Harry Reid's Office: Bunning Holding All Nominees

By GottaLaff

There are times I don't want to be politically correct. There are times I want to let out a stream of expletives that would put a drunken longshoreman on leave who stubbed his toe on a sharp rock to shame.

Via TPM:

Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY), who has become a one-man filibuster of a bill to extend unemployment benefits, apparently placed a hold on all presidential nominees last week.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office confirms...

The Dems need to trumpet this all over the place. They need to make an example out of this millionaire Rushpublic obstructionist sicko.

People are dying and going broke every day because of his maneuvers. Now he's preventing the entire government from functioning properly. We need to push Obama's nominees through, because we've had enough holds to last a lifetime.

When's the next recess again? We need a few appointments.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go somewhere to vent. Loudly.

H/t: DCPlod

This is what a Real News Story looks like: Shelby Relents and Releases Holds... sort of

By GottaLaff

A few days ago, I posted about Richard Shelby putting a hold on 70-- count 'em-- of President Obama's nominees, in essence shutting down what's left of the government.

That was then. This is now:

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) "has released his controversial 'holds' on more than 70 pending presidential nominations," the Washington Post reports.

"Senators, usually from the minority party, often use the legislative tactic on one or a few presidential nominees, usually to protest parochial concerns. Shelby's maneuver, aimed at all appointments awaiting confirmation on the Senate floor, agitated Democrats because it would effectively limit confirmation votes to a handful per month. It also marked a low point in a partisan standoff in the Senate that has forced Democrats to find 60 votes to pass almost everything."

"Senate Democratic aides confirmed that Shelby had released most holds, but Shelby said he would continue to block other, unnamed nominees."

This has not made news, surprisingly. And the news is that the GOP has obstructed every single thing the Democrats have tried to do, often with no rationale other than to... obstruct.

That's news.

But we're not hearing about it.

If this story were to be pushed as hard as the Big Countdown to Palin's crib-noted speech was, America might see the GOP differently than it does now. But it doesn't. It buries real news with anything and everything that will increase ratings, and therefore increase ad revenue.

And that, you see, is how the corporate owned news media negatively affects voters, elections, and our very democracy.

White House: Shelby’s Obstruction is a Threat To National Security

By GottaLaff

I posted earlier about Richard Shelby's jaw-dropping hostage-taking of 70 of President Obama nominees.

On the Thom Hartmann Show just now, I heard that Robert Gibbs is livid, justifiably so.

Now the White House is going for a twofer: Calling this a national security threat as well as obstruction:

Yesterday, just hours after the Senate voted 96-0 to confirm Martha Johnson as the Administrator of the GSA after a pointless 9-month delay, we learned that Sen. Richard Shelby from Alabama has placed a blanket hold on all nominees, including national security nominees, to use as leverage for some projects in his state. He's holding up 70 nominees, among them top intelligence officials at the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security. According to the National Journal, he’s holding them up until two defense contracts that would benefit interests in his state can be fast-tracked.

Let's be clear: Sen. Shelby is preventing qualified nominees who will help protect the American people from being confirmed. He’s not alone, though. This is just the latest example of this kind opposition for opposition’s sake that the President talked about earlier this week.. This strategy of obstruction is preventing qualified people from doing their jobs on behalf of the American people and it’s preventing real work from getting done in Washington. Every minute spent needlessly blocking noncontroversial nominees, many of whom go on to be confirmed by 70 or more votes or by voice vote (nine of the President’s nominees so far), is a minute not spent on the issues that matter to American families.

As I noted yesterday, this is true of the legislative process, too. The Senate cast more votes to break filibusters last year than in the entire 1950s and '60s combined, making it nearly impossible to come to agreement on key legislation.

Dan Pfeiffer is White House Communications Director

Make that a threefer: He threw in the F word: Filibuster.

More like this please.

Shelby Blocks All Obama Nominations In The Senate Over AL Earmarks

By GottaLaff

No, they're not the Obstruction Party at all. They're just doing what they feel is Right. Yeah... Far right:

According to the report, Shelby is holding Obama's nominees hostage until a pair of lucrative programs that would send billions in taxpayer dollars to his home state get back on track. The two programs Shelby wants to move forward or else:

- A $40 billion contract to build air-to-air refueling tankers. From CongressDaily: "Northrop/EADS team would build the planes in Mobile, Ala., but has threatened to pull out of the competition unless the Air Force makes changes to a draft request for proposals." Federal Times offers more details on the tanker deal, and also confirms its connection to the hold.

