Behold the Republican Party

The party of Lincoln, the party of Teddy Roosevelt, even the party of Ronald Reagan just doesn't exist anymore. When anyone argues an old Republican talking point, remind them that that party no longer exists. Ronald Reagan would not even be considered for the 2012 nomination in the new, current batshit GOP. The inmates now run the asylum.

When the merry-go-round of who leads in the polls every six weeks has completely done a 360° turn and landed on Newt Gingrich once again, bypassing the only real shot the GOP has in making the 2012 election a competitive race in Mitt Romney, perennially polling second, you know they have a problem.

How else would you describe it when a candidate says something that's actually logical but the analysis afterwards says that it'll sink him in the polls? Here's what Newt said on his immigration stance at last night's 437th GOP debate that is going to ruin him:

"I do not believe that the people of the United States are going to take people who have been here a quarter century, who have children and grandchildren, who are members of the community, who may have done something 25 years ago, separate them from their families, and expel them," he said.

After the debate, Gingrich defended his position, telling CNN, "I can't imagine any serious person who will walk down the street, see someone they know for 20 years and say, 'You're leaving your family, you're leaving your church, you're leaving the community... and we are kicking you out forcibly.'"

Apparently, that sentiment is just too sane for today's Republican Party. He was immediately attacked by Mitt "What's My Stance Today?" Romney's campaign. Yet, when questioned if Romney is in favor of deportation of 11 million or so undocumented immigrants, Romney's advisor would not answer the question directly.

Romney has done the same thing in regards to his stance on a payroll tax cut, something you'd think the entire cadre of GOP candidates would agree to except for that nagging little fact that they'd then be in agreement with evil socialist, Marxist, Communist, Kenyan-born President Obama. They twist themselves in knots trying not to get caught on video agreeing with the President even on things with which they fundamentally agree.

And don't get me wrong, I'm not defending Newt in any way; he's just as fucked up as the rest of these nitwits. I'm just pointing out the fact that when any of them have a moderate stance on any issue, when it's not the furthest far right stance, they are exposed to criticism and they lose the nutjob vote. The same thing happened with Rick Perry when he was asked about his bill making in-state tuition available to undocumented students in Texas.

"If you say that we should not educate children who have come into our state for no reason than they've been brought there, by no fault of their own, I don't think you have a heart," he said. "I still support it greatly."

For this statement, he was jeered.

If this presidential race is even close with this collection of loons, American society is a lot worse off than I thought.

Occupy Something

POSTED BY JHW22

A friend just posted a photo of troops in Afghanistan with a sign telling OWS protestors to quit bitchin'. I decided not to post that picture because I respect that the men chose to serve but disagree with them on their perspective and I don't want to add any animosity toward them personally when I rant. I don't want these particular men to be the ones I am speaking to because who I am really speaking to are all of the people who don't get some things about the OWS movement OR who are choosing to pretend it's something it isn't.

First of all, don't forget that some in the OWS movement are vets who came home to no jobs.

Also, I know a lot of people who go to the OWS protests on their days off or after work. I also know of some people who telecommute from the protests. So the idea that every supporter of OWS is jobless isn't completely accurate.

And finally, seems odd that Republicans have been "bitchin'" about the unemployment rate, so why is it when unemployed people take a stand on the lack of jobs because of failed economic policies, there's a flip on who should be bitchin' and who should shut up?

I have to admit that I am not a full supporter of OWS, nor am I against it. There are things I agree with and things I don't. As with any movement of frustrated people, some are saying things I applaud and some are saying things that piss me off. I can't get on board to the point of going down to one or following any of them on Twitter. But I do feel it's necessary to call bullshit on false memes about them. Really, the OWS people are taking a different approach to expressing the same frustrations many in the Tea Party expressed.

We're all pissed about a lot of the same things. The difference is the Tea Party half-assed their anger (being mad at the wrong things in most cases) and they half-assed their protests. Sure they made a big mess of the health care reform debates. But where were they during the last six months? Nowhere. They dropped the "mad at too much of anything that bugs us" ball and the OWS protestors picked it up and have run with it. They are mad a lot of the same things and people, but generally more for the right reasons and with far less undermining influences trying to take over.

So I find it amusing when the Republicans bitch and moan about the unemployment rate and want to say Obama and Geithner and Bernanke and Pelosi and anyone else they don't like is to blame for there being "no jobs" and then they turn around and tell protestors, protestors with more dedication than the Tea Party protestors, to get a job. Remember, Republicans, you keep telling us there are no jobs. You keep telling us Obama killed jobs, that he hasn't created any jobs. Yet, you want these OWS people to go get one?

Please.

Gentlemen, Your Fans AREN'T Gentlemen

POSTED BY JHW22

I *was* a NASCAR fan until today. I was never the typical fan: I am a liberal, atheist, anti-hunter but I actually enjoyed the sport. But after today, I am done with it. Mrs. Obama was at the final NASCAR Sprint Cup race of the season to support the troops and their families yet she was BOOED even though NASCAR fans pride themselves on being supportive of the troops. The dumb ass fans should have put their hate aside and taken just one moment to agree with the First Lady on something. But they couldn't. Their drunken ignorance was an insult to her efforts to help military veterans and spouses find jobs, homes, health care, etc. They didn't even take a MOMENT to consider that MAYBE she is doing something they would agree with.

And yet I am called partisan by conservatives even though I NEVER booed Laura Bush. And SHE killed someone.

