Argville

After listing a series of core Republican beliefs (and I do encourage you to read this post), Glenn Greenwald touches on the one thing that applies to Republicans that I wish applied to Democrats, but doesn't:

It's very hard to find any virtuous attribute of the contemporary Republican Party, but one thing that can be said for them is that -- unlike Democrats, whose overarching desire in life is to please the needy harmony fetishists by adopting as many GOP views as possible -- Republicans are willing to incur criticisms by opposing what they oppose and supporting what they support.

I have summed this up before as the Democrats needing to "grow balls like LBJ's."

Permalink| Posted @ 10:31 AM |

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Republican deja vu:

Republicans did not give Bill Clinton's 1993 economic plan a single vote--and you remember how the Clinton Plan led to the Great Depression of 1993...oh, wait a minute, no--it led to the Great Expansion of the 1990s. The point is, Republican economic thinking--with its tax cut obsessive-compulsive disorder--has proven as wrong as it is, apparently, immutable.

Taking Republican advice on the economy is like taking mommy advice from Britney Spears, or dog care advice from Michael Vick, or relationship advice from Jennifer Aniston, or... well, you get the idea. The only reason we should listen to them is to do the exact opposite of whatever they say.

Permalink| Posted @ 3:33 AM |

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Rush Limbaugh says:

The culture, we’ve lost the culture... We have lost pop culture. It is unrealistic to expect that people watching MTV, going to see the rot Hollywood’s putting out, listening to the rot music is today, that every four years they’re going to go into a voting booth and vote Republican, vote conservative.

Tom Tomorrow says:

After years of attempts to make conservatism cool somehow, this is its new face, much the same as it ever was: a cranky old man complaining about the movies and music the young people like these days.

Permalink| Posted @ 3:44 PM |

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In the spirit of PETA's sex with vegetables commercial, Spirit airlines thinks sex sells:

Is it me or the production value of this ad is as low as its message?

Permalink| Posted @ 10:24 AM |

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Democratic Representative Alan Grayson has a word or two to say about the despicable one:

Rush Limbaugh is a has-been hypocrite loser, who craves attention. His right-wing lunacy sounds like Mikhail Gorbachev, extolling the virtues of communism. Limbaugh actually was more lucid when he was a drug addict. If America ever did 1% of what he wanted us to do, then we'd all need pain killers.

Permalink| Posted @ 6:08 PM |

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God bless credit cards:

Ill-advised shopping has certainly turned up recently in the news, and yet the issue also forms the core of a much more contentious and continuing debate. As spenders spend while the economy plummets, the psychiatric world is trying to decide whether compulsive buying should actually be considered a disease.
At least for now, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders -- which is known as the D.S.M. and is something like the bible of psychological maladies -- does not list the condition as a technical disease. While shopaholism, as the laymen say, has been recognized by the German psychiatric community as a subset of obsessive-compulsive disorder, it still awaits its day in the United States.

And what do you know, we need more of these folks to save capitalism.

Permalink| Posted @ 12:13 PM |

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Republicans have nothing to offer: they are on the wrong side of every social issue, no ideas on the economy (just more of the same things that brought to the abyss), their name brand in in the toilet, their leading prospects for 2012 look like a cast of a bad situation comedy show, they have lost the White House, the House or Representatives, and the Senate by near filibuster-proof margin, they are facing a president with near 80% approval rating, with more than two thirds of the American people supporting most of Obama's stimulus proposal, etc. etc...

And yet, they are driving the debate on the stimulus plan. Showing a well organized and slogan laden attack, they have Democrats on the defensive and giving in to their demands, only to be met by more demands.

What's dominating the media coverage? McConnell saying Democrats are to blame for the stimulus plan problems. Ensign saying that the Bush tax cut was a model of bipartisanship. McCain and Boehner, two staples of ignorance, being quoted as experts saying they will vote no on the bill as it stands.

You gotta hand it to the Republican leadership: they are lousy Americans, most are lousy people, but they know how to play the game of politics. That they even remain competitive with a team of misfits like this is beyond amazing.

Barack Obama talked about hope and change during his campaign. I'm here hoping he changes soon and develops balls like Lyndon B. Johnson's.

Permalink| Posted @ 5:20 PM |

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Coming in 2010, this will be the new home of MLS's New York Red Bulls, and a piece of soccer paradise:

Permalink| Posted @ 1:51 PM |

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The movie "Once" is a most delightful love story. The two leads, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, developed a personal romantic relationship after the movie. That relationship just ended.

Oh well... I have to say, I don't know what Marketa is like in person, but she made her character the epitome of adorableness.

Here they are, performing their Oscar winning song.

Permalink| Posted @ 1:30 PM |

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PETA's Super Bowl commercial has been rejected by NBC. With a tagline that says: "Studies show that vegetarians have better sex," we see some fine looking models getting as intimate with vegetables as Jesus was with his bowling balling (I'm talking about Jesus Quintana, John Turturro's character in the movie "The Big Lebowski," not the Mel Gibson Jesus). NBC rejected the ad because it's too sexual.

Shame on you PETA. Who the hell do you think you are, a beer company?

