February 2009 Archives

I already knew I knew this but it sure is nice to have confirmation.

I figure a check of the folks busted by Chris Hansen are also card-carrying GOP members as well.

The military is expanding it's use of non-lethal weapons.

As expected, we are planning to leave a lot of equipment behind for the Iraqis. No real news there, but some of them might be the much-maligned Ospreys.

Yet another reason to like this staff: they shun Pepsi.

First I was supposed to feel bad about investment bank gold diggers, then bank execs who might have to survive on only a half million a year.

And now I'm supposed to feel bad for the Junior Rethugs who can't find a job.

Too bad they actually spoke to these fucking douchebags. I love the idiot who wouldn't date a girl who wanted to work for the ACLU and called her "one of those". I especially am the fan of the supposedly open-minded guy who once went ice skating with some gay folks which makes them his friends.

Sheesh.

Personally we thought he sounded like a tour guide in some old-time Disney flick or one of those school films from the '50s but the Kenneth and Mr. Rogers ideas apply as well.

Anyway, here is Bob Cesca's take.

I think Andrew has been taking some time wondering if he could be a Republican again. Bobby Jindal reassured him last night that it's a bad idea.

An honest observation on the disconnect between power and responsibility, crime and punishment, public trust and the failings of the rule of law.

Alan Keyes is running around saying Obama will destroy America so basically the military should stage a coup. Hell, read it for yourself if you don't believe me.

Meanwhile, the lunatic fringe is discussing all kinds of madness, up to - and including - civil war.

Maybe I wasn't too idiotic to have bought some extra ammo and stuck it in storage around the election after all.

So, this is pretty much along the lines of comparing shooting a chimp to silencing the president for coming up with a stimulus bill. i imagine that "aborting Obama" is a not-so-veiled reference to assassinating him, no?

Conspiracy theory fans are idiots.

The GOP is grasping to historical revision since apparently they haven't had a good idea since 1929 and have only been able to try to blame Democrats since 1932 on. So, this is instructive:

This is the BS caused by so-called "moral" imbeciles.

You know, Christianity used to involve some form of forgiveness and charity. Too bad the "compassionate conservative" crowd are too busy looking to burn people at the stake to see that.

There's a lot of truth in this article, beyond the satire.

When are these folks going to actually work on a cause beyond just wearing a ribbon?

They are just as bad as the idiots buying yellow ribbon magnets to "support our troops" and instead are funding the Chinese Red Army.

Mark Cuban provides more sobering proof that, yes, you can be duped by a scumbag and STILL come out better than someone trusting the capitalist system.

Your converted Talibangelical word of the day.

Newsweek attempts to be for the stimulus plan as a job creator, but just can't get past it's own bias.

Still a decent read given that caveat.

Bob points out the lies, hypocrisy, idiocy, and outright treason of the radical Republicans.

Seriously, Glenn Beck is in serious danger of being taken out back and shot for a traitor if he keeps this up.

So I was on a food run the other night and caught the World Service version of this story.

It is frightening to know that we still have folks in this world who have to go through this kind of work just to get food on the table. I hope to hell that India gets it's own infrastructure stimulus going and start making it possible for folks to not have to do this kind of work under those conditions anymore.

Look kids! The President may be giving us the future. I enjoyed the hell out of the train system in Japan and it just makes us look like polished Third World rejects that we don't have a decent system ourselves. Hopefully that is changing.

That said, I figure we can save a lot of money by not building the Texas and Louisiana lines and by not putting any stops in South Carolina, or any other state where some GOP asshole Governor doesn't want stimulus money.

Or as Arnold puts it, "I'm more than happy to take his money or any other governor in this country that doesn't want to take this money. I'll take it, because we in California need it. I think it's a terrific package.".

Ah, if only most religious folks had both the courage and conviction of Indian Muslims, the world might be a better place.

Just a reminder: we've been here before as a nation and are still around to talk about it.

I want to vote for this guy.

He takes on FAUXNews' haughty bullshit talking points head on and calls a lie a lie. Genius.

We need a thousand more mayors just like him.

And if every FAUX anchor is going to act like this particular smug douchebag, I hope they all get hit by an ice cream truck. Take your lies and sneering fascist BS somewhere else. We're busy trying to rebuild America.

I found this incredibly interesting and a quite informative of a culture we honestly don't know much about.

I needed this.

This was a pretty interesting interview concerning the new movie Coraline, based on the book from one of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman.

I've always been a little torn on the concept of the movie as I really liked the mental image of the book from when I read it. But, I may be convinced otherwise. Hopefully Leslie and I can find the time to catch it while it is still in theatres.

Borders did a quick and quirky feature concerning buttons with Neil Gaiman, as well as other movie-related vids.

