January 2010 Archives

I don't believe much of what this jackass is selling, but I do wish to post it for one significant laughable reason.

Michael Gerson, you see, is one of Bush's speechwriters. You know, the president that never, EVER apologized for anything. You know, like ignoring threat assessments and getting 3,000 people killed in NYC. Or for starting a war in Iraq that has killed hundreds of thousands for no damn good reason. And so on, and so on.

So I find it hilarious and incredibly telling of the type of Republican bullshit and lies we're forced to endure for some reason as a logical response to actual thought and legislation.

Gerson's main complaint about the State of the Union speech is that Obama didn't apologize "enough" for the things he could have done better.

Which is sad really. The guy who put the words into the "man" who ran away when our nation was attacked during 9/11 and never apologized for ignoring the evidence that an attack was going to happen. The failed man who killed 4,500 American military men and women needlessly never apologized for it. The weak man who killed hundreds of thousands of foreigners and called for a new Crusades never apologized.

The guy who wrote the lies for that unapologetic shit thinks Obama hasn't apologized enough for saying he - and all of us - can do better. Incredible.

Absolute stones to say this to their faces. More of this is needed.

ThinkProgress follows up with actual examples of Republican hypocrisy.

Obama went to visit the House GOP members today, and they played silly politics while he did his job. He took them on and make them look foolish, so much so that FAUXNews stopped airing the discussion 20 minutes before it ended.

This is what I voted for.

This is what an American President looks like confronting the racists, bigots, do-nothings, and traitors who live only to oppose him.

Damn good job Mr. President.

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I've seen a lot of variations of this and, yes, they are pretty tired, but this one does a good job on the Leno-Conan thing:

A prelude to the Haiti internet story I linked yesterday.

Some of these pics are just okay, but I gotta confess that I'm amazed to see Sienna Miller look so good. Maybe I've been looking at the wrong pics all along but she actually looks attractive in these photos.

Sienna Miller

Scarlett Johannsen

I love that this trend is back.

It's always fun to get attached to a local brew and then be able to take some home. Growlers are key to this ritual and should I ever live in a place that has good regional microbrews again, I'll be using this service.

Here is a story from Chicago on the subject.

As the lead-in states, getting Haiti's internet stable seems really low on the priority list when people still can't get proper food and shelter after the quake.

That said, the nation needs to get it's infrastructure back up if it wants to get out of the state of emergency. And these seem like the folks who can get it done.

The problem with conservatives is that they often make oaths or promise things and then conveniently forget it when the moment comes to be ethical or just keep their word. Senator Patrick Leahy calls out Samuel Alito for basically lying to Congress during his confirmation hearings.

Why this is relevant today of all days is that Justice Alito went all Joe Wilson last night and broke decorum by editorializing during the State of the Union speech. Check it out:

What a turd. You are supposed to be above party bickering. That said, given said body's response to weigh in on, much less ever bother to hear, Bush v. Gore pretty much says everything you need to know about the current Supreme Court.

A glimpse of how bad things are in California. Glitzy, wealthy, opulent buildings and a completely broke state government.

In short, there are a lot things that need fixed in the old Bear Republic, but I'm not sure that is an easy fix by anyone's imagining.

Wow, it has been a bad couple days for book lovers and those who value freedom and integrity.

I read this morning that J.D. Salinger has passed. Here is his obit at The New York Times and over at the BBC, plus a post over at Powell's Books.

A really odd cat, but definitely one of our more free-spirited Americans.

Of more personal import is the death of Howard Zinn (obits at The New York Times and The Washington Post, plus the Powell's Books entry).

I've enjoyed Zinn's work on pushing the stories of real Americans to the forefront of our history. More importantly, his work has been critical in making sure we don't whitewash our history or gloss over the hard parts, or even the bad decisions. If you have only been taught Texas conservative Talibangelical/Luddite BS, you know nothing about the history of this nation, warts and all. It is a damned shame too many of our students and only getting the sanitized version.

He didn't report it either: he lived it, fighting during World War II (and losing the taste for war) as well as being a force for chance for change during the Civil Rights era). In this age of Tea Baggery and people proud of their stupidity, we need people like Zinn more than ever.

Here is the transcript, followed by the video:

Additionally some followup notes from the White House.

HuffPo has a top 10 quotes list from the speech.

Plus a good piece by Gail Collins on the angry speech of the day.

And a decent analysis piece on the speech by E.J. Dionne.

Then again, hearing some of the conservative vitriol, I have been wondering what speech those morons were watching. Atrios shows us what the racist tea bagging traitors saw through their hate filters:

How does one correct someone who is on your side but has bouts of straying like President Obama? Offer constructive criticism, rather than throwing his clothes on the lawn, for one. You've got a perfectly good right to bitch as well as moan about things, but the equivalent of crying "fire" in a crowded theater just makes for a crappy moviegoing experience.

Barack Obama is the center-left, charismatic politician he has been for most of his life in the public. There are numerous issues on which he should be much more progressive, not just for the overall fortunes of the progressive movement, but for the future strength of the country. But we won't get there if every perceived misstep (especially one based on a less than clear story that is slowly being filled in) is greeted as if he kicked a puppy in the teeth. We shouldn't help a media environment that already favors Democratic politicians wagging their finger at the base, nor should we allow Democratic pols to get away with conservative nonsense.

Measure pols like Obama on their words and hold them to high standards, but don't profess anger at them for not holding up to a caricature you dreamily doodled in your Trapper Keeper.

Good, strong, honest, and thoughtful words from Oliver Willis.

I tend to agree with the premise. The downside of being a liberal is that you have to associate with really, really progressive liberals. They eat their young just as quickly as rabid, racist teabagger types...just for different justifications, if not reasons.

Look, overturning Don't Ask, Don't Tell is important. Just not as important to as many people as, say, reforming health care. Also, Obama isn't a liberal. If you believe this, you are as stupid as the Dittoheads who fervently believe this. No, you are actually MORE stupid than those morons. They at least have the excuse of not thinking. You probably don't.

Point is, the concept of even considering to object to EVERYTHING Obama does reactively is just as inane coming from a Rethug or a Progressive. Stop. Think. Wait for the details. Think some more. If it still offends you, fine, take a stance.

That said, I'm not a fan of the budget freeze thing, but more of from a historical 1937 perspective than some "he's taking pages from the McCain handbook!" kind of crazy. I just think it's a bad idea. Hell, if both Bob Reich and Paul Krugman are against it, it might not be that hot of a plan.

If you feel the need to grimace while being amused by hypocrisy, this is the interview for you.

In it, NPR's resident NeoThug basically gets on his knees and services The Orange Man, John Boehner.

