Friday, October 31, 2014

Weekend Money Song


Johnny Marr is the former lead guitarist/ songwriter and co-founder of the great British alt rock band, The Smiths.  He has a new solo album out ("Playland"), and here's a cut from that album -- "Easy Money."  (It's also Johnny's 51st birthday, so happy birthday!)  Enjoy the song and your weekend.

Virus Cartoon of the Day

(click to enlarge)


Fear, whether it's of ISIS, or immigrants or Ebola, works for politicians who lack the backbone to lead or shape public opinion, or whose ideas are unpopular when exposed to scrutiny.

If the Ebola virus is not contained in West Africa through the efforts and courage of health care practitioners, we'll have to "quarantine" more people than a nurse or doctor returning home.  Many more.

(cartoon: Jim Morin, Miami Herald via Gocomics.com)

Li'l Danny's Thuggery


Perhaps due to his diminutive stature, Washington's football team owner and short-fingered money grubber Daniel "Li'l Danny" Snyder likes to use his wealth to push people around.  Years ago, he filed a lawsuit against the Washington City Paper, a small weekly newspaper that had used countless examples of Li'l Danny's avarice and arrogance in an unflattering article.  First, Li'l Danny had his lawyers send a threatening letter to the investors in the paper, suggesting that he'd bankrupt the paper and investors through costly, prolonged litigation. Eventually, Li'l Danny dropped the suit.

It seems that Li'l Danny can't stop himself.  Now, he's having his lawyers sue the five Native Americans who successfully petitioned the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to cancel the team's six trademark registrations.  Clearly the five Native Americans don't have the financial resources to match Li'l Danny's, and their lawyer has questioned why they're being sued instead of the PTO.  The answer's obvious:  Li'l Danny wants to crush any future challenges to the team's name, through intimidation and threats of individual lawsuits.  His thuggish tactics demonstrate why the public needs to oppose him and his attempts to roll over people that object to the derogative name for his football team.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Koch Brothers Advertising FAIL On "The Daily Show"


Jon Stewart "welcomes" the newest sponsor/ advertiser on "The Daily Show"... the Koch brothers (really).  Hilarity ensues.

Economy Chugs Along


Figures released today indicate that the economy grew at a healthy rate of 3.5% in the third quarter, with non-housing private investment and defense spending spurring the pace.  With lower gas prices and consumer confidence up, the third quarter figures indicate the economy continues to strengthen as unemployment is the lowest in nearly 7 years.

Why Democrats seem incapable of touting the good economic news, preferring a defensive crouch instead in the upcoming mid-term elections, is something beyond us.  As we noted yesterday, with the cooperation of a shallow political press focused on who "won the news cycle" and "gaffes," the public thinks the economy-crashing Republicans would be better at "fixing" the economy.  They'll "fix" it alright, but not for the middle class and for working families.

Volcano Meet Hurricane



New Jersey's loudmouth buffoon of a Governor, Chris "Krispycreme" Christie, was at an outdoor p.r. event yesterday commemorating the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy when demonstrators in the audience stood up with signs asking what had happened to relief funding for their community.  One of the demonstrators, former Asbury Park city councilman Jim Keady, wanted to know why $800 million hadn't been allocated to allow people to rebuild.  That, apparently, was too much for the easily-angered Krispycreme, who launched into a furious verbal assault ending with Krispycreme telling Keady to "sit down and shut up."  Clearly, Krispycreme thinks citizens work for him, not vice versa, especially when he's trying to pat himself on the back.

After his posturing over quarantining nurse Kaci Hickox, he belligerently challenged Hickox, who was in West Africa trying to halt the Ebola outbreak, to sue him over her detention in an isolation tent.  People who don't think Krispycreme's anger is out of control are probably the people he wants to appeal to:  low-information, angry and confused partisans who love his bullying, authoritarian pose.  However, the pose may be getting old with the majority of Americans, who have to wonder how he would handle a genuine crisis as President without blowing his stack -- and potentially blowing up the rest of us with him.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

From The Fever Swamps of the Right, Cont'd.



Most wingnuts are content with the goal of imposing their reactionary views on the rest of America (with the exception of neocons, who want to include most of the Middle East).  It's a rare loon who thinks we should adopt the "today America, tomorrow the world" neo-Fascist goal of forcing every government -- even those of democratic nations like Sweden, Brazil, Italy and Germany -- to adopt a close facsimile of our Constitution, by force if necessary.  That rare loon would be Fux contributor and someone who should have his own bullet head examined, "Dr." Keith "Blows"Ablow.  As Steve Benen notes,
"In the 19th century, Americans had a spirited debate about 'manifest destiny' on a continental scale, but Ablow apparently sees no need to stop where the oceans start. Rather, he’s describing 'manifest destiny' on a global scale."
When Blows trotted this lunacy out on Fux and Friends, even the wingnuts on that show were a bit taken aback.  When one commented that the "thesis," ahem, deserved discussion, Blows barked "What's to discuss?"  Jawohl, Doktor Geschosskopf!  Because discussion doesn't belong in the kind of "democracy" that you want to promote abroad, right?

(photo:  When the inmates run the asylum, they appoint their own doctors.)

You Blocks, You Stones, You Worse Than Senseless Things


The Campaign for America's Future has a look at some pretty counter-intuitive results from a recent Washington Post- ABC News poll, in which 71% believe the economy is rigged.  OK so far.  But based on other polling, it seems the public is inclined to trust the Republican/ New Confederate/ Stupid party to fix it!  [Ten minutes of stunned silence.]  As far as the "why?!" we can only subscribe to what Charles P. Pierce said:
...[T]he country doesn't have the analytical skills god gave a stone, that's why. And they have been badly led. And they have been heavily -- and effectively -- propagandized.
Of course, if we had a Democratic Party that could sustain a message for more than 2 minutes, when it's not in a defensive crouch, that would be helpful.

BONUS:  Steve M. at No More Mister Nice Blog has a good read on how dumbing down political reporting leads to a dumbed down electorate.

(Headline courtesy of W. Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene I.)

