FCC paves way for studios to push first-run movies into the home

By GottaLaff

With all the big flat screens and spiffy high def Blue Ray DVD players and other techie gizmos, how could this not happen? Not to mention the whole "let's make more money" thing.

Via an e-mail alert from the L.A. Times:

Federal regulators have granted a controversial waiver to the Hollywood studios that clears the way for people to watch movies in their home shortly after -- or even during -- their release in theaters.

The Federal Communications Commission today granted a petition from the Motion Picture Assn. of America, the chief lobbying group for the major studios, that would permit use of a so-called selectable output control technology for watching first-run movies in the home.

The technology prevents the illegal copying of movies, which has been a stumbling block to delivering first-run movies into the home and directly to consumers. [...]

The move has been opposed by both movie theater operators and consumer groups, the former who worry it would undercut ticket sales and the latter who say it would interfere with other devices that plug into the TV.

I rarely get to a movie theater. I am on Cloud 10.

PhotOh! Palin helps "the cause"

By GottaLaff

Nanotyrnns was kind enough to loan this to us:

MeMe McMoneyFirst has her priorities, and they don't include any of us.

Au contraire, on Planet MeMe, Santa Cause brings lots of presents... but only to her.

To quote Shannyn Moore (who knows a thing or two about a thing or two) on Twitter:

Palin CHARGES the teaparty 4 appearances, says she'll donate 2 their candidates, THEN KEEPS THE $$$.

Can't get more "for the people" than that... Also too there.

BREAKING-- Oil Volcano "Triggered By Safety failures"

By GottaLaff

Via a Yahoo e-mail alert:

ON THE GULF OF MEXICO (AP) Documents: Oil rig's deadly blast triggered by methane gas bubble, series of safety failures.

Confirming what we already suspected. Hey BP, how does it feel to be responsible for Big Oil's Katrina?

More details when they come in.

RNC fires finance director & deputy director following spending scandals

By GottaLaff

Heads are rolling... because, hey, that's how the RNC, well, rolls:

The Republican National Committee has fired Finance Director Rob Bickhart in the wake of a two embarrassing scandals that originated in the committee's fundraising department.

Deputy Finance Director Debbie LeHardy has also been removed from her post.

Remember that powerpoint presentation to Republican donors that stooped to the usual fear tactics, calling Obama a socialist, blahblah spewspew? That would be the same powerpoint in which they referred to GOP donors as "ego-driven". Bickhart was reportedly the one behind it.

Video- First Lady at Mothers Day Tea at the White House

"I worked at Guantanamo"

By GottaLaff

The following is from a diary over at Daily Kos:

I am a progressive. I voted for Obama. I believe in justice and human rights. I worked at Guantanamo. [...]

I want to start off with one of the complaints [...] that people will not vote for Obama because he has not shut down Gitmo. Again, from someone who was there, this is a very misinformed position and the reality on the ground needs to be clearly explained. [...]

So now, we get to Obama. [...]

I don't know how to convey this more strongly: There is no torture at Gitmo. No waterboarding, nothing. There was a horrible instance of abuse that occurred with one detainee early in the process, and that resulted in all new training. I am not excusing it. [...]

Gitmo will not be closed so much as it will be wound down. I had no sense that it was being wound down during the Bush years, no matter how many times Bush said he was. There is no doubt now that Obama is winding it down. [...]

Those of you who say you are not going to vote for Obama because he has not shut down Gitmo must realize, it is like saying Obama has not immediately cured my cancer. The cure cannot be immediate, without being either reckless or indifferent to human life. What matters is, is the tumor receding? And the answer to that is absolutely yes.

While Carrotmob makes some good points, I have to disagree with some of them based on what I know from my conversations with Fayiz al-Kandari's lawyer, Lt. Col. Barry Wingard.

Waterboarding is not the only form of torture. From the time Fayiz was forced on to an airplane where he had to endure wood screws piercing his scull during the 24-hour plane ride to Cuba, he has undergone terrible abuse that fits the definition of torture. I've written about this extensively.

Additionally, indefinite detention is unacceptable. There have been, and still are, hostages at Gitmo who never committed a crime, who were sold for bounty, imprisoned because of hearsay upon hearsay "evidence", and have no way to catch a break, let alone a glimpse at the classified, redacted legal exhibits that are used against them.

Barry has been there, too. And Fayiz still is. Ask them about what constitutes torture, because one of them has experienced it first hand.