'Veggie Love': PETA's Banned Super Bowl Ad

Permalink| Posted @ 10:10 AM |

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Conservatives are assailing Obama's stimulus bill and as expected, are lying their asses off. Paul Krugman is on the job:

As the debate over President Obama’s economic stimulus plan gets under way, one thing is certain: many of the plan’s opponents aren’t arguing in good faith. Conservatives really, really don’t want to see a second New Deal, and they certainly don’t want to see government activism vindicated. So they are reaching for any stick they can find with which to beat proposals for increased government spending.

Please read Paul Krugman's article for specific details of common lies and to learn how to rebut them when some of your conservative ditto heads friends repeat the lies.

Permalink| Posted @ 5:05 PM |

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The economic downturn is hurting most business. The restaurant business has been negatively impacted. We've seen news like:

Ruby Tuesday, a chain with about 950 stores, had a $37.4 million loss in the most recent quarter, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, were down 10.8 percent at company-owned locations.

But not everyone is hurting:

Hooters had systemwide sales of $997 million in 2008, up 2 percent from 2007, according to a recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution report. Hooters won’t admit to worrying about the competitors, even in a bad economy.

I've eaten at Hooters. I don't really remember what the food tasted like. My taste buds were distracted by something else...

Permalink| Posted @ 1:45 PM |

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From William Kristol's last column at the New York Times:

Liberalism’s fate rests to an astonishing degree on [Barack Obama's] shoulders. If he governs successfully, we’re in a new political era. If not, the country will be open to new conservative alternatives... there will be trying times during Obama’s presidency, and liberty will need staunch defenders. Can Obama reshape liberalism to be, as it was under F.D.R., a fighting faith, unapologetically patriotic and strong in the defense of liberty? That would be a service to our country.

I'm hoping for a lot from Barack Obama, but "unapologetically patriotic" is not on my list, for that blanket is used far too often by scoundrels to hide personal gains over those of the nation. True patriotism can not, and must not, arise from greed and callousness, the likes of which have been prevalent over the last 8 years. True patriotism only arises from a position of righteousness and abiding commitment to our better values, something mister Kristol and his band of faux conservatives know nothing about.

Permalink| Posted @ 11:29 AM |

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So Rush Limbaugh, the de facto leader if the Republican party, is against Barack Obama's stimulus package. It seems that all of sudden he knows how to turn the tide on something that was created by policies he supported. Yarite!

And John McCain, mister "the fundamentals of the economy are strong," now also thinks that he knows how to fix the problem he helped create. Yarite.

clammyc has the right message for those two bozos, and other Republicans like them:

Your way failed. Big time. Like "F-" failed. Of epic proportions. The tax cuts failed. The neverending sinkhole of money for Iraq failed. Torture failed. Indefinite detention of "enemy combatants" failed – even shot down by a Supreme Court where 7 of the 9 Justices were republican appointees. Big money handouts to the oil companies failed. Big money handouts to the financial institutions failed. Deregulation failed. Ignoring the infrastructure failed (bridge in Minnesota or Hurricane Katrina, anyone).

And because of it, you lost. Badly. Twice in a row.

I think the term is "elections have consequence". You remember that phrase, right?
You had your chance, and blew it. Big time. And because of it, you got smacked down. Hard. End of story.

Permalink| Posted @ 3:42 PM |

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Barack Obama did not win a single county in Oklahoma. Visiting some small towns in his home state, Denver Nicks gives us a glimpse into why that was:

Racism was an obvious fact of life in [a bar in the small town of] Talihina, expressed openly and jovially, though not un-self-consciously, as people were sometimes laughingly scolded for using racial epithets. If racism played a role in Obama’s poor performance in this and in similar parts of the country—and it almost certainly did for some—then it was merely a factor among the many that boil down, ultimately, to one: he ain’t like us.
Obama, in addition to being black, represents the progressive world of big cities and elite universities, and sees the grey areas in an increasingly polarized world. He is anathema to social conservatism as it exists today. In the years to come we will likely see a neo-populist revival among social conservatives, as their government, which for so long spoke their vernacular and pandered to their preferences, no longer does.

As Obama said, the world has changed. I doubt if these people will ever get that memo, but their children already have -- next time around, a black person running for office won't be a shock to their system.

Permalink| Posted @ 11:59 AM |

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Your present day Republican party:

Our party has been crippled by an all-pervading assumption at the center that if you just don’t talk about bad news, it will go away: whether it’s an extravagant wardrobe decision - or a bad job creation record. Our leaders cocoon themselves, refuse to hear unwelcome news, and reward yesmanship.

Those are the words of David Frum, a leading conservative author. The only problem is that Mr. Frum probably doesn't see himself as part of the problem. But he is. He pushed Bush on us and helped him along the way. And he continues to push conservatism, as if his brand of conservatism is better than anyone else's -- it isn't!

Permalink| Posted @ 10:41 AM |

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About time:

In a watershed moment for one of the most contentious areas of science and American politics, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the way for the first-ever human trial of a medical treatment derived from embryonic stem cells.

I hope that one of the many cures we can find is a cure for whatever ails the likes of Limbaugh, Hannity, O'Reilly, Beck, and other such right wing nuts, that causes those outburst of stunning stupidity they are so famous for. But I'm not holding my breath -- I don't believe in miracles.

Permalink| Posted @ 12:01 AM |

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The right wing fear mongering is in full swing, claiming that closing Guantanamo puts us at risk. But as Glenn Greenwald points out:

the February 26, 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center... terrorist attack took place just seven weeks after Bill Clinton was inaugurated, but after that attack -- to use the Beltway parlance -- Clinton kept us safe, for the rest of his presidency. No more foreign Terrorist attacks on the Homeland. It wasn't until Clinton left the Oval Office and George Bush became President were Islamic Terrorists able to strike the Homeland again.