But let me say this, ANYONE on the left who thinks her being there was a mistake is FUCKING STUPID! She did exactly the right thing: she walked into a lion's den to stand with and for our military. She knew it was a place she'd be unwelcome and yet she went. Good for Mrs. Obama, Mrs. Biden and their staffs for putting their values ahead of their egos and fear.

And fuck every fan who booed this wonderful woman standing for real values when they burp and fart their lame, hollow support of American military families.

This Would Be Funny If It Weren't So Sad

Music Break! Clark Terry

Notice when Clark Terry plays his flugelhorn solo, he's holding it upside-down.

Must Reads

Joan Walsh: More Baggage for Newt Gingrich

Greg Sargent: Obama never secretly killed the public option. It’s a myth.

Bob Cesca: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Newt Gingrich

The Rude Pundit: Observations on the Post Raid Occupation in New York and This is Not Your Fucking Movement; This is Our Fucking Movement

Nicholas Confessore: Vilifying Rival, Wall St. Rallies for Senate Ally

E.J. Dionne: How we can succeed through supercommittee’s ‘failure’

President Obama's Weekly Address - November 19, 2011

Creating an Economy Built to Last

Happy Birthday, Speaker Boehner

Weeper of the House John Boehner is 62 today. Happy Birthday, Blubber Boy! Where are the jobs bills?



(Photo via Bob Cesca)

WTF!

"How do you say 'delicious' in Cuban?"

~GOP Presidential hopeful Herman Cain

The Most Ironic Thing Ever

Jerry Sandusky's autobiography title.

House GOP Priorities

Is it jobs? Is it the economy? Is it foreign policy?

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are fighting an effort by the Obama administration to make federally-subsidized school lunches more healthy.

A January proposal by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) aimed to limit — but not eliminate — fries and pizza on the lunch menu.

...Under pressure from lobbyists and some food companies that sell frozen pizza, salt and potatoes, Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee rejected the new rules, painting them as “burdensome and costly regulations.”

Pizza is a vegetable. See? It's all about the important things.

UPDATE (8:10pm): Also this.You know, because it's important.

The House of Representatives passed a measure Wednesday that would make a permit to carry a concealed firearm from one state valid in any state that allows citizens to carry concealed weapons. The vote was 272 to 154.

Study Something!

I'm trying to digest Herman Cain's latest, and probably biggest, misstep on the campaign trail.



I don't know about you, but I know I was riveted to the goings on in Libya and even I could probably answer some questions on the subject, the U.S. response and our country's air and intelligence support in the NATO operation. But it seems that Herman Cain didn't have the intellectual curiosity to understand what was happening in Libya, the role of the Obama administraion and the NATO operation that took place. All he had to do was read the newspaper to give a coherent answer to the questions he was asked. And he didn't even do that. And he's running for President of the United States.

Can we say we're done with him now?

NEXT!

Pro-Life

POSTED BY JHW22

I just read this article on the effects of a down economy on infant mortality. I feel sick and angry. Angry at the GOP for effectively defining what it means to be "pro" LIFE. Why the hell don't we, as liberal, progressive, bleeding-hearts take that word, LIFE, back. WE are the party that fights for the survival of the weakest among us.

Being Pro-Life should mean not turning your back on the struggling class in America. Being Pro-Life should mean dumping the B.S. of "personal responsibility" as a way to deny people survival and instead reclaiming the real Christian support of Pro-Life -- helping the poor rather than rhetorically and politically spitting on them.

I am Pro-Life: I support policies and funding of any program that will give a woman a healthy body, that will give a child a healthy and real chance at a full life. Pro-Life isn't about the abortion issue. It's about how you support the life of the person you think is lazy, worthless and looking for a handout. If you don't value their lives, don't call yourself Pro-Life just because you like to tell women what they can and can't do with their own bodies. Pro-Life means you will fight as hard for those outside the womb as those inside. I am Pro-Life and I am Pro-Choice because I value a woman enough to give her all the resources she needs to live the best life she can. And I want a child to have the chance to be the best he or she can be.

Dumbass Quote of the Day

“[Secretary of Defense] could be the one that I could be excited about to help the generals and commanders on the ground to get what they need, to do what they do best, and that is kick the you-know-what out of everybody in the world.”

~Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain responding to the question of what Cabinet position would interest him should he not win the GOP nomination.

Hmmm... Herman Cain may have degrees in mathematics and political science, he may have worked for the military as a ballistics analyst, but with a statement like that it just proves that you can have book smarts and still be one dumb motherfucker. That single sentence should disqualify him from consideration to such a post and any would-be President actually contemplating the ridiculous notion of a "Secretary of Defense Herman Cain" should be disqualified as well.

Must Reads

Sideline Music Magazine: CD-format to be abandoned by major labels by the end of 2012

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Chez Pazienza: Assistant Quote of the Day

Eugene Robinson: In GOP debate, Rick Perry wasn’t alone in not making sense

Ruth Marcus: The consistently inconsistent Mitt Romney

The Rude Pundit: Election Lesson: Republicans Learn That Americans Aren't Quite as Crazy as They Are

President Obama's Weekly Address - November 12, 2011

Honoring Our Veterans for Their Service and Sacrifice

CLASSIC!

Enjoy.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

How Did This Man Become A Governor?

Oh. My. God.

The American People Have Spoken

How many times have we heard House Speaker John Boehner say, "The American people want..." or "The American people sent us here to..."? How often do you think he'll use that phrase after yesterday's election results?

