By GottaLaff
Aren't BushCo and ClusterFox synonymous?
"George W. Bush and Dick Cheney are long gone," writes the NY Times' Brian Stelter. "Fox News Channel is Jon Stewart's new enemy No. 1."
Stelter says that in 2010, Stewart has devoted 24 segments to FNC, compared to five segments on CNN.
By GottaLaff
Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match...
What could be more perfect:
Jerry Falwell Jr., chancellor of Liberty University, announced Friday that Fox News commentator Glenn Beck, will deliver the commencement address at the Lynchburg campus’s May 15 graduation, the News & Advance reports.
“Beck is one of the few courageous voices in the national media standing up for the principles upon which this nation was founded,” Falwell said in a news release.
By GottaLaff
This is a must-read. I'll post a few excerpts, but please, go read the whole thing here.
Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. [...]
Imagine that white members of Congress, while walking to work, were surrounded by thousands of angry black people, one of whom proceeded to spit on one of those congressmen for not voting the way the black demonstrators desired. [...]
Imagine that a rap artist were to say, in reference to a white president: “He’s a piece of shit and I told him to suck on my machine gun.” [...]
Imagine that a black radio host were to suggest that the only way to get promoted in the administration of a white president is by “hating black people” [...]
Imagine a black political commentator suggesting that the only thing the guy who flew his plane into the Austin, Texas IRS building did wrong was not blowing up Fox News instead. [...]
In other words, imagine that even one-third of the anger and vitriol currently being hurled at President Obama, by folks who are almost exclusively white, were being aimed, instead, at a white president, by people of color. [...]
And this, my friends, is what white privilege is all about. The ability to threaten others, to engage in violent and incendiary rhetoric without consequence, to be viewed as patriotic and normal no matter what you do, and never to be feared and despised as people of color would be, if they tried to get away with half the shit we do, on a daily basis.
Tim Wise is among the most prominent anti-racist writers and activists in the U.S. Wise has spoken in 48 states, on over 400 college campuses, and to community groups around the nation. Wise has provided anti-racism training to teachers nationwide, and has trained physicians and medical industry professionals on how to combat racial inequities in health care. His latest book is called Between Barack and a Hard Place.Go here for the rest.
By GottaLaff
Dave Weigel found something interesting. The Tea Tantrumers are all for "big government" aka police states, after all.... at least when it comes to racial profiling in Arizona (click on image to enlarge):
So, here is one effort to give government more power that tea partiers are not pounding the pavement to oppose.
We know that many of you work, but we have received word from the AZ State Capitol, that there are many anti-immigration people at the Capitol (and we think they are staying all night). They are also being bused in from California.
We are asking for you to spread the word to see if anyone is available to come down there "today" (Thursday) to show your support of the bill.
They are meeting by the Arizona Flag on the House Lawn. Bring American Flags and signs if possible.
Also, it is still very important to please call Governor Brewer at: 602-542-4331
We are also planning on going back on Friday at 11:00 A.M. (unless the Governor does the right thing and signs the bill). We are now hearing that she said she will do something on Friday.
Signs: We support "LEGAL" Immigration, In Mexico, You Must Be Legal... Why not here? - etc... (Printable signs will be placed below)
By GottaLaff
All it takes is one little push to get some violent nutcase to pull a trigger. That push might very well come from Arizona's new racial profiling law. We see it as a flashing red light of alarm, but extremists most likely see it as a green light.
As in.... Go:
According to KOLD Channel 5 News in Arizona, local militiaman Bill Davis is recruiting “combat veterans, with kill records, to camp out and patrol” along the U.S.-Mexico border.
[R]ight-wing websites are celebrating Davis’ armed border patrol. The neo-Nazi website Stormfront calls it, “[m]ore good news out of Arizona!”
By GottaLaff
Via an L.A. Times letter to the editor:
People of color who've observed the ascent of the so-called tea party movement didn't need a poll to tell them that this spasm is merely a racist backlash to the election of the nation's first African American president.That just about covers it.
By failing to critique the tea party's Obama-as-socialist/illegal alien/terrorist rhetoric, the mainstream media have been complicit in legitimizing these canards.
