Austerity for Thee

George Osborne, the Chancellor under the Cameron Government in the UK has been a lightning rod ever since he helped usher in austerity measures in the UK -- which has undeniably caused a double-dip recession.

One might think that would be the thing that would have cost him his job months ago. But, as usual and as Atrios noted last week the thing that may very well end Osborne's job is not his torpedoing of the British economy, but his being a hypocritical dick on a small scale.

George Osborne, who was last week forced to pay a £160 rail upgrade after sitting in first class with only a standard ticket, had already been caught making the same "error" five months ago, it has emerged.

If this does end up leading to his resignation (and it may not) Osborne can always take solace that years ago John Sununu resigned from the Bush I Administration for similar -- but even more frequent -- offenses.

Twenty years later he's one of Romney's most offensive and prominent liars.

[Cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Wow

For those of you who have not seen 'The Thick of It' you are missing perhaps the most scathing political parody since a George W. Bush press conference. This description of the business of leaking and spin from the main protagonist Malcolm Tucker applies across both sides of the Atlantic. And apparently, it was delivered by the actor Peter Capaldi without rehearsal.

Good job you fucking moron

So who will investigates the world's most desperate and pathetic investigator?

House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) compromised the identities of several Libyans working with the U.S. government and placed their lives in danger when he released reams of State Department communications Friday, according to Obama administration officials...

This is pretty amazing

Old gameshow footage via Ta-Nehisi Coates has an interview with an eyewitness to Lincoln's assassination.

The ultimate IOKIYAR posting

The performance artist Dinesh D'Souza who is currently entertaining most of America with a piece called "polygamy in two easy steps" has simultaneously entertained a slimmer portion of the country with an out-and-out piece of shit he fabricates out of whole cloth about Obama.

He continues the former with a right-laughable piece of hair-splitting about his marriage and simultaneous engagement.

Please feel free to read accompanied by the trio of snare drum, sad trombone, and tiny violin.

Another day

Another set of fact showing that Romney has lied again:


CIA documents supported Susan Rice’s description of Benghazi attacks

A proud moment for all concerned

Oh dear, the Corner's tinniest star sure has some evangelical hypocrisy to dig through:

Another layer of intrigue has been revealed in the saga of the downfall of conservative academic and rising Evangelical star Dinesh D'Souza, who resigned from his perch atop King's College today after it was revealed that he had a fiancee while also having a wife. Right Wing Watch reports that his mistress/fiancée, Denise Odie Joseph II, was also married, and said in April that she was going to vote for Mitt Romney, "because [her] husband told her to." 

That husband, presumably, was not D'Souza. According to her Facebook page, Odie Joseph II was married on Dec. 30, 2011, so maybe she wrapped up the whole first marriage thing in time to become Mrs. Obama's Rage.

So not only did he have fiancee while married -- but so was she. 

I guess all this polygamy is all part of D'Souza's imperialist upbringing and was learned from his father.

Oh, and voting for Romney because "her husband told her too" is very liberating isn't it?

Is he the CEO of a company?

Oh this should go over well

Remember how the GOP has a shit fit over any possible -- and quite debatable -- slight of any nature when made by someone with a (D) after their name?  Oh, and how this shit-fit gets tossed right into the narrative of the day.

Well, get a load of this one:

The wife of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney on Thursday said that her husband and sons had not joined the U.S. military but had found “different ways of serving” by going on religious missions in France, England, Australia and Chile as part of their obligation to the Mormon church. 

...

“He was serving his mission, and my five sons have also served missions. None served in the military, but I do have one son that feels that he’s giving back to his country in a significant way where he is now a doctor and he is taking care of veterans.”

“So, you know, we find different ways of serving,” she added. “And my husband and my five boys did serve missions, did not serve in the military.”

Only someone incredibly out-of-touch could equate dressing up as the "International-version" of Geek Squad and knocking on doors for your RELIGION is the equivalent of serving in the military.  Door-slams are not "being in the shit" Ann!

But maybe I'm wrong -- after all maybe the terrorists and Viet Cong did hide out in France, England, Australia and Chile.  There "Charlie" was, just sitting in his house reading, watching TV, masturbating, shitting -- or all four things simultaneously when the brave Romney men smoked them out of their holes by knocking on their doors and telling them tales of Jesus' New World Tour.

Is Ben Stein still alive?

I'm not sure FoxNews let him get out of the building alive.  I imagine Steve Doocy and not-Steve Doocy went for the eyes the moment they went to commercial.

So, Slate then?

Hey Tina Brown, looks like your desperate attempt so save Newsweek by turning into Grit plus Insight has really worked out well.

Newsweek will print its final edition at the end of this year. After nearly 80 years of publication, the news magazine will shift to a digital-only format, available online and on tablet computers, editor-in-chief Tina Brown said on the magazine's website Thursday morning. Its last will be the Dec. 31 issue. "We are transitioning Newsweek, not saying goodbye to it," Brown said.

So essentially you're just saying screw it, let me kill it quietly so nobody notices. Good job Tina Brown, eighty years pissed away in a matter of months.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

What a timely coincidence

And so thoroughly unexpected given the source -- the County that keeps giving us Sheriff Joe Arpaio:

Officials in Maricopa County, Ariz., mistakenly listed the general election date as Nov. 8, not Nov. 6, in the Spanish translation of an "official government document," according to ABC News. The document was attached to updated voter registration cards that voters had requested.

Oh no, there's nothing about them that screams entitlement at all

Just common ordinary people who do not feel they are superior to anyone at all:

As Buzzfeed reports, the eldest of Mitt's sons said the following in an interview with a North Carolina radio station today:

"Jump out of your seat and you want to rush down to the stage and take a swing at him," Tagg responded, laughing.

I'm sure Tagg is just sitting there dreaming of how he might on January 20th scream about how Obama's people stole all the "M's" from keyboards and other bullshit.

Real good way to run a railroad

Lot's of money wasted to impersonate King Canute:

The Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, which is led by House speaker John Boehner, has intervened in 14 DOMA challenges in federal courts now that the Department of Justice and the Obama administration have decided to stop defending the law in court. So far, $1,447,996.73 of the allotted $1.5 million to continue defending DOMA has been spent within one year and three months, according to the Committee on House Administration. The current contract, agreed upon by the committee's chairman, Dan Lungren, specifies that spending to defend DOMA in court cannot exceed $1.5 million.

And in return for the investment of other people's money? 

Jack shit.

And still more than they deserve.