Governors Spreading Disease


Now that two of the nurses who treated Thomas Eric Duncan at the Texas Presbyterian Hospital are Ebola-free -- along with Dr. Kent Brantly, nurse Nancy Writebol, and NBC cameraman Ashoka Mukpo -- and the treatment protocols at isolation facilities from Omaha, to NIH, to Emory University are working, all we need are political clowns to gin up public fear and paranoia.  Dr. Kent Sepkowitz, Memorial Sloan Kettering's infectious disease control director, take it away:
"Right on cue, as if in an attempt to push the discussion ever further toward irrelevancy, the twin towers of presidential posturing, Governors Chris Christie and Andrew Cuomo, agreed to hog the spotlight together in order to get presidentially tough over an issue that needed no decisiveness at all: What to do about the small trickle of health-care volunteers who return to the States from West Africa? Tired, apparently, of all the goddamned evidenced-based pussy-footing coming from people who understand science and public health, the Two Big Guys made their kick-butt pronouncement: They are throwing those weenie volunteers into the 21-day slammer, no ifs or ands or buts. Goddammit."
And how did that work out?  New York Dem Governor and relentless opportunist Andrew Cuomo backed down from his earlier order that people arriving from West Africa having direct contact with Ebola victims (e.g., health workers) be quarantined in a government facility.  Now, they're restricted to their homes.  His counterpart in New Jersey, blowhard traffic cop and head of New Jersey's Rethug crime family Chris "Krispycreme" Christie reluctantly followed suit, but not after digging himself deeper in his belligerent, anti-medicine/anti-science hole.  Quarantined nurse Kaci Hickox, who has tested negative for the virus, blasted Krispycreme's ham-fisted posturing, saying.
"First of all, I don't think he's a doctor; secondly, he's never laid eyes on me; and thirdly, I've been asymptomatic since I've been here."
The only thing showing symptoms are cowardly political weasels and bullies carrying the 2016-itis disease.  They are the ones requiring quarantine.

Mid-Week Memorial Song


We noted Cream bassist and vocalist Jack Bruce's passing last Saturday.  Along with legendary guitarist Eric Clapton and master drummer Ginger Baker, Bruce's tenor voice carried the melody on nearly all of the supergroup's songs.  Their second album, "Disraeli Gears," is a true rock classic, and today's song from that album showcases Bruce's beautiful tenor, with Clapton's soaring guitar and Baker's driving percussion:  "Dance the Night Away."  R.I.P.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Today's Cartoon


As the Lexington Herald-Leader put it, Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch "Missy" McConnell "commands a perpetual-motion money machine;  dollars flow in, favors flow out."  It's nice he has that kind of quick cash lying around his log cabin.

(click to enlarge)


(Matt Wuerker, via gocomics.com)

Desperate Moves



Republican candidate for Senate in Virginia, former RNC chairman and lobbyist Ed "Ichabod" Gillespie, is running so far behind popular Dem Sen. Mark Warner that he's throwing a final desperate Hail Mary pass:  he's making Washington's disparaging football team name an issue.  Ichabod says he'll fight proposals to change the team's name (the team's facilities are in Northern Virginia, where much of the fan base resides).  Ironically for Ichabod, team owner Li'l Danny Snyder has given Mark Warner's campaign $5,200 in contributions, a pretty clear signal of who he's betting on to win.

He's so far behind Warner that he pulled his own ads a few weeks ago, and is being deserted by contributors who see the handwriting on the wall.  Stalwart Republican icons such as former Sen. John Warner (no relation to Mark Warner) have appeared in ads for Sen. Warner.  Gillespie's desperation moves won't help him chip away at his opponent's overwhelming lead.

Today's Steaming Heap of Stupid


Texas wingnut and probably the biggest moron in Congress, Rep. Louie "Screwy Louie" Gohmert, got the treatment from Stephen Colbert last night for his incredibly ignorant comments on gays in the military.  Screwy Louie's incoherent remarks on the topic are hilarious, but troubling in that he is an elected official (albeit from secessionist Tex-ass).  Colbert's summary in the last 40 seconds is perfect.

Monday, October 27, 2014

We'll Have Some Of Those Brownies, Too


If you haven't already seen it, watch Ellen DeGeneres's hilarious send-up of one of Matthew McConaughey's Lincoln commercials and have a laugh.  You're welcome.

Today's Tomorrow Cartoon

(click to enlarge)



If you have any symptoms of the above described diseases -- gunfluenza, climate denial fever and so on -- you're likely a Republican….or a low information voter…or both.  You need to be quarantined for 10 days, which would get us past the mid-term elections.

Quotes of the Day


Senate minority leader and human/turtle hybrid Sen. Mitch "Missy" McConnell (R-Obstruction) took it in the chops from two of Kentucky's most prominent newspapers, who endorsed challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes for the Senate.  Here's part of what they said about Missy (emphasis added):
"…. he lost his way to the point where he now is identified largely as the master of obstruction and gridlock in Washington.  Kentucky needs a U.S. senator who sees a higher calling than personal ambition and a greater goal than self-aggrandizement. For those reasons and for her evident potential, we endorse Ms. Grimes for election on Nov. 4."  -- yesterday's editorial in the Louisville, KY Courier Journal
Then the state's other leading newspaper went in for the kill:
"McConnell does have power. He commands a perpetual-motion money machine; dollars flow in, favors flow out. The problem is how McConnell uses his power. He has repeatedly hurt the country to advance his political strategy.

McConnell has sabotaged jobs and transportation bills, even as Kentucky's unemployment exceeds the nation's and an Interstate 75 bridge crumbles over the Ohio River. He blocked tax credits for companies that move jobs back to this country while preserving breaks for those that move jobs overseas. He opposed extending unemployment benefits, while bemoaning the 'jobless' recovery. He brags about resolving crises that he helped create."-- yesterday's editorial in the Lexington, KY Herald-Leader.
The Kentucky race is extremely close, just eight days before the election.  The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee has reversed course from a couple of weeks ago to buy more ad time for Grimes in a last push to send Missy back to Ol' Kentucky for good.

"Ideology And Investment" - The Cost Of Republican Extremism


(click to enlarge)


(Tom Toles, once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle)

We promise to not pair a Tom Toles cartoon with a commentary again, at least for a few days. But Toles must have read Paul Krugman's op/ed in the New York Times on "Ideology and Investment." Here are a few worthy excerpts:
America used to be a country that built for the future. Sometimes the government built directly: Public projects, from the Erie Canal to the Interstate Highway System, provided the backbone for economic growth. Sometimes it provided incentives to the private sector, like land grants to spur railroad construction. Either way, there was broad support for spending that would make us richer. 
But nowadays we simply won’t invest, even when the need is obvious and the timing couldn’t be better. And don’t tell me that the problem is “political dysfunction” or some other weasel phrase that diffuses the blame. Our inability to invest doesn’t reflect something wrong with “Washington”; it reflects the destructive ideology that has taken over the Republican Party.  [snip]
Yet this didn’t have to happen. The federal government could easily have provided aid to the states to help them spend — in fact, the stimulus bill included such aid, which was one main reason public investment briefly increased. But once the G.O.P. took control of the House, any chance of more money for infrastructure vanished. Once in a while Republicans would talk about wanting to spend more, but they blocked every Obama administration initiative.

