Accidental Incidents

Review: There is Power in a Union

2011-05-07T11:29:00.001-05:00

There is Power in a Union by Philip Dray

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fantastic and comprehensive history of organized labor in America. Covers the labor movement from it's inception in 18th century pre-Revolutionary America up through the most recent struggles for undocumented immigrants to receive some measure of protection from exploitation.

Along the way you meet an interesting cast of characters who make the history of the American Labor Movement so fascinating.

Highly recommended!

View all my reviews

Review: The "S" Word: A Short History of an American Tradition...Socialism

2011-05-07T11:24:00.001-05:00

The "S" Word: A Short History of an American Tradition...Socialism by John Nichols

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An uneven look at the history of socialism and social democracy in America. The trouble I had with the book was the poor organization of the material. The author kept jumping from subject to subject in a seemingly random way.

View all my reviews

Coming soon! 30 days of ME!

2011-01-24T14:00:00.000-06:00

I'll be doing a series of posts about me... Not sure exactly when I'm going to start, but these will be the topics:

Day 01 → Something you hate about yourself.
Day 02 → Something you love about yourself.
Day 03 → Something you have to forgive yourself for.
Day 04 → Something you have to forgive someone for.
Day 05 → Something you hope to do in your life.
Day 06 → Something you hope you never have to do.
Day 07 → Someone who has made your life worth living for.
Day 08 → Someone who made your life hell, or treated you like shit.
Day 09 → Someone you didn’t want to let go, but just drifted.
Day 10 → Someone you need to let go, or wish you didn’t know.
Day 11 → Something people seem to compliment you the most on.
Day 12 → Something you never get compliments on.
Day 13 → A band or artist that has gotten you through some tough ass days. (write a letter.)
Day 14 → A hero that has let you down. (letter)
Day 15 → Something or someone you couldn’t live without, because you’ve tried living without it.
Day 16 → Someone or something you definitely could live without.
Day 17 → A book you’ve read that changed your views on something.
Day 18 → Your views on gay marriage.
Day 19 → What do you think of religion? Or what do you think of politics?
Day 20 → Your views on drugs and alcohol.
Day 21 → (scenario) Your best friend is in a car accident and you two got into a fight an hour before. What do you do?
Day 22 → Something you wish you hadn’t done in your life.
Day 23 → Something you wish you had done in your life.
Day 24 → Make a playlist to someone, and explain why you chose all the songs. (Just post the titles and artists and letter)
Day 25 → The reason you believe you’re still alive today.
Day 26 → Have you ever thought about giving up on life? If so, when and why?
Day 27 → What’s the best thing going for you right now?
Day 28 → What if you were pregnant or got someone pregnant, what would you do?
Day 29 → Something you hope to change about yourself. And why.
Day 30 → A letter to yourself, tell yourself EVERYTHING you love about yourself

Wish me luck!

My favorite video from election night!

2010-11-03T13:37:00.001-05:00

I know people are quite amused by Tweety's attempts to get Michelle Bachmann to answer a simple question only to be thwarted by her zombie answers from the GOP talking-points manual. But I think this exchange between Lawrence O'Donnell and Eric Cantor is so much more telling. This guy will be the 2nd most powerful person in the House come January and he lacks even the most rudimentary understanding of economics. These are our leaders.

H.P. Lovecraft on Republicans (1936)

2010-11-03T11:27:00.001-05:00

“As for the Republicans—how can one regard seriously a frightened, greedy, nostalgic huddle of tradesmen and lucky idlers who shut their eyes to history and science, steel their emotions against decent human sympathy, cling to sordid and provincial ideals exalting sheer acquisitiveness and condoning artificial hardship for the non-materially-shrewd, dwell smugly and sentimentally in a distorted dream-cosmos of outmoded phrases and principles and attitudes based on the bygone agricultural-handicraft world, and revel in (consciously or unconsciously) mendacious assumptions (such as the notion that real liberty is synonymous with the single detail of unrestricted economic license or that a rational planning of resource-distribution would contravene some vague and mystical ‘American heritage’…) utterly contrary to fact and without the slightest foundation in human experience? Intellectually, the Republican idea deserves the tolerance and respect one gives to the dead.”

Politics in the ADHD Age

2010-11-01T14:21:00.000-05:00

Americans, as a group, appear to suffer from extreme ADHD. We run back and forth between political parties, swinging the country left and right, left and right, never allowing one party or the other enough time to solve the complex problems our world presents. We want quick fixes and easy answers to problems that cannot be resolved with a Tweet. Look at this chart

The nation is set to swing back to a party that, for the 8 years preceding 2008, managed to run up enourmous debt, get us into two unwinnable wars and divide the nation into haves and have-nots the likes of which we haven't seen since the 1890s. And yet, in our ADHD frenzy, because Obama and the Democrats weren't able to solve these nearly insoluble problems in 2 years, we're on the verge of handing the wheel back to the party that trashed the nation in the first place. WTF???

GOTV!!!!

2010-10-30T18:46:00.002-05:00

And another thing...

2010-10-29T19:38:00.000-05:00

Here's a good set of reasons to show up at the polls on Tuesday... So moronic jackwagon teabaggers don't get elected.

Don't worry, you're not alone

2010-10-27T11:27:00.008-05:00

A majority of Americans would flunk a Climate Science test if forced to take one. This is not surprising considering the volume of anti-information out there about climate change. But a new study published by Yale University lays bare the extent that this propaganda campaign has succeeded in obfuscating the realities of global climate change for Americans.

The study found that 63 percent of Americans believe that global warming is happening, but many do not understand why. In this assessment, only 8 percent of Americans have knowledge equivalent to an A or B, 40 percent would receive a C or D, and 52 percent would get an F. The study also found important gaps in knowledge and common misconceptions about climate change and the earth system. These misconceptions lead some people to doubt that global warming is happening or that human activities are a major contributor, to misunderstand the causes and therefore the solutions, and to be unaware of the risks. Thus many Americans lack some of the knowledge needed for informed decision-making in a democratic society. For example, only:

57% know that the greenhouse effect refers to gases in the atmosphere that trap heat;
50% of Americans understand that global warming is caused mostly by human activities;
45% understand that carbon dioxide traps heat from the Earth’s surface;
25% have ever heard of coral bleaching or ocean acidification.

Meanwhile, large majorities incorrectly think that the hole in the ozone layer and aerosol spray cans contribute to global warming, leading many to incorrectly conclude that banning aerosol spray cans or stopping rockets from punching holes in the ozone layer are viable solutions.

Fully 52% of Americans would fail a test of climate science facts. Frankly, I'm not surprised. And I guarantee that this number is not evenly distributed. Given you start with a core base of 26% of the population who identify themselves as "Republicans" who are likely to all fail, it's not surprising that the balance would come from the remaining 74% of the population.

What if...

2010-10-26T20:54:00.000-05:00

If we stopped paying attention to this

and this

and especially this

would the world stop spinning on it's axis? Would the moon crash into the Earth? Would the vey fabric of space and time unravel? Probably not. But we all get a little dumber when we elevate these people to celebrity status for doing nothing.

Facts are stubborn things

2010-10-26T12:02:00.001-05:00

For 650,000 years, the CO2 levels in Earth's atmosphere have remained below 300ppm. That's a long time... and now? Where are CO2 levels? How about 390ppm.

And there's no sign that it's going to reverse anytime soon. Basically, we're fucked.

This data, provided by NASA, indicates without a shadow of a doubt that humans are having a strong impact on the CO2 levels in the atmosphere. There is no point in denying or arguing about it.

