Just Ain't Right

Bye to Blogger.com!

2009-09-21T11:57:00.001-07:00

I did it - I moved to WordPress.

The new digs are: http://www.justaintrightblog.com

I adore WordPress and have been working in development using it for many projects.

The best part? Control over stalkers and trolls.

So come on over and see me! And please, please, please if you link to me now, please update the link (pretty please?).

Visit early and often!

Explosive - Sibel Edmonds Interview in The American Conservative Magazine

2009-09-19T15:08:00.000-07:00

Sibel Edmonds is interviewed by former FBI agent Phil Geraldi.

From BradBlog:

Broke the news on air tonight. 4,000 word cover story on FBI translator turned whistleblower Sibel Edmonds in The American Conservative to hit stands and web tomorrow, by former CIA agent Phil Giraldi.
We'll pick this up tomorrow after I get a look at it. You East Coasters will likely beat me to it. But here's the teaser from TAC...:
There’s a new issue of The American Conservative going to press today, and it includes a story that will make more than a few congressmen and foreign lobbyists intensely uncomfortable: an in-depth interview between Phil Giraldi and FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds. She tells us exactly how Turkish intelligence have penetrated national secrets, suborned government officials, and blackmailed Congress. It’s going to be explosive.

Good. Rightwingers are covering it. So hopefully that means the "liberal media" will now pay attention!

UPDATE 9/18/09 1:15pm PT: Sibel posted the cover over at her site, and I've added it above. She also notes that the story is currently online available online to subscribers only until Monday when they'll release "a major press release" along with the print version out the same day. The story should then be available to all online on Tuesday.

Here's more from BradBlog about Sibel's 8/08/09 deposition. Notice the media blackout on this subject.:

Just over two weeks ago, FBI translator-turned-whistleblower Sibel Edmonds was finally allowed to speak about much of what the Bush Administration spent years trying to keep her from discussing publicly on the record. Twice gagged by the Bush Dept. of Justice's invocation of the so-called "State Secrets Privilege," Edmonds has been attempting to tell her story, about the crimes she became aware of while working for the FBI, for years.
Thanks to a subpoena issued by the campaign of Ohio's 2nd District Democratic U.S. Congressional candidate David Krikorian, her remarkable allegations of blackmail, bribery, espionage, infiltration, and criminal conspiracy by current and former members of the U.S. Congress, high-ranking State and Defense Department officials, and agents of the government of Turkey are seen and heard here, in full, for the first time, in her under-oath deposition. Both the complete video tape and transcript of the deposition follow below.

The magazine hits the stands on Monday.

A Bad Day for the Birthers/Birchers

2009-09-16T12:18:00.001-07:00

Finally, a judge does what should have been done a long time ago:

U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land has thrown out a complaint questioning the president's birth from an Army captain fighting deployment to Iraq and gave a warning to her lawyer, birther maven Orly Taitz.

Land also put attorney Orly Taitz, who represents Capt. Connie Rhodes and is a leader in the national "birther" movement, on notice by stating that she could face sanctions if she ever files a similar "frivolous" lawsuit in his court.

"(Rhodes) has presented no credible evidence and has made no reliable factual allegations to support her unsubstantiated, conclusory allegations and conjecture that President Obama is ineligible to serve as president of the United States," Land states in his order. "Instead, she uses her complaint as a platform for spouting political rhetoric, such as her claims that the president is 'an illegal usurper, an unlawful pretender, [and] an unqualified imposter.'"

Not only that, but former President Carter has opined that Wilson's yelling at President Obama during his State of the Union address was fueled by racism:

ATLANTA (AP) -- Former President Jimmy Carter said Tuesday that U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst to President Barack Obama during a speech to Congress last week was an act "based on racism" and rooted in fears of a black president.

"I think it's based on racism," Carter said at a town hall held at his presidential center in Atlanta. "There is an inherent feeling among many in this country that an African-American should not be president."

Its good to see at least a couple of the crazies (Wilson & Taitz) called out on their nuttiness.

Obama packs 'em in in MN while Teabaggers lie about the size of their "protest"

2009-09-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

Obama packed the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN:

Less than a week after President Barack Obama addressed a joint session of Congress in an effort to galvanize support for his ambitious health-care agenda, he brought the debate to the Target Center in Minneapolis. Speaking to a boisterous crowd of roughly 20,000 people Saturday afternoon, Obama made his case for dramatic changes to the country’s beleaguered health care system.

“It has now been nearly a century since Teddy Roosevelt first called for heath reform,” Obama told the crowd, which frequently interrupted him with applause. “It’s been attempted by nearly every president and Congress since. Our failure to get it done, year after year, decade after decade, it has placed a burden on families, on businesses and on taxpayers, and we can’t stand it any longer. … I might not be the first president to take up the cause of health care reform, but I am determined to be the last.”

The event had the feel of a campaign pep rally. Spectators did the wave and chanted “Yes we can!” Vendors hawked mini-donuts. If Tuesday’s address was designed to shake up the health-care debate and lay out an understandable framework for reform to the American people, the Minneapolis event was all about photo-ops and generating momentum.

Meanwhile, the conservative fringe couldn't wait to lie about the size of their "9-12 protest." Michelle Malkin falsely reported that ABC had said the crowd was estimated at 2 million. In truth, the crowd was 60,000 - 70,000 at best. FauxNoise, one of the sponsors of the "protest" had hoped for and anticipated 2 million. So they only got about a 30% turnout. Not too successful, I'd say.

From Eclectoblog's diary at Kos:

According to ABC News:

Conservative activists, who organized a march on the U.S. Capitol today in protest of the Obama administration's health care agenda and government spending, erroneously attributed reports on the size of the crowds to ABC News.

Matt Kibbe, president of FreedomWorks, the group that organized the event, said on stage at the rally that ABC News was reporting that 1 million to 1.5 million people were in attendance.

At no time did ABC News, or its affiliates, report a number anywhere near as large.

A report from someone who was there.

And more from the examiner:

The Tea Party Express went out with a fizzle, as a smaller than anticipated crowd gathered In Washington DC. The motley crew of marchers attending the event reflected a small misinformed minority feeling fear and anger over the more liberal direction the country began taking since the 2008 election.
The gathering was an opportunity for right wing whiners to feel a sense of community in their distress. The Tea Party was a vehicle for protesters to express their mounting displeasure with their government. Their issues are many, ranging from the bank and auto bailouts to President Obama’s push to overhaul the nation's health system to concerns about perceived erosion of First and Second Amendment rights.
The event was Astroturf in large part, a Glenn Beck publicity stunt shamelessly plugged by Fox News. In addition, right wing extremists and corporate-backed groups, (in particular a large showing by the health insurance industry), were also involved in sponsoring the de facto anti-Obama march.
In hindsight, the nation is lucky the event was a harmless goof for the tin foil hat crowd. Beck and Fox News have been constantly pandering to a dangerous right wing fringe.

Yesterday, I saw a lot of photos from the rally and I have to ask what the hell they were actually protesting? If it was the bailout, why didn't they protest last year when the shrub bailed out the banks the first time?

It looked to me like a big mishmash of people paranoid about socialism because FauxNoise scared them into believing Obama's a socialist/nazi, racists and just all-around angry folks. And a ton of Flag-Wear (one of the best inevitabilities about the fringe right, I have to admit). I really don't know what their message was - I thought Glenn Beck had said the 9-12 "movement" was all about the feelings that people had the day after 9-11. I guess he meant terror, panic and a sense of loss, which might explain the paranoid signs people carried accusing Obama of taking over the country and turning us socialist.

Why does FauxNoise hate America? Why does it continually frighten our citizenry? First lying about death panels to kill grandma, now the socialism thing (again).

One of the best signs I saw was "hands off my medicare!", a woman who had a sign that said "Obama's hands off my body" -- I'm not joking!

The most tasteless? A mass-produced sign saying "Bury Obamacare with Kennedy." An older gentleman sitting with a young boy had a poster depicting Obama telling Al Quaida he'd "take it from here."

It is comforting to know there were not all that many of them, considering the number that attended Obama's inauguration, well in excess of 1.3 million or in some estimations as much as 3 million.

Update: Crooks & Liars shows a hilarious comparison between yesterdays' event and the inauguration, further proving that there were not nearly the numbers the teabaggers and the lying rightwing pundits are claiming.

Update 2: This is what a crowd of 75K looks like!

Update 3: Had to add the FlagWear I referred to above. This one's great, it's a threat to bring guns next time PLUS FlagWear - once again, the rightwingers take treason and flag desecration to a new level. Thanks, Stinque!

Update 4: The teabaggers have been using a FAKED photo to support their claims of 1+ million! Unbelievable! Well, not really....

Enjoy your Corporatocracy-awarded Labor Day

2009-09-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

I suppose it's as apt a time as any to post about just how out of hand and serious this country's corporation control has gotten. On Labor Day, we celebrate the workers of this country, the labor that keeps it running. It feels sad to me to "celebrate" what we've truly become as a whole, and that's corporate slaves.

We are tied to our jobs because of health insurance, and our wages have stagnated while costs of living and health insurance and tuition have soared. During the past 10 (and arguably as much as 28) years since the republicans were in the majority, this country has turned into a near third-world country. We have the highest infant mortality rate of any industrialized nation, we are #42 in healthcare for our citizens. We have 45 million uninsured and a healthcare-related bankruptcy every 30 minutes. We have lost more jobs in the past 10 years.

From the Economic Policy Institute:

AMERICANS UNINSURED IN 2007: 45 MILLION

• Drop in children covered through parents’ employers, 2000 to 2007: 3.4 million

• Share of people under 65, with incomes in the top 20%, covered by employers in 2007: 86.4%; Share with incomes in the bottom 20%, covered by employers: 21.9%

• Share of Hispanic workers who are uninsured: 39.8%

• Percentage of under-65 Americans with employer-sponsored health insurance in 2000: 68.3%; In 2007: 62.9%

• Average monthly cost of COBRA with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act subsidy: $370; Without American Recovery and Reinvestment Act subsidy: $1,057

• Rise in out-of-pocket spending for the 1% of adults with the greatest medical expenses, 2004-2007: 42%

• Increase in health care premiums since 1999: 119%

• Amount by which U.S. private health insurance administrative costs exceeded all Canadian national health spending in 2007: $25 billion**

• Share of total U.S. health care costs paid by private insurers in 2007: 35%

• Share of total health care costs paid by U.S. government in 2007: 46%

I hope the republicans are proud of this, and they sure seem to be, if their leaders Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck are any indication.

Expanding the picture to see why these numbers are as they are, one needs to realize that corporations are running the show, and that not only doesn't promise to change soon - it's about to get infinitely worse, thanks to the shrub's pick for the Supreme Court:

As the 1983 American Heritage Dictionary noted, fascism is: "A system of government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with belligerent nationalism."

Get ready.

Last year a right-wing group put together a 90-minute hit-job on Hillary Clinton, and wanted to run it on TV stations in strategic states. The Federal Election Commission ruled that the "documentary" was actually a "campaign ad" and thus fell under the restrictions on campaign spending of McCain-Feingold, and thus stopped it from airing. (Corporate contributions to campaigns have been banned repeatedly and in various ways since 1907 when Teddy Roosevelt pushed through the Tillman Act.)

Citizens United, the right-wing group, sued the Supreme Court, with right-wing hit man and former Reagan solicitor general Ted Olson as their lead lawyer.

This new case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, presents the best opportunity for the Roberts Court to use its five vote majority to totally re-write the face of politics in America, rolling us back to the pre-1907 era of the Robber Barons.

As Jeffrey Toobin wrote in The New Yorker ("No More Mr. Nice Guy"): "In every major case since he became the nation's seventeenth Chief Justice, Roberts has sided with the prosecution over the defendant, the state over the condemned, the executive branch over the legislative, and the corporate defendant over the individual plaintiff. Even more than Scalia, who has embodied judicial conservatism during a generation of service on the Supreme Court, Roberts has served the interests, and reflected the values, of the contemporary Republican Party."
And the only way the modern Republican Party can recover their power over the next decade is to immediately clear away all impediments to unrestrained corporate participation in electoral politics. If a corporation likes a politician, they can make sure he or she is elected every time; if they become upset with a politician, they can carpet-bomb her district with a few million dollars worth of ads and politically destroy her.
And it looks like that's exactly what the Roberts Court is planning. In the Citizens United case, they asked for it to be re-argued in September of this year, going all the way back to the 1980s and re-examining the rationales for Congress to have any power to regulate corporate "free speech."

All I can say is... if this were occurring in any other country, its citizens would be protesting in the streets.

I am heartened at the very least that Michael Moore's new documentary, "Corporations: A Love Story" is apparently opening to rave reviews and will be here soon. Then again, has the shock of his previous subjects been able to change anything?

Look at where we are in the world standing as far as wealth is concerned.

We're #190. That's right. This is what the republicans and many complicit democrats have brought this country to.

Our unregulated coporate raping will continue until we demand change. Are the American people anywhere close to demanding that? Sadly, I don't believe so.

You just gotta LOOOOOVE Dan Savage!

2009-09-02T08:32:00.000-07:00

I adore him. I love his take on Michelle "bat crap-crazy" Bachmann & the wingers with regard to healthcare, in an interview with Keith Olbermann last night on Countdown.

Enjoy!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Is the "public option" really all that great?

2009-08-28T13:49:00.001-07:00

I'm realizing more and more than without a single-payer option in healthcare reform, it's not really reform.

Chris Hedges wrote a great article in regards to what this upcoming bill is really doing, and it ain't pretty:

This Isn’t Reform, It’s Robbery

Percentage change since 2002 in average premiums paid to large US health-insurance companies: +87%

Percentage change in the profits of the top ten insurance companies: +428%

Chances that an American bankrupted by medical bills has health insurance: 7 in 10

—Harper’s Index, September 2009

Capitalists, as my friend Father Michael Doyle says, should never be allowed near a health care system. They hold sick children hostage as they force parents to bankrupt themselves in the desperate scramble to pay for medical care. The sick do not have a choice. Medical care is not a consumable good. We can choose to buy a used car or a new car, shop at a boutique or a thrift store, but there is no choice between illness and health. And any debate about health care must acknowledge that the for-profit health care industry is the problem and must be destroyed. This is an industry that hires doctors and analysts to deny care to patients in order to increase profits. It is an industry that causes half of all bankruptcies. And the 20,000 Americans who died last year because they did not receive adequate care condemn these corporations as complicit in murder.

The current health care debate in Congress has nothing to do with death panels or public options or socialized medicine. The real debate, the only one that counts, is how much money our blood-sucking insurance, pharmaceutical and for-profit health services are going to be able to siphon off from new health care legislation. The proposed plans rattling around Congress all ensure that the profits for these corporations will increase and the misery for ordinary Americans will be compounded. The corporate state, enabled by both Democrats and Republicans, is yet again cannibalizing the Treasury. It is yet again pushing Americans, especially the poor and the working class, into levels of despair and rage that will continue to fuel the violent, proto-fascist movements leaping up around the edges of American society. And the traditional watchdogs—those in public office, the press and citizens groups—are as useless as the perfumed fops of another era who busied their days with court intrigue at Versailles. Canada never looked so good.

It's worth a read.

If Obama caters to the insurance companies, we won't get anywhere. Insurance companies' profits continue to skyrocket, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight to their pillaging.

Thank you JollyRoger!