And Clinton didn't have to violate our constitutional rights to do it, or attack a country that had nothing to do with it, or cause the death of over 4,250 American soldiers, or nearly bankrupt the nation.

Permalink| Posted @ 1:01 AM |

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When will this nonsense stop?

The latest round in a long-running battle over how evolution should be taught in Texas schools began in earnest Wednesday as the State Board of Education heard impassioned testimony from scientists and social conservatives on revising the science curriculum. [...]
In the past, the conservatives on the education board have lacked the votes to change textbooks. This year, both sides say, the final vote, in March, is likely to be close.

If the vote passes, can we give Texas back to Mexico?

Well... minus the HEB's. We'll keep those.

Permalink| Posted @ 7:04 PM |

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This is what your "the private sector does it better" mantra looks like:

John Thain, the former Merrill Lynch & Co. chief executive officer ousted yesterday, spent $1.2 million redecorating his downtown Manhattan office last year as the company was firing employees, a person familiar with the project said.

Permalink| Posted @ 11:43 AM |

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Shoot me with a rusty bullet, but I understand Rush Limbaugh wanting Barack Obama to fail. I certainly felt that way about George Bush.

I didn't exactly know how bad Bush's tax cuts would really be, but even in 2001 I knew they were bad news, so I wanted him to fail in passing those cuts. I wanted him to fail in his attempt to do away with Social Security and he failed. And that was good. I wanted him to fail on the authorization for war against Iraq.

Rush wants Obama to fail, for example, passing a national health care program. I can understand that from his point of view, that would be a terrible thing.

Obama is really bad news if you don't care about ordinary Americans. So yeah, I understand Rush's thinking.

Permalink| Posted @ 1:02 AM |

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The Harlem Children's Zone and its founder, Geoffrey Canada, an African American man in his mid-50s who grew up in extreme poverty in the South Bronx, may become the model under the Obama administration to fight poverty.

Canada believes that many poor parents aren't doing enough to prepare their kids for school—not because they don't care, but because they simply don't know the importance of early childhood stimulation. So the Zone starts with Baby College, nine weeks of parenting classes that focus on discipline and brain development. It continues with language-intensive prekindergarten, which feeds into a rigorous K-12 charter school with an extended day and an extended year. That academic "conveyor belt," as Canada calls it, is supplemented by social programs: family counseling, a free health clinic, after-school tutoring, and a drop-in arts center for teenagers.

Much of what we do to help poor children is just a band-aid that mostly only helps temporarily. I don't know all the details and what will it take to make the Zone program work nationwide, but in any case, addressing the needs at the parenting level and starting at early childhood sound to me like steps in the right direction.

Permalink| Posted @ 12:57 PM |

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Fixing the one word flub:

"We believe that the oath of office was administered effectively and that the President was sworn in appropriately yesterday," new White House Counsel Greg Craig said in a statement. "But the oath appears in the Constitution itself. And out of an abundance of caution, because there was one word out of sequence, Chief Justice Roberts administered the oath a second time."

Do you think this won't be enough to prevent some right wing nut from filing a lawsuit?

Permalink| Posted @ 10:05 PM |

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Permalink| Posted @ 4:13 PM |

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Permalink| Posted @ 1:37 PM |

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Too conservative or not conservative enough? The battle within the Republican party is natural after the whipping they received in 2008, but some Republicans are downright delusional. Take Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, and his choices of words:

Mr. DeMint thinks, among other things, that some of his Republican colleagues are helping Democrats push America far to the left.
"We have to have a remnant of the Republican Party who are recognizable as freedom fighters," Mr. DeMint said. "What I'm looking to do as a conservative leader in the Senate is to identify those Republicans, and even some Democrats, and put together a consensus of people who can help stop this slide toward socialism."

Freedom fighters? Socialism? This boy needs a night on the town with Senator Vitter.

Permalink| Posted @ 12:49 PM |

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http://www.whitehouse.gov

(Yes, it has been updated).

Permalink| Posted @ 1:51 PM |

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That's how today feels, like a coup took place; the peaceful overthrow of a dictator.

If Barack Obama turns out to be the opposite of George Bush in just about every respect, he will be a success. For our sake, let's hope so.

Permalink| Posted @ 1:40 PM |

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Don't let the door hit your asses on your way out, assholes!

After he's sworn in Tuesday, Barack Obama and his family won't have to wait around for the previous occupants of their new home to move out. The Bushes are already all packed.

Permalink| Posted @ 2:06 PM |

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There are probably a hundred examples where Bush conservatism failed; here are the top 10.

The worst recession since the 1930s
The worst financial crisis since the 1930s
The worst foreign policy mistake in the history of this country
Unprecedented rejection of human rights
Watergate-style abuses of power
Unprecedented increases in inequality
A culture of sleaze
Blind rejection of science
Utter refusal to protect the health, safety and legal rights of Americans
Presiding over our nation's worst natural disaster, and not caring

Read the full article here.

Permalink| Posted @ 1:11 PM |

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Supporters of torture often mention the ticking time bomb scenario as a situation where torture can get quick information to stop an impending disaster. If torture is that efficient, why did we torture prisoners for several months at a time?

