Thursday, April 30, 2009
Sick
Republicans are hoping for another 9/11 attack to bring them out of the wilderness. Let's face it, 9/11 was the best thing that ever happened to them.
Worse than swines
Where was this guy on teadbagging day?
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
About Specter
Atrios speaks for me on this:
I'm obviously not very optimistic that this will lead to good. I've lived under the wanktitude of Specter long enough to know that he rarely actually does anything positive. As Harry Reid said to a small group of bloggers last year in Denver, (quote from memory) "Arlen Specter's with us except when we need him." Question now is whether Specter will be with them when they do need him."Republicans in the Senate are visibly in agony right now" - I like the sound of that.
On the plus side, Senate staffers inform me that Republicans in the Senate are visibly in agony right now. So at least we have that!
That many?
Wall Street Journal/NBC poll:
More than eight in 10, 81%, said they personally like the president on the eve of his 100th day in the Oval Office.That many Americans like a Muslim, socialist, Marxist, fascist, terrorist-loving, tyrant? Say it ain't so, teabaggers.
Colbert dislikes liberalism
A study on how conservatives and liberals view the Colbert Report reveals that:
there was no significant difference between the groups in thinking Colbert was funny, but conservatives were more likely to report that Colbert only pretends to be joking and genuinely meant what he said while liberals were more likely to report that Colbert used satire and was not serious when offering political statements. Conservatism also significantly predicted perceptions that Colbert disliked liberalism.And torture works, the economy trickles down, the Specter defection is good for the Republican party, Iraq and 9/11 are linked, creationism is fact, etc., etc., etc.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Honey, I shrunk the Republican Party
Shrinkage:
The new Washington Post/ABC news poll has all sorts of intriguing numbers in it but when you are looking for clues as to where the two parties stand politically there is only one number to remember: 21.
That's the percent of people in the Post/ABC survey who identified themselves as Republicans, down from 25 percent in a late March poll and at the lowest ebb in this poll since the fall of 1983(!).
Why are we letting the architects of this disaster (Gingrich, Rove, McCain, Cheney, etc.) near TV microphones?
Apple
Kevin Drum:
The Vast Left Wing Conspiracy is powered by Macintoshes. If it weren't for us liberals, Apple probably would have been in Chapter 11 years ago.*I hugs my Mac* Love this thing.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
No need to panic
The swine flu is not a pandemic -- not yet anyway -- but it is serious and spreading. But guess who fought to remove money targeted for the Center for Diseases Control from the stimulus bill:
from her own website:
But there is no need to panic because at least Republicans are not in power.
The House of Representatives had included $900 million in pandemic preparedness funds in its version of the massive stimulus package, but it appeared that all but $50 million was removed by the conference committee that ironed out differences between the House and Senate versions...And who was responsible for that? Senator Susan Collins, Republican from Maine. This,
from her own website:
After meeting with Mr. Obama, Sen. Collins expressed concern about a number of spending provisions, including $780 million for pandemic-flu preparedness. "I have no doubt that the president is willing to negotiate in good faith, that he wants to have a bipartisan bill," Sen. Collins said.These people (Republicans) really have no vision, do they? They just keep their heads inside each others' assholes. I can hear Dick Cheney now saying "no one predicted a swine flu."
But there is no need to panic because at least Republicans are not in power.
Global Warming is real
It's 93 degrees Fahrenheit in New York City at 7:35 PM, proof positive that global warming is real.
(Yes, this was another moment in dumb right wing thinking.)
(Yes, this was another moment in dumb right wing thinking.)
Americans like him
Based on a Washington Post/ABC News poll:
In addition to a 69% approval rating, 73% said Obama "understands the problems" of people like them; 77% see him as a strong leader; 73% said he can be trusted in a crisis; 90% said he is "willing to listen to different points of view"; 74% said he's honest and trustworthy; 60% said he shares the values of the poll respondent; 63% credit him for bringing needed change to Washington; and 56% said he is a good commander-in-chief.As Steve Benen says: "They're going to need more tea bags."
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Forgive me Rush, for I have sinned
Photos of Republicans who took on the big man only to come crawling back with an apology to their great leader. Click and enjoy.
Friday, April 24, 2009
I remember...
when Republicans pushed to impeach Bill Clinton over lying about a blow job, because, as they said, we're a nation of laws and no one is above the law. Over a blow job, people.
Now they want us to turn a blind eye to torture.
