County NAACP joins protest against “Glenn Beck Day” in Mount Vernon

By GottaLaff

Blech-ch!

The NAACP has now added its voice to the protest against Mount Vernon Mayor Bud Norris' controversial decision to present FOX news TV and radio talk show commentator Glenn Beck with a key to the city Saturday September 26 in a $25 dollar a ticket event called "Glenn Beck Day" in Mount Vernon.

The Snohomish County Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People announced its protest Friday with president Janice R. Greene, saying “Holding him up in honor stimulates the worst impulses of human nature and makes a mockery of our nation's values," highlighting Beck's inflammatory July 28th remark that he believed President Obama to be a "racist." [...]

In statement released to media, the NAACP chapter said it sent a letter to Norris requesting a meeting on the matter adding, "Beck has a history of making divisive, offensive statements. [His] ideology is inflammatory and insulting to many of your own constituents."

And what better way to drive that point home than to give him a key to the city, right Mayor?

The NAACP statement went on to say, "we cannot stand idly by while actions are taken which deliberately seek to stimulate the lowest impulses of human nature: using techniques of insult, intimidation, falsity, and fear. The Executive Committee of the Snohomish County Chapter has indicated its unanimous and strenuous objection to this ill-considered action. We have faith that this type of rhetoric and behavior is not embraced by the majority of the citizens of Mount Vernon or those residing in the surrounding communities."

Well, dang, whose brilliant idea was this anyway?

The event was Norris’s idea and was not voted upon by the city council. When Norris asked City Council members if they wanted tickets, six of the seven declined. To date the event is sold out at some 700 tickets.

This guy runs a city? Really? I bet there's mandate that every Tee Vee Machine in Mount Vernon must be set to ClusterFox. Just a hunch.

Kristen Whitener, director of Mount Vernon's Chamber of Commerce has said the chambers has gotten calls from people who are very upset and are threatening not to shop in Mount Vernon.

There goes what's left of their economy. New city motto: Blame it on Blech.

Here's the icing:

Not to be outdone by neighbors to the south of him, Bellingham’s Mayor Dan Pike says he's offering a key to his city to Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's satirical news/comedy program "The Daily Show" and a classic left wing, anti-hero antidote to Beck’s right wing appeal

Pike says if Mount Vernon can give native son Beck a key to the city, "perhaps Bellingham could provide a key to Mr. Stewart for the better reasons of providing cogent yet comedic analysis of news events and personalities."

Mmm, dee-lish.

H/t: BuzzFlash

Hypocrisy watch: Joe "You lie!" Wilson kept illegal immigrant in US

By GottaLaff

How'd I miss this one? If we've posted this already, indulge me. Seems Anti-Illegal Immigration Guy has been up to some hypocritical mischief:

Wilson may have a conflict of interest, however. Two months before he heckled Obama, he introduced legislation to keep Sainey Fatty, an illegal immigrant from Gambia, in the country. Fatty came to the U.S. for school in the early ’90s and lived here for seven years while under a deportation order, according to his friend Bill Cook’s blog.

In his bill, Wilson asks Congress to forgive Fatty’s immigration woes, drop the deportation order against Fatty and allow him to remain in the country legally.

What a big, mushy, soft heart he has! What a mensch. I'm starting to tear right up.

Wilson’s communications director Ryan Murphy told Raw Story in an e-mail that “Congressman Wilson does not support illegal immigrants getting access to a government taxpayer funded health insurance program.” He did not respond to questions about what motivated Wilson to keep Fatty in the country or whether Wilson supports Fatty’s ability to receive medical care in the U.S.

Of course not. That would underscore what a big Fatty hypocrite he is.

[...] Fatty’s friend Cook says in his blog that Fatty is allegedly a Christian convert who abandoned his Muslim roots.

Oh, okay, I see. He's nothing like President Muslim Hussein Obama, then. So I bet Joe the Hypocrite would never shout "You lie!" at Christain Convert No Longer Muslim Fatty.

Speaking of freedoms:

Cook did not respond to Raw Story’s request for comments, and restricted the public’s ability to view his blog after Raw Story left a voice-mail message at his office.

Is it me, or is Lindsey Graham in every story we do here?

After South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham followed Wilson’s lead, Fatty gets to stay in the U.S. for at least the next 15 months. Graham introduced legislation similar to Wilson’s in the Senate, which essentially gives Fatty an automatic stay on the deportation order to give the Senate time to act on Graham’s bill. [...]

“By the grace of God, Fatty has been granted a stay on his deportation,” his friend Cook’s blog reported last month. “…Congressman Wilson and others reached out to Senators DeMint and Graham, who were able to secure a temporary stay–word reached Fatty less than 30 minutes before his flight out of the U.S. was slated to leave today. Praise God for His kindness!”

Oh man, wow! That's GREAT! Now that Fatty gets to hang out in America, he can get better health care!

Oh.

Never mind.

VIDEO: CNN begins airing network promo... that calls out Fox News

By GottaLaff

From the Department of Neener Nanner:

Yesterday Paddy posted a video of Rick Sanchez's justifiable outrage over Fox's accusation that CNN didn't cover the 9/12ers.

Today, CNN is using ClusterFox's lies against them.

