Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Political Number of the Day
Texas' Democratic State Senator Wendy Davis raised $12 million in the second half of 2013 for her bid to be the next Governor of Texas. The funds were raised from nearly 72,000 individual donors, with 85% donating $50 or less. Davis gained national attention last year when she filibustered a reactionary bill in the Texas Senate that severely restricted abortion rights in the state.
Mid-Week Born To Sit In Traffic Song
We were going to feature another song for the "Mid-Week" selection, but after seeing Jimmy Fallon and Bruce Springsteen do a parody last night of the Bridgegate scandal to the tune of Springsteen's "Born to Run," well, that did it. An instant classic of political satire.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Picture of the Day, Bridgegate Edition
Here, in a September 11, 2013 photo, Gov. Chris "Krispykreme" Christie jokes with disgraced Port Authority official David Wildstein (red tie) on the third day of the George Washington Bridge tie up. Christie claimed in last week's marathon finger pointing that he hadn't seen his political appointee Wildstein for a "very long time." Wildstein resigned in December, and pleaded the Fifth Amendment when he appeared last week before a New Jersey legislative committee. That sound you hear is a story unraveling.
(photo via the Wall Street Journal)
GOP TV
For an insight into the political operation that functions as Fux "News," check out this clip from Piers Morgan's interview of Gabe Sherman, author of the book "The Loudest Voice in the Room." There's absolutely no question that Fux sees itself as the media arm of the Rethuglican / Stupid Party.
Poverty of Ideas Cartoon of the Day
(click to enlarge)
As we noted yesterday, Rethuglican politicians are using the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty to pretend they have credible alternatives, which read like a wish list by the American Taliban (you know, pray more, get married, rely on private charity, etc.). In the meantime, they'll do everything they can to shred the social safety net through "vouchers," "block grants," and other subterfuges, all to pay for more tax cuts for the 1%.
(cartoon: Rob Rogers, via Gocomics.com)
As we noted yesterday, Rethuglican politicians are using the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty to pretend they have credible alternatives, which read like a wish list by the American Taliban (you know, pray more, get married, rely on private charity, etc.). In the meantime, they'll do everything they can to shred the social safety net through "vouchers," "block grants," and other subterfuges, all to pay for more tax cuts for the 1%.
(cartoon: Rob Rogers, via Gocomics.com)
Monday, January 13, 2014
More On Jabba Ailes' Sexism
This right-wing political hack posing as a "news" executive is one of the great charades in our media. That he apparently feels empowered to engage in boorish behavior with women on his staff speaks volumes about his "values" and professionalism. Of course, in line with Fux alumnus Brit "Droopy" Hume's analysis of Chris Christie's persona, maybe Jabba the Nut is just behaving in a "muscular and masculine" manner in this "feminized" world. It's still the 1950s at Fux.
APPALLING BONUS: With his views on what constitutes masculinity, Brit Hume must've been one godawful dad to his late son.
Another Shoe Drops for Gov. Krispykreme
New Jersey Governor and pastry magnet Chis "Krispykreme" Christie isn't out of the woods on the Bridgegate scandal, as Federal and State inquiries proceed into the George Washington Bridge closing, and now he's facing allegations over the misuse of Federal Hurricane Sandy funds. The primary allegation seems to be that Krispykreme chose a higher bid contractor for tourism ads that featured him and his family (a few months before the election) over a lower bid (by $2 million) contractor that didn't feature the Krispykreme Krew.
As coverups of scandals unravel, law enforcement and investigative journalists (of which there are too few these days going after Rethuglicans) begin to look more closely at other operations. With Krispykreme's style of "governing," Bridgegate and this latest development could blossom into a spring of stinkweed for the loudmouth Governor of New Jersey.
(image: "I hate traffic jams.")
Monday Morning Reads - Poverty of Ideas Edition
Contrary to what some Republican-wired Beltway f**knozzles =cough=Cillizza=cough= would have you believe, Republicans trying to play on the Democrats' anti-poverty turf, like Sen. Marco "Glug Glug" Rubio (R-Hooverville) is attempting, just doesn't work. First, let's hear from Ana Marie Cox on Glug Glug:
Senator Marco Rubio's office hyped his speech Wednesday as an "Address on the 50th Anniversary of the 'War on Poverty'", a rather grand billing given its familiar proposals. Rubio has slipped in and out of a few different presidential wrappers since he appeared in the US Capitol. He used to be "The Republicans' Obama". His proposals suggest that now he is the Latino Rick Santorum.Paul Krugman has a more general point to make about the ideology that propels Republican attitudes toward income inequality and the poor:
In 2012, Santorum outlined the exact same three-point anti-poverty plan: promote marriage, eliminate federal poverty programs in favor of block grants to states, and "something something America hope-dream-optimism something".