Modern day Republicans really are disgusting Americans.
Now they want us to turn a blind eye to torture.
Modern day Republicans really are disgusting Americans.
The words of a dying (politically) man
Republican Larry Murphy said this:
"Rush Limbaugh is a racist, he's a cancer to the Republican Party and he should be excised."Oh boy. This guy is going to wake up with the metaphorically head of a horse in his bed.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
The New Axis of Evil
George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Condoleezza Rice, Jay Bybee, Steven Bradbury...
Lesson from right wingers
If I ever meet George Bush or Dick Cheney, I must refuse to shake their hands.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Sorry, Rush
It has become comical: a Republican says something negative about Rush Limbaugh and without days he's apologizing to Rush. And the Democrats are keeping track.
The latest Rush sycophant is Todd Tiahrt:
The latest Rush sycophant is Todd Tiahrt:
Less than a week after calling conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh a mere "entertainer," the apology from Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Ks.) has arrived. Not only did Tiahrt deny any attempt to denigrate Limbaugh, Tiahrt's spokesman called Limbaugh a "great leader."If they have teabagging parties you'd assume they have balls. Not so.
Storm
Monday, April 20, 2009
Tea bag party
Reflecting on last week's tea party protests, it was good to see citizens participating in the political process and letting government officials know how they feel without resorting to violence. But when the TEA stands for Taxed Enough Already, and it comes when most people are getting a tax cut, the timing and the purpose of the protests seem out of whack. Manufactured, even.
Given where tax rates have been through out history (much higher during the 40's, 50's, etc.) the language used by so at those events (tyranny, fascism, Marxism, Nazism, etc.) make as much sense as Detroit throwing a parade for the Lions, or National Geographic replacing Cesar Millan as the host of Dog Whisperer with Micheal Vick.
Just because they were exercising their first amendment right doesn't mean they're not foaming-at-the-mouth bat-shit crazy!
Given where tax rates have been through out history (much higher during the 40's, 50's, etc.) the language used by so at those events (tyranny, fascism, Marxism, Nazism, etc.) make as much sense as Detroit throwing a parade for the Lions, or National Geographic replacing Cesar Millan as the host of Dog Whisperer with Micheal Vick.
Just because they were exercising their first amendment right doesn't mean they're not foaming-at-the-mouth bat-shit crazy!
Siding with the wrong guys
How off course has the Republican party gotten that they now associate with skinheads and right wing extremist groups?
Thursday, April 16, 2009
The truth about conservatives
How do you know what conservatives really think about their side? Simple. Just listen to what their call their opponents. Conservatives are master of "psychological projection." All the name calling reflects their own inner thoughts about themselves. Case in point:
I rest my case.
He is irresponsibly running up deficits and covering them up with budgetary gimmickry. Under the guise of healing rhetoric, he ruthlessly pressures fellow partisans in Congress to toe the line. He is "filling White House ranks with former lobbyists," and his administration is devolving into general incompetence. And he has given unprecedented, Rove-like power to his political Svengali, David Axelrod.The above statement describes Barack Obama. By whom? By Karl Rove.
I rest my case.
Sip on this, teabaggers
This reality-based individual was given the microphone at one of the teabagging parties. And he took advantage of the opportunity to illicit loud boos from that crowd after he delivered a spoonful of bitter truth:
To read a first hand account by this truth-teller with enormous cojones, click here.
To read a first hand account by this truth-teller with enormous cojones, click here.
Reich's guide
Robert Reich:
To see the rest of the citizen guide, click here.No one likes to pay taxes, so tax day typically attracts a range of right-wing Republicans, kooks, and demagogues, all of whom tell us how awful we have it. Here's a short citizen's guide (that is, a citizen's guide that's short rather than a guide for short citizens) responding to the predictable charges:
1. "Americans pay too much in taxes." Wrong: The United States has the lowest taxes of all developed nations.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Synonym
Since teabagging is slang for a sexual act, "tea baggers" should use another term to describe themselves. I suggest "sore losers".
A saner president
You can discuss among yourselves if Barack Obama deserves any credit or not for the rescue of Captain Phillips, but one thing is for sure: he never uttered crazy nonsense such as: "bring it on" or "we'll get them dead or alive." And I doubt we'll see any "Mission Accomplished" signs.
It's good to have serious adults in the White House.
It's good to have serious adults in the White House.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Will I need a passport to visit Texas?