In the blink of an eye, and using stills from CNN footage of the event, CNN began airing a general network promo specifically calling out the Faux network. Yes, CNN has pulled a dee-lish switcheroo, and they have you-know-who to thank.

To quote Rick Sanchez, "Can you say, 'reality check... mate'?"

Happy face time:

Neener. Nanner.

UPDATE, here's the ad: (blog title edited to reflect)

Dear DC Metro, Why I oughta... Love, Rep. Kevin Brady

By GottaLaff

This is the second page of a "letter" containing some of the best snarkitude I've read in a long time.

The subject matter is the Big 9/12 Do. The letter is not real. I repeat: It is not real:

(click on image to enlarge)

This, however, is real:

For page one and more details, go here.

Right track: Obama to Host Netanyahu, Abbas

By GottaLaff

I'd love nothing more than for First Black President Obama to strut his foreign policy stuff and succeed where nobody else could:

Surprise announcement from the White House: President Obama will host a trilateral meeting on Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. This meeting will be preceded by bilateral meetings between the president and the two leaders.

"These meetings will continue the efforts of President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Special Envoy George Mitchell to lay the groundwork for the relaunch of negotiations, and to create a positive context for those negotiations so that they can succeed."

MSNBC tweeted:

While this won't be a Peres-Arafat moment, it is a photo-op that indicates the Mideast peace process might be on track again.

As has been hinted at for weeks, the WH has officially added a 3-way meeting with Netanyahu and Abbas to its sked nxt week.

Of course, the big unknown: whether Abbas can speak for all Palestinians.

Palin Critic Rejected By Auction After Identity Revealed

By GottaLaff

UPDATE: If you go to Comments on this post, check out the one from Ken Morris, the first bidder referred to below. Thank you, Ken! And sadly, I couldn't agree more.

So someone had an extra $63,500 to spare and felt that breaking bread, or mooseburgers, with Sarah the Quitter would be worth a hefty donation to a great cause... if she decided to show up. Rich people have all the fun.

However, behind the scenes, there were a few maneuvers that weren't revealed by our pals on the Tee Vee Machine. It seems S the Q was being awfully picky.

Mudflats has all sorts of fun little detaily tidbits, but here are the basics: Sarah gave herself the out to quit anyone she didn't deem worthy:

The auction rules clearly state that:

Governor Palin reserves the right to refuse dinner with a winning bidder if, in her sole discretion, the winning bidder is not a suitable bidder based on her subjective standards of suitability, professionalism, background and other factors. In the event the high bidder is rejected for this reason, the high bidder’s bid will be refunded, if paid, and the next highest bidder shall be notified, and thereafter, until a suitable match is determined.

She calls it refusal, I call it discrimination. Then again, I'm a flaming progressive who feels compassion for those who get rejected for no apparent reason. Call me crazy.

There were seven bidders total. And we know for a fact that at least two of them were not of the “Palinbot” persuasion. And we know that both successfully passed the “pre-approval” process.

First, there’s Ken Morris - Wall Street whiz, trader-turned-financial-thriller-novelist, whose top bid exceeded $50,000.

His motive for shelling out $50K?

I’ll ask her a few questions that might seem harsh, but aren’t intended to offend—after all, we must be honest, no? Do your regret saying several hundred times that our president “…palled around with terrorists…”? Do you really believe that providing health insurance to all Americans is socialism or fascism or Nazism or that there are truly ‘death squads’ in these proposals?

Ruh-roh!

On to the next doomed bidder:

That brings us to our second candidate, dubbed c***i by the Ebay alias assignment team, and known to those in the outside world as Joe McGinnis. McGinnis, also an author by trade is best known for his books The Making of the President about Richard Nixon, and Going to Extremes, about Alaska, oil and the 1970s pipeline boom. McGinnis is an outspoken critic of Palin, evidenced most recently by his article for Conde Nast’s Portfolio entitled Pipe Dreams, which cast a critical eye on Palin’s handling of the ever-elusive Alaska gasline. McGinniss is currently working on a book whose focus will be the ex-governor herself.

McGinniss, hoping to win the auction had the high bid at one point close to the end. The amount was a whopping $60,101.01, and he was willing to go higher. And then something interesting happened. The Alaska Dispatch came out with a story identifying McGinniss as one of the bidders. When the unsuspecting c***i went to place his next bid in the amount of $60,301.01, he was met with this message:

[...] McGinniss was unapproved, with only an hour to go.

Damn.

So, who did win? Cathy Maples, the owner of a defense contracting company in Alabama. She thinks Sarah Palin is pretty swell, and hopes she gets to be president some day.

Isn't that swell? I bet she's thrilled to pieces that she passed all the tests! Those pesky prerequisites can be so annoying, can't they?

Then again, defense contractors don't have to worry about stuff like, you know, qualifying. Just ask Blackwater Xe.

For the rest of the story, and there is one, go here.

VIDEO: Racist Joe "You lie!" Wilson "short-circuited"

By GottaLaff

If you ask me, this guy short-circuited long before his little outburst:



Why did Joe the Mouther lose it?

[H]istorian Doug Brinkley was on Hardball Friday afternoon. And he gave what strikes me as the best explanation I've yet heard for just what happened and why when Joe Wilson famously blew his stack during the president's speech.

