Asjylyn Loder and David Evans: Koch Brothers Flout Law Getting Richer With Secret Iran Sales
Hunter: Newt Gingrich says as President, he'd ignore the Supreme Court
The Rude Pundit: An Inarticulate Articulation of Why Occupy Wall Street Doesn't Need to Articulate a Damn Thing
Justin Rosario: Ron Paul: Libertarian? Only When It’s Convenient
Alexander Bolton: Reid Triggers ‘Nuclear Option’ to Change Senate Rules, End Repeat Filibusters
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Must Reads
Friday, October 7, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Sarah Palin Not Running
I could have told you Sarah Palin wasn't running for the nomination a year and a half ago. The only reason she chose to make her announcement was because she saw all the attention NJ Governor Chris Christie was attracting when he decided to have a press conference to state the same thing he's been saying for a year now. And as we all know by now, whether it be Christie or Michele Bachmann or Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin is so goddamn shallow she can't stand not being the center of attention.
Palin's not running?! ...Yawn....
Blame Yourself
Outsourcing doesn't matter. The greatest recession since the Great Depression doesn't matter. The Too Big To Fail Banks who played Las Vegas with our money and lost it all, than had to be bailed out with taxpayer money doesn't matter. Herman Cain, who is running for President of the United States, thinks if you lost your job, and can't get ahead, you have no one to blame but yourself.
Herman Cain: "I don’t have facts to back this up, but I happen to believe that these demonstrations are planned and orchestrated to distract from the failed policies of the Obama administration. Don’t blame Wall Street, don’t blame the big banks, if you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself! [...] It is not a person’s fault if they succeeded, it is a person’s fault if they failed."
A word of advice to Herman Cain: if you don't have facts to back something up, then keep your mouth shut.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Steve Jobs Dies at 56
Jobs is now looking down from his iCloud and observing how he changed the world.Chicago Tribune: CUPERTINO, Calif. -- Apple announced Wednesday that former Apple CEO Steve Jobs has died.
...In January, Jobs, a pancreatic cancer survivor, took his second medical leave of absence in two years, raising serious questions about his health and the leadership of a company.Jobs, 56, has been instrumental in turning Apple into the dominant producer of portable music players, a leader in the smart phone business and, with the iPad, the inventor of a new category of modern tablet computers.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Christie Not Running
Chris Christie is having a press conference at 1pm to announce that he is not running for the Republican nomination for the presidential race. In other words, he's making news by announcing what he's been saying for the last twelve months.
Now let's give Christie a little credit. Even though sources say he was reconsidering his position after hearing the outcry of voters who aren't satisfied with any of the eight current nominees, he was smart enough to realize that even if he were ready to be president, he's nowhere near ready organizationally to run a national campaign.
The question will soon shift to who will the voters clamor for as their next flavor of the week?
Monday, October 3, 2011
Rick Perry and "Niggerhead"
Is Rick Perry a racist? He doesn't seem to be from what those who know him are saying. Was he a little more than insensitive in this situation? Absolutely, especially for a public servant.
Here's the insensitivity:WaPo: "In the early years of his political career, Rick Perry began hosting fellow lawmakers, friends and supporters at his family’s secluded West Texas hunting camp, a place known by the name painted in block letters across a large, flat rock standing upright at its gated entrance.'Niggerhead,' it read."
Perry has a record showing he is not a racist, naming African-American justices and staff members during his tenure as Governor, but in trying to avoid the subject because it's not politically convenient at the current time shows he's more interested in damage control than having the courage to address this issue head on."...the name of this particular parcel did not change for years after it became associated with Rick Perry, first as a private citizen, then as a state official and finally as Texas governor. Some locals still call it that. As recently as this summer, the slablike rock — lying flat, the name still faintly visible beneath a coat of white paint — remained by the gated entrance to the camp."
Sunday, October 2, 2011
More Like This, Please
President Obama: “We don’t believe in the kind of smallness that says it’s OK for a stage full of political leaders — one of whom could end up being the President of the United States — being silent when an American soldier is booed. We don’t believe in that. We don’t believe in standing silent when that happens. We don't believe in them being silent since. You want to be commander-in-chief? You can start by standing up for the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States, even when it’s not politically convenient."
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Must Reads
The Rude Pundit: What Matters: A Contrast in Two Photos
Eugene Robinson: Chris Christie’s Big Problem
Melissa Harris-Perry: Black President, Double Standard: Why White Liberals Are Abandoning Obama
Patrick McGeehan: N.J. to Repay U.S. $95 Million Over Hudson Tunnels
Michael D. Shear: Imagining a Christie Campaign for President
Bob Cesca: Progressive Racism, Careerism and Delusion
Friday, September 30, 2011
Will O'Reilly Quit If Taxed at a Higher Rate?
Absolutely not. And he said as much on The Daily Show.
Here's Jon Stewart taking Bill O'Reilly to the woodshed yet again. I would truly love to see O'Reilly in a serious discussion with Stewart regarding the issues they speak about, instead of his insistence in trying out a punchline here and there. I do believe he's a smart guy - but I also believe he knows where his bread is buttered and therefore leans towards conclusions with which he might not otherwise agree.
The Solyndra fiasco was reported, or shall I say regurgitated by the media before all the facts were made known.