Boo Obama
President Obama gave a major speech today on the economy. When he started the speech, the Dow Jones was down 66 points. By the time the speech was over, the Dow was down 86 points. Clear proof that Obama is a failure.
(Yes, this was a brief moment in right wing thinking).
(Yes, this was a brief moment in right wing thinking).
Monday, April 13, 2009
Ahead of schedule and under budget
President Obama today, talking about the stimulus plan:
Today, because these projects are getting approved more quickly than we thought, thanks to in large part the outstanding work of the TIGER team and folks here at the Department of Transportation, and because these projects are costing less than we thought, we can utter a sentence rarely heard in recent years: This government effort is coming in ahead of schedule and under budget.I guess while some people are busy working for the betterment of the country others have too much time to goof off and go teabagging.
Lovely, Happy Places
What do San Francisco, France, Europe, and New York City have in common? This: the vast majority of Americans like these places, across all age groups, political parties, and ethnic backgrounds. There's only one group of people that doesn't feel about these places as the rest of the country -- the South, where the numbers go negative or just barely positive.
And that, my friends, is where the Republican party is making its final stand.
Read details of the polling here.
And that, my friends, is where the Republican party is making its final stand.
Read details of the polling here.
Blasphemy: I disagree with Paul Krugman
How often do I disagree with Paul Krugman? Well, almost never. But here's one point where he and I differ:
On the other hand, here's one thing I strongly agree with the good professor:
Oh, it does feel right to me. In fact, I'm having a great time making fun of those nuts.Today’s G.O.P. is, after all, very much a minority party. It retains some limited ability to obstruct the Democrats, but has no ability to make or even significantly shape policy.
Beyond that, Republicans have become embarrassing to watch. And it doesn’t feel right to make fun of crazy people.
On the other hand, here's one thing I strongly agree with the good professor:
But here’s the thing: the G.O.P. looked as crazy 10 or 15 years ago as it does now. That didn’t stop Republicans from taking control of both Congress and the White House. And they could return to power if the Democrats stumble. So it behooves us to look closely at the state of what is, after all, one of our nation’s two great political parties.Go read Paul Krugman's take on the state of the Republican Party. There's a lot of good stuff to refresh your memory about how crazy the Republican party has been. It's nothing new.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Piracy
During the last several years, the Bush administration was a bystander while piracy grew. President Obama, in contrast, ordered special forces into the mix and swift action to save Captain Phillips proved successful.
The question is: will Obama take action to defeat and drastically reduce the threat of piracy or will he be as weak as Bush? For Obama, the chance for success lies ahead; for Bush, failure is part of his permanent record.
The question is: will Obama take action to defeat and drastically reduce the threat of piracy or will he be as weak as Bush? For Obama, the chance for success lies ahead; for Bush, failure is part of his permanent record.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Shit Taco
As usual, the Daily Show nails it:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | M - Th 11p / 10c | |||
| Baracknophobia - Obey | ||||
| ||||
Obama is a traitor
Did you hear about the latest slap on the face of the American people by this fascist Marxist Muslim tyrant Obama? He's getting a Portuguese Water Dog. A Portuguese dog! What's next, cod fish for Christmas?
What's wrong with a good, old-fashioned American dog, like a German Shepard?
(Yes, this was a brief right wing moment).
What's wrong with a good, old-fashioned American dog, like a German Shepard?
(Yes, this was a brief right wing moment).
Friday, April 10, 2009
The party of kinky
Your Republican party: diaper sex, public bathroom sex, underage sex, and now... teabagging.
Heck, I may just switch parties and join them.
Heck, I may just switch parties and join them.
Bow
I have seen the video and the pictures. There's no doubt in my mind that Barack Obama bowed when he greeted the king of Saudi Arabia. Which is, of course, further proof that he's a socialist tyrant who's coming to take your guns away.
There's really only one sensible thing to do in light of this apocalyptic faux pas -- tea bag him!
*yawn*
There's really only one sensible thing to do in light of this apocalyptic faux pas -- tea bag him!
*yawn*
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Socialism: not a dirty word anymore
The enemies of socialism are helping to make socialism more acceptable. Pandagon explains how:
I came up in a world where “socialism” was defined in popular parlance as “liberalism”. Bill Clinton, effectively a liberal Republican, was a socialist. Barack Obama, a moderate Democrat, is a socialist. There’s an actual socialist in the Senate, and yet all the Democrats in the Senate (except Ben Nelson and Evan Bayh)? Socialists.The main people responsible for the embrace of “socialism” are the pro-capitalist conservatives who’ve so diluted its meaning that it’s okay to embrace socialism, because the majority party in the country and our tremendously popular president are socialists.