And yes, I would vote for Obama again, but that doesn't mean I don't disagree with some of his choices. And I do believe he'll shut Gitmo down... eventually.

****

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.

Lt. Col. Barry Wingard is a military attorney who represents Fayiz Al-Kandari in the Military Commission process and in no way represents the opinions of his home state. When not on active duty, Colonel Wingard is a public defender in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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.

H/t: DMiller23

Poll-itics: Sestak Tied With Specter in Pennsylvania

By GottaLaff

Go Joe Sestak! He and Arlen Specter are now tied at 43% each with 13% still undecided.

This probably had a little something to do with it:



Tying Specter to Boy Georgie and Barbie McLipSchmutz in one 30 second ad? Ouch.

Part of his Wiki:

--Sestak has a 100% rating from NARAL and has stated his support for Roe v. Wade.^[12]

--He is the only Pennsylvanian congressman to have a 100% rating from the League of Conservation Voters and PennEnvironment. He has also been endorsed by the Sierra Club. He voted for the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2007 and the New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security and Consumer Protection Act. He was also an original co-sponsor of the Climate Stewardship Act (H.R. 620) and the Safe Climate Act.^[16]

--Sestak supports gun control and has a 100% rating from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence ^[17] and an F rating from the National Rifle Association^[18]

Sestak has called for the reinstatement of the federal ban on assault weapons.^[19]

--Congressman Sestak is an original co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act and supports the original version that includes card check. He created the Labor Advisory Committee to address the challenges facing working families in his district.^[22]

Win, baby, win.

Note to Readers: We're moving!

By GottaLaff

Here we go again, but this time it should "take" (if you recall, last time we crashed for 3 days). We'll be shifting over to WordPress overnight tonight, at the same URL (http://www.thepoliticalcarnival.net/), so no "address change" to worry about.

We have outgrown Blogger, which has blocked archive access to 15,000 of our posts (their limit is 5,000), and don't start me on tags.

Tags are important, because they are used to search for published posts. Without the ability to add tags (say, "Scott Brown" or "oil spill"), we can't group or search for posts the way we should to reference them when we need them. Yes, we can use Google, but Googling is often more time consuming, and I've found I sometimes can't dig up what I need that way.

The page set-up will be very similar to what we have now. You won't get lost or confused.

Some of the new options you'll find on the new and improved TPC are:

A separate page for Blunt webisodes with its own URL; a Contact Us page; an About page; an option to receive a TPC newsletter; an archives page, for as many as could be accesssed; pretty new colors.

The Comments will be switched from Disqus to WordPress. We'll see how that goes, but we've used that before, and it seems fine. No idea about registering or user names, etc., but we'll find out soon enough.

So there you have it.

If anything goes wrong this time, I will only be able to tweet updates on Twitter in the morning. I'll be on the road, in and out on Saturday and Sunday.

Paddy will be here to post, but the posting will most likely be lighter than usual until Monday. I'll post when I can.

We ask for your patience if/when there are any hiccups, but it should all go smoothly.

Welcome, in advance, to our new home.

Quote-O'-The-Day: Former FEMA Fool edition

By GottaLaff

Heckuva quote, Mary:

"He was a fool when he stepped off the plane in Louisiana 4½ years ago, and unfortunately for him, he apparently still is."

-- Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), quoted by Politico, on the attempted comeback of former FEMA Director Michael Brown.

Many of us are still trying to figure out why he was allowed back on the Tee Vee Machine in the first place.

Bikini Graph, the sequel

By GottaLaff

I adore visuals. They're so easy to understand, even for the GOP:


The Bikini Graph is one of my favorites (and Rachel Maddow's).

Think Progress points out that today's numbers refute GOP talking points claiming that the stimulus created government jobs, but the private sector? Not so much. Well, GOP, about that? Not so much:

[T]he GOP should be pleased to note that, of the 290,000 jobs created in April, 231,000 of them were in the private sector. The private sector has actually added 523,000 new jobs in 2010.

This includes 44,000 manufacturing jobs, which is the most manufacturing jobs added to the U.S. economy since August, 1998. Overall, April was the strongest month for jobs growth since March, 2006. For the sake of comparison, here’s the change in monthly job loss or gain since December, 2007.

Sorry to burst your bubble.

Psst! GOP... The stimulus is working. It takes time, just as it took years to screw up the economy, it will take years to turn it around. Just as it will take decades to deal with the Gulf oil volcano. Just as it will take years to improve what's left of our health care system.