Other than bearing that asshole's children, I am really not sure what other service Inskeep could have done for him. And I am really, really, REALLY tired of NPR giving the GOP an open mike to air their bullshit without even once questioning their words, motive, intent, or honesty.

Seriously, it's always, "let's criticize the Dem plan without even the courtesy of a sound bit" and then give the conservative point of view without filter, analyze, or even the obvious outright "you're kidding me, right?" response it usually deserves.

Want to know why I still refuse to donate to NPR and kinda want to kick myself for doing so? Start with Steve Inskeep.

I read about Data Privacy Day today over at GeekDad. I then went over to the main project site to read up on the whole thing.

Honestly, give it a look over and maybe check out your online settings.

Actual thought and analysis on the Supreme Court selling our nation to the highest bidder. If only the Roberts/Alito/Scalia/Fucktards of the world had given this much thought to the matter.

Meanwhile, one-sixth of our population is without health insurance, and Republicans have decided that defeating Mr. Obama is more important than the welfare of 50 million Americans: Let them die and decrease the surplus population and be quick about it.

Garrison Keillor still has some fight in him. Good man. Here is his assessment on the true face of the GOP.

We need more voices calling out the Republicans for being the opportunistic cretins they are.

Indiana is pretty damn conservative. They really, really, really are.

That said, even that state's GOP head is capable of walking away from some Tea Bag genius' call for armed insurrection.

If only the rest of the GOP knew it was their duty as Americans (first) to condemn and maybe even imprison these traitors. Just because you are in the same political party doesn't make treason okay.

A graphical look at where the money is coming from for Haitian relief.

It would be nice to think that our government is taking the threats of the Tea Bag Traitors seriously, so hopefully this article has some truth to it.

Lord knows that Facebook has been ignoring would-be assassins for way too long.

There are some good ones on this list.

Liquor. Food. What wonderful combinations they make together.

This was a great interview and I can't wait to read the book. Check it out yourself.

More on South Carolina's dipshit Lieutenant Governor. Sadly, this will probably get him more votes amongst the Cracker/Talibangelical crowd.

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In short, an article that states the obvious: progress happens and you need to prepare your society to handle it as best you can.

That means: no Luddites, no Talibangelical lies, no skimping on teaching kids FACTS. In short, do the complete opposite of what conservatives have tried to do in this nation.

You know what else doesn't help? The media constantly lying, distorting, and hyping the wrong things about science.

I admire the author of this for even being able to narrow the list down to just one player per position.

That said, Jeter and O'Neill are just automatic.

In short, the Tea Baggers are traitorous, bigoted unoriginal bastards.

Just like I pretty much thought all along.

Gustavo Arellano lays down the cultural legacy of Taco Bell as he reflects on the death of it's founder.

The best rejection of the Talibangelical company trying to kill our soldiers by linking them with the Conservative Crusade comes from Marine Benjamin Busch. Give this a read and you'll know what I mean.

This is what I'd like all Americans to be like. What we want all our soldiers to be like. And, more importantly, what you'd actually want our nation's Christians to be like, instead of the angry bigoted hate-filled cretins many of them seem to be.

This Alessandra sounds like a way crazy chick but honestly, this interview makes me want to want to watch Caprica more than knowing that Eric Stoltz is still getting a paycheck from someone.

This is an amazing chart composed of how to mix drinks. It appeals both to my love of organized charts and alcohol.

Here's a taste, as it were:

Here is a fun graph related to dropped food.

This nation is really going to miss John Paul Stevens when he finally retires from the bench. Not that the Talibangelicals will realize it, but seeing as thier justices just sold us out to China, they might look back on him differently.

Here is a good article on him and his thoughts on recent decisions by the Court.

David Plouffe is back and he's brought a large dose of common sense to the discussion.

Hopefully people will listen.

Some commentary on the Supreme Court literally turning America into a Fascist corporate fiefdom. Don't believe me? Look it up.

Olbermann weighed in on the whole thing. Yeah, he has his usual sense of drama, but the words aren't any more correct for it.

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Some more info on the situation.

This week in "compassionate conservatism":

"My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed.

"You're facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don't think too much further than that. And so what you've got to do is you've got to curtail that type of behavior. They don't know any better."

That's South Carolina's Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer on why he thinks needy people are like stray animals. And yes, he's running for governor.

Suddenly I understand why the Palmetto State was fine with keeping a hypocrite and scumbag who sleeps around with his wife in office.

The irony here, as with most things Republican, is that Bauer used to be on a reduced school lunch system as a kid.

Palast is so out there way past progressive that he almost comes around the bend over in Cheney Facsist land, but he's dead right on this issue.

The Supreme Court just made it damn near certain that rich Chinese companies will be picking our presidents from here on out. Assholes.

Antonin Scalia is a Communist enabler.

This is pretty cool actually.

Apparently some English pilots were allowed to train on our B-2 bombers. This reporter got to tag along and blog about the experience.

Here is his actual reporting on the subject as well.

Some pretty interesting technology most of us probably didn't know existed.

I still don't have my flying car, though.

Sadly, what is most instructive about this NPR story are the vast amount of bigoted, Reich Wing assholes that have NPR accounts. No wonder I stopped donating to them; they are corrupted from Steve Inskeep down to the comment trolls.

Anyway, some pure bred crackers want to start an all-white basketball league. This was originally reported in Augusta, GA, one of the Southern towns the league wants a team in. Presumably because they already have a very regressive golf club there.

Just a few more stories from various sources which say about the same thing.

Sounds like something Sarah Palin and her ilk would love.

More related to the company trying to restart the Crusades and putting our soldier's lives at risk.

The Aussies jumped in and want the scriptures removed, as does the Pentagon. Even the Christian Science Monitor isn't on the side of these Talibangelical idiots.

The company has since listened and will not longer continue the practice of proselytizing at the barrel of a gun.

Frankly, their response is weak, on many levels. First, they never appreciated that what they are doing is wrong. Second, they are sending out around 100 removal kits...to fix 200,000 units shipped. Nice.

Third - and this tells you the REAL spirit of these so-called Christians - they chose Capitalism over Christ. Seriously, I'd have more respect for the bastards - not much, granted - if they stuck, well, to their guns (or gun sights as it were).

Either way, it is once again instructive to watch how Talibangelicals act as opposed to how they preach.

This is pretty cool use of food to create art. Check out the rest.

Kimmel normally doesn't amuse me, not that I dislike him and all, but he did peak with The Man Show. That said, this isn't bad.

And here's a nifty Chinese version of the whole fiasco.

Classic Star Wars "doh!" moments.