Suddenly it’s O.K., even mandatory, for politicians with national ambitions to talk about helping the poor. This is easy for Democrats, who can go back to being the party of F.D.R. and L.B.J. It’s much more difficult for Republicans, who are having a hard time shaking their reputation for reverse Robin-Hoodism, for being the party that takes from the poor and gives to the rich.Give both pieces a read today, please.
And the reason that reputation is so hard to shake is that it’s justified. It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that right now Republicans are doing all they can to hurt the poor, and they would have inflicted vast additional harm if they had won the 2012 election. Moreover, G.O.P. harshness toward the less fortunate isn’t just a matter of spite (although that’s part of it); it’s deeply rooted in the party’s ideology, which is why recent speeches by leading Republicans declaring that they do too care about the poor have been almost completely devoid of policy specifics.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Today's Cartoon - Christie's "Bridgegate," Cont.
"Oh, the
(click to enlarge)
(Jack Ohman, The Sacramento Bee)
Letters We Wish We'd Written - Income Inequality Dept.
From today's
Kathleen Parker [“Language inequality,” op-ed, Jan. 8] would like to know “[h]ow much will be enough to satisfy the inequality camp?” This is how much: when every working person — regardless of age, gender, education level, disability, profession or job — makes enough money to keep a decent roof over his or her head, healthy food on the table and at least one working car in the garage, pay bills, put the kids through school and save for retirement. And when folks who are disabled and cannot work can do the same, with government help as needed. And when every person has access to affordable medical and dental care, whether through a government program or other means.
None of this assumes that everyone will make the same amount of money, just that there should be a baseline living standard for everyone — absolutely everyone. That would be satisfactory.
That's right, "a baseline living standard." So relax, Ms. Parker. Nobody's coming to steal your jewels.Beth Lee-De Amici, Crofton
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Today's Cartoon - Christie's "Bridgegate"
(click to enlarge)
(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Another Blind Squirrel Finds An Acorn
"[T]he Republican Party is being run out of News Corp. headquarters masquerading as a cable news channel." - CNN President Jeff Zucker, at a news conference Friday, responding to Fox "News' " Roger "Jabba the Nut" Ailes' assertion that CNN was "out of the news business."
Christie's "Bridgegate"
New documents released on Friday show that Gov. Chris "Krispykreme" Christie's associates organized a cover-up to hide the true reason for the George Washington Bridge lane closures in September:
Officials loyal to Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey went to elaborate lengths to make it appear that the September closing of lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge was part of a traffic study, even though their private communications suggest the move was purely political, according to documents released on Friday.
And,The documents also show a concerted effort to keep their true motivation hidden, including the insistence by one official of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in an email that communications about the matter should not be conducted by email or discussed publicly.
The documents also indicate that Mr. Christie’s appointees at the Port Authority had discussed the matter with Mr. Christie’s communications director, Maria Comella, as early as Oct. 2, after the second of two articles appeared in The Wall Street Journal. “Comella didn’t think much of the story. Said nobody paying attention,” Mr. Baroni texted Mr. Wildstein.
So, we are to believe that none of Krispykreme's loyalists told him about this, nor did he probe into it, in 4 months? Remember the lesson taught by every scandal from Watergate on -- it's not the crime, it's the coverup?The emails also suggest the intimate involvement of David Samson, Mr. Christie’s handpicked chairman of the Port Authority, showing that he was aware of the lane closings before they ended on Sept. 13.
BONUS: Here's more on why Christie should be held in suspicion.
Friday, January 10, 2014
The Right Wing and Its "Entitlement Nation"
Jon Stewart exposes the soulless "entitlement" hypocrisy of right-wingers, and especially the despicable d-bags at Fox "News:"
Wanker of the Week - Free Lunch Edition
Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) warned that there's "no such thing as free lunch" for school children in Georgia, but he seems to have enjoyed a few.
An investigation by Georgia's WSAV channel 3 found that Kingston, who is currently running for Senate and recently suggested students work cleaning cafeterias in exchange for lunch, had expensed as much as $4,182 worth of lunches for his office over the past three years.
"Kingston and his staff expensed nearly $4200 in meals for business purposes to his congressional office, paid for by the American taxpayer," WSAV 3's Dan Kartunen reported. The amount could have purchased nearly 2,000 Georgia school lunches.
Again, this is what you get when you combine a poverty of ideas with a poverty of the soul.WSAV also found that Kingston also racked up $4,289 of free meals paid for by third-party groups like the Georgia Bankers Association and the Congressional Institute. Kingston has also travelled to a handful of continents on congressional business racking up $24,313 in costs. Those expenses include more than just meals. What's more, Kingston also expensed $145,391 worth of meals for campaign events. [our emphasis]
Or as Charles P. Pierce puts it, "Here's a broom, dickhead. Lock up when you're done."
(Photo: Dickhead.)
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