And guess what? It all moves along faster when you don't obstruct at every turn. Just an observation.

"Our famous prayer is that the Americans... get eliminated and they go home."

By GottaLaff

South Africa's police commissioner wants us to lose, get knocked right out of the World Cup. In the first round. In fact, they're praying we do. Aw.

But it's nothing personal, they're just concerned about security. If President Obama drops in, it will overwhelm them:

[General Bheki ] Cele said: "Our famous prayer is that the Americans don't make the second round. (That) They get eliminated and they go home."

South Africa's top policeman said he had provisional confirmation that 43 heads of state would go to the World Cup, and "those 43 will be equal to this one operation" if Obama made the trip.

No offense taken.

VIDEO- President Obama: Largest Monthly Job Increase In 4 years

By GottaLaff

If you missed this earlier, here you go:

I see racist people...

By GottaLaff

Look who's running for governor of Florida:

CPR chief Rick Scott was ousted as a hospital exec amid a 1990s fraud probe, and the memo will alarm pro-reform forces, because it shows that the anti-reform camp is beginning to sense that victory is within reach on their top goal: Killing the public option.

Oh, you already knew that? Did you know all this?

R Lynn's Wiki:

Richard Lynn "Rick" Scott (born 1953 in Bloomington, Illinois) announced his candidacy for Florida governor on April 13, 2010.^[1]

Scott is a healthcare industry executive and founder of Conservatives for Patients' Rights (CPR) which advertises against expanding the U.S. government's role in regulating the healthcare system but failed in its efforts to block healthcare reform.

Scott founded the Columbia Hospital Corporation in 1987. With Columbia HCA Chairman Thomas J. Frist, the brother of Senator Bill Frist, the company merged Columbia with Hospital Corporation of America in 1989 to form Columbia/HCA. Ten years later, Scott was ousted by the company's board of directors in the midst of the nation's biggest health care fraud scandal in which the company ultimately plead guilty to the nation's then largest Medicaid and Medicare fraud and paid a record fine of $1.7 billion dollars.^[2][3][4] In 2001, Scott co-founded the Solantic Corporation, which operates walk-in medical care centers. He also owns Continental Structural Plastics, North America's largest industrial composites molder. [...]

CPR opposes the broad outlines of President Obama's health-care plans, and has hired Creative Response Concepts, a public relations firm which previously worked with the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

Isn't he the bee's knees? The cat's pajamas?

The liver worst?

Now he can add "racial profiler" to his resume. Congratulations, Ricky Lynn, you've topped yourself:


H/t: LynCKos for the title and for alerting me to Scott's tweet.

Mid Day Distraction

Ned Lamont (D) Now Lead in Connecticut Governor Race

Not going to jinx it, but things are looking a wee bit good.

A new Rasmussen survey in Connecticut finds Ned Lamont (D) leading Thomas Foley (R) in the race for governor, 42% to 35%.

Dan Malloy (D), who is battling Lamont for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, also edges Foley, 38% to 35%.

Just a month ago, both Democrats were running behind Foley.

Video- Pat Buchanan: April job numbers "unvarnished good news"

Hahahahahahaha.

“Woodstock” of tea parties planned Sept. 11 in western Iowa

Scum sucking pigs. I am so over these wankers, but trying to snag Woodstock for their cause?

An event described as the “Woodstock” of tea parties is planned for Sept. 11 at the Monona County Fairgrounds in Onawa in western Iowa.

Craig Halverson of Griswold, who is helping to organize the event, said supporters hope to attract at least 1,000 people from Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and other states. He said they are inviting prominent conservative speakers and plan to have bands perform patriotic music.

The event will have a “Take back our country” theme, Halverson said. Although the activities will occur on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, he said organizers don’t plan to spend the day reflecting on those events.

Under "normal" circumstances, aren't these the people who would gripe about disrespecting 9/11 if liberals did this?

Video- Hannity and Tyrrell go after Scarborough as a "phony conservative" and "the worst"

Sweet. I love a catfight. Via Media Matters.

Signs Point to Kagan for Supreme Court

Bummer, I was rooting for Crenshaw.

