Friday, August 31, 2012

Mitt's Mendacity, Cont.


Fresh off his convention fail, another pack of lies from the lying lie-hole of Willard "Mo' Shambles" Romney, as dutifully chronicled by Steve Benen. It's all there -- from the "stimulus didn't create jobs" to the "Obama apology tour" to the "Obama doesn't have a jobs plan" to his lies about Medicare -- all the favorites repeated over and over by this pulse-less turd.

We want this S.O.B. beaten so badly in November that he can't show his lying face in public for years.

Romney: Less Substance Than Clint Eastwood's Empty Chair

Weekend Song

Always loved this song (especially the bridge). If you have about 30 minutes and want to see what a great live band the Beatles were, check this out. Enjoy your weekend!

Rubio's Oops Moment

Except for the keen eyes and ears of our Phoenix Bureau Chief, AZ Gail, no one seems to have caught a big goof by Sen. Marco "Polo!" Rubio in his speech last night. Instead of saying, "We chose more freedom instead of more government," he said just the opposite. Check out this video, and skip to the end at about 16:55. Message failure. BWAHAHAHA!

Rethug Convention Cartoon of the Day

(click to enlarge)

Money and lies. That's the ticket.

The Bad, The Worse, and the Ugly

From all accounts, the last night of the Rethug convention was a whole lot less than successful. The major networks limit their coverage to a critical primetime network hour, in which the candidate is introduced and speaks. (Even more critical given that Wednesday night's cable viewership of the convention was surpassed by "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" a show on TLC). Last night, the campaign team of plutocrat humanoid replica Willard "The Common Man" Romney committed political malpractice, allowing in prime time another self-promoting Rethug (in this case Sen. Marco "Polo!" Rubio) to fluff himself for 2016, and scheduling the "performance" of octogenarian Clint "Deadwood" Eastwood, which was breathtaking in its vulgarity and incoherence. Talking to an empty chair seemed to suggest that Deadwood's verging on senility.

Willard's campaign missed the opportunity of showing a national audience a slick film about their candidate's life, and testimonials from "average" Americans about how The Common Man would make such a fine President by ensuring the gap between the middle class and the 1% continues to increase. You could sense in the random remarks this morning by the usual political pundits and Willard's surrogates (including Queen Ann herself) that the campaign goofed up in its scheduling and staging on the final critical night.

(photo: Either Deadwood's trying out for the role of Elwood Dowd in a revival of "Harvey" or he's missing a few bullets in his gun)

BONUS: How tweet it is:

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Quote of the Day: Giving Away the Game Edition

The demographics race we’re losing badly. We’re not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business for the long term.” -- Sen. Lindsay Graham (Rethug-Cradle of the Confederacy), in the Kaplan Daily (our emphasis). But we're sure your party will keep trying for as long as it can.

DNC Batting 1 for 2 on Catholic Benedictions

Reports are that Network's Sister Simone Campbell (of Nuns on the Bus fame) will be giving the benediction to the Democratic National Convention next week, the night before (WTF!?!) Cardinal Timothy Dolan (of Pedophiles Anonymous) will be giving his benediction to the Convention. Dolan, of course, is giving the benediction to the Rethug Convention tonight, so it raises questions in our minds why would the Democratic Party want to give this slug a place of honor at the podium given the giant carbuncle he's been to the Obama Administration on contraception and same-sex marriage? As Andrew Sullivan rightly pegged him, he's the Republican Party's Cardinal, a "Catholic pol." Was Pat Robertson not available? James Dobson?

Anyone who's heard the great Sister Simone would know you don't need any one else blessing you, least of all Dolan. I can't wait to see the reactions of the Democratic delegates when he slips in a few lines about contraception and traditional marriage. Rest assured the media will have their cameras in the delegates faces to record the scowls and raspberries. Makes for great counter-messaging, dumbass DNC!

"Legitimate Rape" by the Rengade Raging Grannies



(h/t P.E.C.)

Lyin' Ryan's Tales of Deceit

How can we summarize the endless series of tall tales, half-truths and outright lies that emanated from the lineup of Rethugs and their VP candidate Paul "Lyin'" Ryan's speech last night? From the attempts to disguise their reactionary agenda on the economy, women and the environment, to little details, the Rethugs and their VP choice were in tip-top form last night. As Hunter from the Daily Kos notes about Lyin':
"We were then treated to a very special performance from the greatest bullshit artist in politics today, and therefore not coincidentally the special honoree of the evening, one Paul Ryan. Think a young, crooked Nixon channeling the theories of Ayn Rand, putting it through the sausage grinder of Orwell's worst fears, and delivering it with the smirking assurance of a Baghdad Bob. Obama closed a GM plant in Janesville, he snarled, not mentioning that the time-traveling plant had shuttered before Barack Obama ever entered the White House."
The lies are spelled out further in this account. Worth a read to understand what the President and Dems are up against: a Rethug ticket and a party unafraid of boldly lying to the public, backed by hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign funds, much of it unaccountable.

Stewart's and Colbert's One-Two Punches

Comedy Central's coverage of the Rethuglican convention is the best antidote to the fawning, predictable nonsense peddled by Beltway political press corps. Last night was no exception.

First, Jon Stewart clobbers a main theme of the Rethuglican convention that's built on a clear falsehood: that President Obama doesn't believe small business people "built" their businesses.

The Daily Show with Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c
RNC 2012 - The Road to Jeb Bush 2016 - We Built It
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire BlogThe Daily Show on Facebook

Next, Steven Colbert lands an uppercut with a nice dissection of the nutty Ayn Rand philosophy that VP nominee Paul "Brown Nose" Ryan adheres to.

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Ayn Rand & Paul Ryan
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire BlogVideo Archive

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

They're Loaded, So Why Do They Hate America?


From ABC News:

"Gov. Mitt Romney’s campaign toasted its top donors Wednesday aboard a 150-foot yacht flying the flag of the Cayman Islands.

"The floating party, hosted by a Florida developer on his yacht “Cracker Bay,” was one of a dozen exclusive events meant to nurture those who have raised more than $1 million for Romney’s bid.

