"Offensive And Bizarre Are In First And Second Place"

Steven Colbert bids Gov. Bobby "Piyush" Jindal farewell in his "Hungry for Power Games."  Best line comes when he takes off on Piyush's 2013 speech imploring Republicans to not be "the stupid party" (starting at about 2:33).  Home run.



BONUS: Speaking of bizarre, here's a ghost written column purportedly by foreign affairs expert Ben "Mental Ben" Carson suggesting that the refugees be rounded up in Syria / Iraq in "sanctuary" zones in "contested" areas, which would make it easier for either Assad's forces or ISIS to attack them. Brilliant! (h/t to faithful reader P.E.C.)

Saturday Cartoon And Comment - Republicans Reload In Their War On Women (UPDATED)

(click on image to enlarge)

(Darrin Bell, via gocomics.com)

During the Republican debate cattle show last Thursday, several of the "talent" and "well-qualified" candidates were asked about their views on abortion, and proceeded to go off the deep end:

[Gov. Scott] Walker, Wisconsin’s governor, was asked by Fox News Channel’s Megyn Kelly whether his staunch opposition to abortion without exceptions puts him out of the mainstream.

“I believe that that is an unborn child that’s in need of protection out there, and I’ve said many a time that that unborn child can be protected, and there are many other alternatives that can also protect the life of that mother,” Walker said. “That’s been consistently proven.”

Later, [Sen. Marco] Rubio, a 44-year-old senator from Florida pitching himself as the GOP’s best chance to defeat Clinton, said he has never backed allowing abortion in cases of rape or incest. “What I have advocated is that we pass a law in this country that says all human life at every stage of its development is worthy of protection,” he said.

Rubio appeared eager to be portrayed as sufficiently conservative on abortion, even though it is not an issue he emphasizes much on the campaign trail. He has supported measures that included exceptions for victims of rape or incest, but he has also backed bills without them, leaving him room to argue that he did not advocate for the exceptions. Democrats say that if he is the nominee, his debate comments will come back to haunt him.   (our emphasis)

If even the Republican shills at Fox "News" are calling your position "out of the mainstream," you might want to fall back on the "I'm not a scientist" dodge.

Earlier, at the Kiddie Table, Gov. Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (R-Swamp) was asked about Planned Parenthood and goose-stepped into this response:

"Planned Parenthood had better hope that Hillary Clinton wins this election," Jindal said, "because I guarantee you that under President Jindal, January 2017, the Department of Justice and the IRS and everybody else that we can send from the federal government will be going into Planned Parenthood."

First of all, "President Jindal" LMFAO.  Anyone with a smattering of knowledge about, you know, gummint would smell something here -- oh, yeah!  Directing the Feds to go after political enemies!  That would be exactly what the wingnuts have falsely accused the Obama Administration of doing to their tea bag groups AND IT WOULD BE ILLEGAL AND AN IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE.  Not to worry, though.  "Bobby" will be working at some backwater wingnut welfare outfit come January 2016.

UPDATE:  And then there was this from the Republican front-runner:

The billionaire businessman lashed out against Fox News' Megyn Kelly for her questions during the campaign's first debate. She had asked the candidate about his use of derogatory language toward women and whether it reflected the "temperament of a man we should elect as president."

Referring to Kelly's questions, Trump told CNN in an interview late Friday, "There was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever."

UPDATE II:  Andy Borowitz never disappoints.

UPDATE III:  Nor does The Onion. (h/t Silver Spring Bureau Chief Brian)

Whose Policies Would Bring A Greece-Like Disaster To The U.S.?

One of the latest talking points of numbnut Republicans (who have a hard time grasping economic lessons from 70 years ago, much less 7 years ago) goes something like this piece of sophistry on Greece by the very- desperate- for- attention Louisiana Gov. Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (a.k.a., "Kenneth"):

The way of Greece is where Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will take us. It’s simple math: You can’t spend more than you take in. You can’t make it impossible for business to thrive and expect the economy to grow. 