And it’s all about ideology, an overwhelming hostility to government spending of any kind. This hostility began as an attack on social programs, especially those that aid the poor, but over time it has broadened into opposition to any kind of spending, no matter how necessary and no matter what the state of the economy.  
(our emphasis)
That so many voters appear unaware of the danger, much less the existence of this destructive Republican ideology is, of course, appalling in 21st Century America.  Never mind the cranks, crackpots, racists and know-nothings that comprise the base of the Republican Party;  they'll vote for anyone -- even diaper-wearing fetishists =cough= Vitter =cough= and adulterers =cough= Sanford =cough= -- if there's an "R" next to their name on a ballot.  No, we mean the disengaged, distracted voter who, like the cat in Bill Maher's bit below, responds to the least substantive, most superficial impulses in deciding whether to vote, and for whom.  And so, the vandals and cynics get elected by a minority of motivated knuckle-draggers in combination with the marginally sentient, and the downward spiral continues.

It's a problem in American democracy that's only made worse by a media that caters to the worst instincts of the average voter.

UPDATE:  Case in point for the last observation - this Joni Ernst "tongue-bath" by the increasingly un-readable national news section of the once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Today's Cartoon And Read: Voter Suppression And Dirty Tricks


(click to enlarge)


(Tom Toles, once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle)

In addition to their voter suppression activities, Republicans are engaging in an all-out, well-funded campaign of dirty tricks to misinform or otherwise misdirect voters.  North Carolina has been one of the States where Koch brothers dark money has been used in a particularly anti-democratic campaign against incumbent Democratic Sen. Kay Hagen.  Hagen is in a tight race against tea party Republican reactionary Thom Tillis.  An organization funded by the right-wing plutocrats was already caught sending erroneous voter registration mailers out last month.  Now, we learn another Koch-supported dark money group ("American Future Fund") is funding an online ad campaign designed to lure young voters away from Hagen and toward Libertarian candidate and pizza delivery man (no joke) Sean Haugh.  (Haugh, by the way, tweeted "While I appreciate the support, I now have a whole new reason to despise Koch brothers & their dark money.")

"History will notice," indeed.  But as Paul Krugman noted the other day, it's far from clear what the final outcome in the struggle between democracy and plutocracy will be.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Jack Bruce, 1943-2014

Jack Bruce, former bass player for Cream, died today at age 71 from liver disease.  Cream is considered by many to be the first rock "supergroup," comprised of Bruce, Eric Clapton and  Ginger Baker. Bruce co-wrote and sang lead on many of Cream's iconic songs, including "Sunshine of Your Love," "White Room," and "I Feel Free."  A lot of good memories.  R. I. P.

(Photo: from left, Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton)

Thought For The Day


From Paul Krugman:
[T]he political right has always been uncomfortable with democracy. No matter how well conservatives do in elections, no matter how thoroughly free-market ideology dominates discourse, there is always an undercurrent of fear that the great unwashed will vote in left-wingers who will tax the rich, hand out largess to the poor, and destroy the economy. [snip]
And now you understand why there’s so much furor on the right over the alleged but actually almost nonexistent problem of voter fraud, and so much support for voter ID laws that make it hard for the poor and even the working class to cast ballots. American politicians don’t dare say outright that only the wealthy should have political rights — at least not yet. But if you follow the currents of thought now prevalent on the political right to their logical conclusion, that’s where you end up. 
Krugman goes on to discuss voter suppression and the struggle between democracy and plutocracy, which has rarely been clearer than it is in today's politics.  Worth a read.

BONUS:  Jon Chait, too.

Distracted Voters And The Pandering Media


Bill Maher (starting around 2:15) talks about the "easily distracted voters," combining with a "shameful, pandering media" (=cough=ChuckTodd=cough=) to make life easy for Republicans like Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (caution: language):



(h/t Crooks and Liars)

Friday, October 24, 2014

Weekend Song


Nearly fifty years ago, on October 29, 1964, the T.A.M.I. show was wrapping up its second and final day at the Santa Monica (CA) Auditorium.   T.A.M.I. was a showcase for a number of future Hall of Fame acts, including The Beach Boys, James Brown, The Supremes, Chuck Berry and Smokey Robinson.  Fortunately, it's all on film and "is considered one of the seminal events in the pioneering of music films."  If you've never seen the show, you owe it to yourself to spend a couple of hours to see the great live performances by rock and R & B royalty.  We're featuring a song by one of the electrifying acts -- The Rolling Stones (even Brian Jones gets caught up in the moment).  Here's "It's All Over Now."  (Love the hypnotic rhythm and bass guitar lines.)  Enjoy your weekend.

Healthy Again Photo of the Day



President Obama embraces Dallas nurse Nina Pham, who has recovered from the Ebola virus that she contracted while treating Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas last month.  She was treated at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.

(photo:  Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

The Thrilla In Wasilla, Cont'd.

(click to enlarge)


Now that stories have spread about the drunken brawl back in September  involving Alaska's snowbilly royals, the Palin klan has been struggling to get their side of the story out, now that Anchorage police audio and photos after the brawl have been released.  True to character, they're pointing the finger at others, including at the President and Vice President.  Personal responsibility, everyone!

Led by their drunken son and potty mouthed daughter, the Palins crashed a party and proceeded to get violent before they were hustled out to their waiting Hummer limo (of course), no doubt paid for by goobers sending their money to SarahPAC.

(cartoon: Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution via Gocomics.com)

Iowa's Not-So-Sharp Shooter


Wingnut Republican candidate for Iowa's open U.S. Senate seat Joni "The Castrator" Ernst has been trying to tamp down some of the insane statements she made while running for the Republican nomination and earlier as a state senator (statements which apparently don't "disqualify" her in the eyes of Beltway villager Chuck "Not My Job" Todd).