And the $16 muffins? That's already been debunked as well. Too bad Stewart didn't know anything about it.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
So Much for Savior Perry
Herman the pizza guy beat Rick Perry, the GOP's flavor of the month, in Florida's straw poll after his performance in the most recent GOP debate. And I have to ask: what the hell is wrong with Republican voters? Arguably, Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman are the most sane, responsible politicians vying for the GOP nomination, but they're not even close to what the polls say the voters want.Herman Cain, the former chief executive of Godfather’s Pizza, won the Florida straw poll today, defeating second-place Rick Perry after the Texas governor worked the crowd of activists with a breakfast speech Saturday morning.Mr. Cain won nearly 40 percent of the 2,657 people who voted, more than doubling Mr. Perry’s total and that of Mitt Romney, who came in a close third.
First it was Donald Trump, until he exposed himself as a complete buffoon when he jumped on the Birther bandwagon. Then came Michele Bachmann, whose buffoonery is usually excused until she suggested that the HPV vaccine could cause "mental retardation." Then it was Rick Perry, who got cheers for 234 Texas executions under his leadership, but jeers for his Texas Dream Act where illegal immigrants who came to this country when they were children are given a chance to go to college. They were also too quickly reminded of the 43rd president when Perry tripped over his tongue while trying to attack Mitt Romney. And we may as well forget the other six candidates, including Cain, considering the fact that week after week GOP pundits and talking heads are constantly touting new candidates and hoping they'll get in the race.
This week they're returning to the idea of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie yet again... until they take a cursory look and realize he called the fringe right wing "crazies" when it comes to their anti-Muslim rhetoric and the whole "banning Sharia law" thing in places where Sharia law doesn't exist and will never exist. And as of this writing, he had once again stated he's not interested in running for president in 2012.
Who'll be the flavor of the week next week?
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Hypocritical Family "Values"
Funny - I was more upset when I found out Nancy Grace was going to be a contestant on Dancing With The Stars than Chaz Bono, and I don't even watch the show. Lewis Black was on the same wavelength.
Must Reads
David Frum: The GOP's Bernanke Letter
Ezra Klein: Nice central bank you got here. Shame if something should happen to it.
The Rude Pundit: Hypocritical, Cruel, and Buffoonish Responses from the GOP on Obama's Tax Plan
Bob Cesca: Rick Perry’s Epic Lying Could Make Him the Next President
Justin Rosario: Stop Pretending You’re Not A Conservative! You Wrecked The Country, Now Own Up To It!
Sarah Lai Stirland: Energy Department: House Republicans Distorted E-Mail Correspondence
Joel Atcheson: Reality? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Reality
Friday, September 23, 2011
The Big Tent Party
Here you go Log Cabin Republicans. Pat yourselves on the back, GOProud. Please Lt. Dan Choi, continue to rail against President Obama and how he's done nothing for the gay community, and realize that in fighting against Obama, this is what you're fighting for.
The cognitive dissonance is astounding.
Just as I will never understand why any middle class member of a union votes Republican, I will shake my head in amazement at a gay American who flips the lever for any GOP candidate.
And let's be clear about Rick Santorum's idiotic statement:
Yes, it's a real privilege to put your life on the line to defend Rick Santorum and his policies isn't it? But please, Rick, continue.I would say any type of sexual activity has absolutely no place in the military. The fact they are making a point to include it as a provision within the military that we are going to recognize a group of people and give them a special privilege to, and removing don't ask don’t tell. I think tries to inject social policy into the military. And the military's job is to do one thing: to defend our country...
The repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell is now law. Rick Santorum or any other Republican president (I shudder at the thought) cannot unilaterally reinstitute DADT with the flick of a pen. You can't repeal a law by executive order. That's why it was so important for President Obama to make this a legislative issue as he is doing with the Defense of Marriage Act. Besides the fact that the federal court deemed DADT unconstitutional.I would just say that going forward we would reinstitute that policy if Rick Santorum was president. That policy would be re-instituted as far as people in, I would not throw them out because that would be unfair to them because of the policy of this administration. But we would move forward in conformity with what was happening in the past. Which was- sex is not an issue. It should not be an issue. Leave it alone. Keep it to yourself whether you are heterosexual or homosexual.
Santorum is right. Sex is not an issue, but by discriminating against gay and lesbian soldiers, he is making it an issue. There is no "exception," no "special privilege" we are bestowing among gay soldiers be the repeal of DADT. So take your own advice, Rick. Leave it alone.
As far as yet another hostile Republican crowd at the debate after the "Let 'em die" Tea Party crowd at the CNN debate, I'm not the least bit surprised by their applause at Santorum's answer, but the boos at a uniformed member of the Armed Forces who is protecting their right to be homophobes and bigots takes it to a new low. Booing a member of the military? They should be ashamed, but they're not.
Gay Republicans, what the hell are you thinking?
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Buffett Birthers?
Seriously?
John Cornyn should pay attention because I believe this is exactly what Warren Buffett admitted to. He is taxed at a lower percentage on capital gains for really doing nothing but investing his money.The Hill reports big names in Congress are starting to say Buffett "needs to reveal his finances if his views on tax rates are going to serve as the basis for Obama administration policy."NRSC chair John Cornyn (TX), who took the call to Twitter Thursday, explained to ABC News that knowing how Buffett makes his money could change the way people view the so-called "Buffett Rule" that President Obama is making a cornerstone of his call for increased taxes on the super-rich.
Here he is on Charlie Rose, WITH A COPY OF HIS TAX RETURNS!