The "anti-government" propaganda that the tea party spews about the healthcare overhaul was never in evidence during George W. Bush's massive expansion of government spending. And the privileged all-white tea party mobs who storm the Capitol in "outrage" over the Wall Street bailout have never felt motivated to challenge the GOP's welfare-for-corporate-America, free-enterprise-for-the-poor platform.
By GottaLaff
Babbles McPreScreen has a few pre-existing conditions, only hers have nothing to do with her health. Well, maybe her mental health.
No, this is all about Bush envy and controlling the media. Bendy straws were a prerequisite for he university keynote screeching, and pre-screening questions was a must for her latest little Q and A fest.
She has clearly run out of hands to write on, realizes that risky, off the cuff word salad won't cut it, and is now doing her level best to fill Boy Georgie's teensy weensy inept little media-restricting shoes.
Welcome to liberal-leaning Eugene, Oregon, Babbles:
"It's the belief that the government who governs least governs best," she said.
“I eat granola,” Palin said. “I just happen to shoot and catch my organic food before I eat it.”
“Here I am in Track Town USA and my kid’s name is Track. How Eugene hippie can that be?” she added.
She also called for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and addressed head-on environmentalists against her plan. She argued America has more stringent environmental restrictions than many of the foreign governments we currently rely on for oil.
“So environmentalists are kind of hypocritical on this one,” she said. “I don’t know how environmentalists can sleep at night.”
Palin accused the media of being inextricably linked to the political left.
“Sometimes they are kind of one in the same,” she said. “We call them the 'lame-stream' media lately.”
She said the media has been unfair to the tea party movement, going so far as to say they make up lies about tea party supporters.
“The left, well, they had to grab hold of something to discredit,” she said. “The press then just started making things up. I’ve had to deal with that for quite some time now.”
During a question and answer session, Eugene City Councilwoman Jennifer Solomon read a pre-screened question from the audience about her role at Fox News. Palin said she was proud to be a part of Fox News for being “fair and balanced.”
She also praised Fox host Glenn Beck and said with “his chalkboard technique he’s changing our country."
By GottaLaff
The new and improved streamlined registration system should provide some relief to the thousands of people who so badly need health care. Hopefully, the elderly and/or anyone else who finds it difficult, or even impossible, to stand in long lines will have a much easier time of it now.
Now let's hope there aren't long lines to pre-register:
Patients seeking treatment next week at a massive free healthcare clinic at the Los Angeles Sports Arena must pre-register in person Sunday, organizers said.
The requirement marks a significant change from how patients were seen when the first clinic was held last year in Los Angeles. More than 6,300 people got free healthcare then, but scores more waited in line only to be turned away because of a shortage of medical volunteers.
Organizers hope a new color-coded wristband system will reduce both waits and the number of people turned away from the clinic, which runs from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to May 3.
By GottaLaff
Reaction to signing of SB1070 Arizona:
Protesters who had camped out at the Arizona State Capitol for days in hopes of stopping what was billed as the toughest illegal law in the country reacted with boos and chants of "Shame on you" on Friday after the governor announced she was signing the legislation into law.
Americans for Legal Immigration PAC commends Governor Brewer and the Arizona state assembly for the passage of SB 1070 into law as one of the toughest new tools to fight illegal immigration in America.
"The people of America have spoken and in the case of Arizona and SB 1070 the system is working," said William Gheen of ALIPAC. "We want to thank all of the American activists working with us, who helped to bring this law into being." [...]
Americans for Legal Immigration PAC's supporters called Arizona lawmakers in support of SB 1070 and activists are now moving to encourage state legislators in all remaining states to file and pass similar versions of Arizona's SB 1070.
[William Gheen, President & Spokesman of ALIPAC] serves as registered lobbyist in North Carolina for 2006 and 2007 and has helped pass several laws addressing illegal immigration while maintaining the national operations of ALIPAC.Excerpts from their "platform":
We support a peaceful, non racist, rule of law approach to resolving illegal immigration.
America is a land of generous and caring people, but our hospitality and values are being strained and abused by those who are willing to break the law and take our jobs and our tax dollars.