Mon Dieu

Well, look who may be putting an end to Germany's austerity fantasies:

François Hollande, the French president, has warned for the first time that the Paris-Berlin motor driving Europe could stall over deep differences on how to resolve the euro crisis, insisting on a climbdown by Angela Merkel in her emphasis on austerity and the surrender of national powers to tighten fiscal discipline. ... 

He insisted France would "tirelessly" champion the growth agenda – "this compromise between getting out of debt and growth" – without questioning the need for budget discipline, which had been made "absolutely necessary" by the sovereign debt crisis. "Today, recession is as big a threat as deficits."

Considering the global economy has been in a period of mass layoffs and tepid growth for five years, it's nice to finally have a leader state this. It is simply shocking that he's the only one really saying it...and at best one of the small handful actually governing that way. And still Holland can only bring himself to say "as big a threat" as opposed to reality, where tepid or non-growth is a massively larger threat than deficits. [cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Of course he is

In an event of a completely non-shocking nature, guess who gets to share the same air-tube in the sky with Mitt?

Jerome Corsi, the political writer and conspiracy theorist, is traveling with the Mitt Romney press corps today.

Corsi, 66, writes for World Net Daily and is the author of several anti-Obama books, including Where's the Birth Certificate? The Case that Barack Obama is not Eligible to be President.

Asked why he was traveling with the Romney campaign, Corsi told POLITICO, "I am a Senior Staff Reporter for WND covering the campaign."

Corsi's latest fantasy (because you know the guy cranks it after he publishes them) are that Obama is bisexual -- so therefore my theory of what he does is far more credible.

Apparently Jack Welch's Chicago Crowd have taken over Gallup too

This is really good news:

U.S. unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, is 7.3% in mid-October, down considerably from 7.9% at the end of September and at a new low since Gallup began collecting employment data in January 2010. Gallup's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 7.7%, also down from September. October's adjusted mid-month measure is also more than a percentage point lower than October 2011.

Not to get all too soccery

But there was an ugly, ugly racial incident in Serbia yesterday (your #1 sponsor/participant of genocide in the 90s)  where black English players (playing in an "under-21" match btw) were subjected to abuse by Serbian fans ranging from monkey chants to being pelted with rocks, bottles and coins.

The Serbian police and players were of no help whatsoever.

But how seriously will the European governing body take it?  Look at how they have taken it before:

yet a glance at previous sanctions suggests that the governing body is yet to take it seriously enough: £45,000 Spain 2004 (racism); £16,500 Serbia 2007 (racism); £10,000 Croatia 2008 (racism); £80,000 Bendtner (pants). The last of these, of course, was Denmark striker Nicklas' fine for wearing sponsored underpants. That says rather too much.

Corporate sponsors uber alles.

Now THAT'S Republican Leadership

Behold the inherent "goodness" of the system:

When Mitt Romney served as CEO of Bain & Co., his consulting firm helped tobacco giant Philip Morris develop a groundbreaking sales strategy that researchers say has been linked to an unprecedented spike in youth smoking.

On Friday April 2, 1993, Philip Morris stunned Wall Street and tobacco experts by the slashing price on its flagship Marlboro brand by 40 cents a pack, to $1.80. It was a landmark day for the tobacco industry, one that became known as "Marlboro Friday" to public health experts.

The radical move was deemed by top Philip Morris executives as necessary based in part on more than two years of Bain research.

Plus the phrase "binders full of women" has got to be the most inelegant turn of a phrase I can think of.   It's like describing a serial killer's portfolio. 

Not my work

But it gets the job done.  Ann Romney and one of the sons (Biff?  Joffrey? Mitt the V?) watch the debate along with America's smartest people -- "the undecided voter" -- this is from "Ruby the Liberal" at Democratic Underground and it is great.

Fiber problems in his lying, needs Mittumusil

Mitt Romney just lies about everything...and it is very binding.

What actually happened was that in 2002 -- prior to the election, not even knowing yet whether it would be a Republican or Democratic administration -- a bipartisan group of women in Massachusetts formed MassGAP to address the problem of few women in senior leadership positions in state government. There were more than 40 organizations involved with the Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus (also bipartisan) as the lead sponsor.

They did the research and put together the binder full of women qualified for all the different cabinet positions, agency heads, and authorities and commissions. They presented this binder to Governor Romney when he was elected.

I have written about this before, in various contexts; tonight I've checked with several people directly involved in the MassGAP effort who confirm that this history as I've just presented it is correct -- and that Romney's claim tonight, that he asked for such a study, is false.

Wait a minute, isn't this Obama's America?

You know, just one wife at a time and all that?

Dinesh D’Souza is facing some tough questions from his fellow Christians over a night spent in a hotel room with a woman he introduced as a his fiancée – despite still having a wife.

Hey, right-wing asshole, that Mormon guy isn't President yet.

IOKIYAR

"for the little person"

Sorry, I'm not going to comment on the debate, no matter what manner of manic behavior it caused in Andrew Sullivan or Chris Matthews, but feel free to comment below.

Meanwhile, you may never have heard of Gary McKinnon, a rather talented but eccentric British man (Asperger's among other conditions) but he won a major victory yesterday.

Ten years ago, McKinnon hacked his way into US military and NASA sites not for the purpose of espionage, but rather for the rather bizarre purpose of finding out information about UFOs. Naturally this did not go over well with the U.S. government which has been trying for a decade to get him deported to our shores where he faced up to 60 years in jail.

One might think the Cameron Government wouldn't care, but a surprising development happened yesterday:

[Home Secretary Theresa] May told MPs there was “no doubt” that Mr McKinnon was “seriously ill”. She said that after taking extensive legal advice, she concluded that his extradition “would give rise to a high risk of him ending his life”. “The decision to extradite Mr McKinnon would be incompatible with his human rights,” she said.

This isn't to defend hacking, but this is yet another example of our bizarre and crushingly stupid laws when it comes to technology and it's inapplicability to real-world situations. Luckily this guy was not an American citizen.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Way to ruin another sport

It was bad enough that any sports organization would hire Ari Fleischer.

But the NHL owners, having locked-out their players for something like the third straight time after the CBA expired had the brilliant idea to hire...

Frank Luntz.


So essentially an American jackass is going to hold all of Canada hostage to his wankery.

Dud, Part II

Apparently I should have said the guy jumping from the balloon was the equivalent of Atlas Shrugged II box office receipts...because a giant bomb surely should always be followed by a sequel.