"The event, attended by no more than 50 people, along with Romney relatives, including older brother Scott, appeared on no public calendars. ABC News obtained a schedule of the Romney campaign’s 'Victory Council' and waited dockside to speak with members.

“'It was a really nice event. These are good supporters,' said billionaire Wilbur Ross, an energy industry executive." (our emphases)

Today's Read

Harold Meyerson asks of the New Confederate/Rethuglican Party:
"But how is it that the South has come North in today’s GOP? The fact that Barack Obama is our first black president coincides with the United States’ transformation from a majority-white nation to a multiracial country no longer destined to remain the world’s hegemon. Augmented by an intractable recession rooted in a crisis of capitalism, this epochal shift has summoned the shades of racial resentment. To the extent that Republicans can depict government as the servant of this rising non-white America (precisely the purpose of Romney’s ads), the South’s antipathy toward government can find a receptive audience in other regions."

Meyerson traces the links between the Old South of Jim Crow, racial resentment, and Christian fundamentalism to today's New Confederate/ Rethuglican Party with its old, white core. When you see those Romney/ Rethug ads on welfare, entitlements, and scope of government, apply Meyerson's analysis and you'll understand why we see this as one of the most cynical, dishonest, racist campaigns in our lifetime. Lee Atwater would be so proud of Willard.

Gov. Krispykreme's Fired Up


"Hey, come back here with that box of doughnuts."

BONUS: Krispykreme-related headline of the day (with apologies to Clint Eastwood's flick): "The Outlaw Jersey Whale"

BONUS II: Times Krispykreme used the word "I" in his keynote speech: 32. Times Krispykreme used the words "Mitt Romney" in his keynote speech: 7.

Give Up Your Seat Tweet of the Day

Newsweek's Michelle Goldberg points out a classic example of Rethug behavior at their "pro-life" event:


Mid-Week Caboose-Shaking Song

Exactly 50 years ago this week, Little Eva's "The Loco-Motion" hit #1 on the Billboard charts. Written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, the song's pulsating rhythm made it one of the top dance tunes of the '60s (interestingly, the re-released song hit #1 in China in 2001). As Little Eva says,
Do it nice and easy, now, don't lose control:
A little bit of rhythm and a lot of soul.
So come on, come on, do the Loco-motion with me.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Quote of the Day: Fact-Checking Edition

"...[T]he Romney campaign continues to pose a test to the news media and our political system. What happens when one campaign has decided there is literally no set of boundaries that it needs to follow when it comes to the veracity of its assertions? The Romney campaign is betting that the press simply won’t be able to keep voters informed about the disputes that are central to the campaign, in the face of the sheer scope and volume of dishonesty it uncorks daily." -- the Kaplan Daily's Greg Sargent today.

Crime Blotter: Pickled Prelate Edition


Reported without further comment:
"The Roman Catholic archbishop-elect of San Francisco was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence, San Diego police said Monday.

"The Rev. Salvatore Cordileone, a vigorous supporter of California’s same-sex marriage ban, was taken into custody after being stopped early Saturday at a checkpoint near the San Diego State University campus, said Detective Gary Hassen, a police spokesman. He declined to comment on whether Cordileone took a sobriety test." (our emphasis)

(h/t TBogg)

(Photo: Hmmm. Maybe we better see what's burning inside that censer, too.)

Cartoon of the Day - Rethuglican War on Women, Convention Edition

(click to enlarge)



(Ben Sargent, via gocomics.com)

Willard to Coal Miners: "You've Got a Great Boss"


At a photo-op campaign stop in Ohio coal country, Willard "Mr. 1 %" Romney spoke in front of an assembled group of coal miners and commenced to relate on a human level:
"You've got a great boss, he runs a great operation here."

Yes, yes, a great boss and great operation... Hmm, what? He did what? The "great boss" made the miners' attendance mandatory, and refused to pay them for the lost work day?! YES!! Now that's a GREAT BOSS... by Willard's standards!

(Photo: "I'm a great boss, aren't I my good man... a little more shine or there's no tip... well, aren't I?")

Krispykreme To Willard: Fuggettaboutit

It's funny that Rethug convention keynote speaker, and man with his own gravitational field, NJ Gov. Chris "Krispykreme" Christie apparently turned down Rethug nominee Willard "Lubricated Weathervane" Romney's VP slot. The story comes from no less a reliable rightwing source than Rupert "Aargh" Murdoch's propaganda rag, the New York (com)Post. It looks like Krispykreme decided that Willard's chances in November weren't looking so good, and that he'd bide his time until 2016 and keep his Governor gig. That'll give him time to pack on another 100+ pounds of bullying blubber to throw around when insulting his constituents.

(photo: He's cranky when he hasn't eaten in 3 minutes)

Rethuglican War on Women, Cont'd.

If anyone thought Todd "I'm Achin'" Akin's views were an aberration in the Rethuglican / Stag Party, you'd be wrong. A nut ball Rethug teabagger by the name of Tom "Rapists Are Daddys Too" Smith is running for the Pennsylvania Senate seat now occupied by Dem Sen. Bob Casey, and he's here to tell you that a child conceived in rape is pretty much the same as a child conceived out of wedlock (except for, you know, the...um...RAPE) because there's a daddy involved.

Smith's remarks couldn't have come at a worse time for the Rethugs, who are in the process of crowning a busily Etch-A-Sketching Willard "Mr. Mo' Shambles" Romney. Willard is trying to hide his radical positions (and those of his running mate) on women's issues after the Akin debacle last week, hoping that the undecided voters (especially women) won't notice. Too late, the secret's out, and the members of the Stag Party will continue to step on their dicks message because it's in their nature.