Hey Buffett Birthers, just say "Oops" and get out! And now that we've seen that Mr. Buffett has made his tax returns public, I'd like to see the Koch brothers' returns, please.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Elizabeth Warren Is For Real
Watch this now. Elizabeth Warren is running for Senate against (former?) Tea Party darling incumbent Scott Brown in Massachusetts. Watch her as she takes questions from Joe Scarborough and Mark Halperin who are showing obvious disdain for her. You can see it in their faces as they ask what I consider to be "gotcha" questions that she hit out of the park.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
President Obama didn't fight for you? China's military aspirations? Great questions! If only they would ask serious questions of everyone that came on their show.
You can donate to Elizabeth Warren's campaign here.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Poor Rep. Flemming Eking Out An Existence at $774K Per Year.
Here's the perfect example of the GOP disconnect in the class warfare/tax fairness issue. Republican Louisiana Rep. John Flemming owns Subway shops and UPS storefronts. His income from those businesses is $6 million yearly. But he has the balls to whine that after expenses, he only takes home $600,000. After after home expenses, he only has $400,000 left to reinvest.
First of all, it's none of my business if Flemming's home expenses are $200,000. But whatever happened to tightening your belt at home during hard economic times? What happened to living within your means? Second, it doesn't seem like he's counting his $174,000 Congressman's salary in his take home total. Finally, Flemming claims to have 500 employees. At $5.4 million in expenses, he's paying far less than $10,800 per employee that his number equals divided by 500 employees.
So, John Flemming is a liar when it comes to job creation. But what's really galling is that what he sees at practically nothing, his $774,000 "take home pay" can hire 15-20 teachers, or police officers or firefighters.
And these are the politicians the Tea Party types defend? Pathetic.
President Obama's Plan for Reducing the Deficit
Here's yesterday's speech in case you missed it like I did.
Quote of the Day
~President Obama in his speech on his plan to reduce the deficit by raising $1.5 trillion in revenue from top earners."I reject the idea that asking a hedge fund manager to pay the same tax rate as a plumber or a teacher is class warfare. I think it’s just the right the thing to do...
This is not class warfare, it's math...
I will not support - I WILL NOT SUPPORT any plan that puts all the burden for closing our deficit on ordinary Americans. And I will veto any bill that changes benefits for those who rely on Medicare but not does raise serious revenues by asking the wealthiest Americans or biggest corporations to pay their fair share."
One Good Reason To Raise Taxes
Bill O'Reilly might quit.
Of course, Bill-O is throwing crap on the walls to see what sticks. His fear mongering about a 50% income tax is purely wild speculation. No one in the White House has ever claimed that number, only a reversal to the Clinton Era tax rates, which were 36% and 39.6% for individuals in the top 1.2% of wage earners. And in actuality, after deductions and loopholes, they didn't even pay that much.
But hey, if Bill O'Reilly will quit working altogether because of a 3% hike in his taxes, that's all the more reason to support President Obama's revenue increase plan. I'm sure O'Reilly's narcissism will allow him to go quietly into the night and forgo the $20 million he makes a year. No more Fox. No more books. No more showing how he's so much smarter he is than everyone else on the planet. I'm sure that the self-avowed second most powerful man in the nation will go that route. Maybe he can just go back to a simple life of sexual harassment.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Stephen Colbert's Strange Heroe$ List
Ever since Stephen Colbert started accepting donations for his SuperPAC, he's been scrolling the names of contributors consistently during his show at the bottom of the screen. I watched Thursday's show last night and something happened to catch my eye. I couldn't believe what I'd just read, so I rewound my DVR and froze it to confirm.
My only fear is that pranksters like these may undermine the whole purpose of Colbert's SuperPAC. Isn't proper identification of donating individuals mandatory? Or is this exactly they kind of contribution that's allowed which freaked people out in the first place with the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling?
Must Reads
Ezra Klein: Why Libertarianism Fails in Health Care
The Rude Pundit: The US Day of Rage Takes a Trip Into Right-Wing Conspiracy Land
Bob Cesca: Cable News Debate Coverage Is Hurting Democracy
Kevin Drum: How to Talk About Solyndra
Paul Rosenberg: 10 Signs God Is Furious With the Right
Roger Ebert: Saul Alinsky Pours for the Tea Party
Nick Baumann: The GOP's Genius Plan to Beat Obama in 2012
Paul Begala: I [heart] Government
Paul Krugman: Free To Die
Friday, September 16, 2011
Hey CNN, WTF?!
Holy crap!
ADDING... The more I think about this, the more I realize that this was inherently racist. Accidentally playing the wrong music track for bumper music is one thing, but you have to realize that they were looking for some kind of rap music. Because what else would a 103 year old woman who drives a two-tone 1979 Cadillac Coupe DeVille, and happens to be black, listen to while she's cruising down the block?
Whoever decided that rap music would be the proper choice of music for this clip should be dismissed.
Must See Interview
It's amazing how sharp former President Jimmy Carter still is at 86 years young. This interview is a must see just for the realization of how underrated and under appreciated Carter was and still is. His demonization by the right is shameful.
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
I'll update with the added video as it becomes available.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Quote of the Day
"He puts the 'goober' in 'gubernatorial.'"~Former Texas Agriculture Commissioner and radio host Jim Hightower on Rick Perry's record as Governor of Texas during an interview with Thom Hartmann
In Sickness and In Health...
The sanctity of marriage indeed.In his television broadcast Tuesday, Christian televangelist Pat Robertson said that in certain cases, it may be ethically permissible for a spouse to divorce a husband or wife stricken with Alzheimer’s “if [the non-ill spouse] is going to do something” with a new partner......“I certainly wouldn’t put a guilt trip on you if you decided that you had to have companionship, you’re lonely, and you’re asking for some companionship,” Robertson said, clarifying that the spouse would have to ensure that his wife would have “somebody looking after her.”