2009-08-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much for knocking my trollie stalker on his fat, juvenile (even tho he's in his 50's which makes it even more pathetic) ass:

There is a knuckle-dragger out of Texas who has twice tried to post his Rushpubliscum tripe using the username “Helen Wheels” and the e-mail address of snarkandporn@gmail.com. His name is Carl Johnson, and he’s all over the place, trying to get his Rushpubliscum bullshit out there via the route of posting under other peoples’ names. Helen is, of course, the kick-ass hostess of Just Ain’t Right. Let’s look at what she has to say about “Cousin Carl” (as in, the product of cousins.)

An unhinged wingnut named Carl Johnson is behind all of those comments and that’s why I’ve got moderation on. He usually ramps it up when the delusions that rightwingers are in charge kick in. And you’re 100% correct in your assessment of him being Beck-fed and a knuckle-dragger.

Here are some ways you can differentiate as to whether you got the real Helen, or “Cousin Carl.”

-If the comment originates from IP addys 67.15.76.110 or 76.203.222.209, it’s the cuz.

-If the comment is chock-full of Rushpubliscum stupidity that even a lot of Rushpubliscums won’t support anymore, you’ve got Carl.

-If you can imagine the commenter drooling and shitting in his diaper while he wrote the comment….. Carl.

Be aware of this dick; he’s got some kind of obsessive personal vendetta against Helen, probably making him dangerous-but DEFINITELY making him unhinged. If you read this, drop by and let Helen know you’re onto this bullshit. I don’t know if Carl is one of the knuckle-draggers getting paid to disrupt liberal blogs or he’s just totally obsessed with Helen. What I do know is that he’s a dick.

Mwwwwwwahhh!

Anyone who gets nasty, hateful comments by someone posing as me now doesn't have to scratch their head and wonder why HelenWheels suddenly went berzerk and sounds like she's 3 cans short of a six-pack.

I'm not, but Carl has been for years. Delete, delete, delete!

Time to get serious about the public option

2009-08-18T13:39:00.001-07:00

Rachel Maddow was spot on last night.

There are signs that the public option may be dropped, so we need to stay on top of this. Call, write, sign, email your government officials, including the White House. At least we won't be saying we didn't give it our best.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Press Secretary Gibbs says Public Option is NOT off the Table

2009-08-16T16:30:00.001-07:00

Contrary to a sensationalistic article headlining at Huffington Post today, where their headlines and stories are becoming ever more misleading, the Obama administration spokesman today claimed that the public option is still very much alive.

From RawStory.Com:

Speaking to CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs emphasized that President Barack Obama still supports having a “public option” for health care, which the White House believes will introduce additional competition and lower prices in the insurance market.
The statement runs contrary to claims by other officials and reports circulating through other media on Sunday.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, speaking to CNN’s John King on Sunday, said the public option is not “essential” and that consumer choice, market competition and reform of private health insurance regulations should be the focus of the debate.

Later Sunday, Sen. Curt Conrad (D-ND) told Fox News anchor Chris Wallace that the U.S. Senate will not allow a public option, adding his belief that, “to continue to chase that rabbit is just a wasted effort.”

The comments led the Associated Press and right-wing news aggregator Matt Drudge to report that the White House has given up on supporting a public option.

But Sebelius, who as health secretary would presumably be in charge of a public health care system, also said that coverage for all Americans was still one of the administration’s goals, regardless of whether or not that comes by way of a public health option.

“The president believes this option of a government plan is the best way to provide choice and competition,” Gibbs told CBS.

He added: “I think most of what you are seeing on TV, no offense, is good TV, and that’s about it.”

This video is from CBS News’ Face the Nation, broadcast Sunday, August 16, 2009.

I would suggest that President Obama and his cabinet get on the same page with their message. This is one of the reasons their support isn't all it could be. People are hearing differing messages daily, not surprisingly since our corporate-controlled mainstream media is so lousy and has obviously declared an all-out war on healthcare reform.

What a surprise that Sludge would be partially to blame for this one?

Republicans are lying about their fear of gov't-controlled healthcare

2009-08-16T14:54:00.000-07:00

First, Bill Kristol (neocon supreme) admitted on The Daily Show that the VA give much, much better healtcare than we peons with privatized insurance get.

Now, it's John Culberson's turn to fess up:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Thanks to Crooks & Liars:

Lawrence O'Donnell actually uses the "L" word with Rep. John Culberson. This is the end of an over ten minute segment where O'Donnell continually asks Culberson whether he would have voted for Social Security and for Medicare and Culberson gets mad at him for interrupting him, which he does. He interrupts him though because he's trying to avoid giving him a straight answer to his questions.

After finally getting Culberson to admit that he would have voted for both Social Security and Medicare, O'Donnell calls him out for the fear mongering done by Republicans on the issue of health care reform, and tells him they're lying to the American people every time they demonize socialized medicine, but refuse to vote to repeal Medicare.

Great interview on Maddow re: growing rightwing fascism

2009-08-08T12:19:00.000-07:00

We on the left mostly realize that the organized townhall mobs really are not mostly about healthcare, it's more about the fact that they aren't in power, and could be also just a refusal to accept having a half-black President.

Frank Schaeffer does a terrific job explaining exactly what is going on, and it's quite chilling.

37 States Now Lean Dem

2009-08-04T18:38:00.000-07:00

Who would have thought, with all the Limbaugh-talking-points-assigned wingnuts swarming the blogosphere and internets tubes claiming that the Democrats are done, Obama is failing, and America is a "right-leaning" country, that, in fact, polls show that 37 states lean toward the Democrats? Not bad news, seeing as 2010 is coming up soon enough.

37

That's the number of states that are either solidly or leaning Democratic in a series of Gallup tracking polls conducted over the first six months of 2009. Only eight states are solidly or leaning Republicans in that same data.

The numbers, which are based on party identification of adults in national tracking polls, paint a stark portrait of the challenge facing Republicans not just in the 2010 midterm election but also in the 2012 presidential race.

There are currently 29 states in which Democrats enjoy a 10-percentage point (or more) edge on party identification. Compare that to just four states where the Republican edge is ten points or higher (Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Alaska) and one (Alabama) that leans toward the GOP.

Add up the 29 states that are in the solidly Democratic category, according to Gallup, and you get 350 electoral votes; add up the four states in the solidly Republican category and you get 15 electoral votes.

To be sure, these numbers should not be read as a direct indicator of what the 2012 election landscape will look like as voters often identify with one party while voting for another. For example, four of the states that are identified as solidly Democratic (West Virginia, Kentucky, Arkansas and Missouri) went for John McCain in the 2008 presidential election.

Still, the trend lines apparent in the Gallup data have to be disturbing for Republicans.

(my emphasis). I don't think their corporate-backed mob scenes to shout down health care reform are helping.

President Obama gets 30 death threats a day

2009-08-04T08:00:00.001-07:00

This is exactly why I don't think we can take the birthers too lightly.

They are just one of many racist groups that find are ramping up the violence.

According to Telegraph UK, the secret service are getting to the point where they can't keep up:

Since Mr Obama took office, the rate of threats against the president has increased 400 per cent from the 3,000 a year or so under President George W. Bush, according to Ronald Kessler, author of In the President's Secret Service.
Some threats to Mr Obama, whose Secret Service codename is Renegade, have been publicised, including an alleged plot by white supremacists in Tennessee late last year to rob a gun store, shoot 88 black people, decapitate another 14 and then assassinate the first black president in American history.
Most however, are kept under wraps because the Secret Service fears that revealing details of them would only increase the number of copycat attempts. Although most threats are not credible, each one has to be investigated meticulously.
According to the book, intelligence officials received information that people associated with the Somalia-based Islamist group al-Shabaab might try to disrupt Mr Obama's inauguration in January, when the Secret Service co-ordinated at least 40,000 agents and officers from some 94 police, military and security agencies.

Even I'm surprised at the high level of racism and paranoia I'm seeing in this country. I find it disappointing and frightening that so many in this country would choose senseless violence over moving forward to clean up the mess the shrubco left us.

A 400 percent increase in threats over the amount the shrub -- a man who used the Constitution for toilet paper, started 2 senseless wars and crashed the economy -- tells you all you need to know what motivates these groups. Where was the hate when the shrub was in office? Where was the paranoia when the shrub was removing our civil rights and spying on us?

Orly Taitz: Hysterical Birther Nutjob

2009-08-03T15:51:00.000-07:00

This is almost painful to watch.

Orly Taitz actually submitted a fraudulent "Kenyan" birth certificate in her legal case , which tries to prove Obama was not born in this country as is therefore not an American and should be removed as president.

Here she is trying to defend it to David Shuster on MSNBC. But she won't answer his first question, asking Orly to explain why there are 2 birth announcements in Hawaiian papers in 1961. Instead, she goes hysterical and calls Shuster and all the media "brownshirts."

The funniest part for me is that this new "birth certificate" is signed by a laundry detergent.

Kos has more on debunking it.

Is submitting a fraudulent document in a lawsuit enough to get someone disbarred? I certainly hope so.

Recovery happening already?

2009-08-01T10:59:00.000-07:00

From Global Finance Magazine:

When Barack Obama entered the White House last January, it looked like the world economy was falling off a cliff. Six months on, and stock markets around the world have made good practically all of the losses racked up in the first quarter. Emerging markets such as China and India have surged even further into positive territory. Near universal fear has given way to cautious optimism.

Recent weeks have seen a rash of signals indicating that the United States might be the first of the developed economies to enter recovery. Banks are lending to each other again, though mortgage and consumer credit remains tight. Both inter-bank and credit spreads have returned to levels last seen before Lehman's collapse. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and other major banks have pushed through multi-billion dollar recapitalization issues and started to pay back loans from the government. Even battered hedge funds have seen investment inflows outpacing redemptions. "The improvement in market sentiment since last October," says Stuart Green, global economist at HSBC, "should not be underestimated. If there are doubts about the sustainability of the recovery, we're still talking about a recovery."

How much of this new confidence is due to the "Obama Factor"? The first US president of African-American parentage was voted into office on the promise of change, and so far his administration seems to be delivering, whether it be his $800 billion fiscal stimulus package, his sweeping healthcare reform plans or more recently his proposals to overhaul and strengthen the US financial regulatory system. Of course, these might be watered down as they go through Congress, but with a popular mandate and Democrat majorities in both houses, he is likely to win through.

The article goes on to discuss it in great length. All in all, very promising and much MUCH better than anything I expected in the mere 6 months Obama's been in office.

Update:

Here's a good place to see where the recovery funds are allocated, and what they are doing:

http://www.recovery.gov/

More despicable GOP fearmongering

2009-07-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

This takes the cake. Rachel Maddow reported last night that members of the GOP are actually telling people that if healthcare reform happens, old people will be "put to death".

I don't know how they can sink any lower.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

More C Street Freakisms from "The Teabagging Queen"

2009-07-29T08:14:00.001-07:00

Rachel Maddow covered some amazing stories last night on her show. This one is amazing. If you are not familiar yet with C Street and the "Family," you should be. These elected officials are jet-setting around the globe preaching their perverted brand of Christianity to world leaders.

Hopefully, shedding light on this group of "god's chosen" as they call themselves, who model themselves after Hitler and Mao, will raise the necessary awareness needed to get them the hell out of office.

Rachel also addresses Lou Dobbs' dubbing her "the Teabagging Queen" on his radio show.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Bill Kristol meets utter FAIL (again)

2009-07-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

It's akin to "Spinal Tap & Puppet Show", or Dukakis drives a tank, or maybe the Hindenburg.

And just as tragic, yet hilarious.

Jon Stewart completely traps Bill Kristol into admitting government-run healthcare is better than the shit we peons pay too much for. Priceless.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Bill Kristol

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Joke of the Day

William Shatner Reads Beat Poetry by Palin

2009-07-28T12:36:00.000-07:00

Everyone has a hidden talent, perhaps Palin is a Poet?

Ensign's scandal cast light on creepy secret "Christian" society

2009-07-10T08:27:00.000-07:00

This is the first I've heard of this C Street society the neocons call "the Family." I'll let Rachel explain (and please do watch, it's rather mind-blowing):

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

As the Ensign scandal gets bigger and bigger, thanks to his mistress' blackmailing husband, who frankly comes off as just as big a hypocritical nutjob as Ensign, a new light is shining on this "family."

Jesus + nothing, a totalitarian "version" of Christianity... unbelievable that we have U.S. senators subscribing to this.

American power and to hell with the poor is these peoples' true belief - and that they deserve the power they have - and also deserve MORE. They believe the are chosen by god for leadership - so anything they do is RIGHT.

Pretty mind-blowing stuff.

When Conservatives Attack

2009-07-08T14:08:00.000-07:00

It ain't purty. Graphic language warning!

Obama stonewalling the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

2009-07-01T14:07:00.000-07:00

Keith Olbermann is increasingly getting on my last nerve with the obsession with Rush Limbaugh, but I still watch because he covers some stories very well. I thought this piece that ran last night starring the wonderful Dan Savage is worth watching.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Congratulations, AL!!!

2009-06-30T14:41:00.001-07:00

Finally, after 7 months of gruelling recounts and court cases, Al's IN!

I for one am THRILLED to have a progressive in the senate! Whooot!

My favorite Animal Rescue blog needs attention!

2009-06-26T15:53:00.000-07:00

I love the work this rescue does. Project Hope rescues all sorts of animals, mainly dogs, and gets them homes. They are located in rural Mississippi, and I can't say enough about Doll Stanley, the proprietor or head rescuer, if you will.

If any of my dear readers are huge animal rescue fans, I wish you would add a link to Project Hope's blog somewhere on your site. No pressure! Just trying to get them readers so more folks can see the awesome and tireless work they do. Plus, there are always great pics!

Visit Project Hope!

Friday Rabid Rightie Blogging

2009-06-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

Seeing these sorts of nutjobs last year really unnerved me. Fortunately, they've been somewhat marginalized. But I still wanted to share the crazy.

They don't have Sarah on the campaign trail anymore, so this is the best they can do:

Because that piece of shit just doesn't work right...

2009-06-19T10:57:00.001-07:00

This appeals to me especially since my PC blew a memory card this week.

*work/kids warning: Lotsa bad words!*

Another (underreported) Home-Grown Terrorist Attack?

2009-06-13T11:49:00.000-07:00

Per Jonathan Turley, a Constitutional Lawyer who I highly respect, on Rachel Maddow's show, we have to be careful how we define terrorism, or who we label a terrorist. His words really hit me - because I would not want to be guilty of labelling someone a terrorist if they are not.

Here's what he said about the murderer of Dr. Tiller (after Rachel had opined that she believed Dr. Tiller's murder was a terrorist act):

Some of us, particularly on the civil libertarian side, are uncomfortable with using the terrorism label because, you know, the Bush administration expanded this definition to the breaking point. I testified not long ago in Congress of how the Bush administration would classify what were rudimentary criminal cases as terrorism cases and use these laws against them.
The problem we have, as you know, is to deal with lone actors like this. I don‘t believe that the man who killed Dr. Tiller was a classic terrorist. I think that he was a murderer. He assassinated him.
But I don‘t see the elements of an organized terrorist plot. And in many ways, he‘s the most dangerous thing that we face.
I think the Clinton administration got this right when they really saw the danger as the McVeigh type—this lone actor who goes out there, who may be fueled by rhetoric, but who‘s acting alone. In this case, it looks like he targeted this very doctor who had been demonized by many.

This was June 1st, and since then, it appears that Roehder did have some questionable ties and perhaps was a part of a group that could be considered terrorists.

A week after Roehder killed Dr. Tiller, there was another rightwing extremist attack by a white supremacist, resulting in another death, at the Holocaust Museum in DC. No matter how much rightwing extremist propagandists like Limbaugh like to spin it, the guy was a polar opposite of liberal and pathetically trying to label him one didn't successfully obfuscate the point that the man most likely committed a terrorist act. After all, he was supported by and a member of white supremacist groups.

