Where's Bin Laden?" "murdering scum," and "draft dodger." Ron Paul supporters walked out... and yet they still think going to CPAC every year is worth their time and money.
Down Goes Mubarak! Down Goes Mubarak!
Breaking News: Crowds in Egypt go wild as Vice President Omar Sulieman makes a brief announcement that President Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down and has delegated the Supreme Council of Military Forces to guide the country.
MSNBC's Richard Engel reports the crowd is in jubilation at the news.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Mubarak Refuses to Step Down. Release The Cracken!
While everyone waited with bated breath Egyptian President Mubarak's announcement that he would step down tonight as hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Tahrir Square, as we watched in anticipation of this generation's Berlin Wall, Mubarak came out and threw the meanest curveball I've ever seen.
According to reports, the frustrated protesters immediately began chanting, "Leave! Leave! Leave!", tore down the screen that was used to project Mubarak's address in the square and began marching towards the Presidential Palace....Mubarak announced he is handing his powers over to his vice president, Omar Suleiman, and ordered constitutional amendments. But the move means he retains his title of president and ensures regime control over the reform process, falling short of protester demands...."I have seen that it is required to delegate the powers and authorties of the president to the vice president as dictated in the constitution," Mubarak said near the end of a 15-minute address on state TV. The article is used to transfer powers if the president is "temporarily" unable to carry out his duties and does not mean his resignation.
How much longer are these protests going to remain peaceful? Soon afterward, Egyptian law scholar, diplomat and opposition opponent Mohamed ElBaradei tweeted: "Egypt will explode. Army must save the country now."
Nicholas Kristof reports:
This is going to get ugly really fast. Perhaps Mubarak's trying to make his statement of dying in Egypt a self-fulfilling prophecy.This is of course manifestly unacceptable to the Egyptian people. Mubarak’s speech was a striking reminder of the capacity of dictators to fool themselves and see themselves as indispensable. If he thinks that his softer tone will win any support, he’s delusional. As he was speaking, the crowd in Tahrir was shouting “Irhal!” or “Go!” And the Egyptian state media — from television to Al Ahram, the dominant newspaper — have been turning against Mubarak, so he’s losing control even of his own state apparatus.
GOP Feeding Frenzy
They smell blood in the water and are getting excited.
She's just so presidential.Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin took a minute Wednesday to counter an earlier claim by Rick Santorum that she might be skipping the annual Conservative Political Action Conference this week because she had more lucrative options on the table.While she prefaced her comments with the disclaimer that earlier reports about the former Pennsylvania senator's statement may have been slightly overblown, as Santorum himself contended, that didn't stop Palin from getting in a jab. The former vice-presidential candidate said she wouldn't call Santorum "the knuckle-dragging neanderthal that perhaps others would want to call him, I'll let his wife call him that."
Mubarak Expected To Step Down
MSNBC has been covering Egypt nonstop on news that sources expect Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down tonight. No one knows what the reaction of millions in the streets will be if the named successor is not to their liking, namely recently appointed Vice President Omar Suleiman.
According to the ticker, NBC is reporting that Mubarak will indeed step down tonight, tanks and razor wire are being used to secure Mubarak's palace, the military council says Mubarak is to meet the protestors' demands and are stepping in to "safeguard" the country.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Chris Lee Resigns
Here's why.
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, February 9, 2010
Statement from Congressman Chris Lee (NY-26)
"It has been a tremendous honor to serve the people of Western New York. I regret the harm that my actions have caused my family, my staff and my constituents. I deeply and sincerely apologize to them all. I have made profound mistakes and I promise to work as hard as I can to seek their forgiveness.
"The challenges we face in Western New York and across the country are too serious for me to allow this distraction to continue, and so I am announcing that I have resigned my seat in Congress effective immediately."
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Patriot Act Extension Fails! - UPDATED
Breaking News:
The vote was 277-148. With a two-thirds vote necessary, 290 votes were needed to pass the legislation. Welcome, Tea Party, to the fractured GOP. More to follow.
UPDATE (2/9/11): From Raw Story:
Now here's the bad news.The House voted 277 to 148 for the PATRIOT Act extension... short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass it under a procedure that allows bills that aren't controversial to pass quickly.But it appears the bill was controversial enough to convince some two dozen tea party-backed Republican freshmen to join a majority of Democrats in voting against it, The Hill reported.