Chart- Insurers’ pre-existing conditions: Being a cop, expectant father, acne

By GottaLaff

Pre-existing condition for being an insurer: Heartless, money-grubbing dickitude.

Consumer Watchdog has released internal industry “underwriting” guidelines showing some other “pre-existing conditions” that insurers have used to either deny people outright or charge exorbitant fees for coverage:

(click on image to enlarge)

HuckaWinner

By GottaLaff

In a landslide!

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won the Values Voter straw poll with 170 out of 597 votes.

How's Willard going to live this down?

In a telling, but non-scientific, survey of the Republican Party’s social conservative base, former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-Ark.) won the 2009 Values Voter straw poll with a 28 percent plurality of the vote. Five-hundred and ninety-seven people voted. [...]

Huckabee led eight other potential Republican candidates: Romney placed second with 12.4 percent, while Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn.) polled 12.23 percent, Sarah Palin polled 12.06 percent, and Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) polled 11.89 percent. People included in the poll who didn’t the top five: Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.), Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-La.), Newt Gingrich, and Rick Santorum.

Are the Rushpublics willing to support someone as, um, "liberal" as HuckaFriedSquirrel?

VIDEO- The newest GOP talking point: The tampon tax

By GottaLaff

I've figured it out! The Rushpublic anger, hostility, mob mentality? It's PMS!



Will they repeat the meme once a month?

Consider the Fox News clip below to be [Rick Tyler was part of the Newt Gingrich team]'s attempt to boil GOP opposition to the Democratic health care plan down to three lampoonable words: The tampon tax. [...]

"And those are going to be increased taxes on numerous things, which are included in the Baucus bill, by the way. And such things that are considered medical devices in class two and three, but those are things like contact lenses and solutions, hearing aids, thermometers, diabetes test strips, oxygen bottles, wheelchairs, condoms and tampons."

Period!

H/t: raine1967

John Edwards May Admit to Paternity of Child

By GottaLaff

In other news, the C Street Gang may admit to infidelity:

"The story of the spectacular rise and fall of John Edwards, with its sordid can't-look-away dimensions, is moving slowly but deliberately to its conclusion here in North Carolina," the New York Times reports.

While Edwards "remains largely secluded at his 100-acre estate," he is said to be "moving toward an abrupt reversal in his public posture; associates said in interviews that he is considering declaring that he is the father of Ms. Hunter's 19-month-old daughter, something that he once flatly asserted in a television interview was not possible."

Attaboy, John. Admit that you lied about lying about lying about the affair you never had and the baby you never fathered. That should redeem you.

However, friends of Mr. Edwards and his wife Elizabeth "say she has resisted the idea of her husband's claiming paternity" and "has yet to be brought around."

Also buried in the story is a revelation taken from Edwards aid Andrew Young's book proposal: "He wrote that Mr. Edwards once calmed an anxious Ms. Hunter by promising her that after his wife died, he would marry her in a rooftop ceremony in New York with an appearance by the Dave Matthews Band."

I nearly started to write about how sickened I've been over this, because, you know, Edwards had accomplished some great things in his political career...

...but I've suddenly lost my appetite for trying to cling to the positive.

Reagan, Bush 41 advisers: Subjecting "czars" to Senate confirmation could be unconstitutional

By GottaLaff



Say you're czar-ry, Rushpubs:

In today’s Washington Post, attorneys David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey, who served under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush [...] argue that in fact, subjecting all these advisers to a Senate confirmation process would perhaps be unconstitutional:

The White House czars are presidential assistants charged with responsibility for given policy areas. As such, they are among the president’s closest advisers. In many respects, they are equivalent to the personal staff of a member of Congress. To subject the qualifications of such assistants to congressional scrutiny — the regular confirmation process — would trench upon the president’s inherent right, as the head of an independent and equal branch of the federal government, to seek advice and counsel where he sees fit.

Czar(ry) seems to be the hardest word.

Oh, and in case anyone forgot:

[T]hose benign Bush Czars, which included:

• Cyber Security Czar
• Regulatory Czar
• AIDS Czar
• Bird Flu Czar
• Intelligence Czar
• Health IT Czar
• Katrina Czar
• Manufacturing Czar
• Drug Czar
• Domestic Policy Czar
• War Czar
• Copywright Czar
• Abstinence Czar
• Mine Safety Czar
• Latin American Czar
• WTO Health Czar
• Corruption Czar
• Privacy Czar
• Health Czar

VIDEO- Rick Perry Gaffe-itude on Recession: "We're in one?"

By GottaLaff



How many ways can I say, "Wow!":

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), facing a tough primary challenge from Sen. Kay Baily Hutchison (R), left many puzzled when he declared his state was recession proof.

Said Perry: "As a matter of fact ... someone had put a report out that the first state that's coming out of the recession is going to be the state of Texas ... I said, 'We're in one?'"

Paul Burka of the Texas Monthly: "This gaffe is going to stick. It is going to be national news. It will come back to haunt him in a campaign spot. If Hutchison can't make something of it, the Democrats can. You cannot be callous and cavalier when people are losing their jobs and their homes. I don't care how ideological the Republican base is. Unemployment in Texas just reached the 8% mark. Everybody knows someone who is suffering in these times. Everybody has lost part of their life savings. It could cost him the race."