BONUS: And, unfortunately for them, it's written in their party platform for all to see.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Quote of the Day - Rethug Race-Baiting Edition

Chris Matthews on "Morning Joe" delivering a smack-down to smug Rethug National Chairman Reince "Prepuce" Priebus on the Romney campaign's birfer/ welfare race-baiting:
“You can play your games and giggle about it but the fact is your side playing that card. When you start talking about work requirements, you know what game you’re playing and everybody knows what game you’re playing. It’s a race card and yeah, if your name’s Romney, yeah you were well born, you went to prep school, yeah, brag about it. This guy has an African name and he’s got to live with it. Look who’s gone further in their life. Who was born on third base? Making fun of the guy’s birth certificate issue when it was never a real issue except for the right wing.”

Going down this road seems to be the latest strategy for Willard's desperate campaign. He needs to get the low-information white working class voters to line up behind the despicably and demonstrably false ideas that Obama is somehow "foreign" and giving away the store to "welfare queens." It's "Willie Horton" and the Southern Strategy 3.0. Coupled with their efforts to suppress minority voting in a number of key states, the Rethuglicans appear to be going all-in on their cynically race-based, win at all costs plans, with a cowed media dutifully issuing cautions about "tone" and "civility," while reporting from the sidelines that "both sides do it."

BONUS: What Michael Tomasky says.

Republican Women for Obama

We don't think the Etch-A-Sketch is going to work with these women:

Puppet Show Cartoon of the Day

(click to enlarge)


Sunday, August 26, 2012

Rump Bumped

Birther buffoon and hair weave model Donald "Rump" Trump has been dropped from the Rethuglican Convention's compressed schedule, due to Hurricane Isaac's approach. Rump was promising to give a "big surprise" (hint: Mr. Obama, you're fired! Hardy har har.) to the Convention's low-information wing nuts on Monday, and now it looks as though he'll have to save that gem for another day.

Rump and Willard are an odd couple, despite both being born with silver spoons in their mouths. Rump is coarse and thuggish, while Willard is devious and calculating. But, as crass opportunists, they've found common cause in advancing the interests of the one percent over those of the middle class.

Deflating Ryan's Budget Proposals

Former OMB Director Peter Orzag delivers a point-by-point rebuttal to the Beltway media's mistaken view of Rethuglican VP nominee Paul "Lyin'" Ryan's budget proposals as bold and honest. Referring to his deficit reduction plan as a "Potemkin village," Orzag goes on to demonstrate how Lyin's budget proposals would undermine the middle class, explode the deficit and introduce more uncertainty into private sector decision making, among other bad things. Which is why Willard's campaign is busy trying to Etch-A-Sketch it away.

"The Do-Over"



BONUS: MoDo at the NY Times thinks it's too late for Mr. Shambles.

Crist Endorses The President

In an op-ed piece today in the Tampa Bay Times, former Rethug Gov. of Florida Charlie Crist endorsed President Obama for re-election. Crist was on Sen. John McNasty's short list for VP in 2008, but was by-passed for that most excellent choice, half-term / half-wit Gov. Sarah "The Winker" Palin.

Crist hammered the Rethuglican Party as extreme, saying:
"..an element of [the Republican Party] has pitched so far to the extreme right on issues important to women, immigrants, seniors and students that they've proven incapable of governing for the people. Look no further than the inclusion of the Akin amendment in the Republican Party platform, which bans abortion, even for rape victims.

The truth is that the party has failed to demonstrate the kind of leadership or seriousness voters deserve."
The Crist endorsement is important in Florida, not only because he is still popular among moderate voters in Florida, but because he can articulate what's wrong and destructive with the agenda of the party he was once a key figure in.

BONUS: Willard's still having problems with his farther-right -- Ron Paul is saying "I don't fully endorse him for President."

Ignorance and Extremism on Parade


Dana Milbank on the Rethuglican platform:
"Taken as a whole, the platform makes the Republican Party appear angry, inward-looking and more than a little paranoid. No less a Republican than Reince Priebus, the national committee chairman, tried to insulate the party’s nominee from the GOP’s own policies. 'This is the platform of the Republican Party,” he told MSNBC. “It’s not the platform of Mitt Romney.'”

No wonder the Rethug hierarchy and Willard's campaign want to keep the platform under wraps as much as possible and distance themselves from it: it's a petri dish of extreme right-wing conspiracies ("Sharia law"), nostrums (tax cuts for the wealthy, gold standard, creationism), and small-bore meanness (no abortion exceptions for incest, rape or health of the mother, self-deport those undocumented immigrants) that are more 1812 than 2012. It's up to the Democrats to lay this out for the American people over the next 2 months, and not let Willard slither out of complicity with its authorship.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Official Vehicle of the Rethuglican Convention

Ladies and gentlemen, the latest in Nipponese "poop-powered" technology, the Toto Motorcycle Toilet -- official vehicle of the Rethuglican National Convention, where there's an endless source of fuel:


It's a sweet -- er, well... it's a ride.

(h/t Tokyo Bureau Chief)

Neil Armstrong


Astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first person to land on the Moon, has died at age 82. The Apollo 11 mission commanded by Armstrong landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969; it was Armstrong's last as an astronaut. After a career at NASA, Armstrong became a professor of engineering at the University of Cincinnati. Armstrong had suffered from heart ailments in recent years.

Along with much of the world, the young Hackwhackers were glued to the t.v. late that night, when Armstrong uttered his immortal words upon setting foot on the Moon: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for Mankind."

Armstrong's family issued a statement, which read in part:
"For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request: Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink."

Cartoon of the Day: Blowing Hard in Tampa

(click to enlarge)



(Dana Summers, Orlando Sentinel, via gocomics.com)

Wanker of the Week


Rethuglican stenographer and Wanker Emeritus Mark Halperin, for this both-sides-do-it gem regarding Willard "Romney Hood" Romney's birfer "joke":
"The level of vitriol and personal animus that exists on both sides over the flap is truly discouraging."

Yes, outrage over birferism is equal to the racism and ignorance of birferism itself! What's truly "discouraging?" Wankers like Halperin being given credence and a public platform.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Birfers Speaking at the Rethuglican Convention


Willard sure knows his lizard-brained base. Courtesy of Think Progress, here are some of the "birfers" speaking at the upcoming Rethuglican National Convention in Tampa (God willing, and the creek don't rise):
"1. Donald Trump. The famed billionaire/birther king Donald Trump has been the most vociferous — and most closely connected to Romney — person alleging that the President wasn’t born in the United States.