But ultimately will it be a bigger dud than Won't Back Down the anti-union teacher movie?   Oh it might but it will be close.

Atlas posed

Only good deeds get punished.

But the illusion of good deeds makes a nice photo op:

Brian J. Antal, president of the Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society, said that he was not contacted by the Romney campaign ahead of the Saturday morning visit by Ryan, who stopped by the soup kitchen after a town hall at Youngstown State University.

“We’re a faith-based organization; we are apolitical because the majority of our funding is from private donations,” Antal said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. “It’s strictly in our bylaws not to do it. They showed up there, and they did not have permission. They got one of the volunteers to open up the doors.”

He added: “The photo-op they did wasn’t even accurate. He did nothing. He just came in here to get his picture taken at the dining hall.”

As TPM points out...the pots and pans he is cleaning appear to have already been clean...so Paul Ryan didn't even have to come near the dirty plates of those filthy proles.

Any other stereotypes you want to proclaim there buddy?

I guess we can let those comments about Obama "throwing spears" from one Republican go, but there does seem to be a pattern:

Romney aides told BuzzFeed their polling indicates that Obama's biggest vulnerability among Hispanics is that he's viewed as a "weak leader." In much of Latino culture, they explained, political leaders are expected to demonstrate a macho bravado

Yeah, the Romney campaign is so totally right -- the culture of American Hispanics must be that they love the macho dictators who's countries many of them happily got the hell out of to come here. That's why Castro is so big in South Florida.

Next up, Mitt and Paul Ryan campaign as masked wrestlers.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Winning the Internet

Ladies and gentlemen...

Feline Baumgartner

From here. *Apparently I'm like the 5,000 blog to post this GIF...so really, I win.

Seriously, you guys are so very subtle

What could be more classy than referring to the President of the United States as a "Spear Chucker"?

I dunno, maybe hiking the Appalachian Trail, right Mark Sanford?

Perhaps we should ask one of former Governor and current Senate Candidate of Wisconsin Tommy Thompson's kids?

And now

A metaphorical representation of how Andrew Sullivan reacts to any kind of bad news no matter how ridiculous. Seriously how frickin' cool was this yesterday?

Oh spare me...

Apparently there is even more -- and quite rich -- hostility toward the Greeks from a predictable source:

...the IMF is understood to be insisting that Greece's eurozone creditors and the European Central Bank write off another €30bn (£24bn) to close the latest funding gap in the Greek rescue plan. For many Germans, letting Greece off the hook is a moral issue. After years of self-imposed austerity, Europe's biggest exporter is upset that when others are asked to go through the same pain they opt out. For the average Christian Democratic Union supporting German, the shopaholic is to blame.

Considering the full length of the history between Greece and Germany one might think this hostility of the Merkel government is just a bit inappropriate -- not to mention this period of relative German austerity as claimed didn't exactly involve the economy being shrunk massively followed by 25% unemployment (comparatively at its worst German unemployment was well under 8 percent).

That is the austerity imposed upon the Greek people primarily by the Germans already. And yet having bled the Greek economy of any ability to generate revenue the proposed German solution is to bleed it more. The last thing the world, and especially Greece, needs is Teutonic Grover Norquists.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

With enough dog whistles you'll lie down with fleas

And somehow the GOP pretends to be "Shocked....SHOCKED" that the culmination of all these years of race-baiting lead racists to actually support them. As ever, Todd Akin is their science adviser. (pic via Getty)

This

Via a reader of TPM:

Did they miss the racist emails, the snide Teleprompter jokes, the smug certainty among so many on the right that this administration is an accident, and that a black man isn’t REALLY president, just some sort of uncrowned caretaker? Do these folks really want their bigoted in-laws and racist YouTube commenters to have the satisfaction of having been right all along? Because that’s what they’ll take away from this. The amount of bedwetting panic on the left is pathetic. The president has approval and favorability ratings at or higher than 50%, the economy is growing, jobs are being created, and they’re going to write off the election because of one awful debate performance? It is mind-boggling.

Of course, I sort of see this every weekday morning in the comment threads at FDL, not the racism, but the anger and frustration that Obama doesn't agree with you enough. Therefore you stomp your feet, call him a miserable failure (or a purposeful one) and say you'll vote for Jill Stein or something.

And the President is "blaaaaaa..."

But of course,

Billy Graham last night endorsed Mitt Romney for president, and shortly thereafter, his website was scrubbed of a statement Graham or his organization made calling Mormonism a “cult.”

"When I grow up I want to be the new Theodore Bilbo"

Mission Accomplished Rick Santorum:

In a video obtained by SeattlePI.com, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) told attendees at a Family Policy Institute that the fight against gay marriage is the most important movement in America today, even more important than abortion.

Ugh

Just...ugh:

Pringles, a potato-based snack that does not actually self-identify as a "potato chip," has recently announced that they will be introducing new "holiday flavors" to the Pringle family. The new flavors? "Pumpkin Pie Spice," "Cinnamon and Sugar," and "White Chocolate Peppermint." Why? God only knows.

I guess, I'll make this part of my one-a-decade beg-a-thon.

If you choose not to give me money, I will be depressed and alone and at Thanksgiving I will sit alone in my darkened apartment with a bottle of Jack, a gun, and some White Chocolate Peppermint Pringles.*

My destiny is in your hands.**









*jesus-fuck, not really.

** actually, no -- I don't even know a Destiny -- I stay out of all local strip joints and Hooters thank you very much.

What Atrios said

I mean really.

And also Charles Pearce.

One fucking question about reproductive rights in two debates and it's all about who's the better Catholic -- on that score and that score alone.

And even on that score it's limited ONLY to a woman's womb for who is a good/bad Catholic as opposed to whether Ryan's desire to slash help to the old and poor violates Catholic teaching...as it clearly does.

Our worthless media

Will again judge the debate based upon who was the most theatrical...one reason I hate these things, they are not substantive discussions they are reality shows, "HoneyBooBoo" with about as much substantive analysis -- but here is a nugget that the David Gregory's of the world could care less about...because it actually affects the life of the proles and all that:

In the vice presidential debate Thursday night, Paul Ryan seemed to indicate that a Romney-Ryan administration would support the idea of giving younger Americans the option to move their Social Security benefits into private retirement accounts.

The Wisconsin congressman and House Budget Committee chairman talked up the concept when asked about his and Romney’s backing of President George W. Bush’s failed Social Security privatization plan.