Wow!

Take the teabagger socialist-free purity pledge

By GottaLaff

Take the pledge:

I, ________________________, do solemnly swear to uphold the principles of a socialism-free society and heretofore pledge my word that I shall strictly adhere to the following:

I will complain about the destruction of 1st Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 1st Amendment Rights.

I will complain about the destruction of my 2nd Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 2nd Amendment rights by legally but brazenly brandishing unconcealed firearms in public.

I will foreswear the time-honored principles of fairness, decency, and respect by screaming unintelligible platitudes regarding tyranny, Nazi-ism, and socialism at public town halls. Also.

I pledge to eliminate all government intervention in my life. I will abstain from the use of and participation in any socialist goods and services including but not limited to the following:

* Social Security

* Medicare/Medicaid

* State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP)

* Police, Fire, and Emergency Services

* US Postal Service

* Roads and Highways

* Air Travel (regulated by the socialist FAA)

* The US Railway System

* Public Subways and Metro Systems

* Public Bus and Lightrail Systems

* Rest Areas on Highways

* Sidewalks

* All Government-Funded Local/State Projects (e.g., seeIowa 2009 federal senate appropriations)

* Public Water and Sewer Services (goodbye socialist toilet, shower, dishwasher, kitchen sink, outdoor hose!)

* Public and State Universities and Colleges

* Public Primary and Secondary Schools

* Sesame Street

* Publicly Funded Anti-Drug Use Education for Children

* Public Museums

* Libraries

* Public Parks and Beaches

* State and National Parks

* Public Zoos

* Unemployment Insurance

* Municipal Garbage and Recycling Services

* Treatment at Any Hospital or Clinic That Ever Received Funding From Local, State or Federal Government (pretty much all of them)

* Medical Services and Medications That Were Created or Derived From Any Government Grant or Research Funding (again, pretty much all of them)

* Socialist Byproducts of Government Investment Such as Duct Tape and Velcro (Nazi-NASA Inventions)

* Use of the Internets, email, and networked computers, as the DoD's ARPANET was the basis for subsequent computer networking

* Foodstuffs, Meats, Produce and Crops That Were Grown With, Fed With, Raised With or That Contain Inputs From Crops Grown With Government Subsidies

* Clothing Made from Crops (e.g. cotton) That Were Grown With or That Contain Inputs From Government Subsidies

If a veteran of the government-run socialist US military, I will forego my VA benefits and insist on paying for my own medical care

I will not tour socialist government buildings like the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

I pledge to never take myself, my family, or my children on a tour of the following types of socialist locations, including but not limited to:

* Smithsonian Museums such as the Air and Space Museum or Museum of American History

* The socialist Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson Monuments

* The government-operated Statue of Liberty

* The Grand Canyon

* The socialist World War II and Vietnam Veterans Memorials

* The government-run socialist-propaganda location known as Arlington National Cemetery

* All other public-funded socialist sites, whether it be in my state or in Washington, DC

I will urge my Member of Congress and Senators to forego their government salary and government-provided healthcare.

I will oppose and condemn the government-funded and therefore socialist military of the United States of America.

I will boycott the products of socialist defense contractors such as GE, Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Raytheon, Humana, FedEx, General Motors, Honeywell, and hundreds of others that are paid by our socialist government to produce goods for our socialist army.

I will protest socialist security departments such as the Pentagon, FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security, TSA, Department of Justice and their socialist employees.

Upon reaching eligible retirement age, I will tear up my socialist Social Security checks.

Upon reaching age 65, I will forego Medicare and pay for my own private health insurance until I die.

SWORN ON A BIBLE AND SIGNED THIS DAY OF __________ IN THE YEAR ___.

_____________
Signed

_________________________
Printed Name/Town and State

H/t: Joeyess

VIDEO- Roy Blunt: Compares Obama, Dems to monkeys running out of jungle

By GottaLaff

No racial undertones here, right? Nope, this isn't offensive at all, we're just being oversensitive:

Congressman Blunt then went on to tell an anecdote which suggested that life in Washington, for GOP members today, is comparable to the lot of imperial British agents in India who had to contend with monkeys running amok on a golf course that the colonial occupiers had carved out of the verdant Indian jungle. There was a problem, the Missouri Representative explained; monkeys would come out of the jungle, grab golf balls, and throw them about. Amidst swelling laughter from his audience Roy Blunt narrated,

"I could go into great and long detail about how many things they did to try and eliminate the 'monkey problem.' But they never got it done, so finally this golf course and this golf course only, they passed a rule and the rule was - you have to play the ball where the monkey throws it. [audience laughter swells] And that is the rule in Washington all the time."

It seemed like a direct window into the psyche of the revanchist wing of the GOP; politics is a golf game and unruly Democrat "monkeys" have swarmed out of the jungle to disrupt the play. Since it is impractical to "eliminate" the monkeys, accommodations will have to be made. Republicans will now "play the ball where the monkey throws it."