America's illegal alien population will begin to shrink instead of grow if we support candidates that will reflect the will of the vast majority of American citizens.
FOUR POINT PLATFORM: "Simply enforce our existing immigration laws!"
1. Secure Our Borders 2. Crack down on employers that intentionally hire illegals 3. Remove incentives and rewards to illegals such as licenses, welfare, and other taxpayer benefits 4. Enforce our existing laws and deport illegal aliens when convicted of crimes or detected during routine law enforcement activities
Many ALIPAC supporters also believe
-- Congress should make English the official language of America!
-- State and Local police should help enforce immigration laws!
-- We firmly oppose any Guest Worker / Temporary Worker Program which is disguised AMNESTY legislation. -- Legal and law abiding Americans should not be subjected to privacy invading technologies or national ID.
By GottaLaff
Via an e-mail, a New York Times news alert... while we pull TPC back up from the dead:
In late 2007 as the mortgage crisis gained momentum and many
banks were suffering losses, Goldman Sachs executives traded e-mail messages saying that they were making "some serious money" betting against the housing markets.
The e-mails, released Saturday morning by the Senate
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, appear to contradict some of Goldman's previous statements that left the impression that the firm lost money on mortgage-related investments.
I'm guessing whatever problems we're having are relocation related, so please bear with us.
Hugest, dickiest, worst loser ever. He keeps on topping his own petulance.
President Barack Obama should dispatch National Guard troops to the border if he doesn’t like Arizona’s new immigration law, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Friday.
McCain, who endorsed the tough new Arizona law earlier this week, defended it as necessary because of the federal government’s inability to secure the border.
“If the president doesn’t like what the Arizona Legislature and governor may be doing, then I call on the president to immediately call for the dispatch of 3,000 National Guard troops to our border and mandate that 3,000 additional Border Patrol [officers] be sent to our border as well,” McCain said at a news conference Friday in downtown Phoenix, according to a report in the Arizona Republic.
“And that way, then the state of Arizona will not have to enact legislation which they have to do because of the federal government’s failure to carry out its responsibilities, which is to secure the borders.”
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed legislation Friday that allows police to stop and question anyone they believe may be in the country illegally.
Chilly, overcast and just plain yucky here.
Quiz: The Original Tea Party Movement
Psychedelic trips aid anxiety treatments in study
The price of true love: How the average woman will date 24 men and spend over £2,000 before they find Mr Right
Green tea may help fight glaucoma
Egypt finds 2,000-year-old bronze coins
Toronto subway etiquette posters
By GottaLaff
Your papers, please:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
By GottaLaff
President Obama & his wife Michelle came back as promised to eat Barbeque at 12 Bones in the Asheville RAD. (River Arts District) He tried the Blueberry Chipotle & she, the Brown Sugar Rubbed Ribs with greens & baked beans. We are honored to share our neighborhood with the First Family.
Wow that sounds good!
I never get tired of watching the Obama family, especially at casual restaurants. Why is that?
And now I'm hungry. Thanks, Obamas.
By GottaLaff
I have a feeling that, little by little, more and more members of the Bush crime family will be finding themselves in this awkward little stress position:
Former U.S. Special Counsel Scott Bloch was charged today with criminal contempt of Congress in connection with his notorious use of Geeks On Call to scrub his computer while under investigation for misusing his office, according to a court filing in federal court in Washington. [...]That was in late 2006.
I just adore skipping down Memory Lane, especially when it leads me to a happy ending.
By GottaLaff
President Obama is the most popular leader in all the land world. Take that, Tea Tantrumers:
Obama received 77% support from respondents in the U.S., Italy, Spain, France, Britain and Germany. He just edged out the Dalai Lama, who garnered 75% support. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came in at 62%, with Pope Benedict XVI receiving just 36% support.
By GottaLaff
As expected, John Edwards has to submit to a sworn legal deposition on... well, you know. I can't imagine the details not being dribbled out (as it were) by someone, somehow, somewhere:
"Edwards is forced to testify under oath about his extra-marital sex life -- specifically that much-talked-about sex tape he made with mistress Rielle Hunter -- and whether he might have spent federal campaign funds to keep Hunter lavishly hidden away from the media and under the watchful eye of trusted aide Andrew Young."