“For younger people,” Ryan said. “What we said then and what I’ve always agreed is, let younger Americans have a voluntary choice of making their money work faster for them within the Social Security system. That’s not what Mitt Romney’s proposing. We say no changes for anybody 55 and above.

“And then the changes we talk about for younger people like myself is don’t increase benefit for the wealthy people as fast as anybody else, slowly raise the retirement age over time,” he said. “It wouldn’t get to the age of 70 until the year 2103, according to the actuaries.”

That, of course, would kill the program.

But it would starve the old and poor, so why the fuck not?

So, I guess that was better?

Joe Biden apparently managed to remember to call the other guy an asshole last night and this happened:

It was a performance by the vice president guaranteed to amp up -– and buck up -– worried Democrats, who had fallen into a paralysis of anxiety after the president's debate. No one represented that Democratic angst more than blogger Andrew Sullivan, a supporter of the president.

Obama adviser David Axelrod said "Andrew is a unique thinker, and I can't speak for how he might react to this. I hope he is [reassured]," Axelrod said, adding that he had "high regard for [Sullivan] by the way."

Sullivan, for the record, called the night "a solid win for Biden" and called Ryan "competent."

 Look, here's my tip --

No campaign should be run with the thought it will determine whether Andrew Sullivan pitches one of his frequent fits.  I was around when he called all of us on the left a "fifth column" when he was cheerleading the Iraq War and I'm still around now.  He can go ahead and jump if he feels the need.

Let the experts handle it

I know it is de rigueur amongst Republicans to deny all manner of reliance upon experts, especially when they come with good news, but Florida Governor/Supervillain Rick Scott has taken it to a new level.

Florida Governor Rick Scott was embarrassed this week after accidentally giving out the number for a phone sex line telling concerned Floridians that it was a meningitis hotline.

 He really needs to pass this test.
  Although perhaps Republican Congressman and love-doctor Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee could have used that number instead of doing the things he did.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Thanks so much for what you've given so far

In the Once-a-decade or so, I want money-a-thon.

Perhaps there are some of you who are thinking,

 "Y'know Jerry's Kids deserve a tad less this year...besides less Jerry, which is really a gift anyway so...";

 "Who needs to retire?";

"That poor hungry pie-eyed child in the third-world with no fresh drinking water -- sorry but this year  I'm giving so a fat American can do better than Olive Garden -- USA! USA! USA!";

"I hope he wants to buy himself an hour with a GIMP (and perhaps I do)"

You are my target demographic (I knew I should have advertised this in National Review)

So remember Obama may want you to look forward.  But I just want you to think about me and my need to buy wine that is a shade higher in quality than "Turning Leaf" or "Kendall-Jackson". That's right I want to be a "La Crema" kind of guy.

So please help me to a better class of drinking.  Give until it hurts  -- and believe me it should hurt you to even contemplate it -- maybe a GIMP could help?

Jack Welch does not approve of you or your facts!!!

More good economic news...

The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid plummeted to 339,000 last week, the lowest level in more than four years. The sharp drop offered a hopeful sign that the job market could pick up. The Labor Department says weekly applications fell by 30,000 to the lowest level since February 2008. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, dropped by 11,500 to 364,000, a six-month low.

Wait, this guy isn't from Arkansas?

Because they've been on quite a run lately. No, this jackass is from Wisconsin (America's No. 1 State for Serial Killers per capita) and endorsed by none other than PX90 Ryan:

A Wisconsin state lawmaker endorsed by Paul Ryan has come under criticism for suggesting that “some girls rape easy.” While discussing a case in which “a 17-year-old high school senior was charged with sexual assault for having sex with an underage girl in the school’s band room,” State Rep. Roger Rivard (R) told the Chetek Alert newspaper in December that his father taught him that some girls will portray a sexual encounter as rape if they become pregnant.

He has now stated his words were taken out of context...while reaffirming them, quite a feat, but you can read it here.

Uh....would you want the local preening asshole at the Y to be this close to the Presidency?

How many mirrors has Paul Ryan installed in his work-out room?

Also, put your hat on the right fucking way. (pic Gregg Segal for TIME)

And in the cruelest twist of all...

After the latest debate in Massachusetts, Scott Brown realized that Elizabeth Warren had successfully implied he was an "Indian Giver" in giving lip service to progressive causes but not voting for them.

Congressperson of the Year

Who needs Todd Akin as a pinata when there is this dipshit?

A pro-life, family-values congressman who worked as a doctor before winning election as a Tea Party-backed Republican had an affair with a patient and later pressured her to get an abortion, according to a phone call transcript obtained by The Huffington Post.

The congressman, Rep. Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee, was trying to save his marriage at the time, according to his remarks on the call, made in September of 2000. And, according to three independent sources familiar with the call and the recording, he made the tape himself.

Oh, he was trying to save his marriage, was he?

Oh, I'm sorry I guess he's a hero then.

Back to the ol' grind (-ing down of civil rights)

Lest any of you (and I doubt there are any) think that the new Supreme Court term would denote a newer less conservative John Roberts, let yesterday dissuade you. In Fischer v. The University of Texas an otherwise non-qualified white prospective student sued over the admission of minorities under an affirmative action program, in arguments:

Joined by several of his fellow Republican appointees, Roberts pressed repeatedly for details on the university’s stated goal of enrolling a “critical mass” of minority students. Justice Samuel Alito said flatly that he didn’t understand what the university meant, and Justice Antonin Scalia voiced repeated skepticism about what he termed “a very ambitious racial program” that tilts the decision among otherwise equal candidates.

I'm sure the merits of this "affirmative action program" were fully and fairly discussed yesterday on at least one of the cable news channels amongst a panel of children of older white conservative pundits and the single African-American panelist who figured out how much you can make in TV if you are a black conservative (good career move Ron Christie).

Do not get your hopes up on this one. The last decision on this area, upheld such programs 5-4, but that was before O'Connor was replaced to Justice "That's Not True" Alito -- plus Justice Kagan had to recuse herself from the case because the Obama Administration supports the University and she was Solicitor General as the case worked itself to the Court.

But there was nearly breaking news yesterday:

[Clarence] Thomas, who is only the second African American justice to serve on the Supreme Court, followed his customary practice of listening in silence. He was the only justice Wednesday not to ask any questions during the often free-wheeling argument, though at one point he turned to whisper in Scalia’s ear.

He almost talked...he...almost...talked.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

The world's worst beg-a-thon

I cannot remember doing one of these...though maybe I have...I don't know, I'm not the one with the problem, you're the one who comes here every day.