Mike Allen: "Look for President Obama to name his Supreme Court pick Monday, and look for it to be Solicitor General Elena Kagan, a former Harvard Law dean. The pick isn't official, but top White House aides will be shocked if it's otherwise. Kagan's relative youth (50) is a huge asset for the lifetime post. And President Obama considers her to be a persuasive, fearless advocate who would serve as an intellectual counterweight to Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Scalia, and could lure swing Justice Kennedy into some coalitions The West Wing may leak the pick to AP's Ben Feller on the later side Sunday, then confirm it for others for morning editions."

Cartoon of the Day

Click to enlarge, via.

Friday Links

Stormy and overcast.

Jesus Christ animated series to debut on Comedy Central

History of the fallout shelter symbol

'Planet of the Apes' prequel to be released in 2011

CNN: Palin irks her supporters with California endorsement Sarah Palin broke ranks with the conservative movement on Thursday and endorsed former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina in California's Republican Senate primary, prompting a flurry of criticism from many of her loyal supporters. Though a handful of readers agreed with Palin's decision, most were upset.

Ginger beer flying off the shelves as retro drinks make comeback

The Alchemist Keyboard

Could wealthy immigrants revitalize Detroit? Vacant land prompts calls for homesteading

CNNMoney: House approves $6 billion 'cash for caulkers'
House lawmakers on Thursday approved a $6 billion measure that aims to provide rebates to homeowners who invest in energy efficiency improvements - but not without a fight from Republicans. The bill, officially known as the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act but better known as "cash for caulkers," has been touted by President Obama since December as one of the signature pieces of his administration's larger job-creation strategy.

Job Growth Continues

What's that saying "slow but steady wins the race"? Let's go!! Via Taegan-

The U.S. economy added jobs last month "at the fastest pace in four years, but the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose," the Wall Street Journal reports.

Employers added 290,000 more jobs in April -- more than Wall Street expected and the largest gain since March 2006 -- but the unemployment rate rose to 9.9%, a sign that more Americans are looking for jobs.

Overnight Thread and Distraction: 'Inglourious Basterds' parody: Grammar Nazis!

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Why Carly Fiorina will lose the election

By GottaLaff

Other than Carly Fiorina's evil Demon Sheep video that was so bad, so laughable, that it demanded its own DSCC parody; other than being a flop at HP; other than being fired from HP; other than being one of the worst CEOs in America; other than being part of the elite wealthy bonus-laden golden parachuted crowd; other than having been a John McCain (he lost, remember?) surrogate... if all that's not enough...

Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican nominee for vice president, is making her presence felt in California’s Senate race by backing Carly Fiorina, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard. [...]

In a statement, Ms. Palin called Ms. Fiorina “the commonsense conservative that California needs.”

“She’s not a career politician,” added Ms. Palin, the former Alaska governor. “She’s a businesswoman who has run a major corporation. She knows how to really incentivize job creation.”

Endorsa McBadChoice forgot three words: "She's a businesswoman who has failed at running a major corporation."

Endorsa's track record of getting people elected isn't the best. Carly's doomed.

Added bonus! When Carly Van MoneyBags was asked directly whether she thought Endorsa had the experience to run a big company like Hewlett-Packard, she said no. Perhaps Endorsa took that as a compliment.

Double added bonus! McBadChoice refused to endorse fellow Tea Party fan Chuck DeVore.

When will the Tea Baggers figure out that they've been exploited and will be tossed aside like used... tea bags?

Tennessee Governor on Obama response to flood: I've “never seen this kind of response.”

By GottaLaff

President Obama is weak. President Obama is a terrorist. President Obama is a Muslim Marxist Kenyan. President Obama is clearly in over his head. President Obama isn't one of us. President Obama will not get health care passed. President Obama is ruining the country. It's President Obama's economy.

President Obama is slow to respond to disasters.

Wrong. Wrongwrongwrong, on all counts. Well, he is the president, that part is true. As for that snail's pace thing? Phil Bredesen, the governor of Tennessee, where all that horrific flooding is, would disagree:

“FEMA and the White House have been absolutely supportive,” he told reporters on a conference call.

Ding!

FEMA was quickly on the ground, and on Monday, “the president was on the phone with me before the sun came up,” he said.

Clang!

Bredesen, who has weathered his share of tornados and storms as a public official, said that he’s “never seen this kind of response.”

Ah-OOO-gah!

Dear Obama haters:

Please STFU.

Love, Laffy.

Poll-itics: Both Crist and McCain leading

By GottaLaff

Those Tea Baggers just can't seem to find a winning candidate.

