Goodbye Senator Kennedy

Doff your hats. Raise a glass.

Like Biden said, "It was never about him." Kennedy may have had personal demons and crisis over the years, but he was the underdogs' best friend in Congress.

He will be missed.

The health care plan

Had a 70 year old man today tell me that Obama was going to rate his heath by a number. Said that if he could work and be valuable to the country that he would not get good care. Says only the ones who still work and pay taxes will get taken care of. I kept my mouth shut out of respect. I don't understand how he could believe this. Pisses me off that Shawn Hannity would say something like that knowing that it isn't true.

Tonight's Featured Artist-John Coltrain

Here he is with "Afro Blue."

Here's a question for Chatman and other Conservatives-

Why do you think Conservative Media is less corrupting than so called Liberal Media?

I'll update this post with replies.

And the Dumb Ass award goes to...

Army Reserve Major Cook for complaining to a court about a trip to Afghanistan that he volunteered for. And to wrap it up in a patische of birferism is really icing on the cake here.

Greg Skilling: Major Stefan Frederick Cook, USAR

Back to blogging

Sorry folks I've been away. The comp was in the shop for a few days.

It's back and good as new now.

Senator Al Franken is getting sworn in today.

C-Span is about to get good again.

Way to go Al! Make Wellstone proud!

The funniest thing I read all day...

Chatman this morning: "Your problem is your ideology gets in the way of clear thinking. You cant see both sides of an issue and then make a decision. Everything you say is Liberals good, conservatives bad."

I wonder if he saw the title of the blog?

Open thread

Feel free to rant and rave about whatever here.

About Conservatives who whine about name calling.

Chatman in the chatbox utters a common Conservative whine: "1 final statement, this is your site, so i guess its ok for you to resort to name calling, but when a person is right and correct, he doesnt have to lower himself to name calling."


When you're whining about being called names, especially after saying your opponent is-"Either youre ok with raping the 14 year old or your ok with pedophilia."-you've pretty much demonstrated you have zero integrity.

You see this all the time from Conservatives. "You're a baby killer! You're a traitor! You're going to Hell! But don't call me no names you damn dirty lib!"

Conservatives like Chatman are so silly.

Causa Belli

Well they found the 2001 Baker report "Strategic Policy Challenges for the 21st Century." It made the case for going to Iraq to remove Hussein and gain control of Iraq's oil.

TruthOut: Eager to Tap Iraq's Vast Oil Reserves, Industry Execs Suggested Invasion

Before I get the tired ol' wingnut whine: "Again wrong, no American oil company has profited from the war in Iraq."

I already dealt with that here:
Logical Fallacies

Happy 4th of July!

Palin goes down in flames.

Did you know there are Tea Bagger parties going on? No? Well don't feel bad, you can still laugh at the few that showed up.

I hope you have a safe and fun Independence Day.

Sarah Palin resigns as Governor of Alaska

It sounds like it's because of the usual Ted Stevens kind of BS. The contractor that built Wasilla's Sport Complex also built the Palin home.

Stupid is as stupid does I guess.

I ran across a good youtube vid...

...that explains the science behind the Theory of Global Warming.

If you're in the skeptic camp, give a watch and critique it in the comments if you'd like.

Congratulations [once more time] Senator Al Franken

I can't wait to see this guy on the floor of the Senate via C-Span.

The Glenn Beck Show...can it get any nuttier?

It's been a fun week so far for Glenn Beck watchers.

Earlier on Monday Glenn Beck was calling Republicans who voted for the Cap and Trade bill, "Cap and Traitors." The next day-Tuesday-Beck tells (R) Senator DeMint:
"

I will tell you that I -- we discussed this on the radio program earlier today, that, um, a lot of people are calling this, where was it? In the Washington Examiner today. That they -- that people are saying that "Cap and Trade" is "Cap and Traitor". They're actually -- people are starting to view people -- both Republicans and Democrat -- as traitors to the country. Which I think is over the top. That's a very specific definition."

OK so we have Glenn lying like BillO. But then we get this:

Scheuer: The only chance we have as a country right now is for Osama bin Laden to deploy and detonate a major weapon in the United States. Because it's going to take a grass-roots, bottom-up pressure. Because these politicians prize their office, prize the praise of the media and the Europeans. It's an absurd situation again. Only Osama can execute an attack which will force Americans to demand that their government protect them effectively, consistently, and with as much violence as necessary.

Beck: Which is why, I was thinking this weekend, if I were him, that would be the last thing I would do right now.

This is the at least the 3rd time I've seen wingnuts actually hope and pray for another terrorist attack.

And we know why this is...they still think when people get scared, they vote GOP.

My favorite Conservative sex scandal is still...

...Bob Allen.

While he wasn't quite as twisted as Richard Curtis who was caught slapping a male hooker while cross dressed. Bob Allen, who claimed he blew a guy in a bathroom in self defense has an exquisite blend of self loathing and stupidity that trumps the basic and simple hypocrisy of Newt, Vitter and Sanford. His defense certainly beats Larry Craig's "wide stance" denfense for shear chutzpah.


TPM has a nice photo gallery.

Michael Jackson-Dead at 50

My first tape cassette I bought was Thriller. I even had a "Beat It" muscle shirt.

I was reading a DailyKos diary and a commentor said Michael left us a while ago, and I agree with that. But it was great while he was here.

So long King of Pop. Thanks for all the music.

MICHAEL JACKSON - DON'T STOP TIL YOU GET ENOUGH
by hushhush112

Bill Maher has been on a roll lately...

Bill Maher on Real Time last Friday: "We don't need a third party. We have a center right party, and a crazy party. Democrats have moved to the right, and the right has moved into a mental hospital."

Amen Bill.

Open thread

There are lots of things going on...

Iran is messed up. The election was clearly rigged with Mahmoud posting up crazy vote totals in places that were Mousavi strongholds. The only authority that can calm the place will be the religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

David Letterman told a joke about the prima donna of the Yankees A-Rod. Unfortunately for those concerned with news quality it involved a Palin daughter. Governor Palin has used it as an excuse to trot out her youngest daughter so she can smear Letterman as a pedophile.