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Lose a House Seat, Gain a Senate Seat?
The House seat vacated by Anthony Weiner was filled last night by Republican Bob Turner. To put things in perspective, this particular district has been a Democratic stronghold for about 100 years, and although registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by a margin of 3 to 1 in NY-9, Turner came away with a win over Democratic nominee David Weprin by a 53-47 margin. There are some arguments that despite the district being Democratic, it's a conservative one. Take that for what you will, but I don't recall Anthony Weiner being very conservative.
That news doesn't bode well for 2012 in my opinion, but this does:
Elizabeth Warren officially announced her candidacy for Senate in Massachusetts on Wednesday morning in a short video posted to a new campaign website, www.elizabethwarren.com....Warren will attempt to take on Scott Brown, the Republican who won Edward M. Kennedy’s Senate seat in a special election after the veteran senator died in late 2009.
I hope the people of Massachusetts do the right thing this time.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
The Terrorists Won
Yes, when someone calls in a bomb threat in order to cancel the flight for fear of her family flying on the anniversary of 9/11, the terrorists have won.The Daily Beast: A Long Island woman has been charged with allegedly calling in a phony bomb threat on Sept. 10th—reportedly because she did not want her family to fly on the tenth anniversary on the terrorist attacks. Airport police in Tucson, Arizona, said they received an anonymous call from a woman on Sept. 10th who claimed she had heard her boyfriend and others discussing a plot to bomb Southwest Airlines Flight 2475 to Long Island that day. Police called bomb squad officials and notified the FBI, who tracked the call to Mary Purcell, 37, who said she was worried about her mother and brother flying that day. She is set to be arraigned in federal court, but the exact charges are unknown.
I'll add my two cents: there were plenty of tickets available for Broadway shows this weekend, mostly due to the fact that this was the first week back to school in New York City. I wouldn't doubt that at least a small part of the reason was because it was the tenth anniversary of 9/11 and some were leery of traveling into Manhattan either because of fear or they just didn't want the hassle of security checkpoints on the highways.
Since it was a light week, many of us in the industry were offered complimentary tickets to the Sunday shows. On more than one occasion, I heard colleagues who couldn't give Broadway tickets away worth hundreds of dollars because either people were frightened to be in the city that day, or they had initially accepted the tickets, but then reneged after someone else talked them out of it.
The terrorists have won.
Compassionate Conservatism Redux
Former George W. Bush speech writer Michael Gerson once defined the phrase 'compassionate conservatism' as, "the theory that the government should encourage the effective provision of social services without providing the service itself." We all know by now how well that worked for the Bush administration.
The true definition of compassionate conservatism can be summed up as, "Yeah, that's a shame... wish I could help out but everyone should take care of themselves."Liberal commentator Joe Conason, noting Bush's policy of tax cuts, wrote in 2003 that "so far, being a 'compassionate conservative' appears to mean nothing very different from being a hardhearted, stingy, old-fashioned conservative." Similarly, former President Bill Clinton described the message of compassionate conservatism as: "I want to help you. I really do. But you know, I just can't" or similar variants.
I've been in a self-imposed media blackout these last few days due to the September 11th anniversary 24 hour news cycle (I don't need to see that again) and decided not to watch last night's CNN Republican Primary debate because I saw all I needed to see during last week's debacle. Why would I want to subject myself to the motley crew that is the GOP nominees again? Unless they've changed their minds about climate change or evolution, or actually looked at the numbers to realize they're just flat out lying on the Recovery Act while hypocritically benefitting from it, there was no need for any more self-induced stress.
But then I heard (bad news travels fast) that a hypothetical question was asked of Ron Paul regarding a 30 year old man who chooses not to pay for health insurance, then suddenly needs it - what's to be done? And the audience yelled to "let him die." I couldn't believe it. So I had to see for myself.
More than anything else that has transpired in the world of American politics and the divisiveness we've gotten accustomed to this last decade or so, this truly breaks my heart. What has become of us as a society? Or I should rephrase, what has become of the Republican party as a societal faction of our population? This is the pro-life party? This is the party touting their Christianity? It's absolutely disgusting. And this comes on the heels of last week's audience strongly praising Rick Perry's execution record as Governor of Texas.
There are some criticizing the editing of this video because it cuts off Ron Paul's answer to the question. But the video isn't about Paul's answer, it's about the callousness of the audience. If you listen closely, Ron Paul says "no" when asked if society should let the hypothetical patient die before explaining about pre Medicare days and churches taking care of the sick, blah, blah, blah. Someone in the audience yells "YEAH!" at the thought of letting the patient die to hoots and hollers and it sounds like they're mostly in agreement. I'm sure if the dipshit audience member who yelled had a member of their family who was in that situation, he would think differently.
I also can't dismiss this as just two or three jackasses in the audience. They ALL applauded at the notion of letting the hypothetical patient fend for himself. It's not just two or three jackasses anymore. It's become mainstream GOP thinking. And if the nominees and the Republican leadership feel the need to kowtow to the Tea Party, then shame on them.
Just another example blowing apart the myth that both parties are the same.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
September 11 - Ten Years Later
There isn't much to say, is there? Take a moment to remember, reflect and appreciate what you have.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Cliff Robertson Dies at 88
LA Times: Cliff Robertson, who starred as John F. Kennedy in a 1963 World War II drama and later won an Academy Award for his portrayal of a mentally disabled bakery janitor in the movie "Charly," died Saturday, one day after his 88th birthday.Robertson, who also played a real-life role as the whistle-blower in the check-forging scandal of then-Columbia Pictures President David Begelman that rocked Hollywood in the late 1970s, died at Stony Brook University Medical Center on Long Island, according to Evelyn Christel, his longtime personal secretary. His family said he died of natural causes.