But I am here to launch the Atta J. Turk, I'm only in this because I have little else to do in the morning anyway, give me money because I want some-a-thon. 

This donation will partially go toward maintaining this completely free to me server operating at its current level of expense.

Your frivolous generous donation will also allow me to do the kind of work I have always wanted to do and have had the money to do on occasion, but now want to do thanks to the contributions of viewers like you.

1.  Buy those coffee beans that are harvested from wild cat poop.

2.  Continue my research into the normative and quantitative differences between MILF porn and Cougar porn, so far, no difference, but I'm sure with enough work I can have a breakdown.

3.  Start a company that will place flaming bags of dogcrap on the front porches of people you don't really know but decide are your enemies anyway.

4.  Buy those ice-cube trays that are in the shape of Han Solo frozen in carbonite.

5.  Have money to donate to other bloggers who ask for donations, circle-of-life and shit like that.

6.  Pretending I'm going to educate myself in grammar rules so as to never mistype "there, their, or they're" nor put the apostrophe in "its" improperly ever again.

 7.  Cold-fusion bitches!

I'm sure you'll agree those are all valuable causes to me personally.

So, if you have money to burn, donate here, so I can burn it for you and save you all that effort and who knows maybe just save your life or teach you a lesson -- it is possible that by donating to me you will become a better, more fulfilled person, I think I will.

Thank you, and God Bless America, and of course, Cthulhu.

Oh, and that's how you do a fund raising letter, Heifer International!

Chris Kluwe strikes again

Punter, writer, video-gamer, bassist, and advocate -- has an NFL punter ever been cool before (sorry Bobby Walden) and the most relatable punter since Ray Guy?

Tell me, Archbishop, Pope, what purpose does the Church serve attempting to influence the affairs of a secular state? The federal benefits under law currently denied gay couples certainly fall under the realm of Caesar, don’t they? No one is forcing the Catholic Church to marry gay couples if that is not the Church’s wish. You can keep the sanctity of Catholic marriage solely between heterosexual couples if you feel that is what’s required (again though, I caution you on the dangers of presumed infallibility). All we are asking is for you to extend the open hand of tolerance instead of the closed fist of fear and hate. As American citizens, we respect the right for everyone to practice whichever religion they so choose, including the right to not practice one at all. Haven’t we learned enough from the Crusades, the Inquisitions, the Talibans of the world? What does it benefit the Church to attempt to influence secular policy in this country, especially when that influence is to deny basic human rights to others? Will you now assume Caesar’s throne, grasping the transitory ephemera of worldly power and control, while forsaking the eternal kingdom of Heaven?

All I ask from you, Archbishop Nienstedt, and from you, Pope Benedict XVI, is to practice that most basic teaching found in the Bible – empathy. If you strike me, I shall turn the other cheek. If you ask me to walk with you for a mile, I will do so. If you ask me to respect your faith, your beliefs, then all I ask is that you do the same for everyone else. For is that not the most pertinent of Jesus’ teachings, and one that everyone, no matter their religion, can strive to achieve?

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

“On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

You cannot speak to me like that about my gibberish!

Jack Welch tells reality to get the fuck off his lawn as if it is his old wife or one of those hundred-thousand GE employees he laid-off.

Welch said he will no longer contribute to Fortune following critical coverage of the former CEO of General Electric, saying he would get better "traction" elsewhere. On Friday, Welch suggested that the Obama administration, calling them "these Chicago guys," had manipulated the monthly jobs report in order to make the economy look better than it actually is just weeks before the election. Welch has been battered by criticism since making the suggestion on Twitter.

So, on to World Nut Daily then.

So at this point are these gainers, lutzes, or axles?

Mitt Romney is suddenly not all that anti-choice.

Mitt Romney said Tuesday he has no plans to push for legislation limiting abortion, a softer stance from a candidate who has said he would "get rid of" funding for Planned Parenthood and appoint Supreme Court who would overturn Roe v. Wade.

Of course he's lying and flip-flopping...not to mentioned he'll just appoint Supreme Court justices to do the dirty work for him.

The Austeres

Hey look everybody how well this has worked:

An influential group of international banks and insurers has attacked political leaders in Europe over their handling of the Greek crisis, arguing that the singleminded pursuit of austerity has made the situation worse.

The Institute of International Finance, which last year brokered a deal between Greece and international bond investors to halve Greece's private debts, said politicians were playing a dangerous game by putting their desire for debt reduction ahead of co-ordinated efforts to spur growth.

 But there is only one possible solution for the negative affects of austerity and that is more austerity:

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Greece on Tuesday that the "tough path" of painful spending cuts will pay off, as tens of thousands protested in a show of anger against her visit to the eurozone's most indebted nation.

Greece's pain sure is paying off for Germany.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Huh?

This is simultaneously weird and trivial but does seem to be consistent for him:

...the light-hearted anecdotes carried an uncomfortable echo of earlier allegations that Mr Romney had been a bully while at prep school and has a long history of uncaring behaviour. 

Matt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor's second son, told how his father would present his children with a stick of butter, telling them "it's so rotten you have to smell it". When they leaned down he would gleefully shove their faces into the plate. 

Mr Romney apparently repeated the trick recently with one of his grandsons, pushing the shocked child's head into a platter of whipped cream.

Now I'm not a parent, but I do believe the object generally is not to "out-immature" your own children.

It should be noted that this still puts Romney on the liberal side of the Republican sociopathic spectrum as he believes in doing stuff like this...as opposed to a "right" to kill your own kids (can't abort a fetus, but can kill 'em if they piss ya' off).

I know of many cases of rebellious children, however, I cannot think of one case where I believe that a parent had given up on their child to the point that they would have taken their child to a court of law and asked the court to rule that the child be put to death. Even though this procedure would rarely be used, if it were the law of land, it would give parents authority. Children would know that their parents had authority and it would be a tremendous incentive for children to give proper respect to their parents.

Holy crap!

This idiot by the way...former employer of the Arkansas Department of Human Services.

Jesus.

Will somebody tell Andrew Sullivan

To stop perpetuating stereotypes.

Idiot

Pathetic:

Shorter Erick Erickson:

The fact that my attempt to make an illegal donation to the Obama campaign was not allowed by the Obama campaign, proves that you could make an illegal donation to the Obama campaign.

So, panic then?

Is that what were supposed to do now because of some bad polls.

That' s so easy in a Democrat's DNA.

I'm going to vote "nah".

Hey, the Budget Deficit went down ...a lot.