- An improvised explosive device testing lab for the FBI. From CongressDaily: "[Shelby] is frustrated that the Obama administration won't build" the center, which Shelby earmarked $45 million for in 2008. The center is due to be based "at the Army's Redstone Arsenal."

Confirmed:

Sen. Richard Shelby's (R-AL) office has confirmed to TPMDC the reports that Shelby has placed a hold on President Obama's nominees over a pair of government programs set to be based in Alabama. He did not confirm that Shelby has taken the rare step of blocking all of Obama's nominees, as was reported yesterday.

We have a hostage situation.

Brought to you by Earmarks, Inc.

VIDEO-- The Sequel: O'Reilly and Peters call captured U.S. soldier in Afghanistan "crazy", liar

By GottaLaff

Original post, with video, here.



And now ::drum roll:: here it is, the video of videos. Two complete jerks together on national Tee Vee, given camera time to spew their bile.

And they call Democrats unAmerican?

Support our troops! Yeah, right.

FNC Military Analyst to Explain "Apparent Deserter" Comment on O'Reilly

By GottaLaff

I don't watch Bile O'Lielly, so you'll have to tell me if this has already aired:

Fox News analyst Lt. Col. Ralph Peters will be a guest on "The O'Reilly Factor" tonight, presumably to explain his comments on FNC this weekend that captured Army Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl is, "an apparent deserter."

Original post about this here, including video.

So: What will he come up with? Or, if the show has already aired, what did he say?

VIDEO: Fox commentator encourages Taliban to kill captive U.S. soldier

By GottaLaff



UPDATE: Mark Karlin at BuzzFlash came up with the perfect caption for this video:

FOX News "Honors" Cronkite with New Slogan: “AND THAT’S THE WAY IT ISN’T – ON EVERY SINGLE DAY WE BROADCAST.”

So, now, didn't John Sidney McCain "collaborate with the enemy" too? That would be the same J Sid who was the revered Rushpublic presidential candidate only months ago? Oh, silly me. That was Sarah Palin. J Sid was just along for the ride:

[O]n "America's News HQ," guest pundit Ralph Peters suggested something to the effect that the Taliban should "save us the headache" and execute captured 23 year-old American soldier Bowe Bergdahl, because "it looks like" Bergdahl deserted his unit. While prefacing his comments by stressing that a military decision should not be made until all of the facts surrounding Bergdahl's capture are determined, Peters then ignored his own advice and encouraged the Taliban to kill this young man. Fox News' Julie Banderas was visibly shocked at the words coming out of Peters' mouth, but did not challenge any of his statements before awkwardly ending the segment.

Oh my stars. Allowing a commentator to talk about our military that way without so much as a peep? A guest wishing harm on one of our soldiers? That's pretty appalling! Really Faux Noise, you can do better than this.

Oh wait. No you can't.

Paddy Added- More of Peters bullshit here , here and here.

AP sources: Taliban video shows captive US soldier

By GottaLaff

Heart-wrenching:

The American soldier who went missing June 30 from his base in eastern Afghanistan and was later confirmed captured, appeared on a video posted Saturday to a Web site by the Taliban, two U.S. defense officials confirmed.

The soldier is shown in the 28-minute video with his head shaved and the start of a beard. He is sitting and dressed in a nondescript, gray outfit. Early in the video one of his captors holds the soldier's dog tag up to the camera. His name and ID number are clearly visible. He is shown eating at one point and sitting on a bed. [...]

He is interviewed in English by his captors, and he is asked his views on the war, which he calls extremely hard, his desire to learn more about Islam and the morale of American soldiers, which he said was low.

Asked how he was doing, the soldier said on the video:

"Well I'm scared, scared I won't be able to go home. It is very unnerving to be a prisoner."

He begins to answer questions in a matter-of-fact and sober voice, occasionally facing the camera, looking down and sometimes looking to the questioner on his left.

He later chokes up when discussing his family and his hope to marry his girlfriend.

"I have my girlfriend, who is hoping to marry," he said. "I have a very very good family that I love back home in America. And I miss them every day when I'm gone. I miss them and I'm afraid that I might not ever see them again and that I'll never be able to tell them that I love them again and I'll never be able to hug them."

He is also prompted his interrogators to give a message to the American people.

"To my fellow Americans who have loved ones over here, who know what it's like to miss them, you have the power to make our government bring them home," he said. "Please, please bring us home so that we can be back where we belong and not over here, wasting our time and our lives and our precious life that we could be using back in our own country. Please bring us home. It is America and American people who have that power."

The ObamAdministration has its hands awfully full. What a time to be president, and what major decisions with major outcomes rest on President Obama's shoulders.