Actually, Piyush, you can spend more than you take in;  it's called running a deficit, and sometimes it's a good thing (see Keynes, John Maynard).  It's one way we got out of the Great Depression and what your hero St. Ronnie of Hollywood tripled in his administration.  But let's let Prof. Krugman handle the history of the current Greek debt crisis and how a certain group of knuckle-draggers would, indeed, bring policies that led to the Greek disaster here to America:

... Greece’s formula for disaster, in other words, didn’t just involve austerity; it involved the toxic combination of austerity with hard money.

So who wants to impose that kind of toxic policy mix on America? The answer is, most of the Republican Party.

On one side, just about everyone in the G.O.P. demands that we reduce government spending, especially aid to lower-income families. (They also, of course, want to reduce taxes on the rich — but that wouldn’t do much to boost demand for U.S. products.)

On the other side, leading Republicans like Representative Paul Ryan incessantly attack the Federal Reserve for its efforts to boost the economy, delivering solemn lectures on the evils of “debasing” the dollar — when the main difference between the effects of austerity in Canada and in Greece was precisely that Canada could “debase” its currency, while Greece couldn’t. Oh, and many Republicans hanker for a return to the gold standard, which would effectively put us into a euro-like straitjacket.

The point is that if you really worry that the U.S. might turn into Greece, you should focus your concern on America’s right. Because if the right gets its way on economic policy — slashing spending while blocking any offsetting monetary easing — it will, in effect, bring the policies behind the Greek disaster to America.  (our emphasis)

As we've seen in the Greek experience, austerity and hard money only advantage one group -- the wealthy -- while driving everyone else, but especially the poor,  into even more dire economic straits. Sounds like a Republican dream world.

Welcome Piyush "Bobby" Jindal To The Republican Clown Car

Inauthentic delusional demagogue Gov. Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (R- Swamp) is set to become the next Republican- who- will- never- be- President candidate today.  There are at least two interrelated things to know about Jindal:  he's been a spectacular failure as governor, and he's a pure-blood phony.  Ed Kilgore at Washington Monthly hits on the first feature:

You can expect a fair amount of the obligatory one-day media coverage given to elected officials who run for president to dwell on the irony that the Smartest Man In Every Room is running on a yahoo platform of religious demagoguery and redneck defiance of elites. Having made such a thorough mess of his tenure as governor of Louisiana, however, it’s not like he can run on his wonky accomplishments, though there is a hammerheaded constituency for anyone who just comes out and admits he’s wrecked state government and the education system for the sheer destructive hell of it. (our emphasis)

Jindal's attempts to distance himself from his Asian Indian roots is a subject of a profile in today's once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle.  The takeaway?  "There's not much Indian left in Bobby Jindal:"

Jindal’s status as a conservative of color helped propel his meteoric rise in the Republican Party — from an early post in the George W. Bush administration to two terms in Congress and now a second term as Louisiana governor — and donors from Indian American groups fueled his first forays into politics. Yet many see him as a man who has spent a lifetime distancing himself from his Indian roots.

Jindal's rise in Republican ranks peaked in 2009 after his unintentionally hilarious opposition response to the President's State of the Union speech, in which he resembled not a person of presidential caliber but someone who might be a page at NBC.  His single-minded pursuit of the presidency to the detriment of his constituents combined with his destructive tenure as governor of Louisiana has left him less popular than President Obama in this red(neck) state, quite an achievement.  He also managed to offend British Prime Minister Cameron when he said in a speech in London that parts of Europe and the UK were "no-go zones" because of Muslims.  Said Cameron, "When I heard this, frankly, I choked on my porridge and I thought it must be April Fools’ Day. This guy is clearly a complete idiot.”

Last but not least, he also has the distinction (in our minds) of making frequent appearances in our "Today's Dispatches From The Stupid Party" feature, a feature he's probably owed royalties to (nah!) since he coined the term "Stupid Party" to refer to the Republican Party.  So congratulations to him for that, too.