How about that:

The federal government’s fiscal year 2012 has come to a close, and CBO estimates that the federal budget deficit for the year was about $1.1 trillion, approximately $200 billion lower than the shortfall recorded in 2011. The 2012 deficit was equal to 7.0 percent of gross domestic product, CBO estimates, down from 8.7 percent in 2011, 9.0 percent in 2010, and 10.1 percent in 2009

So that means we do not have to enact those profoundly harmful austerity measures with cuts to entitlements that target the poor and elderly right?

Oh you know that isn't the point, the point is to make sure they happen anyway, the villagers will not be able to live without it.

Viva Democracy!

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Krugthulu

Speaks the truth to Jack Welch and the rest of the non-reality crowd:

None of this should be taken to imply that the situation is good, or to deny that we should be doing better — a shortfall largely due to the scorched-earth tactics of Republicans, who have blocked any and all efforts to accelerate the pace of recovery. (If the American Jobs Act, proposed by the Obama administration last year, had been passed, the unemployment rate would probably be below 7 percent.) The U.S. economy is still far short of where it should be, and the job market has a long way to go before it makes up the ground lost in the Great Recession. But the employment data do suggest an economy that is slowly healing, an economy in which declining consumer debt burdens and a housing revival have finally put us on the road back to full employment. 

And that’s the truth that the right can’t handle. The furor over Friday’s report revealed a political movement that is rooting for American failure, so obsessed with taking down Mr. Obama that good news for the nation’s long-suffering workers drives its members into a blind rage. It also revealed a movement that lives in an intellectual bubble, dealing with uncomfortable reality — whether that reality involves polls or economic data — not just by denying the facts, but by spinning wild conspiracy theories. 

It is, quite simply, frightening to think that a movement this deranged wields so much political power.

Behold, the Conservative Mind

I knew we could find some right-wing asshole who hated Sesame Street -- and in a completely unshocking turn of events it is National Review writer Mark Steyn:

Unlike Mitt, I loathe Sesame Street. It bears primary responsibility for what the Canadian blogger Binky calls the de-monsterization of childhood — the idea that there are no evil monsters out there at the edges of the map, just shaggy creatures who look a little funny and can sometimes be a bit grouchy about it...

That's right folks, if your child is not TERRIFIED of imaginary things YOU ARE A FAILURE AS A PARENT.

Oh, it gets more ridiculous:

That is not unrelated to the infantilization of our society. Marinate three generations of Americans in that pabulum and it's no surprise you wind up with unprotected diplomats dragged to their deaths from their "safe house" in Benghazi. 

 Uh...come again?

That does seem...just a tad...to be a stretch.

IOKIYAR

There are few things "richer" than listening to retired baseball wingnut and libertarian failure on the government teat Curt Schilling criticizing someone for a lack of management skills.

Hey, the Bush foreign policy...that was awesome

Oh, good idea Willard:

Mitt Romney will call for an escalation of the conflict in Syria by arming rebels with the heavy weapons needed to confront president Bashar al-Assad's tanks, helicopters and fighter jets.

Romney is to make the proposal on Monday in what his campaign team has billed as a major foreign policy speech in Lexington, Virginia.

In extracts published in advance, he opened up the prospect, if he becomes president, of a US-Iranian proxy war being fought in Syria.

Good news for Republicans

Looks like Hugo Chavez, who even the grim reaper is having trouble with, is poised to win re-election in Venezuela until 2019.

Providing the GOP with an additional boogeyman to whine about for years to come -- and how they love those.

Watch that Space

We interrupt our somewhat deserved obsession/disdain with the American election to announce problems that may be best required as "is this good news or 'oh shit'?":

Turkey has signalled that Farouq al-Sharaa, Bashar al-Assad's veteran vice-president, could replace the Syrian leader at the head of a transitional administration, amid more firing across the border between the two countries. "Farouq al-Sharaa is a man of reason and conscience and he has not taken part in the massacres in Syria," Turkey's foreign minister, Ahmet Davoutoglu, said in a weekend TV interview.

I suppose, that cannot be good for the Assad government, but about this Sharaa fellow?

Davoutoglu was on shakier ground suggesting that the anti-Assad opposition was "inclined to accept Sharaa" as a future leader – many would see him as too closely associated with the regime.

Syria has now managed to get Turkey actively involved in its civil war...the question is whether that's a good thing or not? We'd know what Republican troglodyte Louie Gohmert would think, so at least we can take comfort that he's always both wrong and absurd.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

The narrative is so predictable

 I do not do much prognostication on this blog -- because I'm not qualified...therefore the only difference between myself and most pundits is self-restraint -- but I'll predict this.

The same thing occurred in 1984 -- OMG the President looks disinterested -- media panic (voters only mild) in aftermath of first debate.

Second debate comes, Obama like Reagan will be better and ironically the guy who is almost certainly going to be reelected, who is probably only going to be behind on Rasmussen for any period, is going to be styled the 'comeback kid' (coming back from what, a smaller lead?)

It is going to happen, you might as well write your tweets and blog posts now.

Oh, hooray

Schwartzenegger is on Meet the Press this morning -- I can only imagine how much David Gregory will be rubbing up against him.

For a few hours there

This morning I almost forgot my borderline OCD and forgot to post on this blog. Good thing I got the shakes, huh?

Okay, maybe not.

I've never really understood the infield fly rule

But crazy me, I always thought it at least involved a fly ball had to at least be in the relative proximity of the infield.

But then who am I, just some crazy guy who believes in evolution, climate change, and the BLS.

Trashing the place

At the Washington Post once you've married the boss, you have perpetual employment...despite all pretenses, it may be the most Republican employer in town:

This is a religious country. Part of claiming your citizenship is claiming a belief in God, even if you are not Christian.

No, that is most certainly NOT part of the citizenship test...and even if it were Sally Quinn, you realize that, uh, most religions have a "God" element don't you, especially Judaism and Islam who happen to claim the EXACT same one as Christianity.

But again, atheists are citizens too...there is no GOD component to citizenship, that is quite google-able.

What an embarrassment.

Booman has a better take down.

Hey lookey here

Justice Alito, your comment please?

A million-dollar donation by a foreign-owned corporation to a Republican super PAC has raised legal concerns and opened up the controversial Citizens United Supreme Court decision to new criticism.

 So what's "Not true" now?

via Froomkin

Not great but not awful

Jobs +114k (meh, but not holy shit!) and unemployment down to 7.8% and apparently not because of people giving up -- for once.