The measure is now expected to return to the House floor for a regular vote that would require a simple majority to pass. If House members vote then as they did Tuesday, the extension will pass easily.
O'Donnell and Fineman's O'Reilly Interview Analysis
Lawrence O'Donnell broke down the amount of times Bill O'Reilly interrupted the President during his Super Bowl Sunday interview. Forty three times in a fourteen minute interview. Wow. He and Fineman then analyze what O'Reilly was after - the interview of the century, only he never let Obama finish a sentence.
Perhaps O'Reilly's been watching Chris Matthews on Hardball too much.
We can be so dumb
POSTED BY JHW22
When I want a smart, consistent, unbiased resource on the health reform law, I go to Kaiser Family Foundation's site. They did this study on what Americans know and don't know about the law. I am rather speechless and all I can muster is: "oh, brother."
The Extended Obama/O'Reilly Interview - UPDATED
Here's the rest of the interview aired on The O'Reilly Factor Monday night that we didn't see on Sunday.
Besides the continuing interruptions that I mentioned in an earlier post, I found something very intriguing. Toward the end of the second clip, O'Reilly asks what the media can do better, and gets lost in the Obama's "professorial" style. He doesn't want a real answer or a real solution apparently, you know, too much substance for Bill confuses him. But then O'Reilly specifically asks, "Do you think you're being treated fairly by Fox News now?" (4:10 mark). President Obama's answer was, "I would say, I think that the news guys try to do a good job...".
Is it my conspiratorial mind running away with me, or does the video show a very poor job of trying to edit out the "try to" part of the statement and make it sound like Obama said, "I think that the news guys do a good job."
The very first thing that came to mind was the same type of horrible editing during Michelle Obama's "really proud of my country" moment. Since this is a video uploaded to YouTube and not from the official Fox News website, I'll reserve judgement. But I can't help wondering if they just can't help themselves over at FNC to just tinker with video that is available for editing, unlike the live portion on Super Bowl Sunday.
(I'll replace the YouTube video with official FNC video when it becomes available and update my analysis.)
UPDATE: Conspiracy debunked! In the official video, now posted above, there is no glitch at the 4:10 mark of the second segment. So my apologies to the dweebs in the Fox News control room for accusing them of fudging with the video. You can see the YouTube glitch here. That is, if it is actually a glitch upon upload, bad initial video that was uploaded, or a purposeful attempt at changing the intent of the comment.
Quote of the Day
The rabid right is calling this another push towards socialism. But think about it for a minute. The President is appealing to the businessmen in this country, the so called job creators that the right espouses, to get their shit together and start creating those jobs they hold over us as their secret weapon. Yet, after record profits and sitting on billions in cash, employment is still stagnant when there should be more movement. We're not even close to a break even pace. Time for the job creators to put up or shut up."Now, right now businesses across this country are proving that America can compete. Caterpillar's opening a new plant to build excavators in Texas that used to be shipped from Japan. In Tennessee, Whirlpool is opening their first new U.S. factory in more than a decade. Dow is building a new plant in Michigan to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles. A company called Geomagic, a software maker, decided to close down its overseas centers in China and Europe and move their R&D here, to the United States.These companies are bringing jobs back to our shores. And that's good for everybody.So if I've got one message, my message is: Now is the time to invest in America. Now is the time to invest in America."
~ President Obama in a speech to the Chamber of Commerce.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Not a Good Ad
POSTED BY JHW22
So, in the let's be civil and responsible atmosphere of the post-Tuscon shooting era, this Facebook ad is a major FAIL. By the way, if you click on the link, you'll see a weird page that offers not just a free copy of Human Action by Ludwig von Mises, but also a lot of great information about gold from First National Bullion and coin. WACKO!
Oh, Grow Up!
POSTED BY JHW22
I just watched Joan Rivers on Lawrence O'Donnell (no link as of yet) and I will paraphrase it this way:
I think Obama needs to "get to work"; not go to Nantucket while telling Americans to go to the Gulf Coast; while in a recession not send your wife and her forty friends to Europe; I hate the "death tax."OK, although some of that is fair criticism (the Obamas COULD have vacationed in Louisiana but there are reasons pro and con for that debate), some of Joan's criticism is incorrect and catty (the forty friends in Europe for example). She said she voted for Obama but her rant sounded almost like Fox talking points to me.