First a peppering of McCain:

A new DailyKos/Research 2000 poll in Arizona finds Sen. John McCain (R) leading primary challenger J.D. Hayworth (R), 48% to 36%.

In general election match ups, McCain leads Rodney Glassman (D). 48% to 35%. If Hayworth is the GOP nominee, he just edges Glassman, 43% to 42%.

Add a dash of Crist:

A new Mason Dixon poll in Florida finds Gov. Charlie Crist (I) leading a three-way race for U.S. Senate with 38%, followed by Marco Rubio (R) at 32% and Rep. Kendrick Meek (D) at 19%.

Now a splash of sour:

Key finding: "More than half of Crist's supporters are Democrats, who overwhelmingly approve of his defection from the GOP and recent veto of a controversial teacher tenure bill."

Pollster Brad Coker thinks these numbers will change, unless the Dems somehow turn on Meek. It's about name recognition.

And there we have it: A recipe for 2010 election fun. Stir it up, shake like crazy, bring to a boil, and bam!

Lieberman's Remarks: Special Comment by my 72-year-old friend

By GottaLaff

My impassioned 72-year-old Twitter pal, who goes by the name 42bkdodgr, would like to share his feelings about Joe Lieberman's recent comments about stripping people of their U.S. citizenship and more. I am more than happy to oblige.

But first, a personal note from 42bkdodgr:

Many of you may wonder why I chose to use the “ 72 year old friend” as the introduction to my Special Comments. I selected the moniker so readers could see that from my age and life experiences I give a different perspective to the issues of today.

Now for his Special Comment:

Lieberman’s Remarks

As an American, I am furious and greatly upset by the remarks made Tuesday by Sen. Joseph Lieberman, that an American citizen should automatically lose their citizenship if accused of participating in a terrorist attack against our country on behalf of another country.

Sen. Lieberman, you seem to have forgotten that in the 1930s Jewish citizens of Germany were stripped of their citizenship because the Nazis considered them enemies of the state. Why is what you are proposing any different from what Hitler and the Nazis did?

Sen. Lieberman, when sworn in as Senator, you took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States; yet here you are willing to tear the basic fabric of the Constitution apart by your proposal. Our legal system was founded on the basis “innocent until proven guilty”, are you now proposing that it be like many other countries in the world “guilty until proven innocent”?

Sen. Lieberman by your actions, you are unknowingly giving aid and comfort to our enemies; they will see your proposal as our country is beginning to lose its moral values.

It is times like these, that our faith in the Constitution is tested, yet you and many conservatives in the country are willing to sacrifice the basic principles on which this country was founded, by trampling the Constitution.

Sen. Lieberman your remarks and recent remarks made by Senators McCain and Graham regarding the reading of Miranda Rights and Second Amendment Rights for those on the terrorists watch list boggles the mind.

What I see happening in this country, is a group of people wanting to take this country back to the 18th Century when the rights that many Americans currently enjoy didn’t exist.

I sincerely hope you have time to rethink your position and not try to present a bill to Congress based on your remarks.

Many thanks again for another thorough, relevant piece, 42bkdodgr. You often say what many of us are thinking and feeling, and we thank you for your unique perspective.

Quickie: Seems Mr. Anti-Gay Activist did indulge in sex acts with escort after all

By GottaLaff

The other day I posted about another typical hypocritical Rushpublic sexcapade. Now it turns out it was a lie-filled sexcapade. So what else is new, right?

Today's Quickie (pun intended):

The male escort who accompanied George Rekers, a leader of the ex-gay movement, on a European vacation now says the two did engage in sex acts.

It's about the hypocrisy, not the act. When will they ever get that straight (pun intended)?

That was today's Quickie. Was it good for you?

H/t: Gr8RDH

Cartoon-O'-The-Moment: Oil Car Bomb

By GottaLaff

I saw this in my L.A. Times this morning. Well done, Ed Stein:

Dow down about 350 points at close

By GottaLaff

Here's the latest from the L.A. Times, via an e-mail alert:

The stock market briefly went crazy Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrials plunging nearly 1,000 points before quickly recovering most of that loss.

Most traders were unable to explain the sudden decline, which came amid continued worries about Greece's debt problems and another day of unrest in that southern European country. Rumors abounded that the fall was triggered by a trading error, compounded by computerized trading.

Preliminary figures show the Dow finished down about 347 points, or 3.2%, at about 10,520. Its low for the day, at 11:46 a.m. PDT, was at 9,872 points, down about 995 points from Wednesday's close.