BONUS:  Mr. Pierce's take on Jindal's sad "cautionary tale:"

He's languishing in Patakiland at the moment. His numbers have to be rounded up to get to one percent. But the cautionary tale about "Bobby" Jindal is this -- sooner or later, every Republican has to join The Stupid Party, and if you leave presidential timber out there in the Louisiana humidity long enough, it warps.

BONUS II:  At last, The Onion's candidate profile for "Bobby."

(Image:  Official portrait of Piyush "Bobby" Jindal, left, and the "real" Piyush "Bobby" Jindal, right;  no, he's not distancing himself from his Indian roots much.)

Today's Dispatches From The Stupid Party - Pious Piyush "Bobby" Jindal Takes A Stand

Louisiana's Republican Governor, the pious Piyush "Bobby" Jindal, has yet to announce that he's running for a future Fox "News" show president, an office he would never hold in a billion lifetimes of course.  But he wants you to know he has no idea what "discrimination" means he's not going to be bullied by the gays:

On Tuesday, to the dismay of Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), Louisiana’s proposed Marriage and Conscience Act failed in the state’s house. The legislation, which has been compared to “religious freedom restoration acts” (RFRA) in Arkansas and Indiana, would have prohibited “the state from taking any adverse action against a person on the basis that such person acted in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction about marriage.” Thus, a pizza shop that said it would not cater a gay wedding — as happened in Indiana — might not be penalized.

But after the bill failed, Jindal stepped into the breach.

“We are disappointed by the committee’s action to return the Louisiana Marriage and Conscience Act to the calendar,” Jindal said in a statement, as the Times-Picayune reported. “We will be issuing an Executive Order shortly that will … prevent the state from discriminating against persons or entities with deeply held religious beliefs that marriage is between one man and one woman.”

Hmmm.  Circumventing his (Republican) legislature by Executive order.  Sounds suspiciously like another tyrant. However, unlike that other "tyrant," pious Piyush's action would almost certainly be overturned in court (and certainly would be moot should the Supreme Court rule against discrimination and in favor of same-sex marriage next month), and is not intended to be anything but a campaign talking point (UPDATE:  Make that a 30-second spot.).  But we hope he and other dead-enders in the Republican/ New Confederate/ Stupid Party continue to fight this to the last crumb of the last gay wedding cake, because it defines them so perfectly as the Stupid Party (thanks again, irony-free Piyush!).

Today's Dispatches From The Stupid Party: Less Education, More Stupid, More Republicans!

Well, this is one way to ensure that you're going to continue to have a stupid base for your Republican / New Confederate / Stupid Party. We've noted before, but it bears repeating:

This week, Wisconsin kicked off a series of hearings on Governor Scott Walker’s proposed budget, which would slash about $300 million from the University of Wisconsin system over two years, funnel hundreds of millions to build a pro-basketball stadium, and cut deeply from funds for health care, food stamps and public media. 

College campuses across the state are already preparing for the worst. 

Funding at UW-Rock County would be stripped back to levels not seen since 1998, and the school’s dean has said faculty layoffs are almost certain. The situation appears even more dire at UW-Eau Claire, where administrators have offered buyouts to a record 325 faculty and staff members — about a quarter of the campus’ employees. These so-called “go away packages” have been offered to nearly half of the school’s political science department. UW-Stevens Point reports they will eliminate several entire majors, even for students currently enrolled in them. 

And it’s not just higher education feeling the pain. 