The current warming trend is of particular significance because most of it is very likely human-induced and proceeding at a rate that is unprecedented in the past 1,300 years.

Denying the impact of humans on the atmosphere is like denying that the Earth is round or that we live in a Heliocentric universe.

Judo CHOP!!!

2010-10-26T11:40:00.005-05:00

Jerry Brown kicks Meg Whitman in the nuts...

Dems shrink deficit

2010-10-25T11:21:00.000-05:00

Here's a story you won't hear from the horse-race-obsessed MSM. The Democrats shrank the deficit in 2010 by nearly $122 billion. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, GOPers.

For the 2010 fiscal year that ended on September 30, the government had a budget shortfall of 1.294 trillion dollars, down 122 billion dollars from the previous year's record-setting high.

Revenue rose and spending fell amid recovery from recession and as President Barack Obama's Democratic administration wound down some of the emergency measures taken to restore growth.

Suck on that, Rethuglicans!

Remembering Feingold and the War - Wikileaks Exposes the Horror of Iraq

2010-10-25T11:16:00.018-05:00

There is more than enough guilt to go around here, but the revelations on Wikileaks about the US and UK prosecution of the war in Iraq are horrifying. How Bush and his cronies along with the bulk of the Democratic party currently in power (with Senator Russ Feingold a critical exception) dragged our nation, our flag and our lives through the blood and mud of Iraq is revolting.

Key figures in the British Army and Government must have been privy to this information. They held their tongues and presumably sidestepped any ethical niggles. The Americans were in command and you don't get to lick the arse of the world's only superpower and then turn round and kick it. That, you understand, is the pact, the unbreakable deal behind our special relationship.

The British and the United States conspired to keep quiet the ongoing criminal conspiracy of our ongoing occupation of Iraq. Is it any wonder that the Iraqi's want us gone?

But Russ saw this coming. He knew that the invasion of subsequent occupation that would be required to control Iraq in the vacuum created by the elimination of Saddam would have horrible consequences for our nation.

I wonder if some staunch supporters of the Iraq war will now think again about the purpose and execution of that illegal and vainglorious expedition. The sanctions and war killed, maimed and destroyed more civilians than Saddam did, even during the most diabolical periods of his rule. Blair, Bush and their armies have never had to face proper, international judicial interrogations. Now imagine good Muslims worldwide, who know all about universal rights, but can see that there is no universal accountability, that Third World despots are made to pay while others earn millions writing autobiographies and lecturing the world on good leadership and governance.

I wonder...

For Sale: 2010 Midterm Election, cheap!

2010-10-22T14:52:00.000-05:00

The GOP are busy this election cycle. Busy buying the election from us all. But I guess that's just the FreeMarket(tm) in action.

7 of the top 10 big spenders in politics this cycle are supporting the GOP in one way or another. And the biggest non-party contributor to the noise? The US Chamber of ~~Horrors~~ Commerce with a whopping $21.1 million spend so far. Of that $21.1 million spend, $13.2 million went towards attack ads against Democrats (of a total of $15 million in attack ad spending of which $0 went to attack Rethuglicans). A mere $2.5 million went to support candidates.

This is where we are kids, and it's only going to get worse. Just wait until the 2012 Presidential election cycle. I've already set my phone to block calls from all but 18 trusted phone numbers (we were getting 3 robo-calls every night!), and we live in a non-contested Congressional district (WI-5, home of ~~Senslessbrainer~~ Sensenbrenner). I can't imagine what 2012 is going to be like.

Dumber than a bag of hammers

2010-10-21T11:45:00.008-05:00

Is Christine O'Donnell the stupidest person to run for public office ever? And among the GOP, she faces some seriously stiff competition. She makes Sarahcuda (aka The Quitter) seem like a Rhodes Scholar by comparison. And that's no mean feat.

She is unable to name a single Democratic Senator. Not one. I'm not kidding.

A brief history of stimulus

2010-10-20T17:52:00.000-05:00

'Nuff said.

Defense Cuts in the UK

2010-10-20T11:27:00.000-05:00

The British government (a Conservative government, BTW) is poised to cut defense spending 8% over the next 4 years. That's amazing! British Conservatives have the ability to launch cuts in their defense spending. What would that look like in America, you ask? Let's do the math.

America currently spends $510 billion on defense. If we were to assume a straight-line decrease of 2%/year cumulative, that would look something like this:

Year 1: $10.2 billion cut
Year 2: $20.4 billion cut
Year 3: $30.6 billion cut
Year 4: $40.8 billion cut

This would represent a savings of $102 billion over the course of 4 years. That's not chump change. That would keep social security, medicare AND every other social program known to man afloat forever.

But of course that will never happen... Corporate welfare queens, especially those in the defense industry would never let something like that get through. Remember, kids, we live in the age of the Military-Industrial complex!

Another "Dirty Little Secret" for America

2010-10-20T11:20:00.010-05:00

It's hard to come to terms with the ignorance and stupidity of the American public. So many times have I heard it said "trust in the voters, they'll know what to do." But time and again, people are convinced by the blathering spew coming from our right-wing media that America is doomed because of the debt / the deficit / the terrorists / the Communists / the Negroes / etc. / etc. / etc.

Well, another editorial attempts to spit into that wind and sums things up quite nicely.

The dirty little secret is that most Americans don't really know what they think about the issues that so animate the political conversation in Washington, and what they think they know about them is often wrong.

Most Americans still think that the bailouts of the banks, the auto companies and American International Group will wind up costing taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars. In fact, the latest guess is that the government will come out even on the deal, and may even turn a profit.

Shocking, isn't it. American's aren't blessed with native intelligence, certainly not intelligence sufficient enough to grapple with the complex nature of today's problems. In fact, it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure this one out. The constant inundation of falsehoods from the right-wing noisemakers ensures that American's cannot separate the wheat from the chaff. That, combined with the continued decline in our nation's educational achievements point to the fact that we are heading straight for Idiocracy.

The years passed, mankind became stupider at a frightening rate. Some had high hopes that genetic engineering would correct this trend in evolution, but sadly the greatest minds and resources where focused on conquering hair loss and prolonging erections.

Perhaps it's time to rethink this whole media deregulation thing...

Review: Poisoning the Press: Richard Nixon, Jack Anderson, and the Rise of Washington's Scandal Culture

2010-10-20T07:17:00.001-05:00

Poisoning the Press: Richard Nixon, Jack Anderson, and the Rise of Washington's Scandal Culture by Mark Feldstein

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you want to see the antecedents of the Bush crime family, look no further than the pages of this book. Tracing a line from Nixon in the 1940s and the Alger Hiss case through to the corruption of ex-military officers parroting the talking points of the Pentagon on Faux News, this book covers the history of the corrupting influence of that virulent strain of political slime that is Conservatism. The dirty tricks, the bribery, scandal, backstabbing and even murder (almost).

A wonderfully researched and very well written history of the relationship between the press and politicians, it reads like a thriller. It is quite the page-turner and you'll have trouble putting it down.

View all my reviews

Now with Bubble Action!

2010-10-19T11:50:00.020-05:00

Remember this iconic image from 1969?

Well, the 21st century has a new take on the "flowers in the rifles" meme. Bubbles. Yes, that's right. Bubbles.

The large police officer on the receiving end of this stream of bubbles told the young woman, "If the bubble touches me, you're going to be arrested for assault.." Yes, folks, the hulking police officer was going to arrest her for assault with a bubble. Seriously. What a joke... Welcome to the new world order!