More soon at: http://www.latimes.com/

Unabashed Maddow fan girl geekitude time

By GottaLaff

Please indulge me. I'm a geek. I'm a Maddow fan girl. I admit it.

You can't imagine how proud ZenShadow and I are right now:

Our pals at the Political Carnival bring the awesome with this human response to Arizona's "Papers, please" bill.

You can view the video here. Click on above image to enlarge.

I am truly honored.

Okay, moment of fan girl geekitude is over. Regular posting will resume shortly.

Video- Limbaugh on market "free fall" due to Greek riots: Declares it "Obama's market"

There is nothing they won't try and blame the President for. Via Media Matters. Added- Looky here: Trading error blamed for market plunge: CNBC

Raw Video: Greek Police Clash With Protesters

Scary stuff- the protests and how the stock market reacted-

Stocks extend plunge on concerns about Greece

Video- Whiny Franklin Graham shows up for Day of Prayer after being disinvited

Honestly, why doesn't he just stamp his feet and say "My god or no god!". Poor put upon Christians.

Rev. Franklin Graham prayed outside the Pentagon Thursday -- not inside leading an official National Day of Prayer service. Instead, he and a half-dozen others stood on the sidewalk and bowed their heads in prayer for about five minutes, according to Associated Press.

Normally, it's not news when an evangelist prays or a father of a soldier prays for the troops and their leaders (Graham's son is on his fourth tour in Afghanistan).

But Billy Graham's son and heir Franklin is almost always news because of his propensity for taking public jabs at other religions, remarks he doesn't consider offensive. He believes only Christians are saved, no other faith leads to God so he's merely speaking hard truths, not mocking or maligning others when he calls Islam evil or jokes about Hinduism.

(snip)

Two weeks ago, his invitation to lead the Pentagon service was withdrawn. Objections to the divisive evangelist came from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, headed by Mickey Weinstein (and derided by Graham in an interview with me Tuesday as "an organization of one man who rants and raves") and Muslims in the military (who Graham called a handful of people who are being allowed to"trample on Christian rights").

Mid Day Distraction

Video- Fox host challenges Rove's claims Obama didn't respond to oil disaster fast enough

Someone is messing with the flavors of kool aid over at Fox. I'm really wondering if there was a serious meeting over at Faux News Megabuilding, especially in the light of these two other incidents of truth the past few days, here and here. Wow, she actually got Rove to flail a bit. Video via Think Progress.

Poll- Not Obama's Katrina

Looks more like it's the oil industry's Katrina. Rasmussen even. Via Greg-

4* How do you rate President Obama’s response to the major oil leak off Lousiana’s coast – excellent, good, fair or poor?

20% Excellent

23% Good

28% Fair

26% Poor

3% Not sure

5* How do you rate the response of the companies associated with the oil rig accident to the major oil leak off Louisiana’s coast – excellent, good, fair or poor?

6% Excellent

23% Good

40% Fair

28% Poor

3% Not sure

AUDIO Snark: Save the Oil Executives! Sponsor one now!

By GottaLaff

This is snarkalicious. "Give, baby, give":

"There's a lesser known victim: Oil company executives... They could lose their second or third homes!"

Sent to me an in e-mail from my pal at Hazardous Comedy Network, written by same pal Jeff Stein, produced by Eric Smeltzer, Eric Harthen voicing:

VIDEO- Special BLUNT: "Do I Look Illegal?"

By GottaLaff

This webisode of Blunt was a bigger collaborative effort than usual, and for that, ZenShadow and I thank you.

ZenShadow is the one who came up with the concept for this amazing collection of videos, and I edited them together, and then some.

We put the word out on Twitter, and before I knew it, I had 60-plus videos filling my inbox. My video program couldn't handle the load, so sadly, some had to be cut. I apologize deeply for that, because I know the feeling that went into them.

Thank you to every single contributor. You may recognize some faces, and other ones you'll wish you knew better. All are wonderful, caring people.

But the trick question is, which ones are "illegal"?



Blunt is a lot like letters to the editor. YOUR take, short, to the point.

You have a voice, now use it.

(Click on image to enlarge)

For more information about Blunt, follow this link. If you think a video file is too big to email, then go here and use YouSendIt.com.

Please include a name you'd like to use, and a "title", if any, in your e-mail, as you'll see in the video graphics.

Remember: Try to keep the videos at 20 seconds or under.