Right Winger goes crazy...shoots up Holocaust Museum in D.C.

This one was anti-government, hated the Federal Reserve, hated Jews and black people.

Boy that DHS report that got the Tom Sheltons of the world so hot and bothered was really off-base. /snark.

Water is wet, the sky is blue, Bill O' lied again...

Poor BillO must be feeling a bad case of the remorse. You can tell he's feeling guilty because he starts denying objective reality-like what he has said on previous occasions.

BillO is now lying about calling Dr. Tiller, "Dr. Killer." Of course the videotape doesn't lie:

OB-Gyn Doc Killer Whines: [I'm] "being treated as a criminal"

He also whines that it's unfair to call him anti-government when he's really anti-corrupt-government.
Whichita Eagle: Scott Roeder, suspect in death of George Tiller, talks from jail

The guy sounds like a Paultard.

Was Ronald Reegan worse than George Bush?

Guaranteed to make wingnut heads explode-
Alternet story

David Carradine dead at 73.

David Carradine, star in Kung Fu, Kung Fu the Legend Continues and Kill Bill, was found dead in his hotel room in Bangkok, Thailand. The local police are saying Mr. Carradine hung himself. His agent is saying it was natural causes.

Update:
David Carradine was found hanging naked in a closet. He was apparently engaging in erotic asphyxiation.

WTF is the appeal of this tangent in kink?

Did Cheney just admit he lied us into a war?

Cheney: "I do not believe, and I have never seen any evidence, that he was involved in 9/11."

Bloomberg: Cheney Says There Was No Iraq Link to 9/11 Attacks


Cheney, in the lead up to Iraq, was out on Meet the Press peddling the story of Mohammed Atta meeting Iraqi intellegence agents in Prague. He said it was "pretty well" confirmed and now he says he never had evidence. He just made stuff up when he went in front of Russert.

Right Wing anti abortion extremist kills a doctor in Kansas

Wasn't it just the other day that we had a commentator saying the DHS report on right wing extremism was bunk?

Yahoo: Tiller Shooting

This didn't come out of nowhere either. DailyKos assembled a bunch of clips of O'Reilly demonizing Dr. Tiller.

Bill O v Tiller

Tancredo goes projecting again...

Why is it...

...every Conservative pundit that gets waterboarded says it's torture if it ain't torture?

Have a nice Memorial Day week end everyone.

Normally on Memorial Day I write a post thanking the men and women of our armed forces who made the ultimate sacrifice. But I'm heading out of town for the week end visiting family and probably won't have much time for blogging. I certainly welcome one of the contributors putting up their own Memorial Day remembrance post.


I want to wish every one a nice week end and hopefully nice weather for visiting the cemetery on Monday.

Here's one of my favorite logic fallacies from Conservatives.

A poster on NY RnR wrote:

George (Shrub) Bush and Dick (The Terrorist) Cheney planned the invasion and occupation of Iraq in late 2001 and early 2002 as a way to increase their reputation as historic “war presidents”, and to make money for their friends in the oil business.

And a Bushbot defender retorts:

Again wrong, no American oil company has profited from the war in Iraq.

I've seen this one before many times. The wingnut thinking can be broken down thusly:

If there is A (a plan) it will be followed by B (oil profit)

Since there is no B there couldn't be A.

It's called Denying the Antecedent.

Of course it doesn't occur to the wingnut that plans can go awry. And if Iraq isn't an example of a plan going awry, I don't know what is. It's got to be one of the silliest wingnut arguments that was fabricated in the last 6 years.

It's a strange world we're livin' in.

Yahoo: Real Soldiers love their robots

Just in case you missed it, we tortured to find justification for our Iraq invasion.

I haven't seen this story a whole lot in the press. The Villagers on the Sunday talk shows didn't mention it a whole lot. McClatchky broke it:

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration applied relentless pressure on interrogators to use harsh methods on detainees in part to find evidence of cooperation between al Qaida and the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime, according to a former senior U.S. intelligence official and a former Army psychiatrist.

Such information would've provided a foundation for one of former President George W. Bush's main arguments for invading Iraq in 2003. In fact, no evidence has ever been found of operational ties between Osama bin Laden's terrorist network and Saddam's regime.

Report: Abusive tactics used to seek Iraq-al Qaida link

When we talk about how Bush & Co. used torture, the ticking time bomb scenario has no bearing or relevance. They-particularly Cheney-used to torture to get their sadistic jollies off and fabricate fictions to mislead the American public.

Reid Must Go.

I had high hopes for Senate Majority leader Harry Reid. I remember reading an article in the New Yorker about him in 2006. It had some great examples of Reid exhibiting spine. Like this one:

In July of 1978, a man named Jack Gordon, who was later married to LaToya Jackson, offered Reid twelve thousand dollars to approve two new, carnival-like gaming devices for casino use. Reid reported the attempted bribe to the F.B.I. and arranged a meeting with Gordon in his office. By agreement, F.B.I. agents burst in to arrest Gordon at the point where Reid asked, “Is this the money?” Although he was taking part in a sting, Reid was unable to control his temper; the videotape shows him getting up from his chair and saying, “You son of a bitch, you tried to bribe me!” and attempting to choke Gordon, before startled agents pulled him off. “I was so angry with him for thinking he could bribe me,” Reid said, explaining his theatrical outburst. Gordon was convicted in federal court in 1979 and sentenced to six months in prison.

New Yorker: Minority Retort

Time and time again, Reid has refused to weild the power majority status gives him to stand up for Democratic party principles.

The latest BS from the majority leader's office is this:

REID: I'm saying that the United States Senate, Democrats and Republicans, do not want terrorists to be released in the United States. That's very clear.
QUESTION: No one's talking about releasing them. We're talking about putting them in prison somewhere in the United States.

REID: Can't put them in prison unless you release them.

QUESTION: Sir, are you going to clarify that a little bit? ...

REID: I can't make it any more clear than the statement I have given to you. We will never allow terrorists to be released in the United States.

WTF does that even mean?