Cries from the Gulf

2010-06-18T20:43:00.000-05:00

Shockingly sad...

The best 17 minutes today

2010-06-18T12:37:00.001-05:00

Just watch this and enjoy the best 17 minutes of the day!

ACORN vindicated (again)

2010-06-15T15:57:00.000-05:00

Once again we see the bloviation, gyrations and racism of the right brought to light in the dry prose of a GAO report on the whole ACORN affair. To summarize, Wingnuttia went, well, nuts that ACORN was registering "colored" people (you know, black, brown and yellow) to vote. And in Wingnuttia, the only people who should be eligible to vote are white Christian landowners. We can't have enfranchisement for these undesirable Outsiders. No, that cannot be permitted. So the zombie legions of Wingnuttia rose as one to smite the leaders of ACORN accusing them of all number of heinous crimes including voter registration fraud and defrauding the government.

Well low and behold, it turns out to have been all one big lie. How surprising... How remarkable... How predictable.

DOJ and the FBI identified six investigations, generally involving allegations of voter registration fraud on the part of ACORN employees, all of which were closed without action due to insufficient evidence and lack of evidence.

Remember, in Wingnuttia facts are secondary to perceptions and politics!

We are all responsible

2010-06-14T09:47:00.000-05:00

We are all responsible for this...

and this

every time we do this

Not just BP and the lax oversight of the government agency that was supposed to keep the greedy bastards at BP and the other carbon extractors honest, but all of us who vote for politicians who take money from these pricks and then vote to preserve the status quo. We are all responsible. Each and every one of us who allow this to happen.

Scott Walker's plans...

2010-06-13T19:11:00.000-05:00

Don't say he didn't tell us what he'd do if he got elected.

He will end the high-speed train program between Milwaukee, Madison and Minneapolis
He want's an RTA but doesn't want to pay for it
Promote global climate change denial
Cut, cut, cut

So if he gets elected, don't be surprised. Do what you can to ensure that this troglodyte doesn't make it to the governor's office. Support Tom Barrett for Governor.

In a sentimental mood - Duke Ellington and John Coltrane

2010-06-13T10:11:00.000-05:00

This one really gets me... Duke Ellington and John Coltrane together. Pure magic!

Blog Reboot

2010-06-13T07:52:00.003-05:00

Well kids, I think I'll give it a whirl again. Time to reboot the blog and get my ass in gear to get stuff posted. I let the blog languish because, honestly, I need to be riled up to post here. My friends, I'm riled up again. This whole BP spill in the gulf and this government's response has me fit to be tied. I cannot believe the way this whole affair is being handled by the Obama administration.

So I'm back to rant with you, this time not against the usual rogues gallery of Rethuglican losers (and you know who you are, darlings!), but against an administration that I whole-heartedly supported and endorsed to friends and family. My feelings of betrayal run deep and I hope this is a one-term-and-out President. As a nation, I guess we need another 4 years of Rethuglican mismanagement to get it into our thick skulls that a party that claims that government is the problem, has no business running government!!!

Watch this space for more posts.

Jazz Friday with the Herbie Hancock Quartet

2010-02-19T12:32:00.000-06:00

Awesome live version of Oleo

Jazz Friday with Donny McCaslin

2010-01-29T07:11:00.002-06:00

Just discovered this guy, he's very old-school jazz. Great stuff!

Your daily dose of jazz...

2010-01-28T17:27:00.001-06:00

With Chet Baker Live in Belgium in 1964... A truly wonderful performance, both as a singer and a horn player.

The highlight of last night's Haiti benefit

2010-01-23T08:52:00.001-06:00

Sting...

Inhofe is an ass

2010-01-23T07:49:00.002-06:00

Can you believe that any state would send a pig like this to the US Senate???

It's unbelievable that in 2010 a senator would actually say this!

Racism at the NRO? Surely NOT! Mark Krikorian

2010-01-22T14:24:00.003-06:00

In an article at the NRO entitled What to Do About Haiti?, Mark Krikorian posits that the primary reason that Haiti is so screwed up is that they weren't colonized long enough.

"But, unlike Jamaicans and Bajans and Guadeloupeans, et al., after experiencing
the worst of tropical colonial slavery, the Haitians didn't stick around long
enough to benefit from it. (Haiti became independent in 1804.). And by benefit I
mean develop a local culture significantly shaped by the more-advanced
civilization of the colonizers. Sure, their creole language is influenced by
French, but they never became black Frenchmen, like the Martiniquais, or
'Afro-Saxons,' like the Barbadians. Where a similar creolization took place in
Africa, you saw a similar thing — the Cape Coloureds, who are basically black
Afrikaaners, and even the Swahili peoples of the east African coast, who are
Arabized blacks. A major indicator of how superficial is the overlay of French
culture in Haiti is the strength of paganism, in the form of voodoo — the French
just weren't around long enough to suppress it, to the detriment of Haitians."

Let me suggest another alternative. Haiti owes much of it's poverty to exactly the opposite of what Kirkorian asserts: a long-standing racist approach to the 2nd oldest republic in the western hemisphere. In our arrogance we think we're the only people with a history to remember. We think that our revolution and our position in the world grants us special status to judge the lives of others.

Haiti has a history and a story of her own. And it's a story written, more often than not, in the blood of her people.

Between 1849 and 1913, US Navy ships entered Haitian waters 24 times to "protect
American lives and property." Haiti's independence was scarcely given even "token recognition," Schmidt observes in his standard history, and there was little consideration for the rights of its people. They are "an inferior
people," unable "to maintain the degree of civilization left them by the French or to develop any capacity of self government entitling them to international respect and confidence," Assistant Secretary of State William Phillips wrote, recommending the policy of invasion and US military government that President Woodrow Wilson soon adopted. Few words need be wasted on the civilization left to 90 percent of the population by the French, who, as an ex-slave related, "hung up men with heads downward, drowned them in sacks, crucified them on planks, buried them alive, crushed them in mortars..., forced them to eat shit,
... cast them alive to be devoured by worms, or onto anthills, or lashed them to
stakes in the swamp to be devoured by mosquitos, ...threw them into boiling cauldrons of cane syrup" -- when not "flaying them with the lash" to extract the
wealth that helped give France its entry ticket to the rich men's club.

The French did more to fuck up the world than any other colonial power (with the possible exception of the Belgians who destroyed the Congo). To assert that Haiti was somehow better off under the rule of the French is racist, imperialist and just fucking stupid.

Note: For a decent short history of the Haitian revolution, read this.

Pat Robertson: Total Douche Lord!

2010-01-13T15:52:00.003-06:00

It's rare that you see douchebaggery at this level. It takes an extraordinarily delusional and degraded mind to come up with this:

Something happened a long time ago in Haiti and people might not want to talk about," Robertson said Tuesday.

"They were under the heel of the French, you know Napoleon the third and whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said 'We will serve you if you will get us free from the prince.' True story. And so the devil said, 'Ok it’s a deal.' And they kicked the French out. The Haitians revolted and got something themselves free. But ever since they have been cursed by one thing after another," Robertson said.

Are you fucking kidding me you wretched sack of bloody bile? The bodies aren't even cold yet and you're blaming the fucking victims of this horrible natural disaster for their plight??? Doesn't Hati have enough troubles without you whoring for the cameras you steaming pile of pig feces? How do you sleep at night?