It's your turn. Go.

Video- DSCC does 'Demon Sheep : The Movie'

Brilliant.

Audio- Glenn Beck claims "one of first things" Obama administration did "was nationalize all of the curriculum"

I had to listen to it to believe it. It's just a blatant lie. Hell, not even blatant, let's try schizophrenic. Remember the Texas textbook controversy Glenn?

Rove, Gillespie Plot to Reclaim Power

I'd think that this would scare me a bit, but it really doesn't. Remember how Rove insisted he "had THE math"? Well, it feels like this is of a similar vein. Ben's got the list of groups involved, story via Taegan-

"The Republican Party's best-connected political operatives have quietly built a massive fundraising, organizing and advertising machine based on the model assembled by Democrats early in the decade, and with the same ambitious goal -- to recapture Congress and the White House," Politico reports.

"The new groups could give Republicans and their allies a powerful campaign apparatus separate from the Republican National Committee. Karl Rove, political architect of the Bush presidency, and Ed Gillespie, former Republican Party chairman, are the most prominent forces behind what is, in effect, a network of five overlapping groups, three of which were started in the past few months."

Said Gillespie: "Where they have a chess piece on the board, we need a chess piece on the board. Where they have a queen, we shouldn't have three pawns."

Video- President Obama Celebrates Cinco de Mayo

Cartoon of the Day

Click to enlarge, via.

Thursday Linkage

Feeling kinda feisty today. Maybe I'll tackle the weeds.

Parody oil spill T-shirt

Prenatal smoking linked to mental illness

Enormous, fetishistically annotated hand-drawn map of London

Silent electric cars to get 'Star Wars' sound effects to warn pedestrians they are coming

Caring for someone with dementia could cause dementia

Russian president asked to investigate MP's claims of alien abduction

Too little (and too much) sleep can increase risk of premature death, scientists reveal

Stomach cancer increases in young, white adults, study finds

Sticky notes that look like thinly sliced fruit

Devo founder comes to Kansas City to showcase his latest art form: rugs

1 Chinese baby born with syphilis every hour

Brooklyn Lawyer Wants to Use a Mind-reading Machine

Video- Morris says Obama is "trying to create racial tensions over the immigration bill" to drive voter turnout

Via Media Matters.

Overnight Thread and Distraction

Conan O'Brien's 60 Minutes Inner Monologue - watch more funny videos

Subtitles NSFW or young readers.

CBS: Faisal Shahzad on Homeland Security List Since 1999

By GottaLaff

Looks like there may be plenty of blame to go around... unless, of course, you're a Republican:

Sources tell CBS News that would-be Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad appeared on a Department of Homeland Security travel lookout list - Traveler Enforcement Compliance System (TECS) - between 1999 and 2008 because he brought approximately $80,000 cash or cash instruments into the United States.

Maybe he was a Goldman Sachs exec?

UPDATE: Was there a Department of Homeland Security before BushCo?

Quickie: Why Did CBS Scrub Story About Army Spy Planes Capturing the Times Square Bomber?

By GottaLaff

I've bumped this story up with an update. Title has been edited.

Original post:

How did they catch the New York bomb suspect? Today's Quickie:

Via Gawker:

They intercepted his call reserving a plane ticket to Dubai; authorities nabbed him. [WCBS]

We didn't hear a whole lot about that, did we? But we did get a critical earful about Miranda rights. But not a whole lot of kudos about how-- within what, 53.5 hours?-- they captured the bad guy.

That was today's Quickie. Was it good for you?

Gawker UPDATE:

Yesterday the above story was scrubbed. But why? Gawker had screen shots of related headlines. Today they report:

According to WCBS, they simply got caught up in the frenzy of breaking news and "inadvertently" put in an unconfirmed detail. There is a problem with this account: The detail about the Army Intelligence planes was featured prominently in the title of the originally article. Clearly, the line wasn't "inadvertently included"—it was put in and deliberately promoted. After all, it was the most eye-catching detail of the story.

More at the link.

U.S. Officials Say Pakistani Taliban Likely Had Role in Times Square Bombing Attempt

By GottaLaff

Via a New York Times e-mail alert:

American officials said Wednesday that it was very likely that a radical group once thought unable to attack the United States had played a role in Saturday's bombing attempt in Times Square, elevating concerns about whether other militant groups could deliver at least a glancing blow on American soil.

That is a tad disconcerting...