Well, I'll use it. If yesterday's election results have shown us anything, it's that the American people don't like hypocrites. They American people have spoken in their rejection of Ohio's collective bargaining/anti-union law. The American people have spoken in their rejection of an attempt by Mississippi Republicans to redefine "personhood" as the point of which an egg becomes fertilized. The American people have spoken in their re-election of Kentucky's Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear with 56% of the vote. The American people have spoken in their recall of Republican Arizona Senate President Russell Pierce, the author of the harsh immigration law that had been adopted in Grand Canyon state. The American people have spoken in their addition of a New Jersey Democratic Assembly member as they've cooled off of a Chris Christie love affair. The American people have spoken against voter suppression by repealing Maine's two day voting registration law and restoring same day registration.

The American people have spoken. And if the Congressional members of the Republican party refuse to listen and continue on the path of "Just Say No" to President Obama's every attempt to get the country's employment situation and GDP jump started, they're in for a rude awakening in November of 2012.

Wee Wee'd Up

POSTED BY JHW22

Remember when then-candidate Obama said something at a fundraiser about some people clinging to guns and religion? And remember how everyone from the left and right faked outrage over the remark, despite knowing he had a point?

Well apparently, the Republican party doesn't like their fundraiser event speeches being taken out of context. Oh, you know what speech I'm talking about.

Some are shocked that people are misconstruing Perry's performance as drunken or bizarre. Some are defending him as having been very well received by the crowd. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram went so far as to write a piece with supporters practically whining about how really, really good the speech was. My favorite part of the editorial was the reference to Perry seeming almost Paul Lynde-like.

But it's just one more example of the GOP hypocrisy. They take a comment from a very poignant, focused speech and rip it out of context and avoid the truth to it, just to mock the speaker. But when several clips, out of context or not, are shown to make their candidate look completely mockable, then hell's bells, that's unfair!

Must Reads

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Shanghaiist: GOP Presidential candidate Herman Cain Unaware China Has Nukes

Steven D, Booman Tribune: What Are The DFH's Protesting About?

Eugene Robinson: Let Herman Be Gone

MacDaffy: Twig: An Open Letter To Ann Coulter

Matt Taibbi: Mike Bloomberg's Marie Antoinette Moment

President Obama's Weekly Address - November 5, 2011

We Have to Increase the Pace

Brought to you by Vice President Joe Biden

Quote of the Day

“Just a quick note about Grover Norquist. If Grover Norquist is now the most powerful man in America, he should run for president. There’s no question about his power. And let me tell you, he has people in thrall. That’s a terrible phrase. Lincoln used it. It means your mind has been captured. You’re in bondage with a soul.

So here he is. I asked him. He said, ‘My hero is Ronald Reagan.’ I said, ‘Well, he raised taxes 11 times in his eight years.’ And he said, ‘I know. I didn’t like that at all.’ I said, ‘Well, he did it. Why do you suppose?’ He said, ‘I don’t know. Very disappointing.’ I said, ‘He probably did it to make the country run, another sick idea.’”

~Retired Sen. Alan Simpson (R-WY) lambasting Supercommittee Republicans for the deadlock they are causing by refusing to consider serious tax revenue increases with only three weeks remaining until they hit their deadline.

Bank of America Pulls Back On Its Fees

Remember that Bank of America announcement which stated they'd begin to charge their customers $5 per month just to use their money in the form of a debit card to try and end run financial reform and screw the little guy to the tune of $3 billion profit a year and other banks were following suit? Yeah... not so much.

Despite an outpouring of complaints online and at branch offices, the bank had remained steadfast in its plans until last Friday, according to a person briefed on the situation, planning to ease just some of the conditions for avoiding the fee. But over the weekend, after two major competitors — Wells Fargo and the nation’s largest bank, JPMorgan Chase — said they were backing away from their plans to levy similar charges, two high-ranking Bank of America officers recommended to Brian Moynihan, the bank’s chief executive, that the bank simply drop the fee.

...[Change.Org founder Ben] Rattray and other consumer advocates said the outcry was about much more than fees. “Bank of America’s new debit card fee was the last straw for many consumers who are tired of banks that got bailed out that are now turning around and hiking fees,” said Norma Garcia, manager of Consumer Union’s financial services program. “There was this phenomenon with banks and others confusing passivity with loyalty. And consumers are saying, ‘You can’t take us for granted anymore.’ ”

And don't tell me the Occupy Wall Street had no influence.

The Political Bubble's 1%

I just realized that I'm part of the one percent. No, not the 1% that Occupy Wall Street is protesting against. I don't have old money or new money. I make a good living but I'm not wealthy. I don't work on Wall Street and I'm not a bank CEO. I'm talking about the 1% of Americans that are in tune with the country's politics on a day to day basis. The one percent in the political bubble.

I write on this blog as often as I can, some weeks more than others. But over the past few weeks my output has been lower than usual (lower than I'd like) because I've had to take on extra work to save some money for a new roof on my house. So some days I'm off to work and out of the house by 6:30am and don't get home until midnight, which means my usual blogging/reading/cable TV watching time is greatly diminished if not completely absent. And I have to tell you, I feel much less anxious and angry. It's kind of nice to not need to have an opinion or a reaction to Mitt Romney's latest flip flop or Herman Cain's idiotic arrogance or Rick Perry on medical marijuana. But still I knew about it. I tried to keep informed even though I wasn't laser focused on it for hours a day. I was an outlier, but I still considered myself one of the very few that knew what was going on

But I fear the problem we have as a nation, and I used to be part of the problem, is that 99% of us really don't care enough. 99% of the population won't see Rick Perry's strange performance. 99% of Americans don't know who Herman Cain is. 99% of Americans can guess on any of Mitt Romney's policy positions and get it right because he's held all of them. 99% didn't watch the last Republican debate, but on that one, really, can you blame them?