President Obama Beat NFL in Ratings
President Obama's speech Thursday on jobs to a joint session of Congress outscored the NFL season opener in the Nielsen TV ratings. The President's jobs speech was watched by an estimated 31.4 million viewers while the New Orleans Saints/Green Bay Packers NFL season opener drew about 27.2 million.
(Via Washington Times)
Presidential Campaign Season...
...starts early in New York City.
This billboard is on display on the Manhattan bound side of the 59th Street Bridge.
The picture on the left side of the billboard is of President Obama shaking hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas showing proof positive that Obama is anti-Israel. You know... sort of like this:
(Billboard photo sent to me by avid reader, Nowhere Man)
Tacky, Callous and Disrespectful
That's how I describe Herman Cain's 9/11 campaign "commercial."
I suppose Herman Cain cares more about September 11th because he'll "never, never, never" forget? I mean, three "nevers" means he cares three times as much as those who say they'll "never forget," right?And showing off his pipes singing God Bless America? Wow.
(*I debated the idea of not including the video here and just linking to YouTube, but felt the need to display it here since my criticism of it is negative. So if you've already seen it, don't bother giving it any extra clicks.)
Must Reads
Oliver Willis: Why I Criticize Obama
Justin Rosario: Censorship Smackdown of the Day: Jewish Organizations That Should Know Better
Andrew Sullivan: Perry Hypocrisy Watch
Elizabeth Drew: A 9/11 Anniversary Misremembered
Karoli: Obama Takes It To The People; Eric Cantor Whines
David Dow: Rick Perry’s Lethal Overconfidence
David Frum: Why Bush Didn’t Mention Canada in His 9/20 Speech
Jason Easley: Eric Cantor Offsets Disaster Relief With a 40% Cut To First Responders
Corey Boles: Senate Approves $500 Billion Increase in Borrowing Authority
Joan Russow: Canada Must Arrest George W. Bush If He Enters Canada
Friday, September 9, 2011
Deadbeat Dad Joe Walsh Suing To Continue Being A Deadbeat
Republican Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh loves to show his face on the talking head shows and shake his fist in the direction of President Obama, go as far as calling the President a liar and refusing to attend joint sessions of Congress, something that I believe elected officials are payed to do. No, it's not mandatory but you get my drift.
Well, soon after Walsh decided to put his face front and center on all the cable news channels and call for fiscal responsibility, it was revealed that he was a deadbeat dad, owing over $100,000 in back child support. So much for fiscal responsibility.
When faced with an embarrassing situation as an elected official, a normal person would most likely settle the issue and move on. But not Tea Party Joe. He's doubling down.
Walsh has set the bar for the definition of "Douchebag." Tea Partiers must be so proud of their choice.Six days after the Sun-Times reported that Rep. Joe Walsh allegedly owes more than $100,000 in child support for three of his children, the McHenry Republican filed a motion seeking sanctions against his ex-wife.Walsh’s attorneys sought the sanctions against Laura Walsh because they said she had not complied with their request in February to provide them voluminous documentation of her employment and salary records at pharmaceuticals manufacturer Eli Lilly as well as bank statements, tax returns and expense reports.At that time, Joe Walsh’s attorneys had scheduled an April interview with Laura Walsh and said they needed the extensive documentation to prepare for it.Laura Walsh’s attorney, Jack Coladarci, called that request “harassment” and said the issue was why Joe Walsh was not paying $117,000 of back child support and interest. Laura Walsh had no corresponding obligation to pay Joe Walsh any support, and so the extensive requests for documents were inappropriate, Coladarci said.
The Party of Hansel and Gretel
POSTED BY DESERT CRONE
Too many Democrats are like Hansel and Gretel following the bread crumbs strewn at their feet by the Republicans and mainstream media (MSM). What occurred the other day was a screw up over the date of President Obama’s speech. It was a blip on the radar, nothing more, nothing less. Maybe some White House staff person didn’t check the event calendar. Who knows? I’m pretty sure this type of mistake has happened many times before. However, the Republicans capitalized on this and chose to make it an “event” by publicly rebuking the President in an unprecedented show of disrespect, gamesmanship, and ugliness. They scattered their moldy bread crumbs around, and some on the Left gobbled them up. Rather than call out the Republicans in one loud, strong, unified voice, we castigated the victim, playing right into the Republicans’ hands. Oh, and where was the ubiquitous Congressional Black Caucus? One would think that people who have experienced the ugliness of racism would be denouncing Speaker Boehner. Their response was deafening silence as far as I can tell.
There was an outcry over this fiasco—an outcry denouncing President Obama, not the Republicans. Really, folks, is this the issue for which we wanted President Obama to fall on his sword? Let’s imagine the scenarios of the President fighting back: “Stop being mean to me.” Yep, that would have been effective. That would have been extra fuel for Republicans, and the incident would have lasted for weeks rather than days. Or how about “I’m going to give my speech anyway, and y’all better come hear it.” The House chamber would have echoed as the President’s words bounced off of the empty seats. But my all-time favorite from the Left was he should have given his speech from the Oval Office.
Well, after watching the speech, I would hope we all see why speaking to a joint session was so much more effective. The American people witnessed a spectacle that would have made DeMille happy. For crying out loud, Republicans did not even stand and applaud for the GI Bill for crying out loud. That moment will be burned into the minds of moderates and independents through November 2012.