Those numbers, sorry Joe Scarborough, are not good news for Republicans (they're not awesome for Democrats either, but more good than bad)

But I have a feeling the Party that doesn't believe in the Big Bang, Evolution, Global Warming, Birth Certificates, or scientific polling is going to have a hard time believe the BLS.

Oh and BTW,

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for July was revised from
+141,000 to +181,000, and the change for August was revised from +96,000 to
+142,000

I'm not an economist by any means, but isn't the Payroll Survey which continues to usually be higher than the BLS numbers generally on reflection end up being accurate on the revised numbers of late?

Be interesting if in November the number is September ends up being about plus 176k.

And thus ends my economic speculation and regurgitation of the sum total of what I've learned from Atrios, Krugman and DeLong.

Not so mysterious ways

Say the Archbishop and rabid-anti-gay cleric of San Francisco has a bit of a drinking problem:

Salvatore Cordileone was arrested for a DUI a little over a month ago, that was just God's way of putting him in his place.

Using the clear and prescient logic of Pat Robertson this is a clear sign that God favors gay marriage.

You know at some point

Even in the movies you'd realize that being married to fictional Liam Neeson is probably not worth the trouble.

Unique set of skills notwithstanding.

Not my problem

Plus, he's not gay and never had to worry about being pregnant so...

Scalia says abortion, gay rights are easy cases

You can't count on low turnout this time

In late 2009 the Iowa Supreme Court gave impetus to a growing and inevitable trend, same sex marriage, by finding it a constitutional right.

A year later, in a non-presidential election year, the Christian Right was able to use the traditional lower turn out in such elections to toss out three of the nine judges who issued the ruling.

In 2012 they've set their sights on another, David Wiggins. But cabals are harder when more people are going to participate.

Forty-nine percent of likely voters want to retain Wiggins, who participated in the court’s landmark 2009 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa. Forty-one percent say they’ll vote to remove him from office. Nine percent aren’t sure how they’ll vote, and 1 percent intend to skip voting on the question.

Those numbers are close to two separate, but hardly unrelated numbers, Obama's polling compared to Romney and the shift in how Iowan's feel about same sex marriage three years removed from the decision [they favor its retention].

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Knife work

Obama has a lot of strengths as a candidate, but he's never been very good -- in fact he's downright bad -- at sticking a verbal dagger in an opponent. That is the skill most partisans truly enjoy.

It was a skill in which Bill Clinton was particularly adept.

If ol' Bubba and his flaying knife were up there last night by the time it ended he'd have skinned Romney until he had a new jacket and ass-less chaps to wear around the White House until the safe-word was uttered.

Poor Jim Lehrer

He went back to his hotel room to try to sleep, but Mitt Romney kept texting him every three minutes telling him to go pee.

Well this is surprising

The media usually likes the performance of the person who was the bigger asshole in a debate (unless it's a woman the media won't let a woman be an asshole (the "b" word and all that)) and such is the case now.

Oh that Romney he sure was aggressive, he must have won.


I'm not a big fan of the "debates" because they accomplish nothing and generally waste two to three hours of our lives -- or if you're Andrew Sullivan (not gonna link, you can go find his "we're all gonna die" panic for yourself) reinforce every preconception we have of you. But this is pleasantly surprising: I still don't see how that could be a surprise, frankly, but it is unique to see a "serious" person call Romney on being an outrageous liar.

Next year's uptick in pudding cup and tracksuit sales

For all those Republicans who say no to evolution, no to global warming, no to actual voting illegalities in favor of non-existent ones, and no to scientific polling.  For those same GOPers who say yes to trickle-down and "fetus-free abortions" all while Mitt zings his way to the White House --

Your Ship will soon be coming in.

After all, for a group with cult-like beliefs there's no better event than this:

If astronomers' early predictions hold true, the holidays next year may hold a glowing gift for stargazers—a superbright comet, just discovered streaking near Saturn.

Even with powerful telescopes, comet 2012 S1 (ISON) is now just a faint glow in the constellation Cancer. But the ball of ice and rocks might become visible to the naked eye for a few months in late 2013 and early 2014—perhaps outshining the moon, astronomers say.

Of course, we all know those wackos won't make it that long because the Mayans are totally right.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

That outstanding organization man

Is a "Real Man of Genius"

Despite providing only 2 percent of Americans with their campaign news, the Drudge Report continues to carry outsized influence -- because of his brand recognition and, in 2012, because he has a direct line to the Romney campaign. (When Drudge first posted a banner-headline for the video, the link re-directed to the Romney campaign donation page, and was subsequently pulled down.)

It'll start with a hand-buzzer so Romney can get Obama with the Handshake...don't smell the lapel-flower Barack!

Lemon Party

This reporter really needs to watch more pornography or something -- maybe Allen West has some suggestions:

He’s No. 2 on the ticket but No. 1 in their hearts.

Women born before the baby boom generation seem to have a collective crush on a handsome vice presidential candidate with piercing blue eyes and a wide smile who likes to talk about government benefits for seniors. No, not Paul Ryan.

Joe Biden’s bringing sexy back — to the Medicare-eligible set — and that could be valuable for a president who trails Republican rival Mitt Romney with women of a certain age despite having a wide advantage with their 18- to 65-year-old counterparts.

This

Hey, since we're going down ol' video lane

That Todd Akin, he sure is s-m-r-t-t:

"You find that along with the culture of death go all kinds of other law-breaking: Not following good sanitary procedure, giving abortions to women who are not actually pregnant, cheating on taxes, all these kinds of things."

"All of these things are common practice," Akin continued, "but all of that information is available for America."

Wow, giving abortions to women who are not pregnant, that's like saying something exists when it does not happen.

And who would do that?

Other than a guy like Todd Akin?

Better give 'em more taxpayer dollars

Big bank bound and determined to foreclose on wheelchair-bound cancer patient...not run by guy named Potter.

For several years, Sloan's bank has been trying to kick Ana Casas Wilson, a wheelchair-bound homeowner, out of her modest home. Wilson, a court interpreter, lives with her husband (a school janitor), her mother (a retired factory worker who now works as a home health aide), and her 17 year old son in the gritty working class city of South Gate, only 10 miles away - but worlds apart - from tony San Marino. The family has lived in their tiny 949 square foot house since 1975 which, thanks to plummeting housing prices brought about by the Wall Street mortgage collapse, is now worth no more than $175,000. 

