Japan

Doctors Without Borders does good work.

Other organizations to which you typically direct help? Put links in comments.

Larry Kudlow

Veterinarian:



It is a role that suits him like a couple good lines of blow.

Wait a minute?

Is this a trick question?

It is the Koch Brothers right?

Piñata

Bill Maher beats one with a stick.

Not sure who Dana Loesch is, but she's dumb.

Whoever thought

Building nuclear plants on the sea coast in the area where Japan has had well-known historical Tsunamis (which is really any area on the east coast of Japan) before must be in the Japanese equivalent of the Tea Party.

Too dumb to be called a moron

Who EVER thought Lexington & Concord (of "Shot hear 'round the World" fame) are in New Hampshire?

Only Michelle Bachman.

Our vowel heavy states other than Hawaii and Ohio

Iowa - Behold our cynicism!

Alaska: There's no right-wing violence!

And New York (not all that vowel-heavy, but what the hell): Carl Kruger is a Democratic state senator from Brooklyn. His vote against gay marriage last year was crucial in stopping the measure in New York. Funny thing: He lives with his gay lover, who's the bagman in their bribery racket.

I have to admit

By this point, if Bush was President, I'd be going fucking nuts.

And I still kind of am, what is happening to Bradley Manning is heinous.

This can't be good

For the nuclear power industry or possibly anyone.

Shortly after the 8.9 magnitude earthquake on Friday that shook Japan and generated tsunami waves across the Pacific Ocean, reports emerged of damage at one of Japan’s nuclear power plants. On Saturday, Japanese authorities began evacuating residents nearby the Fukushima nuclear power plant due to the release of radioactive elements into the environment, signs of a possible meltdown at one of the reactors.

As officials worked to repair damage Saturday afternoon, an explosion occurred at the nuclear power plant, damaging one of the buildings.

Attaturk's Law!

Perhaps someone else already coined this, but if not, I'll claim it for my pseudonym.

Looking at the video of Japan and seeing people standing around on bridges and buildings as the tsunami rushes by them I realize this.

The better the warning system of a nation, the more idiots will rush out into danger hoping to capture the event for YouTube or their Facebook accounts.

In the midwest we call this the Tornado Warning Effect.

Relationship Status: Dead...but single.

"He'll have to explain his positions, especially those on top of women who were not his wife"

Brilliant from Colbert:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Newt Gingrich Wants to Screw America
www.colbertnation.com
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This just in

Apparently being an attempted perpetrator of dildo assault (now follow our twitter!) is not enough to disqualify you as a valid source of right-wing news.

Wow

Gigantic earthquake and Tsunami in Japan (and spreading out over the Pacific), video is amazing...and frightening.



A series of aftershocks in Japan...the biggest one 8.9, just had a 6.4 aftershock...a series about that bad. That's nearly as big as the off Thailand in 2004 (a 9.1).

Ayn Rand was a total rimmer

Just exactly what "toilet freedom" does he want?

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is upset that the federal government has squelched his right to own a super-toilet, leaving him with less freedom than women, who are still allowed to have abortions.

Deep Right Wing Thought

From the intersection of Orwell & Ives:

By Mark Krikorian

Mark: Those Eva Braun pictures reminded me of Qaddafi’s “voluptuous blond,” both of whom lead me to wonder — why can’t dictators find better-looking mistresses? Hitler and Khadafy are (were) absolute rulers over millions of subjects, and these girls are the best they can do? It’s not like either woman was ugly, but with all that money and power, you’d think these goons could find a super-model willing to be their “nurse.”

In my whiniest Seinfeldian:

"What's the deal with these dictators and their not very attractive mistresses?

"Hooray, there's still hope for me and Mitt!!!!"

Coming soon to the Purgatory Post and Penny Saver

Spectral David Broder will provide his analysis of current events...or perhaps just guest star on an AMC Show.

Whites are slated to become a minority by 2050

I predict by 2055, Republicans in Congress will finally begin calling for hearings looking into white extremism and white anti-Americanism.

Leading the call will be Chattahoochee River Palin, daughter of Bristol Palin's child via premarital -- but officially sanctified -- sex with Lynn Swann III during the 2028 Fox News Republican National Convention sponsored by Wasabi & Chive flavored Tostitos.

But what about the menace of angry middle-school teachers aligned with known socialist-terrorist-street organizer, Osama bin Andy Stern?!!

Move along now, nothing to see here:

DNA evidence and purchases of electronic components led investigators to the former Fort Lewis soldier accused of planting a rat poison-laced bomb along the route of Spokane's Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

Kevin William Harpham, who reportedly has links to a neo-Nazi group, was arrested by FBI agents and local law enforcement Wednesday morning at his home near Addy, a community of about 1,400 people roughly 55 miles northwest of Spokane.