When she said she is against the "death tax" I knew she was a victim of right-wing spin. She went down the "I worked hard for my money" path. And that, aside from sounding like a Fox guest, made her sound like the biggest bitch (which is a totally appropriate term for a woman who made a career using that word) in stretched skin. Let me see: she thinks she worked so hard for her millions and wants her daughter to get it all and she's mad that her daughter will have to pay too much in taxes. Is that right? Well, hmmm... if JOAN worked hard for the money then you can't say Melissa worked hard for the money simply by being her daughter. If you think freedom from taxes is correlated to work exerted, then estate taxes aren't the car you should be chasing because the worker is dead and the recipient just sat there inheriting money.
Now, early in Joan's career she did work hard. And I am sure she puts hours into her current career. But excuuuuussse me, but earning millions while insulting clothes and hair does not, in my opinion, equal hard work that should be free of any taxes when given to her daughter -- who did even less hard work while doing the same lame-ass job simply because she's your kid.
You make millions of dollars, spend a huge chunk of that on your face and then you want to whine to me that your no-talent daughter has to pay taxes on the chunk you've left her? Hey, Joan: GROW UP.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Here's the video.
Serve Your Full Term, Please
POSTED BY JHW22
Unless you are an elected official running for another elected post, or unless you are appointed to another position by someone in an elected post, I think it's pure crap to QUIT a job you were elected to do. And no, I am not talking about the Half-the-Term/Double-the-Standards Governor.
For Representative Jane Harman (D-CA) to leave Congress to work for a think tank is unacceptable to me. I don't care what party she is in, how she leans or whether I agree with her on issues or not. I do not like that people donate to campaigns only to see the money wasted on a partial term. I do not like that a state has to now fund and coordinate a special election -- especially when the state is broke. The least she could do is wait until another election is taking place. Or hell, she could afford to pay for the special election SHE is causing. If I could write laws, I would say that anyone who chooses to leave an elected office to get a better paying job must pay for the special election and refund a prorated amount to all the donors who helped get them elected.
Just sayin'.
EDIT: I meant to add:
"Hell, Gabby Giffords is still serving and she got shot in the head! THAT is loyalty and dedication and service."
The Obama/O'Reilly Super Bowl Interview
Maybe it's because of my Bill O'Reilly bias, but when did it become acceptable to ask a question of the President of the United States, and then constantly interrupt him during his answer? To me, it just shows O'Reilly has a subconscious disrespect for the office and for Obama in particular.
O'Reilly also comes off as an unserious "journalist" when he uses phrases like, "Those are tough guys, the Muslim Brotherhood" and "Mubarak knows a lot of bad things about us, rendition and such... I'm worried that he might go off the reservation." Yes, heaven forbid the American people might find out the truth of the criminal activities the government has been involved in.
"Does it disturb you that so many people hate you?" Not at all a serious question considering the President's 50% approval rating at the moment. Yes, even higher than St.Ronnie's rating at the same point in his tenure. Maybe the people who watch BillO hate Obama, but 2 million people does not a country make. And flailing and missing with a question about whether the President knows football and what a blitz is, as if he were going to catch him floundering and show Joe Average Football that Obama is an elitist who'd rather play cricket or polo than know the rules of American Football, was just pathetic.
What Obama should have said: "Yes Bill, I know what a blitz is. I also know what causes the tides."
Green Bay Packers Win Super Bowl XLV
Congratulations to the Green Bay Packers winning Super Bowl XLV, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in an exciting game. While the Steelers made a valiant comeback after a couple of turnovers leading to 14 points, Pittsburgh's 18 point deficit was too much to overcome.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
S#*! Sarah Palin Says (Egypt Word Salad Edition)
On the situation in Egypt -Sarah Palin: “Remember, President Reagan lived that mantra trust but verify. We want to be able to trust those who are screaming for democracy there in Egypt, that it is a true sincere desire for freedoms and the challenge that we have though, is how do we verify what it is that we are being told, what it is that the American public are being fed via media, via the protestors, via the government there in Egypt in order for us to really have some sound information to make wise decisions on what our position is. Trust but verify, and try to understand is what I would hope our leaders are engaged in right now. Who’s going to fill the void? Mubarak, he’s gone, one way or the other you know, he is not going to be the leader of Egypt, that that’s a given, so now the information needs to be gathered and understood as to who it will be that fills now the void in the government. Is it going to be the Muslim Brotherhood? We should not stand for that, or with that or by that. Any radical Islamists, no that is not who we should be supporting and standing by, so we need to find out who was behind all of the turmoil and the revolt and the protests so that good decisions can be made in terms of who we will stand by and support.”