Some interesting pieces of American life as we head into census season.

Hard to agree with any of the options on this list.

Here is a short interview with Miranda Kerr, who I have posted pics of before. I don't know what it is about this girl, but she's just so damned cute.

This is a pretty interesting story on the evolution of the colors in your Crayola box. Apparently, based, on the history of the growth of colors, the box expands 2.56% every year. Here's a graphical representation:

Headline courtesy of Make.

Thanks for nothing Kraft.

Why do you have to go and piss off the only nation that still talks to us when Republicans are in charge?

Having toured a Cadbury plant in Tasmania, I gotta say that they employ good people who make good stuff. Don't screw it up!

The Talibangelicals are really going out of their way to get our troops killed in some Bizarro World 21st Century Crusades.

Trijicom, a defense contractor who makes night vision gear for the Marines, is likely in violation of federal law for inserting bible verses into their serial numbers.

I mean, yeah, my In-and-Out cups and fry boats have verses on them, but we aren't importing Double-Doubles to feed Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nor are we buying them with federal monies.

The gall of these Talibangelicals to create a situation that just feeds into the al-Qaeda/Taliban message that we are out to convert those we are purportedly protecting would be pathetic if it wasn't so dangerous. They really probably think they are doing God's work. Why placing the Christian God's words on a weapon meant to kill supposed Muslims is supposed to make other people want to give up Islam is beyond me.

Then again, most things Talibangelicals think are good idea just make my skin crawl.

Here is a news report on this stupidity. Rachel Maddow also covered this.

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This is a pretty cool interview with a guy who decided to upload educational videos he made for his family and friends to YouTube. He's covered math, science, and recently economics.

You can find them here.

Good stuff and I'm going to try to visit from time to time to see what's new.

These are pretty good for a laugh.

I like this. There is finally a label for my condition.

Just a reminder that Diebold and friends stole the 2004 election for Bush.

Apparently our ancestors were no landlubbers. Turns out they took to sea to find new lands long before anyone had thought they did.

Meanwhile, most of us are content to lay back in our living rooms and veg.

I already knew this but didn't have the data to prove it, but the so-called "traditional marriage" states are full of degenerates divorcing each other at far greater percentages than the rest of the country.

So, let's be honest, who is a greater threat to the institution of marriage: gay people who have been in relationships for decades who would like to get married and can't OR rednecks who knock each other up and get hitched and learn to hate each other but do it because they are told they have to?

I think you already know the answer.

And I'm pretty sure the divorce map hews closely to the bottom map. Yes, it is a bit out of date since New Jersey went all Talibangelical and did not allow gay marriage like people thought. Granted, it isn't pertinent to divorce necessarily, but if you are bigoted enough to fear gay marriage, why are you cool with first cousins procreating?

If you believe the polling, this is what disgruntled Massachusetts voters want to bring back.

Satan responds to Pat Robertson. Hilarity ensues.

Dear Pat Robertson,

I know that you know that all press is good press, so I appreciate the shout-out. And you make God look like a big mean bully who kicks people when they are down, so I'm all over that action. But when you say that Haiti has made a pact with me, it is totally humiliating. I may be evil incarnate, but I'm no welcher. The way you put it, making a deal with me leaves folks desperate and impoverished. Sure, in the afterlife, but when I strike bargains with people, they first get something here on earth -- glamour, beauty, talent, wealth, fame, glory, a golden fiddle. Those Haitians have nothing, and I mean nothing. And that was before the earthquake. Haven't you seen "Crossroads"? Or "Damn Yankees"? If I had a thing going with Haiti, there'd be lots of banks, skyscrapers, SUVs, exclusive night clubs, Botox -- that kind of thing. An 80 percent poverty rate is so not my style. Nothing against it -- I'm just saying: Not how I roll. You're doing great work, Pat, and I don't want to clip your wings -- just, come on, you're making me look bad. And not the good kind of bad. Keep blaming God. That's working. But leave me out of it, please. Or we may need to renegotiate your own contract.

Best, Satan

Here's a measuring stick for you. You are an insane Tea Party Traitor bastard if you think Joe McCarthy is a hero and want to change the nation's textbooks to say just that.

Sure, and I'm sure they were all for Hitler's "population reduction" campaigns and book burnings, too. These thoughts of cultural suppression and hatred, religious zealotry, literal whitewashing of history, and Luddite denial of science needs to be challenged and stopped if we even plan to try to maintain our status as a great nation.

More on the Bush rehabilitation tour.

You know what? Maybe we should focus on actually saving the Haitian people or something instead of issuing fluff pieces like this.

I mean, I already knew this nation was filled with people proud of their ignorance. Besides the random Oakland Raiders fans and folks who actually enjoyCeline Dion, you've got the risk of Tea Party Traitors who genuflect in orgasmic glee and supported - and voted for - a complete nitwit for Vice President.

What I did NOT know was that our lack of educated citizens - and geeky folks in particular - was a national security risk. So sayeth DARPA. Read about it here.

Yep, your birther/Talibangelical co-workers, neighbors, and family members are in league with the enemies of America. THEY are the problem.

As for you: go read and play with gadgets!

A few deaths lately related to popular culture. First off, we lost Jan Gabriel last week. You might not know the name, but you certainly have heard his shouts of "Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!" if you have ever heard a small track racing commercial back in the MidWest...and Southwest apparently. More on his passing here

In quick food news, we also recently lost Donald Goerke, the creator of SpaghettiOs, which used to be a big favorite of mine back in the day. His obit can be found here.

And just today, I read of the passing of Glen Bell, the founder of Taco Bell. Granted, besides the annual 7 layer burrito, I avoid the place at nearly all costs, but you cannot deny The Hell. I mean, Demolition Man just wouldn't be the same without it. More on Mr. Bell here.

Once upon a time, minorities threatened by the Klan knew how to fight back.

Given that the Tea Party Traitors are the direct descendents, if not co-members, of the KKK, I think it is high time to give these racist bastards the same rough treatment folks used to give ignorant Kluckers.

You're never going to earn their respect, so just kick their asses and try to land as many of them in jail as possible.

On a side note, welcome to the rehabilitation campaign of George Bush apparently. Frankly, I think he should be doing time for the thing he allowed to happen, but if he's going to be used to call out the Treason Wing of his party, then he has his uses.

Some music for your Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Also, news of a missing King speech recently found.

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The type of medicine being practiced - when it can - is apparently on the level of a Civil War field hospital.

We can do better than this. And it needs to be done soon.

Here's another story on the sad state of medicine there right now.

Roger Ebert continues to impress me.