Good job, suckers.
These days "socialism" is not as dirty a word as "conservatism." But shhhhhh... don't tell conservatives that.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Roger takes on Bill
Roger Ebert has written an open letter to Bill O'Reilly. It ends this way:
When will Bill's head explode? And more importantly, will it be on TV?
Bill, I am concerned that you have been losing touch with reality recently. Did you really say you are more powerful than any politician?Poor Bill. Letterman called him a goon. Think Progress got UPS to stop advertising on his show. He's taken to ambushing people who don't agree with him. Glenn Beck is climbing all over his back. And now Roger Ebert takes the him on.
That reminds me of the famous story about Squeaky the Chicago Mouse. It seems that Squeaky was floating on his back along the Chicago River one day. Approaching the Michigan Avenue lift bridge, he called out: Raise the bridge! I have an erection!
When will Bill's head explode? And more importantly, will it be on TV?
Shut up, Cramer
Just weeks after "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart took Cramer to task for trying to turn finance reporting into a "game," famous bear economist Nouriel Roubini criticized Cramer on Tuesday for predicting bull markets.
"Cramer is a buffoon," said Roubini, a New York University economics professor often called Dr. Doom. "He was one of those who called six times in a row for this bear market rally to be a bull market rally and he got it wrong. And after all this mess and Jon Stewart he should just shut up because he has no shame."
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Left Americans outnumber Right Americans
A new New York Times/CBS Poll has lots of goodies to make a lefty smile. Here's a couple points I really like:
There's no question: America is a left of center nation.Almost three-quarters of Americans think it is a good idea to raise taxes on people making more than $250,000 per year. In fact, two-thirds of Americans think the tax code should be changed so that middle-class Americans pay less than they do now and "upper income" people pay more. [...]
Fifty-seven percent of Americans say they are willing to pay higher taxes in order to provide all Americans with health care coverage.... Asked which domestic policy area the president and the Congress should focus on other than the economy, thirty-five percent said health care, the top choice.
Christian nation
While right wingers are popping veins over Barack Obama saying that the United States doesn't consider itself a Christian nation or a Jewish or Muslim nation (an undeniable fact!), consider this sexual charge:
A Colorado Springs man who narrates the Bible in Spanish on CDs and works in the Spanish broadcasting department of Focus on the Family was charged Monday in Golden on two felony counts of using the Internet to lure a 15-year-old girl for sex, The Denver Post reports.
Juan Alberto Ovalle, 42, was arrested Friday when he drove to Lakewood to meet the girl -- who turned out to be an undercover officer -- after discussing various sexual acts he wanted to perform with her, the Jefferson County District Attorney's office said.
Actually, anyone who interprets the bible literally probably sees nothing wrong about sexual acts with 15 year old girls. Heck, that could be his defense. It probably would work, if indeed we were a Christian nation.
Monday, April 06, 2009
I want to have a beer with Bob
Bob Dylan, that is. His take on president Obama:
He’s got an interesting background. He’s like a fictional character, but he’s real. First off, his mother was a Kansas girl. Never lived in Kansas though, but with deep roots. You know, like Kansas bloody Kansas. John Brown the insurrectionist. Jesse James and Quantrill. Bushwhackers, Guerillas. Wizard of Oz Kansas. I think Barack has Jefferson Davis back there in his ancestry someplace. And then his father. An African intellectual. Bantu, Masai, Griot type heritage - cattle raiders, lion killers. I mean it’s just so incongruous that these two people would meet and fall in love. You kind of get past that though. And then you’re into his story. Like an odyssey except in reverse... Barack is born in Hawaii. Most of us think of Hawaii as paradise – so I guess you could say that he was born in paradise.And Bob talking about the South and why he thinks it's so different from the rest of the country:
It must be the Southern air. It’s filled with rambling ghosts and disturbed spirits. They’re all screaming and forlorning. It’s like they are caught in some weird web - some purgatory between heaven and hell and they can’t rest. They can’t live, and they can’t die. It’s like they were cut off in their prime, wanting to tell somebody something. It’s all over the place. There are war fields everywhere … a lot of times even in people’s backyards.Bob Dylan: The modern day American wordsmith. Indeed.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
It's race, stupid
I agree with Paul Krugman on this:
And who can honestly deny that race is a major reason America treats its poor more harshly than any other advanced country? To put it crudely: a middle-class European, thinking about the poor, says to himself, "There but for the grace of God go I." A middle-class American is all too likely to think, perhaps without admitting it to himself, "Why should I be taxed to support those people?"
