Have A Blast Cartoon of the Day

(click to enlarge)

Texas secessonist Rethuglican and future Just For Men spokesman Gov. Rick "Hair" Perry loves to trumpet his administration's aversion to gummint regulations and taxes.  When the West, Texas fertilizer plant blew up, killing 14 and injuring scores more,  Gov. Hair seemed to be at a loss to explain how his brand of small gummint squared with public safety and disaster-avoidance through sensible regulation and oversight.  Maybe we should let this nimrod self-secede.

(cartoon: Rob Rogers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, via GoComics.com)

Why, Mr. President, Why Why?

Daily Kos has a running account of this morning's press conference with President Obama here.  Several topics were raised by the thundering herd, and we'll do a short version of the questions below.

Press:  Why haven't you launched a full out attack on Syria?  Why aren't you following President John McCain's lead; also, red line, red line!  Why, Mr. President, why why?

Press:  Everybody knows you were made King in November, so why haven't you made the sequestration go away by waving your Excalibur sword?  We know Republicans aren't to blame.  Why, Mr. President, why why?

Press:  Detainees are on a hunger strike at Guantanamo, so why haven't you fed them and closed it?  Aren't you King?  Why, Mr. President, why why?

Press:  Max Baucus, the greatest Democrat ever, is saying implementing Obamacare is a disaster.  Why didn't you listen to Baucus and go with a public option...oh wait, never mind.  Anyway, why, Mr. President, why why?

Despite these most excellent questions from the shiny object-chasers, the President was knowledgeable and fluent, and acquitted himself well, even giving a parting shout out to NBA player Jason Collins, who became the first active player in a major sport to announce he is gay.

(image:  White House correspondent in action.  Please don't feed him.)

Quote of the Day

"The Republican party exists today on a foundation of empowered ignorance and weaponized paranoia, and what party leaders there are know it, and they have shown no indication that they're going to do anything substantive to change it."  -- Charles P. Pierce, today.  See what's the latest Rethuglican ignorance and paranoia Mr. Pierce is pointing to,  here.

Rethugs Paying Price for Backing NRA

There are some interesting polls out there confirming the fact that several Rethug Senators are feeling the heat after voting against background checks for gun sales.  Among the Rethugs seeing double-digit drops in their approval ratings are Sens. Ayotte (NH), Flake (AZ), Murkowski (AK) and Portman (OH).  Alternatively, Rethug Sen. Pat "Sock It" Toomey (PA) has seen an increase in his popularity following his co-sponsorship of the background check legislation.

Gone were the days when the National Rifle Rampage Association went unchallenged in TV ads and political contributions;  several well-funded efforts that were launched after Sandy Hook are aggressively pushing back and taking the initiative to show up the craven, cowardly Senators who sided with the NRA over the vast majority of voters.  The best part is, they're not going away.

Winky's Feeling Left Out

That #WHCD was pathetic. The rest of America is out there working our asses off while these DC assclowns throw themselves a #nerdprom
— Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) April 28, 2013

Aw, Winky's feewings are hurt that she wasn't invited to the "Nerd Prom" a.k.a. the White House Correspondents Dinner.  We remember that she was one of those "assclowns" that attended a few years ago.  Rejection hurts.

BREAKING!! Wolf Held Hostage! This Is CNN.

Wolf "Cry Wolf" Blitzer, of CNN (the most busted name in news), was the target of a prank over the weekend when a Montgomery County, MD SWAT team descended on his house.  It turned out that Cry Wolf was out of town, but the local police took the call to the 911 emergency line seriously.  Apparently the prank of "SWAT-ting" is a growing problem for local jurisdictions, who are having to respond to prank hostage calls, etc., with costly SWAT team resources.  Rethug Rep. Mike Rogers was also the target of a similar prank 911 call this weekend.

This was a story that CNN's crack reporting team must have loved:  sensational, self-referencing, and ultimately bogus.

(photo:  CNN has obtained this exclusive hostage photo of...wait, what?  He's not?)

President Obama at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner

Crazy Louie's Conspiracy Theory

It would be hard to find a member of Congress as batsh*t crazy as Texas Rethuglican Rep. "Crazy" Louie Gohmert.   His latest journey into the fever swamps of Crazyland have resulted in his theory that the Obama Administration is botching the Boston Marathon bombing case because it's heavily infiltrated with members of the Muslim Brotherhood.  After a judge (not an Obama Administration official) read Dzhokhar Tsarnaev his Miranda rights in the accused bomber's hospital room, Crazy Louie interpreted that as a move to shut the accused bomber up....after he'd spent a couple of days cooperating with Federal and state law enforcement.

Crazy Louie apparently thinks that a criminal court would have no problem admitting testimony from a prisoner who hadn't been Mirandized.  Silly judiciary!  If they would only stay out of the justice system and let the likes of Crazy Louie run the show.  We'd have us a good ol' fashioned Texas lynching in no time!

(photo:  Dreaming up conspiracies is a lot cooler than legislatin')

The Paper Chase

A free press is one of the foundations of a democracy. As we've noted earlier this month, the fact that the far-right Koch brothers are considering buying the Tribune Corporation's newspapers is ominous.  The Kochs, whose father Fred was one of the founding fathers of the fringe John Birch Society, are known for their financial support of right wing causes and political candidates.  They have apparently made the calculation that their resources might be well spent on buying up media outlets to spread their "free" market, plutocratic philosophy.  Such newspapers as the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and the Baltimore Sun would be bought up in the sale, giving the Kochs a major megaphone nearly equal to their right-wing comrade-in-arms Rupert "Aargh" Murdock.

There is genuine concern among the journalists who work at these papers that the Kochs will turn the papers into propaganda rags for their far-right agenda.  Many at the Los Angeles Times have threatened to quit if the sale goes through.  We hope it doesn't, not only for their sake but for the sake of the nation.