A 2012 appearance by The Castrator before the gun manufacturers' lobby National Rifle Association raises new questions about her grasp of reality.  At that meeting, she declared that
"...I believe in the right to defend myself and my family — whether it’s from an intruder, or whether it’s from the government, should they decide that my rights are no longer important.” (emphasis added)
Whether veering into Cliven Bundy/ Timothy McVeigh territory and threatening to shoot elected officials that she doesn't agree with will make a difference with Iowa voters remains to be seen.  However, her far-right radicalism is a matter of record (even though she's decided not to answer questions from Iowa's newspapers) and should be a matter of serious discussion.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Republican Police Blotter, South Carolina Crime Edition


Republican Speaker of the South Carolina House Bobby "Easy Money" Harrell is resigning today from his position following guilty pleas to misdemeanor ethics charges ranging from misuse of campaign funds to using his office for personal gain.  This is the second southern Rethug good ol' boy to be brought up on ethics charges, with Alabama's "Crimson Crime" guy Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard, arrested on felony charges.

Again, the view of government that's been drummed into them, even before St. Ronnie of Hollywood's "government's not the solution, it's the problem," is that government is stealing from "the people" (you know, taxes) so it's OK to screw the government.  The added bonus for these clowns is they then say, "see, we told you government doesn't work."

Canada's Moment of Terror


Yesterday's attack on the Canadian Parliament building left a Canadian soldier and the shooter dead.  The soldier, Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, was guarding the war memorial near the Parliament building when Michael Zehaf-Bibeau shot him.  The shooter then moved to the Parliament building, where he fired multiple shots from his rifle and was subsequently killed by the Sergeant-at-Arms (and former Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer) Kevin Vickers.  Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper declared that Canada would not be intimidated, referring to the attack as an act of terror.  ISIS is reported to be encouraging "lone wolf" attacks within countries that are fighting its advances in Syria and Iraq.

(photos, top to bottom:  Cpl. Cirillo, family photo; Zehaf-Bibeau, CBC Ottawa; Sgt.-at-Arms Kevin Vickers, CBC Ottawa)



From The Fever Swamps Of The Right….


Crazies on the right have been kicking around the idea of secession ever since the dark skinned guy was elected President, despite the fact that they tried that in the 1860s and LOST after the extinguishing of hundreds of thousands of lives.  Now, a former speechwriter for right-wing icon St. Ronnie of Hollywood is suggesting an initial trio of states form a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal called "Reagan" that would reflect the 18th century "values" that they live by.  Blacks, browns and other undesirables would be unwelcome, no doubt, and women?  Well, drop that ballot and get me a sammich!  The lunatic proposing this, Douglas "Rebel Smell" MacKinnon, would base "membership" in "Reagan" according to their stand on marriage equality (hail no!) and other fundamentalist "Christian" ideology (we'll just ignore that during his eight years, St. Ronnie rarely, if ever, attended church, and was mostly tolerant of gays, given his earlier work experience in Hollywood).

Rebel Smell's ideal is a whites-only, exclusionary, authoritarian country, marching to one tune, one party, and one religion and likely armed to the teeth, since the far right's DNA is steeped in paranoia and fear.  It doesn't sound like a place we'd like to visit or live in.

(image:  Cletus Spuckler, candidate for President of "Reagan")

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

The Republican War On Women - Distaff Edition, Cont.


Fox "News" Republican host/ spokesmodel Kimberly Guilfoyle would like young Democrat  ladies to please stay away from the polls this November.  Why?  Let Guilfoyle's searing logic burn a hole in your brain (to match hers):
It’s the same reason why young women on juries are not a good idea. They don’t get it! They’re not in that same, like, life experience of paying the bills, doing the mortgage, kids, community, crime, education, health care! They’re like healthy and hot and running around without a care in the world … They can go back on Tinder or Match.com.
Guilfoyle's admonition does not apply, of course, to any of the young Republican Duggar or Palin wimmen, who clearly "get it!"

Oh, by the way, Kimberly, don't forget to vote on Election Day, November 11!  Got it?

Today's Cartoon - Scary Fox "News"


(click to enlarge)


(Tom Toles, once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle)

Elizabeth Warren Cuts Through The B.S., As Usual


Our favorite candidate for wherever, whenever and whatever she's running for, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), has been hitting the campaign trail for fellow Senate Democrats in the past week.  Here are some of her most-quoted remarks:

Republicans believe this country should work for those who are rich, those who are powerful, those who can hire armies of lobbyists and lawyers.  I will tell you we can whimper about it, we can whine about it or we can fight back.  I’m here with Mark Udall so we can fight back.”  -- Friday in Englewood, CO.

"The game is rigged. The Republicans rigged it." -- Saturday in Minnesota.

The Democrats have a powerful one-two punch that can cut through the Republican b.s. machine (ably abetted by the "mainstream media" who are sticking faithfully to their "the Democrats are going down" narrative):  Elizabeth Warren and Bill Clinton.  They should use them unsparingly all the way to election day.

BONUS:  Frequent blind squirrel Dana Milbank tells us about another female running for office who, together with Sen. Warren, seems to have all the balls in the Democratic Party (ironic, isn't it?).

The Case for Taxing The Plutocrats


The super-rich should be taxed at the 90% marginal rate that they were during the Eisenhower years, according to a paper by two economists who have studied the impact of high taxes on the extremely wealthy.  The current top tax rate is 39.6%.  The economists, from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Bonn (Germany), say that despite the distortions that are created by tax loopholes,
"...a top marginal tax rate in the range of 90 percent would decrease both income and wealth inequality, bring in more money for the government and increase everyone’s well-being -- even those subject to the new, much higher income tax rate."
As the linked article notes, the economists' paper looks only at income, and not wealth.  Most super-rich derive their living from interest on investments which is taxed at a much lower rate.

It's been an article of faith among conservatives certainly since the time of St. Ronnie of Hollywood that reducing taxes on the wealthy increases economic growth -- i.e. supply side, or more accurately, trickle-down economics -- a "theory" that has proven only to increase income inequality between the very wealthy and the remainder of the population.

Clueless Quote of the Day


"I gotta tell you the truth, I'm tired of hearing about the minimum wage, I really am."-- Angry buffoon and pay-to-play politician New Jersey Gov. Chris "Krispykreme" Christie, speaking to the Chamber of Commerce (naturally) yesterday in Washington, D.C.  His remark, along with that of Koch employee of the year, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker who doesn't think that the minimum wage "serves a purpose," is the clearest evidence that Rethuglican politicians couldn't care less about the working poor trying to stay afloat on $7.25 an hour.  However when their wealthy contributors (including the Chamber) come demanding favors, the door's always open to them.

Krispykreme had lap band surgery a while ago to rein in his voracious appetite, when what he really needed was yap band surgery to rein in his loud, mean mouth.

BONUS:  Florida Republican Gov. Rick "Voldemort" Scott also tripped on his lizard tail in last night's gubernatorial debates over minimum wage.  The cluelessness is showing.