Now I learn of a third, much underreported incident that happened on May 30th wherein three people, who are confirmed members of an anti-immigration group, invaded a home and killed two people and wounded a third.

Why was this not reported last week?

Taking into account Mr. Turley's opinion on what constitutes a terrorist act, it seems to me that all three incidents were indeed terrorist attacks.

Scott Roeder, the "person of interest" held by police in Kansas, belonged to the "Freemen" anti-government group in the 1990s and was once arrested for having bomb-making materials in his car.
Von Brunn is believed to have had contact with law enforcement in the past, according to NBC. A D.C. Superior Court jury convicted a man by the same name in 1983 of attempting to kidnap members of the Federal Reserve Board. The case involved a 1981 incident in which police arrested Von Brunn at the board's headquarters carrying several weapons. He was convicted and later released from federal prison in 1989, records show.

The Pima County sheriff said Friday that 34-year-old Jason Eugene Bush, 41-year-old Shawna Forde and 42-year-old Albert Robert Gaxiola have been charged with two counts each of first-degree murder and other charges.

The trio are alleged to have dressed as law enforcement officers and forced their way into a rural Arivaca home on May 30, wounding a woman and fatally shooting her husband and their 9-year-old daughter.

The Web site for the Minutemen American Defense lists Forde as the group's leader and Bush as its operations director. Forde is from Everett, Wash., but has recently been living in Arizona.

(my emphasis).

So now we have three separate arguably terrorist attacks within in the space of two weeks. That's a hell of a lot. And they all represent different groups: Anti-abortion groups, white supremacist groups, and anti-immigration groups.

If all of them have ties to groups who have applauded the efforts of these alleged terrorists, how is this not terrorism? Does this fall within Jonathan Turley's definition of what a terrorist is, or can they still be considered disconnected, isolated incidents?

It appears to me that the extreme rightwing extremist voices such as Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage are finally getting what they've been asking since they all started spouting hate over the airwaves. None of these men have condemned the actions of these terrorists, and that tells me all I need to know about just how far these "pundits" are willing to go for a buck.

In Crazy Land, Von Brunn is a Liberal

2009-06-12T08:19:00.000-07:00

The terroristic arm of the republican party and/or the angry, paranoid and homicidal far right wing extremists are ramping things up, fuelled by their leader, Rush Limbaugh. But now that the end result of the hate speech and violent propaganda Limbaugh has been spewing is coming to fruition, said hateful gasbag is back-pedalling and actually trying to label the latest rightwing terrorist a LIBERAL.

Of course, it's laughable, as the man has many conservative and republican ties, posted on Free Republic, and defended Sarah Palin as a chosen presidential candidate.

Eugene Robinson and Keith Olbermann fully debunked the bloated Oxycontin addict's bizarre and arguably sane labelling of extremist Von Brunn's political affiliation. Eugene is right, it's insane:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Help free Euna Lee & Laura Ling, captured journalists

2009-06-01T12:15:00.001-07:00

As many of you know, Current TV reporters Euna Lee and Laura Ling have been jailed in North Korea, apparently for violating border laws.

Here's the whole story.

And if you can, please sign this petition for their release.

One of my dear friends is a producer at Current TV and these two reporters are missed terribly, and Current is doing all it can to try to get them released.

What will it take for right wing leaders to stop inciting their base?

2009-05-31T10:31:00.000-07:00

Today, Dr. George Tiller was shot and killed as he served as an usher during church services.

Dr. Tiller is known quite well in the right wing world, where he is reviled for his work. He performed abortions. And not just regular abortions, but even late-term abortions. He has been a target from the right for years, just ask Bill O'Reilly, who has been inciting his audience to violence with his propandized attacks against Dr. Tiller.

Dr. Tiller was a champion for womens' productive welfare. Can you imagine, making it your specialty to work with women who need (usually for life-threatening reasons) a late-term abortion? I can't. The man fulfilled a need that many would never be brave enough to provide. He has been threatened for years, and his clinic was bombed in 1985. He also was previously shot in both arms by yet another rabid wingnut.

I was reading about this on Huffington Post, and one person was kind enough to give a first-hand example of the type of work Dr. Tiller provided:

i have a relative who had an abortion performed by this doctor. she was seven months pregnant and the baby was realized to have a very specific and deadly bone disease. if the baby had gone to term, it would have simply snapped while it passed through the birth canal. the labor would have been an extreme danger to my relative. so the baby would have been born through excruciating pain, died within the birth canal, and my relative might have bled to death. even a c-section would have been too much for the fetus to handle. even if the baby survived the birthing process, it would have died from the weight of its own body.

in situations like this, there is simply no choice but to perform a late term abortion. and my relative could not find a doctor anywhere on the east coast that would perform one. she and her husband drove to kansas from pennsylvania to have this performed.

these are the types of procedures this doctor performs. procedures that save lives and eliminate inhuman pain.

one thing i have never seen the left do in the abortion debate is educate the right about issues like these. we can do a much better job about letting them know why no one wants late term abortions. but in some cases they are absolutely necessary.

I'm wondering when GOP and rightwing leaders are going to start reining these sorts of people in rather than blatantly inciting them to violence.

The Southern Poverty Law Center reported that the number of hate groups doubled in 2008. As if that wasn't troubling enough, during the presidential election please recall we were all outraged at the irresponsible behavior by candidate Sarah Palin, who enraged and frightened the more ignorant ilk in her audience by claiming Obama liked to pal around with terrorists, and McCain backing her up by never refuting her or stopping her from stirring up her audience with lies.

Meanwhile, we have Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh and like minds with the power of the airwaves pushing it even further.

Do I blame the shooter for this murder? Yes. Is there some blame to go around? Most certainly.

I have not seen even ONE GOP leader OR rightwing leader - whether pundit, celebrity, host, etc. - condemn this behavior.

The GOP laughably calls itself for the most part "pro-life." And yet, their members killed a man who was operating WITHIN the LAW and helping women whose problems people like said shooter probably don't ever look into, understand, or bother to find out about. They now openly embrace torture and war crimes. How dare they call themselves "pro-life."

This is only going to get worse unless those leaders stop inciting hate and fear into their base. It was their decision to court these unbalanced fringe nuts, and now they've really let the genie out of the bottle because these violent fringe nuts have been given legitimacy and a voice. In any other time in our history - or in most other civilized countries - the type of people Rush Limbaugh and O'Reilly are catering to would be in a loony bin, not given legitimacy.

I'm so sick of the rampant ignorance and violent nature of the wingnuts, or if you will, Talibangelicals. They have so much in common with the extremist Islamic terrorists and are completely blind to it, because when the Christians do it, it's sanctioned by god, I suppose.

We don't know much yet about the murderer, but who wants to lay bets on what show hisradio dial is set to and which cable news show he watches?

BradBlog has an in-depth post on just how extreme Bill O'Reilly's attacks on Tiller have been.

G. Gordon Liddy is an Asshole

2009-05-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

Un-fucking-believable:

From Think Progress:

LIDDY: Let’s hope that the key conferences aren’t when she’s menstruating or something, or just before she’s going to menstruate. That would really be bad. Lord knows what we would get then.

There you go. This is what Liddy has to resort to in order to denigrate a very qualified judicial nominee. I may have my issues with Sotomayor, Obama's pick to replace Souder on the Supreme Court*, but I can't argue that she isn't completely qualified. And yet, Liddy reduces her to someone who can't make a cogent decision because of menstruation. I think I am officially floored. I keep thinking these desperate hate-mongers can't get any worse, and they always do.

Racist comments are frowned upon even though much of it gets through by being thinly disguised. But misogynistic comments these days don't even have to be disguised at all - they can be said right out in the open. They've become mainstream.

Why does any producer of ANY show -- TV or radio -- allow this?

I think this is the equivalent of using the N word. How is it any different?

Not that this utter asshole didn't also use race against Sotomayor as well:

LIDDY: I understand that they found out today that Miss Sotomayor is a member of La Raza, which means in illegal alien, “the race.” And that should not surprise anyone because she’s already on record with a number of racist comments.

What a bitter, nasty, misogynistic, racist fuck Liddy is. I wish he had rotted in jail.

* Not too crazy about Sotomayor's position on abortion, which is probably related to her Catholic beliefs, but I haven't seen any evidence that she would allow that to color her decisions.

Rome is certainly burning

2009-05-25T10:16:00.000-07:00

It seems that the powers that be in this country are indeed busy fiddling.

This past week, the limits of my imagination and capacity for disgust and horror have been tested to the nth degree. I am just aghast at the seemingly Sisyphean tasks Obama and his administration face. And I am worried about how some of it is being handled at this point. Is Obama ramping up our wars around the world? Or is he showing his tough side, so that he doesn't appear weak? Why are the GOP doing everything they can to derail him, rather than help get this country back on track?

Not only is Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan hotbeds, but now Iran appears to be back in the cross-hairs (from CLG):

Obama orders Gates to update plan for Iran strike --American defense secretary tells NBC television president has instructed him to refresh plans for military action against Tehran prepared during Bush era. 22 May 2009 US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said Friday that President Barack Obama had asked him to update the plans for the use of military force against Iran which were prepared during former President [sic] George W. Bush's term. In an interview to NBC television's Today show, the American defense secretary explained that "presidents always ask their military to have a range of contingency plans available to them. And all I would say is that, as a result of our dialogue with the president, we have refreshed our plans and all options are on the table."

And then there is North Korea to contend with:

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama assailed North Korea Monday for new missile tests, saying the world must "stand up to" Pyongyang and demand that it honor a promise to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

Appearing on the White House steps, Obama said that its latest nuclear underground test and subsequent test firings of short-range ground to air missiles "pose a grave threat to the peace and security of the world and I strongly condemn their reckless action."

It was his second statement within hours of the tests, the latest in a number of nuclear actions that Obama said "endanger the people of Northeast Asia." He called it "a blatant violation of international law" and said that it contradicted North Korea's "own prior commitments." Obama had released a written statement chastising the North Koreans in the early morning hours of Monday.

Add to that international quagmire the ever-growing problems this country faces, with the tanking economy and the domino effect that has on society's downturn.

How can anyone deal with problems this immense all at once?

Jonathan Turley (who I truly admire and respect) last week said that Obama is turning into Bush. Well, if that is the case, does he have a choice?

How do you reverse the policies put in place by a fascist crew without weakening security? How do you do it without looking weak? Or isi that an excuse to continue business-as-usual?

I have been in front of the band wagon criticizing Obama for being "bushian" but when I consider the crazy scary situation he's been handed, I can't figure out how he can do otherwise WHILE the actual people who control this country - not the President, but the corporations and Pentagon - will simply not allow any other way of doing things? I have to wonder how much his head must have been reeling when he was briefed upon taking office. There is no way the man could have known much about the incredible cluster-fuck he was inheriting.

War profiteers aren't giving up their billion-dollar industries, and bankers certainly aren't going to stop kicking us when we're down. We're getting ever closer to being in a state of constant war from which we will not be able to escape. We're also becoming closer to losing our last dime to keep a broken financial and corporate slavery system in place. You'll take your lumps and you'll like them, they are saying.

We gave banks the clothes off our future backs for the next 50 years so they could flip us the bird and jack up our credit card interest rates. Big pharma who controls our health care industry are still laughing all the way to the bank, and will continue to. There doesn't seem to be a way to remove the reins from the insurance companies.

Obama simply doesn't have enough power to dismantle these immense entities that control this country and our lives. Here, I am not questioning his political stance, his leaning toward left or right, or his political agenda. How can you have ANY real agenda with powers like that in place OVER the office of President and Congress? And that's a whole other issue - Congress. They are in the pockets of the corporations, which has slowed any progress of this country down to a crawl.

The corporations who call the shots want business as usual. Obama continues to appoint folks to cabinet positions who were the authors of our current mess.

What, if anything, can change this? The more I read, the more I realize that the broken, fucked-up system in place appears to be unchangeable.

One of my lovely sisters called the other day and we were discussing this and, again, the subject of why Americans just sit on their asses and allow this to happen, when obviously they have to see what's going on.

Some observations:

1. Have you noticed that the corporate-owned mainstream media (CCMSM) likes to lead you to think that there is a left wing news source and a right wing news source? MSNBC being the lefties. Have you watched Countdown and Rachel Maddow recently? Madow does a bang-up job within the small margin they allow her. She gets to be disgusted with the GOP and even call out Obama on his ever-growing list of decisions that come from the right. Countdown, meanwhile, is getting more and more circus-like, and while Keith Olbermann is entertaining, he's also quite misogynist - all the while calling himself a liberal. I loved his show about 2 years ago, when he was an anchor, not an entertainer. But I digress: What I am seeing in these news hours is the same cherry-picked stories, always involving the heads of the GOP and the President, reported ad nauseum. As if nothing goes on in this country or the world that doesn't have to do with the President or the idiocy of our current GOP. It's starting to get very tedious and the only thing this serves to do is keep the GOP legitimate and in the spotlight. I must have seen Dead-Eye Dick stories about 20 times this past week. Why?

2. We're lazy, we're fat, we're complacent - but not all of those things can be blamed on us ourselves. Face it, we are ever more poisoned. Bill Maher likes to harp on corn syrup. It is a blight. So is the lack of nutrition in our food, so are the poisons in our prepared, pre-packaged food, the drugs in our water, the mercury in our fish, whatever the hell they spray in the sky. Are we simply too drugged and sick to bother getting out into the streets? I have to wonder. Lately, the majority of people I know and myself have been getting colds on and off, as if it's the new norm. If I don't have a cold, I have allergies, which 2 years ago was not the case. Something is happening to the population's health, and this is not because of the swine flu. I haven't had the flu in about 20 years, so we'll see what happens with that. This constant cold season is very unnerving, indeed. We're sick, and apparently too oblivious to fight back.

3. We are sooooooooo dummied-down. As someone who was raised and schooled (luckily) before the Great Dumming Down of 1981-onward was implemented by a clueless figure-head President, I am fortunate enough to have a good education and an intellectual curiosity that seems nearly absent in the general populace today. What we've got are a whole lot of corporate slaves who fear losing their jobs, letting their credit rating get below 750, and don't question the status quo. You can see evidence of this on just about every show on television. Who lives an alternative lifestyle? I do, and trust me, it isn't respected in general society. You all know I'm not gay, but I am a woman who has *gasp* decided to live a single life, no kids, and outside of the corporate world even though I'm an educated middle-class white. It is NOT smiled upon, which is why I live in Los Angeles where it's at least more acceptable. This credit rating thing: Did we have credit-report-dot-com even 2 years ago? DId you know if you pay off a credit card and cancel it your rating goes DOWN? People are so busy watching their credit ratings, hoping beyond hope that the beneficent banks will deign to give them a 30% APR loan these days. Un-fucking-believable.

This country HAS gone to hell in a handbasket, and what we need now is a way to turn it around. I don't see that in any national discussion anywhere.

I hope someone has some silver lining they'd like to share? Anyone?

I am getting ever more disgusted

2009-05-20T20:25:00.001-07:00

I get so tired when I hear of utter bullshit like this. Makes me want to curl up in the fetal position. Just LISTEN to this bloated asshole, Newty. Listen. Hopefully you want to throw up too. I just don't know anymore. Why is this piece of filth let on television? Why is dead-eye dick? Gah.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

M - Th 11p / 10c

Newt Gingrich Unedited Interview

thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Economic Crisis

Political Humor

Torture witness conveniently found dead

2009-05-13T13:11:00.000-07:00

From IndictBushNow.org:

A prisoner who was horribly tortured in 2002 until he agreed - at the demand of Bush torturers - to say that al-Qaeda was linked to Saddam Hussein is suddenly dead. Several weeks ago, Human Rights Watch investigators discovered the missing inmate and talked to him. He had been secretly transferred by the administration to a prison in Libya after having been held by the CIA both in secret “black hole prisons” and in Egypt.

