Karl Rove, on one of the days he's decided to hate America
-Patriot games-
In an interview with Lisa Depaulo for GQ, Karl Rove correctly identified one of the biggest problems with too many people on the right these days. "[T]o a lot of ordinary people, putting that flag lapel pin on is true patriotism," Boy Genius said.
Damn straight, Karl. For these people, it's not voting, it's not respect for the law and the Constitution, it's not understanding our civic duties. For too many, that stupid little pin -- along with bumperstickers, magnets, t-shirts, and caps -- is the be-all and end-all of American patriotism. Loving the flag is not, after all, loving the nation. This confusion of patriotism with flag-fetishism has been a real problem with a significant percentage of the population for a very long time. Nice to see someone bring it up.
Unfortunately, Karl wasn't being critical of the simpleminded flag wavers who think this way. Far from it. He was criticizing Barack Obama for not being one of them. For Rove, these idiotic trinkets are the be-all and end-all of American patriotism.
At this point in the interview, things went south for Turdblossom. "You’re not wearing a flag pin, Karl," Depaulo pointed out.
"Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t," Rove answered. "But I respect those who consciously get up in the morning and put a flag lapel pin on." So, basically, he's patriotic only when he feels like it -- at least, if we follow his reasoning. Obama, on the other hand, gets it.
"The truth is that right after 9/11 I had a pin," Obama has explained. "Shortly after 9/11, particularly because as we're talking about the Iraq war, that became a substitute for I think true patriotism, which is speaking out on issues that are of importance to our national security."
Apparently, there's more to being an American than wearing a magic talisman on your thousand dollar suit. Someone alert the GOP -- I don't think they know. (Think Progress)
-Headline of the day-
"20% of companies pick up CEOs' taxes on perks."
According to the report, "A new study from The Corporate Library finds that the most common form of perk being granted to CEOs these days is something called a tax 'gross-up.' In plain English, it means that a company pays the taxes owed by the CEO on benefits granted by the company." In one instance, the CEO of Ryland Group, a home-builder, got "$4 million in gross-ups as part of a pay package that totaled $12 million."
WTF?!? In a sane world, that would be income too and would result in these guys paying even more in taxes. Geez, they can afford it, can't they?
Then again, we don't live in a sane world. (USA Today, via reddit)
-Touchy...-
Bill Clinton met with some California superdelegates to discuss his wife's campaign. It didn't go well. See, someone mentioned that Judas, Bill Richardson. That's when things went off the rails. "It was one of the worst political meetings I have ever attended," said one.
According to the report. "It was as if someone pulled the pin from a grenade." For the slower among us, that means Bill blew up.
"The former president then went on a tirade that ran from the media's unfair treatment of Hillary to questions about the fairness of the votes in state caucuses that voted for Obama," we're told. "It ended with him asking delegates to imagine what the reaction would be if Obama was trailing by just 1 percent and people were telling him to drop out." The report describes the former president as "red-faced" and "finger-pointing." Said one attendee, "It was very, very intense." Another said, "We couldn't help but think he was also talking to himself."
Doesn't he have a heart condition or something? I think Bill needs to chill out and let the voters decide how this thing pans out. I'm not rooting for Team Clinton, but I'd hate to see him blow a gasket.
Someone get him one of those squeezy foam stress balls. (San Francisco Chronicle)