Still apparently no reason to think of the right-wing as being suppliers of terrorists.

Now, on to your Peter King jihad against alleged jihadis that surround you in his mind.

Proud moment for me, I have to tell you...

I will not rest until we are twitter-followed by every manufacturer of non-explicit adult sexual appliances!

Just sayin'

Still no release of minutes of Cheney's Energy Task-force meetings.

And for those of you who are fans of blog-minutiae jokes and controversies long-forgotten except when trotted out for ad hominem dismissals (and really, who isn't besides everyone?) as well as being offended (actually, about everyone) ...Ladies and Gentlemen, Joe Lieberman!*


*(yes, its a triple-axle (axis?) of bad taste!)

Frightening Thought

Newt Gingrich is the way he is because the "way" he is causes the pages of his copy of the Constitution's pages to stick together.

If I "Recall" it is time to Party

I guess the most effective parodies are the those that end up being true to life.


[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Shallow Thought

This must be just a little like how Vaughn Meader felt.

He'll be writing bipartisan columns about Beelzebub by Breakfast

RIP Mr. Broder where there will be ever-running marathons of 'Matlock'.

I don't know whether that is heaven or hell to be honest.

Respects to his family, and not to be be too self-centered, but there goes half my act!

That is nine more than here

How much justice can these people a-fjord?*

Police have arrested nine people in London and Iceland on suspicion of fraud in connection with the collapse of Iceland's Kaupthing bank during the global financial crisis in 2008.

*Apologize in advance.

Boys

Updated below.

As a general rule, you want to avoid rape, but you especially want to avoid rape in (a) Texas and/or (b) anywhere in the vicinity of either (i) Sheila Harrison and/or (ii) the author of this New York Times piece, James C. McKinley Jr.. Why? Well, because these people have awfully strange ideas about what really matters when it comes to rape, in this case of an eleven-year-old child:

“It’s just destroyed our community,” said Sheila Harrison, 48, a hospital worker who says she knows several of the defendants. “These boys have to live with this the rest of their lives.”

Ah yes, the "boys". What torment they will suffer! Ms. Harrison sounds as though she'd be right at home in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.

Residents in the neighborhood where the abandoned trailer stands — known as the Quarters — said the victim had been visiting various friends there for months. They said she dressed older than her age, wearing makeup and fashions more appropriate to a woman in her 20s. She would hang out with teenage boys at a playground, some said.

“Where was her mother? What was her mother thinking?” said Ms. Harrison, one of a handful of neighbors who would speak on the record. “How can you have an 11-year-old child missing down in the Quarters?”

Jesus! It's pretty early in the morning to be this disgusted with your fellow man, but there you have it.

Update: Tell the NYT what you think about their victim-blaming story.

Because all of us were demanding it

Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace returns to theaters in 3D February 10, 2012

Wow, how nice, getting to see the world's most racially offensive CGI character in two more dimensions than it is written.

Creepy

This is rather frightening...and I imagine incredibly foul smelling.

REDONDO BEACH, Calif. - Redondo Beach awoke Tuesday to find a carpet of death atop the water. Thousands of silvery sardines floated in the King Harbor marina fin-to-fin. Hundreds of thousands more, perhaps millions, were piled on the coppery bottom, 18 inches deep in some spots.

(pic via Lucy Nicholson, Reuters)

Best Friends

So far the line up to run against Barack Obama is pretty much...

Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney.

The "we're not as bad as the alternative" strategy will work quite well. These folks are inadvertently the best friends the Obama Administration has.

Not very changey though is it?

Hypocrisy doesn't count when applied to non-Christians

The Daily Show - How Do You Solve a Problem Like Sharia?
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

What Would Pinochet do?

I have not been under the impression that we've elected Salvador Allende lately, but that doesn't mean many Republicans are giving up on a series of military men on a white horse, or to put it more in modern context the 'military-industrial complex':

Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) are teaming up with Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee to write legislation that would take decisions about trying detainees out of the attorney general's hands and hand that power to the secretary of defense.

Ooh, how lovely, and by that I mean, how awesomely anti-American. Maybe eventually we can do this with Union leaders and Democrats too? After all its not like they're important, if they were they'd be on the Sunday chat shows more often...like McCain and Graham.

Remember, its not about unraveling a republic, its just about efficiency (and making accused people stand around naked, or worse), the fact it undermines our traditional notions of justice is just a bonus for them.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

(pic via Xavier Zarra at flickr.com)

Just think how different

Samwise Paul's life would have been if his father had been influenced by a better book of the same era?

The Daily Show - Exclusive - Rand Paul Extended Interview Pt. 1
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Clocks must have stopped

Concerned for the right reasons for a change.

Not very changey...

