Happy New Year's Eve Song

U 2 and We 2 hope all is quiet tomorrow on New Year's Day... except for Michigan and Wisconsin loudly crushing their bowl opponents!

Days of Whine and Bonuses

If there is a group more clueless and self-entitled than the Wall Street Masters of the Universe, we'd like to know. Recently, several anonymous (i.e., cowardly) Wall Streeters whined to Politico about how mean the Obama administration has been to them, for no reason at all! Who remembers the Troubled Agency Recovery Program, the Bush-passed/Obama administered bailout that saved their fat asses? Who remembers the record high bonuses of the past 2 years that they were allowed to rake in? Not these clowns.

When blame is rightly laid at their marble doorstep by the President, and most others, they get upset. But we're certain their hurt feelings will be soothed once they have a little more time to depressurize from the demands of the current bull market at their ski chalet, executive spa, or home in the Hamptons.

Hackwhacker Awards for 2010

The time has come to look back at 2010 and bestow our coveted annual Hackwhacker Awards. There was so much good material this past year that it was difficult to choose, but here we go:

Flat Earth Science Award: To the right wing, which is growing more medieval by the day in its approach to modern science. Any day now we expect them to declare the Earth is flat because. . . well, because one of their deranged leaders said so on the fancy talking box. Hey, it's snowing in winter, so climate change is a hoax!

Bent Putter Trophy: To Tiger "Putz" Woods, who should have kept his putter in his pants. Although his scandal erupted at the end of 2009, name after name spurted forth (we gave up at 20) of Tiger's hoes. Sadly, the climax was that he lost a gorgeous wife who made the mistake of trusting him.

Big Boys Don't Cry Award: To (who else?) incoming House Speaker John of the Orange Boner. It's no shame for a man to cry, but Boner bawls at the drop of a cliche, no matter how banal. Too bad he doesn't care about real people that are hurting. The tanning oil must be triggering his blubbering.

Hanging Chad Prize for Clueless Voting: To "independents", who went from voting for Dems in 2008 to Rethugs in 2010, and who apparently suffer from amnesia or attention deficit disorder. Nothing like rewarding the people who got us into our economic mess and refused to act to get us out. That'll teach them!

Sweating Hog Look Alike Winner: To porcine propagandist Pills Limpballs. We may have to make this award to Pills permanent; he has no equal. Or Splenda, or Sweet and Low. Oink!

Worst Use of Social Media: To former half-term Alaska Gov. and snowbilly grifter Sarah Palin, who uses Facebook and Twitter to expound on public policy (actually, it's written for her, she just presses the "send" key). Does anyone really think she's got a thought in her head? Oh yeah, and how's your lousy poll numbers workin' out for ya?

"Against It Before They Were For It" Brass Waffle Award: To Senate Rethugs for their lock-step opposition to the 9/11 responders medical care bill -- until Jon Stewart (not the "mainstream media" you should note) exposed the Rethugs' hypocrisy and small-bore thinking. But, penurious to the end, they succeeded in scaling back the funding for the bill before voting for it.

Pinocchio Was A Piker Award: To Fox "News", whose cable spin cycles have been duly noted as providing more intentional distortions and misinformation per viewer minute than all the other cable news organizations combined. Some get their fiction from SyFy, some from Fox.

Dumbass, Crazy, Dangerous Wingnut of the Year: Who else but reigning champion Glenn "Boo Hoo the Hoot" Beck, whose megalomania drove him to stage a billion... er million... er 80,000 sheeple demonstration in Washington on the anniversary of the Martin Luther King March on Washington. Professor Beck has been given a big megaphone by his handlers at Fox, the better to rile the crackpots who tune in to hear the latest conspiracy, faux outrage, and hyperventilated call to revolution coming from Boo Hoo.

Delusions of Majority Award: To Congressional Rethugs who claim to have heard and responded to the "voice of the American people" in the 2010 elections, but who somehow failed to hear that same voice in the 2008 elections, opting instead to do everything to obstruct, delay and deny the will of the people expressed in Obama's landslide.

Lie of the Year: This has already been awarded by Politifact to Rethuglicans who successfully snookered enough people into thinking the health reform act was a "Government takeover of health care." We couldn't improve on that one.

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That's it for 2010. We're certain there'll be much more of the same (and worse) in 2011, so hang in there with us!

Mid-Week Song

Cyndi Lauper's 1984 hit, "Time After Time," with lyrics thoughtfully provided.

The Big Snowfail

We see that extremely rotund New Jersey Rethuglican Gov. Chris "Can't Miss" Christie and his Rethuglican Lt. Governor were missing during the snowstorm that buried his state. He was "on vacation." Nice. So who was left in charge? Democratic State Senate President Steve Sweeney. At least Can't Miss knows which party can best deal with the emergency.