On President Obama’s handling of the crisis in Egypt -Sarah Palin: “It’s a difficult situation, this is that 3am White House phone call and it seems for many of us trying to get that information from our leader in the White House it it seems that that call went right to um the answering machine. And nobody yet has, no body yet has explained to the American public what they know, and surely they know more than the rest of us know who it is who will be taking the place of Mubarak and I'm not real enthused about what it is that that’s being done on a national level and from DC in regards to understanding all the situation there in Egypt. And in these areas that are so volatile right now because obviously it’s not just Egypt but the other countries too where we are seeing uprisings, we know that now more than ever, we need strength and sound mind there in the White House. We need to know what it is that America stands for so we know who it is that America will stand with. And we do not have all that information yet.”
Once again, those that espouse freedom and the spread of democracy are all good with it, until they realize they might not like the outcome.
Shorter Palin: Hey, let's support the protestors - that is of course as long as they accept a leader that's okay with us. If they happen to vote in the Muslim Brotherhood, then fuck that democracy shit.
And let me take this opportunity to disagree with the President again. I have no idea what's going on behind closed doors because I'm not privy to that information, but it's Obama so how can I go wrong with satisfying my wingnut base by disagreeing with everything he does? Why should it matter that the leaders of the GOP are praising Obama's handling of the situation? I'm going rogue, baby! That's how I roll!
Holy shit, this woman is an imbecile.
Must Reads
Suzi Parker: Protecting the Palin Brand: Sarah and Bristol Go for Trademark Status
Gin and Tacos: Bobby Franklin: A Case Study in Good Gub'mint
Mahablog: Missouri Legislature to Puppies: Drop Dead
Tim Fernholz: GOP Proposed Cuts Get Smaller the Closer You Look
Nicholas Kristof: We Are All Egyptians
Ben Dimiero: Attention Fox Nation: There Is More Than One Version Of The Bible
Gail Collins: The Siege of Planned Parenthood
Will Bunch: Five Myths About Ronald Reagan's Legacy
Chez Pazienza: And Now A Word About Charlie Sheen, From Chez's Evil Twin, Garth
Friday, February 4, 2011
Rush Limbaugh is a Moron Too
The King of Conservatives, the Overlord of Oxycontin, the Viscount of Illegal Viagra, Rush Limbaugh was caught off guard and completely stumped when a caller challenged him and asked why former President Ronald Reagan, who was pro-amnesty, raised taxes eleven times, "cut and ran" from Lebanon and negotiated with terrorists, is considered a Conservative hero.
Limbaugh was dumbfounded - he stuttered, he stammered, he froze - and the only thing he could come up with was to question the "silly notion" that Reagan raised taxes, the most obvious and provable of the caller's accusations.
Well, I suppose to keep one's ample ass in comfort, one has to keep pulling the wool over the rubes' eyes.
Rand Paul Plays on the Third Rail
Welfare? *Sigh.*Paul defended his call to end to all foreign aid -- including the $3 billion the U.S. gives to Israel every year."I'm not singling out Israel. I support Israel. I want to be known as a friend of Israel," Paul said, "but not with money you don't have. We can't just borrow from our kids' future and give it to countries even if they are our friends."..."I think they're an important ally, but I also think that their per capita income is greater than probably three-fourths of the rest of the world," Paul said. "Should we be giving free money or welfare to a wealthy nation? I don't think so."
While I'm willing to praise Rand Paul for his bluntness on Israel (seems like more politicians should be worried bout the well being of the US before Israel - I'm looking at you, Joe Lieberman) he's going after them for the wrong reasons. It isn't purely a financial issue - although it probably is for Paul, who also wants to cut the Department of Education by 83%.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
GOP Backs Off "Forcible Rape"
Well I guess that's good. But here's an interesting quote (emphasis mine):HuffPo: House Republicans announced Thursday that they are taking a step back from a particularly controversial passage of a piece of anti-abortion legislation that many had criticized as a dangerous redefinition of the acts that constituted "rape.""The word 'forcible' will be replaced with the original language from the Hyde Amendment," a spokesman for Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), one of the sponsors of H.R. 3. The "No Taxpayer Funding For Abortion Act," told Politico.