Permalink| Posted @ 12:10 PM |

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George Bush, the worst president in American history, was not alone fucking up this country. Think Progress has a list of 43 other accomplices.

I have no qualms with the list of 43, but I believe the major one is missing from the list -- the whole Republican party.

Permalink| Posted @ 6:14 PM |

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Lots of news reports and TV pundits have been using the world "miracle" to describe how that plane landed on the river without a single fatality. You can believe all you want in divine intervention, but you can also use another word, one with much stronger evidence of actually having had a direct impact in that situation, and the word is "unions."

emptywheel has the details of how everyone involved in this so-called "miracle" is part of a union where the importance of safety training requirements are paramount and probably the major difference between life and death in that situation. emptywheel ends with this:

Bob Corker and Richard Shelby [two Republican senators] like to claim that union labor is a failed business model.

But I haven't heard much about Bob Corker and Richard Shelby saving 155 people's lives.

Permalink| Posted @ 2:01 AM |

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Keith Olbermann - Eight years of Bush in 8 minutes:

Permalink| Posted @ 11:00 PM |

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Bush: worst than Nixon, according to the American public:

Frankly, I think these results are too kind to this president.

Permalink| Posted @ 6:25 PM |

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Please, just fucking go away already!

Permalink| Posted @ 12:48 AM |

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Brandon Friedman:

I’m not a psychologist, but this is really fascinating if you put it all together: It appears that distraught conservative pundits and bloggers are actually in the midst of collectively retreating into the world of fantasy as a psychological defense mechanism...

By retreating so deeply into this fantasy world of strike forces, pro-torture heroes, and swashbuckling, allied journalists, we’re witnessing a self-induced thinning of the herd by conservatives. They’re actively choosing not to participate in the reality that is present-day America, instead opting to fall back on the comforting, familiar images of handymen and handsome actors on their television sets.

Brandon details three examples that illustrate such retreat. But more abound, such as:

Sarah Palin mistreatment by the media was sexism, or liberal bias, not sheer ignorance, blatant lying, and hateful divisive language by the candidate.
Republicans lost because they weren't conservative enough.
Tax cuts is the solution to the current economic crisis.
We can win in Iraq.
Stating that George Bush kept us safe by pretending that the greatest terrorist attack in the world didn't happen on his watch and after he received plenty of warning that it was coming.
George Bush wasn't conservative enough.

The list could go on but you get the drift.

Permalink| Posted @ 10:26 AM |

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I was just reading some news when deep in some news website I ran into a reference to a president by the name of George Bush. President who?

(7 days left)... gotta pinch myself.

Permalink| Posted @ 4:55 PM |

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No, it's not Sarah Palin, or John McCain, or the Mormon guy, or the 9/11 guy, or the former actor sleeping through life, or the Bush who really knows how to speak Spanish, or Ru Paul, or the Magic Negro guy, or the fake first name guy. The face of the Republican party is none other than... Joe the Plumber.

Permalink| Posted @ 1:39 AM |

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While Major League Soccer (MLS) is on hiatus, David Beckham was allowed to play with AC Milan, one of the most famous soccer clubs in the world. He played his first game for them yesterday against AS Roma. The general opinion from Europe matches mine as the game ended: Beckham played very well and showed why he's a superstar soccer players.

It made me remember many of the skeptical remarks that were made about him when he decided to come to play in MLS with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Now, I'm not talking about the comments made by those who displayed sheer ignorance about the game and just embrace sensationalism like Republicans repeat emtpy slogans. No, I'm referring to those who profess to know the sport but somehow misjudge the man's qualities on the field, preferring instead to knock him for his off-the-field fame while ignoring that the guy has been twice a runner up to world footballer of the year.

Beckham proved yesterday, against top competition and surrounded by some of the world's greatest players that he's a consumate professional, a terrific passer, a player with great vision and heart who makes the sport look simple and fun. He doesn't have dazzling ball skills, but his on the field ethic and soccer IQ are impressive.

Will he even come back to MLS in March? There is a lot of speculation but maybe he'll come to realize that this league, while having aspirations of becoming a major league, notwithstanding the "major" in their name, with their low salary cap and inferiority complex, is still just a minor league and not ready for the skills of a David Beckham.

Permalink| Posted @ 2:21 PM |

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John McCain's hero:

I think media should be abolished from, uh, you know, reporting. You know, war is hell. And if you're gonna sit there and say, "Well look at this atrocity," well you don't know the whole story behind it half the time, so I think the media should have no business in it.

For introducing Joe the Plumber to America, McCain should be forced to live the rest of his days in Alaska.

Permalink| Posted @ 12:50 AM |

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A perspective:

In my mind this economic breakdown is as dangerous and impactful as the events of 9/11 and requires a united national response just as that event did. The task of the [president-elect] is to try to forge that national consensus and plan at a time when there is ever increasing skepticism over "bailouts" in general and big ones in particular.

And at least this one time, going shopping is not bad advice.

Permalink| Posted @ 12:01 AM |

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Inflate your tires and cut down your googling:

While millions of people tap into Google without considering the environment, a typical search generates about 7g of CO2 Boiling a kettle generates about 15g. “Google operates huge data centres around the world that consume a great deal of power,” said Alex Wissner-Gross, a Harvard University physicist whose research on the environmental impact of computing is due out soon. “A Google search has a definite environmental impact.”