Look if Reid can't stand up to a bunch of whiney Republicans blanching at the thought of their Cuban gulag getting shut down, he needs to go. If he can't figure out that an American prison in any of our 50 states is perfectly capable of holding bad guys picked up overseas as Gitmo, then he's as dumb as a sack of hammers.

Personally I don't think he's dumb and this is more likely to be a craven attempt at positioning for his next Senate race. But if he's that vulnerable, maybe we need to get someone who feels more secure articulating liberal values.

Hannity figuratively gets smacked around by Jesse "The Body" Ventura

Jesse is doing a much needed public service by rhetorically smacking around Conservatives on the torture debate. He polished off Elisabeth "The Vacuous" Haselbeck on the View and proceeded to take it cross town to Hannity's dive.

Jesse rolls over Sean like steamroller.


Here is more Jesse on torture:

Republicans just can't help themselves.

You know a week ago, the Left was worried that Obama was going to just sweep this whole torture scandal under the rug. There was even polling out showing that Americans were surprisingly permissive about allowing torture. The Republicans were actually winning the debate with the American people.

But then Pelosi categorically denied being told that classical torture techniques like waterboarding was used. The CIA went on the defensive causing a she said/he siad debate. And the Republicans smelled what they thought was blood in the water.

So now they're calling for Speaker Pelosi's head. Which makes it more likely there will be an investigation of House Intelligence Committee briefings and the crime-torture-that is central to all of the allegations.

In other words, this game of political chicken only works to our advantage.

Update:

If I had to come up with a shorter post, I'd say: The GOP is like a guy in a suit covered head to toe in shit. He scrapes off a little of that shit and is throwing it at the chick in a bizness suit.


h/t to Matthew Yglesias.

Tonight's Featured Artists-Gil Scott-Heron

Here he is with "B-Movie." It's a nice commentary on Ronald Reagan.

The Times, They Are a Changing

The further we get into the Obama administration, the more I'm convinced that the country is going through a major political realignment on a scale not seen since at least Reagan's election. Like Reagan, Obama's rise came on the heels of an administration perceived by most Americans to have been a failure in all areas; foreign policy, the economy, and social issues. Also like Reagan's, this realignment will fold out over the course of several years. While I once believed that the prospect of this was more directly linked to how quickly we can dig out of the economic crisis or defeat terrorism (whatever that means), I'm not so sure anymore.

Looking back both at the Reagan and the FDR realignments, the latter being even larger in scale, I see similarities that can likewise be applied to the present situation. Chief among these was the widespread and prolonged misery felt by many, if not most, Americans at the time. While both FDR and Reagan enjoyed overwhelming victories to begin their first terms, the more permanent majorities they inspired were never fully realized until well after they took office. This was largely due to the ease of both of these presidents to attribute any and all bad news to the last guy (or philosophy).

Being able to credibly blame the other side when so many Americans are feeling the big hurt instills political passions that are much more long-lived than those inspired by Clinton's blow jobs or by Newt Gingrich being a big asshole. FDR's "New Deal" era Democrats comprised a political majority that lasted for several decades before they started dying off en masse. As for Reagan's majority, it took three successive administrations, two botched wars, a complete financial meltdown, and a considerable amount of culture-war fatigue before any real number of the "Reagan Democrats" ever came back home.

Judging from what I see so far from the Obama administration, I believe they are quite aware of the above-mentioned historical lessons and are applying them correctly. While I'm beginning to get tired of hearing the word "inherited" so often, the politics behind it is right on the money. I doubt anyone needs me to tell you how pissed off people are at Bush/Cheney right now. If the American public is to be subject to years of additional bad economic news peppered with persistent reminders as to how we got here, a permanent and/or lasting Democratic majority is quite likely. If, on top of that, Democrats can establish a national health insurance company to compete against the private-sector interests and can get the union card-check bill passed, a permanent majority will be practically inevitable.

Pubwoof's Featured Artist - Radiohead - 15 Steps (Scotch Mist)

This video is from the film "Scotch Mist", which is an album-length video of "In Rainbows". Anyone into this band should see it.

I've been totally amazed by these guys for years. Even if Radiohead quits making music right now, I think their body of work now rivals or surpasses that of Pink Floyd, Genesis, or any of the other pioneers of this genre. Rock is not dead yet.

Mr Bold recommends...

"The Great Derangement" by Matt Taibbi.

I just started it, but Taibbi sets it up as an inside look at the lunatic fringe-Right and Left.

The following gives you the flavor of the book:

...You can say a lot of weird shit when you're a Brother in Christ, so long as you don't forget to sing along at the right times.

In that regard, the 'prayer request' [a Pastor John Hagee hotline] I ended up making was for a fictional ex-wife who I said had run out on me. I told my prayer line counselor that my betrothed had thrown me over for a Jewish ACLU lawyer named Schatz--that she had jumped in his Saab and run away with him to Paris, to take the Bateau-Mouche ride she said I could never give her. I further told my counselor that I didn't know what 'Bateau-Mouche' meant, but I knew it wasn't Christian. When I was finished with my story, there was silence on the line for a moment.

'The car was a Saab?' the counselor said finally, with appropriate contempt."

I finished the first chapter. So far it's a fun read.

In today's news: Sarah Palin takes on Crackho.com

It's the Crack ho v the Wasila h.....er nevermind.
HoustonPress Blog

In my short time surfing the Internet[s], I've never seen any good come from people lawyering up over website content.

Texas School Board votes on the age of the Universe

Teh stupid it burns...

16 Enter-One Man Leaves

From DailyKos TV, a mash-up of last week's news.

Advice for Conservative leaders and their base

Dear Conservatives,

I know over the week end you all got together and had a little GOP pizza party. And while it's admirable that Jeb Bush thinks the party may need to start listening more in order to get in touch with Americans again, Rush is right. You all need more Conservatism. Tax cuts forever while advocating for increased military spending is a surefire way to balance the budget.

If you keep on message Conservatives, Americans will eventually see your point of view and agree that yes, money can grow on trees.

Open thread Saturday

Feel free to Rant and Rave about whatever you feel like here-

Today's Featured Artists-The Grateful Dead

Here they are doing "A Touch of Grey."

Witnesses Against Torture was out today in D.C.

