Battle Within The RNC Breaks Out (UPDATED)

An upheaval within the Rethuglican National Committee (RNC) is breaking into the open with news that the chair of the Party's rules committee, which makes the rules that the Rethug convention will abide by, has objected to RNC leadership's attempts to smooth the way for a "white knight" candidate to emerge. Committee Chairman Bruce "It's Ash" Ash sent an e-mail to the other members of his committee saying that it was a "breach of trust" by RNC officials << cough Reince "Prepuce" Priebus >> to propose the change by party insiders which could block neo-fascist Donald "Rump" Trump or smarmy theocrat "Tailgunner Ted" Cruz from the nomination after the first ballot. The Party's establishment is extremely worried that nominating either Rump or the Tailgunner will lead to their defeat, and equally important, down-ballot races in toss-up states, especially Senate contests.

Empty suit Prepuce has lost control of his deranged Party and has been on the defensive against attacks by Rump that the Party's delegate selection process is "rigged" and "corrupt." Now, the games being played to avoid the calamity that they have engendered over many years are out in the open.

UPDATE:  Does what happened at this Republican delegates meeting in the Virgin Islands (!) foreshadow coming events in Cleveland (we hope so!).  Hee-hee.

(photo: "Hello, Suicide Hotline?  It's Priebus again.....")

Across The Universe, Cont.

(click on image to enlarge)



From NASA (April 15):  "At first glance, this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image seems to show an array of different cosmic objects, but the speckling of stars shown here actually forms a single body — a nearby dwarf galaxy known as Leo A. Its few million stars are so sparsely distributed that some distant background galaxies are visible through it. Leo A itself is at a distance of about 2.5 million light-years from Earth and a member of the Local Group of galaxies; a group that includes the Milky Way and the well-known Andromeda galaxy."  More here.

Sunday Reflection

"The right of every American to first-class citizenship is the most important issue of our time."  Jackie Robinson, baseball great, businessman, and civil rights pioneer.  Major League Baseball has designated every April 15 as "Jackie Robinson Day," when players wear Robinson's number 42 in his honor.  With the continuing Republican efforts to abridge voting rights for minorities, discriminate against LGBT Americans, and restrict women's reproductive rights, Robinson's words are just as true today as they were a half century ago.

Video Of The Day - "My Brother's Keeper"

This is a nice promo for "My Brother's Keeper," a White House initiative to encourage mentoring of minority youth to get them ready for college and the workplace, featuring the President "mentoring" NBA superstar Steph Curry.  (Cue tiny wingnut heads exploding.)

Send In The Flying Monkeys!

Hate radio harpie Laura "I'm Melting" Ingraham was slinging her right-wing hash on her radio program yesterday when, as they say, technical difficulties occurred.  She was about to discuss some horrific story -- most likely how Hillary ate the remains of the Benghazi! victims -- when the wingnut warrior's earphones malfunctioned, along with the control panel. She then launched into a foul-mouthed tirade, not realizing that her microphone was still on. Here's a short sampling, but listen to the whole audio at the link, including the incongruous Credence Clearwater Revival ("rollin' on the river...") and Hollies ("pay you back with interest...") background music:

"We’re gonna lose every fucking station we have. This is unbelievable. I don’t know what to do. What do I do? Just read stories?"

Well, "stories" are what she tells all the time  -- tall ones at that -- so that should have been a seamless transition. Bwahahaha.

The Circus Isn't Coming To Town

(click on image to enlarge)

 
(Jack Ohman, The Sacramento Bee)

The latest to cancel performances in North Carolina due to its anti- LGBT law is Cirque de Soleil.  Media Matters has a round- up of the toll the bigoted law is taking on the state's economy.  From a leader in the "New South" to just another yahoo backwater in a few short years.  Thanks, North Carolina Republicans!

Guess Who The Media Hates The Most! (UPDATED)

The media definitely doesn't like someone.  We wonder who:

The biggest news outlets have published more negative stories about Hillary Clinton than any other presidential candidate — including Donald Trump — since January 2015, according to a new analysis of hundreds of thousands of online stories published since last year.

Clinton has not only been hammered by the most negative coverage but the media also wrote the smallest proportion of positive stories about her, reports Crimson Hexagon, a social media software analytics company based out of Boston.

(click on image to enlarge)



No doubt the Rupert "Aargh" Murdoch bullshit empire of Fox "News", the New York Post, and the Wall Street Journal contributed heavily to the negative coverage of Clinton;  the hundreds of hate radio outlets have been peddling the same hair afire nonsense as well. (But it's also some ostensibly "liberal" sites, which is why we're finally through with the " -- Busters" at "Salon"* -- buh bye linky).  The faux scandals that the "Republican puke funnel" has been feeding to the willing corporate media for the last year (Benghazi! e-mails! Clinton Foundation!) also have played their part. There's no doubt in our mind that this is the kind of attention Sen. Bernie Sanders would be getting if these outlets thought he would be the Democratic nominee (although it's rather shocking that Bernie already gets roughly the same negative coverage as full- blown neo- fascist demagogue Donald "Rump" Trump!).  WTF!?