Or... cut down your tea making.

Permalink| Posted @ 4:13 PM |

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Conservative charlatans like Rush Limbaugh and Michelle Melkin are being very vocal about Barack Obama's stimulus package, offering their own opinions about what would work and what would not. I guess we're suppose to believe they have the wisdom to know what should be done.

If they are so wise, all I ask is for one example of where they anticipated the current economic crisis. Just one. I'll even settle for one example where they opposed the actions that got us into this mess in the first place. OK, forget opposed, I'll settle for the absence of evidence that they were cheerleaders for the actions that mostly contributed to to the crisis.

Just one.

Because if they can't, I have 2 words for them: SHUT THE FUCK UP!*

* Quote from Midnight Run

Permalink| Posted @ 2:04 PM |

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If you're a football (soccer) fan, and you want something to entertain your whole evening, take a look at the greatest soccer goals of 2008.

SoccerLens has compiled several pages of great goals from all over the world. It's a smorgasbord of all types of great goals, with descriptions of why they like each goal, and links to the best available video clips. You decide for yourself the ones you like best.

Permalink| Posted @ 3:42 PM |

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Republicans, mostly via their charlatan loud mouths, are bent on casting doubt over Al Franken's victory in Minnesota, but as Joe Conason tells us:

Not only is there no evidence that Franken or his campaign "cheated" in any way during the election or the recount, but there is ample reason to believe that the entire process was fair, balanced and free from partisan taint.

All the usual suspects have echoed these false charges across the airwaves and the Internet. What they invariably neglect to mention is that the Minnesota Canvassing Board, whose decisions have so displeased the Republican right, was impeccably nonpartisan...

Two of its five members are Supreme Court judges appointed by Tim Pawlenty, the state's conservative Republican governor, each with a long record of loyal service to the GOP; a third is a nonpartisan elected judge; a fourth was appointed by former independent Gov. Jesse Ventura; and only one, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, is a Democrat.

Sounds like Republicans are doing to Franken in 2008 what Democrats should have done to Bush in 2000, it's just that Democrats don't approach politics as the contact sport that it is.

We don't have to rebut their accusations; once Franken gets certified Democrats should do what I plan to do: stick my tongue out and laugh at the jerks. They deserve nothing else.

Permalink| Posted @ 12:09 PM |

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Conservatives are a bunch of violent racist pigs, as evidenced by this story:

NEW YORK - Three Staten Island men, riled by Barack Obama's victory, spent election night hunting down black people to beat up and yelled insults about the president-elect, federal prosecutors said yesterday.
The men beat a Liberian immigrant teenager, pushed a black man to the ground, and drove their car over a white man they thought was black, according to the indictment.

Does my accusation make any sense?

Only as much sense as Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and others of their ilk, make when they paint liberals with one broad stroke. And imagine... they are given air time on radio and television to make such accusations.

Permalink| Posted @ 6:38 PM |

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One of the things that irritates me is when someone defends a person accused of doing bad things by pointing to some good things they do. Hell, even Mafia godfathers are known for charity to local churches, widows, and poor people. In some cases, yes, they are exercising some good in them, but in many cases, it's the means to some other end, and in all cases it merely exemplifies that no one is all evil or all good 100% of the time.

Take Rick Warren as an example. Some people want to excuse his hateful talk because he does some good things. Barack Obama is one of those people. But even Warren's shining light of goodness, his AIDS work in Africa, upon further examination, may not be so:

an investigation into Warren's involvement in Africa reveals a web of alliances with right-wing clergymen who have sidelined science-based approaches to combating AIDS in favor of abstinence-only education. More disturbingly, Warren's allies have rolled back key elements of one of the continent's most successful initiative, the so-called ABC program in Uganda. Stephen Lewis, the United Nations special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, told the New York Times their activism is "resulting in great damage and undoubtedly will cause significant numbers of infections which should never have occurred."

Individual acts of goodness do not erase evil acts. And Rick Warren has a long way to go to, on balance, be a good man.

Permalink| Posted @ 2:08 PM |

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Seriously, how would I know if Leon Panetta is a good choice to head the CIA? I really have no clue.

In cases like this, I defer to Russ Feinfold. He approves of the nomination and that's good enough for me because Russ is never wrong. Really.

Permalink| Posted @ 4:05 PM |

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Why are they making a stink about sitting Roland Burris? The guy was appointed by the current governor of Illinois, as the law stipulates. Period.

If the people of Illinois don't like the law, they can change it, but that's not up to Senators from other states to say.

Sit the guy already!

Besides, why object to having an additional Democratic vote in the Senate? Sounds dumb to me.

Permalink| Posted @ 3:07 PM |

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I watched a couple of clips with this woman, and I must admit, she's very good at what she does. Pity that nothing she's good at is any good.

Permalink| Posted @ 1:25 PM |

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Mitch McConell, the Republican Senate Minority Leader was all over television advocating what Republicans believe is the right way to structure an economic recovery package.

Isn't getting advice from Republicans on the economy like asking:

the Detroit Lions how to form a winning team?
boxer Michael Tyson for advice on self control?
Britney Spear for mothering tips?
Texans how to be humble (even if they do have the biggest and best supermarkets)?
Democrats how not to cave and actually tell Republicans that now is the time to just shut the fuck up?