Ah, the uninspiring rallying cry of the Clinton years, we're not as bad as the alternative.

Now work for us and give us money!

Oh, just like Carly Fiorina

Human Banana Song Moamar Gadhafi/Qaddafi/Gadaffi/Qadhaffi/Gaddaffy/QuadCities is apparently about to share two things with the former HP Chairman.

And one is the lavish praise they each received from John McCain.

Keeping it classy

You'd think a few days after having to apologize for bombing nine young boys to death, and after a decade of dealing death from the skies we'd have acquired the ability to not be so glib about such things:

"Welcome back, sir,” Petraeus said to Gates. This is Gates’ 13th trip to Afghanistan as Secretary of Defense.

The two men began walking.

"You returning to normal, you gonna launch some attacks on Libya or something?" Petreaus joked to Gates.

"Yeah, exactly,” Gates joked back.

But then there's no real price to be paid for laughing about the deaths of others so a few Americans can feel better about themselves.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Jon Ensign retiring

To spend more time having things held over him by his family.

Not to worry

They still manufacture the magic-wand.

Western Digital agreed to acquire Hitachi Ltd.'s hard-disk-drive business for about $4.3 billion in cash and stock, the companies said Monday, in a deal that would create a dominant player in the segment with a nearly 50% market share.

It always amuses me to no end just how much Hitachi manufactures...of course, it is also a bit depressing, yet still amusing.

WARGLE, BARGLE, ARRRGH!

Death, Taxes, and John McCain being an idiot on Sunday...apparently Cindy won't let him eat on Sunday mornings so he's just there for the green room doughnuts.

First, he doesn't know where the hell stuff is made and, of course, there's no military action he won't endorse. Which is no way to treat an ol' fellow crazy-buddy of his.

And he'll be back next Sunday for the danish...and if he can't have it he'll demand we bomb Copenhagen.

Just another day at Fox

On the same day the "action team" at FoxNews gets the vapors about Michael Moore saying the wealthy should pay more taxes (OMG! he's worse than Adolf Gadhafi!!!!) they leave valuable airtime to one of the freaks from the Westboro Baptist Church to say Obama's the Anti-Christ.

A weekend with the swells

A quick survey of events over the last few days shows just where the hoi pilloi stand with the elites.

In Wisconsin this weekend yet another mass rally took place with a predictable result from our self-declared betters:

Fox Yappers Go Crazy Over Michael Moore Saying We're Not Broke and the Rich Need to Pay More in Taxes

How dare he, does he not remember his place...or that he's fat?

And Atrios summed up the concern of the MSNBC newsroom:

I wonder what Andrea Mitchell is sacrificing for the new austerity.

It certainly won't be listening to her husband's stories about Ayn Rand:

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said a surge in U.S. government “activism,” including fiscal stimulus, housing subsidies and new regulations, is holding back the economic recovery.

Because goodness knows, old Alan's hands are completely clean of any responsibility for the problems to begin with. And now he shall go on the "I'm totally blameless and awesome tour" with Donald Rumsfeld.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Makes "The Room" seem like "The Social Network"

Worst, most hapless, movie I have ever seen...and I have most MST3k episodes. I mean that title used to be to the collective Ed Wood collection or Manos: The Hands of Fate, but considering when this was made, the directing, the editing, the acting, the script, the hapless preachiness, the selection of vehicle, the bizarre deus ex machina moment, and most of all the special effects...OH MY GOD!

It is so bad I recommend rushing out to buy it so you can frame it on your wall with Worst Movie Ever captioned at the top.

And speaking of MST3k, it must be accompanied by these guys...though you will want the phone handy so you can call 911 when you laugh your way nearly to death.

A sample...that still doesn't do it justice.

OMG, I can't effing believe it!!!!

This never happens!

ABC's This Week: Exclusive! Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

And in other shocking news

Conservative Radio Blowhards have fraudulent ringers, takes one to know one I guess.

The young man—who asked to remain nameless in order to protect his chances for future employment—was an actor, and the staged call an audition. A short while later, he received the following email: “Thank you for auditioning for Premiere On Call,” it said. “Your audition was great! We’d like to invite you to join our official roster of ‘ready-to-work’ actors.” The job, the email indicated, paid $40 an hour, with one hour guaranteed per day.

But what exactly was the work? The question popped up during the audition and was explained, the actor said, clearly and simply: If he passed the audition, he would be invited periodically to call in to various talk shows and recite various scenarios that made for interesting radio. He would never be identified as an actor, and his scenarios would never be identified as fabricated—which they always were...

Curious, the actor did some snooping and learned that Premiere On Call was a service offered by Premiere Radio Networks, the largest syndication company in the United States and a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, the entertainment and advertising giant. Premiere syndicates some of the more sterling names in radio, including Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Sean Hannity.