Public primary schools across Wisconsin will lose about $127 million in education aid next year, largely by scrapping a special $150 per-student fund that Wisconsin school districts received over the past two years.  (our emphasis)

Beyond the goal of strangling education because "a stupid voter is a Republican voter," the obvious target of these mindless cuts is teachers unions in Wisconsin, which were in the forefront of efforts to recall Gov. "Koch Head." But it's not just Wisconsin that sees education as it's nemesis:

Residents of Illinois are organizing against Governor Bruce Rauner’s proposal to cut nearly $400 million from the University of Illinois — taking the colleges back to the funding levels they had in the 1950s even though the student population is three times bigger today. (our emphasis)

And it's not just South Wisconsin Illinois:

Meanwhile, students in Louisiana will hold a budget forum on Wednesday to voice concerns about Governor Bobby Jindal’s proposed $200 million in cuts to Louisiana State University. 

The deep cuts are part of the Governor’s attempt to fill a more than $1.6 billion budget hole. Though lawmakers on both sides in the aisle in the state have pleaded with the Governor to consider ending some of the state’s massive tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy, he has largely refused to do so.  (our emphasis)

In our increasingly competitive economic and technological global environment, it's beyond ... what's the word?... stupid to make such draconian cuts to public education.  It's downright criminal.  If given the chance, we're certain Walker and Jindal would love to do to the United States what they're doing to their own benighted states.

Walker And Jindal Racing To The Bottom In Education

We've seen how current Republican wunderkind and Koch brothers employee of the year Wisconsin Gov. Scott "Koch Head" Walker (R-Kochland) proposes to burnish his wingnut credentials by slashing funding for the University of Wisconsin to the tune of $300 million while attempting to change the "Wisconsin Idea" that forms the public service mission of the University. He's also been going after primary and secondary public education during his entire tenure as a way of undercutting the teachers' unions, and he's not done yet:

Shortly after Scott Walker was first elected as governor of Wisconsin, he set about attacking the state's education system to prepare it for privatization. His first act was to cut more than a billion dollars from the education system. The effects of this massive cut were devastating, so much so that even the school district that Walker championed as a "success story" is failing horribly. 

This year, Walker and his Republican cohorts in the state legislature have upped their attacks on the public education system. Walker wants to eliminate the requirement that teachers actually know how to teach. Meanwhile, his cohorts in crimes against humanity are trying to mandate that the public schools they deem to be unworthy have to become private schools - all at the taxpayers' expense, of course.

His attacks have been so egregious, they've gotten the attention of media in "Tailgunner" Joe McCarthy country.  This is from an editorial by the Appleton (WI) Post-Crescent (h/t Crooks and Liars):

If you’re a fan of education, Gov. Scott Walker’s 2015-17 budget plan is a travesty. [snip] 

Walker is neither adding to the revenue limit nor including a per-pupil increase. For the next two years, districts will get the same money they have this year. If their fixed costs — like fuel, electricity or heating — go up, tough. Since a district’s budget is 80 to 90 percent personnel costs, the cuts will come from personnel in some form. 

And then, it gets worse.

And the Post-Crescent's editorial details how it gets worse... and worse.

Now turning to another Presidential hopeful, talibangelist Louisiana Republican Gov. Piyush "Bobby" Jindal, a man with a bleached-out self image, we see someone so desperate to attain something he will never attain that he's willing to sacrifice his State's already failing wellness (it is 50th among States in Politic-ho's annual review of education, health and well-being).  In addition to (like Walker in Wisconsin) doing a 180 degree reversal on Common Core, Jindal is taking aim at funding for the State university:

Jindal’s reality-avoiding rhetorical pose is his means of deflecting attention from his failures as an executive.  Louisiana now faces a $1.6 billion budget shortfall, some $300 million of which (the same number Walker has identified in Wisconsin) is meant to come out of higher education.  With the figures Jindal is proposing, Louisiana State University might well be required to cut up to 40 percent of its operating budget.  LSU is already near the bottom of flagship state universities in the amount of spending per student.  It is probably unreasonable to hope that the governor will consent to some invisible form of tax increase (in the most undertaxed of states) that can be called something else so that his pal Grover Norquist–who wanted Mitt Romney to make Jindal his running mate in 2012–can sleep easily.