Tea baggers pay attention. This is how you protest-

Huffpo footage

Conservative Mule F@!ker is running for office in Georgia

Apparently the Creationist Party has found its candidate for the gubernatorial race in Georgia. And it's an old familiar name: Neal Horsley.

This is the same Neal Horsley that confessed to Alan Combs:

NH: "Absolutely. I was a fool. When you grow up on a farm in Georgia, your first girlfriend is a mule."

AC: "I'm not so sure that that is so."

NH: "You didn't grow up on a farm in Georgia, did you?"

AC: "Are you suggesting that everybody who grows up on a farm in Georgia has a mule as a girlfriend?"

NH: It has historically been the case. You people are so far removed from the reality... Welcome to domestic life on the farm..."

h/t to Underground Examiner Article

As I recall shortly after that Colmes interview, the Army of God folks thought he was too crazy even for them. It's nice that crazy people can find a home in today's world.


Portrait: "Sugarbell" by young Neal Horsley 1962

Breaking: Senator Arlen Specter joins the Democratic Party.

Well it looks like the wacky Republican base drove out another moderate.

Reid welcomes Specter

A thought on "The Constitution Party."

Hmm...I checked out their plank. For a party that calls itself the Constitution Party, they sure sound more like the [Fundie] Bible Party.


It seems the use of the word "constitution" in their name is akin to mainland China calling their country a "republic."

New DNC ad in wake of Tedisco loss...

I'm poppin' the popcorn...

FYI about Tom Shelton and Unicoipolitics

If you've been following StL RnR for a little while, you may have come across a right wing douchebag by the name of Tom Shelton. Being bored one day, I took him to task over this claptrap:

Obama is relying on Trickle Down Economics

It turns out the comments have been deleted. Conservatives just can't handle contrary viewpoints...

Update:

Retracted. The website is now showing all comments.

T.G.I.F.

Boy it was a long week. Torture, hand shakes, the shrieks over the DHS report about white supremacists and violent anti-government types and confusion over plate tectonics made for a fun filled week laughing at Conservatives.

It makes you want to "Just Dance."

Newsflash-you can't be pro-Constitution and pro-Torture.

Convention Against Torture signed by President Ronald Reagan states:

"No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat or war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture" and "an order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture" (Art. 2 (2-3)). "

This treaty was ratified in 1994.

Article 6 of the US Constitution states:

"This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding."

I know Conservatives, being the whiney, emotionally charged infants they are, love to torture people. But it's against the law.

What is the end result

I hear alot of people talking about all of the spending that Obama is doing and everyone seems to think his spending is going to make it worse. I'm curious to know how we can avoid spending. Conservatives say we can but I hear no clear ansewers how. Liberals are in support of Obama, but I haven't heard exactly what the results of all of this will be. I will say that I have faith in the president. I believe him to be genuine and I am excited to see this nation prosper. No matter how, our nation should prosper and anyway that get done what we need to than so be it. But please tell me the long term and short term predected effects on this country by legitament sources.

Call me a silly jingo, but why do Conservatives hate our flag?

Last week Conservatives in government turned the crazy knob to 10 and broke it off. Gov. Perry of Texas and Ron Paul both have said secession is a right states have. The Georgia state legislature actually took a vote on it.

Our flag has 50 stars on it representing each state. Why do they want to change the flag by removing their states from our Union?



A lot of good people died during the American Civil War to keep the Union whole. And now these people who call themselves the "real" Americans want to leave.

That's freakin' hilarious.

Additional-I ran across this quote on C&L:

"A man sometimes starts up a patriot, only by disseminating discontent, and propagating reports of secret influence, of dangerous counsels, of violated rights, and encroaching usurpation. This practice is no certain note of patriotism. To instigate the populace with rage beyond the provocation, is to suspend publick happiness, if not to destroy it. He is no lover of his country, that unnecessarily disturbs its peace. Few errours and few faults of government, can justify an appeal to the rabble; who ought not to judge of what they cannot understand, and whose opinions are not propagated by reason, but caught by contagion."

- Samuel Johnson

Today's Daily Conservative whine: "OMG Obama shook hands with Chavez!"

If you want to know what tomorrow's Conservatives will be screaming about on CL, it will probably be something along the lines of, "Obammy shook hands with the enemy!"



Conservatives with the smarts of say Kissinger no longer exist I'm afraid.

Update Scott Murphy v Jimmy Tedisco

The race in the NY 20 district is almost done. Jimmy Disco filed legal challenges on election day so the courts will still have those to go through.

But the growing consensus is that Murphy is in the lead by a few hundred votes. The overseas military votes didn't break for Tedisco in an appreciable way.

So it's looking inceasing like the GOP is about to chalk up yet another loss.

Teabagging Redux

OK well I just got back from being teabagged by the Right at the NYC event. And I have to say it was a pretty sour and bitter experience. If you think modern Conservatives are clueless online, they're even more so in person.

One nutjob in a suit no less decided to share with everyone his theory about why the gov't doesn't want banks to go bankrupt. It's so the gov't can control them. Someone should tell him that when business go bankrupt, the gov't still takes control. In bankruptcy, the government winds up running the business top to bottom unlike the soft reorganization help the Feds are offering now.

Here's one that outsourced her brain to Rush:


Well obviously we all know that "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" are not actual rights, but Rush and this chick doesn't.

They had around 750 or so show up which is pretty dismal in a city this size. They even had old Mr. BiPartisanship himself speak, Newt Gingrich.

Well I'm glad that silliness is over.

Teabagging.

One of my favorite shows nightly is "Countdown" with Keith Olbermann. Last night David Shuster was the fill in guest. The best part of Countdown for me is the writting of the stories featured everynight. Last night's episode was one of the best written and delivered stories I've heard on a network news program. Thought I would share.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The lead in commentary of the story was just too funny.

The Dick Army comment at 2:30 into the video just killed me.

Hooray the captain is freed, pirates dead.

President Obama authorized a successful Navy Seal operation. The Navy Seals managed to kill 3 pirates, rescue the American captain and even take a prisoner.

The Right Wingers are besides themselves.