Of course, my 99% to 1% ratio is an exaggeration but you get the larger point. In a representative democracy, when 59% of registered voters didn't bother to make their voices heard in the 2010 midterm elections, it's not representational. The result was the Tea Party takeover in the House of Representatives. 41% voter turnout in 2010 means that 96 million people made decisions for 307 million of us. That needs to change.

Unfortunately, too many are blissfully ignorant when it comes to all things politics and wait until there are two candidates left to choose from before they'll flip a lever or mark an 'x' every four years. Then they go back home and wait until the next presidential election. Meanwhile, they don't hear about voter suppression, gerrymandering, the political scandal du jour, or any of the myriad of stories that happen with their own representatives in their own districts. They don't understand that in today's global economy, what happens in Greece affects us financially as a country. The 2008 presidential election had a bigger turnout than any in history, and still it was only 65% of registered voters. 146 million people - less than half the population.

Until we as a whole become more informed, and I'm talking about real information, basic stuff like Ronald Reagan really did raise taxes or President Obama really is an American born citizen, or even that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 and did not have weapons of mass destruction, we are only destined for more of the same.

And on that note, I'll try to make a better attempt to keep up with events as they happen. But it's not a promise - daddy needs a new roof.

Is Rick Perry Drunk?

...or is he smelling toast right about now?



Via Political Wire

Bachmann's "Flat Tax" Would Have "Several Rates"

From the annals of What The Fuckdom comes the latest from Michele Bachmann and her tax plan. A flat tax... with multiple rates.

“I would flatten the rates and simplify them, I would not have just one rate, but I’ll have several rates,” she said. “A flattened, simple, much fairer system, and one that would be equitable and raise revenues for the federal government as well.”

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

But you have to almost feel sorry for Bachmann. She keeps amping up the crazy but is continually outdone by Herman "Jesus was the perfect conservative" Cain.

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President Obama's Weekly Address - October 29, 2011

We Can’t Wait to Create Jobs

Personhood Questions

So there's this ballot vote in Mississippi coming up that defines "personhood" from the moment of fertilization. Basically, it's another attempt to outlaw not only abortion, but in vitro fertilization and even stem cell research. So I have a couple of questions:

Can a person still in it's zygote state receive a Social Security number at the point of conception?

Can a person still in it's embryo state apply for a credit card? A mortgage?

Can a person who was conceived in a foreign country by his/her American citizen parents on a vacation be eligible to run for president of the United States? Or does he need to show his "Conception" Certificate?

Just saying'...

Flip Romney

Mitt Romney is confused. The old adage, "All politics is local" is being jumbled in Romney's mind as "All video is local." He thinks he can say one thing in one state and then just 24 hours later say something completely different.

Remember when former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney went to a call center of conservative faithful in Ohio, as volunteers were dialing on behalf of the efforts to save SB 5, the state’s new union-busting bill? And then when asked by reporters, said he wasn’t going to take a position on the issue?

Well, that was yesterday.

Today it appears Romney does have a position: he supports Gov. John Kasich’s efforts to curtail public employee unions in the name of tightening Ohio’s budget. Romney said as much at an event in Virginia...

And apparently the confusion was ours. He wasn't going to take a position on other ballot questions, even though he spent his time at the pro-SB5 call center. Reporters couldn't possibly have been asking him about SB5, could they? As soon as Mitt hightailed it out of Ohio - where polls show a majority of Ohioans plan on voting to repeal the union busting bill - he decided to back Gov. Kasich while his feet were firmly planted in Virginia.

Just say, "Oops!" and get out.

Cain's Not That Conniving, He's Just Dumb

There's a theory going around that the only reason Herman Cain got into the presidential race is for the 15 minutes of fame, thereby selling more books and booking more paid speeches. But now that he's actually in the lead in the latest GOP presidential hopeful polls, he's realizing he doesn't want the most important job in the world and he's trying to sabotage himself with his most recent bizarre commercial.



I'm not buying it. I don't think Herman Cain is that smart. I think he's delusional enough to believe he really can be an effective President with his inane 9-9-9 "I have no idea" Plan and his foreign "Ubeki-beki-beki-stan-stan" policy. I think he and his campaign believe their pale smoking man/cheesy music/creepy grin commercial is a winner. The only thing Cain is sabotaging is the Republican Party. This isn't campaign self sabotage. He's just that dumb.

President Obama on The Tonight Show

In case you missed it, like I did.

Rick Perry Has Blown a Gasket

Remember a couple of months ago when the next Coming for the Republican Party was Texas Governor Rick Perry? Remember when he was leading in the polls when compared to other GOP primary nominees before he ever entered the race? There was only one little hurdle - and the basic flaw in the future President Perry plan: he had to open his mouth.

The more I listened to Rick Perry in the two debates that I could stomach (and watching highlights from the rest) the more he reminded me of George W. Bush, but without the eloquence. And the more he spoke, the more he sank in the polls. And now in a desperate attempt to rebound from a dismal 6% approval in the latest CBS/New York Times poll of GOP presidential hopefuls, he has decided to pull the Birther card.