Mid-Week Song

Afro-Norwegian duo Nico and Vinz had a big hit earlier this year with "Am I Wrong."  Their just-released second studio album "Black Star Elephant" has another nice tune, "In Your Arms," which is our Mid-Week Song.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Today's Cartoon Twofer - Voter Suppression Edition


(click to enlarge)


(Tom Toles, once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle)


(Ben Sargent, Austin American-Statesman)

Two weeks until the midterm elections, and reactionary right-wing Republicans are pulling out all the stops to keep you from voting.  Don't let them take away the most precious franchise you have in a democracy.

Mr. Noble



In his statements, Pope Francis has indicated that the Church needs to embrace gay and lesbian Catholics, along with the remarried divorced and single mothers.  The recent synod of 183 Catholic bishops and Cardinals in Rome heard the Pope's message of inclusion, but the conservatives among them managed to water down a final report from the synod, effectively neutering the Pope's message.

One of the participating conservative Cardinals was New York's Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who earlier in his career presided over a protection racket for pedophile priests in the Milwaukee diocese.  A frustrated pretender to the Papacy, Dolan projects the avuncular demeanor of a simple Irish priest, but is one of the most masterful, media-savvy BSers in the Church's hierarchy.  Appearing  on ABC this past weekend, Dolan, while discussing how benevolent the bishops were, managed to slur gay and lesbian parents when he suggested they were less noble than heterosexual parents:
"...on the definition of marriage given us by God and faithfully handed on by the church, one man, one woman, lifelong, life-giving, faithful, bringing about new life and children. All right, their enthusiastic response to that. And then the other side, George, was how can we, though, embrace and never alienate those who are unable to live up to that noble ideal(emphasis added)
How about this, Cardinal Dolan:  in whatever time you have left, try living up to the ideal of protecting the Church's children, before you lecture others.  It's too late to ask you to repair the damage.

The Empire Strikes Back


ITEM 1: After stiff sanctions were imposed on the Russian Federation after their seizure of Crimea and their continuing interference in Ukraine, the Russians retaliated against the West, including playing games with their huge natural gas resources and conducting threatening military exercises near the borders of NATO allies.  Now, however, they're playing hardball:  they're threatening to shut some 200 McDonalds over "health" violations.  Damnski!  They're wise to the fillers and secret sauce!  Or maybe the restaurants don't slip enough vodka in the soft drinks.

ITEM 2: On a serious note, Christophe de Margerie, CEO of the French oil company TOTAL, was killed last night when his private plane crashed into a snowplow on the runway of Moscow's Vnukovo airport.  Preliminary reports indicate that the snowplow's driver, who escaped injury, was drunk.  De Margerie was a vigorous opponent of sanctions against the Russian Federation.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Republican Police Blotter: Alabama Crimson Face Edition

They just can't help themselves;  then they help themselves:
Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard (R) was arrested on Monday and charged with 23 felony ethics charges, the Associated Press reported. 
Hubbard, who is also the chair of the Alabama Republican Party, faces charges that include using his office for personal gain and voting for legislation with a conflict of interest, Al.com reported.
They only see government as an open till for them to pilfer.  Will there be any repercussions for Republicans in Alabama (other than Hubbard)?  Don't be silly.

Ernst Captures The Goldmacher Vote


There's a piece in the National Journal by Beltway narrative plumper Shane Goldmacher giving Iowa tea party Republican Senate candidate and pig castrater Joni Ernst an admiring, loving tongue-bath. Several of our blogging betters have jumped in with their reviews of Goldmacher's journamalism:

Ed Kilgore at Washington Monthly talks about the glossing-over of Ernst's crackpot positions (see, "Agenda 21", nullifying Federal laws):
Now I freely admit I have my own biases here: it infuriates me to see the label “the better candidate” attached to anyone running for high office who has ever, ever promoted the insane John Birch Society conspiracy theory of Agenda 21, as Ernst has—much less to suggest that her “toothy grin” and her cute but substantively idiotic “hog castration” ads offset her extremist record. And I don’t know that what national media types say about this race really matters much at all. But it’s part of an atmosphere whereby there are “no Todd Akins or Sharron Angles” to get in the way of the presumed outcome of a GOP takeover of the Senate in part because candidates with extremist positions and records are being cut an awful lot of slack by the supposedly neutral media. Joni Ernst pretty much is Sharron Angle with a better bio and a greater willingness to weasel out of her prior statements; she pretty much is Todd Akin with a superior ability to avoid a dangerous line of questioning by changing the subject. It’s alarming to think such superficial talents are enough to turn champions of the mad fringe into “breakout stars.” (our emphasis)
Steve M. at No More Mister Nice Blog takes on Goldmacher's strawman of the "Democratic machine" (i.e., get out the vote efforts) thwarting the will of the plutocrats people:
This line of argument dovetails nicely with Republican vote trutherism (Democrats win because of massive voter fraud!) and its lite, polite variants (Democrats win because they give so much free stuff to moochers! Republicans lose some elections in the overall vote count, but win the votes of the right people, so, really, the GOP wins!). Either way, America -- or "real Americans," at least -- prefer the GOP no matter what the vote totals say. Democrats don't have a mandate to govern even when they win (because they don't really win), and Republicans have a mandate even when they lose.  (our emphasis)
Charles Pierce also has a short piece highlighting the contribution of pundit-for-hire and former Obama guru David Axelrod in building the myth of "brave woman versus the Machine:"
Axelrod's latest contribution is to join the chorus summoned up for an almost incomprehensibly hagiographic profile of Joni Ernst, the outright nut whom the voters of Iowa may bestow upon the nation as their next senator.

"She's got momentum. She's got charisma. But Democrats have great organization there," former top Obama strategist David Axelrod said of the race on MSNBC earlier this month. "It's really organization versus momentum and charisma, and we'll see."
The fact that her politics are not just retrograde, but completely insane, ought to figure into every assessment of Joni Ernst. At least that's the way I see it.  (our emphasis)
But to Goldmacher, this "Sharron Angle with a better bio" is "the better candidate" and "a rising star!

Sic transit gloria, America.

BONUS:  The Des Moines Register, to their credit, blasts Ernst's paleolithic views on government safety net programs.

Crossing The Aisle


Former Virginia Sen. John Warner (R) has appeared in an ad endorsing Dem Sen. Mark Warner (no relation) for re-election in Virginia over former Rethuglican National Committee chairman and lobbyist for Enron Ed Gillespie.  John Warner had announced his endorsement of Sen. Mark Warner back in January 2014.  This is the first time former Sen. Warner endorsed any Democrat in Virginia.  It demonstrates just how far right the Republican / New Confederate / Stupid Party has veered that a former moderate conservative Senator of theirs (5 terms, no less) has jumped ship.