Haiti earthquake: How to help

2010-01-13T10:39:00.001-06:00

Haiti earthquake: How to help

The U.S. State Department Operations Center said Americans seeking information about family members in Haiti should call . Due to heavy volume, some callers may receive a recording. "Our embassy is still in the early stages of contacting American citizens through our Warden Network," the U.S. State Department said in a statement. "Communications are very difficult within Haiti at this time."

For those interesting in helping immediately, simply text "HAITI" to "90999" and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill.

What the "Eurabia" Authors Get Wrong About Islam in Europe - By Justin Vaïsse | Foreign Policy

2010-01-13T10:33:00.000-06:00

This is a facinating article on the phony warcry from the wingnuts that Europe is becoming a Muslim entity. It's shocking how stupid these people can be.

By 2050, Europe will be unrecognizable. Instead of romantic cafes, Paris's Boulevard Saint-Germain will be lined with halal butcheries and hookah bars; the street signs in Berlin will be written in Turkish. School-children from Oslo to Naples will read Quranic verses in class, and women will be veiled.

Not even close. The authors of these books are trying to scare Americans into fearing all things Islamic (as if we needed any help with that). Remember, these are the same people who demonized the Soviet Union even as it became abundantly clear in the 1980s that the USSR was a hollow shell ready to collapse in on itself.

Clichés are not the only reason why the foundations of the Eurabia literature are shaky. By relying chiefly on anecdotes rather than data, these books misrepresent the complex evolving picture of Islam in Europe. They also eliminate social and economic conditions, including discrimination, from the picture.

In fact, these books basically lie about the demographics!

Beyond all the sloppy anecdotal evidence, the Eurabia literature relies on two major false assumptions. The first is demographic. The literature holds that Europe will be Islamic at the end of the century "at the very latest," with Muslim majorities in some European countries "in the foreseeable future," in the words of Bernard Lewis in his 2007 pamphlet, "Europe and Islam." That's because "native populations are aging and fading and being supplanted remorselessly by a young Muslim demographic," Steyn explains in America Alone (2006). "Europe will be semi-Islamic in its politico-cultural character within a generation."

If these books insist so much on the future, it is because current figures are unimpressive. According to the higher range of estimates by the U.S. National Intelligence Council (NIC), there are already as many as 18 million Muslims in Western Europe, or 4.5 percent of the population. The percentage is even lower for the 27-country European Union as a whole. The future will certainly see an increase, but it's hard to imagine that Europe will even reach the 10 percent mark (except in some countries or cities). For one thing, as the same NIC study indicates and demographers agree, fertility rates among Muslims are sharply declining as children of immigrants gradually conform to prevailing social and economic norms. Nor is immigration still a major source of newly minted European Muslims. Only about 500,000 people a year come legally to Europe from Muslim-majority countries, with an even smaller number coming illegally -- meaning that the annual influx is a fraction of a percent of the European population.

Give me a break...

Blog Reboot

2010-01-13T09:34:00.001-06:00

I'm going to be rebooting this blog over the next few days... New Year's Resolution and all.

Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K

2009-06-15T10:46:00.001-05:00

That would be the Circle-K in Tehran. Check out this video. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians poured onto the streets in Tehran in defiance of the theocracy to protest the election results. This is a banned protest where the police and military have been authorized to use live rounds to quell the protest. But people came anyway. Are we witnessing a second Iranian revolution?

Boss Limbaugh and the Holocaust Museum shooter

2009-06-10T19:37:00.001-05:00

They share a common belief...

The terrorists win

2009-06-10T12:43:00.000-05:00

Yes they do...

What IS "biblical" marriage?

2009-06-04T08:29:00.000-05:00

Here, this should help you sort it all out.

The slipery slope

2009-06-01T10:27:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's coming... sex with ducks.

BillO the Clown complicit in terrorist act

2009-06-01T09:36:00.002-05:00

What a fucking tool. BillO, there's blood on your hands...

Anti-Choice Terrorist strikes in the US

2009-06-01T09:12:00.003-05:00

Anti-Choice terrorism in the United States continues. Dr. George Tiller, a family physician, is gunned down in cold blood by the terrorist Scott Roeder. Perhaps that DHS report on domestic right-wing terrorism was correct after all.

Crazy in Bangalore

2009-05-24T23:15:00.003-05:00

Had to cross this street from the hotel to get to the office... Frogger anyone?

What the GOP has in lieu of ideas

2009-05-21T18:04:00.000-05:00

Classy...

Pretty funny ad from the RNC

2009-05-15T10:56:00.003-05:00

While I don't agree with the message, I think this is pretty funny.

Clearly they're flailing around for a message and, like a room full of monkeys and typewriters working on a play, they managed to get something funny out of it. Too bad their party smells so much like monkey dung...

We hatez teh gaiize! We hatez teh gaiize!!!

2009-05-13T12:34:00.001-05:00

Direct from the cereberal cortex of some of the nation's most rabid wingnut haters, MediaMatters has compiled this little clip I like to call "We hatez teh gaiize!!!"

Secession-a-palooza

2009-05-13T08:44:00.004-05:00

Looks like it's not just Texas that wants to secede from the US. Long Island wants a divorce from "tyrannical" New York state. Yes, that's right, the sand bar just south of Connecticut is tired of supporting those slackers in upstate New York and want out now!

Suffolk legislators approved a home rule message Tuesday calling for a study and referendum on the merits of Long Island seceding from a "tyrannical" New York State government, though they are unlikely to be taking up muskets for an armed revolt.

The dormant Long Island secession movement awakened by presiding officer William Lindsay (D-Holbrook), who, angered by the regional payroll tax imposed by state lawmakers to fund the Metropolitan Transportation Authority bailout, called for a vote on the matter to register his anger about the new tax.

Where are the teabaggers when you need 'em?

She'll never hear this...

2009-05-13T07:25:00.000-05:00

But you will!

Richard Cohen on Torture

2009-05-12T09:31:00.002-05:00

Richard Cohen has an OpEd piece in the WaPo today that asks the question "What if Cheney is right?" Meaning, what if we did get useful intelligence information through the use of torture on suspects?

Still, every dog has his day, and Cheney is barking up a storm on the efficacy of what can colloquially be called torture. He says he knows of two CIA memos that support his contention that the harsh interrogation methods worked and that many lives were saved. "That's what's in those memos," he told Schieffer. They talk "specifically about different attack planning that was underway and how it was stopped."

That's some twisted logic. The ends justify the means. In a nation of laws, that's a very slippery slope. Imagine I decide to rob a bank but donate the money to breast cancer research. While the act of donating the money to charity is good, the means by which I arrived at the funds to provide that donation was illegal. Same goes for torture. Torture is illegal. No matter how much good information was gathered does not abrogate the Bush Crime Syndicate from answering to the law.

Still searching...

2009-05-12T08:12:00.003-05:00

...for that elusive "Liberal Media bias." Take the recent discussions on the appointment of a supreme court justice. Not a lot of balance here...

Even the "ultra-left" MSNBC had more GOPers than Dems.

MDS: Mustard Derangement Syndrome

2009-05-08T07:54:00.002-05:00

Conservatives are officially insane... Cheeseburgers without ketchup are some sort of socialist / Stalinist / Fascist conspiracy.

No surprise here...

2009-05-07T20:40:00.000-05:00

Pat Robertson is a reprehensible ass monkey.

Libertarian Paradise!

2009-05-06T11:23:00.000-05:00

This is a hoot!

Where did my river go?

2009-05-04T08:38:00.002-05:00

This could be a problem in the coming years. Global climate change is impacting the flow of rivers in some very populous areas.