"2. Actress Janine Turner. The Northern Exposure star who has her own conservative radio show wrote a long screed titled 'Reasoning "Kenyan Born."' In it, she complains that anyone who questions the president’s citizenship is deemed a racist: 'If this were a legal case in court, [Obama's] book bio stating that Obama was "born in Kenya" would be taken into consideration.'

"3. Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens. During a town hall captured on video (at 3:5), Olens said, 'You know the state of Hawaii says he’s produced a certified birth certificate… so on one hand I have to trust the state of Hawaii follows the laws. On the other hand it would be nice for the President to say, here it is, I have a copy.'

"4. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. On one radio appearance during Huckabee’s bid for president, the former governor said, 'I would love to know more [about where Obama was born]. What I know is troubling enough.' He later walked back the statement.

"5. Florida Gov. Rick Scott. In 2010, the Orlando Sentinel reported than an audience member at one of Scott’s campaign events asked 'what he would do about President Obama’s "birth certificate" and whether he could legally appear on the 2012 ballot in Florida.' Scott responded, 'I’ll have to look into it.'

"6. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA). The Vice-Chairman of the House Republican Conference once told reporters 'Oh, I’d like to see the documents.'

"7. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. Jindal was willing to sign a 'birther' bill into law. It would have required all presidential candidates to release their birth certificate in order to qualify for a spot on the state’s ballot."

It's a stunning commentary on the American polity that this party of stupid and/or deeply cynical dumbasses runs the U.S. House of Representatives and is within reach of the White House and U.S. Senate.

Mitt's Mendacity, Cont.


Another week, another laundry list of lies from the lie-hole of entitled plutocrat Willard "Birfer Boy" Romney, from lies about his taxes, to lies about his tax policy, to lies about Obama's welfare policies, to lies... oh well, you get the idea. The man is a lying asshole, not to put too fine a point on it. The lies are getting so tedious, repetitive and pervasive that it's gone from being somewhat farcical to downright sickening.

But, in the interest of chronicling this very public, ongoing display of sociopathic behavior for posterity, we will continue to hold our nose while Willard's grows.

Weekend Rethuglican Convention Song

What better song as the theme for the women's-rights-and-ladyparts-challenged Rethuglican Party and its National Convention starting in a few days (Wrath of God notwithstanding) than the Rolling Stones' misogynistic classic, "Under My Thumb"? You're welcome, Rethugs!

Har-Har, Romney Goes Birther, Numbnuts Overjoyed

It's why we call them Rethugs, part 26,497:



Fact: Not only was he born in Michigan, but Willard was also born with a silver spoon up his ass! Har-har!

The leader of the Rethuglican Party, Pill Popper Oxycontin Rush Limpballs peed himself in excess excitement at the birfer joke. (We're still awaiting birfer dildo "Rump" Trump's supportive message.)

Recommended Obama comeback: "No one's ever asked for my tax returns!"

Your Rethulican Convention Cartoon Trifecta

(click to enlarge)





(Top to bottom: Jim Morin, Lisa Benson, Mike Luckovich, via gocomics.com)

Romney As "Leader?" Not So Much


Charles P. Pierce today on the meme the Rethugs are anxious for the media and the public to buy into: Willard "Romney Hood" Romney, Leader of Men:
"In Massachusetts, he tried to lead the Republican party to a larger presence in the state legislature. It lost seats instead, after which Romney pretty much gave up leading the state entirely, except for a whole passel of vetoes that he cast with 2008 in his eyes that the legislature laughingly overrode. He was as much the passenger as the driver on health-care, and that doesn't matter because he doesn't want to talk about it any more. He tried to lead the Republican party in 2008, and the result was that he was hotly loathed by every one of the other candidates. This time around, he was gifted with more money than several gods, and a Republican primary field that had gone completely to the zoo, and he still wound up being led around on a leash by every crackpot in his base. There is not a single principle that he held while running in Massachusetts that he still maintains today. In his political career, he has shown every sign of someone who does not lead, but is led."

Reminds us of the t-shirt captioned, "I'm Their Leader, Which Way Did They Go?"

(Photo: Work those mom jeans, Mittens, work 'em!)

Thursday, August 23, 2012

"Catholic Pol" to Offer Benediction at Rethug Convention


Look for this over-stuffed slug (left) to give the benediction one night at the Rethuglican National Convention (unless an Act of God intervenes -- hee-hee). That would be pedophile protector Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. Here's Andrew Sullivan's take on the "Republican Party Cardinal:"
"And make no mistake: Dolan is an old-school Catholic pol - a figure who approved payments to molesting priests to expedite their firing, brazenly lied about it, then ran away abroad when the press demanded an explanation. His most important issues are criminalizing abortion, stripping gay couples of any civil legal protection, and making sure that non-Catholic employees of Catholic hospitals and schools be denied access to insured contraception. That he is saying the benediction for a ticket that explicitly endorses a priority for the super-rich over the working poor and views illegal immigrants as beneath contempt also tells you a lot about Dolan's priorities."

In other words, he's just the kind of pol-in-a-pulpit that should shame anyone calling themselves Catholic.

A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall

Today's update: Tropical Storm Isaac is relentlessly making its way toward the Florida coast, threatening at least two days of the Rethuglican National Convention (allow us a little Schadenfreude: bwahahahaha!). We obviously don't wish harm on anyone, whether involved in the convention or just private citizens. But anything (most particularly an "Act of God") that disrupts the plans of the Rethugs to "tell their story" is just too deliciously ironic for words.

Smoking Guns?