Today's Tomorrow Cartoon


(click to enlarge)


Resentment, fear, hatred (see Quote of the Day, below) -- the three-legged Republican message, um, stool.  Here's more on the "fear" leg. And more.

(Tom Tomorrow, via Daily Kos)

Quote Of The Day - The "Resentment Vote"


"They want you to cast resentment votes.  Resentment against the president.  Resentment against the Affordable Care Act.  Resentment against the last bad thing that happened."  -- former President Bill Clinton on the Republican message, last Thursday in New Hampshire, quoted by E.J. Dionne, Jr., today.  Resentment, fear, hatred.  Those are great motivators in politics, and Republicans have been playing those cards for decades now because they have nothing else to offer their dwindling base -- and they've been largely getting away with it =cough= "mainstream media" =cough=.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Sunday Funnies

(click to enlarge)


With the Citizens United decision clearing the way for dark money in political campaigns, wealthy individuals and corporations will spend to the limit to buy the government that will protect their interests and privilege.

(cartoon:  Tom Toles, via Gocomics.com)

Cliven's Found A Black Bootlicker


Sagebrush deadbeat Cliven "Cliven Hoof" Bundy is still popping up -- and popping off -- these days. The freeloading racist moocher has appeared in a sad little political ad for a fringe candidate of the "Independent American Party," which for all we know has the Stars and Bars as part of its logo.  Even sadder is the fact that the fringe candidate, Kamau Bakari, is black (hmmm, that's not a real 'Murican name;  better check his papers, Cliven).  Decked out in a western outfit that looks a bit like Yul Brynner's in "The Magnificent Seven," Bakari proceeds to flatter the ignorant Cliven by saying that he should be able to say whatever he wants, dammit!, and it's that old "political correctness" that's holding us back (from being overt racists and misogynists).  Old Cliven almost chokes when he has to say the word "slavery," a condition which he had earlier said might have been better for African-Americans.

It's a common tactic of the far-right to use racial opportunists as props to hide behind as they push positions and policies that adversely impact minorities and working families (three stooges Allen West, Ben Carson, and Herman Cain are examples that come to mind).  This latest opportunist has no chance against Dem incumbent Dina Titus (or Republican Annette Teijeiro), just as no one takes a collection of bigots and kooks calling themselves the "Independent American Party" seriously.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Tweet Of The Day - Ebola? Relax, Republicans!




(h/t Daily Kos)

Quote Of The Day - Texas Voter Suppression Edition


"The greatest threat to public confidence in elections in this case is the prospect of enforcing a purposefully discriminatory law, one that likely imposes an unconstitutional poll tax and risks denying the right to vote to hundreds of thousands of eligible voters."  -- Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who along with Justices Sotomayor and Kagan dissented with the right-wing majority decision to let the Texas voter I.D.  suppression law stand.  Earlier, U.S. District Court Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos had issued an order throwing out the Texas law on the grounds that it constituted an unconstitutional poll tax and was clearly designed to suppress voting by Democratic constituencies. After the Republican-majority 5th Circuit Court of Appeals stayed Judge Ramos' ruling, the Justice Department and civil rights groups had appealed to the Supreme Court for relief.

This is why we needed the Voting Rights Act, and why its gutting by the Republican Supreme Court was so important to the desperate anti-democratic forces of the far right.

Letters We Wish We'd Written Dept.


From today's once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle:
I read with great interest E.J. Dionne Jr.’s Oct. 6 op-ed column, “Why Democrats aren’t getting credit for the economy.” In it, Dionne stated that several key factors make the president appear largely responsible for a long, steady economic recovery. To better understand the situation I searched The Post for more information. The Oct. 6 paper held no such information. Nor did Oct. 7’s. Finally, there it was in the Oct. 8 edition. Was it on Page One alongside an article on the Nationals game? Alas, not. It was on Page A16, in the bottom right corner, next to an erectile dysfunction ad. The article, perhaps the smallest and most well-hidden in that day’s edition, reported that job openings in the United States were at their highest number in 13 years. Now we know why Democrats are not getting credit. 
Wayne Hochberg, Washington
Exactly.   After all, you have to leave space on your front page for Ebola!  ISIS!! Benghazi!!!  Democratic Party doom!!!!  Oh, and those chokers, the Washington Nationals.

Friday, October 17, 2014

Dunn Done


Michael Dunn, the Jacksonville, Florida man who shot black high school student Jordan Davis in November 2012 over his playing loud music, was sentenced to life in prison today, after prosecutors declined to seek the death penalty.  Dunn fired 10 shots at the car carrying Davis and other teenagers during an altercation over loud music coming from Davis' car.  Several of the shots were fired as the car that Davis was in tried to flee, undermining Dunn's claim that he fired in self-defense under Florida's infamous "stand your ground" law.

Last year, it was revealed that Dunn had written numerous letters with racist statements during his time in jail awaiting trial.  Here's one of the milder statements, but a particularly revealing one:
"The fear is that we may get a predominately black jury and therefore, unlikely to get a favorable verdict. Sad, but that’s where this country is still at. The good news is that the surrounding counties are predominately white and Republican and supporters of gun rights.”
He got what he deserved and then some.

Weekend Love Song

Rod Stewart, Bryan Adams and Sting combined their talents on this hit song, "All For Love," recorded 21 year ago and reaching number 1 on U.S. and international charts.  Enjoy.

Can't Fix Stupid Quote of the Day



"As far as I know, I’m okay. But do any of us really know for sure?" -- Texas Congressman, and someone generally recognized as the dumbest person in Congress, Louis "Screwy Louie" Gohmert on the Glenn "Dreck" Beck program, claiming that the two Dallas nurses who have contracted Ebola are part of a Democratic "war on women nurses" being managed by the CDC.

In the quote above, Screwy Louie was responding to Dreck's question of whether he might have Ebola, which is transmitted by being exposed to an infected person's bodily fluids, which the nurses were.  So it's certain that Screwy Louie's Ebola-free, but far from OK in the smarts department.  That we know for sure.

Speaking of Dreck, now that he's not grifting in gold these days, maybe he'll see a lucrative market in Ebola survivalist prepping.

(photo:  The pride of Texas.  If gunpowder was brains, Screwy Louie wouldn't have enough to blow his nose.)