Under conditions of extreme torture, the prisoner, Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi, agreed in 2002 to supply the Bush-ordered interrogators what they sought as a political cover for Bush’s marketing of the pending war of aggression against Iraq. Mr. Libi agreed to tell them whatever they wanted in exchange for an end to the torture. The now famous Torture Memos providing legal cover for the torture were written at the same time starting in the summer of 2002.

My tinfoil hat is heating up as is my ire that the shrub and dead-eye aren't yet rotting in a cell somewhere for war crimes.

Can we just add this to the list of pretty horrific and deadly "coincidences" that have recently occurred? Namely:

Rove's IT Guy

Most people involved in the missing nuke incident

I still also am not convinced that Paul Wellstone or the DC Madam's deaths were accidents.

The coincidence is further compounded by the fact that dead-eye dick is out and about making the news shows circuit, where he repeats ad nauseum that the US is not as safe under its new administration, trashes Colin Powell for having the decency to tell it like it is, and touts Rush Limbaugh as the preferred leader of the GOP.

Note to dead-eye dick and anyone clueless enough to believe him: 911 happened on YOUR WATCH.

I think either dead-eye dick still wields a lot of power (where IS that missing nuke?) or is desperately trying to convince us that he did nothing wrong. He is, after all, rumored to be a paranoid what with his insistence of toting around a man-sized safe and hazmat suit.

It's my Bloggiversary!

2009-05-09T11:51:00.000-07:00

I didn't even know it, until long-time fellow blogger & reader David Rice was so kind to send me a congratulatory note. Wow, I've been blogging for 4 years today.

I started this blog on May 9, 2005. Like most, I was drawn to starting a blog to vent, what with all the pent-up rage from a second stolen presidential election and in desperate need of an outlet.

Oh the times we've had up here, eh?

The very BEST thing that has come out of my blog was, of course, all the incredible people I've met. You all ROCK. And I love each and every one of your blogs and comments. You know who you are.

And now an apology that my blog has been quite the gyp lately. I mean really, could I at least TRY to post more than once a week?!? Sorry. Life has been going at warp-speed and it's hard to keep up. Not only that, I find that there is so much out there to blog about that I can't choose. Also, being uber-busy means I just don't have the time to put into the thought I'd like behind posts.

It truly amazes me that I've been blogging here for 4 years, harping on the shrub ruining the country long before it was OK to do so. All of us were screaming for the media to report the facts on the false reasons for invading Iraq, the Plame scandal, the horrid treatment of our vets and soldiers, the assault on our civil liberties and Constitution, etc. and they wouldn't.

That brings me to this: If it wasn't for us bloggers, I truly doubt that we would have managed to boot those crooks out of the White House. All of us influenced who knows how many other people, dangled links to real news in their faces, until the populace could no longer ignore the emporer had no clothes.

The other day, on a whim, I emailed Enigma and told her I had just been thinking again about election day, and how unbelievable and magical it was when Obama won. I honestly think I was in shock. We all worked so hard, and did so much. And we WON because we wouldn't shut up. Of course, now there's even more reason to speak out and I plan to do my share of it. Progress never ends.

Every day I am grateful to all of you other bloggers, because without your inspiration and friendship, blogging would be pretty damn dull.

I hope to return to more regular posting, so I hope you bear with me. I also will try to visit all of you more.

Here's to 4 more years!

Whooooot!

Amy Goodman was in my 'hood!

2009-05-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

The week before last, I was having lunch with one of my good blog friends, Mark Brown, down the street from me and afterwards, I thought I'd show him the area since he's from up north and hadn't been in my neighborhood before. We strolled past Skylight Books and Mark stopped and said he'd really like to go in there (how can one resist all the anarchist literature in the window?). So I said, great idea. Just before going in, I noticed a piece of notebook paper taped to the door that said: "Amy Goodman 12:30". We looked at each other, like, "No, really?" And it was 1:30 pm by now, so for sure I thought we would have missed her.

But, we went in and Amy was just fininshing speaking. Sadly, I didn't get to hear much of her talk. However, her brother, David, co-author of two books with her ("Standing Up To The Madness" and "Static") was up next to speak.

David covered the little-known story of how many librarians bravely stood up to the shrub madministration and refused to give out the names of their patrons. At this time, the FBI was demanding to see what patrons were reading or watching, and as David put it, you don't mess with librarians' patrons. This story was particularly wonderful to me. I was amazed that these librarians flat-out refused to comply with what they knew was an unconstitutional request.

What I find truly serendipitous is that my sister sent me this article without knowing I had just heard David Goodman speak on this very topic. This brave man, Brewster Kahle, is my sister's neighbor.

Online library gets FBI to back off

(05-07) 18:03 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Brewster Kahle, who runs an online library in San Francisco, was appalled when his volunteer lawyers told him in November that the FBI was demanding records of all communications with one of his patrons as part of an investigation of "international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities."
The FBI document, called a national security letter, told Kahle he could be prosecuted if he discussed the subject with anyone but his lawyers, and allowed him to speak with his attorneys only in person. Kahle said his Internet Archive, which has 500,000 card-holders, doesn't even keep the records the FBI was seeking.

He was allowed to speak publicly Wednesday under a rare settlement in which the FBI agreed to withdraw its letter and lift the gag order. That should show other librarians, and members of the public who receive any of the nearly 50,000 national security letters the government issues each year, that "you can push back on these," Kahle said.

The capper was, of course, I grabbed up both books, and got into the signing line. I am not one to do these things but Amy is one of my heroes, and I couldn't resist the chance to meet her. This venue was also pretty awesome. Not a big crowd, and pretty intimate; it felt like a book club meeting or something. And Mark just happened to have his high-tech digital camera in his car, just outside.

Talk about lucky. David Goodman asked me the name of my blog, and in this picture, Amy might be politely responding to me telling her how sorry I was about her arrest at the RNC and asked if there was still any fallout from that. She evaded the question to some degree but there was a line behind me. I just had to ask! I found Amy very engaging and David is wonderful, too.

Photo credit: Mark Brown

Follow-up to Waterboard Sean Hannity (for fun & profit)

2009-04-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

OK, for those of you who want to make sure Sean Hannity knows we think he ought to live up to his promise to be waterboarded in order to raise money for charity and the troops, here you go!

A petition telling him to do exactly that.

Please, please please sign it & pass it on!!

Link to the story & video below or click here.

Waterboard Sean Hannity for Charity & the Troops! (and yuks for me)

2009-04-24T08:32:00.001-07:00

Manatee made the mistake of inviting Charles Grodin on his show to discuss torture and, uh-oh, now poor Sean has offered to be waterboarded to benefit charities and the troops.

GRODIN: You're for torture.

HANNITY: I am for enhanced interrogation.

GRODIN: You don't believe it's torture. Have you ever been waterboarded?

HANNITY: No, but Ollie North has and I've talked to him about it.

GRODIN: Would you consent to be waterboarded so we can get the truth out of you? We can waterboard you?

HANNITY: Sure.

GRODIN: Are you busy on Sunday?

HANNITY: I'll do it for charity. I'll let you do it. I'll do it for the troops' families.
GRODIN: I wouldn't do it. I'll hand you a towel when you come out of the shower.

I loved Lawrence O'Donnell's take best, excruciatingly honest commentary about cowardice in this most excellent clip from Countdown with Keith Olbermann last night:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Keith offers $1000 per second for charity if the Manatee is brave enough to actually go through with it.

On the mess the shrub left

2009-04-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

Is anyone else completely disgusted and embarrassed to be an American since these torture memos came to light and there's no outcry from the President?

Judge Bybee is a most despicable man for what he has done. He obviously was invited early to the Constitution-shredding party that the shrub and dead-eye Dick were holding for 8 years.

Dave Swanson at AfterDowningStreet.org sent this today:

Schakowsky Thinks Crimes Should Be Prosecuted, and "Just Following Orders" No Excuse

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky has just publicly said that "I was just obeying orders" is an illegitimate and Nazi excuse, and that "looking forward" as a method of (non) law enforcement is nonsensical. Please THANK HER, and please ask her and ask your congress member to jointly or individually send to Eric Holder the letter that Schakowsky and 55 other congress members sent to Michael Mukasey requesting a special prosecutor last summer, or an updated version thereof. Or ask your representative or senator to simply make a public statement like Jerrold Nadler's, or like Schakowsky's below:

Schakowsky On Torture: "Just Following Orders" A Historically Bogus Argument

By Ryan Grim, Huffington Post

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), a top Democrat on the intelligence committee, dismissed President Obama's defense of CIA officials who tortured detainees under orders from the White House.

Obama, who released details of the torture practices Thursday, said that CIA personnel acting on the legal advice of the Bush administration would not come in for "retribution."

Schakowsky, in an interview with the Huffington Post, says she's heard that argument before. "This notion that 'I was just obeying orders' -- I don't want to compare this to Nazi Germany, but we've come to almost ridicule the notion that when horrific acts have been committed that people can use the excuse that, 'Well, I was just following orders,'" she says.

Schakowsky is chairwoman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Schakowsky said that she has yet to speak to the committee chairman, but has instructed her staff to begin an investigation into the allegations if the full committee does not.

"There should be an open mind of what to do with information that we get from thorough investigations," she says.

Schakowsky also notes that the administration's emphasis on looking to the future rather than the past defies logic. If criminal prosecutions only looked to the future, there could be no criminal prosecutions.

"All crimes are in the past, right? So, obviously if you're prosecuting crimes, it's not something that's going to be done, it's something that's been done," she says.

Private contractors who tortured detainees, however, might not get the same immunity that CIA officials have coming their way. Schakowsky says she spoke with Deputy Attorney General David Ogden on Thursday. He told her that the Justice department is "still examining" whether to provide the same immunity to contractors. (A justice department spokesman didn't immediately return an e-mail from the Huffington Post.)

"In general, I think that contractors need to be held accountable for what they do, but particularly the inventors of the program," says Schakowsky, referencing two psychologists highlighted in Jane Mayer's investigation of Guantanamo, who developed the program of torture.

Reading the memos authorizing specific forms of torture, says Schakowski, is difficult for her to do. "Best to read these things in the morning," she says. "How dark can the dark side get?"

I haven't been posting much because, frankly, I am overwhelmed with all that is going on. From the beyond-idiotic "teabagging" parties to the threats for secession if they don't get their way, the GOP and its corporate sponsor and grassroots organizer, FauxNoise, are slowing our progress to a halt.

I can appreciate that President Obama doesn't want to spend his presidency prosecuting the shrub but that's too bad. It's his job, I hope he rethinks this.

More great insight into this by Crooks 'n' Liars.

The New York Times today also came out with a scathing Editorial today:

...Their language is the precise bureaucratese favored by dungeon masters throughout history. They detail how to fashion a collar for slamming a prisoner against a wall, exactly how many days he can be kept without sleep (11), and what, specifically, he should be told before being locked in a box with an insect — all to stop just short of having a jury decide that these acts violate the laws against torture and abusive treatment of prisoners.
In one of the more nauseating passages, Jay Bybee, then an assistant attorney general and now a federal judge, wrote admiringly about a contraption for waterboarding that would lurch a prisoner upright if he stopped breathing while water was poured over his face. He praised the Central Intelligence Agency for having doctors ready to perform an emergency tracheotomy ifnecessary.
These memos are not an honest attempt to set the legal limits on interrogations, which was the authors’ statutory obligation. They were written to provide legal immunity for acts that are clearly illegal, immoral and a violation of this country’s most basic values.

We're emerging, shocked, from this horror of an 8-year administration who considered people by-products and war a number one priority. It's stunning to see the degree to which they collectively derided pain and suffering and death. I can only hope that as we the people add some pressure, things change. This episode in our country's history must never be repeated.

I don't profess to know Obama's reasons for not immediately stepping up to the plate and implementing war crimes investigations, but failing to promise to prosecute Bybee and the shrub madministration is not a good choice, considering the majority of people elected him as a direct repudiation of the shrub and its war crimes.

Eat it, Chompers Coleman

2009-04-13T17:38:00.000-07:00

It's about DAMN time:

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A Minnesota court has confirmed that Democrat Al Franken won the most votes in his 2008 Senate race against Republican Norm Coleman. Monday's ruling isn't expected to be the final word because Coleman previously announced plans to appeal to the state Supreme Court. He has 10 days to do so. That appeal could mean weeks more delay in seating Minnesota's second senator. After a statewide recount and seven-week trial, Franken stands 312 votes ahead. Franken actually gained more votes from the election challenge than Coleman, the candidate who brought it. The state law Coleman sued under merely required three judges to determine who got the most votes and is therefore entitled to an election certificate. That critical certificate is on hold pending appeal.

I really, really like Al Franken and think he will make a smashing senator in the tradition of the late Paul Wellstone, who Al Franken adored.

Well done, Al!!

Fundies 'n' wingnuts going to new lengths to prove Obama is the Antichrist

2009-04-07T13:48:00.001-07:00

Courtesy of Rachel Maddow:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I wouldn't want to be a London Banker today

2009-04-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

I was amazed yesterday when I read that authorities in London were advising bankers to dress casually and not in 'banker garb' so as not to draw attention to themselves because the people are starting to target bankers for protests and even abuse.

Today it's really out of hand:

LONDON – Protesters clashed with riot police in central London on Wednesday ahead of the G-20 summit, breaking into the heavily guarded Royal Bank of Scotland and smashing its windows. Nearly two dozen people were arrested in multiple clashes.

Some 4,000 anarchists, anti-capitalists, environmentalists and others clogged the streets of London's financial district for what demonstrators branded "Financial Fool's Day." The protests were called ahead of Thursday's summit of world leaders, who hope to take concrete steps to resolve the global financial crisis that has lashed nations and workers worldwide.

I have to wonder how long before this starts to happen here.

Michele Bachmann is Batshit Insane

2009-03-30T14:18:00.000-07:00

Dusty was the catalyst that pushed me finally into just officially saying on this blog what needs oh so desperately to be said.

Michele Bachmann is undeniably, irrevocably, entirely batshit insane. Why don't the GOP call her on it? Maybe they are too busy trying to prevent Michael Steele from stuffing a boot in his pie hole.

Seriously. The only person in the media that seems to be calling a spade a spade these days is Matt Taibbi (hat tip to Dusty for sharing this gem):

Everyone must read this immediately!!!

2009-03-21T16:54:00.000-07:00

Matt Taibbi lays out the entire economic screwing we've just received.

Prepare to be in shock, even if you think you already know what happened. I didn't know the particulars.

It is important that everyone understand what our government allowed to happen - or worse, was complicit in -- and what these corporations have done to our country.

Tim Geithner needs to be shown the door.

The horror.

Can we keep our shoes on now, please?

2009-03-20T08:41:00.000-07:00

I know things are slowly changing, and Obama's administration has a long way to go in bringing us back from the fascist state the shrub and its cabal forced (or tricked?) us into, but I hope that one of the next things to go is the ridiculousness we endure just trying to board a damn airplane.

The shoes coming off? My $80 worth of Aveda product being confiscated? Can we finally admit this is all bullshit? Some sort of weird theater, a bad attempt at smoke-and-mirrors to fool the populace into thinking we're being kept safe from "terrism" at the airport?