Above all, race-based hostility to the idea of helping the poor created an environment in which a political movement hostile to government aid in general could flourish.
And as a result, the present day conservatism movement did flourish.
Saturday, April 04, 2009
OMG
OMG OMG OMG... what is Michelle wearing today? I gots to know!!!
Friday, April 03, 2009
Let's hear it for Iowa
Good news from a Iowa via a state Supreme Court ruling:
Slowly but surely, we're taking America back from the likes of Glenn Beck. Cry, baby, cry. :)same-sex couples in Iowa can now get married under state law. The ruling said that the Iowa statute limiting civil marriage to a union between a man and a woman violates the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution.
The opportunity makes the thief
Hitler Nazis, Lenin/Stalin/Mao communists, and modern day American conservatives (right wingers) are people who across the ages and cultures share the same personality traits. Right wingers, given the opportunity, would be modern day Nazis:
Good thing Sarah Palin doesn't have Bobby Jindal's brains and he doesn't have her looks.
Here are some eerie parallels:This ties with the S.W. Anderson's quote that I posted yesterday: "Sorry, right wingers, but we have more to fear from your paranoia and idiocy than from North Korea’s missile tests." Right wingers really are the enemy within.
- "homeland" and all the imagery connected to it (also prominently featured in patriotic songs)
- Invocation of patriotism, of which there is supposedly never enough
- Glorification of the military while regarding actual soldiers as disposable
- Glorification of motherhood with ulterior motives (the Lebensborn movement got started with homes for unwed mothers to prevent abortions)
- "We" are the good guys, not because of what we do (or don't do) but because we say so
- "We" are superior at anything and everything, again because we say so
- Discrimination against a particular minority is morally justified to preserve national security
- Even though racism and gender discrimination are considered morally right, ideology supersedes racial, ethnic, or gender affiliation. Minority members are tolerated ("We decide who's a Jew") and women can have careers if they are usefull to the party
- A crime or injustice was committed against us, so we must punish somebody, whether they had anything to do with it or not
- If we lose a war, it's the left-wing traitors' fault
- Everybody else is out to get us, and we must get them first
- Messed up grammar and nonsensical sentence structures interrupted by bumper sticker-style slogans. If you ever tried to read Mein Kampf in the original (I don't recommend it), you would be reminded of a Sarah Palin speech.
- speaking of Sarah Palin rallies, need I say more...
The one ingredient that the wingnuts are missing is the personality cult. They simply have not found a charismatic figure to build a movement around. There is Ronald Reagan (a.k.a. St. Ronnie), who is good for mytho-historical legend building, but, being that he's dead, he cannot go out and campaign. What they need is a Barack Obama with a military/war hero background. Alas, the characters they have been trying to sell us have come across as caricatures of what they were supposed to represent.
Good thing Sarah Palin doesn't have Bobby Jindal's brains and he doesn't have her looks.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Right wing paranoia
Right wingers are going nuts with fear. Whether they're predicting concentration camps, fascism and/or socialism coming to America, or the total collapse of our economy, right wingers are working themselves into a frenzy. Heck, Obama gave an iPod to the Queen and Michelle touched her back and if you visit right wing blogs (yes, I do it for fun) you'd think these were gestures that will bring about some calamity to our country.
And they are fretting over North Korea's plans to test a missile. To some of these folks, nothing short of a military strike against North Korea will do.
S.W. Anderson has the quote of the week:
And they are fretting over North Korea's plans to test a missile. To some of these folks, nothing short of a military strike against North Korea will do.
S.W. Anderson has the quote of the week:
Sorry, right wingers, but we have more to fear from your paranoia and idiocy than from North Korea’s missile tests.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
The best April fools joke
The prize goes to the Republican party for their so-called alternative budget:
“If you expected a GOP alternative to the failed policies of the past that got our country into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, then I have two words for you: April Fool’s,” said Kenneth Baer, communications director for the Office of Management and Budget.