Two things: If they never intended to change the exemption, why did they use a questionable phrase? And if there's already "existing law regarding taxpayer funded abortion," which they didn't intend to change, please enlighten me on what this law actually does except reiterate what's already in the books and perhaps cons the rubes into thinking that Republicans actually achieved something with this redundant bill?The bill’s authors, including Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), say it’s not their intent to change the way the exemption is applied.“The language of H.R. 3 was not intended to change existing law regarding taxpayer funding for abortion in cases of rape, nor is it expected that it would do so,” Lipinski told Talking Points Memo in a statement.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
John Bolton's Bomb Iran Du Jour
Ah, yes. They all love spreading democracy... until they realize they might not like the outcome.Raw Story: Former US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said the ouster of embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak would speed the timetable for an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.... "I don't think there’s much time to act. And I think the fall of a Egyptian government committed to the peace agreement will almost certainly speed that timetable up."Bolton chided the protests in Egypt last week, saying that "the real alternative is not Jefferson democracy versus the Mubarak regime, but that it’s the Muslim Brotherhood versus the Mubarak regime, and that has enormous implications for the US, for Israel, and our other friends in the region."
And so goes Bolton's latest excuse for bombing Iran. Unrest in Gaza? Bomb Iran. George W. Bush leaving office? Bomb Iran. Protests in Egypt? Bomb Iran.
I wouldn't be surprised if Bolton also said that the consistency of his poached eggs at tomorrow morning's breakfast would speed the timetable for an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. "If they're not runny enough, there'll be hell to pay,"said Bolton as he picked the crumbs of toast out of his mustache.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
Republican Priorities
For a year leading up to the 2010 elections, Republicans campaigning for public office raised holy hell against the Obama administration for spending so much time on health care reform while the country languished in a prolonged recession and unemployment hovered close to 10%. Their cry was all about jobs, jobs, jobs. It was all about doing the people's work once they regained control of the House.
So how has the first session of the 112th Congress, specifically the new Republican led House of Representatives, tackled the unemployment issue? So far, they haven't.
After one month of the new Congress, they've spent a little over their first week, reading the Constitution, while conveniently skipping the three-fifths clause, apparently to the detriment of Michele Bachmann, had a symbolic vote to repeal the "job killing" health care reform passed by the previous Congress, took a week off due to the tragic event in Tucson, and are now pushing a bill called the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act." They are so clever with their bill titles, those Republicans, aren't they?
While there is already precedence for prohibition of federal funding of abortion with the Hyde Amendment, this is a dubious effort to constrict the legal right of abortion because the wording in the bill is attempting to redefine rape.
Since the 1976 Hyde Amendment, federal law has prohibited federal funds to pay for abortions except in the cases of rape, incest, and when the pregnancy endangers the life of the mother, but now...
This doesn't pass the smell test because there is no legal definition of "forcible rape." What about date rape? Or victims being drugged? And how can you pass a law with such vague definitions subject to malleable interpretation? How many bruises does a rape victim have to have before the sex is considered "forcible?""...Republicans propose that the rape exemption be limited to "forcible rape." This would rule out federal assistance for abortions in many rape cases, including instances of statutory rape, many of which are non-forcible. For example: If a 13-year-old girl is impregnated by a 24-year-old adult, she would no longer qualify to have Medicaid pay for an abortion....Given that the bill also would forbid the use of tax benefits to pay for abortions, that 13-year-old's parents wouldn't be allowed to use money from a tax-exempt health savings account (HSA) to pay for the procedure. They also wouldn't be able to deduct the cost of the abortion or the cost of any insurance that paid for it as a medical expense."