US Congressman Roy Blunt (R-MO) suggests tells extremely off-color "monkey" joke with eliminationalist undertones, at Family Research Council Action's 2009 Values Voter Summit.

We really need to sympathize more with the plight of the put-upon white man.

H/t: BuzzFlash

Mid Day Distraction

Video- Chris Wallace: Obama not appearing on Fox News because of "pettiness" and "childishness"

Cartoon of the Day

Click to enlarge, via.

Video- Another McCarthyesque witch hunt: Hannity panel debates which Obama advisor is most dangerous

Vid via Newshounds.

Artist Shepard Fairey's Studio Tagged with Anti-ACORN Graffiti

Really, it makes you wonder about people's logic capabilities. What the hell does Fairey have to do with ACORN?

So much for HOPE. That, at least, is the symbolic message sent by an anti-ACORN activist or group that targeted Studio Number One in Los Angeles, the commercial design studio of Obama HOPE poster creator Shepard Fairey, with anti-ACORN graffiti.

(snip)

The anonymous anti-ACORN activist or activists tried to link the anti-poverty group to the man who helped create the iconic image of the Obama campaign by targeting his studio with an image of the ACORN logo beneath the words "ACORN Funded Prostitution Zone."

Studio Number One does not receive any funds from the government, according to a spokesman, and does no work for ACORN.

"While we support free expression, it is ironic that...the conservatives and right-wingers who called pro-Obama art propaganda and if it was posted publicly, they called it vandalism, are now vandalizing private property in their campaign against ACORN," said Jay Strell, a spokesman for Studio Number One and Fairey. The graffiti has been removed, he added.

Video- President's Weekly Address: Progress in the Global Economy

There's no denying Obama's race plays a role in protests

By GottaLaff

The post that these excerpts are from has a lot more to it, but here's a sample.

"I certainly detect a racial element in some of the hostility directed at President Obama," said Richard Alba, the distinguished professor of sociology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. "I'm certain there are white Americans for whom having a dark-skinned president in the White House is an enormous shock. This is really a complete overturning of what they thought was the natural order of things. The natural way that American society worked. It upsets all their ideas about how American society is structured." [...]

"I don't think anybody has used the symbols of race and racism to criticize this president more than the individuals on the right," said D'Linell Finley, a political science professor at Auburn University at Montgomery. "Listen to the radio, look at the signs and listen to their individual words. It comes through both in a subtle and not-so-subtle manner."

The not-so-subtle incidents are numerous:

• Last October, John McCain's campaign ousted a Buchanan County, Va., McCain campaign official, Bobby May, for writing a newspaper column that said that if Obama were elected he'd hire rapper Ludacris to paint the White House black and change the national anthem to the "Negro National Anthem" by James Weldon Johnson.
• Diane Fedele, who was then the president of a Republican women's club in San Bernardino County, Calif., resigned last October after she sent out a newsletter with a drawing of Obama on a bogus food-stamp coupon surrounded by ribs, watermelon and fried chicken.
• In May, Sherri Goforth, an aide to Republican state Sen. Diane Black of Tennessee, sent an e-mail to Republican staffers showing the first 43 U.S. presidents in stately poses, but Obama's image, as the 44th president, was a pair of bright white cartoonish eyes on a black background.
• In June, Diann Jones, the vice chairman of the Collin County Republican Party in Texas sent an e-mail to local Republican clubs calling a proposal for a $50 gun tax "another terrific idea from the black house and its minions."
• Also in June, South Carolina Republican activist Rusty DePass compared an escaped gorilla from a Columbia zoo to first lady Michelle Obama's ancestors.
• At an August political forum, Republican U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins of Kansas denied any racial intent when she said that the party was looking for a "great white hope" to lead the party into the future.

David Bositis, a senior research associate at the Joint Center for Political Studies, a public-policy research institute, said: "You have a whole bunch of incidents of that sort, and they're accelerating in their occurrences."

To many, South Carolina Republican U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson's "You lie" outburst was only the latest racially tinged episode involving the party. Bositis said that much of the antagonism came from the Southern wing of the party, in part because Obama was the first Northern Democratic president since Kennedy and because the Republican Party's Southern clout had been marginalized.

"It has been a long time since they've had such a limited influence in the U.S. Congress," Bositis said. "A number of these people have gone out of their way to diss Obama, and that's a Southern thing, it's not a black thing. But what is it about Obama that they most want to diss? A lot of it has to do with his race."

It's been a long day. I'll leave the commentary to you.

Judge To Orly Taitz: Why Shouldn't I Fine You $10K?

By GottaLaff

(click on image to enlarge)

Oh yes, 'tis true. And it's documented right here.

Paddy's video post of MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan smacking Her Taitziness down here.

More details on the story of Judge Clay Land v. Orly Taitz here.

Tim Pawlenty Reads Out Phone Sex Hotline Number On Radio Show

By GottaLaff

Freudian slip? Wishful thinking?

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty made a slip of the tongue Friday morning on his weekly radio show, giving out a phone number that encourages people to call "for a good time" rather than the number for people to call in to talk to him on his program.

"Slip of the tongue"? Snerk! Good choice of words.

During the program, Pawlenty was giving out phone numbers viewers could call into, when he prefixed the call-in line with 1-800, instead of the prefix for WCCO Radio's call-in number, 1-866.