Weekend Song for Happy Homeowners

Congratulations to Hackwhackers' Washington, D.C. bureau chief Brian and his beautiful wife Chi who are the proud new owners of a house!   Suffice it to say, it's different than the house in this video by Madness.  Have a wonderful move in weekend to them, and a wonderful Spring weekend to all!

Legacy Cartoon of the Day

(click to enlarge)

Amidst the re-writing of Dumbya's "legacy" that his enablers and co-conspirators are engaged in, it's worth remembering what actually occurred on his watch:  worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil, worsening income disparity and economic decline, wars on the credit card (and one war fought on false premises), and neglect of American urban areas and needs.

(cartoon: Pat Oliphant, via GoComics.com)

Decision Point on Syria?

Intelligence reports of the use of sarin gas by Syria's Assad regime are being scrutinized by the U.S., with the lingering memory of the Bush Assministration's lying about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to justify an invasion. There are varying degrees of proof that Assad's regime may have used the chemical weapon in Aleppo based on physical evidence and blood samples of victims.  The U.S. is consulting with with its allies and with U.N. officials who have been barred by Syria from investigating the reports.

The President had said previously that Syria's use of chemical weapons against its own people would constitute a "red line" that would prompt some form of U.S. intervention.  The refugee situation for Jordan and Turkey, both U.S. allies, has grown untenable, as civilians flee the civil war in Syria.  Thus far, providing resources and arms (through friendly Arab governments) has not resulted in the overthrow of Assad, but this may have been Assad's fatal mistake.

Colbert Demolishes Reinhart/Rogoff Austerity Report

One of the foundational reports used by austerians from Rep. Paul "Lyin'" Ryan to the editorial board of the once great Washington Post Kaplan Daily was produced in the Year of the Teabaggers  (2010) by right-wing Harvard economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff.  One slight problem:  it was b.s.  Stephen Colbert has the goods, with a bonus appearance in part II by the UMass graduate student who exposed the flaws:

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,Video Archive

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,Video Archive

Another Republican Rebranding Fail

Frequent blind squirrel Dana Milbank done found himself an acorn in today's once great Washington Post Kaplan Daily:

Republican leaders had scheduled a vote in the chamber for Wednesday on a plan to help people with preexisting health problems get insurance — part of a broader scheme by Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.) to make Republicans appear to care about the little guy. But the conservatives lunching in the Rayburn House Office Building weren’t biting. [Snip]

“We can talk about flex time, we can talk about bills on Obamacare that are going nowhere,” Huelskamp said. “We can talk about messaging. . . . But in August, we’re going to hit the debt ceiling and we can’t avoid that. We’re running out of money, and as Republicans, we have to get ready now and talk about the vision of what we have to do to get our country on a 10-year plan to balance the budget.”

That budget-cutting theme, he said, “is the kind of message that gets lost in little things.”

So helping workers and the sick are “little things”? Cantor can forget warm and fuzzy for now; he has enough trouble just making his colleagues sound humane.

Huelskamp is crackpot Randian social Darwinist Rep. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas.  If any of these peckerwoods does show any compassion towards another human being, as Milbank says, it's "to make Republicans appear to care about the little guy" (our emphasis).

Parents and Kids Quote of the Day II

“There are other people out there that are very qualified, and we’ve had enough Bushes.” Former first lady Barbara Bush on NBC’s “Today,” when asked whether son Jeb Bush should run for President. Amen.

Parents and Kids Quote of the Day I

“What we’ve said to the girls is, ‘If you guys ever decided you’re going to get a tattoo, then mommy and me will get the exact same tattoo in the same place. And we’ll go on YouTube and show it off as a family tattoo.' And our thinking is that might dissuade them from thinking that somehow that’s a good way to rebel.” -- President Obama in an interview with NBC's Savannah Guthrie.  If there were only some way his childrearing skills could be applied to Congressional Rethuglicans....

Thank You. Thank You Very Much.

When Elvis impersonator and licensed "reflexologist" (??)  Paul Kevin Curtis was released on Tuesday after being cleared of mailing envelopes with ricin to the President and other officials, he said about his arrest to the assembled press, “I thought they said rice, so I said, ‘I don’t even eat rice.’"  Authorities are now investigating a man who may have had a long-term grudge against Curtis.  The man, Everett Dutschke, had his home searched by the FBI to determine whether he was the source of the mailings and attempt to frame Curtis. Dutschke has a rather bizarre history of run-ins with public officials, and once ran for office as a (shocking!) Rethuglican.

Meanwhile, following his release, Curtis was relieved to find out that his dog, Moo Cow, was found after  running away from his house when law enforcement descended on it.  He also offered to give the assembled ladies foot massages. Love me tender, indeed.

UPDATE:  Dutschke was arrested on April 27 in connection with the ricin letters.

Cartoons of the Day - Profiles in Cowardice

(click to enlarge)

(Top:  Matt Wuerker;  bottom:  Ben Sargent;  both via gocomics.com)

Gingrich, Romney, Ryan Intern Charged in Sexual Blackmail Case

Adam Savader, a former intern to Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan in the 2012 campaign, has been charged with cyberstalking and extortion in a sexual blackmail case:

The New York Daily News reports that 21-year-old Adam Savader was arrested in Great Neck, N.Y. on Tuesday by the FBI. He was charged with cyberstalking and blackmailing women online, according to authorities.

News 12 Long Island adds that court documents show Savader allegedly used both the Internet and text messages. He claimed he had naked pictures of the women and vowed to send them to friends and family if more were not provided.

This dickhead has a future in the "rebranding" Rethuglican/ Stupid Party, don't you think!?  Maybe women's issues liaison?  Social media coordinator?                                                                            

What is it about the conservative mind-set and philosophy that seems to attract an inordinate share of creeps, perverts, predators, misogynists and, well, just plain felons?

(Photo:  Rep. Paul Ryan with the felonious intern -  type the felonious intern's name in on Google images and see what other Rethugs he's been rubbing elbows with =cough=ScottWalker=cough= TuckerCarlson=cough=MicheleBachmann=cough.)