After having dinner with The Birther King Donald Trump, Rick Perry decided that it was either A) advantageous for him to jump on the Birther bandwagon to garner some fringe freak support, or B) he really believes the tinfoil hat notion that President Obama is illegitimate because he's not an American born citizen but instead, a Kenyan born, secret Muslim Manchurian candidate.

Now, Perry may be dumb as a rock with 'Niggerhead' scrawled on it, but he ain't stupid, and he proved it while admitting to journalist John Harwood that all this birther talk is really just a distraction:

“I’m really not worried about the president’s birth certificate. It’s fun to poke at him a little bit, say, 'Hey, let’s see your grades and your birth certificate.'”

So he's pretty much laying it out that he knows the Birther thing is all bullshit, yet he stops short of admitting it's a load of crap for political expediency. But that's not all Perry's doing to remove the cement shoes from his feet after jumping into the GOP primary pool. Seeing the meteoric rise of fellow charlatan Herman Cain* the more he repeats his 999 Plan, Perry has decided to announce a tax reform plan of his own. A flat tax. But just one look at Perry's plan and anyone can tell it makes absolutely no sense.

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

Perhaps if Perry repeated his plan as the "Flat, Flat, Flat Plan" it would catch on like Cain's.  And it would be easy for him to remember. The tax is flat. Like the earth if flat. And his head is flat.

Martin Bashir puts things in perspective:

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

Sorry, Rick. The Birther ship sailed six months ago with the Donald Trump flameout. You should have been paying attention instead of eating popcorn while sitting in the front row of your latest Texas execution.
________________________
*This bears repeating: "The meteoric rise" of Herman. Fucking. Cain. Republican voters hate Mitt Romney so much, they'd prefer to live in Bizarro World with Herman Cain than actually have a legitimate shot at having a nominee who might give President Obama a little trouble.

Twitter Fight!

It would seem Donald Trump, out of nowhere, decided to take a shot at Lawrence O'Donnell via Twitter today. O'Donnell responded and the two went at it for a bit. Trump then backed away from going on The Last Word when asked to appear. Very funny read.



Also, if you read Trump's Twitter timeline, it reads like the rantings of a raving tinfoil hat lunatic. ...Amazing.

Ugh

POSTED BY JHW22

When trying to think of a title of this post, I couldn't do better than, "Ugh." Why? Because, for starters, Glenn Beck moved to my metroplex. He lives pretty close to one of my FAVORITE places to eat and I fear the day I see him there. I told someone that I hope he chokes on a chicken bone while I am there: I don't want him to die, but I'd really like to see the fear and panic in his face. The same fear and panic he spreads throughout the country with his lies and mongering.

We've all thought, at one point or another, that Glenn Beck is a snake oil salesman, a con man, and even a televangelist of sorts. He talks about God as if he somehow understands what it means to be Christian. Well, he acts like the very type of Christian that helped me decide to be atheist. But He doesn't act like the type of Christian that matches the Christ part of the Bible. I want to tell Beck that he takes the Christ out of Christian. But, wait, is he still Mormon? And are Mormons really Christian anyway? I can't keep track of what people "are" and what they "profess" to be and who gets to decide what someone really is. Sorry, that's a bit of a tangent on the Reverend Jeffress calling Romney a Mormon but Obama a "professed" Christian thing. Isn't it interesting that Reverend Jeffress is super close to the name Jeffs?

Anywho, Beck lives near me and it makes me shiver.

But that's not the real ugh of it. The real ugh of it is that he is buying a church, yes, a church, to run his media empire out of. And that's even closer to me than his house. I actually drive past the church several times a week. Ugh.

My first thought was, "So he really IS a televangelist." My husband's first thought was, "What does that say about the area we live in that Glenn Beck thinks his type of nutty is a perfect fit here?" My next thought was, "How much nuttier are our neighbors gonna get?"

In all the controversy over the Beckoning of Glenn's media empire in our area, people have focused on the risks associated with his brand of controversy and ill-will. People are seriously nervous about the property and the surrounding homes. The agreement is that there will be security staffing to protect people. But the odd thing is that they seem to think the people who need protecting are the people who will attend the Beck Freak Show. They seriously worry that "liberals" will cause them harm. It's funny that Palin was completely blameless in the tenor of the country around the time of Gabby Giffords' shooting but Beck will somehow cause all the area liberals to rise up and cause harm. Baffling.

But I do think Palin was, in part, responsible for the tenor of the nation's rage and disgust. And I think Glenn Beck is a huge reason many in the country think violence and aggression is acceptable.

So my fear isn't that people who show up for the cattle call will be hurt. My fear is that liberals with Obama stickers driving by the Tea Party Church will be harmed. Can you imagine the sewage that he will fill my community's heads with and how he will enable rage? And can you see some Obama-supporter driving by as the hounds are released en masse? The street is a congested mess already. The traffic moves faster than it should. People switch lanes and tailgate worse on that road than most others. Add a bunch of pumped up angry Becker-heads, and I think bad shit will happen.

So I am trying to wrap my brain around this. I am for the First Amendment (the speech part should only apply here since he's not a religion, but the undertones seem religious, don't they?). I think he has a right to be there. As long as he owns the building as his business and not his non-profit, then I think the taxes and employment are good. BUT to think that his anger and ugliness will be near me, well, just simply, ugh.

I hope local liberals don't add to the madness of that street and picket. I hope local liberals live and let live and show the Beckies that we are better than they think we are. But above all, I hope the community quickly sees him for what he is: a charlatan.