"0-0"? Oh-oh!

::cheesy porn music:: Hel-LO:

The 1-800 number Pawlenty inadvertently advertised features a voice-recording which instructs people who want to "call and talk to fun people" to call a second number. The second number is a phone sex chat line.

Congratulations, Tenther Tim. You have finally become a fun person.

H/t: The Plum Line

Dear Joe "You lie!" Wilson: A letter from an 80-year-old mom

By GottaLaff

A loyal TPC reader, one whom I correspond with from time to time, sent me an e-mail containing a copy of a letter she wrote to Joe the Mouther. She has graciously given me permission to post it. UPDATE: She didn't write the letter, just sent it along for me to share.

It is, in a word, superb:

September 10, 2009

Joe Wilson, Member
United States Congress
212 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D. C 20515-4002

Mr. Wilson:

I am an 80 year old mother and my older child is 51 years old; but, if ever I were to hear him call anyone a liar or rudely and obstreperously tell someone they were telling a lie, I would slap his face. My two children, 41 and 51 respectively, are very well reared as was I. I can remember as a little innocent child calling someone a liar. I only did it one time because the lecture in the form of a lesson in proper decorum sank in, and to this day, I have never called anyone a liar. My mother considered this the ultimate in rudeness and disrespect, not only for the person I called a liar, but for me, myself.

Having learned that lesson at such an early age, it made me cringe when you, at age 62, and a former military man, yelled to the President of the United States of America, “You lie.” As a military man, you know the chain of command; and, you were addressing the Commander in Chief of the Un ited States of America. Of course, President Obama who is a very refined gentleman did not respond and he kept right on target delivering the most brilliant speech I have ever heard. I can say this with a degree of authority because I have been witness to every presidency since Herbert Hoover. Never in the hallowed halls of Congress have I witnessed such coarse, gross, despicable behavior.

I don’t know if your mother is alive or not, but if she is, I’m certain that she hung her head in shame knowing that all over the world you have disgraced her, yourself, your wife, your four sons, your office, your constituency and your country. Children of good breeding, who are properly reared carry the teachings of their parents throughout their lives. At 80 everything I do is tested against, “what would my mother think of that?” I would never defame her precious memory by demonstrating lack of self control and a knowledge of the social graces that separate women from ladies and men from gentlemen.

My mother was a proper Southern genteel lady who commanded respect because of the way she carried herself. I would think that your being from the South, you would have gotten some of that good ole Southern hospitality and gentility that seems to be characteristic of in telligent people of the South.

I do so hope you will listen to the foreign media as I did late last night. You are an international disgrace because from Ireland to China and England, your crudity was the main topic of conversation.

I note that you have a law degree. I wonder how proud your alma mater, University of South Carolina Law School , was of you tonight as you showed to the world that education without character is vacuous and meaningless. There is a popular expression of people with degrees who lack common sense, they are referred to as “educated fools.”

If you were playing to the media and to the camera for attention, you succeeded because your worldwide legacy will be that you were the ill-suited and ill-placed person who demeaned himself in the halls of Congress for the first time in U S history.

Written with embarrassment for my country,

[No Drama Zone]

Thank you so, so much, No Drama Zone. That was positively cathartic, and very apt. You're a good mom.

The Color Purple: 2010 not looking good for Dems

By GottaLaff

Via The Plum Line:

* An ominous analysis for Dems from Charlie Cook, who says that blue state members of the House have no idea how bad the party’s problems really are.

* Eric Cantor, apparently, agrees: He told Chris Good that if the midterms were held today, the GOP would take back the House.

Cook focuses on the color purple:

What we are seeing is an electorate growing just as disgusted with the Democratic majority as it did with the Republican one in 2006. The mounting ethics problems of House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., combined with ongoing allegations about House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Murtha, D-Pa., and others on his panel threaten to make matters still worse for their party.

Sure, November 2010 is a long way off, and the economy may well be substantially better by then. But Democratic lawmakers, who must face the voters two years before Obama does, should remember that the public's attitudes tend to eventually harden. Think cement.

As for Cantor, I'm in no mood to entertain anything that he may or may not be thinking.

Obama to be 1st president to appear on Univision’s Sunday public affairs show

By GottaLaff

Sí que puede!

[President Obama] is passing over Fox News Sunday in favor of Univision’s Al Punto. While other presidents have appeared on Univision, Marcy Wheeler notes that this is the first time a president will be on Al Punto:

[...] And, as it turns out, the White House can justify blowing off Fox for Univision not just to reach out to Latinos rather than white racists. According to Univision’s corporate communications, Al Punto (531,000) does better than FNS (417,000) in the all-important 18-49 demographic (and has done so for the last 10 months), and it often beats CBS’ Face the Nation in that demo as well.

Smart move, especially the part about passing over ClusterFox.

CIA chiefs to Obama: Cancel probe into interrogation methods

By GottaLaff

Don't look back at what happened. Only look forward to what happened. Wait. That can't be right. You know why? Because it isn't right. It's wrong:

Seven former CIA chiefs on Friday urged the Obama administration to halt its investigation of the agency's interrogation methods, predicting the latest inquiry would only foster "an atmosphere of continuous jeopardy."

