Richest Enjoy Almost All Income Gains in 2010

A growing issues for middle class voters has been their weakening economic position over the past decade. Income inequality isn't the result of smarts or ambition or "winners" winning, as Rethug plutocrats would have it. It's a result of people and corporations with economic power who can rig the economic system to their exclusive benefit. It's everything from tax loopholes and rates, to subsidies, to regulations (or lack thereof). As billionaire Warren Buffett said in 2006,

"There's class warfare, all right, but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning."

Now, we have data that shows that in 2010 the richest 1% accounted for 93% of the nation's income gains. When, as a corporation or an individual, you have the financial means to hire lobbyists and tax accountants by the boatload -- and most important, to fund the campaigns of right-wing politicians -- the result is a reverse-Robin Hood economic system. It has to stop in order for the middle class to survive and prosper.

Cartoon of the Day - Dysfunctional Rethugs Edition

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(Tom Tomorrow, via Daily Kos)

Got Some 'Splainin' To Do

Rethuglican weather vane and profile in courage Willard "Severely Conservative" Romney has been trying to convince his party's reactionary base that he would sign a repeal of the Affordable Care Act if presented to him. Sadly for Willard, his record keeps popping up. The latest evidence of weird Willard's convenient conversion to the radical right was a op-ed piece in USA Today in 2009 that urged President Obama to adopt individual mandates for his health care plan. Federal "mandates" are, of course, poison in the minds of the wingnut world, and weird Willard has been campaigning fiercely against the advice he gave to President Obama.

Willard can't claim that this was his position in Massachusetts as Governor (2003 - 2007); this was less than 3 years ago. While his campaign will try to spin this development, it's a serious problem, and one that further illustrates that "severely conservative" Willard has no core "convictions" that can't be changed for political purposes.

Rethugs Pole-Axed in Poll

A new NBC News / Wall Street Journal poll shows that the Rethuglican primary process is doing damage to not only the candidates themselves, but also to the Rethug "brand," such as it is. Forty percent say the process has given them a more negative impression of the Rethuglican Party, and nationally the President holds a 6 point lead over tree height expert Willard "Mendacious Mittens" Romney (it's worth remembering that Obama won in 2008 by beating Sen. John "Walnuts" McNasty by 7 points, in an electoral landslide). The Dems top Rethuglicans in a generic Congressional ballot by 5 points, which they'll need to hold the Senate and recapture the House.

In all, very encouraging for the President and Democratic Congresscritters. Given the poll trends, we say "let the Rethug primary process continue...and continue...and continue..."

Quote of the Day

"Mr. Boehner comes out and says, Rush's language was inappropriate. Using a salad fork for your entree, that's inappropriate. Not this stuff. I mean, and Rick Santorum says well, what he says was absurd, but an entertainer is allowed to be absurd. No. . . And it was depressing, because what it indicates is that the Republican leaders are afraid of Rush Limbaugh. They want to bomb Iran, but they're afraid of Rush Limbaugh." -- right wing columnist and blind squirrel George "Quill" Will, finding a nut on ABC's This Week today.

Mittens' Profile in Cowardice

The firestorm following several days of vicious and vile remarks from hate radio host and pig-like pill popper Rush "Limpballs" Limbaugh was intense and effective. As we noted yesterday, advertisers began pulling their ads from his incendiary program, forcing the Pig Man to issue a non-apology apology to his victim, 30 year old Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke, who has conducted herself with the decency that Limpballs utterly lacks.

Not surprisingly, most of the Rethuglican establishment, which jumps to Limpballs' command, was muted in their reaction to his indecent remarks. In particular, smarmy, soulless cyborg Willard "Mendacious Mittens" Romney ducked a reporter's request for a comment on the situation, saying only, "it's not the language I would have used." He won't say more because, like most Rethug officials, he's scared shitless of the Pig Man.

Full disclosure: the Hackwhackers have daughters closing in on Ms. Fluke's age, and as fathers of women, we'd love to have 15 minutes or so in a locked room with baseball bats with Limpballs. That type of feeling should have animated Willard's response, not that he would have used different "language". The coward.

(photo: "Is Rush OK with what I said? If he's not, tell him I didn't mean it.")

Sexual Warfare - Willard and Frothy Mix Edition

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(Matt Wuerker, via Daily Kos)

Pig Man Backs Down

Porcine pill popper Rush "Limpballs" Limbaugh has had a rough 3 days. Since his verbal assault on Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke, his hate radio show has shed advertisers and all but the most loathsome, frothing right-wingers have disavowed his misogynist comments. Somehow, though, the message got through to him that his culture war on women was hurting the two things he loves most: his Rethuglican Party and his fat wallet. So, Limpballs has done what his lawyers told him needed to be done to stanch the bleeding, issuing an "apology" cum rationalization:

"For over 20 years, I have illustrated the absurd with absurdity, three hours a day, five days a week. In this instance, I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke... [eliminating the rationalization here]

"My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous [to be humorous? liar!], I created a national stir. I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices."