Can't Miss Christie is becoming the favorite Rethug in the Washington media circus, given his accessibility and his phony self-deprecation act. Maybe they've been snowed, but the voters of New Jersey might not be next time.

(photo: You can't miss this bloated buffoon, except during snowstorms in his state)

Not Ivory Soap Pure

"A surprising number of Virginia's Tea Party zealots have convinced themselves that former Sen. George Allen (R), who's likely to try a comeback in 2012, just isn't right-wing enough anymore. Allen's lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union is 92.3%." -- Steve Benen, in today's Washington Monthly blog.

It figures that those liberals at the American Conservative Union would like Allen.

Corporate America's Gift

Who says corporate America isn't creating jobs? According to the Economic Policy Institute, they've created 1.4 million jobs this year... OVERSEAS. That's compared with less than 1 million here in the U.S.

Despite record profits, two trillion dollars in cash, and a growing stock market, corporations are investing their money -- and sending our jobs -- overseas:

"The additional 1.4 million jobs would have lowered the U.S. unemployment rate to 8.9 percent, says Robert Scott, the institute's senior international economist. 'There's a huge difference between what is good for American companies versus what is good for the American economy,' says Scott."

We don't know the details of President Obama's discussion with corporate CEOs at the White House recently, but if he didn't raise hell with them about this situation, he needs to spend a few months living with families whose jobs have been outsourced.

Oh yes, and more tax cuts for the wealthy, anyone?

Coming Attractions

As we do this time every year, we will be posting our annual Hackwhackers awards: the best, the worst, and everything in between that's caught our attention.

Stay tuned.

Merry Christmas!

Cartoon of the Year

Politically, 2010 was the year of "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished." Voters with short memories, or whose fears had been stoked, or who'd been simply but relentlessly misinformed about what was going on around them came to the polls and voted the rascals, "morans", liars, hypocrites, bigots, incompetents, crackpots and crooks back into power, in the House at least. We therefore think this Mike Luckovich cartoon beautifully captures the essence of the year in politics.

Proof That Irony Is Not Dead

"Assange Assails Leaks By Swedish Prosecutors" - headline in Kaplan Daily.

Looking Back at the 111th Congress

The recently adjourned 111th Congress was responsible for more landmark legislation than any since the days of the Great Society in the 1960's. As much as any two leaders, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Harry Reid deserve enormous credit for getting so much done in the face of Rethuglican obstruction and an often feckless White House. We have serious qualms about the means and results of some of the legislative process, but in the final analysis, the American people have come out a lot better. Here's a brief rundown of the 111th's achievements:

-- health care reform
-- Wall Street reform
-- economic stimulus
-- Lily Ledbetter equal pay law
-- New START treaty
-- tax cut extension (ugh) and additional stimulus
-- Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal
-- food safety legislation
-- expansion (first in 40 years) of the school lunch program
-- 9/11 responders medical care law

Having a Congress pass half of this list of laws would be significant. Having a Congress pass all in two years is just a remarkable achievement that will benefit the American people for years to come. Hats off to Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Reid.

Sari About That

With more invasive screening at U.S. airports now in place, it was only a matter of time when issues of cultural modesty were raised by some diplomatic travelers. For example, this Kaplan Daily story notes that sari-wearing Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Meera Shankar was searched and patted down twice recently. Saris, using yards of fabric, cover most of the body and legs, requiring more attention by screeners. India's U.N. Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri was nearly forced to remove his dastar (turban) during a recent TSA screening in Austin, TX. As a member of the Sikh religious group, Puri's dastar is an integral part of his cultural and religious identity.

The State Department says that it is working with the TSA to avoid incidents involving diplomatic travelers.

(photo: Indian movie star Aishwarya Rai wearing a high-fashion sari -- and wearing it well)

Mid-Week Pre-Christmas Warm-Up Song

Was that enough hyphens for ya? In our continuing effort to get you in a holiday mood we offer up this classic by Nat King Cole.

START Celebrating

The Senate today ratified the New START treaty with Russia by a vote of 71-26. It deserves to be noted that, in voting for the treaty and against the wishes of the scurrilous Missy McConnell and Jon Kyl, the following Republicans voted for country rather than party: Lamar Alexander, Bob Bennett, Scott Brown, Thad Cochran, Susan Collins, Bob Corker, Judd Gregg, Johnny Isakson, Mike Johanns, Richard Lugar, Lisa Murkowski, Olympia Snowe, and George Voinovich. We'd like to hope this is a trend that will continue in the next Congress, but we're not holding our breath.