Haiti has lost untold thousands of lives. One third of the population has lost its homes. Countless people are still buried in the rubble. Every American president would act quickly to help our neighbor. You are so cynical and heartless as to explain Obama's action in a way that unpleasantly suggests how your mind works.

You have a sizable listening audience. You apparently know how to please them. Anybody given a $400 million contract must know what he is doing.

That's what offends me. You know exactly what you're doing.

Juan Cole has a great idea. Sadly it is one the greedy bastards who brought our economy to it's knees will never accept. His plan? Have the banks who are paying our $47 billion in bonuses to their scumbags as thanks for screwing everyone over given just 10% of it over to the Haiti earthquake relief effort.

Granted, these are the assholes who gave out bonuses FOR FAILURE and then are giving out bonuses for making a profit BECAUSE WE BAILED THEM OUT! That is at least two years of bonuses for either failing or succeeding because someone else kept your asses employed.

I'd be surprised if we saw a hundredth of a percent of all that money go to help anyone other than the GOP. Greedy, soulless cretins.

More compassionate conservatism from the GOP. In short, let's go ahead and find any Haitians here illegally, then immediately put them to work digging through the rubble of their homeland.

"Illegal immigrants from Haiti have no reason to fear deportation, but if they are deported, Haiti is in great need of relief workers, and many of them could be a big help to their fellow Haitians."

The LA Times rightly commends CNN for reporting on the disaster in Haiti. They also rightly call out FAUXNews for skimping on the coverage. They may or may not be racists over at FAUX but they certainly think the deaths of at least tens of thousands is not enough to stop them from circle jerking for Sarah Palin.

A round-up of the conservative cretins that are both politicizing the Haitian earthquake and insulting those suffering and dying in that disaster. Seriously, if you are a Republican and you buy into this shit, you're not even human.

Hell, even the Hannity trolls can't stand Robertson. Well, most of them.

Hell, FAUXNews can barely be bothered to cover the story, spending less than 7 minutes covering Haiti two nights ago when the first day's work of solid news was coming in.

That said, maybe less from these racist bastards is best, as this is the crap FAUX chooses to report:

Excerpts of an interview with Bill Clinton, plus other images and video that follows.

The Huffington Post has a collection of images from Haiti showing the vast amounts of damage and suffering there. Also hosted are news stories such as the ones that follow:

The Daily Mail has more images plus a haunting gallery of pics.

Google has updated their maps of the affected area, and you can view that here.

A lot of countries have pitched in and hopefully they can turn the tide, but since Haiti has had it's share of hard times over the years, there is a concern that gang warfare may begin to emerge as food and water get more and more scarce.

Here's hoping things get better, and soon.

The World Food Program has plans to feed two million people in Haiti so do what you can to help them out.

Here are 10 really sobering facts about the conditions on the ground there.

Kudos to Ned for passing along this story on the need for cash, and not whatever old blankets you want to get rid of. This is a humanitarian crisis, not a yard sale. Leave your clutter where it is and out of the way of those trying to save lives.

The Center for International Disaster Information seconds this notion.

Charity Navigator is hosting some good advice on how best to send assistance and through what agencies.

Texas, believe it or not, is about to get dumber.

Yeah, I know, I wasn't sure they could sink any lower either, but Traitor Rick has turned down federal dollars for Texas' schools.

Keep 'em stupid and they'll keep voting Republican. Seems to have worked so far.

The rest of the funny here.

Vanity Fair takes a rising star actress and dresses them up in period pieces for, well, I don't honestly know why. But here is the slideshow along with some of my favorite pics here.

Freida Pinto

Mila Kunis

Carla Gugino

Kristen Bell

Summer Glau

Kristen Stewart - apparently she once had expressions and didn't look like a heroin junkie

Hayden Panettiere

Alice Braga

Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Isla Fisher

We've been trying to find out how best to give to those in need in Haiti. I figure this is probably the way to go as they've already been on the ground there. More info here.

We have also supported OxFam in the past, and they too have a presence in Haiti already.

We don't have a lot to give and I imagine you guys don't either, but every little bit helps.

As for the situation itself, all aid groups are having a rough go of it.

UN Comissioner for Haiti Bill Clinton had some good words and advice on the situation. And honestly, how often do I recommend the former president on anything?

The bulk of our nation would not exist if not for Haitians fighting for their freedom from slavery.

Racist bigots like Pat Robertson and his ilk should appreciate this fact, not trying to cast a bunch of people as satanists. If Talibangelicals were capable of shame, they should be feeling it now.

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I love this article for a couple reasons. Here's the part that makes me nod, then makes me laugh.

In the case of the Underpants Bomber, by collectively losing our shit and inflating a minor fracas out of proportion -- by acting as though this was a major bloody attack and subsequently acquiescing to full body scans and further violations of our civil liberties, we're handing al-Qaeda an easy victory. The attempt was a failure, but the overreaction in its aftermath turned it into an easy win for al-Qaeda.

Good job, Republicans. Good job, Fox News.

Speaking of which, it didn't take long for Fox Nation to run a banner headline equating the failed Underpants Bomber incident with the earthquake in Haiti.

"Pres. Obama Reacts to Haiti Earthquake Faster Than Christmas Bomber"

Not surprisingly, Rush Limbaugh said the same thing on his Wednesday radio broadcast.

The implication of Limbaugh and the Fox Nation headline is that the President should have reacted more quickly to the relatively very minor Underpants Bomber than to a catastrophic earthquake that might've killed upwards of 500,000 people. In this case, they're amplifying a failed incendiary device to a level more significant than a massive loss of life in one of the world's most destructive natural disasters. (emphasis mine)

Of course the President is going to react more quickly to a disaster like the earthquake in Haiti than he is to a Junior Qaeda with an exploding taint (who, by the way, didn't kill anyone).

And then, of course, this truth:

It never ceases to amaze me how a faction of allegedly tough-talking conservatives can be so easily frightened by a kid with exploding underpants who couldn't even do it right. Listening to Republicans for the last several weeks, you'd think Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was a steroid-pumped, 12-foot-tall transforming robot with ICBMs strapped to his gigantic unit. In reality, this guy was the Steve-O of terrorists -- only, Steve-O was usually successful when attempting to blow up his jockeys.

Sobbering images of yet another massive tragedy.

Remember once upon a time where Rush Limjob became an expert on the Caribbean, thus allowing himself the ability to accuse the president of favoring one race over another like he did this morning.

Yeah, that's right. It was trips like this one, where he loads a Gulfstream up with conservative TV and radio types and gets nailed with a fistful of Viagra when he went to the Dominican Republic, presumably to have sex with young boys.