Permalink| Posted @ 8:22 AM |

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Two polls in Alaska pit Sarah Palin versus Lisa Murkowski for the US Senate seat in 2010. Quite a shift in opinions, no?

A Dittman Research poll shows Murkowski leading this year’s GOP vice presidential nominee in the hypothetical matchup, 57-33, according to KTUU-TV in Anchorage. That contrasts with a Research 2000 poll from mid-December that showed Palin on top 55-31.

What accounts for the difference? The earlier poll must have oversampled horny teenagers and infatuated Republican males.

Permalink| Posted @ 2:27 PM |

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News from Minnesota:

The Minnesota state canvassing board has officially certified the election results showing that Al Franken is the winner of the Minnesota recount -- by a tally of 1,212,431 votes to 1,212,206 votes. But the contest between Franken and Coleman is far from over, as the Coleman camp has promised to file a challenge of the election in court.

Does this mean, in the parlance of those who supported Bush in 2000 during the whole Florida court fight, that they think Coleman is a sore loser?

"Senator Al Franken." Get used to the sounds of that, people.

Permalink| Posted @ 5:06 PM |

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Hopefully, we'll see more of this around the world:

"There's probably no God. Stop worrying. Enjoy life". So read the signs developed by atheist groups in Barcelona, which will being appearing on some of the city’s public buses in the following weeks. Inspired by a recent atheist campaign in London, the messages have already been widely criticized by the Catholic church.

We've got to stop giving believers a monopoly on the message about the existence of gods.

I particularly like this message because of the word "probably." Makes the message less confrontational, less absolute, less fanatical, and more reasonable.

I think these kinds of actions are important, not because they will change the minds of any religious person, but I suspect there are a lot of people who truly are atheists but who are afraid to say so, same even afraid to consider the possibility. Knowing they're not alone might free them to give both sides an equal measure of consideration.

Permalink| Posted @ 1:10 PM |

Comments: 0

After eight years of political misery, Republicans are now making my day:

The RNC competition is taking place in a contentious environment. A Republican consultant who has worked with the RNC told the Politico: "Some people are pissed off at [Americans for Tax Reform President] Grover [Norquist]. Some people are pissed off at the Conservative Steering Committee. Some people are pissed off at [current RNC chair] Mike Duncan. Some people are pissed off at social conservatives. The social conservatives are pissed at leaders in Congress. Everyone is basically pissed."

Come on guys, let me help you. The solution to your problems is simple: you need to be more conservative, more divisive, more hateful, greedier, and rally around Sarah Palin. Yeah... that's the ticket.

Permalink| Posted @ 12:59 PM |

Comments: 0

I am often perplexed when non rich folks defend the interests of the rich. I have posed that question here before but have not found a satisfactory answer. Until now:

The Madoff scandal echoes a deeper absence inside our financial system, which has been undermined not merely by bad behavior but by the lack of checks and balances to discourage it. “Greed” doesn’t cut it as a satisfying explanation for the current financial crisis. Greed was necessary but insufficient; in any case, we are as likely to eliminate greed from our national character as we are lust and envy. The fixable problem isn’t the greed of the few but the misaligned interests of the many.

"The misaligned interests of the many." That is the reason.

Every sucker who defends the rights of the rich to exploit, loophole, and cheat their way into bigger fortunes is doing so because they know that if given an opportunity, they would do exactly the same thing. It doesn't matter to these folks how many people get fleeced along the way as long as they feel they can share in the spoils. "The misaligned interests of the many."

Permalink| Posted @ 12:15 PM |

Comments: 0

Forget all the science and the predictions of impending disasters; just consider the calls to address global warming in the vein of the Bush doctrine, only for the environment.

Are you with us now?

Permalink| Posted @ 2:41 AM |

Comments: 1

The Washington Post has a story about some Kremlin analyst's prediction that in 2010 the US will break into six:

Alaska goes to Russia. Hawaii goes to Japan or China. "The California Republic" -- the West from Utah and Arizona to the Pacific -- goes to China. "The Texas Republic" -- the South from New Mexico to Florida -- goes to Mexico. "Atlantic America" -- the Northeast from Tennessee and South Carolina up to Maine -- joins the European Union. And "The Central North-American Republic" -- the Plains from Ohio to Montana -- goes to Canada.

What puzzles me is why the Washington Post dedicated 3 online pages to this dopey story. Although, I confess, I like the idea of Alaska going to Russia. This way they'd gain a governor with lots of international experience.

Permalink| Posted @ 12:11 AM |

Comments: 4

One creep talking about another:

Former U.S.-installed Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has denounced the policies of President George W. Bush as an "utter failure" that gave rise to the sectarian venom that ravaged his country.

Not that I disagree, but these two deserve each other.

Permalink| Posted @ 9:29 PM |

Comments: 0

Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, talking about Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister of England:

Bring it on, you great big quivering gelatinous invertebrate jelly of indecision.

That's what American politics needs more of: politicians with a good repertoire of words with more than 2 syllables.

Permalink| Posted @ 7:05 PM |

Comments: 0

This sounds like the setup for a joke, but it's not:

WARSAW (Reuters) - A Polish man got the shock of his life when he visited a brothel and spotted his wife among the establishment's employees.

Polish tabloid Super Express said the woman had been making some extra money on the side while telling her husband she worked at a store in a nearby town.

"I was dumfounded. I thought I was dreaming," the husband told the newspaper on Wednesday.