Gawker's John Cook reports on a trove of information they've uncovered concerning Willard "Offshore Mitt" Romney's elaborate gyrations to avoid paying a fair income tax on the bazillion dollars he has parked in various account in the Cayman Islands:
"Mitt Romney's $250 million fortune is largely a black hole: Aside from the meager and vague disclosures he has filed under federal and Massachusetts laws, and the two years of partial tax returns (one filed and another provisional) he has released, there is almost no data on precisely what his vast holdings consist of, or what vehicles he has used to escape taxes on his income. Gawker has obtained a massive cache of confidential financial documents that shed a great deal of light on those finances, and on the tax-dodging tricks available to the hyper-rich that he has used to keep his effective tax rate at roughly 13% over the last decade." (our emphasis)

If there was ever any wonder why Offshore Mitt didn't want anyone looking through his tax returns, this information might explain why Willard and his fellow plutocrats are so eager to change the subject: they don't want people focusing on the fact that they're playing with rules they fixed while the middle class is getting poorer and poorer.

Bill Clinton on Obama's Plan to Rebuild America

The Big Dog speaks:



BONUS: You can check out Greg Sargent's analysis of the ad here.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Mid-Week Song

"The 15th" is a song by the influential English punk/post-punk group Wire, released in 1979 (although it sounds as if it could've been released last week). Enjoy.



(h/t San Francisco Bureau Chief)

Stormy Weather

The Rethuglican convention begins next Monday in Tampa, and there are big storm clouds on the horizon -- in addition to the ones generated by their insanely reactionary positions on women's issues. Hurricane Isaac is tracking westward through the Caribbean and may strike the Tampa area early next week, forcing Rethug delegates out of Tampa strip clubs to modify their convention schedule.

While the hurricane won't be anywhere near a Katrina-type category 5 event, it would be amusing to see stranded Rethug delegates, their convention hall surrounded by water, waving white hankies to hovering Gummint rescue helicopters.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

The Most Honest "Romney" Ad You'll Ever See



(Credit: Hugh Atkin; h/t Shakespeare's Sister))

The Dangers of Concealed Carry to One's Ass

Based on a true story, republished in its entirety (well, except for the hilarious picture) from Jesus' General (warning: remove all liquids from your mouth before reading):

"Well-Regulated Militia Hero Goes NRA, Sacrifices Buttocks to Save Picture Show Patrons

"No name is given for the well-regulated militia hero who drew down on a potential perp at a Sparks, Nevada picture show, so we'll call him 'Cletis Sump.' As a licensed concealed carry permit holder, Brother Sump packs heat where ever he goes. He was doing just that last Friday, when he and his wife, OfCletis, went to see 'The Bourne Legacy' for date night.

"Details about what happened that night are sketchy, but I believe it went something like this.

"Brother Sump's junebug senses began tingling the moment he entered the picture show. Something about the crowd seemed kinda off, even kinda funny. He was glad he was packing ol' sheila, his 9mm "confidence enhancer" in his jacket pocket.

"As Brother Sump bent over to ease himself into the picture show chair, he spied a reflection in a puddle of co-cola left over from the previous showing. The image he saw horrified him. It looked like a denim hoodied, hairy-faced, cola-complected man with a scar, no a deep cleft that evilly bisected his face from where the chin should be, all the way up the the hairline.

"Startled, Brother Sump reached for Ol' Sheila but was too late. His 9mm confidence enhancer had fallen from his pocket and was dropping to the floor. It fired when it hit, shooting 115 grains of wadcutter ecstasy out of the muzzle of is long, rigid barrel. No one knows where the round eventually landed, but, coincidentally, a 115 gr. 9mm wadcutter round, probably shot by the cleft-faced perp, wounded Brother Sump in the buttocks, just below and to the right of where his jeans bisected the glorious man-crack that identifies him as defender of the Heartland.

"The perp got away, but Cletis Sump is no less a hero. The blast of Ol' Sheila surely frightened the cleft-faced killer before he could harm anyone else."

Even after the Aurora tragedy, this numbnut no doubt saw himself as a potential hero/ protector of the theatre crowd and ended up having someone dig his bullet out of his ass.

Cartoon of the Day: Rethuglican War on Women

(click to enlarge)



(Clay Bennett, via gocomics.com)

Rethugs "Akin" to Ban Abortions, With No Exemptions


Proving that amateur gynecologist and (still) Missouri Rethug Senate candidate Rep. Todd "My Ass Is Really" Akin is in the mainstream of the Rethuglican Party: the 2012 Rethuglican platform is set to include a plank endorsing an extremist position outlawing all abortions, with no exemptions for incest or rape. And you thought they couldn't get any crazier...

UPDATE: Another example, as if more were needed.

UPDATE II: And another.

"4 More Beers!"

President Obama treats at the Iowa State Fair:

Monday, August 20, 2012

Lyin' Ryan Video of the Day

Hat tip to our Milwaukee Bureau Chief for this example of Rethug VP Paul "Lyin'" Ryan's dishonesty; here, it's a lie about the closing of an auto plant in Janesville which was actually on Dumbya Bush's watch, not President Obama's.

Rep. Todd Akin Lady Parts Diagram

Here's a helpful scientific diagram to explain what Rep. Todd "My Ass Is Now" Akin (Rethug-MO) was talking about:


(h/t @balthan, via Balloon Juice)

Ohio's Voter Disenfrancisement


Franklin County (OH) Rethuglican chairman Doug "Jim Crow" Preisse doesn't think its "fair and reasonable" if too many blahs vote:
"I guess I really actually feel we shouldn’t contort the voting process to accommodate the urban — read African-American — voter-turnout machine. Let’s be fair and reasonable."

The point we've made before - that Rethuglicans don't believe in democracy (i.e., one man, one vote) - continues to be reinforced by stumblebums like Preisse.

(PHOTO: Doug Preisse (jump, please, jump!))

Cartoon of the Day: No Fair Fighting Back!

(click to enlarge)



(Mike Luckovich, via gocomics.com)

"Dirtiest Campaign Ever?" My Stars...No


Please read Blake Zeff's piece at BuzzFeed on three misconceptions about the relative "dirtiness" of the 2012 campaign. The pearl-clutching from the usual both-sides-do-it suspects (eg., Kaplan Daily's Dan "No" Balz, every "mainstream" new anchor and correspondent, and the raft of examples in Zeff's piece) invariably focuses on the trivial event, which is first seized upon and amplified by the media, then used by the same media to tut-tut the "negativity" and "triviality" of the campaign. But, let a truly negative, misleading attack occur on a more substantive issue, well, let's let Zeff tell us:
"When candidates attack the opponent on dogs or tax returns, the negativity refs get their backs up and blow the whistle. But distort the other’s position on, say, welfare, or Medicare, and there’s typically less condemnation. Look at the stories linked to in this article, for example, and you’ll see far less (if any) umbrage taken toward policy deceptions, as if the fact that it’s a policy 'debate' automatically makes it a high-minded discussion."