Can they stop confisciating our water bottles just so we can rebuy water once "safely" in the terminal? This one is my favorite, because why couldn't a terrorist simply bring in an explosive in powder form and, once inside the terminal, buy water, go into the restroom, and add said explosive? None of it makes any sense. People need to start realizing that these stupid rules were not put in place to keep up safe, but to keep hysterical and stupid people placated by telling them it made us safe.

This bullshit causes so much unnecessary waste, time-wise as well as the cost of stuff we give up when we forget that it's in our travel bags. Remember when lighters were confiscated, but then they weren't any more? Remember when tweezers were a threat to U.S. security but then 6 months later, they weren't any longer?

It's all bullshit. The sooner people demand this stuff stop, the sooner we can keep our shoes on, and laptops safely in their cases, and grooming products in our carry-ons.

I truly hope that President Obama turns out not to be the knee-jerk, reactionary type that the shrub was, making these laws every time someone was caught committing a crime. One guy had a 'shoe bomb' so *duuuuuh* let's make sure the entire populace, every single person who boards a plane, doesn't have one, too, as if it even makes on shred of sense to emulate the shoe bomber's unsuccessful attempt.

I have greatly avoided flying because of this crap, and I know others have, too. If Obama wants to stimulate the airline industry, maybe he can change the laws so that airports are a more bearable place to be, for the millions of us who SO detested being treated like cattle under the shrub's rule.

And it wouldn't hurt to also ban the noxious FauxNoise from the airport televisions.

Let's hope this helps: Part of Obama's budget for Homeland Security bumps up the cost for airport security. It appears that Janet Napolitano is emphasizing better detection equipment, which is how it actually should be done:

The president's budget outline seeks $42.7 billion for the Department of Homeland Security in fiscal 2010, up from $40.1 billion this year. That's in addition to $2.8 billion for homeland security included in the stimulus bill.

The plan outlines a number of priorities for DHS. The budget aims to strengthen security at airports, including $64 million to "modernize the infrastructure used to vet travelers and workers." It also calls for increasing in 2012 the fee that travelers now pay to fund airport security.

The budget allocates $355 million to make private and public sector computer systems more secure, and money for developing the next generation of sensors to detect biological attacks.

A government report showed that we are less safe from terrorist attacks than before 9-11 and, while I'm not someone who is worried about terrorism, as in general, the United States has it pretty good compared to how many terrorist attacks occur in Europe and the Middle East.

I do believe there are smart ways to go about it, and then there was the shrub's way.

I hope this is progress.

Why is Blackwater/XE still in the picture?

2009-03-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

This really pisses me off:

New deal for Blackwater

17 Mar 2009

Days after the Baghdad government decided it no longer wanted the mercenary contractor then known as Blackwater in Iraq, the State Department signed a $22.2 million deal in February to keep the embattled contractor working there through most of the summer, contract records show. The decision keeps Blackwater - since renamed Xe - in Iraq months longer than anyone has suggested publicly, while raising questions about why the U.S. would pay a contractor for work in Iraq if it may not be able to operate there legally.

President Obama, Why Did You Pay Blackwater $70 Million in February?
By Jeremy Scahill
17 Mar 2009

The Obama administration has paid the mercenary firm formerly known as Blackwater nearly $70 million to operate in Iraq and, according to The Washington Times, may keep the company on the payroll months past the official expiration of its Iraq contract in May. I reviewed Blackwater's recent transactions with the Obama State Department and discovered a $45 million payment to Blackwater on February 4, 2009 for "protective services-Iraq." It is described as a "funding action only." Here is the interesting part: The estimated "Ultimate Completion Date" is 5/07/2011. The Washington Times reported on a $22 million payment to Blackwater on February 2. Combined with the $45 million payment I discovered, that's nearly $67 million in 72 hours.

Why is President Obama continuing to keep these thugs in Iraq? Xe and its scum-bag founder, Erik Prince, shouldn't get 1 thin dime of our money. They are murderers and arguably even terrorists.

This is another fine example of the disconnect that still remains even after Obama's landslide win. The majority of people are sick to death of business as usual. This is one of those items the majority of people oppose. The reason we voted the Democrats in, in 2006, and the reason we voted Obama in, was to change the way our government runs things. While Obama has made some great decisions, he is still continuing on too many of the shrub's abysmal policies.

Look, I'm glad Obama won the presidency over John McCain. But that doesn't mean I'm giving a free pass to this sort of stuff. I hope the appropriate people are going to call him to task on it. I'm just sick of the United States alienating the rest of the world, and policies such as this are what foments much of the antipathy toward us.

I'm sure the Iraqis are none too happy about it, either.

Top o' the Morning to Ye!

2009-03-17T09:23:00.000-07:00

And a Happy St. Patty's Day!

In honor of my Irish heritage and the fact that we're all Irish today, I'm posting Irish jokes that crack me the hell up. Please note that the leprechaun is the same one we had as our high school mascot (WTF?). I think it is deriviative of the way the English used to depict the Irish, with long ape arms. Can't imagine what they were trying to insinuate, can you? He's also very angry (at the English, think).

Enjoy:

Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn't find a parking place. Looking up to heaven he said, 'Lord take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish Whiskey!'

Miraculously, a parking place appeared.

Paddy looked up again and said, 'Never mind, I found one.'

______________________

Father Murphy walks into a pub in Donegal, and asks the first man he meets, 'Do you want to go to heaven?'

The man said, 'I do, Father.'

The priest said, 'Then stand over there against the wall.'

Then the priest asked the second man, 'Do you want to go to heaven?'

'Certainly, Father,' the man replied.

'Then stand over there against the wall,' said the priest.

Then Father Murphy walked up to O'Toole and asked, 'Do you want to go to heaven?'

O'Toole said, 'No, I don't Father.'

The priest said, 'I don't believe this. You mean to tell me that when you die you don't want to go to heaven?'

O'Toole said, 'Oh, when I die , yes. I thought you were getting a group together to go right now.'

________________________

Gallagher opened the morning newspaper and was dumbfounded to read in the obituary column that he had died. He quickly phoned his best friend, Finney.

'Did you see the paper?' asked Gallagher 'They say I died!!'

'Yes, I saw it!' replied Finney. 'Where are ye callin' from?

_______________________

An Irish priest is driving down to New York and gets stopped for speeding in Connecticut . The state trooper smells alcohol on the priest's breath and then sees an empty wine bottle on the floor of the car.

He says, 'Sir, have you been drinking?'

'Just water,' says the priest.

The trooper says, 'Then why do I smell wine?'

The priest looks at the bottle and says, 'Good Lord! He's done it again!'

_____________________

Memories of past St. Patty's Days for me include nearly freezing to death on a float in Chicago's St. Patty's Day parade down State Street, and years singing Clancy Brothers tunes with my dad's "band."

We can also thank the Irish for giving us the best excuse for imbibing mid-week!

Our CCMSM Dilemma

2009-03-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

I've been analysing this country's "corporate-owned mainstream media" or CCMSM for a long time, at great length, and especially now in light of Obama's new presidency. I continue to be completely stunned at the utter lack of respect the collective CCMSM overwhelmingly has for the office of the Presidency now that it's Obama, and not Bush occupying the White House.

The televised news shows and internet news are guilty, and that's putting it mildly. I will go so far to say the daily hit pieces they feature are beyond the pale.

The CCMSM want to make sure that their myopic, far-right world doesn't change at all, even though the country's agenda has been forced to change. The greedy ways our previous leaders instilled failed, so we're forced in a way to go in a new direction - one in which more level-headedness will previal, partially because of the economic collapse caused by mainly GOP leadership policies for the past 28 years. Add to that a populace who are again paying attention to what's going on, after being largely apathetic for a decade.

The CCMSM, meanwhile, means to continue the same non-coverage of actual news, using the same old Rovian, fear-mongering tactics, celebrity obsession, liberal and Democrat-bashing and outright lying it has gotten away with for the past 8 years, with its final goal to sell you Lincoln Navigators and Enzyte and business as usual.

I was willing to forego the fact that the news outlets weren't kow-towing to President Obama. Fair enough, if you are going to report the facts. But then, the unearned criticisms, the "what if?" bullshit articles and the hit pieces started coming.

Just as an easy grab, here's a great example of what you'll see 9 in 10 times on Yahoo!:

-Obama Plans Cause Split in the Democratic Party
-Rush Limbaugh Slams Obama, Dems
-Is the Stimulus Plan a Socialist Policy?

The first isn't true, the second is very disrespectful and the third is using the same tired, old, untrue "talking point" that even today the GOP and its supporters refuse to give up.

News Editor Robert Parry nails it on Mark Crispin Miller's blog:

Less than two months into Barack Obama’s presidency, it has become clear that the top threat to his ability to accomplish his goals - from reversing the recession to reforming health care to building a greener economy - is not just an obstructionist Republican Party but a U.S. news media that remains largely tilted to the Right.

There is the powerful right-wing media - with its many outlets in print, radio, TV and the Internet - but also a mainstream/corporate media that can’t escape the old dynamic of framing stories negatively about Democrats and granting Republicans every benefit of the doubt.

So, when Obama pushed for a $787 billion stimulus plan, it was treated as too big and too bloated - at least until the new GDP and unemployment numbers came in and suddenly the package was too small and too modest.

When the New York Times and the Washington Post wrote about the stunning 6.2 percent decline in the gross domestic product for the fourth quarter of 2008, their stories focused on Obama’s policy failures, without mentioning that George W. Bush was President throughout the fourth quarter.

To see a daily play-by-play, no one is better than MediaMatters, who I truly believe is one of the best sites on the web. Just one visit will show you that the CCMSM knows exactly what it's doing and that there is a real and calculated plan to take down President Obama and move the country in the rightwing extremist direction with which the CCMSM is most comfortable and profitable.

The capper was when CNN actually aired Rush Limbaugh's entire 90-minute keynote speech at CPAC. Had anyone even heard of CPAC before, and why is it so relevant now that it merits a 90-minute FREE advertisement for the GOP via Rush Limbaugh?

So, you can imagine my glee when Jon Stewart decided to hit back by targeting Jim Cramer's show on CNBC for particular scorn, and followed up by skewing Cramer on "The Daily Show." What Stewart did was actually real reporting and journalism. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't convinient, but it sure as hell was imformative. One can't really argue satisfactorily the interview was unfair. Cramer admitted to his shortcomings and it was fairly obvious CNBC's goal is not to inform the public, but instead institute its own rightwing, corporatist agenda.

Bravo, Jon Stewart.

I've been hoping that this gesture of Stewart's will generate the same momentum against the status quo that followed comedic show host Stephen Colbert's speech at the now-historic 2006 correspondents dinner. I don't know how many of your remember, but before Colbert decided to tell it like it is, it was basically taboo to say one word against Bush in the media at all. Colbert seemed to open the floodgates.

What is sad about it, however, is that it takes a Comedy show host to ask the hard-hitting questions and go to the uncomfortable places that reporters used to go back in the heyday of reporting.

In a time when Couric's soft-ball interview with Palin was considered "gotcha journalism" by the right wing, isn't it time already to demand real reporting from our mainstream media? Or should we just go on and allow the corporate masters to tell us what our news is and should be?

The Huffington Post is getting increasingly frustrating and ridiculous

2009-03-12T16:17:00.001-07:00

This is the capper. I really doubt I can stand the place any more.

The place where I'd hit "login" under my name is literally covered with an ad that I can't get rid of (the choices are "expand" or "collapse").

At Huffington Post, where in the past weeks, their moderation has gotten so bad that on certain threads, I can't even type the word "test" without it melting into moderation limbo. This login thing just may be the last straw for me.

I do realize that Huffington is in it for the money, but not only is the moderation hell getting unbearable for many of its loyal readers and commenters, but it's getting more tabloid-like every day, sometimes even using a spinning globe that reminds me a little too much of the drudge siren. You'd think they would want to cater at least somewhat to the people who causing the "cha-ching" on every page refresh by adding their comments.

I'll probably continue to link to stories the report whenever they get it right, but I'm really super disappointed in what the site has become.

Yes, I've complained to them, with links to the errors, problems and glitches. Yes, I changed the way I even type to use a capital "i" in place of a small "l" to fool the moderation bot, then I started wondering why I'd even bother to do that. It seems so crazy, really.

I liked the comaraderie and the comments sometimes are just wonderful but it's gotten too frustrating for me. Any of you hang out there ever and are getting fed up?

GOP infighting rages on!

2009-03-02T13:06:00.001-08:00

Pass the popcorn.

As the GOP meltdown continues, we have a good one.

The perceived head of the GOP vs. the head of the RNC. And it isn't pretty:

As many of you know, Rush Limbaugh closed the the very bizarre CPAC (wherein, up until his speech, the biggest highlights were Michelle Bachmann's utterly inappropriate "You Da Man" to Michael Steele, a 13-year-old who's been brainwashed by Bill Bennet for 6 years and Joe-the-Not-Plumber, the GOP's favorite welfare queen, giving advice to young, up-and-coming neocons) with another typical Democrat-hating spiel, riling his base against President Obama's tireless work to clean up the GOP's 25+ year ponzi scheme mess, and hoping Obama will fail in general... because that is good for the American people.... right?

Sadly, for the GOP, there are 3 major problems right now:

Obama won a mandate, meaning the American people collectively gave the GOP the finger on November 4, 2009;
They elect an RNC head who tells people not to trust the GOP; and
Their 'unofficial' but perceived leader is actually a bloviating gasbag with a radio show.

These spin off undoubtedly to make many other problems.

What's the GOP going to do, besides lose most of their elections for the next 20 years?

Put a fork in them, the GOP is cooked.

UPDATE - 6:20PM ET: Michael Steele has apologized to Rush Limbaugh for referring to him as an "entertainer" who can be "ugly" and "incendiary," Mike Allen reports.

Rahm called it.

Sooooo laaaaaazy

2009-03-02T08:11:00.000-08:00

I've not actually been "lazy" per se; but very distracted by all that's going on in our country and the world at the moment I'm actually overwhelmed. But that's only part of why I'm being very bad about posting.

I'm also redeveloping/designing the blog. Hopefully, soon, I'll have a more professional and interesting look and will actually post on a regular basis.

Holy crap, I've been awful since the election! And not for lack of material. No excuses! Onward!

The GOP's "Back in the Saddle!"

2009-02-18T15:58:00.001-08:00

How embarrassing. Eric Cantor just doesn't get it.

Michael Steele tells Glenn Beck not to trust the GOP

2009-02-14T14:23:00.001-08:00

Michael Steele tells Glenn Beck: "You have absolutely no reason, none, to trust our word or our actions at this point."

Unbelievable. I already knew Michael Steele was not the brightest bulb in the box when he was became Chairman of the RNC, having seen him make a complete fool of himself on Bill Maher's show a couple of times. But this exchange with an angry, whiney and bitter Glenn Beck really takes the cake.

Any bets on how long Steele sticks around as RNC head? I thought his claim that jobs aren't work was about as cluelessly idiotic as it gets, but his admission on this clip takes the cake.

And "tax cuts" are going to help??

2009-02-06T19:36:00.001-08:00

Friday night "Bale-O"

2009-02-06T19:14:00.001-08:00

This gave me a much-needed belly laugh.

It's funnier if you already know about some Christian Bale meltdown on the set of whatever movie he's working on.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Palast thinks Obama is a two-faced liar, and he's loving it

2009-01-29T15:55:00.000-08:00

This was too good not to pass on. I have been trying to figure out Obama's strategy in relation to the stimulus package. I think Palast's take might be spot on.