Want to know why I continue to be proud of the president I voted for and still support? He doesn't need some bullshit marketing label like "compassionate conservative". He's just a good man.

Also, from the remarks (target=_blank">transcript here):

I have directed my administration to respond with a swift, coordinated, and aggressive effort to save lives. The people of Haiti will have the full support of the United States in the urgent effort to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble, and to deliver the humanitarian relief -- the food, water and medicine -- that Haitians will need in the coming days. In that effort, our government, especially USAID and the Departments of State and Defense are working closely together and with our partners in Haiti, the region, and around the world....

Because in disasters such as this the first hours and days are absolutely critical to saving lives and avoiding even greater tragedy, I have directed my teams to be as forward-leaning as possible in getting the help on the ground and coordinating with our international partners as well....

Finally, let me just say that this is a time when we are reminded of the common humanity that we all share. With just a few hundred miles of ocean between us and a long history that binds us together, Haitians are neighbors of the Americas and here at home. So we have to be there for them in their hour of need.

Despite the fact that we are experiencing tough times here at home, I would encourage those Americans who want to support the urgent humanitarian efforts to go to whitehouse.gov where you can learn how to contribute. We must be prepared for difficult hours and days ahead as we learn about the scope of the tragedy. We will keep the victims and their families in our prayers. We will be resolute in our response, and I pledge to the people of Haiti that you will have a friend and partner in the United States of America today and going forward.

May God bless the people of Haiti and those working on their behalf.

What do conservatives have to contribute to this discourse? Nothing but hate and fear and low blows.

Lush Rimjob is convinced that Obama's desire to help is just a poltical ploy to appease the "light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country."

I get why he'd think that way. A foul-mouth racist drug addict like him would never be able to grasp the concept of compassion or a sense of responsibility to his fellow man. Still, he's a pig for saying what he did.

Meanwhile, Pat Robertson is still alive and being a racist. On the entire Haitian population:

"And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, we will serve you if you will get us free from the French. True story. And so, the devil said, okay it's a deal.

And they kicked the French out. You know, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free. But ever since they have been cursed by one thing after the other."

He said this in response to this earthquake. While thousands are dead and dying and millions are suffering. Bastard.

Seriously, you will never convince me that cretins of this ilk deserve my vote, much less any ability for me to see as them as anything but examples of what is wrong with our nation.

Apparently, Conan had a hard time breaking the news to his crew that NBC was screwing them all.

More late night fallout from last night.

First, Conan himself:

Plus Letterman:

And Craig Ferguson, who apparently will never work at NBC. Or with Paula Abdul. You'll see why:

I can't take credit for this, but am just reposting from TPM:

After he left the presidency, Teddy Roosevelt famously went on Safari in Africa. George W. Bush is following in his footsteps by keynoting a safari & hunting convention in Reno.

You know, a few more bits like this and I may start liking Oswalt:

I mean, Conan O'Brien is funny, but who knew he was such a class act?

From his statement concerning his worries about the legacy of The Tonight Show and in not screwing over Jimmy Fallon, who took over his old show:

For 60 years, the "Tonight Show" has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the "Tonight Show" into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The "Tonight Show" at 12:05 simply isn't the "Tonight Show." Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the "Late Night" show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard, and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of "The Tonight Show." But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet, a time slot doesn't matter. But with the "Tonight Show," I believe nothing could matter more.

Why is it him that is the only guy worried about the legacy of one of NBC's biggest shows? Shouldn't the execs worry?

I mean, hell, I get Leno. He doesn't give a shit for anyone but himself. If successful, he'll have managed to screw over NBC, the show, David Letterman, Conan, and even Howard Stern for all the bits he stole from him. What a piece of crap.

Here's Conan's monologue from last night:

And Letterman's two cents:

Also, a good article from NPR on the subject.

Okay, this is pretty weird, but strangely enthralling too. Here is a story on the recent burlesque show, plus a link to a gallery with way too many pictures of the house band or whoever the hell they are.

And some odd highlights.

It turns out that, yes, The Daily Show is considered a credible media watchdog by some news anchors themselves.

That's probably a good thing as everyone puts Birther idiots on the air, along with other cretins who would solely belong on FAUXNews if the world had any damned sense.

I'll be honest. I could care less about most of this list, but really, where are the following ladies?

Piper Perabo

Claire Forlani

Rachel Leigh Cook

Some truly abyssal examples of the ranting Republican lunatics on TV this past year.

Fiscal conservatives are just greedy idiots: they are greedy idiots who want to create a permanent underclass to serve them.

Here are some douchebags on FAUXNews who want to cut or even abolish the minimum wage.

News flash douchebags: when people are too broke to eat or have a roof over their heads, they are going to buy any more Sarah Palin books, which essentially puts morons like you under the same bridge they live.

Here's an interesting chart of gadgets in recent years. I'd link you directly to the originating site but, well, firewall is blocking it at work.

One of the worst crimes of the Bush years - indeed of any Luddite conservative policy - is that we basically turned off the spigot of new scientific learning through an active policy of fear and loathing of science. The genetic throwbacks ruining our education system are going to destroy a generation of young minds with their creationism and bullshit watered-down science as well.

The Chinese communist system may be lacking in a lot of things, but their ability to turn on their nation's creative juices for researching green energy solutions is one of the reasons that their economy may eclipse our's in the coming years.

And we'll have the conservative's fearful interference and our own spineless response to their anti-American stupidity to blame when it happens.

One of the things (and there are many) that bugs me about religion is how sexist the whole thing is. Women are put up on a pedestal, particularly in Chrisitanity...and then left there to rot.

No female priests. Women forced to cover up in Islam. And so on. Hell, a woman tries to gain any personal achievement and historically she is killed as a witch.

Nice to know I'm in good company for questioning this.

Great commentary on conservative idiots on this story from a couple weeks ago on the White House calling out it's critics as fools.

Posted by commenter Ironcomr. DECEMBER 30, 2009 4:47 PM:

Birthers, teabaggers, radical right wing "christians", secessionist, healthcare anti-reformist,etc., are all the same core group of poor, uninformed ultra-conservative pawns tricked by the corporate masters and cheerleadered by AM conservative talk radio to get these people to believe and vote against their own self interest.

It isn't any wonder that the main weapon to keep the rank and file conservatives in check is fear. Conservatives fear that their guns are going to be taken away, they fear that U.S. will become socialist, they fear that health care reform will kill off the elderly, they fear that the president is a muslim, they fear that when minorities are in power that reverse racisms will run rampant, they fear that every nation under the sun wants to destroy the U.S. and on and on. This is the main message of Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, et al. to be afraid. After 8 hours a day at least 5 days a week conservatives literally become brainwashed through the radio and then some on Fox news to be afraid and angry.