The couple, married for 14 years, are now divorcing, the newspaper reported.

I bet she'll be better off financially without him.

Permalink| Posted @ 3:47 PM |

Comments: 0

Sarah van Gelder can think of 10 reasons to be hopeful about 2009, and 3 reasons to be fearful. Here's one example of what to be hopeful about:

The failing economy is giving us lots of reasons to be terrified (see below) but also reasons to be hopeful. That rip-roaring economy we're all supposed to be trying to bring back was tearing through the world's rainforests, mountaintops, aquifers, fisheries, soils and other resources, driving thousands of species toward extinction, changing the climate and leaving billions behind in the rush for "economic growth." So, painful as it might be, this downturn represents a chance to build a different sort of economy -- one that offers dignity, livelihoods and a future for our children.

I don't know... where lots of money are involved, greed can't be far behind. I would like to believe that we have learned our lesson, but we have the collective historical memory of a moth. While some positive changes are likely, the words "dignity" and "economy" on the same sentence sound like too much wishful thinking.

Technorati Tags: society, economy, wishful thinking, hope for 2009, fears for 2009

Permalink| Posted @ 10:46 AM |

Comments: 0

Well, doesn't this just break my heart:

To some staunch conservatives watching President Bush relinquish the reins of power to President-elect Barack Obama, a few too many ardent liberals are now crashing the gates... Conservatives fear that some of these Obama transition advisers are too far left on the political spectrum and are a sign of radical policies to come.

I can only hope so. Radical policies from what we've seen is what this country needs.

Permalink| Posted @ 9:47 AM |

Comments: 0

If George Bush were a true christian, wouldn't he have turned the other cheek to the shoe thrower instead of ducking? Wouldn't he also forgive him?

I have no fondness for Popes, but I remember when John Paul II went to visit in prison the man who attempted to assassinate him. Can anyone imagine George Bush having that type of conviction?

I know... I know... George Bush's religion was just a political prop.

Permalink| Posted @ 12:21 PM |

Comments: 0

The sound of Republicans leaving Washington DC is music to my ears:

Out of power on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue and mostly out of favor on K Street, many emasculated elephants in the GOP herd will begin the Age of Obama with what amounts to an extended holiday vacation. Instead of fighting the quadrennial cold and what are expected to be record-setting crowds, they're heading out to greener pastures, with better temperatures, less hassle and more agreeable company.

Don't let the door hit you, weasels.

Permalink| Posted @ 12:04 PM |

Comments: 2

I'm always looking to understand how the Republican party got to where it is. Paul Krugman give us his take on that party's journey to what I called the party of hate, greed, and stupid. His column is excellent, as usual. Give it a read.

Forty years ago the G.O.P. decided, in effect, to make itself the party of racial backlash. And everything that has happened in recent years, from the choice of Mr. Bush as the party’s champion, to the Bush administration’s pervasive incompetence, to the party’s shrinking base, is a consequence of that decision...
That’s why the soon-to-be-gone administration’s failure is bigger than Mr. Bush himself: it represents the end of the line for a political strategy that dominated the scene for more than a generation...
Will the Republicans eventually stage a comeback? Yes, of course. But barring some huge missteps by Mr. Obama, that will not happen until they stop whining and look at what really went wrong. And when they do, they will discover that they need to get in touch with the real “real America,” a country that is more diverse, more tolerant, and more demanding of effective government than is dreamt of in their political philosophy.

As the whole Magic Negro fiasco shows, the Republican party has a long way to go. And as long as they see the government as the problem, they can't be a solution.

Permalink| Posted @ 10:58 AM |

Comments: 0

Is it time to end the Cuban embargo? I say Yes! There's probably no better way to end the grip of the communists than the influence of external goods to enter the island. But... it's not all roses. As mentioned in the quote below, there are reasons for concern:

Would Cuba benefit if the embargo ended? The answer is yes, but with caveats. In most Caribbean countries that have accepted the hand of American friendship or been placed under American occupation since Castro’s revolution, life is not appreciably better than in Cuba. Next to the poverty, crime, and squalor that infest the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua, or Honduras, or the living nightmare that is Haiti, Cuba is a glowing achievement. It has the highest literacy rate in the hemisphere, excellent healthcare, and a vibrant, well funded cultural life.

Yeah, if we do business as usual, the other examples in the region don't bode well for success. Still, I think Obama should go for it:

From Washington’s point of view, though, it would be a smart, pragmatic move for Obama to end the embargo. It would open a new and under-exploited market to struggling American businesses and remove at a stroke the Castro regime’s most effective rallying point. The resonance would be heard far beyond Cuba, not least in Venezuela and Bolivia.

I would like to see it happen, but frankly, I'm not counting on it.

Permalink| Posted @ 1:52 AM |

Comments: 0

This is what incompetence looks like:

To mark the passing of Bush’s last full year in office, ThinkProgress rounded up statistics on some of the most significant effects of Bush rule in 2008:

– Number Of U.S. Troops Killed in Iraq: 322.
– Number Of U.S. Troops Killed in Afghanistan: 151.
– Number Of Jobs Lost: 1.9 million.
– Number Of Banks Federal Government Now Owns Stock In: 206.
– Number Of Uninsured Americans: 47.5 million.