So just to reiterate, after 18 months of GOP whining that Democrats spent too much time focusing on health care and not enough on jobs, the Republican led House has spent its first month focusing on repealing health care benefits already in place for millions of people and the further restriction of legal medical procedures. The people's work indeed.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
The Brainiacs at Fox Nation and The Imbeciles Who Read It
Some of the comments left by the MENSA members reading Fox Nation, which can be seen in Mediaite's screenshot, ramble on from the President being incompetent and calling his mental health into question, to suggesting he smoked marijuana and calling his presidency an affront to American exceptionalism. So exceptional was that commenter that he couldn't discern between truth and satire.Mediaite: "...Fox Nation editors were apparently so enamored with an Onion piece from today entitled “Frustrated Obama Sends Nation Rambling 75,000-Word E-Mail” that they reposted the first two paragraphs in their culture section with nary a sign as to its fictional nature. The only clue that this wasn’t real (besides a quick peek at your inbox to confirm that Barack Obama hasn’t been emailing you) was a link at the bottom instructing readers to go to TheOnion.com for the real story. This tiny link was, unfortunately, not enough for the vast majority of FN readers. At least, that’s the way it seems from the comments section."
Finally someone chimed in with some realism:
professorbrown: WOW! I can't believe how many readers think this is REAL! I can't believe FoxNews is touting this as REAL news! This link will be removed within an hour. That is if anyone with a brain is working at FoxNews today...Well, "professorbrown" nailed it. Here's what you get when you click the Fox Nation link now:
It's "The Onion" for God's sake!! We as a country are hurting when the right [can't] tell the difference...
If you ask me, the only ones "lost at sea" are the Fox Nation editors and their readers.
ADDING... This wouldn't be such a big deal except for the fact that some right wing ideologies have become so full of rage and rabid hate for all things Obama, they'll eat anything up and trust it as fact without the slightest hesitation or fact checking. It's also the reason right wing humor is not funny. There's no way you can be humorous when you don't understand satire and your idea of a funny joke is a parody song called, "Barack, the Magic Negro." Seriously, when was the last time you laughd at anything Dennis Miller said since he crapped his pants after 9/11?
Must Reads
Bill Carter & Brian Stelter: Olbermann Split Came After Years of Tension
Matt Osborne: SOTU Response Fiasco
Mark Frauenfelder: Ayn Rand took government assistance while decrying others who did the same
Dick Cavett: The Wrath of Grapes
Michael Winship: The Bush Legacy Strikes Out American Justice
President Obama's Weekly Address - January 29, 2011
Out-Innovating, Out-Educating & Out-Building Our Competitors
Friday, January 28, 2011
Ten Years Too Late
Sam Stein: In an interview set to air this Sunday, former President George W. Bush said he was done with politics and that he is uninterested in campaigning or raising money for political candidates.
Stewart Rebuts O'Reilly Rebuttal to Use of Nazi Terminology
Shorter Bill O'Reilly: But when we call someone a Nazi, we have a good reason.
25 Years Ago Today
The Challenger Tragedy
I remember watching this in my living room with my girlfriend at the time. It was a sunny day, a day or two after a blizzard in New York City. We just sat and watched in silence.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
She's So Presidential
Former Alaska GOP Gov. Sarah Palin said Wednesday night that President Barack Obama’s call for “winning the future” during his State of the Union address is best framed by the acronym it shares with a much different phrase — “wtf.”“That was a tough speech to sit through and try to stomach,” Palin said during an interview with Fox News’s Greta Van Susteren.
“His theme last night was wtf, winning the future,” she continued. “I thought, okay, that acronym - spot on. There were a lot of wtf moments throughout that speech.”You can watch the video here. I was only able to watch about four minutes of it before my eye started to twitch, but if you're feeling brave, knock yourself out.
You know, I'd actually give her points for wit if I thought for a second she came up with the WTF thing all by herself.
Hardball Classic
When Chris Matthews knows he's right, he's like a pit bull with a bone in its mouth. The bone in this instance is Tea Party Express co-founder Sal Russo who plays dumber than the imbecile he's trying to cover for, Michele Bachmann and her ridiculous slavery comment. Instant classic.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Hey, What's the Terror Alert?
We've been stuck on Yellow since 2006. New York City has perpetually been on Orange.Tomorrow Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano will announce that the much maligned color-code threat level, formally called the Homeland Security Advisory System, will be replaced with a more specific public alert system according to officials briefed on the issue....The system has not been raised or lowered since 2006 and officials say they have been better able to tailor security procedures without making changes to the color code system.
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