A bit of whimsy

On a Saturday morning.

I know you're all "shocked!" to read

That the idiotic and bigoted efforts to ban "Sharia" law from being imposed on you (because clearly that's "likely" to both happen and stop it even if it were) are connected to white supremacist groups.

Bring on the fucking METEOR!!

I mean, can it get any more pathetic?

Having seen the Black Swan

I am a total philistine on ballet. I know pretty much the same amount about ballet as I do, say, cricket. It's an amazing art-form, requiring incredible athleticism that I imagine means the careers are short and the long-term damage substantial.

So allow me to wax philosophically about something in which I am totally ignorant -- let's call it the Glenn Beck method of blogging.

As I sit here at 2:50 a.m. I can only think of two ballets -- Swan Lake and the Nutcracker Suite [Is that actually the name? Too lazy to google] -- though that is better than I can do with cricket players, I cannot think of one of them. Hell, come to think of it, I can name a half-dozen famous ballet dancers, while I can name only two ballets.

I imagine this probably still puts me in the upper fifty percentile of the American population (maybe it is because it is dominated by Russians and that whole anti-communism thing had something to do with it?).

Perhaps I'm stupidly missing some other obvious and well-known ballet, and obviously there are many performances to integrate ballet into other dance-hybrids in well-known pieces, like say West Side Story and about any other Broadway musical, but I cannot think of them now. That's not to demean ballet, but myself. After all I performed horridly at calculus, doesn't mean it isn't worthwhile.

What is it like to be in an art form so dominated by only two pieces? Is there any American ballet performer who hasn't done each of these works to the point they are sick of them? Could there be some professionals stuck in the hell of having performed them ONLY?

I mean not many folks know a lot about opera or symphonic music, but I can name far more composers of each, let alone pieces (and they have unoriginal names like "...Symphony #_x_" in the latter) than I can ballets (I realize there's some overlap between them, like say Tchaikovsky).

Anyway so much for that...strange thing to write about. Perhaps my coffee is laced with something else this morning without my knowledge?

A man of soooooo many ideas

And all bad ones. Run, Newt, Run!

There should be a conscious systematic strategy for sending good people to every point in the federal government and to as many contacts with foreign governments as possible.

This requires carrying extra officers and senior ncos on the rolls but in the long run it will pay a tremendous dividend in communicating the defense system's views, values, and practices.

Newtie wanted the Department of Defense to place "spies" throughout the Federal government.

But, this was never on Glenn Beck's chalk-board so it's not fascist.

Fraud

Somebody is going to get primaried! Enjoy your single-term Sam Arora.

Who does this guy think he is?

Ann Coulter?

Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White (R) indicted on seven felony counts including voter fraud, perjury and theft.

The heart of the case stems not from any ballot stuffing scheme but from White's allegedly lying about his current place of residence, both for his voting but also, allegedly, to hold on to his town council seat. White was elected last November.

The hilarious part is, the guy's job is to monitor and ensure the voting laws are followed.

Nice career move.

And now for Plan 9

In the past few days the GOP State Senators of Wisconsin have tried several different tactics to get their Democratic colleagues to return.

They've tried tricking them, which failed. They tried arresting them, it failed. They planted ringers, failed. The tried reassigning their staffers, failed. They then tried to deprive them of pay, again failure. And finally, the Republicans voted to hold them in contempt; sure it failed, but at least the Republicans got to hold someone else in contempt for a change.

What will they try next?

Since the police won't cooperate, is Scott Walker preparing Wisconsin National Guard Special Ops to infiltrate the Holiday Inn off of I-94 near Rockford? Will the GOP threaten to rename the Capitol, "McCarthy"? Will they hold a gun to a badger's head (not a good idea by the way).

Whatever it is just keep it up, it's working great.

And when will some Democrats say in the Nation's Capitol, show the same commitment as those avoiding Madison?

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

"We apologize for any inconvenience"

In about six months the "decade" since 9/11 will be observed AD NAUSEUM. And as that decade approaches we have not been bombing, shooting, and burning a country for now Nine years and four plus months (and another for 8 years in two weeks time). Nobody really knows the number of people we've killed, but it's safe to assume it is several times the nearly 3,000 killed then.

And if there is a symbol of the futility of it all, it is this:

Nine boys collecting firewood to heat their homes in the eastern Afghanistan mountains were killed by NATO helicopter gunners who mistook them for insurgents, according to a statement on Wednesday by NATO, which apologized for the mistake.

The boys, who were 9 to 15 years old

I'm beginning to come to the conclusion that the Python's Mr. Neutron sketch was tragically prophetic. What the fuck are we there for now?