We have yet to see a sustained takedown in the media of Willard "Romney Hood" Romney's blatantly false ads accusing the Obama Administration of robbing Medicare of over $700 billion, or of the fraud that is the Romney/ Ryan/ Rethuglican "budget plan," or of the systematic attempts to suppress the right to vote of Americans inclined to vote Democratic. Of course, should we ever see such takedowns, they will have to be balanced by "both-sides-do-it" examples for the Democrats.

BONUS: Charles P. Pierce amplifies and expands on what the Rethugs are about, and how the fearful media play into their hands.

BONUS II: E.J. Dionne chimes in.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Quotes of the Day

Why We Call Them Rethugs Div.:
"First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” -- Missouri Teatard/ Rethuglican Senate candidate Rep. Todd "My Ass Is About To Be" Akin, to KTVI-TV in an interview posted Sunday. This is the kumquat the Rethugs want to send to the Senate to write laws governing women's health issues.

Why We're Proud to be Democrats Div.:
"Governor Romney’s is a sort of guy, David, that you’d never want to play pickup basketball with. He’s always fouling and he’s always crying foul." -- our Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-MD) to Dancin' Dave Gregory on Press the Meat today perfectly describing the entitled prick's attitude toward criticism.

UPDATE: The kumquat's views aren't out of what passes for the Rethuglican "mainstream," it turns out. Last year, he and fellow gynecologist Rep. Paul "Forcible Rape" Ryan sponsored legislation to re-define rape.

Ryan Was For Stimulus Before He Was Against It

Rep. Paul "Lyin'" Ryan is turning out to be as big a hypocritical flip-flopper as his running mate, Willard "Romney Hood" Romney. Here's Chris Hayes with a blast from Ryan's past, where he declares "Stimulus good" (as long as it's a Rethuglican President asking for it -- he wouldn't want to help a recovery under a Democratic President, of course), after the unavoidable ad:

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

Sour Musical Notes


Soon to be appearing at the Rethuglican National Convention: Kid Rock(head), and the remnants of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Now, if they could just get varmint gourmet Ted "My Gun is My Manhood" Nugent, stone-stupid Hank "Are You Ready for Some Nutball" Williams, Jr., and brain-fried birther and black helicopter spotter Dave "Megashit" Mustaine to join in, they'd have a helluva (bad) wingnut band. Call them The Knuckledraggers.

Letters We Wish We'd Written Dept.

From today's Kaplan Daily "Letters to the Editor":
"Michael Gerson ['Following Ryan’s map,' op-ed, Aug. 14] had an interesting take on what will characterize the political debate: 'The Democratic ticket will go small, detailing how Ryanism will hurt this group and that.'

"That seems likely, but it helps to do some math. The groups in question are, in no particular order: racial and ethnic minorities; women; veterans; gay men and lesbians; people with disabilities; the poor; federal employees; teachers; and more. When you add up all these groups, you get a big group. A very big group. I think that qualifies as going 'large.'

"Meanwhile, Mr. Gerson asserted, Republicans will go 'large' by 'arguing that budgetary indiscipline creates uncertainty that undermines current growth, while eventually leading to fiscal crisis and economic catastrophe.'

"One can’t argue with the Republican Party’s expertise on this front. It has undeniable credibility on that scenario, having walked the walk during the George W. Bush administration. Fiscal crisis and economic catastrophe indeed. I can live without trying on the Republican brand’s 'large' again, and so can most of those small groups that make up America.

John Allison, Williamsburg"

That's Mr. Allison, 1; "Mushroom Cloud" Gerson, 0.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Pennsylvania's Voter Disenfranchisement

The New York Times:
"[Rethuglican] Judge Robert Simpson of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania seems to assume that legislators have a high-minded public purpose for the laws they pass. That’s why, on Wednesday morning, he refused to grant an injunction to halt a Republican-backed voter ID law that could disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of poor and minority state residents in November. [snip]

"There is no evidence that Judge Simpson contorted law and precedent to reach his conclusion. He even described Mr. Turzai’s comment* as 'disturbing' and 'tendentious.' But his ruling, in a case brought by potentially disenfranchised voters, is a clear and disturbing illustration of the way Republicans have manipulated legislation for their own ends, placing a veneer of civic responsibility on a low-minded and sleazy political ploy."

*"Mr. Turzai" is Pennsylvania Rethuglican House Majority Leader Mike "Turd" Turzai, who said, "Voter ID, which is gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania, done.” The entire editorial is worth a read.

Scary


The Onion's Paul Ryan: "Admit it, I scare the ever-loving shit out of you, don't I?"

Yes. Yes, you do.

(Photo: He's coming to get you.)

Cartoon of the Day: The Rethuglican Ticket

(click to enlarge)



(Matt Davies, via gocomics.com)

Saturday All-Rethugs and Ryan Reading

Culling from a slew of options today, we offer you some of the best:

-- Charles Blow on the despicable Romney/ Ryan/ Rethuglican campaign;

-- Matt Miller on exposing Paul "Brown Nose" Ryan as a phony fiscal conservative;

-- Lisa Miller on Brown Nose's Catholic/ Randian problem; and

-- Paul Krugman on who Willard was really targeting in picking his Brown Nose, and more on the fakery of the Ryan/ Romney/ Rethug "budget plan."

That should keep you rascals busy for a while.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Mitt's Mendacity, Cont.


This week's list from Steve Benen totals 33 lies emanating from the lie-hole of reliable liar Willard "Mendacious Mitt" Romney. There are so many egregious lies, so many distortions, so much evidence that Willard thinks the American people are just bone-deep stupid (well, we know his base is), that it's hard to pick a "worst." Anything smokescreening the Rethug plan to dismantle Medicare will do for a start.