Obama is a two-faced liar. Aw-RIGHT!

by Greg Palast

January 29, 2009

Republicans are right. President Barack Obama treated them like dirt, didn't give a damn what they thought about his stimulus package, loaded it with a bunch of programs that will last for years and will never leave the budget, is giving away money disguised as "tax refunds," and is sneaking in huge changes in policy, from schools to health care, using the pretext of an economic emergency.

Way to go, Mr. O! Mr. Down-and-Dirty Chicago pol. Street-fightin' man. Covering over his break-your-face power play with a "we're all post-partisan friends" BS.

And it's about time.

Frankly, I was worried about this guy. Obama's appointing Clinton-droids to the Cabinet, bloated incompetents like Larry Summers as "Economics Czar," made me fear for my country, that we'd gotten another Democrat who wished he were a Republican.

Then came Obama's money bomb. The House bill included $125 billion for schools (TRIPLING federal spending on education), expanding insurance coverage to the unemployed, making the most progressive change in the tax code in four decades by creating a $500 credit against social security payroll deductions, and so on.

It's as if Obama dug up Ronald Reagan's carcass and put a stake through The Gipper's anti-government heart. Aw-RIGHT!

About the only concession Obama threw to the right-wing trogs was to remove the subsidy for condoms, leaving hooker-happy GOP Senators, like David Vitter, to pay for their own protection. S'OK with me.

And here's the proof that Bam is The Man: Not one single Republican congressman voted for the bill. And that means that Obama didn't compromise, the way Clinton and Carter would have, to win the love of these condom-less jerks.

And we didn't need'm. Nyah! Nyah! Nyah!

Now I understand Obama's weird moves: dinner with those creepy conservative columnists, earnest meetings at the White House with the Republican leaders, a dramatic begging foray into Senate offices. Just as the Republicans say, it was all a fraud. Obama was pure Chicago, Boss Daley in a slim skin, putting his arms around his enemies, pretending to listen and care and compromise, then slowly, quietly, slipping in the knife. All while the media praises Obama's "post-partisanship." Heh heh heh.

Love it. Now we know why Obama picked that vindictive little viper Rahm Emanuel as staff chief: everyone visiting the Oval office will be greeted by the Windy City hit man who would hack up your grandma if you mess with the Godfather-in-Chief.

I don't know about you, but THIS is the change I've been waiting for.

Will it last? We'll see if Obama caves in to more tax cuts to investment bankers. We'll see if he stops the sub-prime scum-bags from foreclosing on frightened families. We'll see if he stands up to the whining, gormless generals who don't know how to get our troops out of Iraq. (In SHIPS, you doofusses!)

Look, don't get your hopes up. But it may turn out the new President's ... a Democrat!

******

Greg Palast's investigative reports for BBC and Rolling Stone can be seen at www.GregPalast.com. Palast is the author of New York Times bestsellers The Best Democracy Money Can Buy and Armed Madhouse.

Whooot!

Turdblossom Subpoenaed!

2009-01-26T15:48:00.000-08:00

The shrub can't protect him now.

From Citizens for a Legitimate Government:

The House Judiciary Committee chairman subpoenaed former White House adviser Karl Rove on Monday to testify about the Bush administration's firing of U.S. attorneys and prosecution of a former Democratic governor. The subpoena by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., continues a long-running legal battle with ex-President [sic] George W. Bush's former White House political director. Rove previously refused to appear before the panel, contending that former presidential advisers cannot be compelled to testify before Congress.

Let's see if TB ignores this one, too. Somehow, I don't think he's going to be able to:

Bush upheld Rove's legal position, but Conyers said times have changed.

"That 'absolute immunity' position ... has been rejected by U.S. District Judge John Bates and President Obama has previously dismissed the claim as 'completely misguided,'" Conyers said in a statement.
Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment.
"I have said many times that I will carry this investigation forward to its conclusion, whether in Congress or in court, and today's action is an important step along the way," Conyers said.

(my emphasis).

The shrub had one rule of law for he and his cronies, and another for the rest of us. But that's not gonna fly anymore.

I'm glad Conyers is all over this. And I hope Siegleman is exhonerated and sues the living crap out of TB* for what Rove did to him and his career.

*and that's one hell of a LOT of crap!

How long will the right's paranoid hissy fit last?

2009-01-24T14:44:00.000-08:00

Mindless meltdowns are myriad among the wingnuttia. Reacting to Obama's landslide win by whipping themselves into a frenzy of fear appears to be their way of dealing with their stunning loss.

The inevitable train wreck has been a few months in the making -- with neocons, conservatives and bible-humpers slowly, painfully realizing that President Barack Obama is actually going to take office, despite their best (and most insane) efforts to prove he's not even an American -- but the inauguration seemed to have catapulted it into a full blown collective panic attack of epic proportions.

Paranoia that Obama will actually get Americans killed by closing Guantanamo is the new hot-button issue among these victims of the collective wingnut crackup.

From Glenn Greenwald at Salon:

The latest fear-mongering campaign in the U.S. -- this one devoted to scaring Americans that they will be slaughtered if Guantanamo is closed and Terrorism suspects are brought into the U.S. for real trials -- is now in full swing. The New York Times today prints a front-page article claiming that a detainee released from Guantanamo last year has now become "the deputy leader of Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch" (it's always amazing how bureaucratically structured Al Qaeda is alleged to be and how well we can discern the structure: "Deputy Leader, Yemen Branch"; do they have business cards and organizational charts?).
But the real fear-mongering is focused on all of the attacks that American communities will suffer if we imprison dangerous Terrorists inside the U.S. rather than in Guantanamo. House Minority Leader John Boehner wants you to be frightened: "I think the first thing we have to remember is that we're talking about terrorists here. Do we bring them into our borders?" GOP House Minority Whip Eric Cantor warned: "Actively moving terrorists inside our borders weakens our security. Most families neither want nor need hundreds of terrorists seeking to kill Americans in their communities." The always frightened Wall St. Journal Editorial Page shrieks that any place that houses Al Qaeda Terrorists will become a "target" for attack:

The military base [at Ft. Leavenworth] is integrated into the community and, lacking Guantanamo's isolation and defense capacities, would instantly become a potential terror target. Expect similar protests from other states that are involuntarily entered in this sweepstakes.

They are also freaking out that Obama reversed the shrub's ban on abortion funds, as well as reversing restrictions on FOIA by John Ashcroft. He's been a busy President these first 3 days.

Sadly, instead of accepting President Obama's offer to work with him, these uber-spooked righties would rather terrorize themselves into fits of drooling frenzy by taking the fearmongering that the shrub had used on them, and taking it to even more far-reaching proportions.

Since the Birth Certificate theory got tossed out of court on its ass, they tried to suggest that the bungled oath on inauguration day may mean Obama is not legally President.

RudePundit says it best:

Well, of course Barack Obama took the oath of office again. The man knows who he's dealing with: the petulant little fucks of the right who will do anything they can to invalidate his presidency. The President's no idiot. Already, conservatives in Congress are lining up like drunks in a bar with a five buck a suck whore in the back, ready to shove what they can down their remaining supporters' throats and blow their loads to get ready for the midterms.

What we're gonna see for the next few months is a prolonged hissy fit, with Republicans throwing themselves on the floor of the supermarket and rolling around and crying until they get that fuckin' box of cookies they want. Democrats and the Obama administration need to be the firm parent, the one who yanks those little bastards out of the store and say, "You know what? No fucking sweets for four years." You can see it in the punk ass hold they've put on the Eric Holder nomination. It's a toddler's power play.

I'm assuming this "terrible twos" tantrum will continue for a good long while, but it will at some point get old and lose its steam.

Let it never be said that the GOP took their defeat with any dignity whatsoever.

Finally!

2009-01-20T08:17:00.000-08:00

photo credit: Huffington Post

YAY!!!

Update: Here is the transcript of Obama's brilliant inauguration speech, and you can see it below. Roberts messed up the preceding oath of office, but what can you expect from a Bush appointee (*grin*)?

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Last Day O' The Shrub!

2009-01-19T10:44:00.000-08:00

The beast is no longer.

Let's celebrate. Don't hold back. Let it R.I.P.!!!

Here are pics I've used to illustrate posts during the past 3 years.

And don't forget to play "Boot Bush" one last time!!

Buh, Bye to the shrub

2009-01-16T08:47:00.001-08:00

Did you watch the bumbelshrub's "goodbye" speech last night?

I thought it would be the last thing I'd do, but I watched it live and I am glad I did. I threw some shoes at the screen to make it extra entertaining and to justify the fact I was breaking the policy I've adhered to for 8 years, where I change the channel with lightening speed the second the shrub's vile visage appears.

The guy at that podium was a shell of his former, feisty, self and I relish that fact. I'm still angry at the damage he did to this country and others and that the was allowed to wreak the havoc that he did. And watching the guy stand there and claim his presidency was a success and that he -- I'm serious -- SAVED the economy was incredibly surreal. In the past, it would have made me blow a gasket, but the wind is out of his sails now.

Even if he can't personally acknowledge what an abysmal failure he and his administration is, he seems to at least sense that most folks can't stand him, because to me he sounded only slightly less defensive than in that bizarre presser last week where he was parodying himself and angered reporters asking about Katrina.

It was enjoyable watching him desperately repeating the same propaganda he's been catapulting for years, as if it still has any affect, much like watching a cartoon or satire.

One would think that having messed up so badly in every single challenge presented to him during the 8 long, dark years of his (p)residency, the shrub would at least apologize for, let's say, ONE single thing. But in the shrub's mind, he did a terrific job.

Simply mind-blowing.

We've had to watch this same hubris and disconnect for 8 years, but it was a lot more satisfying seeing it just before his ass gets tossed out of the Whitehouse on January 20th. Because we-the-people definitely tossed him out on his ass. That much is obvious given the huge mandate Obama won.

From 9-1-1 to Afghanistan to Iraq to Katrina to the economic collapse, this was one sorry, horrible excuse for a president. I am so fucking glad that he's gone in a mere 4 days.

Whoooot!

Update: My favorite "shrubism"

Will Bush & Cheney be held accountable for war crimes?

2009-01-10T10:36:00.001-08:00

In the spirit of a new openness and attempt to show that citizens can have some participation in their government, President Obama started an online community which allows U.S. citizens to pose questions that we deem important for his administration to address. The overwhelmingly #1 question in this round asked whether or not Obama would have the shrub/cheney's war crimes and illegal warrantless wiretapping investigated.

I find the response Obama offered disappointingly evasive:

“Will you appoint a Special Prosecutor (ideally Patrick Fitzgerald) to independently investigate the gravest crimes of the Bush Administration, including torture and warrantless wiretapping?”—Bob Fertik, New York City

Vice President-elect Biden, 12/21/08: “[T]he questions of whether or not a criminal act has been committed or a very, very, very bad judgment has been engaged in is—is something the Justice Department decides. Barack Obama and I are—President-elect Obama and I are not sitting thinking about the past. We’re focusing on the future… I’m not ruling [prosecution] in and not ruling it out. I just think we should look forward. I think we should be looking forward, not backwards.”

That being said, I'm not surprised that Obama has side-stepped this issue for now. I say "for now" because it isn't even close to going away. And this isn't the first time Obama has been asked this question. Back in April, while on the campaign trail, the subject came up as well. His answer then was somewhat similar to Biden's, above:

Obama said that as president he would indeed ask his new Attorney General and his deputies to "immediately review the information that's already there" and determine if an inquiry is warranted -- but he also tread carefully on the issue, in line with his reputation for seeking to bridge the partisan divide. He worried that such a probe could be spun as "a partisan witch hunt." However, he said that equation changes if there was willful criminality, because "nobody is above the law."

As disappointed as I was to see Obama's virtual non-answer to the question yet again, I was heartened somewhat watching John Dean's take on the issue on Countdown last night.

John Dean's perspective of what will happen should Obama fail to investigate the shrub/cheney crimes focuses on the fact that, even if the U.S. government refuses to investigate them, plenty of other countries are ready to do so. To do nothing could besmirch Obama's administration, and in the end, he may be forced by the international community to investigate them.

I'm all for Obama's attempt to focus on the future. But at what point is that just too fanciful and unrealistic? Letting people off the hook for war crimes which include genocide and torture is not starting fresh, in my opinion; rather, it's creating a horrible precedent.

The U.S. was instrumental in bringing many Nazis to trial for war crimes. Wouldn't it be the height of hypocrisy to ignore crimes committed in its own name?

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Israelis sure outdo us in the propaganda dept.

2009-01-08T18:08:00.000-08:00

I was watching Countdown and saw this commercial.

My jaw dropped.

I am still in shock. I called them, and gave them a piece of my mind.

I'm sorry: Israel is not the victim here.

The New Global Wealth Machine

2009-01-01T16:15:00.000-08:00

Just posting this for all to see, courtesy of my sister. It's a lot to take in, but worth seeing.

As our country joins the global community, what do you foresee?

You just can't keep the GOP down!

2008-12-23T17:17:00.000-08:00

It's the Holidaze, and they're kickin' it old school! Truly, if folks knew the neocons and their planted puppets were such talented hoofers, maybe they wouldn't have lost so badly.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

"This is a farewell kiss, you dog"

2008-12-14T11:54:00.000-08:00

During the shrub's surprise trip to Iraq, an Iraqi reporter gets a chance to tell the shrub what he really thinks. Is it evil of me to wish that at least one had made contact?

OK, this is just the incident, not being all reported over:

Finally, some comeuppance for Blackwater's murderous crimes

2008-12-08T10:01:00.000-08:00

From Citizens for a Legitimate Government:

Blackwater charges: 14 counts of manslaughter 08 Dec 2008 U.S.

Prosecutors say Blackwater Worldwide mercenaries used machine guns and grenade launchers in an attack on unarmed Iraqi civilians, some of whom had their hands up. Prosecutors unsealed a 35-count indictment against the five guards Monday for a 2007 shooting in Baghdad. The mercenaries surrendered in Utah, where they will argue the case should be tried. The Justice Department charged the men with manslaughter, attempted manslaughter and using a machine gun in a crime of violence. A sixth guard admitted in a plea deal to killing at least one Iraqi in the shooting.
Blackwater guards 'charged with manslaughter' over Iraqi deaths 08 Dec 2008

America is preparing to reveal criminal charges against several Blackwater mercenaries over a shooting incident in Baghdad last year that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead, including children, and triggered outrage across Iraq. Relatives of the victims are demanding the death sentence. Five of the mercenaries are expected to face charges including manslaughter and using a machine gun in a crime of violence, which carries a mandatory 30-year prison term.

Now, this begs the question, if these murderous thugs were hired by the bush administration, is the shrub also liable in these crimes?

It seems to me that he would bear some responsiblity. I do realize that many groups have already proven that the shrub is guilty of war crimes for torture, not to mention the Iraq war's questionable legality, among other accusations.

I am actually just disgusted and shocked that the man is still sitting in the White House, twiddling his thumbs, grinning like an idiot, waiting for his chance to dash back to Texas and clear brush for the rest of his days.

I hope that this marks the beginning of the end for the True Believer Eric Prince and his misanthropic, money-sucking organization.

The Epitome of Hypocrisy - The Shrub gets a Peace Award

2008-12-01T11:45:00.000-08:00

You can't make this shit up. I thought at first it certainly had to be an Onion headline; sadly, it isn't.

The shrub - he of bombing innocent countries and other war crimes - is being honored with an "International Medal of Peace" by none other than Saddelback church Pastor Rick Warren.

And, no, it's not opposite day or an Onion story.