Oooh, I know, I know

Santorum: 'I Don't Know Why' Fox News Didn't Suspend Palin, Huckabee Too

I'm just going to guess because Huckabee and Palin, while equally devoid of scruple, tact, and character, are more entertaining in their depravity.

For example.

I have clearly, until this, failed to adequately delve into the internet

There are items available for sale, that frankly, boggle the mind.

I just hope and pray this scent was picked out by William Shatner personally.

Offhand, next to "Michelle Duggar's Intimacy Lubricant" I cannot think of a more revolting item.

Just a little story

To make you feel a lot better about the human condition:

...he presented himself as Dalton St. Clair, an attractive single father and psychologist — a fantasy image authorities say the Michigan man used to persuade mothers across the country to commit unspeakable acts on their children.

Demink, 41, of Redford Township, preyed on single mothers for more than a year, prosecutors say, convincing them to sexually assault their children as a form of therapy.

Meanwhile, James Dobson roams free.

Selective de-humanization

Pretty brazen, right up there with alleging there are palm trees in Madison, Wisconsin:

BILL O'REILLY: Americans are now caught up in a very important conflict: cost-cutting vs. union benefits.

According to a new CBS poll, 37 percent of Americans favor cutting pay or benefits for public union employees, but 56 percent oppose that. The New York Times headline on Tuesday was: "Majority in Poll Back Employees in Public Sector." But the poll is misleading because 20 percent of the respondents say they are from union households. If you subtract them, those who favor cutting benefits win the poll.

Yes, that's right, it never counts when you might be an interested liberal. The fact that the very well-paid are the only income group that favors (and barely) restricting collectively bargain isn't mentioned because clearly in FoxWorld the wealthy are simply non-partisan pure intellects, unaffected by wants or desires -- they wealthy are funny that way. In short, they're just better than the rest of us, and no one is "more better" than you than Bill O'Reilly, just ask him.

Sadly, this isn't even the most offensive example of a conservative doing this, right Byron York?

[Obama's] sky-high ratings among African-Americans make some of his positions appear a bit more popular overall than they actually are.

Because African-American opinion doesn't count for Byron York, not even 3/5ths as much as "real Americans".

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

He misspeaks with errant brain

Some people error in single words, Mike Huckabee thinks he can misspeak in long-winded rants (IOKIYAR).

Once again, I denote that while many of this "self-proclaimed" fundamentalist (emphasis on last three syllables) asserted phobias ("gayness", "sex", "abortion", "liberalness") are not mentioned a whit in the 10 Commandments, lying is on prominent display.

I'm hoping it's a cage match with no winners

I can think of few things less ennobling than a whine-off between Bob Woodward and Donald Rumsfeld.

And Rummy uses Facebook to fight with...yes, nothing says credible like the tool most utilized by Sarah Palin.

There's no end to it

FoxNews laughably lying once again...I'm guessing Roger Ailes put 'em up to it.



Yes at 14 seconds in you can see the famous palm trees and the coatless weather that Madison, Wisconsin in February is famous for.

And on a similar vein

There's nothing in the 10 Commandments about gays or abortion, but not lying is in it pretty prominently.

But not in the Mike Huckabee version.

As you know

I try to avoid going to broad with my humor...[insert f-word here], but what the hell.

Family Devalued

Oh thank goodness, finally the GOP Presidential field is not just one Sarah Palin joke after another.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will launch a presidential "exploratory" campaign this week, becoming the first big-name GOP candidate to take a formal step toward a White House bid.

Ultimately the ol' bag o' gas will not run in my opinion because it will be a lot of this:

"You adamantly oppose gay rights . . . but you've also been married three times and admitted to having an affair with your current wife while you were still married to your second," said Isabel Friedman, president of the Penn Democrats...how do you reconcile this hypocritical interpretation of the religious values that you so vigorously defend?"

Of course, maybe he will run because as his second wife knows, he's just that deluded:

"It doesn't matter what I do," he answered. "People need to hear what I have to say. There's no one else who can say what I can say. It doesn't matter what I live."

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Figures

Keith Olbermann is a helluva blogger.

Last week I ripped the offspring of the New York Times' publisher for looking down his young elitist nose at unions -- it was worse than I thought.

And fuck, he's witty too!

CNN Re-Tools Parker-Spitzer

So do I understand the format of the new CNN 8 PM show correctly? It’s Governor Spitzer with a different woman every night who is paid to spend an hour with him?

Why does this sound so familiar?

Still no cure for cancer or oil-addiction

But we get this:

The Heinz Dip & Squeeze, a new single-serving ketchup package that promises to save us from the long national nightmare that has been the existing foil squeeze packet, is now rolling out to Chick-Fil-As nationwide. Ketchup! Liberated!