Jindal, like Walker, is simply a stalking horse for the right-wing anti-teacher union/ charter/ private school industry (e.g., "American Principles Project") that ultimately wants to gut public education and replace it with schools that teach such concepts as American Exceptionalism and creationism, and that do the bidding (as they do) of corporate benefactors.  Mostly, however, they want to destroy one of the pillars of the Democratic Party, and if that means students and the nation suffers, so be it.

Three Of The Republican Brain Trust Get The Colbert Treatment

Stephen Colbert smacks Sen. "Tailgunner Ted" Cruz, Sarah Palin and, most deliciously, Gov. Bobby "Kenneth" Jindal (after the ad):

The Colbert Report
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You Say You Want A Revolution

Rick Perlstein on a recent watershed moment when legitimate authority was challenged and chose to back down:

Here is a truth so fundamental that it should be self-evident: When legitimately constituted state authority stands down in the face of armed threats, the very foundation of the republic is in danger. And yet that is exactly what happened at Cliven Bundy’s Nevada ranch this spring: An alleged criminal defeated the cops, because the forces of lawlessness came at them with guns — then Bureau of Land Management officials further surrendered by removing the government markings from their vehicles to prevent violence against them. 

What should be judged a watershed in American history instead became a story about one man’s racist rants. Even as two more Nevada lunatics, inspired by their stint at Cliven Bundy’s ranch, allegedly ambushed and mowed down two police officers and killed a bystander after crying, “This is the start of a revolution.” And now, an antigovernment conspiracy theorist named Douglas Cole recently shot at two police officers in Nevada County, California (though you may not have heard about that, because the New York Times hasn’t found the news yet fit to print).

Perlstein goes on to discuss how the lack of a strong push-back by the Democratic Party since 2000 has allowed a vacuum to form, which far-right gun nuts and Campfire Commandos have easily filled.  It's a story of political cowardice and missed opportunities.

Speaking of nuts, here's Stupid Party poster boy Gov. Piyush "Bobby" Jindal speaking Saturday at convicted bag man Ralph Reed's (My) Faith and (My) Freedom annual conference:

"I can sense right now a rebellion brewing amongst these United States," Jindal said, "where people are ready for a hostile takeover of Washington, D.C., to preserve the American Dream for our children and grandchildren."

"Rebellion?"  "Hostile takeover?"  Those are more than loaded words.  That's walks right up to the border of sedition.  He's talking about a coup against the legitimately elected government of the United States!  We haven't heard any responsible elected officials of either party denounce Jindal's incitement to violence.  From past experience, we don't expect we will.

Sic transit gloria, America.

Today's Dispatch From The Stupid Party - Going Full Circle Stupid

Today, we present for your amusement the sight of one Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (a.k.a., "Kenneth") -- the quixotic weathervane of Republican politics, a man- who- will- never- be- President -- in a 180 degree pirouette so strained that we got pulled groin muscles just reading about it.  Jindal, once a "strong supporter" of the Common Core education initiative, has suddenly evolved decided it's not for the Tea Party Louisiana any more, coincidentally at about the same time he realized the Iowa caucuses were only about 18 months away.  In a related bit of irony, you may recall Jindal was the one who first said the Republican Party "must stop being the stupid party."  To quote another intellect of the right, "How's that workin' out for ya'?"  Take it away, Piyush:

On the heels of saying he would not be "bullied by the federal government" any longer, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) announced Wednesday that he plans to pull his state out of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.  [snip] 

But Jindal's own state education superintendent, John White, is incensed. "It is outside the bounds of both our state's laws and our state's aspirations for its children to think that we would turn back now," White said in a statement.  [snip] 

A lack of cooperation from White, who is in charge of implementing the state's education policies, could complicate Jindal's plan. Reached by phone Wednesday, White said that Louisiana will move forward with Common Core for the time being. 