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Voter Suppression, Ups And Downs


While a restrictive voter i.d. law is being struck down in Arkansas, one that a Federal judge called an unconstitutional poll tax is held in place for now in Texas by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.  It's going to be a long struggle, friends.

(click to enlarge)


(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)


(Rob Rogers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Ebola And The Media: An Unexpected Voice Of Reason


Giving credit where credit is due, Fox "News'" Shep Smith cuts through the Ebola hysteria being fanned by the media, including his own network, and Republicans, and tells everyone to cool it.



Just The Facts Quote of the Day

"You continue to deny that the federal Life at Conception Act, which you sponsor, is a personhood bill to end abortion and we are not going to debate that here tonight because it's a fact.  Your co-sponsors say so, your opponents say so, and independent fact-checkers say so." -- Kyle Clark, of Denver's KUSA, questioning the Rethuglican candidate for U.S. Senate Rep. Cory Gardner in Colorado during his debate with incumbent Dem Sen. Mark Udall.  The referenced bill is an extreme, anti-choice bill that would effectively make birth control illegal, and Gardner's been pretending that it doesn't have his support.

We could use more Kyle Clarks in the press these days, certainly more than we need the likes of hacks Dancin' Dave Gregory and his successor Chuck "Not My Job" Todd.  Sticking to the facts, rather than letting Rethuglicans get away with reciting their talking points unchallenged, is a full-time job and requires real journalism, not stenography or laziness.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Scott Walker's Minimum Wage Admission


Wisconsin Governor and Koch Industries' junior executive-of-the-year Scott "Koch Head" Walker is in a tight re-election race with businesswoman Mary Burke.  Walker's been badly tarnished with official corruption and pay-to-play charges, but his support among his teahadist base is holding.  Perhaps that's why he felt he could "go Galt" with a comment that the current $7.25 minimum wage was an adequate living wage, and that a minimum wage doesn't "serve a purpose."  He attempted to recover by saying that he wanted people to make double or triple that, but his true position had already been stated.

With working families needing two or more jobs to get by on stagnant wages, and with the middle class losing ground to the likes of Walker's wealthy benefactors, it's an outrage that he dismisses calls for a higher minimum wage that would benefit tens of thousands of Wisconsin's citizens.  A $10.10 minimum wage would cover 7 months of rent for a Wisconsin worker, according to the White House.  If lower and middle income voters want to give Walker another term, they can't say that they didn't know his cavalier views on their economic struggles.

Ladies! The GOP Has Some Dresses For You!


Last night, Stephen Colbert dismantled the College Republicans for their silly, condescending TV ad to appeal to young women voters to vote Republican.  The ad is a take-off on the cable show "Say Yes To The Dress," where brides make decisions on their wedding dresses, except here, the "dresses" are the candidates.  One of the problems:  it was a cookie-cutter ad that used the same actors and sets for several Governor's races, which Colbert takes glee in mocking.  The ad Colbert presents in response is naughty, but hilarious, and the punchline at the end is priceless.

Mid-Week Dancing Song


International recording artist Enrique Iglesias had a huge hit in Latin America as well as the U.S. earlier this year with his Spanish and English/Spanglish recording of the incredibly catchy "Bailando" (Dancing).  It's up for 4 Latin Grammys and has topped the charts in nearly a dozen Latin American nations.  The video for the song has some nice dancing, mostly performed by Cuba's Ballet Lizt Alfonso, featuring dancer Ana Karla Suarez, on the streets of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.  Enjoy.



Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Supreme Court Halts Onerous Texas Abortion Clinic Rules


Surprisingly,  a 6-3 ruling:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has blocked Texas from enforcing key parts of a 2013 law that would close all but eight of the state's abortion facilities. 
The justices largely granted the request of abortion providers Tuesday. With three dissenting votes, the court suspended a ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that allowed Texas to enforce a rule making abortion clinics statewide spend millions of dollars on hospital-level upgrades.
A temporary hold, while the 5th Circuit is considering the rule's constitutionality.  Still, a victory of sorts. (You might guess the 3 dissenters: Scalia, Thomas and Alito.)

Today's Dispatches From The Stupid Party: Sedition Edition

Mmmm.  There 's more sedition brewing in the low brow precincts of wingnuttia.  Let's hear from constitushunal expert Debbie Dunnegan Waters, Republican Recorder of Deeds for Jefferson County, MO, who would like to see some military coup action:
"I have a question for all my friends who have served or are currently serving in our military … having not put on a uniform nor taken any type military oath, there has to be something that I am just not aware of. But I cannot and do not understand why no action is being taken against our domestic enemy. I know he is supposedly the commander in chief, but the constitution gives you the authority," she wrote in the post. "What am I missing? Thank you for your bravery and may God keep you safe."  (our emphasis)
"What am I missing?"  A brain?!  (Sorry, that was too easy.)

So, a low-level (not to mention low-functioning) Republican office holder yearns for some Francisco Franco action.  "[T]he constitution gives you the authority."  Must be thinking about the constitution of Tomainia.  Can we have a little military coup in the Recorder of Deeds office in Jefferson County, MO?

Is that all you got?

Not when North Carolina Bible-thumping peckerwood Republican Rep. Walter Jones (R - Moonshine) is on the loose:
Jones said that as a “Ron Paul-type Republican” he believed that saving the country was going to take leaders who “understand that we have a bible and we have a constitution. And if we do not follow the Constitution then we will continue to go down this road of collapsing.” 
That’s what we need to do is to have a revolution in this country, and not talking about gun necessarily,” he added. “I’m talking about a revolution of people getting out of their offices and getting into the streets letting their voices be heard.  (our emphasis)
Not necessarily, mind you!  But if the darn heathen Democrats don't do what we want to do follow the Bible and the imaginary conservative constitushun, well we need to have us a fair election revolution!  Not necessarily with guns, but... well, that's enough dog whistling for now.

Beltway Hack Enters KY Senate Campaign


Perhaps the job of hosting the virtually moribund "Press The Meat" on NBC has given hacktacular host Chuck "Not My Job" Todd a false sense of power.  Appearing recently on MSNBC's Morning Squint, Todd loftily pronounced Dem Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes "disqualified" for the Senate because she declined to say who she voted for in 2008 and 2012.  That certainly must have tickled Rethuglican Minority Leader Sen. Mitch "Missy" McConnell, since he's now using Todd's "disqualified" comment in his TV ads against Grimes.

We assumed all along that fact-based journalism wasn't Todd's "job," being a Beltway political horse race pundit. With his moronic comments about Grimes' legitimate right to privacy in the close Kentucky race, he's become part of Missy McConnell's messaging.  Well done, jackass.