Some of the developing world's largest rivers are drying up because of climate change, threatening water supplies in some of the most populous places on Earth, say scientists.

Researchers from the US-based National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) analysed data combined with computer models to assess flow in 925 rivers — nearly three quarters of the world's running water supply — between 1948 and 2004.

A third of these had registered a change in flow and most of them — including the Niger in West Africa, the Ganges in South Asia and the Yellow River in China — were dryer.

Before they melt, maybe it's time to start hauling icebergs down from the arctic to build reservoirs for these soon-to-be parched areas.

Wingnuts and Flying Monkeys

2009-04-29T17:58:00.001-05:00

These people are gnucken' futts...

That's some powerful stupid you got there, lady...

2009-04-29T13:45:00.004-05:00

Leave it to GOP Representative Michell Bachmann to come up with some very powerful stupid.

Ahhh, Ms. Bachmann? It's Smoot-Hawley, darlin'. Not "Hoot-Smaley." And it was a tariff act signed into law by Republican President Herbert Hoover. According to Wikipedia

In May 1930, a petition was signed by 1028 economists in the United States asking President Herbert Hoover to veto the legislation, organized by Paul Douglas, Irving Fisher, James TFG Wood, Frank Graham, Ernest Patterson, Henry Seager, Frank Taussig, and Clair Wilcox.[6][7] Automobile executive Henry Ford spent an evening at the White House trying to convince Hoover to veto the bill, calling it "an economic stupidity".[8] J. P. Morgan's chief executive Thomas W. Lamont said he "almost went down on my knees to beg Herbert Hoover to veto the asinine Hawley-Smoot tariff."[9]

Hoover opposed the bill and called it "vicious, extortionate, and obnoxious" because he felt it would undermine the commitment he had pledged to international cooperation. (Hoover was right. The international community levied their own tariffs in response after the bill had become law.) However, in the end, Hoover bowed to pressure from his own party and business leaders and signed the bill. [10]

Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke against the act while campaigning for president in 1932.

Smoot-Hawley was a Republican idea!!!! Bachmann is one stupid person.

America, Love it or Leave it... Ok, we're leaving...

2009-04-29T12:28:00.002-05:00

Funny...

Still, it’s certainly ironic that so many Republicans, who have spent most of this decade accusing Democrats of being un-American and unpatriotic, are now talking treason against this country. When it comes to “America, love it or leave it,” half of Texan Republicans want to leave it. Those bumper stickers that say “These colors don’t run”? Apparently they do. And their patriotism is apparently so skin-deep that it depends entirely on the occupant of the White House.

If nothing else, perhaps it’s time for the GOP to stop calling itself the “party of Lincoln.”

The First 100 Days -- of Opposition

2009-04-29T11:23:00.002-05:00

Hysteria, radicalism, fear and anger... Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the GOP!!!!

Newt Gingrich: Still a tool

2009-04-26T10:25:00.001-05:00

Henry Waxman uses Newt as a punching bag. After blathering on with false and misleading data, Henry Waxman corrects Newt's numbers.

Democratic Hypocricy Watch

2009-04-24T12:45:00.003-05:00

We're an equal-opportunity blog. When Dems act like asses, we'll point it out. Take Jane Harmon for instance. Glenn Greenwald does a good job of pinning the hypocrite tail on her.

...when the U.S. Government eavesdropped for years on American citizens with no warrants and in violation of the law, that was "both legal and necessary" as well as "essential to U.S. national security," and it was the "despicable" whistle-blowers (such as Thomas Tamm) who disclosed that crime and the newspapers which reported it who should have been criminally investigated, but not the lawbreaking government officials. But when the U.S. Government legally and with warrants eavesdrops on Jane Harman, that is an outrageous invasion of privacy and a violent assault on her rights as an American citizen, and full-scale investigations must be commenced immediately to get to the bottom of this abuse of power. [emphasis his]

From the horse's mouth: TORTURE DOES NOT WORK

2009-04-23T14:39:00.003-05:00

Neither do "enhanced interrogation techniques" or whatever other euphamistic bullshit you want to use to describe torture. In a Washington Post Op-Ed today, Ali Soufan, a supervisory special agent with the FBI describes the lies and deceptions of the torture apologists with actual evidence of the failures of torture as official state policy.

There was no actionable intelligence gained from using enhanced interrogation techniques on Abu Zubaydah that wasn’t, or couldn’t have been, gained from regular tactics. In addition, I saw that using these alternative methods on other terrorists backfired on more than a few occasions — all of which are still classified. The short sightedness behind the use of these techniques ignored the unreliability of the methods, the nature of the threat, the mentality and modus operandi of the terrorists, and due process.
Defenders of these techniques have claimed that they got Abu Zubaydah to give up information leading to the capture of Ramzi bin al-Shibh, a top aide to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, and Mr. Padilla. This is false. The information that led to Mr. Shibh’s capture came primarily from a different terrorist operative who was interviewed using traditional methods. As for Mr. Padilla, the dates just don’t add up: the harsh techniques were approved in the memo of August 2002, Mr. Padilla had been arrested that May.

Got that? THIS IS FALSE. It's a lie. But not only that, torture has other consequences...

One of the worst consequences of the use of these harsh techniques was that it reintroduced the so-called Chinese wall between the C.I.A. and F.B.I.

This was because the FBI were explicitly forbidden from using torture to get information. They could not be present when the CIA were waterboarding or using other torture techniques.

An F.B.I. colleague of mine who knew more about Khalid Shaikh Mohammed than anyone in the government was not allowed to speak to him.

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) steps on his dick

2009-04-22T14:31:00.002-05:00

Pence apparently believes that international diplomacy began in January, 2009. He seems to forget all those other actual "socialist dictators" like Brezhnev, Castro, Khrushchev, Ho Chi Minh, Mao and countless others that previous Presidents greeted warmly. The lack of understanding of how even basic diplomacy is conducted by a GOP house member is staggering. But have no fear, HRC sets him straight.

Teabagger FAIL

2009-04-15T15:39:00.004-05:00

Surprise! Most people think the rich aren't paying enough in taxes. I'm shocked!

Bush Six to be indicted today

2009-04-14T08:05:00.002-05:00

Over at The Daily Beast, Scott Horton is reporting that the so-called Bush Six (including Fredo) will be indicted in Spain today.

Spanish prosecutors will seek criminal charges against Alberto Gonzales and five high-ranking Bush administration officials for sanctioning torture at Guantánamo. By Scott Horton.

Spanish prosecutors have decided to press forward with a criminal investigation targeting former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and five top associates over their role in the torture of five Spanish citizens held at Guantánamo, several reliable sources close to the investigation have told The Daily Beast. Their decision is expected to be announced on Tuesday before the Spanish central criminal court, the Audencia Nacional, in Madrid. But the decision is likely to raise concerns with the human-rights community on other points: They will seek to have the case referred to a different judge.

At least someone's doing something... Who are the other five?

The six defendants—in addition to Gonzales, Federal Appeals Court Judge and former Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee, University of California law professor and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo, former Defense Department general counsel and current Chevron lawyer William J. Haynes II, Vice President Cheney’s former chief of staff David Addington, and former Undersecretary of Defense Douglas J. Feith—are accused of having given the green light to the torture and mistreatment of prisoners held in U.S. detention in “the war on terror.”

The game's over you fucking neocon assholes. Time to pay up. Bush, we're coming for you next.