That was Brandon McNeely on Rachel Maddow's show last night, speaking about the vile crap he saw (and was party to in some instances) at Guantanamo. His frank honestly is to be commended, particularly considering what it must have taken him to personally confront to come forward.

Harper's covers this as well.

More on the GOP Big Lie that the New Deal was a failure.

I immediately DEMAND that the GOP refuse to both pay into and pull out of the Social Security system. I insist no GOP vet use the GI Bill or any other veteran's benefit that came from that era.

The last good thing the GOP ever did was abolish slavery. And then 100 years later they welcomed anyone who wanted to reinstate it with open arms.

Extra myth making debunked here.

Seeing as my faith in so-called believers is currently in question, I find this to be lethal to our democracy. Can anyone really provide a serious argument as to why people of no faith would do WORSE of a job than the Talibangelicals we've had in charge of late?

Get serious.

I really needed to read this article and I'm going to track down the book too.

The most important notes to keep in mind are that a) slavery was abolished without getting the okay of the South, and that b) Social Security was pass without one Republican vote. As our new president moves forward in trying to fix our nation, he shouldn't worry about the do-nothing GOP or the few Fifth Columnist Dems trying to tear him down.

Fix it and let them be damned.

You know, this might be academic BS, but would it really hurt anyone to send in some Delta Force guys just in case the professor might be right?

THIS is what passes for social commentary at the New York Post. If you are missing the obvious post, these neocon asswads would like to shot Obama dead in the street. Oh yeah, Obama is apparently subhuman.

But hey, they aren't alone. Here's Asian Reporter Michelle Coulter-Malkin with a Palinite awhile back:

And we're supposed to take your Kluckers seriously? Forget it.

I had to go run some errands yesterday and ran into some repeated stories on the radio. Good stuff I never got around to linking before so here goes:

- Marketplace did a little blurb on how some companies are charging the same amount for products in reduced or deceptively shaped packaging. You know, because, as the GOP tells us repeatedly, corporations have our best interests at heart. HA!

- Fresh Air played a repeat of an interview with Michael Pollan, who has some interesting ideas on changing our food policy.

- also on Fresh Air, and possibly not a re-run, an interview with Stephen Waldman who discusses the lack of religious input into our Constitution. A decision made on purpose to separate Church and State.

Hypocrites, thy name is the GOP.

Personally, voting against the bill shouldn't be an automatic slam against being for parts of it. It is shading, it is dirty, but these guys are politicians. No, slamming the concept of the stimulus bill, calling it socialism or whatnot, and THEN taking credit for it. Yeah, that's filthy asshole stuff.

You know, like these guys.

I think that the most ardent of opponents to the stimulus bill should not see one red cent go to their districts. Elections have consequences. Obama won, you idiots are in the way, and if the people of your districts voted to elect some Talibangelical fucktard, they should pay the penalty for that.

No I'm not making this up. At least 25 Rethugs think it is okay to whale on the elderly. Read it here.

Republicans have either been rehashing old lies of making up new ones.

Their best trick so far, has been in parroting the lie that FDR's New Deal failed. It never failed, it only stumbled when he started listening to GOP idiots in 1936. And then he went back to what worked.

They are also making stuff up about Japan's past and ongoing financial crisis.

Why such a pack of liars and idiots are considered the standard-bearers of morality is this country is completely beyond me. Never in reading a bible have I read "Jesus waterboarded Judas and smeared menstrual blood on his face until he confessed his sins". Then again, maybe the Talibangelical Bible has that in it. I dunno.

Media Matters has a roundup on GOP talking head lies and myths for your perusal.

Once again, I couldn't put my thoughts on this properly into words, but here you go.

If you double the national debt that Reagan had quadrupled, you have NO CREDIBILITY in trying to make us believe you are genuinely concerned about our nation's fiscal problems. None.

I can't wait. Baseball's coming!!!!!

Here's a recap of the winter trades and assorted distractions.

According to this article, and I tend to agree, we are finally beginning to turn to a more European way of using government to protect our society. Once a universal health care system kicks in, we'll actually be on that road and not just idling on the on-ramp. In essence, the GOP "fear the socialsts" meme is already dead. And they helped move it along.

Fools.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Timothy McVeigh wing of the Republican Party, being motivated to act by the likes of Palin and Limbaugh.

Thank God this idiot got himself killed.

Read this. Bob, as usual, drives the point home on the inane and ridiculous behavior of the GOP.

Oliver Willis points out yet another reason more people of color reject the Republican party.

Um, maybe it's because they think they are the Confederacy? Which is really weird in a historic sense until you realize all the racist Southern Dems defected to the GOP in 1965 and apparently took it over.