In case you get in a fight with one, remind them of how they reacted when the operation doesn't go well like it did for Jimmy Carter.

Another episode of Bold TV

What Conservatism means to me...

And another...

Some light Saturday reading...

I've always seen Thomas Paine as being a patron saint for Progressives. A Kossack, who was flabbergasted at Glenn Beck's use of Thomas Paine thoughtfully linked to this:
Thomas Paine: "Agrarian Justice"

Give it a read.

Cenk Uyger @ The Young Turks: "The opposition is a joke."

And he's right. The Republicans aren't serious about solving any of our nation's problems. They haven't been serious for a long time now.

So disturbing...

I imagine it's a must have in every Galt's Gulch bunker.

Uh oh-Rush get's a hostile call.

Caller says: "You're all brainwashed!"

Exactly. There is some hope for the Republicans yet.

Gunman opens fire in an immigrant education center.

It's too early to speculate, so I'll speculate anyway.

Hostage shootings

The shooter, using the alias Jiverly Voong, lost his job recently at IBM. He's 42 and Vietnamese. How long ago he immigrated here I haven't read yet. But I imagine he's probably been here since the middle of the 1970s. It's a long enough separation between his immigration story, to his allow for a hatred of "The Other." Heck he probably blamed his job loss on outsourcing to India.

So he goes out and kills people that represented, for him, the people he hated.

That's my theory.

Murphy v Tedisco-update

The special election in NY 20th district was yesterday. Right now Missouri native Scott Murphy is about 65 votes ahead. Now it is down to the absentee ballots.

Even as it stands, Murphy ran an amazing race. He was a complete unknown in the district against a career Republican state legislator running a red district.

Tonight's Featured Artist "Alice in chains"

The song "Nutshell" unplugged, from Brooklyn Academy of music Majestic theater.

Michael Steele sez: I'm done" reaching out to Obama.

That's a sigh of relief.

Huffpo reporting

Open thread.

Hoo-ray for Friday!

Hilarious!!!

3PM Or The Exorcist. I Forget.

Drone #1: I had a really disturbing dream last night.
Drone #2: What was your dream?
Drone #1: I dreamed that my grandmother cut off my cat's head and was eating his body.
Drone #2: Oh my god! What were you watching last night before you fell asleep?
Drone #1: The Republican National Convention.

* This bit of comedy stolen from Overheard in the Office.

Today's Featured Artists-Living Colour

Here they are with "Cult of Personality."

And Monica Crowley is a douchebag.

From the files of the American Taliban-Fatwahs are great for us too!

We are indeed witnessing the End of Times for Republicans. After the last eights years of preaching large scale clash of civilizations against Muslims from the Right, they've decided to join them.

First we got a yahoo from Texas, Republican Pete Sessions saying:

"Insurgency, we understand perhaps a little bit more because of the Taliban," Sessions said during a meeting yesterday with Hotline editors. "And that is that they went about systematically understanding how to disrupt and change a person's entire processes. And these Taliban -- I'm not trying to say the Republican Party is the Taliban. No, that's not what we're saying. I'm saying an example of how you go about [sic] is to change a person from their messaging to their operations to their frontline message. And we need to understand that insurgency may be required when the other side, the House leadership, does not follow the same commands, which we entered the game with."

And now the Republicans in California are calling for fatwahs!

Now, at a time when the national GOP is trying to find its voice and cultivate new candidates, California GOP activists have begun engaging in a new pastime: issuing "fatwas" to punish state Republican legislators deemed too moderate on tax issues.

This circular firing squad was on display last week at a "Tax Revolt" rally that drew 8,000 people to a Fullerton parking lot. It was organized by popular conservative talk show hosts John and Ken - John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou of radio station KFI in Los Angeles.

It's always more "insane in the membrane" from Conservatives.

NY 20th NY race: Republican candidate Jim Tedisco says he would have voted "no" on the stimulus.

Jimmy Tedisco dropped the "Republican" identifier from his campaign commercials. I love it when Republicans try to run away from the label "Republican."

Jimmy Tedisco also decided to answer the question: "How would you have voted on the stimulus plan if you were in Congress?" Jimmy Disco has been dodging that question all month. He finally answered "no" to a local reporter.

Considering the stimulus enjoys positive poll numbers, I think this is great news for Scott Murphy.

Did you hear this one?

These two Irish grave diggers, Sean and Seamus, were digging a grave across the street from the local brothel. A little after lunch time, Sean spots a Lutheran minister walking down the street and head into the whore house.

"Hey Seamus," Sean says. "Look at that thieving, lying shameful Lutheran minister goin' in the whore house! If his parishioners only knew."

"Aye if they only knew what that filthy Lutheran was doing in midday, Seamus."

A half an hour later the Lutheran minister leaves the brothel beaming from ear to ear while Seamus and Sean alternated hushed curses of "whore monger, charlatan, servant of Satan..."

A short while later, Vicar Talbot from the local Anglican Church rounds the corner, walks down the street and goes into the whore house.

"Sean...lookie there. That filthy English vicar likes the whores too."

"Oh for Pete's sake Seamus! These false prophets peddling idolatry are surely leading their flock astray If only his parishioners knew what a filthy whore monger he was."

A half an hour later, the vicar leaves the whore house beaming from ear to ear.

"Pederast. Whore monger. Liar." Sean and Seamus curse.

A half an hour later Father O'Shaugnesey, from St. Stephen's, rounds the corner and makes his way to the whore house.

"Seamus, doff your hat." Sean hand over his heart deadpans, "There is a girl a dying in there."

Happy St. Patrick's Eve w/ The Pogues

I'm proposing a new tradition for Boldly Liberal. It's now Irish Joke day. Tell whatever favorite, can be tasteless, Irish joke you got.

Here are The Pogues singing "The Broad Majestic Shannon."

Race to watch-Jimmy Disco vs Scott Murphy

Back in January Governor Paterson of New York appointed Blue Dog Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand to finish out Senator Clinton's term in the Senate. That set up a special election to be held on March 31st.

Gillibrand's district, the area north and south of Albany, leans Conservative. The GOP is hoping a win with their candidate Jimmy Tedisco will signal the high water mark of the left wing tide.