Dumbya's "Legacy"

Tomorrow will mark the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Library Dumbya's Preznitshal Lieberry, thus providing hours of irony and humor for those who remember his failed presidency.  But before the Worst. President. Ever. is honored for....uh, for....well for little or nothing, let's consider this list of his greatest blunders / falsehoods / criminal negligence, etc. from Daily Kos.

Having left office with a terrible 22% approval rating, Dumbya's enablers and co-conspirators are busy trying to rewrite history and salvage Dumbya's legacy, and this Library will be part of an attempt to do that.  The only thing worth pointing to is the initiative for fighting AIDS in Africa, which was laudable.  But balance that with his negligence before 9-11, his shift of resources from fighting al Qaeda to invading Iraq, which had nothing to do with the 9-11 attacks, putting two wars and a massive prescription drug benefit on the national credit card, messing up the Katrina response, and presiding over the financial meltdown and economic collapse as he left office.  All of the captured e-mails, photos, mixed media displays and other touches won't cover up those abject failures of someone who was so ill-equipped for the highest office in the land.

(photo:  A copy of "My Pet Goat" should be at the center of Dumbya's library, along with the August 6, 2001 CIA memo warning him that "Bin Laden Determined to Strike Inside U.S.")

BONUS:  Stephen Colbert's priceless take on the Dumbya Preznitshal Lieberry:

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,Video Archive

Mid-Week Memorial Song

Contemporary folk singer Richie Havens died Monday at the age of 72.  Havens shot to fame after his opening performance at Woodstock in 1969.  Here he is playing a cover of "Here Comes the Sun."  RIP.

How's That Republican Rebranding Coming Along? (Cont.) UPDATED

In Kansas?

In West Virginny?

In Arkansas?

In Maine?

In New Hampshire?

In New Mexico?

Buh-bye Baucus

The once-great Washington Post Kaplan Daily is reporting that conserva-Dem Sen. Max "Minimum" Baucus ("Dem"- MT) won't be seeking re-election in 2014.  Minimum Max chairs the Senate Finance Committee and was responsible for delaying the Affordable Care Act by being rope-a-doped by Rethuglican Sen. Charles "My Ass Is" Grassley for months, only to discover that Grassley wasn't acting in good faith (shocking!!).  Worse, Minimum Max was one of four "Dems" to cast votes against requiring background checks for gun purchases, therefore making it easier for terrorists, criminals, and the mentally ill to buy the guns of their choice.  Seventy-nine percent of Montanans favor background checks, by the way.  Well played, especially now that we know that Minimum Max wasn't going to run for re-election and could have cast a risk-free vote for background checks.

Buh-bye, and don't let the door hit you on the way out.  You won't be missed.

BONUS:  Here's the HuffPo's summary of Minimum Max's sorry record:
Voted Against DREAM Act, Background Checks... Sided With Banks... Backed Bush Tax Cuts... Linked To Lobbyists... 'The Max Baucus Health Care Lobbyist Complex'... Recommended Girlfriend For Federal Job... Delayed Health Care Reform, Ditched Public Option Supporters, Negotiated BIG PHARMA Deal

BONUS II:  Maybe Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer will run to fill the seat.  Upgrade!

Carillon On

The HBO series "Game of Thrones" has a growing number of devoted fans.  It looks as though one fan is the carilloneer, Lyle Anderson, at the great University of Wisconsin-Madison, who serenaded the campus with the theme song from the series on the University's beloved Carillon Tower.



(h/t to Balloon-Juice blog)

Cartoon of the Day - "The Week in #Fail"

(click to enlarge)

That about covers it.

(Tom Tomorrow, via Daily Kos)

Earth Day, 2013

Forty-three years ago, the U.S. celebrated the first Earth Day, a day set aside to raise awareness of the Earth's fragile ecology and man's often destructive effect on it. If you have a chance to volunteer for Earth Day activities -- stream clean up, rallies, etc. -- do so.

Gun Control - The Path Forward

Here's part of E.J. Dionne's analysis of the failure of the Senate to pass even the most watered-down gun purchase background check legislation, and the reaction:

In the past, Democrats who support gun safety had reacted benignly to members of their party from rural states who opposed sensible gun measures for expediency’s sake. Not this time. The response to Democrats who opposed background checks — Sens. Max Baucus, Mark Begich, Heidi Heitkamp and Mark Pryor — was indignation. [snip]

But the vote also demonstrated for all to see a Republican Party walking in lock step behind its commanders in the gun lobby. Only four Republicans bravely defied the NRA’s fanatical opposition to a very mild measure: Toomey and Sens. Mark Kirk, John McCain and Susan Collins.

This should send a message to all who keep looking for new signs of Republican moderation.

Also, go to Dionne's embedded link in the excerpt for a recent op/ed in the once great Washington Post Kaplan Daily by Bill Daley, former White House Chief of Staff and Commerce Secretary.  (Asking for his $2,500 contribution back from Sen. Heidi "Ho" Heitkamp was just his opening line.)   Democrats have to start weeding out the feckless cowards among their elected officials whose sole purpose in life is to get re-elected rather than serve their constituents and stand on principle.  We have a special disdain at this blog for Heitkamp and the execrable Baucus (too many shameful links to note - just type in his name in the Q box above).  But while we withhold support for the feckless, we also need to show support for those Democrats who, as Dionne notes, cast a courageous vote for the background check legislation (Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Kay Hagen of North Carolina, especially).

As 2014 approaches, we would suggest making targeted contributions to individual campaigns (Hagen and Landrieu are up for re-election) rather than providing them to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, where the funds are as likely as not to end up in the pockets of Begich, Pryor and Baucus, who are up for re-election.  Ideally, these worthless DINOs would be primaried by a progressive, but that's not going to happen, so about the only weapon we have is the check.  We need to use it or withhold it on a case-by-case basis.

Tweet of the Day

Apropos of the posting just below this one:

I guess buying up a dying industry is cheap next to buying up a dying political political party, Kochs.

— LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) April 21, 2013

The Kochs can still do tremendous damage to public information and discourse by turning newspapers -- dying as they might be -- into far right propaganda organs.

Calling George Soros, Calling George Soros

We can't let the slimy Koch brothers get away with this.

Three Senate Teabagger Profiles

Courtesy of Daily Kos (for aggregating), here are profiles of three Rethuglican/ Stupid Party / Tea party/ N.R.A. darlings, starting off with Carl Hiassen's sketch of Sen. Marco "Glug Glug" Rubio (Coward-FL):

Marco Rubio showed his true yellow colors last week, joining 45 other cowards to defeat Senate legislation designed to stop criminals from buying firearms online and at gun shows.

The vote was nauseating. So is Rubio.

A few days earlier, he’d admitted to Fox News that he hadn’t read the complete bill that would expand federal background checks of gun buyers, but he was opposing it anyway.
Other pertinent materials that Rubio obviously didn’t read included a recent New York Times sampling of nut jobs, convicted criminals and even one fugitive who purchased assault rifles and other weapons over the Internet.

Who's next?  How about Sen. "Tailgunner Ted" Cruz (Coward-TX), courtesy of Dana Milbank:

Is there nobody who can tell Ted Cruz to shut up?

The young senator from Texas has been on the job for about 100 days, but he has already turned the Senate’s ancient seniority system upside down and is dominating his senior Republican colleagues. He’s speaking for them on immigration, guns and any other topic that tickles his fancy; Republican leaders are seething at being outshone yet are terrified of challenging him.

Finally,  Sen. "Ayn" Rand Paul (Coward-KY) gets the Leonard Pitts treatment:

Rand Paul did just fine at Howard University, thank you very much. Or at least, that’s how he remembers it.

Paul, GOP senator from Kentucky, told the Christian Science Monitor on Wednesday that his recent visit to Howard didn’t go so bad at all. He said any perception to the contrary was created by — all together now — the “left-wing media.”

Knowing what we do about the political right’s capacity for self-deception, we may trust that he’s telling it like it is — or at least, telling it like he believes it to be.

But reality-based Americans know it wasn’t left-wing media that insulted students at the historically black school by acting as if a visit to their campus was like a visit with headhunters. “Some have said that I’m either brave or crazy to be here,” Paul said, somehow resisting the urge to add, “Me come-um in peace.”

Of course, to get the full picture, read each article in its entirety.  Then join us in congratulating the dimbulbs voters of Florida, Texas and Kentucky for sending us these twits. 

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Regula...BOOM

It's being reported that the plant in West, Texas that exploded on Wednesday had 270 tons of ammonium nitrate, more than 1,300 times above the legal limit that requires disclosure to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  The explosion killed 14 and injured many more, flattening homes and doing extensive damage to the surrounding area.  Ammonium nitrate was the material used in the Oklahoma City bombing and, decades ago, the bombing of the University of Wisconsin's Army Math Research Center.  Amounts over 400 pounds are to be reported to DHS due to the material's past use in bomb making. Amazingly, not only did the plant fail to report its massive amount of ammonium nitrate, the DHS was apparently unaware of the plant's existence.   Don't mess with Texas, indeed.

(No, that's not a North Korean atomic bomb exploding;  it's the West, Texas fertilizer plant going up.)

Earthquake in China

A terrible 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan province in China early today.  At least 157 are dead and many thousands are injured.  It's the same area that the devastating 2008 earthquake hit, killing over 70,000 people.  Here are a few photos showing just a small part of the destruction:

(Top:  i.telegraph.co.uk;  bottom: news.nationalgeographic.com)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Speech on the Boston Marathon Bombings

Let's see what Massachusetts' gift to the United States of America says (in her first speech on the Senate floor):

Today's Cartoons - Why We Can't Have Nice Things

(click to enlarge)

(Top:  Drew Sheneman;  bottom:  Pat Oliphant;  both via gocomics.com)

Job Not Well Done

Some media outlets (cough cough CNN, New York Post) should be embarrassed about their sloppy coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing case.  Some tweets appropriately point that out:

BREAKING: CNN reporting that the boat is "dark-skinned."
— Imani ABL (@AngryBlackLady) April 20, 2013

New York Post reports the boat is a Saudi national.
— James Downie (@jamescdownie) April 19, 2013

Job Well Done

Perhaps the most compelling images from last night's conclusion of the manhunt for the second suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings were those of the residents of Watertown, MA and adjacent communities pouring out of their homes and cheering law enforcement and emergency services personnel.  After a tense day of "shelter in place" for the Boston metropolitan area, 19 year-old  Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found hiding and wounded in a boat parked in the back yard of a Watertown home.  He was taken in custody and rushed to a hospital for treatment.

As NBC's Brian Williams said last night while observing the scene of relief and celebration, law enforcement is, for the vast majority of time, a dangerous, thankless job.  It was wonderful to see the public out and cheering them in this moment of accomplishment.

(photo:  Julio Cortez, AP)

Weekend Uplift Song

If today's events are leaving you a little burned out, this lovely, high energy song might pick you up.  From their 1990 album "Nowhere," this is British indie rock group Ride's "Taste."  Here's hoping we all can enjoy a wonderful weekend.



(h/t Washington, DC, bureau chief Brian)

Boston Lockdown

Light blogging today as we watch the dramatic developments unfolding in the Boston area precipitated by the two suspects in the Marathon bombings.