BONUS:  Ah, the craven, clueless media have found their shiny object.

Cartoons of the Day

(click to enlarge)


Understanding that other mostly preventable diseases actually kill thousands and thousands of Americans might put the media-driven Ebola scare into better perspective.  Yeah, slim chance of that.

(cartoons:  top, Rob Rogers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; bottom Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, via Gocomics.com)

Monday, October 13, 2014

Onward "Christian" Soldiers!



We normally don't want to encourage former Rethuglican Presidential hopeful and voice of America's Talibangelists Mike "Hucksterbee" Huckabee, but his latest crusade against his Party's weakening resolve against marriage equality deserves encouragement, because it threatens to divide the Rethugs on an issue that "social conservatives" hold dear, but which is broadly unpopular with Americans.

On his Fux program yesterday, Hucksterbee announced that if the Republicans didn't "grow a spine" and resist the growing tide of judges and States allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry,  they should "lead, follow or get out of the way." Hucksterbee is among a dwindling number of politically engaged "social conservatives," and has hinted at forming a new right wing party around social issues that would effectively compete with the Republican / New Confederate / Stupid Party.  We can only wish Hucksterbee success with that.

Voter ID Laws: "The Big Lie"


From the New York Times:
Election Day is three weeks off, and Republican officials and legislators around the country are battling down to the wire to preserve strict and discriminatory new voting laws that could disenfranchise hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Americans.  [snip] 
Voter ID laws, as their supporters know, do only one thing very well: They keep otherwise eligible voters away from the polls. In most cases, this means voters who are poor, often minorities, and who don’t have the necessary documents or the money or time to get photo IDs.  (our emphasis)
From the once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle:
THE NATION is about to hold a midterm congressional election that, if history is any indication, will see substantially lower turnout — and therefore results that are substantially less representative of the country at large — than votes in presidential years. Responsible politicians should be doing all they can to encourage people to exercise their most precious of rights. Instead, Republican leaders in states around the country are continuing their war even on what should be uncontroversial, small-scale reforms, in a transparent attempt to depress turnout among poor and minority — that is, Democratic — voters. [snip] 
The United States does not have a voter impersonation crisis demanding the imposition of voter ID requirements, which, as the Government Accountability Office found last week, tend to depress turnout. And it’s hardly outrageous to spend money to open polling places well before Election Day and keep them open for long hours. Instead of juicing the rules to minimize opponents’ turnout, the country’s leaders should adopt an automatic, universal voter registration system and remove absurd restrictions on which polling places individuals must attend. The current, cumbersome, two-step voting process promotes confusion and deters participation. Republicans’ blatant efforts to depress turnout even more is a disgrace.  (our emphasis)
Surprise!  Republicans play for keeps when their (white) power and privilege is being threatened, and they're not particularly concerned that you're on to their game. The "big lie" that's become so transparent that even the partisan Republicans on the Supreme Court seem to be backing off a bit is that we have a "voter fraud" problem in this country.  Arrant bullshit, of course. It should be no revelation to anyone with a pulse that Republicans want to limit who votes based on race, ethnicity, age, religion, or any other factor that would enable them to stack things in their favor.  When you have no philosophy other than "I got mine," that what you're reduced to as a party.

Li'l Danny's "Redskin" Friend



If you happened to watch the football game between Washington and the Arizona Cardinals yesterday, you were rewarded with this charming picture:  outgoing president of the Navajo Nation Ben "Redskin" Shelly  (center) with Washington's owner Li'l Danny Snyder.   It was a nifty little bit of deception by both the Fux Sports nitwits and Li'l Danny, since Redskin Shelly was defeated in a primary election and will be out of office in January.  In reality, the Navajo Nation Council voted to oppose the use of the disparaging team name, so this was a case of a sore loser thumbing his nose at the people who rejected him (Redskin Shelly has been reported to be on the receiving end of Li'l Danny's payoffs charity, too).

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Bernie Remembers Even If CNN Won't



Beltway hacks tend to have a short memory about when they were cheerleading Dumbya's Administration when it came to concocting an excuse to invade Iraq over a decade ago.  They were lazy and complicit, and resist putting the blame where it belongs regarding the current situation with ISIS in Iraq and Syria.  Luckily, we have Vermont's Sen. Bernie Sanders to set the record straight.

When CNN's Candy "From Strangers" Crowley tried to get Sanders to pile on President Obama and to join in the memory lapse about why ISIS is a presence in the region, Sanders reminded her:
"We are here today because of the disastrous blunder of the Bush-Cheney era, which got us into this war in Iraq in the first place, which then developed the can of worms that we’re trying to deal with right now.”
He also took a well-deserved shot at our purported "ally" Saudi Arabia, which has been watching from the sidelines, despite a well-equipped military and billions in resources to spend on combatting ISIS.  If nothing else comes out of this, a deep cut in our military sales to such "allies" in the Middle East should be on the table.

The Lamest Endorsement Argument Evah


From the Denver Post:
Congress is hardly functioning these days. It can't pass legislation that is controversial and it often can't even pass legislation on which there is broad agreement. Its reputation is abysmal, and even its members rarely dispute the popular indictment. 
It needs fresh leadership, energy and ideas, and [Republican] Cory Gardner can help provide them in the U.S. Senate. [snip]  
If Gardner wins, of course, it could mean the Senate has flipped to Republicans. However, that doesn't mean it will simply butt heads with President Obama as the Republican House has done. As The Wall Street Journal's Gerald Seib recently pointed out, "A look back shows that eras of evenly divided power — Congress fully controlled by one party, the presidency by the other — have turned out to be among the most productive" because both sides temper their policies.
Holy Smokes!  The endorsement gives new meaning to the term "Rocky Mountain high."  Clearly the editorial board has been partaking of some powerful bud if it thinks gridlock will be vanquished with the flipping of the Senate to the ultra-right Republican/ New Confederate/ Stupid Party.  Gardner supported the government shutdown!  The Republicans will "temper their policies" if they gain the majority in the Senate to go along with their gerrymandered majority in the House?   How out of touch with reality can you be to come to that conclusion?  Can you say "impeachment?"  How about "repeal Obamacare?"

To get your rationale from the editorial pages of the Rupert "Arrrgh" Murdoch Wall Street Journal is a huge tell that you're not playing it straight.

This is the same Denver Post, at least in name, that endorsed Sen. Udall in 2008, as well as President Obama in 2008 and 2012.  There's something more to this endorsement than is evident from the sham argument they offer.  What interests are being advanced here?  Certainly not those of the people of Colorado.