The state Dems, frankly disappointed with Paterson's Gillibrand decision, nevertheless are fighting it out under the banner of Missouri native, Scott Murphy.

Scott two weeks ago was twenty points down in the polls. Now he's closed within 4 points of Jimmy Disco.

Here's some local coverage of the Murphy/Tedisco debate-

Here's your weekly Obama address to the Nation.

He's announcing a new head of the FDA, Margaret Hamburg. She's not a lobbyist but a career government servant.





Competency is so refreshing.

For those that have missed Cramer vs Stewart-UPDATED with last night's video.

I really love this whole story. This is the beginning of the whole smack down. I love Cramers retort. "Stewart didn't show me saying to sell" LMAO. That was after the stock took a major dump. Cramer really has this whole stock Market thing down. LOL



Here is the story from Wednesday night.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Basic Cable Personality Clash Skirmish '09

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

When Mr.Bold post the head to head vid tonight, you will have the whole story up to date.


UPDATED:

Here is the whole Stewart take down of Cramer:

Intro-

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Intro - Brawl Street: Get Ready to Buy Low! And Sell Die

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

Part 1-

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Unedited Interview Pt. 1

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

Part 2-

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Unedited Interview Pt. 2

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

Part 3-

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Unedited Interview Pt. 3

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

Stewart v Cramer

I'm half way through the show. Jon's grilling of Cramer and Wall Street is brutal.

Boooo! Muntadar al-Zaidi gets 3 years for throwing shoes.

BBC is reporting that the shoe thrower got a sentence of 3 years from an Iraqi judge. His lawyers plan to appeal.

BBC: al-Zaidi

Hey why didn't anyone tell me there was a 2 minute hate propoganda program for Liberals?

The lads over at American [barely a]Thinker think they see parallels between Orwell's 1984 and the Obama administration:

Obama's purpose should have been obvious. For the past eight years, the Democrats have made intense and persistent use of the Two Minute Hate technique that George Orwell described in Nineteen Eighty-Four...

rush_limbaugh_and_the_two_minute_hate

This is great news! I've been looking for a good radio or Tee-Vee program that whips up hate against Republicans, much like what Michael Savage and Rush Limbaugh do for the GOP. Who oh who is the propigator of the two minutes of hate for Left?

Let's see....*skims American Thinker article*...1st para...2nd para...13th para-

No one! The wingnut doesn't cite a single lefty source of this steady stream of hate.

*sigh* Well as soon as the Thinker finds one, I'll let you all know so we can tune in.

Updated:

For those logicians out there, American Thinker's argument breaks down thusly:

Big Brother used 2 minutes of hate programming to control populace-

Unnamed, unknown, uncited liberal hate programming turned the population away from Bush.

ZOMG we're living 1984!

cross posted @DKOS

Introducing Boldly Liberal 4.0

I decided to switch background colors because the other was a pain in the butt to color match with the various embedded content. I changed the layout a bit too.

I'm liking the Disqus system. I know we've had posters here who do not like to give an email address, but honestly it's time to open a junk hotmail or yahoo account if you don't already have one. One big advantage of Disqus is you can track posters' comments across multiple blogs much like facebook. The only downside that I've discovered, thanks to Ufologist, is the inability to edit comments that have been replied to.

Open thread

OK give Disqus a try.

Tuesday open thread

You can rant and rave about whatever you'd like to here.

BTW I'm testing the Disqus commenting system. I've seen it on Jeffrey Feldman's site, TheFrameShop and at www.cl-morans.com and liked what I saw.


Updated:

OK I ditched the Disqus system because it doesn't allow anonymous comments.

Hey Grandpa, what did those Hoovervilles look like?

Well they looked a lot like this:

Tonight's Featured Artist-Horatio Lee Jenkins

Here he is with "Drunker Than Satan."

Obama overturns the GOP stem cell research ban.

Yup that's another promise kept.

Tonight's Featured Artist-Outkast

Here they are with "The Whole World."

Have you noticed there's a lot of shrieks of "class warfare!"?

I ran across good article by Jonathan Chait at The New Republic: wealthy-idiots-meet-idiot-reporter.




Here's a helpful graph to shut up the shriekers.


via John Cole at Balloon Juice

Oh look-a German kid is smarter than the fundie adults.

Scenes from California's Prop 8 battle-

Prop 8 hearings are going on in California

via my facebook page. Apparently CNN is streaming it live.

Take a break for some Fear.

Thanks for Adding me

I appreciate being selected to contribute to this blog. I look forward to checking out the site and posting on a few issues that I have with our current situations. Once again, I thank you.

Republicans can't tell the truth from the bullshit anymore.

This is too funny-

Met with Republican Rep. Mary Bono Mack from Riverside County's Coachella Valley. While a social moderate, Sonny Bono's widow is a solid conservative. Talked to her about Obama's $780 billion stimulus legislation. She's outraged that the plan has "$1 billion wasted on a magnetic-levitation train from L.A. to Sin City" - all at Nevada Sen. Harry Reid's doing.

After expressing my doubt that the Las Vegas line was actually in the bill's language, Bono Mack directs her staff to "get him the bill, it's right there, show him." A few minutes later, a staffer emerges with a copy and quietly says "it's not in the bill."

www.marinij.com/opinion

That's what happens when you outsource your brain to a drug addict.

via TheDailyKos.

Should we ever take seriously what a rightwinger thinks?

Over at the Daggatt blog, they compile a lot of quotes which points to no.

Daggatt: 1993 Budget Act

Steele puckers up to kiss Rush's butt. I would have guessed 48 hours.

Steele now says:

“I went back at that tape and I realized words that I said weren’t what I was thinking,” Steele said. "It was one of those things where I thinking I was saying one thing, and it came out differently. What I was trying to say was a lot of people … want to make Rush the scapegoat, the bogeyman, and he’s not."

“I’m not going to engage these guys and sit back and provide them the popcorn for a fight between me and Rush Limbaugh,” Steele added. “No such thing is going to happen. … I wasn’t trying to slam him or anything.”

Politico.com reporting

Too late...