Thank goodness Mr. Cool didn’t lose his cool like the Republicans and some Democrats. If he had, the attention wouldn’t have been on his speech. In fact, the atmosphere going into the speech would have been one of hijinks and goofiness. But instead the speech was preceded by seriousness and anticipation and the date kerfuffle tamped down. Too late for those on the Left because they had already followed the Republican crumbs right into the Right’s trap—again.
But it’s not only the right wing that drops crumbs for us to follow. Look what the media dropped for us over the past few days--$300 billion jobs bill. One of those chomping on those crumbs was Rep. Raul Grijalva, whining that $300 billion wasn’t enough. Nicole Sandler, subbing for radio host Randi Rhodes a couple of days before jobs speech, said she didn’t like what the President was going to say, an opinion based on media reports. She opposed any debt reduction proposal. (By the way, debt reduction means billions we pay on interest can go toward programs the Left cherish, but that’s another post.) Those two, like so many other Dems, were already criticizing the President’s job plan based on media reports before even hearing the speech.
Wasn’t the issue of black unemployment a media crumb? The Congressional Black Caucus went nuts over that issue recently but interestingly, not before it became the darling topic of MSM. Suddenly, the members of the CBC are all over the map literally denouncing Presodent Obama for low black unemployment. Yes, minority unemployment is an increasingly distressing issue and yes, when unemployment is down in general, it’s so much worse in minority communities. However, all of Obama’s policies and programs that deal with joblessness, hunger, health care also help minorities who suffer by a greater proportion.
They also blasted him for not going to Detroit, a city he has been to many, many times and whose policies have helped the city rebuild. But shouldn’t the constituents of Maxine Waters have answered her statement, “When you tell us to let go, we’ll let go” with “What have YOU done for us lately?” And now the media is accusing the President of never talking about housing. Really? Well, guess what? He does—a lot. In fact, he’s made it easier for home owners to get out from oppressive mortgages. The media just doesn’t pay attention. But I’m betting that will be the meme of the some on the Left soon. Where are the houses? Where are the houses?
While watching President Obama throw a fit and spew angry words may make us feel better, that behavior doesn’t move his agenda forward. And isn’t that what we’re really about? Helping others and our nation recover. If you want histrionics, you better look somewhere else other than this White House. However, if you want a President who moves his agenda steadily forward in spite of so many obstacles thrown in path by both the Right and Left, then Barack Obama is your man.
As long as we follow others’ bread crumbs rather that creating our own message or gobbling up the crumbs instead of staying on message, we hurt our own cause. We must stay on message! We are looking at the most dangerous, crazy field of Republican candidates ever, but rather than show our conservative friends and families the stark differences between them and President Obama, we’re busy bashing him in the most obtuse, juvenile ways with insults to his character and courage. As usual, we on the Left let one opportunity after another go by while we eat our own.
I suggest we try something different this time. Let’s get behind the President’s jobs bill and push it through Congress. Dammit, let’s get is right (uh... correct) this time.
Tackling the Important Stuff
I'm so glad the House of Representatives is grabbing the bull by the horns and dealing with tough issues.
Seriously? Look, I get the whole 9/11 Remembrance thing, especially on the 10th anniversary, as well as anyone, but do we really need a resolution passed by unanimous consent vowing to "never forget"? It just comes across as fake and jingoistic.House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement after the House, by unanimous consent, passed H.Res. 391, a resolution marking the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001:“The people’s House has renewed its solemn vow to ‘never forget’ what happened on September 11, 2001. The thousands of innocents and heroes who lost their lives are in our prayers, as are their loved ones...
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Colbert Interviews Pawlenty
Had Tim Pawlenty shown even an iota of personality on the campaign trail like he did in this interview, things would be very different now.
Sound The Dog Whistles!
Obama has a "ghetto behavior" problem, is crass and lacks grace says Michael Meyers.
I don't know if Michael Meyers knows what those words mean. By the way, who the fuck is Michael Meyers? Notice how Fox News looks for these types of crackpots to throw incendiary racist bombs who just happen to be black? Way to cover your ass, Sean Hannity.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
We Connive, You Decide
At yesterday’s Labor Day presidential event, Teamsters President James Hoffa Jr. spoke about the need to vote Republicans out of office in 2012. Of course, Fox News had a completely different take on what Hoffa “meant” through selective editing.
As Media Matters reports, Fox edited video of Hoffa’s money quote to suggest, actually to just flat out lie and say that he was urging violence against Tea Party activists.
Everyone jumped on the bandwagon including Andrew “ACORN, Shirley Sherrod, Planned Parenthood” Breitbart, and hacky tweets from Dana Loesch demanded that President Obama condemn Hoffa’s remarks and “sanctioning violence against fellow Americans” if he doesn’t. This after the fact that it was Fox’s Ed Henry who initially reported correctly on their own network that Hoffa as referring to voting Republicans out, and is on record with his tweet just 20 minutes after his report. Why tweet? Because he KNEW it was going to be taken out of context....fuller context included in other Fox segments makes clear that Hoffa wasn't calling for violence but was actually urging the crowd to vote out Republican members of Congress. During the segment that the bloggers have latched onto, Fox edited out the bolded portion of Hoffa's comments:HOFFA: Everybody here's got to vote. If we go back and keep the eye on the prize, let's take these son of a bitches out and give America back to America where we belong! Thank you very much!