"We're just going to continue implementing the plan we've been implementing for four years," White said. "We've been saying since January of 2010 this is where we're headed. There's two outs and it's the ninth inning. He's bringing in the pinch hitter. This is a serious last-minute proposal."  [snip] 

Jindal previously described himself as a "strong supporter" of the Common Core. He was part of a group of governors who helped develop the standards, which lay out what students should know by the end of each grade. Federal funding encouraged states to adopt the standards.  [snip] 

On "CBS This Morning" on Tuesday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan described Jindal's opposition to the Common Core as "about politics -- it is not about education. And frankly that is part of the problem." 

Firing back in a statement Tuesday afternoon, Jindal said he "will not be bullied by the federal government."  [snip]  [Ed. note: We didn't know Piyush was such a delicate flower!] 

Jindal's Wednesday announcement goes against the wishes of the Louisiana legislature and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, both of which continue to support the Common Core. White, the education superintendent, earlier said that Jindal lacks the authority to unilaterally reject the standards. "The laws of our state ... give the statutory authority for approving tests and standards to the state Board [of Education], not to the governor," White told HuffPost on Wednesday.  [Ed.note: Dictator!! Tyrant!!] (our emphasis)

So, rather than heed his own warning about the Republicans becoming the stupid party (we think that bridge was crossed looong before the 2012 elections), Piyush has decided to go over to the party's dark side - well, at least the dimbulb side, where he's got lot's of company.  His transparent ambition without the moorings of any principles reminds us of someone else.  What was that fellow's name =cough= Eric Cantor = cough=?

Clueless Quote of the Day

"It is a messed up situation when Miley Cyrus gets a laugh, and Phil Robertson gets suspended." --  Louisiana Gov. Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (Stupid Party - LA), commenting on "Duck Dynasty" character Phil Robertson's ugly homophobic comments in a recent GQ magazine interview.  Robertson has been suspended from the program by the A&E network as a result.

Now, while Miley Cyrus' twerking of Robin Thicke and other age-inappropriate antics are cringeworthy, the only thing she may have offended (so far) are peoples' tastes.  Robertson's bigoted comments about an entire community could have been made by any thug out looking for a gay person to beat up.  "Bobby" Jindal should know the difference, and might want to consider that once he's out of hearing distance from people like the Robertsons, they probably have some choice slurs about him, too.

Tiger Beat Fave Bobby Jindal Tanking

 As reported by No More Mister Nice Blog:

"REPORTERS FROM POLITICO WERE OBVIOUSLY UNDERCOUNTED IN THE SURVEY SAMPLE

But ... but ... but I thought Bobby Jindal was the future of the Republican Party!

Gov. Bobby Jindal's approval rating dropped from 51 percent in October to just under 38 percent in March due to voter dissatisfaction with state fiscal and education policies, according to a poll released Tuesday...."

We're sure Politico (a.k.a., Tiger Beat on the Potomac -- Charles Pierce, you're a genius!) likes to think of itself as a kingmaker in national politics;  it loves to tout Jindal as the Great White Tan Hope of the Rethuglican Party (when it's not touting Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, etc.).  As NMMNB points out, the things that have led to Jindal's approval rating being lower than that of President Obama... in Louisiana!... were his tax swap plan, cuts to higher education and health care, school vouchers, and privatizing the state's public hospitals.  In other words, "... the entire right-wing policy agenda."

How could Politico have missed that?  Guess it wasn't shiny enough.
 

Today's Dispatches From The Stupid Party

Today we have "patriot" and resident of...um, his own world Ted "I Pooped and Peed My Pants" Nugent commenting on the State of the Union speech:

“It pains me deeply to report that the ACORN community organizer in chief is still at his masterful scripted deceitful fantasy scam, and even worse, the clueless masses are buying it. Somebody better wake up before he completely eviscerates the entire American Dream.”

Someone get Sarah Palin's ghostwriter! This genius is stealing all her lines... from 2008! Yeah, you're a model of sanity and an astute observer of the political landscape, Mr. Crap Pants.