"Kellogg's had no problem signing up Phelps when he had a conviction for drunk driving, an illegal act that could actually have killed someone. To drop him for choosing to relax with a substance that's safer than beer is an outrage, and it sends a dangerous message to young people."

- Rob Kampia, Executive Director, Marijuana Policy Project

There's some truth in the above statement. Pro-pot folks are pointing out the hypocrisy of how we treat alcohol abuse versus drug use of any kind.

You know, for a poll, this has some pretty good comparisons.

Your Turncoat Democrat of the Day.

Diane Feinstein is trying to kill net neutrality.

We have already had to deal with her (and Jay Rockefeller) trying to backstab the President on his pick of Leon Panetta for the CIA head honcho role. We've had Ben Nelson take out millions of job in the stimulus package to appease THREE fucking Republicans. And now Feinstein jumps in with the "they hate our freedom" crowd.

Hey! Assholes! You are supposed to be on the side of the people. Get with the program.

Turns out we weren't always fundamentalist anti-weed maggots. Some words from the Founding Fathers and others.

I'm not saying everyone should drop everything and get high. I'm just wondering why tens of thousands can die in drunk driving incidents while guys who get caught with a fifth of an ounce are doing the same amount of time in prison as those who committed manslaughter.

Good.

I knew if I waited long enough, someone would put my thoughts into words.

I don't give a rat's ass if some athlete/celebrity/whatever smokes weed. They aren't driving a school bus or operating heavy machinery. They aren't making anything I'm going to eat or wear and I'll likely never interact with them.

So Kellogg's decides to get all fundamentalist about this? Screw them. I probably won't go on a fanatical "never buy another thing from them" binge, but I'll take a few moments to look for alternatives so I don't give them as much money as I otherwise would.

More coverage here.

I found a list of Kellogg's items on Reddit. I figure you could just read a box here and there, but it might help.

Also, and this is just for fun, Subway has no issue with keeping Phelps as a spokesman. Yea sammiches!

There has to be some Fifth Columnists over at the New York Times.

Last week they wanted us to feel sorry for gold diggers who weren't getting presents anymore. Now we're supposed to lament bankers who come begging to the government and might be forced to have their salaries cut to half a million dollars. According to this article, $500,000 is not enough money to maintain their lifestyle.

One, fuck them. If they failed and have to take a handout, they should suck it up and get on with it. Humility should be an implied response to such a situation.

Two, I don't care how much it costs to live in New York City. If you don't like it, move.

Three, the WHOLE POINT of punishing those who FUCK UP is EXACTLY to get them to change their ways. So Muffy loses her tennis coach and Biff doesn't get a free Mercedes? GOOD! Maybe they'll learn to be better people. And half a million is still MANY times more than the average American family makes.

DailyKos takes a crack at this without resorting to frothing at the mouth, which is basically where I'm at.

And Where. The. Hell. is the argument that can rationally explain why *anybody* deserves a bonus after driving a company into the ground? Because I sure haven't heard it yet, despite all the blathering going on.

I'm not so sure when the dap became exclusively associated with Obama, but if Joyce isn't going to do anything that Obama does, I can suggest that she also stop peeing indoors, eating with utensils, taking regular showers and, well, breathing.

Some of these Rethugs are losing their damn minds. Read this article that evaluates the increasing, um, unhingedness?, of some neo-con scum.

As Day to Day comes to an end, they have put out some quality stories of late, including this one about the consequences of listening to Rethugs who think putting up walls is more productive than actually addressing issues like illegal immigration. Sure, they're splitting up families, but they aren't white families so who gives a shit. Right?

Next time you hear some Fifth Columnist neo-con troll whip up some anti-Obama BS, remind them that - in their own words - they are essentially giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

James Galbraith shuts up Madeline Brand's neocon BS in this story. I especially love when he slaps her down on the douchebag "cutting taxes iz good" GOP parroting point.

Damn I hope she gets let go once her show is off the air.

I'm calling this the Firehouse Dilemma.

I love Firehouse subs. But I absolutely loath the fact that they have FAUXNews on all the time. I had the same issue with a joint called Mi Casa over at the Silverton. That said, most of their issue was that they wouldn't change the propaganda station over to a proper baseball game.

Anyway, here is a decent read concerning confronting the owners of pro-FAUX establishments and kindly asking them to change the channel.

They certainly don't have to. I also certainly don't have to keep giving them my money, either.

I doubt Firehouse will change their channel. And Mi Casa doesn't do lunch most days now either.

With the GOP wanting our economy to fail to score political points, I can't see myself willingly giving money to a place that endorses this kind of action.

So I guess I'm gonna go without a Hook and Ladder sammich from now on.

Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with the Air Force?

For years it has been some Talibangelical outpost among our military, and now Aire Force personnel are essentially pushing Hate Jesus and a not-so-veiled form of treason.