Yeah, we're a center right nation...right.

And if you believe that, I got this bridge connecting Manhattan to Brooklyn to sell ya'.

The Sarge weighs in on Rush

I don't understand where this dude is coming from. Even though the muck is flying around, I have never once here any liberal say "I hope Bush fails." For him to come out on TV and say he hopes Obama fails seems to be very low. If our president fails, we as a country fail because he is our most noticeable representative. We have to give this man the benefit of the doubt that he is genuine. We have to let his plan for America progress and see where it goes. And American who hopes he fails, should develop a loyalty for their country, and not a political party.

The Sarge-
abreathoffreashair

Mr Bold adds-
Well for you to say "I have never once here any liberal say "I hope Bush fails." with all the liberals I know you've heard from, I'll take it.

I've never said "I hope Bush fails" either. Now I know I've said, "Bush is fucking up.", but that was a call for alarm. The Democratic Party worked with Bush and demonstrated a willingness to compromise that we have not seen at all from the Republicans.

Do you know a Birther? Here's a way maybe to talk to them.

A Birther asks on NYC's RnR page:

Why all the mystery? Why doesn't the State of Hawaii order its Department of Health to allow a public vieiwing of Obama's original birth certificate or registry of birth? They are only creating doubts by evading public scrutiny. If his birth on American soil is not in question, perhaps they are trying to conceal something else such as a different paternity. Don't Americans who elected him have a right to know for sure?

A New Yorker responds:

I have a family member who suffers from bi-polar disorder. During one of her psychotic phases, she kept insisting her next door neighbor had killed people and had stashed the bodies in his utility shed. I called her shrink and asked him if it would be okay if I proved to the patient her delusions were in fact delusions. The shrink said go ahead, but that her delusion would merely transform to some new related delusion. I made contact with her neighbor, told him the problem -- he was very understanding -- and I took the patient for a tour of the utility shed. We looked through bags of straw and fertilizer and behind the riding mower. No dead people. Later I asked the patient if she now understood the neighbor had not killed anyone. She said her neighbor had not kept the dead bodies in his utility shed, but had in fact buried them in the nearby park. Do you see where I'm going with this?

Steele stands against Rush...

Let's see, he called Rush's speech "ugly" and "inciendiary." I love these Freudian slips!

Updated-

Anyone want to bet how many days will pass before Steele is on Rush's show kissing his butt?

Mr Bold's dad recommends, T-99

He just saw these guys in Amsterdam. Here they with "The Sun."

Tonight's Featured Artist "Anthrax"

Here they are doing "ONLY" My favorite tune from them.

Bobby Jindal busted for lying.

You remember that nice little story ol' Bobby Jindal told us about Sheriff Lee and the rescue boats? Turns out that was bullshit.


What's funny is that it was central to Jindal's premise, which I guess, is the government is the problem, never a solution. And Bobby felt he needed to lie to make the case.


TPM: Jindal admits lying

Ya' know Bobby Jindal, now that you bring up those volcano detectors...

...I wonder what they, the dead at Pompeii, would say about it. It's all fun and games until that natural disaster comes calling right?

Hmmm....this puts a nail in the "blame the victim" argument from the GOP-

FBI saw growing fraud

I luvs me some freepers...

From SolidWood at Free Republic:

...I agree that his age, 38, may be a disadvantage at this point in his career, but he has a great future ahead of him. As my tagline suggests, IMO there are three bright lights in the Conservative movement today :
*BOBBY JINDAL* SARAH PALIN * ERIC CANTOR *. If you can find me a good solid Conservative Republican who actually has experience, and has a chance to get elected, I will support him or her.

Freeper-Jindal/Palin flame war

Two of those bright lights don't even believe in evolution. And Cantor's big idea is to imitate Newt Gingrich-a guy who resigned in disgrace.

I am so looking forward to 2010 and 2012.

TGIF open thread

This a free rant and rave thread to post on. Write about whatever you feel like.



Updated:
Alan Keyes goes Wingnutty!!!

Meanwhile at the RNC, Steele says they need to be more "hip hop."

NYTIMES:Steele says "fo shizzle we need rizzle"

“We want to convey that the modern-day G.O.P. looks like the conservative party that stands on principles,” Mr. Steele said. “But we want to apply them to urban-suburban hip-hop settings.”

Sure that's the problem-MARKETING!


Updated:

Check out the new blinged out RNC logo! Word to the G-Oh-P beeyotches!



h/t KingOneEye on DailyKos

Let's talk about it: The NY Post's [dumb racist] chimp cartoon

Yesterday, the NY Post ran a cartoon of police shooting a chimp with the caption "they'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill".

Um, what does Travis the chimp have to do with the stimulus bill? Did he have some input into it? I must've missed that memo. Or are they trying to say that the stimulus package was written by a chimp? Can chimps even write?

OR are they insinuating that our President is a chimpanzee? Is he hairy? Does he like to swing from trees? I did not notice- maybe I missed that memo, too?

OR is the NY Post staffed by a bunch of hillbilly racists? I think thats the most likely reason this piece was ran and it makes me SICK. I am sick not only that someone would draw such an offensive cartoon but also sick that it got approved by the editors and publicists and anyone else who saw it before it hit the presses.

Yes, racism is alive and well in the United States and it makes me sick to my stomach and embarrassed to be an American.

Am I wrong? Can this "cartoon" be anything other than racist? Is there some correlation between Travis the Chimp and the stimulus bill????????????????

IS THERE ANY OTHER EXPLANATION????

Mr Bold adds-

The NY Post is a Rupert Murdoch rag, and he can't give that crap away. No really. I get hit up for a free month of daily propoganda from these people at least once a week.

The cartoonist, Sean Delonas, has a history of tacky cartoons that only racists and homophobes could love.
GLAAD:NY POST PUBLISHES YET ANOTHER GRATUITOUS VULGAR ANTI-GAY CARTOON


And this might be a good time to review "How To Tell People They Sound Racist."

Featured Artist: Magnetic Fields

This is one of my favorite songs. Enjoy!

Check this out-

Bored? Have a lot of questions about the economic crisis we're living through?