On his own website he says the following is one of his core values and principles (perhaps I should get a bumper sticker of this when he opens for business):

"Unapologetically profit focused"

Now, I don't live in the town where the church is. I live on the "other side of the tracks." But to get a real idea of the town he's moving into for his fear mongering, profit focusing, here's a peek of his neighborhood. Is that where Jesus would go?

VERY LARGE Pants On Fire

Via PolitiFact:

...Having endorsed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, [New Jersey Governor Chris] Christie has been addressing what he considers illegitimate comparisons between Romney’s health care reform in Massachusetts and the national health care reform led by President Barack Obama...

"...ninety-three percent of the people in Massachusetts had private insurance then and have private insurance now. That’s not what’s gonna happen under Obamacare. It’s gonna be a government takeover of health care."

PolitiFact previously addressed the "government takeover of healthcare" talking point as its 2010 Lie of the Year.

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Max Udargo: Open Letter to that 53% Guy

Facebook Status of the Day

For those who don't know, Harvey Fierstein is a U.S. actor and playwright, noted for the early (1982) distinction of winning Tony Awards for both writing and playing the lead role in his long-running play Torch Song Trilogy, about a gay drag-performer and his quest for true love and family, as well as writing the award-winning book to the musical La Cage aux Folles. He has since become a champion for gay civil rights.

My Occupy Wall Street Experience at Times Square

POSTED BY NOWHERE MAN

With the continuation of the two longest and unnecessary wars in our nation's history, our jobs being shipped overseas, the so called Democratic Party becoming the Republican Light Party, the obvious evidence that the banks and Wall Street own our government and with the corporate media refusing to either do it's job or in some cases even understand what it's job is, I was angry and frustrated because the people seemed powerless or unwilling to rise up like we saw in the Arab Spring. But then came "Occupy Wall Street."

I felt so inspired by their guts and determination that last Saturday I went down to lend my voice and support. I didn't see nor was I offered any of the free sex and drugs that Fox News had reported was available, nor did I find any of the anti-semites Rush Limbaugh had said organized the whole thing. What I did find were groups with different agendas ranging from Bronx doctors who wanted health care for all, to Filipinos demanding an end to US imperialism in their country. However, the great majority were there protesting the corporate strangle hold Wall Street and the banks have on our government and the awful consequences being felt by families across the country.

Zucotti Park was filled with people of all ages and backgrounds. Most of the organizers are college age twenty somethings. I was impressed with how organized the park was - a cleaning crew section, a first aid station, a food section and a large blackboard detailing what the schedule was for the week.

We were to march to Washington Square Park and then uptown to Times Square. We were told that this was a non violent protest and that we were to obey the police orders at all times who for the most part were courteous. As we marched up Broadway we chanted different slogans over and over:

"BANKS GOT BAILED OUT, WE GOT SOLD OUT!"


"MONEY FOR JOBS AND EDUCATION NOT FOR WAR AND OCCUPATION!"


"TELL ME WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE, THIS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!"





"HOW DO WE FIX THE DEFICIT, END THE WAR AND TAX THE RICH!"


"WE ARE THE 99 PERCENT! YOU ARE THE 99 PERCENT!"


"THE PEOPLE UNITED, WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED!"

A lot of people on the streets along with tourists from double decker buses gave us a thumbs up as we chanted "JOIN US! JOIN US!" while others looked confused, wondering what all the fuss was about as the police escorted us along the entire route.

When we got to the park we gathered near the fountain and were told that 23 of had just gotten arrested at a Citicorp Bank on LaGuardia Place for allegedly occupying the bank. Some of us went there chanting "LET THEM GO!" of course to no avail. Before we continued on to Times Square we were given the phone number to the National Lawyers Guild in case we were arrested.

As we continued on to Times Square I felt as empowered as I was in the late 60s when I marched against the Vietnam War. I could overhear conversations of strangers from different parts of the country talking about the mess our country is in and the overwhelming consensus that Eric Cantor is the biggest asshole in Congress. I then received a text from Broadway Carl knowing I was attending the event, who told me to be careful because he had just seen a video* of a white shirted NYPD supervisor punching a woman in the face, knocking her to the ground! I didn't see the incident and the media didn't report it the next day. You would think a video of a police supervisor punching out a woman would be a front page photo and or story, but I digress.

There was no further incident until we got to West 46th Street and Broadway, which is where we were supposed to enter. I was about 200 feet from Broadway when there was a confrontation with police. I later learned that the police had positioned the barricades so that only a trickle of us could get in which produced a bottle neck. Human nature took over so some us pushed the barricade back so we could enter which of course gave the police the provocation they wanted and created, resulting in 45 of us getting arrested and the police picking up the metal barricades and using it to push us back.

Now they had cut off access to Broadway. Then, about 200 cops came up behind us and told us to get off the street for no apparent reason since the street had already been closed to traffic. They told us to get on the sidewalk which we did. They then told us not to block the pedestrians which was a joke since WE WERE THE PEDESTRIANS! Finally they told us to clear the sidewalk so pedstrians could get by which we did by moving to one side of the sidewalk. But that wasn't good enough so they ordered us back to 6th Avenue when all they had to do was just give us access to Broadway which they had deliberately closed off to try create the confrontation they wanted.