We also now have the Ayn Rand acolyte, Paul "Lyin'" Ryan to keep up with, and look he's pumping the lies out as fast as his lips can move.

Pussy Riot Sentenced

Russian feminist rock trio (ahem) Pussy Riot has been given a 2 year sentence for "hooliganism," stemming from their anti-Putin performance at the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow. While defense lawyers promised they'll file what will almost certainly be a hopeless appeal, one of them, Mark Feygin, indicated the trio would not be cowed, saying "Under no circumstances will the girls ask for a pardon (from Putin). They will not beg and humiliate themselves before such a bastard."

And Putin's "managed democracy," which is neither managed nor a democracy, rolls on.

On Romney/ Ryan's Tax Plan and Medicare





Please consider donating to the Obama campaign (www.barackobama.com) and/or to Priorities USA Action PAC (www.prioritiesusaaction.org).

Weekend West Coast Song

To mark Brother Hackwhacker's trip to California to check in on the Santa Barbara Bureau Chief, here's the quintessentially Californian Mamas and Papas with their quintessentially Californian song, "California Dreamin'". I'll be California dreamin' this weekend. (Is that enough California references for ya'?) Enjoy.

The Ultimate Deception

For decades, conservative Rethuglicans have wanted to dismantle Medicare and let seniors fend for themselves in the private health insurance market, and that's the basic gist of Paul "Brown Nose" Ryan's plan for vouchers. Now that they're in general election mode, the right-wing Rethugs are pulling a 180. Steve Benen at the MaddowBlog continues:
"In 2012, once we get past all of the talking points and attack ads, we're left with this: Romney/Ryan wants you to believe they're the liberals. No, seriously. Think about what the Republican presidential ticket, Fox News, Krauthammer, Donald Trump, and the Republican National Committee have been saying all week: those mean, rascally Democrats cut our beloved Medicare and voters should be outraged.

In other words, the argument pushed by the most right-wing major-party ticket in a generation is that Barack Obama is a left-wing socialist who wants government-run socialized medicine and that Barack Obama is a far-right brute who wants to undermine government-run socialized medicine."
This will only work if the public's gullibility is greater than its awareness of actual Rethug policy. Dems need to keep calling them out on their lies.

Cartoon of the Day

(click to enlarge)


The faux outrage coming from Willard "Romney Hood" Romney's campaign and friends in the media over the Obama campaign's tough but fair attacks needs to be exposed as a cynical campaign tactic to "recalibrate" the general media to see any attack on Willard -- no matter how accurate and relevant -- as "hateful" or "divisive." Weird Willard wants to cruise to November without discussing his budget plans, agenda or tax returns, because he wants to play by his own rules.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Once Again Willard, Prove It

Plutocrat and reliable liar Willard "Trust Me, I'm Wealthy" Romney wants you little folks to know he's checked and, yes, he's always paid his taxes, so move along, move along:



The Obama campaign responds:
"Mitt Romney today said that he did indeed ‘go back and look’ at his tax returns and that he never paid less than 13% in taxes in any year over the past decade. Since there is substantial reason to doubt his claims, we have a simple message for him: prove it. Even though he’s invested millions in foreign tax havens, offshore shell corporations, and a Swiss bank account, he’s still asking the American people to trust him. However, given Mitt Romney's secrecy about his returns, coupled with the revelations in just the one return we have seen to date and the inconsistencies between this one return and his other financial disclosures, he has forfeited the right to have us take him just at his word."

And Sen. Reid office responds:
"We'll believe it when we see it. Until Mitt Romney releases his tax returns, Americans will continue to wonder what he's hiding. Romney seems to think he plays by a different set of rules than every other presidential candidate for the last thirty years, all of whom lived up to the standard of transparency set by Mitt Romney's father and released their tax returns."

The ball's still in your court, Willard.

The Douche Luvs Him Some Paul Ryan

Media Matters has a funny clip of "Fux and Friends" nimrod Steve "The Douche" Doocy positively gushing over Rethug VP pick Paul "Brown Noser" Ryan's bod. This is par for the course at Fux, where they've pulled out all stops in praising Brown Noser to their wingnut audience. The Douche just has one of the more obvious and silly man crushes.

It reminds us of their treatment of the 2008 pick of snowbilly grifter Sarah "Mama Fizzly" Palin, who gave some right wing fanboys "starbursts." We know how that brilliant choice...er, fizzled with the general public, and now the Rethug apparatus has excluded her from their Convention later this month.

(photo: If marriage equality were law, maybe The Douche could get his man)

Wingnut O'Keefe Loses Round in Court

Right-wing dirty trickster James "G. Gordon Diddy" O'Keefe loves to dress up and videotape encounters with his political enemies, and then selectively edit them to put the worst face on his victims. He did that with ACORN and with National Public Radio's VP Ron Schiller, he tried it with CNN correspondent Abby Boudreau, and he famously was caught trying to tap the phones of Dem Sen. Mary Landrieu. He got 3 years probation and a $1,000 fine for that last one. Reading about this low-life's activities can make you angry and nauseous at the same time.

Yesterday, a Federal District Court Judge denied G. Gordon Diddy's motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by one of his ACORN victims for breach of privacy. As is his style, Diddy posed as a pimp trying to get information on tax rules so that he could smear the community activist organization. He was sued for disseminating an edited video of the conversation, which he promised to keep private. We'll see where the case leads when it's heard in October, but the days of Diddy's producing vile propaganda pieces for the far right are getting numbered.

(photo: G. Gordon Diddy in his Sunday best)

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Colbert on the Ryan Pick

Stephen Colbert covers the "Brown Nose" Ryan pick (yeah, pun intended), including plutocratic gaffe-machine Willard Romney's botched introduction (around 1:05), the media's tongue bath of Romney's "bold" choice (around 2:20), Romney and Ryan as the Ambiguously Gay Duo (around 4:35), and how failed VP hopefuls were told they weren't selected by brave Willard (starting at 5:00).