Nailing it, Richard Cohen style

2009-04-14T07:15:00.003-05:00

I don't always agree with Richard Cohen, but when he's right, he's very right.

Former president George W. Bush and some of his White House aides are gathering in Dallas this week to plan the future George W. Bush Policy Institute. There, I guess, they will ponder grand themes and marble foyers, but I propose they begin by simply renaming the place. I suggest naming it the "George W. Bush Institute of Management Failure" and dedicating it to studying how this presidency went so wrong -- a task as big as Texas itself.

I can't for the life of me imagine what one might learn at the "George W. Bush Policy Institute" other than how to be a horrible leader. How to fuck up two wars and alienate everyone? Lessons in waterboarding and other torture techniques? How to eavesdrop without a warrant? Kidnapping? Fear mongering?

Christopher Hitchens conducts public roast

2009-04-13T14:01:00.003-05:00

Christopher Hitchens is way too smart for Todd Friel, a smarmy Radiovangelist talk show host. He manages to shred him well in a little mock game show.

Part 1

Part 2

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T13:52:00.002-05:00

Major Teabaggin' Wingnuttiness!

2009-04-13T12:54:00.002-05:00

This is freakin' hilarious! Here's a group of prime, USDA Flying-Monkey Meat Wingnuts discussing what's wrong with America and preparing to teabag Obama. Let's just say it devolves into a diatribe about how digital set-top boxes are "brainwashing devices." I kid you not...

These people are nuckin' futs!

Thomas Paine: Insufferable Schmuck (in the hands of Glenn Beck)

2009-04-13T11:09:00.002-05:00

Only Glenn Beck could make Thomas Paine look like an asshole...

It makes you think...

2009-04-12T19:01:00.003-05:00

While countless Conservitards chant "no taxation without representation" in mimicry of the Revolutionary War era Boston Tea Party event, the place which really does represent non-representative taxation, Washington DC, is quiet. Like this bunch of teabaggers...

Hundreds of Nebraskans chanted no taxation without representation in protest of increased government spending spawned by the stimulus bill at the state capitol Saturday

The tea party style protest is intended to mimic Revolutionary War era protests where citizens believed they were being unfairly taxed.

But instead of throwing bags of tea in the water, protestors at today's rally brought cans of pork and beans to symbolize their unhappiness with pork barrell spending.

This whole meme is truly moronic. Nebraska has full representation in the government, so these 'tards should shut the hell up. Just because their worthless candidates didn't succeed in the last election, doesn't mean they aren't represented. It means that their opinions are, in large part, irrelevant. If these people who are so concerned with "representation," why do their ideological leaders oppose DC statehood? Why aren't they marching on Washington to support the rights of the 600,000 DC residents who pay taxes but have no representation? Because they're hypocritical douchebags is why.

Whoa...

2009-04-12T17:53:00.004-05:00

The Mad Hatter himself... (Thanks Driftglass!)

David Broder, Village Idiot

2009-04-12T17:43:00.003-05:00

You know the Villagers do seem to be hard-wired for Republican rule when Broder spews crap like this

David Broder today, on whether there should be an investigation of the Bush years:

“I understand the reluctance to open a wide-ranging probe of past practices. It seems to me we are better off focusing on cleaning up the policies and practices for the future than trying to settle scores for past actions.”

David Broder, famously, as Clinton’s administration wound down:

“He came in here and he trashed the place, and it’s not his place.”

The disparity in outrage is really amazing. The above Broder quote comes from an infamous 1998 piece in The Washington Post by Sally Quinn in which many D.C. establishment figures expressed raw shock about how Bill Clinton had despoiled what Quinn called their “town.” In that piece, Chris Matthews summed up the emotional reaction of the townies by saying: “I resent deeply being constantly lied to.”

Whenever you feel down about Obama...

2009-04-12T17:28:00.001-05:00

Watch this video and marvel at his predecessor.

Wingnut paranoia goes mainstream

2009-04-10T19:19:00.003-05:00

The whole wingnut meme about Obama "taking guns away" is really getting out of hand. Without a shred of evidence, wingnuts on TV and radio are bloviating away about this and a lot of other lunatic ideas originating from the most extreme of the wingnuts.

Deja vu all over again

2009-04-10T09:12:00.003-05:00

Apparently the soul of "Tail Gunner" Joe McCarthy has surfaced in the body of a cranky southern Congressman by the name of Bachus. Bachus claims to have the names of 17 colleagues in the US House of Representatives who are "socialists." It's pathetic, really. This is all the conservative movement has left. Vague accusations and innuendo.

...[H]e said he is worried that he is being steered too far by the Congress: "Some of the men and women I work with in Congress are socialists." Asked to clarify his comments after the breakfast speech at the Trussville Civic Center, Bachus said 17 members of the U.S. House are socialists.

For the record, there is exactly one socialist in Congress and he's in the Senate. His name is Bernie Sanders. Bernie, the junior Senator from Vermont, is a self-described democratic socialist. He caucuses with the Democrats for the purposes of committee assignments.

This is precisely how the McCarthyite witch-hunts of the early 195os began. Vague suspicion
and lists of unnamed enemies.

Fake Hate from Fake People

2009-04-09T20:29:00.003-05:00

This hate filled video of "real people" lying about the impact of gay marriage

turns out to be a bunch of actors lying about the impact of gay marriage.

how special...

Poor John McCain, nobody likes him...

2009-04-05T19:41:00.003-05:00

Meet John McCain, aka Mr. Petulant. At a meeting with Hispanic business leaders, he had a literal hissy fit over his support of immigration reform and the fact that Hispanics support Obama 2-to-1

McCain's message was obvious, the source continued: After bucking his party on immigration, he had no sympathy for Hispanics who are dissatisfied with President Obama's pace on the issue. "He threw out [the words] 'You people -- you people made your choice. You made your choice during the election,' " the source said. "It was almost as if [he was saying] 'You're cut off!' We felt very uncomfortable when we walked away from the meeting because of that."

You people? Nice, Mr. Petulant. Very nice.

When a think tank lacks any actual thought...

2009-04-05T18:46:00.005-05:00

One of the primary supports of the right wing echo chamber is the so-called "think tanks" like the American Enterprise Institute. Founded in 1943, it is often seen as a conservative counterpoint to the Brookings Institution. But in recent years, it has become a hotbed of neoconservative "thought." In a lengthy posting over at Daily Kos, Devilstower does an excellent job exposing the apparent lack of thought happening over at AEI. He concludes

The truth is, the American Enterprise Institute isn't a think tank, not in any conventional sense. The thoughts of its members were frozen a decade ago, and no amount of evidence will cause them to change one jot or tittle of their rigid ideology. AEI is a booking agency. A PR firm tasked with providing Republican "names" to fit any gap in your programming schedule.

For a media producer, AEI means you don't have to find someone who really knows a subject, or someone who has something new to say, or someone who might provide an unconventional angle. Why bother? One press of the speed dial, and AEI will deliver faster than Tony's Pizza. They'll give you someone who you already know is an experienced talking head, so you don't have to worry that a knowledgeable economist or teacher or scientist might turn out not to be a sparkling "on air personality." They'll deliver familiar talking points, so you know your host and other guests won't be challenged. They'll deliver reliably pro-corporate hard-right content which will serve to "balance" any program where the facts start to have that devious liberal slant.

In simple terms, AEI is an excuse for producers to be lazy. Calling them means that you place a higher value on filling time than providing information. It means ignoring the many connections that the unscholarly "scholars" have to other organizations and corporations. It means not minding that you're balancing progressive views with views that are simply and demonstrably wrong.