So we made our way back to 6th Avenue hoping to get to Broadway via 42nd Street since they had closed access to West 43rd, 44th and 45th. By the time I got there the crowd had dwindled probably recognizing the police were trying to start trouble. Adding to the frustration was the fact that the organizers were not allowed to have loudspeakers or microphones of any kind making it difficult to make speeches or to communicate with one another.

I started for home thinking what jerks the NYPD is failing to realize we were marching for them as well. Maybe they will figure it all out when NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg starts laying them off as well.

*Editor's Note: It seems the initial report of a woman being punched by a Police Supervisor was actually the story of Felix Rivera-Pitre. The NYPD is defending the action by accusing Rivera-Pitre of attempting to elbow Deputy Inspector Johnny Cardona in the face, but multiple angles of the incident reveal no such attempt.

More Photos of the day's events from Nowhere Man (clicking on any photo in this post will give you access to original size):









And of course, after the 46th Street confrontation, there was this:

President Obama's Weekly Address - October 22, 2011

Bringing Home Our Troops

Another Dictator/Terrorist Down, Another GOP Excuse to Avoid Crediting Obama

So... because of the US involvement in NATO actions in Libya, providing intelligence and air support in the Libya mission, another dictator is now dead. And at the beginning of our country's involvement, we heard much grumbling from the right and the left, of President Obama's decision to involve us in "yet another war." But now that rebels have overtaken Libya and finally have rid themselves of their dictator, everyone seems to think it's a good thing, but refuse to admit that the President was right or at least give him credit, save for a begrudging few.

"Well first of all, today's not a day to be pointing fingers. I'm glad it's all working out. Ultimately it's about the freedom and liberty of the Libyan people. But let's give credit where credit's due, it's the French and the British that led on this fight and probably even led on the strike that led to [Libyan dictator Col. Moammar Gaddhafi's] capture or to his death," Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fl.) said Thursday on Fox News.

Rubio said President Obama "did the right thing" by bringing the U.S. into the multinational intervention effort in Libya but "he just took too long to do it."

Perhaps Rubio should worry about lying that his Cuban parents were exiles when they actually left the island of Cuba three years before Fidel Castor came to power. Sometimes you just have to admit when you've been bested. When you don't it just looks foolish and petty.

Now, let's remember that the general conclusion when it comes to the parties is that Democrats are weak on defense and Republicans are the tough guys with a kick ass foreign policy. But as a friend relayed to me yesterday, under our current Democratic president, Osama Bin Laden was killed, Gaddhafi is now dead, we have a free trade pact with Latin America, terrorist leaders are being taken out by drones with no American casualties... so conservatives, tell me what's wrong with Obama's foreign policy?

ADDING... Watch for the growing list of anti-Obama factions getting the vapors over President Obama's statement today that we are finally exiting Iraq. Even though it was also a "decision point" made by George Bush.

Picture of the Day

No Longer a Joking Matter

Via Bob Cesca: “I do believe that we are now in uncharted waters when it comes to the dysfunction in our political system — and it is no longer a joking matter,” former Defense Secretary Robert Gates told an audience two weeks ago at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia, where he received the Liberty Medal for national service. “It appears that as a result of several long-building, polarizing trends in American politics and culture, we have lost the ability to execute even the basic functions of government much less solve the most difficult and divisive problems facing the country. Thus, I am more concerned than I have ever been about the state of American governance.”

And I'll add that I don't ever think it was joking matter to begin with. In eras gone by, an entire political party's desire to defeat an opposition incumbent president at the possible risk of the country's financial ruin would be considered treasonous. Now it's thought of and reported as just another goddamn game.

And before you say that both sides are the same, I'll stop the bullshit right now. All the proof you need is the rejection by the GOP of bills or policy positions espoused by the current administration that used to be Republican positions. Now that the main strategy of the Republicans is to defeat President Obama at all costs, they will say no to everything suggested by the White House even if it's something with which they philosophically agree. They're willing to burn the village in order to save it. Actually, they're willing to burn the village in order to control it. You won't find that kind of political sabotage on the Democratic side because "country first" actually means something to them.

NYPD Prepares for Occupy Wall Street Protesters at Times Square

I took this shot today at about 1:30pm on 41st Street between Broadway and 6th Avenue. NYPD officers gathering in preparation for the Occupy Wall Street protesters marching up 6th Avenue headed towards Time Square.



Approximately 300 cops lined up on the sidewalk extending from 6th Avenue and almost reaching Broadway. Blog reader Nowhere Man is participating in today's march and will give me his perspective of today's events along with some photographs of the day.

Better Government Management Through Lame Video Games

Or as it's otherwise known, Herman Cain's 999 Plan.

Long before Cain was running for president and getting attention for his 999 plan, the residents of SimCity 4 -- which was released in 2003 -- were living under a system where the default tax rate was 9 percent for commercial taxes, 9 percent for industrial taxes and 9 percent for residential taxes.

Now this may just be a really, really, really freaky coincidence, but if you can compare Cain's cockamamie tax reform plan to something in an eight year old video game, something is amiss. And this doesn't even touch on the subject of how ridiculous the plan actually is. And when Cain is asked specific questions on aspects of his plan, like how the 100% deduction would work for businesses that buy American designed products but are assembled out of the country and contain parts made elsewhere, he'll give answers like, "I have no idea." No idea? Herman Cain has no idea how his plan would work? He's shouting "9-9-9" from the mountaintops any chance he gets, but he doesn't even know how it works.

When you crunch the numbers, it's just another in a long line of Republican tax reform plans that increase taxes for middle class and working poor families while cutting taxes for the top income earners. And by "top" I don't mean breaking six figures. I mean millionaires.

