Picture of the Week

A picture of Wisconsin's Rethug Gov. Scott "Too Much Johnnie" Walker on the back of a truck, with a hilarious question. On Wisconsin!

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

The White House Correspondents' Dinner is on for this evening. It's an annual farce, where the White House Press Corps basks in its own self-importance, and schmoozes with the politicians they should be holding at arms length, as well as Hollywood celebs and corporate tycoons.

This year, the increasingly despicable Kaplan Daily has invited none other than race-baiter and vulgarian Donald "Rump" Trump as one of its guests (along with the Orange Boner). President Obama will attend, so imagine his chagrin when the "carnival barker" that's been smearing him is smugly sitting at the Kaplan Daily table. The view of many can be summed up in this letter to the Kaplan Daily:

"I am a Republican. I am not particularly fond of President Obama. I am furious, however, that this man, born a private citizen of the United States of America, was made to feel obliged to reveal the intimate details of his records of birth. I am disgusted that there are those among us who feel that they had the right to press him to do so. And I am sickened to think that, even after the disclosure of these facts, there will likely remain those for whom the citizenship issue is yet unresolved. I am grateful to the president for his effort to put this 'issue' to rest, and I am deeply sorry that he was forced to such an extreme. I will never be ashamed to be an American, but I may never be more ashamed than I am right now of some among our number.

Kenneth C. Mino, New York"

Mr. Mino gets it, as we suspect many fair Republicans do also. Sadly, a once great newspaper doesn't.

Trump's Investigators Find Stuff on Obama!

Via Jimmy Kimmel!

All-Brit Weekend Song

We admit we're Anglophiles, and with the wedding of Prince William (love that name!) and Kate (now the Duchess of Cambridge) taking center stage in most of the world, it seemed appropriate to send you into the weekend with the quintessential British band. Enjoy.

"Get Over It"

As the lunatic fringe continues to sniff the fetid remains of the birther debacle for new "clues," they continue to represent a danger to the Rethuglican / New Confederate Party. Independents are turned off by the nutty but dominant fringe of the Party, and a recent poll by USA Today/Gallup indicates that 64% of the public say they would never vote for front runner crypto-racist gasbag Donald "Rump" Trump. Eugene Robinson's column in the Kaplan Daily puts a fine point on it:

"Look, I’m not surprised that the first black president faces unprecedented scrutiny about his origins, and I hope Obama’s not surprised, either. This sort of thing comes with being a historic 'first,' and there’s no way around it. To those deniers who can’t come to terms with the fact of the Obama presidency, I have nothing to offer but this: Yes, he’s smarter, richer, luckier and better looking than you, and he’s your president. Yours, mine and ours. And he’s black. Get over it."

They won't, of course. Maybe for us, it's better to abide by the adage that if your adversary is self-destructing, don't get in their way.

Congrats

It was a flawless ceremony, and Kate Middleton (a.k.a. the Duchess of Cambridge) looked wonderful. She should be a very popular royal, as her new husband William already is. Here's hoping they have a long and happy life together.

Quote of the Day

"At this point, we can't be certain who [Obama's] parents are, which means I have no proof that he's even a black man. He could be white, and if that's the case I don't understand why we're questioning his legitimacy." -- Steven Colbert, mocking birthers on the Colbert Report.

If there's any question by now that there's a strong undercurrent of racism in the birther smears, the "unqualified black man uses affirmative action" canard that Rump Trump is trotting out over Obama's college records should answer that question.

UPDATE: Venerable CBS journalist Bob Schieffer came out and accused Rump of racism. Good for him.

Mid-Week Song

This 1972 hit by the Main Ingredient seems an appropriate choice for today's birther busting / Rump Dumping. Enjoy.

The Rethugs' Hostage-Taking Base

The loons and crackpots that seemingly inhabit the far-right base of the Rethuglican Party, as well as their own alternate universe, are doing great damage to Rethug prospects nationally, says Harold Meyerson in today's Kaplan Daily (to which we say, play on!). Having been fed a steady diet of lies, stuff and nonsense by right-wing outlets like Fox and the hate radio nuts for years, the Rethug base has gone so far off the deep end (think birfers, sharia law being imposed everywhere, Obama's an Islamofascistsocialist, and climate change denial) that any Rethug looking at a run for office is in effect held hostage by these loons and crackpots and has to play their loony tune just to gain traction. Even Karl "Turdblossom" Rove has started to look upon the madness as a huge looming problem for Rethugs in the months and years ahead. Sample from Meyerson's article:

"If Rove really wanted to stop Trump and the birthers in their tracks, he should have looked Fox News viewers straight in the camera's eye and told them to change the channel."