The retired agency heads — John Deutch, Porter Goss, Michael Hayden, James R. Schlesinger, George Tenet, William Webster and R. James Woolsey — also warned the investigation could hamper the government's intelligence-gathering abilities and deter other nations from working with the United States.

Sound familiar? Sound like BushCo redux? Uh huh.

Why, here's a BushThug now!

A number of former Cabinet members and lawmakers — from former Vice President Dick Cheney to these seven former CIA directors — have asked Obama to call the probe off, even alleging the inquiry is little more than a political stunt.

But the Obama administration has said it stands behind Holder's decision, arguing it has no right to interfere with the Justice Department's work.

Oh my, what's that sensation? It... It... It's the sensation of fresh air entering my lungs! Mmmm, nice.

It has also insisted the special prosecutor appointed to manage the case has no partisan motivations.

A-a-and... inhale. Mmmmm. Oxygen.

Now let's hope that the investigation is a thorough one, and that they follow every possible lead to every BushCo crime family slime ball.

In other words, let's give 8-year-prisoners like Fayiz al-Kandari some real hope.

****

All my previous posts on this subject matter can be found here; That link includes one specific to only Fayiz al-Kandari's story here. Here are audio and video interviews with Lt. Col. Wingard, one by David Shuster, one by Ana Marie Cox, and more. My guest commentary at BuzzFlash is here.

If you are inclined to help rectify these injustices: Twitterers, use the hashtag #FreeFayiz. We have organized a team to get these stories out. If you are interested in helping Fayiz out, e-mail me at The Political Carnival, address in sidebar to the right; or tweet me at @GottaLaff.

If you'd like to see other ways you can take action, go here and scroll down to the end of the article.

Then read Jane Mayer's book The Dark Side. You'll have a much greater understanding of why I post endlessly about this, and why I'm all over the CIA deception issues, too.

More of Fayiz's story here, at Answers.com.

Joe "You Lie!" Wilson "Lies!" to Roll Call

By GottaLaff

This is all I could get (subscription only):

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) voted against the daughter of House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) for a spot on the state Public Service Commission in 1998 when Wilson was a state Senator, contrary to a statement he made to Roll Call Wednesday.

Now to be fair, maybe there's more to this story, but since I can't access it, and based on what I know about Joe the Mouther, all I can say is...

.... He lied!

From the Dept. of What Took Ya So Long: GOP Leaders Wary of Bachmann

By GottaLaff

I guess they're just slow learners:

Sources tell Politico that the House GOP leadership is "especially wary" of the damage inflicted on the party's reputation by bomb-throwing Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), who called last year for an investigation into whether members of Congress are "pro-America or anti-America."

Wary of Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Dining Room Table)? This Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Dining Room Table)? Come on-n-n-n:

Video- CNN's Rick Sanchez Calls FOX News Liars

You've got to give Sanchez credit, he's not afraid to call people out. More here.

At 3:15pmET today, CNN's Rick Sanchez delivered an impassioned editorial regarding the Fox News ad we reported on earlier today that claimed ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, and CNN "missed" the story of the 9/12 protests.

Sanchez said the ad is "an offense to myself and to my colleagues who risked their lives for our viewers in Iraq and Afghanistan and around the world to break the news. They're actually telling people that we didn't cover a rally on Washington. Really?" Sanchez then showed a series of clips from CNN's 9/12 reporting. He also showed a clip of Bill O'Reilly discussing CNN's coverage of the event.

Video- Values Voters Conference Attendees Disrupt MSNBC Broadcast

August Was Not So Bad for the White House

Thank god Taegan figured it all out for me because I went over to Pollster dot com and promptly got confused.

Charles Franklin looks at the polling data and sees a very different picture of how the August town hall meetings impacted the Obama administration's health care reform efforts.

"A bump here and a drop there, and the precise estimates of support and opposition differ by as much as 2 points up or down. But the big picture is that opposition ramped up significantly through June or July but has recently slowed or stopped. Support fell less precipitously but has been working back up for a month (despite or perhaps because of the circus coverage in August.)"

Video- Dylan Ratigan Yells Down Orly Taitz

Vid via FDL.

VIDEO- SNL's "Behind the Joe 'You Lie!' outburst"

By GottaLaff

Via Taegan:

SNL goes behind the scenes with the Republican caucus to explain why Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) really yelled out "You lie!" during President Obama's speech last week before a joint session of Congress.

VIDEOS: Michelle Obama Talks About Health Insurance Reform

By GottaLaff

She was fantastic!

Snowe job

By GottaLaff

There's no business like Snowe business:

First Read: "It appears that Senate Finance Committee Democrats have gotten the message from the White House: Do whatever it takes to get Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe on board. She's sending EVERY signal that she'll be there at the end, as long as she gets a large say in how the bill is shaped. Snowe yesterday releasing a statement with three moderate Dems (Ben Nelson, Lieberman, and McCaskill) tells you she is looking for a way to support the bill -- not oppose it. And if the White House and Dems get Snowe, suddenly her Maine colleague, Susan Collins, is probably in play too. But remember: This isn't about getting Snowe and Collins; it's about making sure the White House can get Nelson and other moderate-conservative Dems like Blanche Lincoln, Mark Pryor, and Mary Landrieu. Clearly, the White House wants to do this with 60 votes and avoid reconciliation. The entire strategy appears to be predicated on 60."