By GottaLaff
On April 15, I posted screen grabs of a(nother) horrific Facebook page wishing very bad things upon our president.
Here is one of the shots:
Today on Twitter, I've had a number of people ask me why the page hasn't been taken down yet, especially in light of all the reporting it to the powers that be.
Now we have our answer:
Our Roll Call colleague Daniel Newhauser reports that an anti-Obama Facebook page doesn't violate the site's standards. So it will stay up -- and keep annoying people who are offended at the idea of praying for a death.
David Skinner: The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. --- Thomas Jefferson
By GottaLaff
Little did Chicken Sue know that when she insisted on touting her Chickens for Chest X-Rays plan, she'd created her own Macaca Moment.
The yolks, er, jokes have been flying like hens running from foxes. Poor ol' Sue has egg on her face, and it doesn't look as if it's going to let up any time soon.
Presenting the Lowden Plan (click on images to enlarge):
Reading the fine print is a must. It's hilarious.
Go to the site and click on all the fun places.
H/t: HarborGuy
By GottaLaff
UPDATE via an New York Times e-mail alert:
Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona signed a bill that would require
the police to ask people about their immigration status if
officers have any reason to suspect that they are in the
country illegally.
An unidentified person made two phone calls and threatened to blow up Rep. Raul Grijalva's Tucson, Arizona office and kill his staff members, forcing the Democratic congressman to close his two district offices late Friday morning local time.
"He threatened to blow everyone's brains out in the Tucson office."
Are the Rushpublics going to say it was a Democratic "plant"? Or that it didn't happen at all? You know, the way they did when Congress members were spat on and slurs were shouted.
The caller also said he was going to be "exercising my civil liberties and I'm shooting Mexicans at the border".
How patriotic of him. I wonder if he owns a musket.
By GottaLaff
What are those sneaky Big Greasy Ol' Corporations up to now? Oh yeah, profit:
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) expects that a powerful electric utility trade group and three major oil companies will support the climate and energy bill he and two colleagues will unveil Monday, according to a source on a conference call Kerry held for business leaders Thursday evening.
The oil companies that will back the plan are BP, ConocoPhillips and Shell, according to The Washington Post.
Sources familiar with the briefing also said the measure would preempt state and regional greenhouse gas rules, which is a key goal for a variety of industry groups but has been strongly attacked by environmentalists and state officials. The bill would also block EPA regulation of greenhouse gases under its current Clean Air Act powers, one source said.
By GottaLaff
Wordy McMilkIt even took advantage of this moment to play the Trig card... again... or as Wordy would say:
PeopleexploitmykidsbutIwouldneverdothatI'maRAGINGHYPOCRITE!
Let'stalkaboutBristolwhilewe'reatit.IllegalprivateexposenotrightWORDSALAD
Isthismygoodside?ThiswassohurtfulWEAREVICTIMSPlayvictimcardoften.
NOBREATH.
Itwassnowin'athome!
I'lljustkeeptalkingtogarnersympathyandattention.Youguysalwaysfallforthat.
Memememememememememememememememeeeeeeee!
During the 2008 campaign, David Kernell, then a college student, thought it might be fun to hack into Sarah Palin's email account and publish her private information on the web.
By GottaLaff
So much for campaign buttons with the words, Pink Leather Shorts 2012:
Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) said he would not run for president in 2012 and that he backs Mitt Romney (R) for the Republican presidential nomination, the Boston Globe reports.
Said Brown: "Yes, absolutely, 2012, I'm ruling it out."
When asked if he would run for president at a later date, he said, "I'm not even going to jump at that. Nice try."
By GottaLaff
Due to sleep deprivation, my writing skills are temporarily impayured. <--- See?
Today will likely be a lighter posting day... at least for awhile.
If major news breaks, we'll be there, but the usual rapid fire pace may slow to a crawl.
Thank you.