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

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President Obama's Weekly Address - October 15, 2011

Made in America

GOP Obstructionism Means to an Obama End, Economy Be Damned

Today, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) confirmed pretty much what we've known all along. The Republican Party's obstructionism and its latest vote against the American Jobs Act is not because of some philosophical difference about how to govern, but a political tactic to "make President Obama look bad" in order to help defeat him in the 2012 election, and if they have to throw the American economy in the shitter to do so, so be it.



It really isn't a shock, but the fact that a member of Congress would admit that something like this is happening behind closed doors is stunning, as MSNBC host Chris Jansing expressed. So the next time you hear that both parties care for their country but just have a difference of opinion in how to run it, know that it's complete bullshit. The Republican Party would rather destroy the US (and possibly global) economy solely for the purpose of winning the White House in 2012 and then attempt to repeal health care reform.

Dumbass Quote of the Day

"One of the reasons we fought the revolution in the 16th century was to get away from that kind of onerous crown."

~Rick Perry answering questions after last night's New Hampshire debate.

Remember that pivotal moment in history when the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence in 1576? Yeah, me neither. Silly, little gaffe? Okay. Give him a break? Absolutely not. Simpletons should not even be considered for the most powerful position in the world.

The Right Wing Pushback to Occupy Wall Street

I came across this today on my Facebook page:



Only in America do minimum wagers fight for the rights of millionaires to keep their collective foot on the throats of the "have-nots."

A new website has cropped up called, "The 53%." This is a response to the Occupy Wall Street protesters, and according to their cute, little pictures with their signs, they seem perfectly happy working multiple jobs to make ends meet, pay for college and don't understand why the OWS protesters, "want something for nothing." (I put that in quotes because I've seen it on multiple signs.) Their failure to understand what the protests are about is painfully obvious.

This isn't about partisan politics. This isn't about Democrat vs. Republican, Liberal vs. Conservative. This isn't about getting something for nothing. This isn't about iPads or smart phones or new cars. This is about a matter of fairness.

These people are protesting the fact that Wall Street has the government's economic policy by the balls, with one party in their pocket while the other party plays along as well. Both parties collect plenty of coin for their campaign coffers from Wall Street.

As former, and hopefully future, Congressman Aman Grayson so elequently described in last Friday's Real Time with Bill Maher, and which I'll paraphrase here, the people standing on the streets day in and day out are there because Wall Street basically wrecked the economy three years ago and no one has been held responsible for it. No one's been indicted. No one's been convicted. Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme bilked people of $50 billion in investments and retirement savings and that made the front page headlines for months. But $50 billion is a fraction of what Wall Street's games cost the country - 20% OF OUR NATIONAL NET WORTH - you and I as taxpayers bailed them out so we wouldn't fall into a catastrophic collapse. And yet here we sit three years later and absolutely nothing has changed in terms of their practices to avoid flirting with the edge of the financial abyss again. In fact, they received multi-million dollar bonuses for their efforts. Does that seem fair to you? Even GOP candidate Buddy Roemer (yes, a Republican) agrees with and backs the OWS movement.

Does it seem fair that Bank of America has decided to earn an extra $3 BILLION a year simply by charging it's customers $5 a month to use their debit card for purchases? Does it seem fair that Citibank arbitrarily raised credit card interest rates to 29.99% for no reason other than to skim some more of our hard-earned money before credit card legislation stopped (or at least slowed down) their loan sharking ways?

This isn't about hating the rich. I don't have a grudge against rich people. For those who earned their way and clawed their way up the financial ladder, good for them and their fortunes. For those who were born into money, well who am I to moan about it? But if I'm paying 28-33% in federal taxes, they'd better pay the same goddamn rate. What's wrong with that? Why should they pay less? Reinvestment for job creation? Please. Enough with the "job creators" bullshit. How many stock brokers create jobs? Why should a hedge fund manager or a stock broker have a lower tax rate than a teacher or a carpenter or a sanitation worker or a research scientist?

If you think someone playing with other people's money should be entitled to a lesser tax rate than someone who works as hard as the misguided person holding this sign, then it's time to recalibrate your moral compass.

ADDING... Although I assert this is not about right versus left, the title of this post remains relevant as the something-for-nothing-get-a-job-hippies-welfare-queens attitude of the anti-OWS voices screams of right wing memes.

Crazy Quote of the Day

"Now, no matter what you think of the mythical separation between church and state, it is not possible for there ever, in the United States of America, to be a separation between God and government because God is the source of every single right that government has a sacred duty to protect. I submit to you that not a single one of our unalienable rights will be safe in the hands of a president who believes that we evolved from slime and that we are the descendents of apes and baboons.”

~Bryan Fischer, Director of Issues Analysis for the American Family Association at the Value Voters Summit.

This is the same event that every Republican running for their party's nomination attended save one. So... religious rights? No problem, as long as that religion is Christianity. And no, Mormonism doesn't count. Human rights? Of course, as long as you're not gay. Science? What's that?

The more things change...

What Occupy Wall Street Is About

Here's Alan Grayson, former and hopefully future member of the House of Representatives explaining in simple terms what the Occupy Wall Street movement is all about.



PJ O'Roarke can act like the clown and try to divert attention and misdirect in response to the logic that Grayson is espousing, but that's just more proof of Grayson being a serious figure when it comes to important matters concerning the country while O'Roarke just comes across as an asshole.