UPDATE:  Because the stupid never sleeps, here's Arkansas Rethuglican/ Stupid Party State Rep. Nate "Dumb" Bell's take on events unfolding in the Boston area (click to enlarge):

And a "wish- we'd - said- that" response (click to enlarge):

The Onion's Tips for Passing Gun Control Legislation

The Onion calls it (language warning):

• Write gun control legislation. Pass gun control legislation.
• Before voting on gun control bill, try, if you can, to remember any recent examples in which guns have been used to kill innocent people.
• Acknowledge that it’s going to be hard to buck the pressure of the high-powered gun lobby, but not that fucking hard, dumbass.
• Consider if overwhelming public support for a particular measure is something you want to be associated with or not.
• Inform your decision by researching whether guns are good or bad when placed in the wrong hands.
• Muster everything that’s left in your black, desiccated heart to do something that might actually be of service to someone other than yourself.
• Carefully assess the other side of the argument wherein mentally unstable people can buy weapons at a gun show with no problem whatsoever, and then realize there is no other side of this argument.
• Put on your stupid little suit, run a comb through your greasy hair, go to the U.S Capitol building, pick up your fancy little gold pen, and pass a fucking gun control bill.         
 

(h/t Washington, DC, bureau chief Brian, returning from a long hiatus.)

Today's Dispatches From The Stupid Party

We have a little bit of everything today, from conspiracy nutbaggery, to casual anti-Semitism, to oil company slurping (all h/t Salon.com).

Let's start with Rep. Jeff "Donut" Duncan (Stupid Party-SC) who haz him a theory:

It didn’t take long for a lawmaker to pick up the latest right-wing conspiracy theory about the Boston Marathon bombings. Just hours after controversial terrorism expert Steve Emerson reported last night on Sean Hannity’s show that unnamed “sources” told him the government was quietly deporting the Saudi national who was initially suspected in the bombing, South Carolina GOP Rep. Jeff Duncan grilled Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on the rumor at a hearing this morning.

Duncan, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee and chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency, harangued Napolitano for the alleged deportation, which he asserted as fact. “Now we have someone being deported for national security concerns and I’m assuming he’s got some sort of link to terror or he wouldn’t be being deported,” Duncan said. “And yet we’re going to deport him? We’re going to remove him from the scene?”

Um, no, dumbass.  That's not at all what's going on.  But I'm sure that won't stop you and your fellow fever blisters over at Fox "News."

Now for a little goyish good ol' boy colloquialism from Oklahoma:

State Rep. Dennis Johnson, R-Okla., was talking about small businesses during a floor debate, and said that sometimes customers will “try to Jew me down on a price, that’s fine. You know what? That’s free market as well.”

Johnson later apologized "to the Jews."  Well, thanks, that's very Christian of you.

While we're in Oklahoma (that most Rethuglican/ Stupid Party state of all), let's check in with one of it's Stupid Party Congresscritters, Rep. Markwayne "My Ma and Pa Couldn't Afford a Space" Mullin (Stupid Party- Exxon Mobil):

Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., wondered in a House hearing why everyone was making such a “big deal” out of the ExxonMobil oil spill in Arkansas, and said that though the spill was “horrible,” ExxonMobil should be “patted on the back” for the way it handled it, and it shouldn’t hamper support for the Keystone XL pipeline.

The folks in Arkansas -- you know, those who experienced the tar sands crude pluming down their residential street while the media was being denied entry to the spill site by local yokels intimidated by Exxon Mobil lawyers --  might have a different view of that.  But we're certain Mullin will get more than a pat on the back from Exxon Mobil for his courageous stand.

We Are Bostonians Quote of the Day

 "Tomorrow, the sun will rise over Boston. Tomorrow the sun will rise over this country that we love. This special place, this state of grace. Scripture tells us to 'Run with endurance the race that is set before us.' As we do, may God hold close those who have been taken from us too soon. May he comfort their families. And may he continue to watch over these United States of America."  -- President Obama at an interfaith service today in Boston.  Earlier, he said to a standing ovation, "We will return for a 118th running of the Boston Marathon.  Bet on it."

"The Most Busted Name in News"

Not to belabor the point, which we will now belabor, last night Jon Stewart had a masterful take down of CNN's John King and Wolf Blitzer and their false reporting of an arrest in the Boston Marathon bombings (as we noted yesterday).  In their zeal to be the first to break a story, rather than get a story right, CNN made clowns of themselves, citing "sources" as they feverishly fingered their Blackberries.
The story was an "exclusive," as Stewart said, because "it was completely f**king wrong."   Enjoy their comeuppance.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Most Busted Name in News
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Indecision Political Humor The Daily Show on Facebook

Cartoon of the Day

(click to enlarge)

The utter cowards who made this vote about themselves and their own careers are beneath contempt.

BONUS:  Here's Michael Tomasky on the shameful vote:

"You cannot oppose the will of 90 percent of the public and expect no consequences. You can’t have people saying what Rand Paul said, that monstrous comment of his about Newtown parents being “props,” and think that you haven’t offended and infuriated millions of people. You can’t introduce amendments that encourage more interstate transfer of weapons and give it the way-beyond-Orwellian name “safe communities” act and think that karma will never come back around on you. And you can’t sneer at the parents of dead 6-year-olds and expect that God isn’t watching and taking notes."

(cartoon: Jeff Danziger via GoComics.com)

Gun Control Amendments Going Down To Defeat

The assault weapons ban lost, as expected.  But even the modest background check amendment couldn't make it past the Rethuglican (and some pseudo-Dems) filibuster threat.  Thanks again, Harry Reid.  Sad day for America.

UPDATE:  Special shame on the four "Dems" who voted no:  Baucus, Begich, Heitkamp, and Pryor (Reid voted no so that the bill could be brought up later).  Primary them.  Big kudos to the four Republicans who voted yes:  Collins, Kirk, McCain, and Toomey.

Shame on John King and CNN

... and the other media toadies who started jumping to conclusions about an arrest being made today in the Boston Marathon bombing.  (You remember CNN, the network that rushed out to bring you news of the Supreme Court's striking down of the Obamacare individual mandate (not)?)  King based his non-scoop (noop?) on intel from Fran Townsend??  She's a former Bush assministration national security adviser!  Nuff said?  Here's the egg- on- the- face moment:

Austerity Fail (Yet Again)

What happens when the main "academic" underpinning of your argument that austerity brings prosperity is exposed as, um.... BS?  Oops.