Love,
Laffy and Paddy
Today is the fifth anniversary of YouTube's first video upload. On April 23rd, 2005 at 8:27pm (a Saturday night—nerd!) this video of YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim sparked an internet revolution. Fittingly for the site, he's at a zoo.
No, I think the problem is that the media has done a piss poor job of reporting on the Health Care law, concentrating on the lies and "he said, she said" bullshit. Glad to know they're finally getting around to doing some specific messaging. Via Taegan-
A new Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that 8 in 10 Americans know that President Obama signed health care reform legislation into law. But 55% say they are confused about the law and more than half (56%) say they don't yet have enough information to understand how it will affect them personally.
To address that, the New York Times reports that communications strategist Stephanie Cutter is returning to the White House to help sell the newly passed health care bill.
"If we put male hormones in a chicken and we make a homosexual eat it, he will transform into a heterosexual," - Bolivian president Evo Morales, posing a new form of conversion therapy.
Another "You don't say" moment with the Tea Baggers. And Michael Steele telling a "falsehood"? Never happens.
Washington (CNN) – A new report by a nonprofit organization estimates that there are 67,000 Tea Party activists throughout the country, which is at odds with estimates by a handful of conservatives including Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele.
Dante Chinni, a correspondent for Patchwork Nation, told CNN that they have determined most of the Tea Party activists reside in reliably Republican districts, rural or agricultural areas, wealthy suburbs and what they call "military bastions" located near U.S. military bases. Patchwork Nation, which was launched by the Christian Science Monitor and funded by the Knight Foundation, arrived at 67,000 by poring over publicly available information to identify people who actually registered with Tea Party organizations.
(center)
"Is this a complete list of everybody? No," Chinni said. "I think … there's probably maybe 10,000-to-12,000 total that we've missed."
Yet Chinni insisted that, "this is the overwhelming majority of registered Tea party members."
Patchwork Nation's Tea Party member estimate is dramatically lower than one recently offered by Steele.
In a speech to Chicago college students, Steele said Tea Party activists make up "a third or more" of the voting age population.
If Steele's estimate is true, that would mean roughly 77 million Americans support the Tea Party.
Regarding Steele's estimate, Chinni told CNN, "If he's got numbers to show that…I'd really be curious to see them."
"I don't know if they actually exist," Chinni said.
CNN contacted the RNC to inquire about what information Steele may have used for his estimate.
The weekend? Already?
Colourful Caribbean fish could explain why life on Earth is so diverse
Study scores congressional websites
Unpublished Mark Twain eulogy to his dead daughter to be sold at auction
Ancient ruin reminiscent of Ikea furniture
SEC staffers watched porn as economy crashed
CNN: Oil slick spreads from sunken rig
A 1-by-5-mile sheen of crude oil mix has spread across the Gulf of Mexico's surface around the area where an oil rig exploded and sank, a Coast Guard lieutenant said Thursday. Officials do not know whether oil or fuel are leaking from the sunken Deepwater Horizon rig and the well below, but BP Vice President David Rainey said "it certainly has the potential to be a major spill." Meanwhile, the Coast Guard continued to search for 11 people missing after an explosion late Tuesday set the rig ablaze forcing workers to be evacuated from the vessel. Officials are still unsure what caused the blast.
Potentially lethal fungus moves south from Canada
The World of Doormen Is Obvious, Yet Mysterious
Dreams 'can help with learning'
Contact lenses fix vision while you sleep
Dangers of the make-up counter: E.coli found in EVERY 'tester' on beauty counters
The Arizona Republic: Arizona border plan: Add National Guard, have Feds pay for it
Gov. Jan Brewer pledged $10 million in federal stimulus funds to beef up local law enforcement efforts along the Arizona-Mexico border, and called on President Obama to pay for deployment of 250 National Guardsmen to the area to combat illegal immigration Brewer said in a Thursday afternoon news conference that she had pleaded five times in letters to Obama for a federal response to help Arizona stanch the flow of illegal immigrants across its southern border by deploying additional troops. "Arizona is frustrated and we're going to push back," Brewer said at her news conference. "The people of Arizona have had it."
Recommend (32)
By GottaLaff
Earlier, I posted about Massey Energy refusing to allow time off for miners who wanted to attend their loved ones’ funerals.