Can we PLEASE clear out these zealots and get our military back to a force that protects the American people instead of foments rebellion?

I'm confused

How can 2,000,000 blacks get into Washington, DC in 1 day in sub zero temps when 200,000 couldn't get out of New Orleans in 85 degree temps with four days notice?

THAT is what passes for GOP humor these days. And not just any kind of Rethuglican, the Florida kind. Yeah, hateful AND dumb.

The bitch who sent said email is completely unapologetic and blames whoever outed his bigotry as some kind of traitor.

Meanwhile, the 90% of the GOP pissed that the RNC head is a black man are possibly looking to create a splinter party. Sure, you have to consider the source as it is David Duke, but I really do love that he can say that 90% of the GOP are bigoted racists. I mean, I honestly don't think it is above 60% on a bad day, but if he says it is so, then IT MUST BE TRUE!

Meanwhile, GOP Texas Rep. Pete Sessions wants to emulate the Taliban in order to stop Barack Obama. So...you want to kill women who want to read and create a violent insurgency against our elected government, in the hopes of creating a theocracy in our land? Well, I've been saying it all along, but no we have confirmation from the party.

The Republican Party: Ninety percent racist and ready to start a religious civil war. They are saying it themselves.

This is what passes for "justice" in the state of Texas. Racist, lying bullshit. I heard this story pulling in to work this morning and it sickened me.

I guarantee you I know what political party those officials belong to. And so do you.

I've always liked Steve Martin. Granted, his recent movies have been utter shite, but at least he's now taking up his old hobby of playing the banjo. As a kid I found it to be the oddest thing to see a comedian playing an instrument, and not even that popular of one.

I saw him on Letterman the other night and he was quite good. Not that I'm a huge banjo fan, but if you've got all your teeth and have never had sex with your sister, I'll give you a listen. Acknowledging that the South lost the Civil War helps too.

Mark Cuban is making sense again. Hopefully someone is listening.

This was a pretty interesting read on how neocons have pimped Reagan's image to be in favor of all kinds of stuff he wasn't for. Way to respect your own dead asspipes.

No wonder they are utter cretins to everyone else.

Land of the free?

Not so much.

Granted, this happened in Texas, but it could happen anywhere else I imagine.

For all their bleating about freedom, the conservatives sure do a very selective job of allowing it. You know, when they aren't rigging ballots, torturing people, and cramming religious dogma down people's throats.

Wait a minute? What possible connection to freedom and democracy DO these people have?

In any case, this stinks of the problems this country continues to have in letting people be free to be in a consensual, loving relationship. Meanwhile, of course, the GOP is more interested in letting old men marry a dozen teenage girls than in letting two same sex adults be together in public.

Figures.

The GOP is too busy being against everything to be for anything. Their best plan, apparently, is for everything Obama does to fail and then gloat about it to score political points.

Wait? NOW who are the patriots and who are the potential traitors? Just asking.

And these fools still listen to Joe the Unlicensed Plumber. As I increasingly read more and more from Bob Cesca's blog, the following points come to mind:

"Taking orders from Rush Limbaugh. Championing a know-nothing hoople for vice president. Making up fake CBO reports. Generally screwing up the world. Democrat Party. And now, taking advice from a skinheaded cartoon character."

- Bob on the GOP wanting to be taken seriously.

"Weird. The Republicans don't seem to mind it when Joe the Plumber doesn't pay his taxes."

- Bob on the GOP outrage over all the Obama picks having tax issues

A couple things related to all this silliness. One, the tax cuts the GOP is in love with don't work. As a return of investment, AT BEST they give $1.03 to the dollar. And corporate tax cuts only give back 30 frigging cents. That's called a handout. Food stamps return more than FIVE TIMES that.

Don't believe me? Read it here and here or just check this chart:

Yeah, infrastructure spending WORKS. But they are against it. Look, I'm going to get taxed no matter what I do. I don't need another tax break if the roads are gonna go to shit and homeless camps are going to pop up all over America. FIX what you broke. Don't try to pay me off to ignore it.

Here is a list of stuff the GOP is against. Yeah, some of it is pork. The majority, however, is stuff I adamantly agree with. Completely. And hell, it is only, maybe, ,a href="http://outtheotherear.wordpress.com/2009/02/03/how-high-quandries-in-republican-economics/" target="_blank">5 to 10% of the stimulus package. Plus, their arguments against these projects are largely bullshit. Seriously, follow that last link. You'll be fucking enlightened as to the crap the Rethugs say.

Just silly little fools they are. Listening to their junkie Limbaugh and Joe the Loser, whacking off to their autographed photos of Palin and/or Larry Craig.

And to think millions buy into their bullshit.