Jon Chait at New York Magazine has a great piece on the Reinhart/ Rogoff report, which formed the basis of all the Paul Ryan/ Simpson-Bowles/ Washington Beltway media received -- and self-perpetuating -- wisdom that incurring debt while stimulating the economy is berry berry bad, austerity is berry berry good.  Here's a taste:

If you ever follow American politics — if you glance at a newspaper, or have a Sunday morning talk show on in the background — you have probably heard the following fact: Economists believe that the national debt causes the economy to slow once it reaches 90 percent of the size of GDP. Even if you don’t remember this fact, it is embedded so deeply in the reporting and commentary on Washington that its influence is unmistakable.

The provenance of this fact is a paper by the economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff. It turns out the paper was wrong. Some other economists tried to replicate its findings and discovered some basic errors. They left several crucial historical examples out of their study and miscoded some other cases on their spreadsheet. When fixed, the errors change the finding.

"Changed the finding,"  or to paraphrase Chait, "Sorry about all that unnecessary unemployment and suffering, folks!" We await tomorrow's mea culpa editorial in the once great Washington Post Kaplan Daily.

How's That Republican Rebranding Coming Along? (Cont.)

In Texas?

In New Hampshire?

In North Carolina?

In Iowa?

In Louisiana?

Gaucho Mark's Wandering Ways

Transcontinental hiker and former South Carolina Gov. Mark "Gaucho Mark" Sanford will have to face trespassing charges filed by his former wife two days after a special election to fill the Congressional vacancy in South Carolina's 1st District.  Jennie Sanford accuses her former husband of trespassing at her Sullivans Island home, after catching Gaucho Mark coming out of that house using a cell phone as a flashlight.  Their divorce settlement states that he needed permission from her to visit that property.

Given Gaucho Mark's poor sense of direction (after all, he thought he was on the Appalachian Trail when he wound up in Buenos Aires), perhaps there's a reasonable explanation.  We can't wait to hear what it is.

UPDATE:  From "Tiger Beat on the Potomac" (h/t Mr. Pierce), looks like the National Republican Congressional Committee has decided to cut its losses with Gaucho Mark.

Mid-Week Boston Song

Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" has been Boston's unofficial theme song for some time.  At Fenway Park, it's become a tradition to play the song in the middle of the 8th inning of Red Sox games.  Yesterday, in a show of solidarity with Boston, the arch-rival New York Yankees played "Sweet Caroline" after a moment of silence for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.   Everyone's a Bostonian this week.

Picture of the Day

Someone left a chalked message outside the Dorchester, MA home of 8 year-old Boston Marathon bombing victim Martin Richard.  Martin was watching the race with his mother and sister;  his mother is in critical condition with injuries to her brain, and his sister lost a leg in the blast.

(photo: Associated Press/Michael Dwyer)

Yesterday's Boston Bombings

A second bomb detonates down Boylston Street from the street from the first.

The horrific bomb blasts that took at least three lives and injured scores more at the finish line of the Boston Marathon is under intense investigation by Federal, State and local law enforcement and homeland security officials. As of this morning, no one has come forward to claim responsibility for the attacks.  The bombs were placed on or near the ground and contained shrapnel, as evidence of the severe lower body injuries sustained. Sadly, among the dead was an 8 year-old boy, Martin Richard, who was watching the race with his family.  Undoubtedly, many lives were saved by the fact that numerous emergency medical staff and police were standing by at the finish line to assist runners suffering from dehydration or minor injuries.

Until the authorities are able to review footage of the area from security cameras and private devices, interview witnesses, and perform forensics on the bomb material, it's speculative to guess the motive or the players (something wing nuts are having trouble resisting).  A heavily attended even like the Marathon is a soft target for someone, or some organization, wanting to cause mass casualties.  In the days ahead, the investigation should start to produce leads and perhaps even suspects.

Beanball Cartoon of the Day

(click to enlarge)

Here comes the entitlement cuts fastball from the Rethugs, Mr. President.  DUCK!!

(cartoon: Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

The Depths of Depravity

The families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting have been active advocates for gun safety legislation, recently lobbying members of the Senate and appearing in lieu of the President on his weekly address.  Clearly, their advocacy has been effective:  the Senate voted to take up debate on background check legislation, and even Sens. Manchin and Toomey are sponsoring a minimal bill to do that.

As we've sadly come to expect, right wingers are up in arms (literally) over the victims' advocacy, a sign that their message is working.   As the MaddowBlog's Steve Benen catalogues, the usual wing nut suspects are raising the biggest noise:  Oklahoma Senator and creationist cretin James "Inbred" Inhofe has implied that the Newtown families are misguided tools.  Bottom-feeders like Rush "Pills" Limpballs (families using dead children as "human shields") and the Fux Channel crowd, of course, are parroting the National Rifle Rampage Association's despicable story line.  There wouldn't be the depraved, sadistic pushback if the Newtown victims' message wasn't resonating with the vast majority of Americans -- and a growing number of Congresscritters.

Turning Tables Quote of the Day

"Mr. [Mitch] McConnell has masterfully diverted public attention from the offensive content of the tape — which is the real story here — to his outrage over how it was obtained...Mr. McConnell, 71, and leader of the Senate Republicans, is seeking his sixth term in Congress in 2014. He has long ceased to serve the state, instead serving the corporate interests he counts on for contributions and leading obstruction that continues to plague Congress. He needs a credible opponent and a serious effort by people ready to advance the interests of Kentucky and its citizens." -- Editorial in the Louisville, KY Courier-Journal, noting Sen. Mitch "Missy" McConnell's assumption of the "victim" role in the outrageous taped comments he and his advisors made about actress and former potential opponent Ashley Judd.  Our failed political media took Missy's bait and made the story about how the taping was accomplished, rather than the despicable strategies that the McConnell campaign were ready to use against Judd.

(image: tears of a "victim", courtesy DonkeyHotey)

Suicide At NRA-Sponsored Race

The National Rifle Rampage Association-branded "NRA 500" NASCAR event at the Texas Motor Speedway was marred by a man who shot himself in the head yesterday.  Police suspect an argument in the Speedway's infield and alcohol may have prompted the suicide.