They're denying it.
Massey spokesman Troy Andes:
“We know of no instances when miners were denied a request to attend a funeral.”
They know of no instances. Maybe someone simply forgot to tell them. Or they did this:
The Washington Independent also reminds us that even if this wasn't a Massey policy, it might have been enforced by subsidiaries who actually run the mines and have their own rules.
By GottaLaff
This will play well politically. At about the same time President Obama was giving his Reform Wall Street speech today, GOP Senators were having a little rendezvous with, yep, bank lobbyists.
The Party of Constantly Blowing It:
But around the same time back in Washington, D.C., bank lobbyists hosted a fundraiser for Senate Republicans, including Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who has become the Republican liaison for Wall Street fundraising.
By GottaLaff
Arizona is requiring U.S. citizens to carry birth certificates with them at all times. Well, not all U.S. citizens, just the ones who look...you know... "different" and fail to "answer questions correctly":
He tells 3TV, “I don't think it's correct, if I have to take my birth certificate with me all the time.” [...]
Abdon was told he did not have enough paperwork on him when he pulled into a weigh station to have his commercial truck checked. He provided his commercial driver’s license and a social security number but ended up handcuffed.
An agent called his wife and she had to leave work to drive home and grab other documents like his birth certificate.
By GottaLaff
Chicken Sue of Barter, Inc.,has a soul mate! Lucky her. Now maybe she won't feel so alone. Wackiness loves company, after all.
Rep. Mike Bell (R-TN) and Democratic state Rep. Joe Towns were discussing a possible state law-- what else?-- nullifying the mandate included in the newly passed health care law.
The law that passed. Legally. The law of the land. That law.
Bell was going on about how some people do just fine without insurance, and have no problem paying with cash, even when hospitalized.
That would be some big hunk-o'-cash:
Towns: You're saying they pay cash? For organ transplants and cancer and heart cases, they pay cash?
Bell: I said they pay cash or work out other arrangements. I know for a fact. I know someone in the medical field who has been paid with vegetables from the Mennonite community.
By GottaLaff
Yes, Tim, this is all about saving money. It has nothing to do with whites feeling threatened, or the transition from a white male Christian society to a more diverse one.
Welcome to Scapegoat, USA.
Via The Maddow Blog:
In this advertisement, Tim speaks out on the issue of English only. Alabama offers drivers license tests in 12 languages. As Governor, he will push to have the test given in only one language, English.
On his website, James includes a category called "Common Sense for Crime and Public Safety." It starts with crystal meth and spouse abuse and ends with the prisons' revolving doors, and in between: "Enforce Alabama's Constitutional Amendment declaring English as the state's official language."
By GottaLaff
A sign outside a West Virginia vigil for coal miners who lost their lives in the Upper Big Branch explosion on April 5 (EPA/ZUMApress.com)Massey Energy, the Virginia-based coal giant that runs the Upper Big Branch Mine, has denied time off for miners to attend their friends’ funerals; has rejected makeshift memorials outside the mine site; and, in at least one case, required a worker to go on shift even though the fate of a relative — one of the victims of the April 5 disaster — remained unknown at the time, according to some family members and other sources familiar with those episodes. In short, the company might be taking heat for putting profits and efficiency above its workers, but it doesn’t appear to have changed its tune in the wake of the worst mining tragedy in 40 years.
“They told my husband, ‘You’ve got a job to do and you’re gonna do it,’” said the wife of one Massey miner, referring to the funerals he’s missed this month for friends who died in the blast. “What else are we gonna do?”
“I guarantee it: Massey’s already told these guys, ‘Hey, don’t say nothin’. You’re not talking to no reporters. You’re not saying nothin’ about our safety record — or you won’t have a job,’” said Chuck Nelson, a former Massey miner who’s since become an environmental activist with the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition. “That’s the way they operate.”
“When we were all union, if there was something that came up, it wasn’t no problem at all to shut that mine down until everything was fixed.” said Nelson, who worked for nearly 20 years in union mines before Massey took over. “Non-union [workers], they ain’t got that right.”
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