I have to say it's pretty cheesy though. "First annual" is what jumped off the page for me. What, did Pastor Warren made this up just for the shrub?

Dr. Rick Warren will present President George W. Bush with the first “International Medal of PEACE” from the Global PEACE Coalition in recognition of his unprecedented contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS and other diseases during the Saddleback Civil Forum on Global Health, to be held at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1.

At the Forum, Warren will engage both President Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush in candid conversation regarding past accomplishments and priorities moving forward regarding international health issues – including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. President-elect Barack Obama will provide a video-taped message addressing the future of global health.

“No U.S. president or political leader has done more for global health than this Administration, which has raised the bar on America’s role and responsibility for providing critical humanitarian assistance around the world,” Warren said. “Over the past eight years, the President and Mrs. Bush have traveled the globe as they and their staffs have worked tirelessly to bring awareness and solutions to pandemics such as HIV/AIDS, and we are privileged to honor their efforts on World AIDS Day.”

Wow, that's really reaching. How convenient that they didn't counter-balance by factoring in the deaths and casualties of Iraqi, Afghani citizens and U.S. soldiers and the diseases and various other horrific by-products they are suffering in those countries the shrub saw fit to invade.

You have to hand it to the shrub. He completely ruined two countries with one hand while the other was trying to stop disease in another. I'm guessing that in the shrub's head this all balances out just fine.

The GOP gives thanks to Caribou Barbie for helping lose the election

2008-11-27T10:12:00.001-08:00

You can't make this stuff up. And perfect for a Thanksgiving Day post.

Happy T-giving, all!

The Joke that Keeps on Givin' wink

2008-11-26T17:34:00.001-08:00

OK this is just funny and along the lines of what I'd do if I were a much better video editor:

And faithful commenter Earlbo gave me a nice followup contribution - Thanks, Earl!:

The Wolf Slaughter Continues (thanks to Palin)

2008-11-24T08:29:00.001-08:00

I know that all of you are sharing the same tough times I am. And I also know that many of you (like me) get many emails every day asking for donations. So believe me when I tell you that I am posting this in hopes that it will get passed around and perhaps we can at least help stop the slaughter that Bible Spice continues to support. If you can even give $5 that is going to help.

I am really afraid for animals right now. People losing homes means more homeless and euthanized pets. Slashed budgets hurt animals all across the board, domestic and wildlife. They are helpless victims in a tanking economy along with people. Why are we wasting the little money we have on fueling helicopters and sending aerial gunners out to destroy animals in their native habitat?

I am so impressed with the work Defenders of Wildlife do, and on a shoestring budget. They are one amazing organization.

Here is the email I got today. Please help if you can, or simply pass it on. Let's save some wolves and send a message to Palin that most folks don't like her slaughterin' ways.

I have some bad news for you: Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s aerial killing frenzy has begun.

Already, the slaughter has claimed the lives of 19 wolves -- more than in any November in the last 5 years. But there is something you can do to help.

Please help us save wolves’ lives by becoming a Wildlife Guardian with your small monthly donation. Your dependable support will be critical to our success in defeating Palin’s terrible program.

If you can’t make a monthly gift at this time, please consider making a one-time tax-deductible donation to help us stop the killing.

Gov. Sarah Palin proudly champions this deadly wolf killing program as “one of those last-resort things.”

But Alaska’s aerial killing program has claimed the lives of more than 800 wolves -- including 14 helpless pups ruthlessly killed earlier this year -- and with 19 more wolves killed already, this season could see a record slaughter of hundreds more.

That’s why your monthly Wildlife Guardian contribution of $5, $8, $19 (number of wolves already killed this season) or another amount is so critical right now. You can help stop Alaska’s aerial wolf-killing program -- and prevent programs like it from spreading to places like Greater Yellowstone.

As a Wildlife Guardian, your ongoing monthly donation -- just pennies per day -- will provide a new and reliable source of funds to wage this campaign on behalf of wolves in the critical months ahead.

With the support of concerned people like you, we’ve been able to stop Governor Palin’s bloody bounty for the severed paws of slaughtered wolves; stop Palin’s stealth campaign to stifle the voice of Alaska’s citizens on the issue; and through our sister organization Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, people like you helped prevent Gov. Palin from being a heart-beat away from the presidency.

This fight will be long and hard. But with your monthly contribution supporting our on-the-ground efforts, battle in the courts and fight in Congress, I know we can win.

For the Wild Ones,

Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders

Palin literally just made me throw up

2008-11-20T18:04:00.000-08:00

I am not exaggerating. I was just watching Countdown and they showed a video where Palin says she loves all creatures (except the 14 wolf cubs that got shot in the head and the taxidermied bear on her office couch and the stuffed King Crab on her coffee table and the caribou she's killed and the aerially-gunned down wolves) and pardonned a turkey (a perverted, sarcastic, empty Thanksgiving gesture) and then did an interview. While the interview was being videotaped, behind her turkey after turkey was being slaughtered. RIGHT behind her & she was completely and 100% oblivious!

As a vegetarian who works for a living for an animal rights group and sees video and pictures of animals being killed, abused and tortured every day, it was really super appalling. That woman can't be more disconnected from reality if she tried.

I like to think that this was her swan song. Too bad the cliche isn't turkey song.

And yes it did make me throw up and cry since I don't like watching anybody die, and since I only started working for the nonprofit in late April I am not inured to this stuff yet. Honestly, I don't think I ever will be.

*sob*

The Alaskan Drama Ends

2008-11-19T14:27:00.000-08:00

Oh I am just happy that Ted Stevens officially lost his senate seat.

If I believed in God I would say that's a big door slammin' in Bible Spice's face, you betcha *wink*.

Not only did the McCain campaign toss her under the bus, but now all-powerful GOP "family values"* man Newt Gingrich says "buh, bye" to Caribou Barbie.

Oh, her true believing minions will cry and there will be gnashing of teeth for awhile, but I doubt they can keep up their fervor for 4 years.

Sadly, they may turn their attentions, instead, to other crusades, such as ousting Obama for being the Antichrist. I truly hope that once Obama is officially sworn in, there is much FBI focus on the extremist bible-humpers.

*The type of "family values" where you unceremoniously dump a wife for the woman you're currently having an affair with and announcing to the world that gays who think they should have equal rights are fascists.

I got an award for my scribblin'!!

2008-11-17T11:06:00.001-08:00

I'm so honored. This is truly my first award and it's pretty exciting.

Thank you to the utterly fabulous blogger Rastamick at Nihil Obstat for bestowing such a huge honor on humble, lil' ol me!!

Now, I get to award other bloggers who I deem to be Superior Scribblers. Of course, I would give this to everyone on my sidebar and then some, but I'll have to pick 4 and leave some one for them to award.

Nonnie @ HYSTERICAL RAISINS - not only does she scribble well with her keyboard, she also has no equal when it comes to scribbling in PhotoShop. Nonnie you make me laugh SO MUCH I truly adore your blog, you clever thing, you!
Dusty at It's My Right to be Left of the Center - for being so damn socially conscious and calling yourself a nutjob right there in your URL!
Dcup at Politits - because even though I haven't spent nearly enough time at her blog yet, when I do get the chance I am never disappointed, what a superior scribbler indeed! And, DCup, you will notice I finally added you to my blogroll. I thought you were already there... d'oh!
Gryphen at The Immoral Minority - thanks for keeping us up on all things Alaskan from Bible Spice on through the election that won't end! You have been tireless, entertaining and diligent and we appreciate your scribblin'!

You're all SUCH Superior Scribblers!!

Nationwide protests planned to fight Prop 8 for Saturday!!

2008-11-14T12:57:00.000-08:00

As you all know, I am obviously vehemently against Prop HATE and I wanted to make sure to pass on this info, which lists all the locations of protests tomorrow.

Join The Impact: Protest for LGBTQ Rights!

If you can help, please do. We need to make our voices heard loud and strong AGAINST discrimination.

In addition, I'd be thrilled to get any leads from anyone on whether or not there has been any legal action with regard to the Mormon and Catholic Churches violating their tax-exempt status by backing political campaigns. I think this is an important point to pursue as I believe churches have been getting away with it for years and it needs to stop.

If they are breaking a law by donating to political campaigns and pushing political positions, they should lose their tax-exempt status. Otherwise, we are dabbling in theocratic implementation. The separation of church and state is threatened or has already been violated, and that's just unacceptable - and very unAmerican.

Update: You can file your own complaint against the Mormon and Catholic churches' violation of their tax-exempt 501(3)c status with the IRS here.

And Ingrid or Blogger Roundtable was kind enough to provide us with another important resource.

Keith Olbermann on PropH8

2008-11-11T13:37:00.000-08:00

Well done, Mr. Olbermann.

FauxNoise reaction to Obama winning the election

2008-11-10T10:45:00.001-08:00

Sick hilarity that can only come from Bill Maher:

Hat tip to A Ball of Light by way of Redheaded Wisdom's comment section for finding it for me. Thank you!

Joe Scarborough says "fuck you" live on MSNBC

2008-11-10T09:03:00.000-08:00

I wonder how big his FCC fine will be? I bet Janet Jackson is cracking up. She certainly deserves a good laugh over this.

Ben Affleck's parody of Keith Olbermann on SNL

2008-11-09T11:06:00.000-08:00

I wanted to post this because I forgot to last week, and I really find it funny. Affleck sorta got Keith right, but really what makes me laugh most is the camera angles and how over-the-top it is.

Keith apparently thought it was pretty funny as well.

Enjoy.

US Secret Service: Palin's hate speech increased threats against Obama

2008-11-09T10:28:00.000-08:00

Who can forget Bible Spice's hateful lies on the campaign trail? Well, sure, every politician does it to some extent. But Palin's over-the-top outright fabrications were not only distasteful, they were dangerous. CLG reports:

Sarah Palin blamed by US Secret Service over death threats against Barack Obama 08 Nov 2008

Sarah Palin's attacks on Barack Obama's patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks of the campaign. The Republican vice presidential candidate attracted criticism for accusing Mr Obama of "palling around with terrorists." The attacks provoked a near lynch mob atmosphere at her rallies, with supporters yelling "terrorist" and "kill him" until the McCain campaign ordered her to tone down the rhetoric. But it has emerged that her demagogic tone may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists to go even further. The Secret Service warned the Obama family in mid October that they had seen a dramatic increase in the number of threats against the Democratic candidate, coinciding with Mrs Palin's attacks.

Have the neocons, rightwingers and religious (f)right learned anything from this, or are they more than happy to keep it going?

Looks like Rush Limbaugh is starting to ramp it back up. Whether he instills fear using the lie that Obama wrecked the economy or is responsible for his brain-dead listeners' foreclosure, it's still riling up the base using hate, and that is worrisome, indeed.

I thought I couldn't like him more. I was wrong.

2008-11-07T14:26:00.000-08:00

You all know what an animal nut I am and that I rescue dogs and work with animal rights groups, so of course this just blew me away.

Obama continues to show us he is a really REALLY good man. Not just classy, not just super intelligent, not just composed and strong, but he has a huge compassionate side as well.

This story is from an email I got from an animal rights group contact. Enjoy.

How a 3-legged dog inspired our next President
to make history … and got a Congressional bill proposed in her name

During the campaign, then-Senator Obama and his wife promised their daughters that they would get a dog after the election. This made lighthearted news after the President-elect mentioned it in his acceptance speech, but there is a tragic side to the story, due to a special 3-legged dog named "Baby" who found her way into Barack Obama's arms when he was a newly elected Senator.

The public promise to adopt a rescue dog is unprecedented for a First Family, and has the potential to strike a crippling blow to one of the cruelest industries imaginable- dog breeding- an industry that costs taxpayers billions. Most Americans aren't aware that their hard-earned tax dollars are squandered to the tune of billions a year on animal control due to pet overpopulation, an epidemic perpetuated by the dog breeding industry. The economic crisis we now face demands that every sector be scrutinized for greed, mismanagement, and deception-not just Wall Street.

The houses-of-horror known as "puppy mills," where breeding dogs are locked in cages 24 hours a day, spinning endlessly in circles as they go insane from lifetime confinement, never allowed to walk on solid ground, covered in their own feces and that of the dogs stacked in cages above them, maimed or diseased yet still forced to breed every heat cycle, is an industry that has gone unchecked and is nothing short of legalized torture. The scores of puppies churned out of these mills each year mean a death sentence for millions of homeless shelter dogs, who wait in vain for someone to adopt them, only to be dragged to the gas chamber. Every time someone buys a puppy from a dog breeder instead of adopting one of those deserving critters, it not only seals their sad fate, it costs you and me a bundle. And yet the dog breeders continue to churn out their cruel cash crop, an income that many brag is easily hidden from the IRS.

One survivor of these hellholes is a dog named "Baby" who found her way into the spotlight with then-Senator Obama. Known previously by a number, "94," tattooed in her ear, this gentle creature had her vocal cords cut by the mill owners so they wouldn't have to hear her cries to be let out of her cage, and after her rescue had her leg amputated as a result of osteoporosis that is common among breeding dogs.

When I learned the shocking truth about the dog breeding industry, I vowed to adopt rather than buy a dog from one of these animal abusers, and to tell the country their dark secret. I enlisted my new Senator, Barack Obama, to help tell Baby's story to the world, and several of his colleagues, Republicans and Democrats alike, as well as celebrities from all walks-Judge Judy, the New York Mets, Steven Tyler, Bill Maher, even rabbis and priests who I contacted to weigh in on animal cruelty from a religious perspective. Those essays and portraits comprise the book, A Rare Breed of Love: The True Story of Baby and the Mission she Inspired to Help Dogs Everywhere (Fireside, an imprint of Simon & Schuster), which has sent Baby and me on a grueling cross-country tour the past several months, culminating in a proposed bill named for her that would ban lifetime confinement of breeding dogs. "Baby's Bill" (H.R. 6949/S. 3519) is co-sponsored by Representatives Sam Farr (D-CA), Jim Gerlach (R-PA), Lois Capps (D-CA), Terry Everett (R-AL), and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), and would require that breeding dogs be let out of their cages for 60 minutes of exercise a day-a baby step as far as I'm concerned, yet one that's likely to be opposed by dog breeders, "Cruella de Villes" that they are.

I remember the photo shoot we did with then-Senator Obama, when he held Baby close, snuggled and kissed her, distressed to hear of her abuse, and an email he later sent to his Illinois constituents, telling them about her and his commitment to stopping all forms of animal cruelty. President-elect Obama has made history in so many ways, and now the incoming First Family has achieved another first that could not only end a cruel industry, but would also save taxpayers billions. The simple act of acquiring a family pet through adoption will undoubtedly inspire millions of Americans to follow their lead, meaning that millions of homeless dogs slated for death may instead find loving homes, drastically reducing the cost of animal control. The dog breeding industry will see their sales drop dramatically, and countless victims like Baby, locked away at this very moment, prisoners condemned to life behind bars, will be spared that nightmarish existence.

Like all the members of the House and Senate who posed with Baby for the book, Barack Obama understands that this kind of legalized cruelty must end. What the Obamas also see is a wonderful opportunity to teach their daughters a lesson in compassion and mercy by bringing a homeless pet into their family. One of the greatest ways to build character in our children is to encourage compassion toward animals, as the National Parent-Teacher Association states.

It was fitting that we chose the Lincoln Memorial as the backdrop for President-elect Obama's portrait with Baby. President Lincoln himself was an animal lover who once saved the life of a dog, a poignant story recounted in Baby's book. I believe the 16th President is looking down in approval upon our 44th, for so many reasons.

And little does a voiceless, 3-legged dog know, she has helped make history, too.