Let's see. He spent 3 days trashing Ms. Fluke, then says all his hateful language was just Rush trying to be his hilarious self. Riiiight! Regular Limpballs listeners needn't worry, though. Limpballs will be back offending common decency again at the soonest opportunity. But we certainly hope Ms. Fluke takes Pig Man to court for slander and wins. As someone who has made an enormous contribution to driving the level of political speech into the gutter over the past 30 years, Pig Man deserves whatever justice can be meted out.

(Image: "Oink. I was just trying to be humorous!")

Massacre

Lest we forget, here's what Ahmadinejad's and Putin's BFF Bashar al-Assad is up to in Syria.

(Photo: Reuters)

The President of Ireland Shuts Up Wingnut Talk Host

This video (double h/t to Charles P. Pierce and Daily Kos) from 2010 features the feisty President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, applying a verbal shillelagh over and over again to the empty skull of Boston wingnut hate radio host Michael "Cracker" Graham. ("Wanker..." hee-hee.)

Super Sunday - - In Russia

Russians will be going to the polls within hours to vote for a new president, which it seems will be Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. If Putin polls 50% of the vote, he will avoid a runoff election.

In practice, Putin's system of "managed democracy" manifests itself as voter suppression, media intimidation and jingoistic appeals to Russian nationalism (hmmm, remind you of any American political party?). It would be a shame if one of Bashar al-Assad's few allies were given another (non-consecutive) term as president, but given Putin's control of the levers of government, that's where Russia seems to be headed. We can only hope a Putin victory will lead to a re-energizing of the Russian opposition - a faint hope, but the only one Russian democracy has right now.

Class Warfare Cartoon - Willard Romney Platinum Edition

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(Mike Luckovich, via gocomics.com)

Weekend Song

This is a nice little song written by Roger McGuinn and Gene Clark (singing lead on this), co-founders of the Byrds. It's from the earliest days of the group, and didn't appear on an album until "Preflyte" -- a collection of early demos and studio sessions -- was released in 1969. You might have heard a slower-tempo version by the Turtles who had a Top 10 hit with it in 1968, or a version by... =ahem= Salt-N-Pepa (we kid you not!) in 1991. Enjoy the song and the weekend.

A Win For Women's Health

Yesterday, the Senate voted down a Rethuglican attempt to sabotage the Obama Administration's policy of including coverage for contraceptives in health insurance plans. The Rethugs wanted to let employers and insurance companies decide what would be included in health coverage on "religious" or "moral" grounds, which was an obvious attempt to begin the dismantling of the Affordable Care Act. We can imagine a, say, Koch Industries decision to carve out coverage for contraceptives, preventive breast cancer screenings, etc. in health care plans provided to their employees on "moral" grounds -- according to the "morals" of the CEO, of course.

The longer that the Rethugs wage this war, the more they will lose women (and men) at the polls, who are seeing these "small Government conservatives" for what they truly are: God-bothering moral scolds eager to control the bedrooms and bodies of their fellow Americans.

Oink

It's hard to be shocked anymore at the garbage that comes out of the mouth of hate radio king and Rethuglican philosopher Rush "Pills" Limpballs. But over the past few days, the porcine pill-popper descended to a new low when he attacked Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke for her Congressional testimony in support of womens' reproductive health. Referring to her as a "slut" and "prostitute," the Pig Man said:

"If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex, we want something for it, and I'll tell you what it is. We want you to post the videos online so we can all watch."

Watching videos of a young woman having sex would no doubt please the Pig Man, who is famous for returning from a Dominican Republic sex tour a few years ago with lots of Viagra not prescribed to him. He's on, what, his fourth wife? And no children? Maybe his multiple wives have taken one look at him in the buff (mfff, sorry, threw up in my mouth) and decided to hold an aspirin between their knees. No other contraception needed.

It's hard to imagine this sick f*ck going lower, but he keeps shoveling in the sewer so there's no telling how far down he'll go.

UPDATE: The advertisers are starting to leave the Pig Man's radio show; also, President Obama, to his great credit, called Sandra Fluke today to thank her for speaking up and to say her parents should be proud of her. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, speaking for the President, called Limpballs' remarks "reprehensible" and "crude."