Iowa hate statute get's the big smackdown!

2009-04-03T12:55:00.002-05:00

Looks like another stunning victory for equal rights in America. In Iowa, the state Supreme Court has struck down the so-called "Defense of Marriage" act which bans same-sex marriage. In a strong unanimous decision the court ruled

"We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective," the Supreme Court wrote in its decision. "The Legislature has excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification."

Wow... How long until the US Supreme Court will be challenged with the same issue? Soon, I hope. The haters are not happy...

The Rev. Keith Ratliff Sr., pastor at the Maple Street Baptist Church in Des Moines, went to the Supreme Court building to hear of the decision.
"It's a perversion and it opens the door to more perversions," Ratliff said. "What's next?"

Can you taste the hate?

You can find a copy of the actual ruling here. (PDF) Iowa has a long history of the enforcement of equality through judicial decision. In 1839, the Iowa courts declared contracts of enslavement were null and void under the concept of equality.

My favorite passage from the ruling (and one that could be applied at the Federal level)

A statute inconsistent with the Iowa Constitution must be declared void, even though it may be supported by strong and deep-seated traditional beliefs and popular opinion.

We are a nation of laws... not a nation of empty faith.

Did Nixon suffer from "anal poisoning?"

2009-04-03T07:17:00.002-05:00

According to Boss Limbaugh, if you act cordially you are subject to something he calls "anal poisoning" and you might die. Who, perchance, might contract this horrible disease? Well, apparently Gordon Brown (and by extension anyone at the G20 who was cordial and complementary of President Obama). So does this mean that Nixon suffered from it when he went to China and paid Mao a few complements? How about Reagan when he sat down with Gorbachev in Iceland? Limbaugh has come completely unhinged.

Of course this is from the guy who sat out Viet Nam because he had a boil on his ass... So his obsession with "anal poisoning" may stem from some sort of personal knowledge or experience.

That darn iPod!

2009-04-02T10:25:00.002-05:00

President and Mrs. Obama presented Queen Elizabeth II with a video iPod containing footage of her last visit to America two years ago. And there was outrage in Wingnuttia! How dare the Obama's present the Queen of England with something so pedestrian as an iPod. Didn't they know she already had one? Shocking! Outrageous! Indefensible!

Except of course that she asked for it. And according to a spokesman for the Palace, she loved the gift. But, leave it to the commentators in Wingnuttia to miss the target (again... and again... and again... and again).

MSNBC signs Ed Schultz

2009-04-01T21:09:00.002-05:00

In an ongoing effort to remedy the conservative imbalance of the cable news channels, MSNBC has added Ed Schultz to it's weeknight lineup. From the press release:

Veteran talk radio host Ed Schultz joins MSNBC as host of "The Ed Show," premiering on Monday, April 6. "The Ed Show" will air weekdays, 6-7 p.m. ET. The announcement was made today by Phil Griffin, President, MSNBC.

"I am thrilled to have Ed kicking-off our primetime lineup," said Griffin. "Ed's proven that he can connect with Americans and will be a perfect compliment to Chris, Keith, and Rachel. He's already made his mark on radio and I'm excited to see what he'll do with the 6 p.m. hour."

"I'm excited to have this opportunity with MSNBC," said Schultz. "I look forward to having a day to day discussion with fellow Americans on issues that really matter to all of us."

Awesome news!

Sticking pins in Glenn Beck

2009-04-01T21:04:00.000-05:00

Only Steven Colbert could do it so well...

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The 10/31 Project

comedycentral.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

NASA Name Contest

Tool Time! (Not)Joe the (non)Plumber

2009-04-01T15:06:00.001-05:00

Opinions without facts are (not)Joe's stock-in-trade!

Quite possibly the dumbest person in the US Senate

2009-03-31T17:31:00.002-05:00

Wow, this is a powerful load of stupid.

"...like watching a car accident..."

2009-03-31T17:18:00.002-05:00

Joe Scarborough looses it after watching a montage of Glenn Beck and his tearful act. The commentators even claim that he's a parody of Colbert (something I suggested). Enjoy!

Sick Around America

2009-03-31T12:57:00.005-05:00

This should be interesting. A Frontline expose on healthcare in America entitled Sick Around America. The program airs tonight (March 31st).

As the worsening economy leads to massive job losses—potentially increasing the ranks of the tens of millions of Americans without health insurance—FRONTLINE travels the country examining the nation’s broken health care system and exploring the need for a fundamental overhaul. The scale of the problem now facing the Obama administration, FRONTLINE finds, is staggering, as lay-offs, major illness and other unexpected life changes leave more and more Americans uninsured, underinsured or uninsurable. FRONTLINE also goes inside insurance companies to question executives on their policies, programs and priorities and examines the problems in one state’s attempts at health care reform.

Perhaps it will be Sicko without the hyperbole.

The Genius of the Teabaggers!

2009-03-30T14:34:00.001-05:00

Heh...

Deja vu all over again!

2009-03-30T14:24:00.005-05:00

With apologies to Yogi Bera, these neocon motherfuckers must never be allowed near the reins of power in our country ever again.

Elliot Abrams:

[W]e are not talking about the Americans killing civilians, bombing cities, destroying mosques, hospitals, schools. No, no, no – weʹre talking about nuclear facilities which most Iranians know very little about, have not seen, will not see, some quite well hidden.

So they wake up in the morning and find out that the United States if attacking those facilities and, presumably with some good messaging about why weʹre doing it and why we are not against the people of Iran.

Itʹs not clear to me that the reaction letʹs go to war with the Americans, but rather, perhaps, how did we get into this mess? Why did those guys, the very unpopular ayatollahs in a country 70 percent of whose population is under the age of 30, why did those old guys get us into this mess.

The only phrase he's missing is that "we will be greeted as liberators." This tool (and all the other neocon tools like him) need to crawl back under their rocks and let the adults get on with the business of running the nation. This kind of child-like naivete can no longer be tolerated in the administration of our affairs.

Powerful Stupid!

2009-03-28T18:15:00.000-05:00

Wow...

"Was it over when the German's bombed Pearl Harbor?"

2009-03-27T10:22:00.004-05:00

Over at DailyKos, Devilstower has posted an open letter to journalists asking (no begging!) them to do their jobs and correct the misinformation spewing from the gaping maws of the GOP's talking heads.

If Republicans were appearing on your news broadcasts and insisting that Barry Goldwater was the 38th president of the United States, or that the Chinese bombed Pearl Harbor, surely you would take a moment to halt the conversation and correct them. At least, I'd like to think so.

So why do you continue to allow Republican officials and conservative pundits to make statements such as "the Great Depression didn't end until World War II" or "the New Deal prolonged the depression" without comment? These statements are as incorrect as declaring Idaho a sovereign monarchy -- why are they constantly unchallenged?

Recovery from the Great Depression started in the first months of the Roosevelt administration and was directly attributable to the actions and programs that FDR undertook in his first 100 days. This is not an opinion. It's the conclusive verdict of history. It's a fact.

But we all know that Reality has a well-known liberal bias...

Glenn Greenwald hits it out of the park (again)!

2009-03-27T08:42:00.005-05:00

In his most recent piece for Salon, he reflects on the difference between conservative support of Bush and liberal support of Obama and delivers (with ample evidence) the following perceptive conclusion.