Isn't that a perfect metaphor for everything that the NRA touches?  Let's see if they start encouraging all attendees to their sponsored events to come armed to the teeth and ready to fire.

Russia: We Don't Want Yoo... And Addington, Too

 The Associated Press reports:

"MOSCOW — Russia on Saturday banned 18 Americans from entering the country in response to Washington imposing sanctions on 18 Russians for alleged human rights violations.

The list released by the Foreign Ministry includes John Yoo, a former U.S. Justice Department official who wrote legal memos authorizing harsh interrogation techniques; David Addington, the chief of staff for former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney; and two former commanders of the Guantanamo Bay detention center: retired Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller and Adm. Jeffrey Harbeson.

The move came a day after the U.S. announced its sanctions under the Magnitsky Law, named for Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who was arrested in 2008 for tax evasion after accusing Russian police officials of stealing $230 million in tax rebates. He died in prison the next year, allegedly after being beaten and denied medical treatment."

Yoo?  Addington?  If only we could ban them from the United States, too.   And Dick "Dick" Cheney.  And most of the Bush assministration.

Running With The Herd

The lineup this Sunday on the bobblehead shows seems curiously un-original:

Press the Meat (NBC):  Sen. Marco Rubio (Rethug-FL)

This Weak (ABC):  Sen. Marco Rubio (Teatard-FL)

Facial the Nation (CBS):  Sen. Marco Rubio (Acceptably Tan Savior-FL)

Stain of the Union (CNN):  Sen. Marco Rubio (Dessicated-FL)

Fox "News" Sunday (Fux):  Sen. Marco Rubio (Weathervane-FL)


(Photo:  Sen. Marco "Glug Glug" Rubio -- remember, hydrate!)

Run, Hillary, Run

We loved reading this posting at Daily Kos, which describes Rethuglican anxiety at the thought of having to run against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016.  She's one of the most admired women in the U.S. -- and the world for that matter -- and the Rethuglicans know they don't have anyone near her stature and experience.  Sen. Marco "Glug Glug" Rubio?  He's floundering around on an immigration bill and has to walk a tightrope between the corporate powers in the party and the tea bagger radicals.  Sen. "Ayn" Rand Paul?  Once the public hears his nutty ideas about virtually everything, he's a goner.  Governor Chris "Kris Krispykreme" Christie?  Yeah, he'll bring in the women's vote with his calm and soothing manner, not that he'll make it through the Rethug primaries.

The Rethugs are facing a dwindling roster of credible candidates, to match their declining popularity, as they continue to embrace fringe policies.  Taking on a figure like Hillary Clinton would be a bridge too far.

Wingnuttery On Parade

Oklahoma authorities have charged Oklahoma Tea Party leader and U.N. conspiracy flake Al "Tinfoil Al" Gerhart with blackmail after he sent an e-mail to State Senator Cliff Branan, threatening Branan with a smear campaign if he failed to introduce a batsh*t crazy bill about a U.N. conspiracy regarding sustainability.  A generation or two ago, folks like Tinfoil Al would be playing pinochle in a mental ward, but such is the sad state of our mental health treatment today.

Conspiracies are the means of keeping the far right fringe perpetually angry and paranoid about something, and running to gun shops to stockpile weapons before brigades of Kenyan U.N. soldiers descend on their basement apartments.

Cartoon Trifecta - Consorting With The Enemy Edition

(click to enlarge)

 

 

(Top to bottom:  Jim Morin, Tom Toles, Mike Luckovich, go comics.com)

How's That Republican Rebranding Coming Along?

In Georgia?

In North Carolina?

In Illinois?

In Maine?

In Texas?

In Michigan?

At the Republican National Committee?

Jonathan Winters

The great improvisational comedian Jonathan Winters died last night at age 87.  Back in the "oldie" days, Winters was someone the Hackwhackers would beg to stay up for because there was no one funnier on t.v.  His comedy was an inspiration for Robin Williams, George Carlin, Jim Carrey, and many others.  This is a nice, but oh-so-brief sampling of his genius (check out what he does with the stick on the Jack Paar show):

Weekend Song

The dB's are a power pop group from North Carolina that formed in the 1970s. This song, "World to Cry," is from their first studio album in 25 years,  2012's "Falling Off The Sky."  Enjoy.

Dancin' Dave's Angry Jig

Among the Beltway courtier press, few have a more prominent perch than NBC's David "Dancin' Dave" Gregory.  When he's not dancing with Turdblossom Rove at a black tie dinner, he's tossing softball questions at the likes of Rethuglican Senator John McNasty or Rep. Paul "Lyin'" Ryan.  He's as much a part of Washington's incestuous media / political cocktail circuit as anyone can be.  He also apparently thinks he can tell his neighbors what to do.

When a private residence on his street was selected to be this year's D.C. Design House exhibition, Dancin' Dave had a hissy fit about the clogged traffic and parking situation.  Reportedly waving his arms and shouting on the lawn of the residence, Dancin' Dave invoked his status and informed the shocked designers and guests that he knew "all the politicians in town."  One designer described Dancin' Dave's display as "very public and immature."

Yes, Dancin' Dave does know "all the politicians in town", and that's a problem for anyone going about their lives who happen to inconvenience the self-important host of Press the Meat.

(photo:  "You kids, get off my lawn!  I know all the politicians in town.")

Budget Follies: "Who Could Have Predicted...?"

As Dave Weigel puts it,

"Republicans have been very clear about this: They want Barack Obama to be bold. They want him to propose entitlement reform. Up until the moment he does so, they want it because failure to do so leaves America's fiscal outlook in disarray. Once Obama does so... look, here's the video of Oregon Rep. Greg Walden, who chairs the NRCC."

Once again, well played, Mr. President!