But that would be biting the hand that feeds him, wouldn't it?!

National Security Team Shuffle

Word leaked out today that President Obama is going to name current CIA Director Leon Panetta as Secretary of Defense, replacing Robert Gates. In Panetta's place at CIA, Obama plans to name Gen. David Petraeus. Panetta's one of the most experienced officials in DC, having served in the Clinton Administration as Chief of Staff and OMB Director. Petraeus won praise for his surge strategy in Iraq, and has been a good team player under Obama. Looks like a good move all around.

Rump Roast

Now that the White House has released the President's actual birth certificate, Rethug vulgarian and egomaniac Donald "Rump" Trump has less to yammer about. Without naming Rump, it was satisfying for the President to refer to the "sideshows and carnival barkers" exploiting the non-issue. But that won't stop Rump from trying to smear the President. Rump's latest race-bating smear against President Obama is suggesting that he wasn't qualified for Ivy League schools, that he was a "terrible student" [wink wink affirmative action]. And how does Rump know this? He says it's based on things he's "heard." Salon's Alex Pareen has an interesting article about Rump's hypocrisy, noting:

"Leaving aside the fact that Obama, who went on to graduate Harvard Law magna cum laude, seems like he was probably a very good student, Mr. Trump might need a refresher course in how unqualified people actually do manage to get into the prestigious Ivy League Universities . Let us take, as an example, the story of a student so obviously unqualified, so transparently unworthy, that a book was written about what his admittance into Harvard said about the sorry behavior of supposedly elite colleges. That student -- that dull, below-average student who somehow made his way into Harvard -- was Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner."

Rump might also have trouble explaining to his teatard followers why 54% of his $1.3 million in donations have gone to Democrats. Also, Rump has flip-flopped on everything from women's reproductive choice to raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. He even has his menswear made in China, while bashing China for taking American jobs. So, Rump's no slave to consistency or honesty.

Li'l Danny Snyder Writes Again

Our favorite Redskins owner, Li'l Danny Snyder, has propelled himself back in the news today with an op/ed in the Kaplan Daily. In it, Li'l Danny (a.k.a. "the amoral little shit") dredges up his rationale for suing Washington City Paper for an unflattering article it printed last year. Why now? He's refiling the lawsuit and wants to remind everyone what an amoral little shit he is, I guess. Rather than link you to the op/ed, Kissing Suzy Kolber has helpfully taken it and provided explanatory text.

(Image: Li'l Danny Snyder, keeping his best friends close by)

Literary World Awaits Next Bestseller

Wasilla's man-about-town Levi Johnston has a new tell-all book to be published in the fall. Wonderfully titled, "Deer in the Headlights: My Life in Sarah Palin's Crosshairs," it promises to reveal more information about the dysfunctional snowbilly clan. Now that Sarah "Mama Fizzly" Palin's Presidential hopes are fizzling, it may not get the attention it deserves, but we hope a salacious detail or two emerges (Did Mama Fizzly make a pass at young Levi? Was husband Todd cheating on the Wasilla Wonderwoman?). Levi promises to "tell the truth," so tell, Levi, tell!

(photo: If looks could kill, Levi would be moose meat)

"War? What War?"

Rethug Presidential hopeful Willard "Mittens" Romney had an op-ed piece in the conservative New Hampshire paper, the Manchester Union-Leader, which stated:

"Barack Obama is facing a financial emergency on a grander scale. Yet his approach has been to engage in one of the biggest peacetime spending binges in American history."

Unbeknownst to Mittens, we are engaged in a war in Afghanistan, and are wrapping a costly one up in Iraq. We won't even mention Libya.

It's easy to forget the nation is at war when you -- and your five military-age sons -- have no skin in the game. As Mittens once said about his five sons' choices not to enlist in the military, “one of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping to get me elected.” No wonder it's all quiet on the Mittens Front.

Barbour Won't Run; Cillizza Devastated

Mississippi Rethug Gov. Haley "Boss Hogg" Barbour announced today that he won't be a candidate for President in 2012 (crickets chirping). The announcement will cause disappointment on three streets: K, L, and Wall: for K St. and Wall Street because Barbour was the darling butt-boy of corporate America. For L Street, because now Barbour troll and Kaplan Daily political shill...er, analyst Chris "Because Haley Said So" Cillizza will have to find another Rethug sphincter to affix his nose to for the next 18 months. Mitch Daniels? Chris Christie? We're sure Cillizza's not only up to the task, he relishes it.