Now the pushback of course will be, or already has been that the left took Sarah Palin's "Don't retreat, RELOAD!" comment out of context as well. But I'm willing to wager that if you head over to the Teamsters' website, or any site associated with James Hoffa, you're not going to find a map with crosshairs targeting Republican districts. Just another day at Fox News.
We connive, you decide.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
They're Not The Same
This is a rare Sunday "Must Read."
...The Democrats have their share of machine politicians, careerists, corporate bagmen, egomaniacs and kooks. Nothing, however, quite matches the modern GOP.
[...]To those millions of Americans who have finally begun paying attention to politics and watched with exasperation the tragicomedy of the debt ceiling extension, it may have come as a shock that the Republican Party is so full of lunatics... the crackpot outliers of two decades ago have become the vital center today: Steve King, Michele Bachman (now a leading presidential candidate as well), Paul Broun, Patrick McHenry, Virginia Foxx, Louie Gohmert, Allen West. The Congressional directory now reads like a casebook of lunacy.
...It should have been evident to clear-eyed observers that the Republican Party is becoming less and less like a traditional political party in a representative democracy and becoming more like an apocalyptic cult, or one of the intensely ideological authoritarian parties of 20th century Europe.[...]
...The media are also complicit in [the phenomenon of distrust of the government.] Ever since the bifurcation of electronic media into a more or less respectable "hard news" segment and a rabidly ideological talk radio and cable TV political propaganda arm, the "respectable" media have been terrified of any criticism for perceived bias. Hence, they hew to the practice of false evenhandedness. Paul Krugman has skewered this tactic as being the "centrist cop-out." "I joked long ago," he says, "that if one party declared that the earth was flat, the headlines would read 'Views Differ on Shape of Planet.'"
[...]Inside-the-Beltway wise guy Chris Cillizza merely proves Krugman right in his Washington Post analysis of "winners and losers" in the debt ceiling impasse. He wrote that the institution of Congress was a big loser in the fracas, which is, of course, correct, but then he opined: "Lawmakers - bless their hearts - seem entirely unaware of just how bad they looked during this fight and will almost certainly spend the next few weeks (or months) congratulating themselves on their tremendous magnanimity." Note how the pundit's ironic deprecation falls like the rain on the just and unjust alike, on those who precipitated the needless crisis and those who despaired of it. He seems oblivious that one side - or a sizable faction of one side - has deliberately attempted to damage the reputation of Congress to achieve its political objectives.
The "both sides are the same" meme is what got us in trouble in 2000. Does anyone want to wager that a President Al Gore would have invaded a country that had nothing to do with a terrorist attack on our soil? Or that had there been a keener eye at the helm we would have had a better chance at possible prevention of the attack in the first place?If you think Paul Ryan and his Ayn Rand-worshipping colleagues aren't after your Social Security and Medicare, I am here to disabuse you of your naiveté. They will move heaven and earth to force through tax cuts that will so starve the government of revenue that they will be "forced" to make "hard choices" - and that doesn't mean repealing those very same tax cuts, it means cutting the benefits for which you worked.
Let's not make that same mistake again.
Go read, "Goodbye To All That: Reflections of a GOP Operative Who Left The Cult." ...NOW.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Less White Flag, More Pit Bull
I know this will stir up controversy, especially with my co-blogger Jennifer and others, who believe we should keep our sights focused on John Boehner and the obstructionist GOP instead of "blaming" President Obama, and rightly so. But in my opinion, the continuing pattern when it comes to the perception, the perception of the White House and Congressional Democrats backing down from a fight on a seemingly consistent basis can be a very damaging thing.
Whether the perception is true or not, we know that the combination of a right-wing echo chamber and a complicit mainstream media terrified at the thought of being labeled "liberal," can hurt. I've said it before: optics matter. All you have to do is think of John Kerry on a sailboard, Michael Dukakis wearing a helmet while riding in a tank, or the infamous Howard Dean yowl to know that optics matter. The general population likes the image of a strong leader. Whether they agree with him or not, they can at least say he's a person of convictions. But the constant backtrack is a turn off. Two words: Mitt Romney.
So yes, while he have to keep our eyes peeled and call out Republican hypocrisy at every turn, it would help tremendously if the President and the administration did as well.
___________________________
POSTED BY NOWHERE MAN
Let's go back in time and try to remember when the brand new President of the Unites States tried to pass the stimulus to a Democratically controlled Congress to stave off a hemorrhaging economy. Republican leadership led by John Boehner and Eric Cantor wanted tax cuts in the bill. President Obama, trying to show he can work with the Republicans, allowed them to fill it with tax cuts. The largest tax cuts in US history, $282 billion worth over two years. The result: not a single Republican voted for the stimulus.
Right then and there the new President, barely a month into his term, should've sent the Republicans a profound message: DON'T TAKE ME FOR A SUCKER. He should have told then Speaker Nancy Pelosi to write a new bill minus the tax cuts the Republicans wanted. But he decided not to fight and instead left the Recovery Act as it was. By doing so, he made his first big mistake and sent a very different message to the Republicans: I CAN BE ROLLED.
What the President has needed from the very beginning is an advisor with a pit bull attitude, the way former President Clinton had James Carville to call out what phonies and hypocrites the Republicans were, and to say President Obama was trying to be conciliatory but got stabbed in the back by the opposition instead.
In the battle over the Bush tax cuts, Obama gave speeches to his base renewing his campaign pledge to let them expire. The Republicans held unemployment insurance hostage. He caved again and explained, incredibly telling and stupid in my opinion, that the hostage was going to be injured. The hostage was ultimately us. But it reaffirmed to the GOP he can be rolled, and all you have to do is grab a hostage.