In 2009, Wilson was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy. She also suffers from cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair. Her husband James quit his night job as a security guard - and reduced his income - to tend to her. While Wilson was in the hospital and undergoing chemotherapy, the family fell behind on its mortgage payments and the bank started to foreclosure on their property. 

Once the family's financial situation stabilized, they sought to resume making payments and asked Wells Fargo to renegotiate their mortgage. But the bank refused to accept the Wilsons' checks and pursued legal proceedings to foreclose on the house and evict the family from their home.

Should have waited

My post this morning was written before the "Zapruder Film" of racism was enhanced and released on "red"-ray.

Because it was even lamer than I expected.

I just wish Clevon Little was alive to make fun of it.

Cinephiles

Wait a minute old irrelevant videos that were discussed years ago (when they actually happened) are relevant for reintroduction now? Because I have these videos of this one middle-aged Land's End catalog model saying some really left-wing stuff. Like he's pro-choice. More liberal than Ted Kennedy. In fact, he seems to have a lot of varying positions. But he sure is blessed with a common-touch, a real man of the people. Or do these repurposed YouTube videos only apply when your attempt to use them is complete bullshit? [cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Obama officially wins the "talented" vote

Lead singer of Creed (...ugh...) not voting for Obama.

This should really tip the scales against Obama with the youth vote who like music that sucks and who are now in their late 30s.

GOOD.

WORKS FOR ME.

You really do have to appreciate how the morons at Fox & Friends who are so uninformed they don't even know who Creed is (i.e. they are unaware they suck) thinks that this...THIS vital piece of non-news from generally loathed "artists" is big news.

This is likely the only booking Scott Stapp has this year, even State Fairs and third-rate casinos in the Yukon do not want Creed to darken their premises.

Sweet Jesus, ENOUGH ALREADY!

Slowly but surely Bill O'Reilly is finding a way to write even shittier history about the murder of former Presidents.

The man will not fully wank he's done with McKinley, Garfield, and a detailed analysis of how the Democrats used the weather and poisoned cucumbers to off Harrison and Taylor.

Smooth move Chester

Scott Brown shows how you do not answer a question in Massachusetts: I have to say, shouldn't the main determination of who the best potential Senator for that State involve spelling the State's name?

Not Kosher

Who could have anticipated?

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) swung by a Chicago-area synagogue for a worship service on the eve of Yom Kippur last week, upsetting congregants and provoking one man to mount a campaign for her Democratic challenger before the end of the night. The Chicago Tribune reports that Rabbi Michael Siegel of Anshe Emet Synagogue observed protocol by offering a customary greeting to Bachmann during the services. While elected officials are traditionally acknowledged during such events at the temple, the presence of the conservative Minnesota firebrand prompted particular displeasure. Some reportedly walked out of the ceremony, while Gary Sircus, a 25-year member of Anshe Emet Synagogue, voiced more active opposition to Bachmann's attendance. "The holiness of the room and the holiness of the evening was greatly diminished for me, if not completely destroyed," said Sircus, according to the Tribune. "Our congregation values and embodies tolerance, compassion, respect for individual rights, intelligence, science -- all of the things that I think Michele Bachmann stands against." ... Hours after storming out of the service, Sircus donated to Jim Graves, Bachmann's Democratic opponent in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District, and included a note.

Oh, Good Plan

Just a few weeks ago, Ohio Secretary of State John Husted was doing all he could to keep as many traditional Democratic voters as possible from voting. It did not go well -- and all that attention to "voting rights" has had another consequence.

Looks like some unintended consequences for Husted and his original intentions. [cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Zero for two then

As this guy owns the deteriorating New York Jets, and he'll be riding into the White House on Tebow's back:

Woody Johnson chooses Romney win over winning season from Jets

And now I am 47 going on 7

Headline that made me giggle...I'm just mature that way:

Uh, huh

Yeah, right:

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says President Barack Obama has "misunderstood" American values in his policies toward other countries. The Republican nominee is planning a major foreign policy speech in the coming weeks.

Yeah, why can't he go around pissing off the British and Poles? -- why can't he bring back torture?  -- why can't he understand the American values of putting his money in patriotic locals like the Caymans or Switzerland?

There's always FoxNews

Aw, that would be too damn bad:

Firebrand Florida Rep. Allen West is losing his reelection fight by a 9-point margin to Democrat Patrick Murphy, according to a poll taken for the Democratic group House Majority PAC.

The survey, taken by the firm Garin-Hart-Yang Research and shared by a source with POLITICO, found Murphy leading West, 52 percent to 43 percent.

...

There's reason to take the House Majority PAC poll seriously. Not only is it taken by a gold-plated Democratic pollster, it's also weighted significantly in the GOP direction. The poll sample was composed of 44 percent Republicans and 37 percent Democrats -- a stronger GOP lean than the actual congressional district.

Murphy comes out ahead anyway in the survey thanks to an 18-point lead among independents. His 9-point advantage over West exceeds President Barack Obama's 7-point lead over Romney in the district.

West is a reflection, in many ways, that the Republicans long-war against government leads voters into such contempt for it they'll elect idiots to Congress, just for entertainment value.

See, for other examples; Steve King, Michele Bachmann, etc.

Of thee I zing

The Obama campaign says no "zingers" from them...apparently they'll leave that for the Douchebag Demo.

I on the other hand I would constantly be making "wanking" motions whenever Romney spoke if it was me.

Middle Aged Males sticking together

There is something deeply embedded in the psyche of the middle-aged white American male that demands we pay our respects to the thoroughly awesome Bob Mould. First CD I've bought in about half-a-decade at least. It.Is.Awesome.

But Mike Huckabee demands it!?

Ah, the Republican Party -- no to evolution, no to global warming, no to actual voting illegalities in favor of non-existent ones, and of course, no to scientific polling.

What else have they suddenly become in favor of...oh yes, impeaching over foreign policy disasters on made up facts.

Extremists from groups linked to al Qaida struck the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in a “deliberate and organized terrorist attack,” the top U.S. intelligence agency said Friday, as it took responsibility for the Obama administration’s initial claims that the deadly assault grew from a spontaneous protest against an anti-Islam video.

The attack, was of course, terrible and there were shifting rationales -- but one could ask how it merits impeachment in comparison to how the Bush Administration handled post-9/11, or hell pre-9/11, or the entirety of the Iraq War.

The terrible trust is that there is a pretty good argument about the illegality of the use of drones by the Obama Administration -- except the GOP has no objections to that and would likely be worse.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]