Next we turn to a contributor to, and originator of, the "Stupid Party" moniker, Gov. Bobby "Kenneth" Jindal (Joke-LA), who had a sarcastic thoughtful tweet on the Violence Against Women Act:

Hey, there's no Rethuglican war on women, no siree!

We'd be happy if we could just vote to eliminate a turdpile like "Kenneth" from politics, but living in Louisiana would be too great a sacrifice to make.

Not All Nuts Are Acorns

Courageous conservative governors Tim "No Good 'N'" Pawlenty and Bobby "Kenneth" Jindal are fightin' the scourge of ACORN (you know, the nazidemosocialist storm troopers of B. Hussein Omuslim -- and Glenn "Boo-Hoo" Beck's fevered imagination). Seems Paw and Kenneth have issued Orders to their gummints to cease and desist ALL CONTACTS with the nefarious ACORNs! ("Huh? Whazzat? Neither Minnesota nor Louisiana have any contacts, contracts, or other 'intercourse' with the ACORNs?!? Shhh! You're spoiling their dramatic moment! YOU LIE!")

UPDATE: Also joining his voice to the courageous chorus, Gov. Sonny "Chicken" Perdue (Rethug-GA).

(Image: Pawlenty and Jindal, from tiny ACORNS big wingnuts grow)

Volcano? What Volcano?

The news that Alaska's Mount Redoubt is erupting reminds us of Louisiana Governor Bobby "Bo Jingles" Jindal's mocking of $140 million in the budget for volcano monitoring. And Federal assistance for hurricane Katrina victims? Bo Jingles thinks the people of Louisiana could have had a couple of bake sales and an ol' fashioned barn raising to take care of that. With a volcano erupting in Alaska, Gov. Winky You Betcha better get baking.

Winky and Bo Jingles in 2012!!

(photo: Uh, Gov. Jingles, watch the lava flow behind you)

. . . .Pants On Fire

We hate to beat a dead horse -- the "horse" being Bobby "Bo Jingles" Jindal -- but there are now reports that the story that he told about being present when Sheriff Harry Lee objected to Federal red-tape in his awful response to President Obama was false; he wasn't even there. Bo Jingles continues in the grand Rethuglican tradition of making things up.

A spokesman for Bo Jingles now says that Bo Jingles heard about the story days after it happened and wasn't present when Lee ordered boats into the water to save New Orleans residents from Bushit Assministration incompetence.

"The Jindal Adulation Watch" Begins

Borrowing a term from Howie "Get That Job? Kurtz, we're going to start what we think may be a short-lived adulation boomlet for Gov. Jingles. Entry number 1: Michael "Mushroom Cloud" Gerson's thrill up the leg paean in today's WaPo. In it, please note MC has the howler "Some have compared Jindal to Obama, but the new president has always been more attracted to platitudes than to policy." Yeah, you nailed it, MC!! I would never think of Obama as a policy wonk in the same league as your boys Ronnie "3x5 Card" Reagan, George "Dumbya" Bush, and now Bobby "Don't Show Me the Money." What planet is this guy living on? To have seen Jindal last night (see below) is to have seen all the shop-worn, failed policies and platitudes the Rethugs have been living on for more than 30 years*. If Jingles is Gerson's and Pills' Great Brown Hope, then you know he's really bad news.

Once again, the WaPo is allowing itself to be the platform for the worst elements of the Republican "Party" and its water carriers.

*Update: On the other hand, the usually reliably Rethuglican David Brooks thought what Jingles said was insane. Well, shut my mouf!

(Photo: Mushroom Cloud getting a bit of fresh air)

Peels from The Onion

We take a few moments to reflect on The Onion's take on Dennis Kucinich and America's first Indian American Governor, Bobby Jindal. We were hoping to see a comment on the Jindal ascension from our friend Ramesh "I Google Myself, Therefore I Am" Ponnuru, whose parents must also "be so close to being proud," but nothing, alas.