The new package, which can be squeezed like the old ones or peeled back and dipped into, like, say, the Sweet and Sour sauce tubs at Burger King, will make on-the-go french fry eating significantly more enjoyable.

Oh, it debuts at Chick-Fil-A. It must be yet another of Jeebus' miracles.

(pic from here)

Give Haley Barbour a break

He obviously forgot this because he was out-of-town driving a Freedom Rider Bus or defending the Scottsboro Boys! It all happened in 1962 he says.

"I remember Martin Luther King came to town, in '62. He spoke out at the old fairground and it was full of people, black and white," he said. But Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Garrow told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger this week that records show no signs of any such appearance.

Ah, the Clippers

Setting the standard in incompetence:

Amazing

How, like Walker's phone call with faux Kochs, this will not penetrate the brain of most of our media elites.

Americans oppose weakening the bargaining rights of public employee unions by a margin of nearly two to one: 60 percent to 33 percent. While a slim majority of Republicans favored taking away some bargaining rights, they were outnumbered by large majorities of Democrats and independents who said they opposed weakening them...

...61 percent of those polled — including just over half of Republicans — said they thought the salaries and benefits of most public employees were either “about right” or “too low” for the work they do.

From the Skies

You may remember that story last week of Libyan pilots who defected rather than bomb their fellow citizens in Benghazi.

Well, not everyone defected apparently.

Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi’s forces struck back on three fronts on Monday, using fighter jets, special forces units and regular army troops in an escalation of hostilities that brought Libya closer to civil war.

But it is not going all that well for Qaddafi, amazing how bombing your citizenry undermines a leader's support.

...the ease with which at least one assault, on the western city of Zawiyah, was repelled by anti-government forces raised questions about the ability of the government to muster a serious challenge to the rebels’ growing power.

Obviously recall petitions are a better way.

(image from 'Guernica' via tiganatoo at flickr.com)

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

I'm starting to think

FoxNews is going to prop up it's staffing by letting the flagging Glenn Beck go and replace him AND the soon to be indicted(?) Roger Ailes with Charlie Sheen and Moamar Gadhafi respectively.

It would be a win, win. More entertaining and lighter.

Oscar Weiners

First, seconding Attaturk's Bravo! for Charles Ferguson, whose movie is great and whose speech was the bomb.

Second, I liked "The King's Speech", but for God's sake, "The Social Network" was a much better, more important movie.

Third, you get James Freaking Franco, that brainy hottie, and you don't give him anything to do? Sheesh!

Finally, I love Roger Ebert, but that can't have been the worst Oscarcast he ever endured. Remember the 1989 Alan-Carr-produced show?

Meanwhile in Local News

Not the brightest criminal:

Early morning chase starts in Des Moines, ends in Warren County

...he incident began when a Des Moines police officer stopped the Dodge Neon on Fleur Drive and asked the driver for his name and information.

When the officer went back to the squad car to verify the driver’s name, the Neon sped away. The chase began about 5:20 a.m. and continued through Des Moines.

A Dodge Neon? Next time try outrunning the cops with a lawnmower. Of course, if you read the story, the chase doesn't exactly cover the police in glory.

BRAVO!!!

Best acceptance speech of the night at the Oscars!



Inside Job is a great movie, and thank goodness my film didn't win so I can continue to remain anonymous.

Paul Wolfowitz

In case you were wondering, and I'm confident you weren't, is still an asshole.

But, as ever, there's no way our media will keep the guy from being feted on the TV before our less worthy faces.

Oh no!

We have besmirched the other people of the world with our uncouth language and f-bombs instead of our awesome regular bombs!

But the Oscars, being a global affair, were telecast elsewhere in the world with Leo's words uncensored. Viewers who watched the show on Star Movies, a major channel available throughout Asia, heard the F-word loud and clear.

I look forward to Glenn Beck blaming Barack Obama and George Soros this evening.

Well, this won't be good for that defamation suit

I have to admit, though people who know me would certainly not be surprised, I know little of the world of fashion. But the cause celebre in the world of the bizarrely dressed because they are fashionable is the suspension and subsequent defamation suit brought by a design exec alleged to have gone all anti-semetic at a restaurant. Well, though it's another country, I am a law-talkin' guy and getting caught on video saying those remarks is not a very good piece of evidence if you're the plaintiff.

The UK's Sun has obtained this video, recorded at La Perle, wherein Christian Dior creative director John Galliano spews anti-Semitic remarks at a couple at the adjoining table. The moment was captured by a friend of the couple. In it, Galliano is seen slurring his words, but clearly stating: "I love Hitler" and "People like you would be dead. Your mothers, your forefathers, would all be f****** gassed."

Case dismissed.

A fitting tribute to Arizona, Republicans, and, of course...