In the meantime, it looks like many in the media have fallen for the story line that Gov. John Kasich is (relatively speaking in the Republican Party) a "moderate."

 Yeah, right.

"Moderate."

*UPDATE:  Wonkette is fed up with "liberal" Salon, too. 

Multiple Earthquakes Strike Japan

Less than two days after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit the southern Japanese island of Kyushu, an even more powerful quake, measured at between 7.0 and 7.4 on the Richter scale, has just hit the same region.

UPDATE:  As of Saturday morning EDT, the death toll for both quakes has reached 41.

Weekend Green Music

Rhythm and blues, soul and gospel music legend (Rev.) Al Green celebrated his 70th birthday this week, so in order to mark that milestone, we're offering two of his pre- gospel era songs: 1973's "Your Love Is Like The Morning Sun," and (dedicated to Democrats!) his signature song from 1971, "Let's Stay Together" (h/t Silver Spring Bureau Chief Brian).  Enjoy the weekend.

We're So Tired Of This Already

Last night's rancorous debate between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in Brooklyn was a far cry from the more civil ("adult"?) debates held earlier in the primary season, which had offered a sharp contrast with the puerile name calling and outrageous behavior in the Republican debates.  Ah, the good old days!

The low point, most observers seem to agree, was when CNN's "Cry" Wolf Blitzer had to admonish the two to stop "screaming at each other."  Plus, more yammer about "judgement," influence- buying and Sandy Hook.  At least Clinton mentioned women's health issues as something none of the moderators had ever brought up in this or previous debates.  Oy vey.

Even the best of us can lose sight of the "big picture" when our egos get involved in a competition.  Compounding this is that each candidate has deeply invested organizations and surrogates that are also largely ego- driven and not necessarily focused on post- convention politics (although the Clinton camp has been trying to pivot that way).  While drawing contrasts in a debate is healthy, treating your opponent like an implacable enemy is not.  At the very least, you're effectively encouraging the most unhinged of your cadres to go even further in turning fissures into chasms (not to worry -- Republicans can finish the job by November!).  For candidates who say they're looking toward the future of the Democratic Party, this performance doesn't qualify as "party building."

This has to stop.  And soon.

Truth is that Clinton and Sanders are similar in their politics, but tonight they're bludgeoning each other as if...they were Republicans!

— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) April 15, 2016

Remember how Obama was criticized for his cool, professorial debate demeanor? Don't know what you got 'till it's gone, people.

— Bob Schooley (@Rschooley) April 15, 2016

Failure To Launch

It was meant to be a glorious birthday celebration of North Korea's founder and ruling dynasty, Kim Il-Sung: the launch of an intermediate range ballistic missile, in defiance of UN sanctions. But instead of a launch, it was a crash as the missile exploded on the launch pad. The grandson of the "Glorious Leader" who rules the country, young psychopath Kim Jong-Un, will not be pleased at the symbolic failure on such an auspicious occasion (he's had members of his family executed by rather exotically sick means, so those responsible for the failure are likely already dead).The failed launch follows another embarrassment to the North Korean regime: the defection of 13 North Korean restaurant workers to South Korea, via China.

China immediately condemned the attempt to launch the missile as "saber-rattling" on the part of its client state, suggesting that the Chinese government's patience has worn thin with the increasingly irrational Kim and his dangerous threats. China wields great influence within the North Korean armed forces and over their economy, so after this public condemnation, expect intense pressure from China on the erratic Kim to turn the heat down.

Wall St. Fraudsters And The PR Crisis

The financial debt crisis in Puerto Rico has driven the Commonwealth's government to ask for relief from the Federal Government. However, Wall Street greed in combination with some of the island's shady politicians appears to be responsible for running up $11 billion in debt, and is fueling the Puerto Rican independence movement. At the core of the fraud are allegations of a Ponzi-style pyramid scheme involving the island's electrical authority and fuel oil suppliers to pay bondholders with money supplied by new investors. Puerto Rico has asked Congress for bankruptcy protection, which it is unlikely to receive under the current Republican leadership.

The crisis has fueled the Commonwealth's independence movement, the Puerto Rican Independence Party, which has demanded a vote by Congress to allow a referendum on the island's status once and for all. And the fraudsters on Wall Street are right there in the thick of things.

"#NeverTrump" Becoming "#EventuallyTrump"

Paul Waldman argues what many of us assumed would be the case all along:   that Republican media and political grifters leaders would, as Republicans always do, fall in line behind the likely nominee.  Unfortunately for them, that would be neo- fascist fartbag Donald "Rump" Trump.

It's started with someone you wouldn't necessarily have thought would be able to swallow Rump:

Fox News and Donald Trump are reaching a detente at last; yesterday Megyn Kelly went to Trump Tower for an hour-long meeting she described as allowing “a chance to clear the air,” after which Trump went to the Fox offices to have lunch with network chief Roger Ailes. This comes after Kelly had the temerity to ask Trump about sexist remarks he had made in the past, which led him to unleash a months-long campaign of insults at her (The Donald doesn’t like to be challenged, especially by a woman).