A rational citizen, by definition, praises and supports political leaders only when they do the right thing (regardless of motive), and criticizes and opposes them when they don’t. It's just that simple. Cheerleading for someone because they're on "your team" is appropriate for a sporting event, not for political matters. Political leaders deserve support only to the extent that their actions, on a case-by-case basis, merit that support, and that has largely been the behavior of progressives towards Obama.
Hence: civil libertarian critics of Bush have vehemently criticized the Obama administration for embracing Bush’s secrecy theories, shielding government policies (including torture) from judicial review, denying all rights to Bagram detainees, and retaining some of Bush’s extreme detention powers, but have praised him -- often lavishly -- for restricting FOIA secrecy, banning waterboarding and CIA black sites, disclosing key Bush-era OLC memos, bringing charges against the last "enemy combatant" in America, and guaranteeing International Red Cross access to all detainees. Foreign policy critics have objected to Obama's escalation of our military presence in Afghanistan and drone attacks in Pakistan while praising him for preliminary changes in our tone (if not policy) towards Israel and his diplomatic overtures to Iran. Economic critics have attacked his bank rescue plan as a sleazy give-away to Wall Street and his excessive stimulus compromises, while praising his ambitious domestic budget and his core stimulus approach. In most areas, his record has been mixed, and thus progressive reaction to it has been as well.

And conservatives? Not so much...

The point, though, isn't so much the lockstep devotion to Bush among the conservative rank-and-file as it is the blindly uncritical, cult-like glorification of him by the Right's opinion-making leaders and their refusal to criticize what he did -- until they sought cynically to distance themselves from the stench of his failure late in his presidency (and anyone who doubts that should just click on the links in the first paragraph or read this). If one searches for it, one can find that devoted reverence towards Obama among some creepy cultists and overly eager supporters, but that has not been the predominant behavioral trait among progressives.

Nor is it the behavioral trait among the progressive leadership and opinion-makers.

Fire them all RIGHT FU*KING NOW!!!

2009-03-27T08:22:00.002-05:00

Here is why the bailout is going to fail.

Recently, securities rated AAA have changed hands for roughly 30 cents on the dollar, and most of the buyers have been hedge funds acting opportunistically on a bet that prices will rise over time. However, sources said Citi and BofA have trumped those bids . . .”

So instead of doing what they're supposed to be doing, these shitpiles (Citi and BofA) are out there doubling-down on toxic assets with our money. Money that was intended to recapitalize them and free up the credit markets is being used to scoop up discounted toxic assets. Do we need any more reason to nationalize these fuckers, fire all the management and start again?

Where's the beef?

2009-03-26T15:28:00.004-05:00

The GOP unveiled their "plans" for the economy today. Trouble was, there wasn't any substance to their "plan." It was some vague "blueprint." A hollow shell devoid of any real solutions to the problems faced by real Americans.

...[At] a news conference unveiling the plan, House Minority Leader John A. Boehner was peppered with questions about why he was offering only what he called a “blueprint” and not specific details. In fact, there were few specific numbers or line items — mostly just broad outlines.

“This is a blueprint,” Boehner responded, noting that House Republicans will bring their specific budget figures to the floor next week. “Wait till next week.”

Next week? Hmmm... But all is not well in GOPer Fantasy Budget Land (the Unicorns are restless!). Not everyone was happy with the rush-to-camera lead by Boehner and Pence.

[Ryan] and Cantor were reportedly told by Boehner and Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (R-Ind.) they needed to move more quickly to counter Democrats' charge they were becoming the "Party of No," according to House GOP staffers.

The 19-page document, prepared by Pence's office, was distributed two days after President Obama criticized Republicans for trashing his detail-crammed 142-page budget outline without producing a credible alternative.

“In his egocentric rush to get on camera, Mike Pence threw the rest of the Conference under the bus, specifically Paul Ryan, whose staff has been working night and day for weeks to develop a substantive budget plan," said a GOP aide heavily involved in budget strategy.

"I hope his camera time was gratifying enough to justify erasing the weeks of hard work by dozens of Republicans to put forth serious ideas," the person added.

Gee, I hope they can work out their little differences before becoming irrelevant. Oops! Too late!

Obama Dumb - Bush Smart (meme alert!)

2009-03-26T11:15:00.002-05:00

I'm going to re-post this blog entry because I'm simply incapable of improving on it.

Dispatches from the Alternative Right Wing Universe

Today John Hinderaker at Powerline wrote the following about Barack Obama:

Everyone knows that Barack Obama is lost without his teleprompter, but his latest blunder, courtesy of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, via the Corner, suggests that the teleprompter may not be enough unless it includes phonetic spellings. [Obama apparently mispronounced the name of the company "Orion"]

So evidently we have to add astronomy to history and economics as subjects of which Obama is remarkably ignorant. I'm beginning to fear that our President has below-average knowledge of the world. Not for a President, but for a middle-aged American.

If that alone isn't enough to make your head explode, here's what the very same John Hinderaker had to say about our previous president:

It must be very strange to be President Bush. A man of extraordinary vision and brilliance approaching to genius, he can't get anyone to notice. He is like a great painter or musician who is ahead of his time, and who unveils one masterpiece after another to a reception that, when not bored, is hostile.

The alternative universe that these folks manage to create for themselves is really quite something to behold. In their world, a man who was the editor-in-chief of the Harvard Law Review and a constitutional law professor at a top law school is some sort of empty suit who is incapable of thinking or expressing a coherent thought without a teleprompter. A man who spent much of his childhood in Indonesia, has travelled extensively overseas, and who, by all accounts, is an avid student of foreign policy is some kind of ignoramus who knows nothing about the world.

But a man who was notorious for his struggles with the English language, who achieved everything in his life by virtue of his last name, a man who admittedly had no interest in foreign policy and had traveled nowhere prior to becoming president . . . that guy is worldly beyond measure, a "man of extraordinary vision and brilliance approaching to genius."

What's really sad is that Hinderaker is not alone in this belief. If you read the right wing blogs, it's just an accepted fact that Obama is a moron. It's as if they think that if they say it over and over again, it will somehow catch on with the public at large. The problem with this meme, of course, is that it's so easily disproven. No one who watched Obama give his hour long prime time press conference last month--where he gave lengthy professorial answers to every question asked--would entertain for even a moment the suggestion that he is stupid or unknowledgeable or incapable of speaking without a teleprompter. The right wing blogosphere might as well be trying to convince the public that Obama is white.

But in the up-is-down world of the right wing echo chamber, anything goes, no matter how dumb.

Bagley tackles the Pope

2009-03-24T19:33:00.000-05:00

Court orders FDA to re-consider Plan B OTC status

2009-03-24T16:08:00.000-05:00

In a decision handed down by a Federal court yesterday, a judge ordered the FDA to re-examine it's stance on the morning-after-pill known as Plan B.

A federal court yesterday called on the FDA to do the right thing and revisit its politically motivated decision to unnecessarily restrict access to the emergency contraceptive Plan B. Often referred to as the “morning-after pill,” Plan B is a concentrated dose of the birth control pills millions of women take every day. And as yesterday’s court duly noted, the science is clear: women of all ages do not need a prescription to safely and effectively use Plan B to prevent pregnancy.

The court cited interference in the approval process by Bush political appointees as the primary reason the drug was not available to women.

Yesterday, federal Judge Edward Korman held that “the FDA’s decision was not the result of good faith and reasoned agency decision-making” because of “improper political interference” and departure from standard FDA policies. It ordered the FDA to expand over the counter access to 17 year olds and to reconsider its decision requiring any age restriction.

Good news for women who would like an alternative to pregnancy and for women subjected to intercourse against their will.