Stories to Watch: 3/1/11

Whoo-hoo! It's March first! That means that, up here in Wisconsin, it's only like two or three months before spring. Big snow storm predicted this weekend, so I'm trying to avoid spring fever. They say that March goes out the opposite of the way it came in. Today was really nice, so... Crap. Now here's the news...


Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker gave his much-anticipated budget address today. Not really sure why it was so anticipated, since it was just a rehash of all the horseshit he's been saying all along. Seriously, he didn't even have to be there. I could've given it by now.


Mike Huckabee goes birther. Not to be outdone in the headlines department, Newt Gingrich announces his candidacy for president.


A government shutdown is averted, but that doesn't mean there won't be a fight.


Being a Vuvuzela in the Conservative Noise Machine 101: if you don't like poll results, attack the sampling method. Nobody understands that stuff anyway, so you don't have to be right.


Christian fundamentalist leader is a perv. *yawn* So what else is new?


Finally, Republican congresscritter and teabagging lunatic Allen West hates on Abe Lincoln.

News Roundup for 3/1/11

Is this what you want? Well, is it?

-Headline of the day-
"Unions winning battle for public opinion in Wisconsin."

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's efforts to SAVE AMERICA FROM COMMUNISM! aren't being fully appreciated by the America people, polling shows. A new Pew Poll shows 42% with the unions, 31% with Walker, and 9% staying out of the fight.

Things are even worse in a CBS News/New Tork Times poll, where 60% favor the unions and 33% are with Walker on collective bargaining rights.

That's right, the nation is falling under the sway of the Red Menace!

The report cautions, "It's worth noting, however, that the Pew numbers come from a national sample and not a collection of Wisconsin residents." But that's OK, because we have those numbers too. If the elections were held today, Scott Walker would lose.

My advice? Get used to calling your buddies "comrade." (The Fix)


-"Why won't you answer this committee's questions?!?"-
In Ohio, a fetus is scheduled to appear as a witness before "on a unique bill that proposes outlawing abortions after the first heartbeat can be medically detected." OK, this is already all different kinds of stupid, but let's go on anyway, shall we?

According to the report, "An aide to committee Chairman Lynn Wachtmann said a pregnant woman will be brought before the committee and an ultrasound image of her uterus will be projected onto a screen." I'd imagine that questioning of this witness will be limited to "are you unable to talk?" Otherwise, they're never going to get past "please state your name for the record."

I've got an idea; pro-choice people need an equally vocal witness for equal representation. Find some woman who died from an illegal abortion before Roe v. Wade, dig her up, prop her up in a chair, and make committee members look at her until her time for testimony runs out.

Would that be stupid? Insane? Offensive?

Why yes. Yes it would. (Associated Press)


-Bonus HotD-
"Rep. Holt beats Watson the super-computer at 'Jeopardy!'"

One of them fancy-pants elitist, know-it-all Democrats. Of course. (The Hill)

Griper Blade: The GOP Agenda: Drive Down Job Growth, Depress Wages

Some time yesterday, I decided that I would write about the GOP's anti-jobs agenda today. So I'm swinging through my feeds last night and I come across this -- MSNBC's Rachel Maddow stole my thunder.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Let Robert Frank's final words from that interview be what you take away here; that the GOP's focus on the deficit to the detriment of employment is a "criminal misdiagnosis of the problem." I'd add that's a deliberate misdiagnosis.

I'm going to disagree with Maddow on one point; yes, the Republicans' efforts to kill jobs will hurt President Obama in the elections -- but no, that's not the only reason they're trying to strangle off job growth everywhere it rears its head. This is, to a much larger degree, about cheap labor...[CLICK TO READ FULL POST]