The time had obviously come for Kelly to make nice, and more importantly, Fox needed to smooth over any conflict with Trump, given that he’s likely to be the Republican nominee for president soon.

Who else do we have waving the white flag?  Why none other than "Bush's brain" (hahahaha), American Crossroads' Karl "Turdblossom" Rove:

... Politico reports today that while Rove has been criticizing Trump in public, behind the scenes he and American Crossroads, the super PAC he helped found, are telling donors that Trump can beat Hillary Clinton, so everyone needs to be prepared to get behind him. Now why might that be?

If your guess as to why Turdblossom might be willing to eventually tolerate the Rump involves the phrase "grifting the rubes," you are a winner!

... If Trump is the nominee and American Crossroads said, “Forget about this election — we won’t support Trump,” where would that leave them? On the sidelines, with no role to play (at least in the presidential race), no contributions coming in, no salaries for their staff, no commissions for their consultants, and no influence. When there’s a presidential election going on, the last thing political players like them want is to be left out of the game.

That's why Waldman, correctly in our view, thinks the usual suspects will return to the fold because, darn it, there are sheep to be shorn and money to be made!  And if mercenary considerations weren't enough, a deep, abiding hatred of the "Democrat" Party (magnified a hundredfold by the Clintons and Obama) will keep them from staying on the sidelines for long.

That's why in the weeks and months ahead of the July convention, you'll see more of these unprincipled professional grifters like Rove lining up behind Rump:

Rove defects from #NeverTrump to #EventuallyTrump https://t.co/Fz5zgGSncA

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) April 14, 2016

Not Hedging Their Pensions

In a strong signal to the hedge funds that have profited from raiding public pension funds, the board of the New York City Employees Retirement System (NYCERS), the city's largest pension fund, voted to liquidate its $1.7 billion in hedge fund assets in an orderly manner. NYCERS has a total of $51.2 billion in their pension fund. The city's public pension funds have some $154 billion in total assets, managed independently under five separate funds. The move by the NYCERS follows a decision by the California Public Employees Retirement System (CALPERS) -- the nations largest public pension fund---to pull out of hedge funds.

New York City's public advocate Letitia James said, "Hedge funds are charging exorbitant fees for high-risk and opaque investments," with NYCERS paying $40 million in fees to hedge funds in 2015 alone. The performance of hedge funds has not kept pace with other investment options, and the high-risk associated with their investments made the pension fund managers concerned. Then, too, there's the reputation of many hedge fund managers for their free-spending life styles. As James noted,

"Hedges have underperformed, costing us millions. Let them sell their summer homes and jets, and return those fees to their investors."

Today's Cartoon And Read - The Ted Cruz Connection To North Carolina Bigotry

(click on image to enlarge)



(Tom Toles, once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle)

As the backlash continues from the signing of the anti- LGBT "bathroom law" by North Carolina Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, it's being pointed out that some of the prominent bigots behind the law form the nucleus of support for a certain anti- dildo, anti- masturbation presidential candidate:

As he worked to rally evangelical voters a week before North Carolina's March 15 primary, Ted Cruz gave a speech at a church in the Charlotte suburb of Kannapolis, where he was joined by a trio of prominent local social conservative supporters: Charlotte pastor and congressional candidate Mark Harris and the Benham brothers, the telegenic real estate entrepreneurs whose house-flipping show on HGTV was canceled in 2014 when their history of anti-gay activism came to light. At the event, Cruz thanked Harris for "calling the nation to revival," and called David and Jason Benham "an extraordinary voice for the Christian faith."  [snip]

... The advocacy of these top Cruz supporters against the Charlotte ordinance eventually led the North Carolina legislature to push through one of the most sweeping anti-LGBT measures in the country, a law that has caused a national outcry and caused many companies, including PayPal, to scrap plans to invest in the state. The law, the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, strikes down all existing and future LGBT nondiscrimination statutes in North Carolina and requires that transgender people use bathrooms based on their sex at birth.  [snip]

Harris' and the Benhams' state activism is significant because, if Cruz wins the presidential race, the considerable influence of these three religious activists could extend far beyond North Carolina. In February, Cruz appointed them to his campaign's advisory council for religious liberty, along with 16 other conservative Christian leaders. The GOP candidate has promised that this group will "guide his policies to protect religious liberty"—policies that could look very much like the anti-LGBT bill in North Carolina. (our emphasis)

That's exactly what we'll get with a [shudder gag] "Tailgunner Ted" Cruz presidency:  a reign of bigotry cloaked in faux "religious liberty" prattle, and a descent into the dark past for our nation.

UPDATE:  The media's hard at work "humanizing" this monster.  Beware.

UPDATE II:  "Tailgunner Ted" confirms the already known - he's a bigot.