It's too bad he didn't have a pit bull standing in front of the DC, inside the beltway, media elite cameras, ripping the Republicans and saying they didn't have a soul for using the middle class and unemployed like so much used toilet paper so the rich could keep getting richer, especially at such a difficult time for so many people during the holiday season, questioning, "What kind of country are we?" or "What kind of country have we become?"
At the press conference announcing the continuation of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy that he was so against, he was asked by a reporter if he was worried that the Republicans would now use the debt ceiling as the next hostage. Obama explained despite prior evidence to the contrary, that he thought Boehner was an HONORABLE man! I'm sure there were plenty of eye rolls by the White House Press Corp when he said that.
In the debt ceiling debates he repeatedly vowed that there would be no budget cuts without new revenues. He again gave speeches to his base telling them to contact their representatives to support his debt ceiling plan, and that there would be no cuts without new revenues. There was so much email traffic from his supporters that several Congressional websites crashed. I actually thought, "Finally! He's drawing a line in the sand!" Well we all know that turned out to be just another rerun: spending cuts with no new revenue.
There was no pit bull going around saying the Republicans love their party more than their country and proving it by willing to let the country go bankrupt. There was no thought of explaining how the elderly, the disabled, our combat soldiers engaged in two wars, were all being held hostage yet again. And President Obama, refusing to challenge the Republicans and see if they had the balls to let the country go under, as usual raised the white flag.
And now ScheduleGate. When I first heard that they scheduled the speech on the same day as the Republican debate, I said, "Wow! He's starting the campaign with a bang! What a politically brilliant and bold in your face move declaring 'I'm ready to fight and no more Mr. Nice Guy!'" I was listening to liberal radio that afternoon when the news broke on Boehner's rejection and suggestion that the speech be moved to the following night, opposite the first game of the year for the NFL.
In response, the White House should have explained the timeline. They should have said Boehner had no problem with it until Rush Limbaugh had a problem with it. They should have explained that Boehner's excuses were faulty at best because they were using a parliamentary tactic to prevent the President from making any recess appointments, therefore they were technically in session. They should have release a statement like this:
"While Congress was enjoying its five week layoff, there were and still are millions of Americans who have been on permanent unpaid vacations struggling to get by. They've been waiting for this current session of Congress to start who, under the leadership of John Boehner, have yet to introduce a single jobs bill in the nine months since he's been Speaker. They continue to demonstrate their benign neglect of the unemployed by the unprecedented rejection of the President's request for a joint session of Congress to deliver his speech for a jobs plan.
But who am I kidding? That would be a pit bull talking!The President has decided instead to give the speech to those its aimed at - the unemployed. Therefore, President Obama will be addressing an auditorium full of unemployed Americans at the University of Maryland as scheduled, on September 7th. We are making our case directly to the American people while the Republican controlled House passes all the anti-Planned Parenthood bills it wants."
Must Reads
Milt Shook: The Professional Left Is Killing Us; Example #1
Hrafnkell Haraldsson: Bachmann Says Earthquake and Hurricane Are Messages From Her God
Roger Simon: White House Furious Over Speech Delay
NY Times Editorial: Oh, Grow Up
Richard Dawkins: Attention Governor Perry: Evolution is a fact
Magic Love Hose: Why I Don't Care What Day Obama Gives His Speech (NSFW)
Friday, September 2, 2011
August Job Numbers: Zero
This is bad.
But hey, that jobs speech could wait another day, right?The US economy created no jobs and the unemployment rate held steadily higher at 9.1 percent in August, fueling concerns that the US is heading for another recession. It was the first time since World War II that the economy had precisely net zero jobs created for a month.
Seriously though, let's see what the President has to say, and how the Republican Party will react. Are they going to work with the President for the sake of the country, or are they going to obstruct anything that may help dig the economy out of the recession hole?
I know. Stupid question.
The Blaze's Mike Opelka - A Day Late and A Whine Short
The Blaze's political blogger Mike Opelka took umbrage with President Obama's "Frustrated" campaign email I referred to yesterday. But it wasn't for the same reasons. No, he takes the usual right wing hacky talking points that don't hold water. He complains about President Obama waiting until next week to lay out his jobs plan speech, the "failed" stimulus and the Martha's Vineyard vacation.
So I felt the need to post a response:
Very interesting, Mr. Opelka, that you would criticize the President for waiting until next week to make his speech.
1- The White House chose the date to coincide with first day that Congress was back in session.
2- I see no criticism of Boehner refusing the request and making the country wait yet another day. After grousing for months with the "Where are the jobs?" playground taunt, it seems Mr. Boehner and the GOP didn't think it was important enough and could actually let it go another day.
3- Bemoaning the President a vacation is petty considering the entire Congress has been out for the ENTIRE month of August. Five weeks. And the previous President spent a full 3 years out of his 8 year term on vacation.
I'd forgive Mr. Opelka his talking points had it not been for his omission of point number two. If he'd written this post with no knowledge of the sequence of events regarding the joint session request, then okay. But it's posted with today's date. A good day and a half after Schedulegate. You can't complain about the timing of the speech and why we have to wait until next week, when John Boehner didn't think it important enough and delayed it yet another day. Opelka is a day late and a bitch session short.4- If you're dealing with reality, you should note that just recently, a study came out citing the recession that started in 2007 (that would be before Obama took office) was much worse than previously thought. If you're going to criticize the stimulus, the correct criticism was that it wasn't nearly large enough to push back against the recession. Oh, and one third of that Recovery Act was tax cuts.
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