– Change In Housing Prices: declined 18 percent.
– Change In Health Insurance Premiums: increased 5 percent.
– Change In Number Of Delinquent Mortgages: increased 75 percent.
– Change In Use Of Food Stamps: increased 17 percent.
– Change In Dow Jones Industrial Average: declined 35 percent.
– Change In Bush Approval Rating: declined 9 percent to 29 percent.

Too bad we can't measure the actual harm from not addressing global warming, or have a good measure of how despised this nation has become worldwide, or how to measure the hurt on GLBT communities... really, the incompetence has been mind-boggling.

Permalink| Posted @ 4:14 PM |

Comments: 0

Unsung hero:

Helen Suzman, one of the fiercest internal critics of apartheid, South Africa’s hated system of racial separation, has died at her home in Johannesburg aged 91. The daughter of Lithuanian Jews, she first entered the South African parliament in 1953 and for 13 years was the only MP to condemn South Africa's whites-only regime. She was a frequent visitor to Nelson Mandela when he was held in Robben Island prison for 18 years and was twice nominated for the Noble Peace Prize. Although ailing in recent years, Suzman, who never married, continued to speak out against what she saw as the failings of South Africa's post-apartheid administration.

Just to illustrate how difficult her fight was, I find it ironic that at the time I made this post there was one visitor comment under the link above:

It remains to be seen whether a NON-APARTHEID South Africa is a good thing.

Permalink| Posted @ 3:47 PM |

Comments: 0

Worst administration ever? I think so:

As we enter the New Year let us not forget those wonderful little rascals from the GOP's Our Gang Comedy: Condi, Turd Blossom, Brownie, Gonzo and Scooter who played such crazy tricks on our country. Just consider what these lovable scamps did in the past eight years: they ignored the warning about 9/11; they left the poor of New Orleans to languish and die after Katrina; they tricked this country into a calamitous, life taking, bank breaking war; they abused our planet by failing to meet environmental standards; they shackled scientific research, made a sneaky grab for extra-constitutional power, blurred the separation of church and state, corrupted the Justice Department, and helped to destroy the economy by the deregulation of oversight. It wasn't just the housing bubble that burst - all bubbles pop - it was the greed driven life that came to us through Bush and his people, the governmental dishonesty flowing outward to our financial markets which didn't need much encouragement to become Hedge Fund hawks and Ponzi style swindlers.

It's overwhelming when you see lists of just how bad these guys were. And the above list, frankly, is a partial one.

Permalink| Posted @ 3:39 PM |

Comments: 0

This mock toast to the Republican party for their abysmal 2008 is spot on. Treat yourself to the whole article.

You launched into a presidential primary crawling with Mormons, cross-dressers, gay-hating bass players, and one enraged septuagenarian. You ran the one least likely to be alive in November, and you paired him up with a beauty queen whose political talent amounted to knowing five different ways of saying, "I know you are but what am I?"

You lost one veteran Senator to an indictment. Liddy Dole made sure that the Bush dynasty would be the only GOP family dynasty to come to an inglorious end this year. You became known as the party of hate-mongering, your "base" was characterized by people demanding that their opponent be murdered.

As the "Magic Negro" song parody scandal reached its high point, many on your side began saying, "This could actually work out for us."

Somehow, I have the feeling that 2009 isn't going to be much better. In their civil war, the nastiest Republicans will win out over moderates and we're likely to see more outlandish behavior.

Permalink| Posted @ 3:15 PM |

Comments: 0

I don't know about you, but 2009 feels like the start of the 21st century. The last eight years felt like the Dark Ages. We should try to bury them as deep as we can and try to start anew.

Permalink| Posted @ 12:01 AM |

Comments: 2


	Chewing politics and current events one bite-size chunk at a time Opinions about current events, politics, religion, pop culture, and society. And the occasional comment on soccer, the world's game.

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Friday, January 30, 2009

One thing about Republicans

They have been wrong before

Thursday, January 29, 2009

A cranky old man

That is low

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Limbaugh quote

Compulsive shopping - a disease?

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Gotta hand it to them

Not soon enough

Once no more

PETA rejected

Monday, January 26, 2009

Arguing in bad faith

Not everyone is hurting

The Scoundrel's Last Column

Sunday, January 25, 2009

You failed

He ain't one of us

Crippled and Cacooned

Embryonic stem cells

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Clinton kept us safe

Friday, January 23, 2009

Texas in reverse mode

Memo to right wingers

I understand Rush

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Harlem Children's Zone

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

So nice, they did it twice

Competent Adults in Charge

Cool picture

Republicans versus Republicans

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

A thing of beauty

Bloodless coup

Monday, January 19, 2009

Hallelujah!!!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Top reasons why conservatism failed under Bush

A thought about torture

Saturday, January 17, 2009

He wasn't alone

US Airways plane that landed on the Hudson river

Friday, January 16, 2009

Bush: a summary

Worst ever

Goodbye Bush

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

They're running into a fantasy world

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

President who?

The face of the Republican party

Monday, January 12, 2009

David Beckham impresses

Abolish the media

The 9/11 of economic crisis

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Control your Googling

Saturday, January 10, 2009

One example is all I ask for

Friday, January 09, 2009

In Seach of the 2008 Perfect Goal

He won, fair and square

Thursday, January 08, 2009

One broad stroke

How can he be bad when he does good?

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

When in doubt, Feingold it

Democrats are dumb

Ann Coulter is very good

Dr. Phil he ain't

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Make up your mind Alaska