Conservatives don't even know what exactly they are trying to conserve. They speak of fair play and freedom but when a group other than their circumscribed group speaks about and want such things (i.e. gay rights, immigrants, minorities, the poor)these ideas suddenly become liberal pandering.

Conservatives don't realize that what they fear most is change. The changing of American society and of the world. Thus their behavior is not much different from other conservative movements around the world, i.e. Taliban, Al Qaida, Likud, Abadgaran. These groups want to maintain the status quo and use fear and sometimes violence to achieve their means. These groups target the same type of people to believe in their ideology. These are usually the poor, rural denizens who feel that the rest of society is moving too fast and that they are being excluded because the city centers are thriving and they are not.

It is this simple mind trick that has allowed the military-industrial complex to roll along unabated for so long. The very thing president Dwight Eisenhower,a Republican, warned against. However, it was only recently that Republicans were up in arms against the slashing of the military budget and discontinuance of the F-22. This is just another example of how twisted and convoluted conservatism/republicanism is. It contradicts one of their venerated leaders and ideals.

Unfortunately, contradiction and hypocrisy have become the norm for conservatives, so much so that entire shows are based on it and have become very popular (The Colbert Report, Countdown, The Daily show etc.). When conservatives are confronted with this, the usual retort is that it's the "main stream media" distortion, wholly ignoring that "main stream" = normal or average, non-fringe. Again this is just fear working on these people, fear that their ideology is being pushed to the fringe creating the us vs them mentality.

"No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear." Edmund Burke.

A sad collection of Microsoft mishaps in presenting itself in ads.

Hint: Jerry Seinfeld isn't funny.

You may hear conservatives trying to scare you about how health care reform will "ruin" our economy much like it did Europe's. Well, given our past decade of economic chaos compared to Europe, maybe we'd be better off "ruining" our's as well.

What troubles me about the Reid comments is that as someone who does not know the man personally I can't help but assume that he does not have a single black American in his life that he is genuinely close to and spends any real time of consequence with on a personal level. Because if he did, I find it hard to believe that such a gaffe would be possible. (Note: black people who are paid to spend time with Reid or anyone else, as employees, whether as nannies or office staff, do not count as close, personal, friends.)

I heard Keli Goff discuss her article on Harry Reid's comments on NPR today. Here is that segment as well as another view on the issue.

In short, Harry is basically the same kid from rural, white bread Searchlight, Nevada. He probably has never been around a lot of black people. In truth, his work to get more minorities working in the halls of Congress is a testament to his trying to go the right thing.

Let's face it, the guy works in an almost exclusive white man's club. The Senate has one African-American, one Latino, three Asian/Pacific Islanders and that's only if you count White Poster Child John Ensign. And seventeen women. In a body of 100 people. That's not exactly a microcosm of America. Hell, that's not even a microcosm of upstate idaho.

So, yeah, his words are unsavory. Mind-numblingly stupid in a sense. Not that anything he said was incorrect. The first black president of America was always going to have to alleviate the fears of rural Democrats. Obama managed to do that.

But to have these racist "Kill the Kenyan socialist" asshats calling for Reid's resignation is too much.

I say Reid should take each of them to task for their overblown charges of racism. When THEY quit, he will too. We lose the majority leader and the whole damn GOP has to resign and get replaced by uneducated Palinite teabaggers. Serves them right.

Here's an ethical dilemma for you: we almost have the science to resurrect extinct animals. Where to begin? The dodo bird? Passenger pigeons? Woolly mammoths?

More importantly, where to end? Do we go so far as to bring back Neanderthals? I'm pretty sure it won't go like Encino Man.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

I missed this last week but Randy Johnson retired from baseball.

Granted, he was past his prime but aside from that horrid stint where he was a Yankee, I always followed his play and was glad to watch him.

That said, be honest, he'll always be remembered for this unfortunate incident:

John Oliver points out the conservative lie that they was some mythical time when the world made more sense. Basically any time women had no rights and minorities "knew their place" is just great for the Party of White Supremacists.

Makes me laugh every time.

This made me laugh. Hard.

That said, it's pretty creepy too.

Isn't it pathetic how ignorant Bushite birther traitors are all about law and order until they are carrying an arsenal against a president they want removed from office, by force if necessary?

A selection of comments concerning the shooting at the Federal Courthouse on Monday. There are a couple I missed because they were deleted, one of which was truly heinous. The Review-Journal story predictably has the worst of it as it is the local conservative rag. But the Sun has some filthy bastards of their own commenting.

Mad American wrote on January 04, 2010 09:40 AM:
Its starting to happen. Citizens against the oppressive government.

Too_many_laws wrote on January 04, 2010 10:39 AM: .. create demand for more US CourtHouses, Courtrooms, Judges and Attorneys. Bad news for Nevada and individual liberty. Government by the lawyers, for the lawyers.

These animals really hate the local firefighters, as evidenced here:

Las Vegas Firefighters wrote on January 04, 2010 11:12 AM: Notice To Costco:

LVFD

And this guy really has an axe to grind since his home invasion didn't override crime still in progress.

James the Lawyer wrote on January 04, 2010 04:28 PM: To "CCFD Family",
To answer your comment, I had a break-in at my expensive house recently. I immediately called Metro and was told by a Metro Officer they WOULD NOT COME OUT TO MY HOUSE. They will always run or sprint to the funeral parlor at the drop of hat for a union brother though.

P.S. Was your posted "attorney comment" a physical threat against me and/or my family? If yes, inform me of your real name.

And then there's just generic cretins who apparently hate everyone. Mormons, Democrats, African-Americans, Firefighters, Policemen, Muslims. If you've got a group, they'll hate it and want it dead:

djones wrote on January 04, 2010 03:38 PM:
Glad Wicks was shot and killed. Saved us taxpayers some money and Social Security too.

YAY! wrote on January 04, 2010 01:44 PM:
i love when they print happy new! Great way to start the new year. My heart does the dance of joy ever time a pig died. I hope they all burn in hell.

I mean, I'm not the hugest fan of the police, particularly the Vegas version, but never have I been thrilled at the death of a law enforcement officer of any department dying doing his job. That said, I do reserve the right to chuckle if Joe Arpaio strokes out.

There is some push back against these trolls, but it is drowned out by the hate:

By mred 1/4/10 at 11:49 a.m.
Did the murderer drive up in a vehicle with a "Rush is Right" bumper sticker

The poster is ONE PERSON -- union-hater Helen Weils, who has a hundred aliases.