Their loathing of women, in a week that was full of it:

An Arizona state senator involved in an apparent freeway-shoulder scuffle with his girlfriend was not detained because he has immunity from arrest while the legislature is in session, police said...

Bundgaard, a Republican and the state senate's majority leader, was allowed to go -- although prosecutors will review the case and could later file charges, Thompson said. Ballard was arrested on suspcion of misdemeanor assault and taken to jail...

Bundgaard said the dispute began on the way home from a charity "Dancing with the Stars" fundraiser, after Ballard accused him of "inappropriately touching" his dance partner.

The plan is

Eventually the craziness just wears you down:

Georgia State Rep. Bobby Franklin—who last year proposed making rape and domestic violence "victims" into "accusers"—has introduced a 10-page bill that would criminalize miscarriages and make abortion in Georgia completely illegal. Both miscarriages and abortions would be potentially punishable by death: any "prenatal murder" in the words of the bill, including "human involvement" in a miscarriage, would be a felony and carry a penalty of life in prison or death.

It is so insanely malicious and demonstrably wrong it's almost impossible to fashion a response.

Although "Shut up Fuck Face!" will do in a pinch.

Aw dammit!

Why didn't I think of this?

Totally "stooge-like" as ever

Boy that Howard Kurtz is really on top of that Roger Ailes story and the media's coverage of the Wisconsin governor being in the Koch Brothers hip pocket isn't he?

No wonder Twitter has an interesting "similar to..." recommendation.

Dear Mr. President

Pretty frustrated with you of late.

Why? Ken Layne explains it all to you.

Surprise me. Go to Wisconsin today.

xxx...res

Golly I wonder why

Suddenly Phil Broun is embarassed.

A Georgia Republican said Friday he didn't immediately condemn a constituent who asked about assassinating President Barack Obama because he was stunned by the question and didn't want to dignify it with a response.

Uh-huh.

His office refused to say whether it had audio or video footage of the exchange.

Maybe because it shows many in the crowd, Broun's base, applauding and laughing, including Broun himself.

Stuff You Should See/Read

I saw this at driftglass' place. Don't know when it originally ran, but I thought it was important.

Oh, it also seems like Howard Fineman jumped on the clue train since he went HuffPo (although I supposed it's possible that he learned all of this from Shepherd Smith).

Next verse, same as the first (con't)

LOL:

Newt Gingrich: Obama Could Be Impeached Over Gay Marriage Reversal


...if President Obama doesn't change his mind and order his Justice Department to enforce the Defense of Marriage Act, Republicans in Congress should strike back and even consider impeachment proceedings.

"I believe the House Republicans next week should pass a resolution instructing the president to enforce the law and to obey his own constitutional oath, and they should say if he fails to do so that they will zero out [defund] the office of attorney general and take other steps as necessary until the president agrees to do his job," said Gingrich. "His job is to enforce the rule of law and for us to start replacing the rule of law with the rule of Obama is a very dangerous precedent."

Yes, Mr. Sanctity of Marriage Guy.

It's a Win-Win!

So when do they start picking up your trash?

“At the grossest financial level, it’s just savings. You can cut the government worker, save the salary and still maintain the service, and you’re providing a skill for when [the prisoners] leave.”

Of course when "they leave", there will always be more prisoners to fill the jobs, so there's a bit of a disconnect there, but those are just minor details.

You Stay KKKlassy GOP

Latest in a series:

A person at a Tuesday town hall with Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga., got up and asked, "Who is going to shoot President Obama?"

The exact wording of the question is not clear because, the Athens Banner-Herald reports, there was a lot of noise at the event. Perhaps more significant than the question was the response of the crowd and Broun, who is a member of the Tea Party Caucus and one of the most right-wing members of Congress.

The question prompted a "big laugh" from the crowd, in Oglethorpe County, Ga., according to the Banner-Herald. Broun, for his part, did not object to the question.

UPDATE: In fact, he and good part of his audience thought it as awesome.

Mark Farmer of Winterville, Georgia went to the meeting on Tuesday to ask a question about Social Security reform, and said in an e-mail to TPM he was "shocked by the first question and disgusted by the audience response."

"I was gravely disappointed in the response of a U.S. Congressman who also laughed and then made no effort to correct the questioner on what constitutes proper behavior or to in any way distance himself from such hate filled language," Farmer wrote.

Classic Wisconsin

Page out of Joe McCarthy

Within seconds, the digital vote system on the wall announced 51 ayes and 17 nays, and voting was suddenly closed. With a total of 96 members, that got to a majority for the bill but left 28 members who hadn't had a chance yet to vote.

At that point, the Democrats got up, chanting "Shame! Shame! Shame!" and similar exclamations, as the Republicans filed out of the room.