Jana Kohl, Psy.D. is a psychologist, animal welfare advocate, and author of A Rare Breed of Love: The True Story of Baby and the Mission she Inspired to Help Dogs Everywhere(Fireside, an imprint of Simon and Schuster). Having worked for the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies for many years, she has long been concerned with how cruelty becomes legally sanctioned by society. She is a member of the board of HumaneUSA.

America WINS!

2008-11-05T12:35:00.000-08:00

IT'S HEEEERE!!

2008-11-04T16:33:00.001-08:00

Ok folks. This is it. This is what I've been working toward since 2005 when I first started blogging. I wanted to draw attention to the horror of the shrub madministration and disseminate whatever information I could to make sure Americans learned what has been going on in our government. I didn't stop, although at many times I did slow down.

I met all of you other bloggers, and readers, and commenters, and it's been so great. And it's not the end.

There's a great chance Obama will win tonight (cross fingers, omg omg omg) and I want to thank all of you bloggers who refused to just let the shrub and dead-eye dick RUIN our government and rob us blind.

We have done so much. We have forced the mainstream media to report stories that would have never made it otherwise.

I am so excited today. I voted around 9:30 a.m. this morning and I was positively giddy.

Right now, on MSNBC, even Pat Puke-anon and Hoe Scarborough are changing their tune, and hardly any of the vote is in yet.

I am going to watch the returns at a friend's house for part of the evening and will report back later.

I am so happy for all of us that the #s look great so far.

Unseating the GOP is more than I could ever expect.

Enjoy the moment, I think it's going to be an amazing night.

Why is Palin refusing to submit her medical records?

2008-11-03T12:38:00.000-08:00

Is this an example of what we can expect if McSame wins the election? More of the same shub 'n' dead-eye-like refusal to comply with the rule of law?

LAKEWOOD, Ohio (CNN) – With less than 24 hours to go before the presidential election, Sarah Palin still has not released her medical records and there is no indication the campaign is planning to do so.

Two weeks ago, Palin’s campaign told several reporters traveling with the campaign that a summary of the governor’s medical history would be made public before election day.

Reporters were told that details on Palin’s medical background would be released early last week. Last Thursday, after that timeframe had passed, a campaign aide backed off the previous pledge, saying the campaign wasn’t sure when the information would be released.

John McCain, Barack Obama and Joseph Biden have all provided details about their medical history.

So, what is Bible Spice hiding?

Check out my sidebar for a poll.

A Petty Complaint/Observation (perhaps)

2008-11-02T16:20:00.000-08:00

Has anyone else noticed that both McSame and Failin' say pronounce pundit "PUN-DINT"?

Isn't it weird they would both mispronounce it? I noticed McSame doing it over and over and then when I heard that prank audio where the French-Canadian guys punked Palin, I heard her pronounce it that was as well.

It just irritates me that someone running for the highest office in the country can't pronounce a normal word correctly.

And that's in addition to Failin's "nucular" problem. Just like the shrub. I can't take 4 more years of hearing that.

Palin doesn't understand the First Amendment

2008-10-31T19:33:00.000-07:00

I have run into this same issue again and again when discussing things with wingnuts. Why, just yesterday, when someone on HuffPo opined that a very rabid Joe Scarborough, who is spending a vast majority of his entire broadcasts trashing Obama, should be taken off the air. Whether or not that should happen, a rightwing trollie came by and, as rightwing trollies typically do, stated that taking Joe Scarborough off the air would be violating his First Amendment rights.

Sigh.

What the hell do some folks on the right NOT get about the First Amendment?

Today Sarah Palin went there, too. And Keith Olbermann calls her on it. Enjoy.

Shout Out to the Troll/Stalker who signed me up for ACORN's e-newsletter

2008-10-31T14:53:00.000-07:00

Thank you!

I just donated $25 to them.

Good work helping us get out the vote!

Joe the Plumber throws McCain under the Straight Jacket Express Bus

2008-10-30T13:52:00.000-07:00

This is a ROFL, a LMAO and an LOL all in one.

Apparently, Joe the Plumber has outgrown Campaign Mascot status and now is working on a book deal, a recording contract, and a nation-wide tour and can't be bothered helping out old McSame.

Karma sure can be a bitch, eh?

Things that make one's blood boil

2008-10-30T11:29:00.000-07:00

Nice to know that, in a tanking economy, SOMEONE is doing well.

From the ever-reliable CLG:

Exxon Mobil: Biggest profit in US history --Largest U.S. oil company surges past analyst estimates to post net income of $14.83 billion. 30 Oct 2008 Exxon Mobil Corp. set a quarterly profit record for a U.S. company Thursday, surging past analyst estimates. Exxon Mobil, the leading U.S. oil company, said its third-quarter net profit was $14.83 billion, or $2.86 per share, up from $9.41 billion, or $1.70, a year earlier. The company's prior record was $11.68 billion in the second quarter of 2008. The latest quarter's net income equaled $1,865.69 per second, nearly $400 a second more than the prior mark. The company said its revenue totaled $137.7 billion in the third quarter.

UPDATE:

Exxon's not the only one:

Chevron profits hit new record of $7.89 billion 31 Oct 2008 Chevron Corp.'s earnings more than doubled in its third quarter and soared to a new quarterly record of $7.89 billion, the East Bay energy giant reported Friday. Chevron's profits equated to $3.85 a share. The third quarter profits jumped 112 percent from the year-ago quarter, when net income totaled $3.72 billion.

Well done, Senator Obama

2008-10-29T18:46:00.000-07:00

I am definitely not someone who usually likes this sort of thing. But, boy was I surprised: this documercial was classy as hell, inspirational and illicited a really unexpected reaction from me. I knew it would be good - because Obama's campaign so far is an example of perfection - but I was surprised how I responded (OK there were exactly 2 sniffs and maybe... a couple of tears). The feeling was so strong because, well, ideas I had written off as to how this country could work crept back in. Yes, hope was experienced. What the hell?

I guess because I am a community-minded person and believe in people, and cooperation, and have hated the way Americans have become so divided, this really drove home the realization that the last 8 years (or 30) have been dangerously divisive, and our government has successfully depressed, divided and frightened us.

No matter his faults, Obama is about working together and I don't care what anyone says, it's the only thing that ultimately works. I adore his humanism. And believe he's sincere. I think he will bring people together like nothing else I've experienced in my lifetime.

So.... who's the socialist?

2008-10-28T18:23:00.001-07:00

Caribou Barbie has really jumped on Obama for the "spread the wealth around" comment, insisting to her crowds that Obama is a socialist and we better be shakin' in our boots at the idea of him becomin' president (you betcha!).

Problem is, it's sort of hard to take her seriously when Palin already has claimed the exact same thing and was proud to tell the New Yorker about it:

In a New Yorker interview before her selection as VP nominee Sarah Palin said of Alaska, "we're set up, unlike other states in the union, where it's collectively Alaskans who own the resources. So we share in the wealth when the development of these resources occurs."

"In fact, Alaska's Clear and Equitable Share (ACES) program, which manages the redistribution of oil wealth in Alaska, brings in so much money that the state needs no income or sales tax. In addition, this year ACES will provide every Alaskan with a check for an estimated $3,200."

Oh, the hypocrisy.

Obama's speech in Canton Ohio 10/27

2008-10-28T09:28:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't seen it:

Brought to you courtesy of the Internets Tubes....

2008-10-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

The uber-corrupt, Dead-Eye Dick crony, Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens has been found guilty:

Senator Stevens found guilty on all 7 accounts
Associated Press
Last updated: Monday, October 27th, 2008 03:03:36 PM

BC-Stevens Trial, 9th Ld,130

URGENT

Ted Stevens found guilty in corruption case

Eds: APNewsNow. Will be updated.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has been convicted of lying about free home renovations and other gifts he received from a wealthy oil contractor.

The Senate's longest-serving Republican, Stevens was found guilty on all seven counts of making false statements on Senate financial documents.

The verdict throws the upcoming election into disarray. Stevens is fighting off a challenge from Democrat Mark Begich and must now either drop out or continue campaigning as a convicted felon.

The trial hinged on the testimony of Stevens' longtime friend, who testified that his employees dramatically remodeled the senator's home.

Stevens faces up to five years in prison on each count but, under federal sentencing guidelines, will likely receive much less prison time, if any.

I don't think this bodes well so close to the election. As they say, timing is everything.

Even David Frum thinks McCain should give it up

2008-10-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

According to the Washington Post, David Frum, the shrub's old speech writer, who got angry and defensive on Rachel Maddow's program a week or so back, now says that McCain should cut his losses and let the RNC use his campaign funds to try to win congressional races.

There are many ways to lose a presidential election. John McCain is losing in a way that threatens to take the entire Republican Party down with him.

A year ago, the Arizona senator's team made a crucial strategic decision. McCain would run on his (impressive) personal biography. On policy, he'd hew mostly to conservative orthodoxy, with a few deviations -- most notably, his support for legalization for illegal immigrants. But this strategy wasn't yielding results in the general election. So in August, McCain tried a bold new gambit: He would reach out to independents and women with an exciting and unexpected vice presidential choice.

That didn't work out so well either. Gov. Sarah Palin connected with neither independents nor women. She did, however, ignite the Republican base, which has come to support her passionately. And so, in this last month, the McCain campaign has

Palinized itself to make the most of its last asset. To fire up the Republican base, the McCain team has hit at Barack Obama as an alien, a radical and a socialist.

Sure enough, the base has responded. After months and months of wan enthusiasm among Republicans, these last weeks have at last energized the core of the party. But there's a downside: The very same campaign strategy that has belatedly mobilized the Republican core has alienated and offended the great national middle, which was the only place where the 2008 election could have been won.

OUCH.

It's utterly surprising to me that, now that at least 130 major news periodicals have endorsed Obama and many prominent conservative writers, journalists, pundits and newspeople have decided to back him. So wingnuts go on about Obama not having a legit birth certificate, being a socialist and whatever Rush Limbaugh tells them to believe.

Meanwhile, the truth is that McCain was actually not born on U.S. soil and his VP pick is proving to be an unmitigated disaster.

And we've still yet to see either Palin's or McInsane's health records.

Anyone else ever spy on the British House of Commons?

2008-10-26T18:24:00.000-07:00

I haven't done this for awhile, but I am fascinated by their way of communicating, as it is so much different than ours.

Am I some sort of weirdo for enjoying these so much?

The U.S. Attacks Syria, killing eight

2008-10-26T16:21:00.000-07:00

From AP:

DAMASCUS (AFP) — American helicopter-borne troops from Iraq launched an assault on Sunday on a building in a Syrian border village, killing eight civilians, official Syrian media reported.
The government has summoned the official US and Iraqi representatives in protest, state television and the official SANA news agency said.
In Washington the Pentagon said it had no comment.
"Four American helicopters violated Syrian airspace around 16:45 local time (1345 GMT) on Sunday. They penetrated eight kilometres (five miles) into Syria," official Syrian media said.
"American soldiers" who had emerged from helicopters "attacked a civilian building under construction and fired at workmen inside, causing eight deaths," reports said.
SANA named the dead and said they were a father and his four children, a couple and another man.
"The helicopters then left Syrian territory towards Iraqi territory," it said.
The news agency said one person was also wounded in the attack on the village of Al-Sukkiraya, around 550 kilometres (340 miles) northeast of the capital in the Abu Kamal area.
Earlier, the private television channel al-Dunia said nine civilians had been killed in the attack.
The raid appears to have been the first of its type into Syrian territory.
Syria summoned the US and Iraqi envoys to Damascus to protest against what it called a US military attack and to demand that Iraq prevent US forces from "launching aggression against Syria" from its territory, official media said.

(my emphasis).

What the fuck?

Young Alaskan Women discuss Palin

2008-10-25T16:21:00.000-07:00

It's so damn refreshing to see young people on the street that are this intelligent and articulate.

Enjoy!

"The Vet Who Did Not Vet" A Very Suess-esque Tale

2008-10-25T12:27:00.000-07:00

I love this, it's very clever:

WHASSSSSSSAAAAAP?

2008-10-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

8 years later. Brilliant.

Just Ain't Right

Bye to Blogger.com!

Explosive - Sibel Edmonds Interview in The American Conservative Magazine

A Bad Day for the Birthers/Birchers

Obama packs 'em in in MN while Teabaggers lie about the size of their "protest"

Enjoy your Corporatocracy-awarded Labor Day

You just gotta LOOOOOVE Dan Savage!

Is the "public option" really all that great?

This Isn’t Reform, It’s Robbery

Thank you JollyRoger!

Time to get serious about the public option

Press Secretary Gibbs says Public Option is NOT off the Table

Republicans are lying about their fear of gov't-controlled healthcare

Great interview on Maddow re: growing rightwing fascism

37 States Now Lean Dem

President Obama gets 30 death threats a day

Orly Taitz: Hysterical Birther Nutjob

Recovery happening already?

More despicable GOP fearmongering

More C Street Freakisms from "The Teabagging Queen"

Bill Kristol meets utter FAIL (again)

William Shatner Reads Beat Poetry by Palin

Ensign's scandal cast light on creepy secret "Christian" society

When Conservatives Attack

Obama stonewalling the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Congratulations, AL!!!

My favorite Animal Rescue blog needs attention!

Friday Rabid Rightie Blogging

Because that piece of shit just doesn't work right...

Another (underreported) Home-Grown Terrorist Attack?

In Crazy Land, Von Brunn is a Liberal

Help free Euna Lee & Laura Ling, captured journalists

What will it take for right wing leaders to stop inciting their base?

G. Gordon Liddy is an Asshole

Rome is certainly burning

I am getting ever more disgusted

Torture witness conveniently found dead

It's my Bloggiversary!

Amy Goodman was in my 'hood!

Follow-up to Waterboard Sean Hannity (for fun & profit)

Waterboard Sean Hannity for Charity & the Troops! (and yuks for me)

On the mess the shrub left

Eat it, Chompers Coleman

Fundies 'n' wingnuts going to new lengths to prove Obama is the Antichrist

I wouldn't want to be a London Banker today

Michele Bachmann is Batshit Insane

Everyone must read this immediately!!!

Can we keep our shoes on now, please?

Why is Blackwater/XE still in the picture?

Top o' the Morning to Ye!

Our CCMSM Dilemma

The Huffington Post is getting increasingly frustrating and ridiculous

GOP infighting rages on!

Sooooo laaaaaazy

The GOP's "Back in the Saddle!"

Michael Steele tells Glenn Beck not to trust the GOP

And "tax cuts" are going to help??

Friday night "Bale-O"

Palast thinks Obama is a two-faced liar, and he's loving it

Obama is a two-faced liar. Aw-RIGHT!

Turdblossom Subpoenaed!

How long will the right's paranoid hissy fit last?

Finally!

Last Day O' The Shrub!

Buh, Bye to the shrub

Will Bush & Cheney be held accountable for war crimes?

Israelis sure outdo us in the propaganda dept.

The New Global Wealth Machine

You just can't keep the GOP down!

"This is a farewell kiss, you dog"

Finally, some comeuppance for Blackwater's murderous crimes

The Epitome of Hypocrisy - The Shrub gets a Peace Award

The GOP gives thanks to Caribou Barbie for helping lose the election

The Joke that Keeps on Givin' *wink*

The Wolf Slaughter Continues (thanks to Palin)

Palin literally just made me throw up

The Alaskan Drama Ends

I got an award for my scribblin'!!

Nationwide protests planned to fight Prop 8 for Saturday!!

Keith Olbermann on PropH8

The Joke that Keeps on Givin' wink