And a warning that the Rethugs have been stocking up on weapons solely because we have a black president:

Mark wrote on January 04, 2010 04:13 PM:
More black on white crime. We need to clean house. How much more do we have to take?

Bob lays out the numbers for relevance given the GOP's cowardly attacks on the President. Our country is safe despite their efforts to undermine our credibility and security. Follow the link for more details on how he came up with this data.

I mean, seriously, do Republicans just forget other people are listening or do they just plan to be this racist for the hell of it?

I mean, this comes from a guy who swears he doesn't think of himself as a white person and that all citizens should just think of themselves as only Americans, and then says shit like, "this president has exposed himself, I think, as a guy, over and over and over again, who has a deep-seated hatred for white people, or white culture."

The irony here is this asshat can't help himself from demanding that folks who don't look like him refrain from declaring any type of cultural identity...in the interests of "freedom" supposedly.

It's pretty damn cold just about everywhere but here. I'm glad I am where I am.

The Rethug traitors have no sense of humor.

I posted Mark Fiore's funny Learn to Speak TeaBagger comic last week or so. But, taking a page from their al-Qaeda brothers, the Tea Bag Nation has threatened to kill the cartoonist who offended them.

I mean, I get it. Books don't bother them, neither do articles in magazines, papers and blogs. Since they can't actually read or think due to their Talibangelical homeschooling, words have no effect. But cartoon pictures and verbal statements that show their stupidity to all the world? Well, that's just enough to put them in a killing mode.

Anyway, here is the original cartoon:

And then this gem that was posted on the story. It isn't directly tied to the story but sure is funny.

"Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them."

- Article III, Section III, Constitution of the United States of America

"We are at war with our own president, we are at war with our own government"

- Lush Rimjob, Traitor to the United States of America

The fat bastard finally did it, he declared himself a traitor to our nation. Somebody go find a sturdy tree.

To advance that progress, we've sought new beginnings with Muslim communities around the world, one in which we engage on the basis of mutual interest and mutual respect, and work together to fulfill the aspirations that all people share -- to get an education, to work with dignity, to live in peace and security. That's what America believes in. That's the vision that is far more powerful than the hatred of these violent extremists.

Here at home, we will strengthen our defenses, but we will not succumb to a siege mentality that sacrifices the open society and liberties and values that we cherish as Americans, because great and proud nations don't hunker down and hide behind walls of suspicion and mistrust. That is exactly what our adversaries want, and so long as I am President, we will never hand them that victory. We will define the character of our country, not some band of small men intent on killing innocent men, women and children.

And in this cause, every one of us -- every American, every elected official -- can do our part. Instead of giving into cynicism and division, let's move forward with the confidence and optimism and unity that defines us as a people. For now is not a time for partisanship, it's a time for citizenship -- a time to come together and work together with the seriousness of purpose that our national security demands.

That's what it means to be strong in the face of violent extremism. That's how we will prevail in this fight. And that's how we will protect our country and pass it -- safer and stronger -- to the next generation.

- President Obama on improving American security

You know, because I voted for a President who takes responsibility and fixes problems instead of one who points fingers and runs away every time something dangerous happens.

Keep it up Prez!

The Talibangelicals just don't hate science. They also hate science fiction.

In the above linked post they list the "sins" of various key sci-fi authors. I read the list, and frankly I am far more given to approving of "free love" than the vile, hateful bigotry of supposed Christians who visit websites like that.

As I have consistently said, I realize that religion serves it's good purposes, but the way it has been twisted into a culture of hate - without ANY pushback by decent people of faith - damns them all in my eyes.

Fix your problems and earn my respect. At the moment I respect individual believers but the concept as a whole has really turned me off. In short, the Book is fine; the Church not so much.

Food stamp use is up and has become more acceptable.

And yet conservatives rail against "socialism" whilst their followers rely on government assistance to put food on the table. Pathetic.

It is 64 degrees here in Vegas today, but I still like seeing, if not freezing and shoveling snow in, winter landscapes. So, here is the safe web version. Click the link for more.

They are trying to excuse themselves from it, but the reactionary Talibangelical pricks who keep encouraging Ugandans to fear gay people are suddenly "shocked" that that nation is planning to make homosexuality a death sentence offense. They have only themselves to blame for such hatred.

Why do conservative pseudo-Christians refuse to believe that their twisted faith traffics in fear and hatred of others? Why do they not see the evil they create? It is truly sad and it would be pathetic if not for the violence it visits on innocents.

Rachel Maddow has done a LOT of reporting on this. Some of the key segments follow in reverse chronological order.

Here's a profile on one of the lead assholes dedicated to turning our children stupid, racist, and into Talibangelical zealots instead of thinking, intelligent citizens who are in favor of democracy.

Fight these evil pricks at every turn lest we actually lose what is good about this nation.

"Our country is being destroyed. Every generation has had to fight the fight for freedom... Terrorism? Yes. That's not the big battle. The big battle is in D.C. with the radicals. They aren't liberals. They are radicals. Obama, Pelosi, Walz: They're not liberals, they're radicals. They are destroying our country."

- GOP Traitor Allen Quist

The hypocrisy of the GOP rears it's ugly head again. Yet another Rethug challenges and diminishes the service of a highly decorated veteran in order to win office.

But hey, this ploy sadly works for these so-called chickenhawk "patriots". Bush "won" elections over both Gore and Kerry, the latter a combat vet. Hell, let's be honest, Bush legitimately beat McCain for the nomination in 2000 by attacking the veteran in that fight.

Chambliss beat out Max Cleland by directly calling him everything short of a traitor, including a terrorist sympathizer.

Why Americans allow these assholes to insult our veterans at the same time they circle jerk to Lee Greenwood songs while wearing the flag on their underwear is beyond me. Something is seriously screwed up with these "sunshine patriots" and they should be ashamed of themselves.

That said, between this asshat, Pawlenty, and Bachmann, there's something seriously f'd up about Minnesota.

There wasn't a lot of good news from the automotive industry in recent years, but the decade did show us now new advances and innovations, as detailed here.

Yeah, another year end wrap-up thingy. The important thing here however, is that we now have national leadership that actually sees science as a GOOD thing. These are good things. Let's hope there is more to come.

In short, we can do better. And if we stop worrying about petty crap such as inflated lies about the "dangers" of gay marriage or "illegal immigrants", maybe we can actually fix our damn problems and figure out how to provide freedom to all and security to all without acting like a bunch of sugar-high crazy infants.

Bob always finds a way to say it better. Granted, this is his job and all, but here he is calling out the GOP for making the world a more dangerous place and then whining and grandstanding on the fact that it is a more dangerous place.