*pops popcorn*

Frontline:Inside the Meltdown

A word about political correctness...

I just read a good comment at SadlyNo! and thought I'd share:

Seriously, and this goes for every two-bit “comedian” who pisses and moans about “political correctness” when no one laughs at their fag jokes, if it’s too hard for you to work around basic human decency - which is still a fairly new concept - maybe you should move into a new line of work. Fuckin’ crybaby.

Matt T.

I feel the same way. Every time I hear someone bitching about political correctness and then I ask them, "What don't you think you can say?" and they proceed to tell some lame ass joke that predates women's suffrage.

I'm glad these idiots are getting more and more marginalized.

It's a hump day open thread ya'll.

You can rant and rave about whatever you want to here.

Suggested topics for discussion-

Was Hitler really breast fed past toddler stage?

What's the most effective way to get a teenage boy's mind off of sex and into school work?

These are just some of the burning topics demanding discussion. Goofiest comment should get a reward.

It should...didn't say it will.

Maybe you missed this first time around...

Here's an article with some age on it, but it is still relevant to understanding the Conservative mentality-
CommonDreamsStudy of Bush's Psyche Touches a Nerve

This was written before I started really surfing the web.

Senator Kit Bond-what an asshole.

Kit Bond on 02/10/09-

“Unfortunately, this bill stimulates the debt, it stimulates the growth of government, but it doesn’t stimulate jobs,” Bond said. “More important, it doesn’t provide the basic need we have in this country to deal with the problems we have in the home industry and the credit market.”

DailyJournalOnline

Senator Kit Bond subsequently voted no the bill.


And now today:

“This is the type of emergency stimulus spending we should be supporting – programs that will create jobs now and help families,” said Bond."

Kit Bond-press release

I guess voting against a bill is how Republicans support the bill. As I said before, Conservatives just love this country to death.

Mr Bold's music choice-Ini Kamoze

Here he is with "Here Comes The Hotstepper." Feel free to shout out whatever artist you want to share next.

Tales from the American Taliban

Did any of you hear this story?

BELFAST, Maine — James G. Cummings, who police say was shot to death by his wife two months ago, allegedly had a cache of radioactive materials in his home suitable for building a “dirty bomb.”

BangorNews article

He was a Conservative so upset that Obama won that he decided to build a dirty bomb with all the radioactive do-dahs and do-hickies.

I can just imagine this guy. He was probably one of those self described self made Conservatives who railed against the welfare state and earned all the money he got. Of course in reality all his money came from daddy-

Cummings grew up in California and lived in Texas before moving to Maine in August 2007. Although Robbins said Cummings told him he made his money in Texas real estate, it appears that the actual source of his wealth was a trust fund established by his father, a prominent landowner in the Northern California city of Fort Bragg. An Internet search of the James B. Cummings Trust indicated that it has an annual income of $10 million.

Conservatives-they love America to death.

Happy 200th Birthday Charles Darwin!

200 years ago today Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury England. His idea, that nature through selecting of mutations for reproduction is responsible for the biodiversity we see today, has become the foundation for modern biology. And he managed to piss off the people I like to piss off, the Xian fundies, for a hundred years.

From the BBC-

It's an open thread ya'll

Feel free to rant and rave about whatever...

OK I might have been wrong about this...

When the RNC picked former Lt. Governor Steele from Maryland to head the RNC, I thought, "Hey they did something smart for once!" Out of all the choices they had running, Steele came off as the most sane and nicer of the candidates. I've seen Steele on Bill Maher, where although wingnutty, he seemed good natured.

Well I don't think being good natured can overcome this kind of wingnutty:

STEELE: You've got to look at what's going to create sustainable jobs. What this administration is talking about is making work. It is creating work.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But that's a job.

STEELE: No, it's not a job. A job is something that -- that a business owner creates. It's going to be long term. What he's creating...

HuffPo: steele-confuses-stephanopolis

Our federal government employs 2.7 million people which included at one point RNC Chairman Steele.

Tonight's Featured Artist-Lilly Allen

Here she is doing "The Fear."

h/t to TREX

Is Joe the Plumber the Ted McGinley of American Politics?

Let's hope so. Because like every sitcom that Ted McGinley shows up on, Joe's patrons seem to get canceled too.

Joe showed up for McCain. Canceled.

Joe showed up for PajamasTV as a war correspondent covering Gaza. Gaza over. PajamasTV sucking and shedding viewers fast.

Joe just signed on for spinning the stimulus package for the GOP. Will that mean the end of the GOP is nigh?

Need a laugh?

Here's the story of a wingnut who went on a hunger strike because of Obama-
bjkeefe: no-one-could-have-predicted

Well Blago is gone...alas the circus is over.

The last two weeks has pretty much removed any doubt that the man is certifiably insane.

Pubwoof's Featured Artist - Mr. Scruff

I thought I'd share this one because it's Mr. Scruff and because it has donkeys partying. I like the visual. Enjoy!

Check out Team Coleman...

In case you hadn't heard, Coleman has taken Franken to court over the recount. Yesterday Coleman's legal team turned in evidence that had been written on, redacted and edited without the changes even being noted.

TPM: minnesota-election-judges-toss-colemans-faulty-evidence-tell-him-to-try-again

Dispatches from the "War Intra-GOP" or WIG.

Looks like the tax cutters have won. I guess we should have seen that coming. Honestly it's all they seem to know. They cut taxes in good times and bad times. It's like they don't actually care about the affects of tax cuts on our budget and economy. They just want more tax cuts.

As thereisnospoon noted at DailyKos there are 3 types of Republicans left:

Residual racists uncomfortable with any portion of their tax dollars going to blacks or Hispanics, and desirous of indiscriminately killing any ethnic or religious group around the world who makes them fear for their safety;

Religious fundamentalists furious that women may be having sex without the appropriate "consequences", and terrified that gay people might "recruit" their children if allowed to live out their lives in open happiness; and


Super-wealthy families desperate to keep their 8-figure incomes untouched by the nasty hands of the same "big government" that provides the services and protections upon which they so heavily depend.

The racists and fundies are just too dumb to recognize the only group getting what they want are the super-wealthy families.