Department of Cluelessness

In the process of "rebranding" the Rethuglican / Stupid Party, there will certainly be some slip ups now and then.  Oh, here's one now:

"Former Vice President Dick Cheney will address members of the Republican National Committee gathering here in California this week for strategy sessions on how to broaden the GOP’s appeal with voters."

This sinister character is the most disliked figure in politics, owing to his pivotal role in lying us into war with Iraq and his arrogant refusal to admit his error.  Getting Cheney's advice on how to broaden the party's appeal to voters is like asking Jack the Ripper for advice on courting a woman.  However, we hope the Rethugs use Cheney in this capacity more often.

Too Early For Weiner's Rise?

We'd like to think that, for the most part, we're equal opportunity critics of pols from both political parties (even though the Rethugs have an unfair numerical advantage in misbehavior).  Now, though, we have a Dem who was caught doing something creepy and inappropriate a couple of years ago mulling a re-entry into politics:  former New York Rep. Anthony "My Name Is My Fame" Weiner. Weiner is considering a run for mayor of New York City, part of which he represented before he resigned after sending inappropriate photos of himself and his "little Weiner" to various females.

Weiner was a charismatic and fiery progressive whom we admired for his ability to shoot down right-wing nonsense.  He was a favorite of this blog, and we're all for his future success. But maybe it's a little early to jump back into politics, especially since the Dem candidate field is crowded and his poll numbers are not high.  For what it's worth, we'd like to see him take a longer break, chill with his family (his wife is Huma Abedin -- enough said), and rejoin the political battles once his name itself isn't ironically associated with his past behavior.

Quote of the Day

"The basis to Thatcherism - and this is where I come to the spiritual part of what I regard as the desperate, desperately wrong track that Thatcherism took this country into - was that everything I had been taught to regard as a vice - and I still regard them as vices - under Thatcherism was in fact a virtue: greed, selfishness, no care for the weaker, sharp elbows, sharp knees. They were the way forward."  --  British actress and Member of Parliament Glenda Jackson setting the record straight on Margaret Thatcher's political legacy.  Here are more of her remarks on video.  Sounds like it could be used as a critique of Reaganism, too.

Cartoon of the Day - Budget Follies

(click to enlarge)

(Mike Luckovich, via gocomics.com)

Budget Follies

We'll leave it to Messrs. Pierce and Krugman to opine on the atmospherics of the President's capitulation 2014 budget.  But first, here's what "a longtime Obama aide" had to say about the Social Security- and Medicare-cutting budget:

"We're not going to have the White House forever, folks. If he doesn't do this, Paul Ryan is going to do it for us in a few years," said a longtime Obama aide, referring to the 2012 Republican vice presidential candidate who proposed a sweeping overhaul of Medicare that would replace some benefits with vouchers.

Got that?  O.K, first Mr. Pierce:

Now, we have a Democratic administration, empowered by a solid re-election, that is proposing to its most loyal supporters that they support at least a partial sellout of the Democratic party's greatest legacy because, some day, a Republican president might do something much worse. (As though said imaginary Republican president won't go ahead and do much worse anyway, and claim a national mandate for it while he's at it, and eventually find a way to blame "a Democratic president" for having launched the process in the first place.) I literally never have heard this argument made in any political context. I certainly never have heard it from anyone in an incumbent administration. If this is your rationale for making policy, what in the name of god is the point of running for office in the first place? Nobody's president forever. You get elected. You enact the policies on which you ran, and of which the voters evidently approve. If, one day down the line, the voters decide to approve someone else, and someone else's policy, that's just the way it has to go. Caveat emptor, and all that. You certainly don't decide to enact policies based on their being the most palatable variation of something an imaginary future president might do. That's just nuts. On the national economy, we've abandoned Keynes, and Greenspan, and Laffer, and we've decided to cast our lot with Nostradamus.

Your turn, Prof. Krugman:

Since the beginning, the Obama administration has seemed eager to gain the approval of the grownups — the sensible people who will reward efforts to be Serious, and eventually turn on those nasty, intransigent Republicans as long as Obama and co. don’t cater too much to the hippies.This is the latest, biggest version of that strategy. Unfortunately, it will almost surely fail. Why? Because there are no grownups — only people who try to sound like grownups, but are actually every bit as childish as anyone else.

After all, if whoever it is that Obama is trying to appeal to here — I guess it’s the Washington Post editorial page and various other self-proclaimed “centrist” pundits — were willing to admit the fundamental asymmetry in our political debate, willing to admit that if DC is broken, it’s because of GOP radicalism, they would have done it long ago. It’s not as if this reality was hard to see.

So, here we are again, just as we were last year, and the year before that, and the year before that, and...  We think it's fairly safe to say this Administration, re-elected into office by a significant margin, is now (and forever has been) much more interested in making "a deal" that pleases the "sensible people" than it is in upholding the principles of justice, fair play and protecting the vulnerable, principles upon which they were elected -- twice.  There is no multi-dimensional chess going on here that would result in backing the Rethug extremists into a corner;  it's simply back-pedaling ever faster until you manage to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory.  Shame on them, and on us if we allow it to happen.

Tide Turning on Background Check Legislation

The threatened Senate Rethug filibuster of legislation to mandate background checks for gun sales appears to be weakening, as several key Rethuglicans have located their consciences and are ready to vote (no, of course),  Sens. Collins, Ayotte, Coburn and Isakson among them.  Also, Arizona's Sen. McCain said Sunday he would not support a filibuster of a vote.  No doubt any final vote will split along Dem / Stupid Party lines, but it's encouraging that some in the latter are willing to vote on the record, rather than simply not allowing a vote to occur at all.  The vote is scheduled to occur tomorrow at the earliest.

Among the despicable Senate Rethugs that don't even want a vote to occur are 2016 hopefuls are Marco "Glug Glug " Rubio and "Ayn" Rand Paul.  They're willing to buck over 90% of the public that supports background checks to bow to the will (and financial backing) of the National Rifle Rampage Association.  It illustrates the depth of the NRA's fear of a recorded vote, one which they would clearly lose and therefore diminish their influence.