Would you like to respond to this, er, ignorant TPC commenter?

By GottaLaff

From this "Obama had a heckler" thread, we have a real winner:

why doesn't obama go to a rally that isn't dominated by blacks and poor people, instead he should go to a rally for everyday americans who actually pay their taxes, which support the blacks and poor people

I guess he/she missed this cartoon or him/herself.... not that he/she would understand it, appreciate it, or even know how to read it (well, maybe the pictures... maybe).

Cartoon: "Don't ever TRY to make this about racism"

By GottaLaff

These are just "average citizens", remember?

H/t: Windy City Watch

Michelle Obama at health care town hall: "Women are being crushed"

By GottaLaff

I managed to jot down a few key quotes as a very heartfelt Michelle Obama spoke about health care reform at a town hall meeting:

Women are being "crushed... crushed" by the current health care system.

"This is the face of the fight."

"We're hurting" in this country right now.

"We're part of the 'sandwich generation' who cares for both our children and our parents."

"Sasha could have lost her life if we hadn't had insurance."

"My father's illness [multiple sclerosis] could have put is into bankruptcy."

"These are the thoughts that run through my mind as I watch this debate."

"Women are charged more, but earn less, so they put off needed care, because they can't afford it."

"The current situation is unacceptable... it is unacceptable."

"No one should be treated that way... it's not fair. It's not right."

"The status quo is unacceptable. It is holding women and families back."

Then she went on to explain her husband's health care plan:

"If it's good enough for Congress, it's good enough for the people who vote them in."

"My husband believes that if you're fighting an illness, you shouldn't have to fight your insurance company at the same time."

And finally, she asked us to channel our passions into action, to call our representatives and to volunteer, etc.:

"We get into a comfort zone, even when things aren't working [paraphrased]. Change is hard."

"I'm standing before you as First Lady of the United States because I didn't settle for the world as it is."

Powerful words from a caring, compassionate, brilliant, and yes, powerful woman.

Mid Day Distraction

Video- MSNBC's Ratigan to GOP Strategist: You Don't Care About America

Ratigan is an ass and a blowhard, but sometimes he gets it right**. He slapped Orly Taitz around just now, so he must be extra cranky today. Vid via FDL.

**I consider yelling at Brad Blakeman every American's civic duty.

3-D television expected to come to homes in 2010

I had no clue this was coming, but yea ha!!!

(CNN) -- Three-dimensional images are expected jump out of movie theaters and into living rooms by next year.

Sony and Panasonic say they will release home 3-D television systems in 2010; Mitsubishi and JVC are reported to be working on similar products.

"TV finally becomes real" in three dimensions, said Robert Perry, an executive vice president at Panasonic. "You're in it. It's the next frontier."

Perry compared the 3-D transition to the switch from black-and-white to color television and the shift from standard- to high-definition images. See what 3-D TV demos look like »

Video- Anderson Cooper, Barney Frank and more on Crazed Right Wing

Barney Frank is one smart man.

Study: 45,000 Uninsured Die a Year, Linked To

Sobering and sad. Not just statistics.

(CBS) A year-and-a-half ago, Daniel Durate started dropping a lot of weight, going from 290 to 240 pounds.

Having quit his full-time job at a dairy to freelance in the catering business -- gambling he wouldn't need the insurance -- Durate didn't go to the doctor until he could no longer eat. The diagnosis: Stage 4 stomach cancer. Medicaid paid for his surgery last April.

"Would you have been in a different place if you had health insurance?" asked CBS News correspondent Jim Axelrod.

"Totally," Durate said. "I would have been able to go to a doctor like maybe last year."

"We found that 45,000 Americans are dying annually, due to lack of health insurance," said Dr. Steffie Woolhandler.

Woolhandler was part of a team that tracked more than 9,000 people for up to 13 years, comparing the health of those with insurance to those without. After factoring in education and income, smoking, drinking and obesity, researchers found that the uninsured had about a 40 percent higher risk of death, linking 45,000 American deaths a year to lack of insurance. In 1993 it was 25 percent.

Video- Michelle Obama Visits the Farmer's Market

Cartoon of the Day

Click to enlarge, via.

Friday Linkage

Friday, Friday, Friday!

U.S. health care spending may hit $2.5 trillion in 2009

Artist creates incredible paintings that look like photographs

Israeli woman dies, had 1,400 descendants

Washington Post: Intelligence Oversight Bill Faces Obstacles
The Senate has approved intelligence oversight legislation, deferring discussion of rules for interrogation and detention of terrorism suspects that have derailed previous proposals.

UK hospital tells foreigners pay or leave

Are single people getting a raw deal?

Ancient objects found on remote Mokumanamana 'an archaeological mystery'

New York Times: Scathing Report on Border Security Is Issued
Government auditors reported Thursday that the effort to secure the Mexican border with technology and fences has fallen years behind schedule, will cost billions of dollars extra in maintenance costs and has no clear means of gauging whether illegal crossings have been curtailed.