Breaking News From The Onion

The Rethugs' new dynamic duo says they're on the same page concerning their approaches to Medicare and the budget, but you can't tell from what they're saying. Well-lubricated weathervane Willard "Etch-A-Sketch" Romney recently said he didn't embrace every detail of his running mate's reactionary budget proposal, but couldn't identify any differences with his own proposal. Willard, of course, earlier called extremist Paul "Brown Nose" Ryan's budget "marvelous", but now wants to distance himself from it but doesn't know quite how. That would indicate they haven't sorted out which lies to tell about their real plans yet.

In this confusing environment, maybe we'll see Brown Nose attacking Willard's record as Governor....oh, wait, The Onion already has the story.

Mid-Week Birthday Song

Yesterday was musician David Crosby's 71st birthday. An original member of the seminal folk-rock group The Byrds, and of the first American supergroup Crosby, Stills and Nash (later adding Neil Young), Crosby's beautiful tenor always soared. Here's one of CSN's best songs from some years back, "Wasted on the Way."
"So much love to make up
Everywhere you turn
Love we have wasted on the way

So much water moving
Underneath the bridge
Let the water come and carry us away"

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Awkward Plutocrat Picture of the Day

(click to enlarge)

"Hello, my good men. I appreciate your warm welcome. I had my dungarees pressed just for this occasion. You know, my company owned a coal mine once, but we had to fire ... oh, never mind."

(photo: S. Loeb, Getty Images)

Suggested Reading

Here are some worthy articles you might have missed in the past few days that are worth taking a look at:

-- Michael Grunwald on 5 myths about the stimulus. Think about these every time you see a Romney/ Rove ad about the "failed stimulus" and its "wasteful spending."

-- Ezra Klein on the Romney/ Ryan Medicare budget fraud. Recall Klein's explanation of how, when you hear Romney/ Rove attack Obama's proposals cutting Medicare funding by $700 billion, the Rethugs plan to cut the same amount, but in a way that would shatter the system.

-- Matt Miller on Ryan's radical budget plan and the disconnect in the fawning media narrative.

-- Lest you think it's only progressives carving up the Rethuglican/ Ryan budget, check out what St. Ronnie of Hollywood's OMB Director, David Stockman, thinks about Brown Noser's handiwork. It's not pretty.

Drivers' Seat Cartoon of the Day

(click to enlarge)

(Rob Rogers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Flop Sweat In Rethugland

Despite the fawning praise that Social Darwinist and zombie-eyed Congresscritter Paul "Brown Noser" Ryan has received from our pathetic political press, Rethuglican political operatives are very worried that his selection as VP running mate to Willard "Romney Hood" Romney may prove to be an epic disaster. Check out some observations from this report:
"Away from the cameras, and with all the usual assurances that people aren’t being quoted by name, there is an unmistakable consensus among Republican operatives in Washington: Romney has taken a risk with Ryan that has only a modest chance of going right — and a huge chance of going horribly wrong.

In more than three dozen interviews with Republican strategists and campaign operatives — old hands and rising next-generation conservatives alike — the most common reactions to Ryan ranged from gnawing apprehension to hair-on-fire anger that Romney has practically ceded the election.

(snip)

And the more pessimistic strategists don’t even feign good cheer: They think the Ryan pick is a disaster for the GOP. Many of these people don’t care that much about Romney — they always felt he faced an improbable path to victory — but are worried that Ryan’s vocal views about overhauling Medicare will be a millstone for other GOP candidates in critical House and Senate races.

(snip)

They’re worried about inviting Medicare — usually death for Republicans — into the campaign. They’re worried it sidetracks the jobs issue. They’re worried he’ll expose the fact that Romney doesn’t have a budget plan. Most of all, they’re worried that Romney was on track to lose anyway — and now that feels all but certain."
Let's hope so, but the Dems need to press, and press, and press the issue that the Rethug ticket is the most radical, reactionary ticket since Goldwater in '64.

Monday, August 13, 2012

The Campaign Thus Far

... as filtered through the parallel Earth theory.

(click to enlarge)


What Are You Hiding, Willard?


The topic of plutocrat shamble-maker Willard "Romney Hood" Romney's tax returns came up in a couple of interviews yesterday. Romney Hood can't seem to explain why he wants to see several years of his running mates' tax returns, but doesn't want the public to see his own. As many have noted, whatever is in those returns must be more damaging than the public's growing impatience at Romney Hood's arrogant refusal to release them. That's why he'll keep digging in his heels, and why the Obama campaign and the broken media, if they find spines, need to keep pressing him.

Getting To Know You

The political "journalism" world is busy building up the biography of Ayn Rand apostle and Rethug VP pick Paul "Lyin'" Ryan in a "fair and balanced" way, of course. They're trying to read the tea leaves (no pun intended) about why Lyin' was Romneybot's choice. Well, here's a funny fact about Lyin's high school days at Janesville, Wisconsin's James Craig High School that might provide a clue: in his senior year in 1988, Lyin' was chosen as the seniors' "biggest brown-noser." Mystery solved.

(click on this photo, and check out the third "award"...BWAHAHAHA)


Sunday, August 12, 2012

Athletes To Be Proud Of

The 2012 Summer Olympics ended this evening in London, with a spectacular entertainment finale featuring some of the international stars the UK has produced. For U.S. athletes, the Olympics were a triumph, with the U.S. winning a total of 104 medals (46 gold, 29 silver, and 29 bronze), the most of any country, followed by China (87 total), Russia (82 total), and the UK (65 total).

What stood out in this Olympics was the dominance of U.S. women athletes, from gymnastics, to soccer, to basketball, to swimming, to track and field and more. They did the U.S. very proud, accounting for 56% of the medals (Chinese women also accounted for 56% of the medals for their country).

The London Olympics were a great success all around: the UK, Londoners, athletes, tourists, viewers. No "disconcerting" events, aside from international gaffe machine Willard "Mr. Mo' Shambles" Romney's attendance, or incidents to mar the 2-week Olympiad. As the Brits would say, "well done."