There were many Democrats I spoke to and overheard in the chamber, who said they didn't get a chance to vote, or that they were pushing the "No" button at their desks as hard as they could -- keep in mind that a majority of their 38-member caucus was recorded as casting no votes at all.

Bernie Kerik, the gift that, like a FoxNews' tool, keeps on giving

What is it with FoxNews employees? I ask rhetorically.

After the publishing powerhouse Judith Regan was fired by HarperCollins in 2006, she claimed that a senior executive at its parent company, News Corporation, had encouraged her to lie to federal investigators two years before.

The investigators had been vetting Bernard B. Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner who had been nominated to become homeland security secretary and who had had an affair with Ms. Regan...

The goal ... was to keep the affair quiet and protect the then-nascent presidential aspirations of former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani...

Who was this person?

Why it was none other than Roger Ailes!

What is more, the documents say that Ms. Regan taped the telephone call from Mr. Ailes in which Mr. Ailes discusses her relationship with Mr. Kerik.

It is unclear whether the existence of the tape played a role in News Corporation’s decision to move quickly to settle Ms. Regan’s lawsuit, paying her $10.75 million in a confidential settlement reached two months after she filed it in 2007.

Well time for the Howard Kurtzs of the world to quietly shuffle this story off the stage.

So paying out more than $10 million on hush money? No wonder Ailes and Bill O'Reilly get along so well.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

What's The Matter With Wisconsin?

Bag Men, Dim Bulbs, and Stooges of Many Varieties.

They cannot help themselves

Second verse, same as the first:

Behind the scenes, aides say, talks have taken on an even more ominous tone. According to sources familiar with the discussions, Republican negotiators have said that the only way they could build support within their own party for reducing the size of the cuts -- even in the stopgap measure -- would be to let the government actually shut down.

Truer 140 characters or less never tweeted

This pretty much explains the secret of modern Republicanism

Pretty much make the general public as dumb and ignorant as possible for maximum exploitation:

Gadhafi as Gene Simons as Sgt. Pepper via Hans and Carolyn at flickr.com


This must have been a regular Legion of Doom get together:

Moammar Gadhafi’s regime controls $32 billion in liquid assets around the world, including hundreds of millions of dollars invested in U.S. banks, according to a confidential cable written by the U.S. ambassador to Libya last year. The leaked diplomatic message was distributed through WikiLeaks.

The same cable reported that Libya had been approached by two men accused of running huge Ponzi schemes, Bernard Madoff and Allen Stanford, but had resisted offers from them to invest Libyan funds with them.

So he had one up on Citibank.

Meanwhile, in America we give the banksters billions (*shakes fist* CITIBANK!), cut taxes for them - not for you - and bust unions and our elected officials will always be willing to talk to any rich crank any time. So we're obviously awesome.

Late to the Party

But close together and beady-eyed Scott Walker is even dumber than he looks, and he looks incredibly stupid.

The Stupid hurts almost as much as the repulsiveness

Oh lord:

Q: Where were conservatives when the divorce rate got out of hand?

Phyllis Schlafly: They were quietly raising their own families.

Yeah, uh-huh.

Not included for obvious reasons of space, the four Limbaugh wives.

That goddamned meteor never comes!

Oh thank goodness, still too classy for TLC:

Animal Planet has greenlit a series called “Hillbilly Handfishin’,” about an Oklahoma man who teaches city dwellers the excitement catching catfish without the aid of a hook or fishing line

When are they going to start using Puppy Bowl losers for bait (what, too soon?) -- the Schnauzer loses every year, it's the Minnesota Vikings/Buffalo Bills of breeds.

Note, in classic "hillbilly" fashion, catching catfish by hand is also known as "catfisting".

"That's Mr. ****ing Mayor to you you ****ing Mother****er"

Finally Rahm is put in a position where he can triangulate a smaller number of people.

Good luck Windy City.

The New Adventures of the Old Orwellians

Well, surely the public is sure to stay quiet while this bill, this awesome bill, passes.

A Senate proposal that has become known as the Internet "kill switch" bill was reintroduced this week, with a tweak its backers say eliminates the possibility of an Egypt-style disconnection happening in the United States...the name of the bill has been changed to include the phrase "Internet freedom."

It will surely soon turn into a lovely Easter-basket of Freedom, or if you are otherwise inclined perhaps a Passover of Freedom would be more appropriate?

WORST road-company of EVITA ever!

Qaddafi is speaking in some "Bushian" version of Arabic at this moment. To keep up a recent trend in my YouTube postings it reminds me a bit of this:

But, of course

Naturally the villains of our awesome Iraqi adventures would be teaming up to give Gaddafi (please spell it the way you want, it's apparently unknowable) a makeover.

Richard Perle is the anti-Tom Joad. Wherever there's some thing to make worse, he'll be there...and highly paid.