Alright, this isn't a bad list necessarily. But consult the comments for damn near ANY random post and strip out the annoying Seinfeld bullshit and then you're onto something.

Republicans are such shitheels.

More to challenge the naysayers with.

Not that they can be reasoned with.

A pretty cool breakdown of the innards of the new Google Nexus One phone.

Not that I've got the cash to get one, mind, but if I did I'd probably pick one up.

Here's the law-and-order anti-immigration Sheriff in action abusing yet another human being.

Chris Matthews gets it, once in awhile anyway. Here he is calling out Politico for being a Cheney mouthpiece, which, frankly, they ARE very conservative.

This is pretty good for a laugh. Check it out.

Thankfully I don't clearly hit any of these categories.

Thanks to Ned for linking me to this chart based on info from Nate Silver's data I linked to a bit ago.

Hypocrisy, thy name is Republican.

More on this cretin violating his marriage vows (for the second time) and why the most recent ex-Mrs. Rove wanted out quickly.

Some historical looking back on how China have taken the initiative in a variety of areas over the US specifically and the West in general.

A lot of food for thought.

Some view on the decade gone by. You know, for those of who convinced the decade just ended.

Sigh.

Well, a wild morning here in Vegas as some cranky SOB decided to light his house on fire and go shoot up the federal courthouse because his Social Security check was cut. In 2008.

More on the whole damned sad affair here.

"You have to actually look for the things that are dangerous, and not just scan everybody. This calls for a total change in approach to the transportation security issue."

- Rafi Sela, a security consultant at Ben Gurion International Airport

According to the Israelis, who - as you may know - have some experience in dealing with terrorists, relying on privacy-invading scanning machines won't keep us safer. Neither will patty down every brown-skinned male who just *might* be Muslim.

Eye contact, checking the behavior of folks in your airport, and basically NOT TAKING THE LAZY WAY OUT are the keys to defeating terrorist acts in most public venues.

But no, we've got to depend on gadgets instead of skill. I swear, I work in technology and realize that the Mark One Eyeball and the brain behind it is still capable of being better than the best sniffer, camera, or X-Ray nudie picture machine we can build.

Another sobering chart to let you know that we keep throwing good money after bad in our current system with crappy outcomes (except for insurance execs) should be giving us the imperative to fix our system.

I'm really posting this story about a planned douchebag teabagger protest of "liberal-leaning companies" (kind of an oxymoron, no?) to bring you this comment on the story.

Chris

January 4, 2010 12:11 PM

Thanks to the Bush administration there are fewer companies left for the patriotic nut slappers to protest.

And frankly, isn't protesting capitalism actually a form of treason to these nitwits?

Great, another teabagger calling for a revolution so they can institute the Talibangelical Caliphate in America.

"To think that we can save the Constitution without God's help when the government of the United States is corrupt is absurdity. We are in America's second Revolutionary War to save our freedom, which we paid for with blood. We need God's help and I'm not ashamed to ask for it."

- Evil Rethug Rex Rammell

Seriously, can't we arrest at least ONE of these traitors and make an example of them?

You know, I was hoping this would happen. Sadly, the moron seems to have wised up. Birther Princess Michelle Bachmann has been carping about people not filling out the census so the "evil guvment" (that she works for) can't find out who is living in America.

First off, I hoped all her followers would be declared illegal aliens and shipped to an abandoned oil platform we can call Wingnuttia. Then I heard that Minnesota might lose a Representative district, namely her's.

So she's shut up all about avoiding the census.

Pity.

Sadly the fools CAN be taught. Just not anything that would make them better people.

Thanks to Marla for this one:

You didn't get mad...

You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.

You didn't get mad when VP Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy Policy.

You didn't get mad when a covert CIA Operative was revealed.

You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act was passed.

You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded Iraq looking for WMD'S that didn't exist.

You didn't get mad when we spent over 600 Billion dollars(and counting) on Iraq War..

You didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq.

You didn't get mad when Bush was illegally wiretapping us at home and work.

You didn't get mad when Bush borrowed money to give to the oil companies.

You didn't get mad when we didn't catch Bin Laden.

You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible Conditions at Walter Reed.

You didn't get mad when we let New Orleans drown.

You didn't get mad when Bush got 4,500 soldiers killed.

You didn't get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark.

You finally got mad when---- The government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick.

Illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, giving your tax dollars to super-rich, are all OK with you?

But helping other Americans is the last straw?

Seven presidents have tried to pass a Health Care Plan of some sort and have failed. None have had the "hate filled" opposition this president has received.

Apparently Lush Rimjob wasn't aware that Hawaii already has a form of socialized medicine when he was bitching about getting good health care after stroking out from his hillbilly heroin or whatever the hell happened to him.

Look like this teabag leader is both illiterate AND a racist. Read more here.

I laughed when I read this.

I mean, seriously, the worst part of being a liberal is the amount of silly sanctimonious bullshit you have to put up with by folks who get wildly offended when the world doesn't work EXACTLY the way they want.

Conservatives are blowhards and anti-democratic "patriots" ™ but they know when to shut up and suck it up when what they want is at least close to being accomplished. That said, that form of lemming thought is gonna end up with us getting Palin as president so maybe it isn't all that cool.

For those naysayers and disgruntled psycho-Clintonites, yes, the President has been up to all kinds of good stuff.

Now granted, I haven't watched Mad Men for the same reason I don't watch lawyer shows: the people I'm supposed to empathize with are folks I tend to want to kick in the tailbone in real life.

That said, Christina Hendricks seems to provide a good reason to watch.

Only one thing to say: it's about damn time.

Republicans truly are pieces of shit, as if converting to Christianity would make a sin more or less forgiveable.

That's the problem with Talibangelicals and their ilk, they believe that just going to church solves everything. No, you ALSO have to not be racist warmongers. Idiots.

Or, as posted on Reddit:

So Brit Hume suggested Tiger go find Jesus. I wonder why he didn't make the same suggestion to Mark Sanford, John Ensign, Mark Foley, Ted Haggard, Larry Craig, and all the other republican cheaters, pedophiles, and repressed homosexuals.

- posted by ioster

I figured it was just a matter of time before this got brought up.

I mean, between Walt's anti-Semitism and Song of the South, you gotta wonder what took these guys so long in fixing their image.

Some fantastic words to welcome in the new year:

May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.

...I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.

(h/t to Make Online)

A bit old but I forgot to chase down this video awhile back. I like catching Sunday Morning, it's something Grandpa turned me onto back when Charles Kuralt hosted it. Sue me, I'm was raised in farm country.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

A bit old, but sadly still relevant.

And, wow, yeah, this is pretty much how they sounded.