WikiLeaks' Julian Assange on the Manning verdict: "The US first amendment states that 'Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.' What part of ’no’ does Barack Obama fail to comprehend?"
Lunatic Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is angry that polling questions aren't biased enough.
Pres. Obama is again looking for a "grand bargain." It's a horsetrading mix of corporate tax rejiggering and jobs programs, but the good news is that the words "chained CPI" do not come up.
Maybe it's a sign that he's not planning to run for president: NJ Gov. Chris Christie hits back at a comment by Rand Paul by dissing the entire state of Kentucky. "I find it interesting that Senator Paul is accusing us of having a gimme, gimme, gimme attitude toward federal spending when in fact New Jersey is a donor state, we get 61 cents back on every dollar we send to Washington," Christie said duing a press conference. "And interestingly Kentucky gets $1.51 on every dollar they sent to Washington." Red states don't like to be reminded that they're welfare queens.
Indiana gives up trying to defund Planned Parenthood. It's always nice to win a battle in the Republican War on Women.
Apparently, you have a constitutional right to an insanely huge glass of soda, regardless of the burden the resulting health effects have on society.
Yet another poll shows that Republicans could take a beating if they kill off immigration reform. They're all screwed by their own gerrymandering, so they're kind of locked into an outcome they all know will bring disaster. "The fear among establishment and mainstream Republicans is palpable," writes Josh Marshall. I wish I could engage in schadenfreude, but killing immigration reform will hurt so many people.
Meanwhile, the GOP is tearing themselves apart with the scheme to shut down government over funding for Obamacare. And it looks like I was right -- the base is totally jazzed about the idea, meaning this could turn into a Republican primary issue for Republicans who don't join in. I can get my schadenfreude that way, I guess.
Pres. Obama says the Keystone XL pipeline would only create 50 permanent jobs and tells Republicans, "That’s not a jobs plan." The comments may offer a clue as to whether he'll greenlight the project or not.
Finally, you may have heard of the "Solidarity Singers," a group of protesters who meet in the Wisconsin capitol to sing about how much Gov. Scott Walker sucks. The Walker administration has been cracking down on them lately, making arrests and issuing citations, on the grounds that the singers are disruptive. As proof of this, a Walker spokesperson cited a wedding held in the rotunda that had to move out in the rain because of the protesters. You won't be surprised at all to learn that this story is a lie. So how disruptive can the singers be, when you're so hard-pressed for an example of that disruption that you have to make one up? It would seem that the Governor is just thin-skinned and petty.
[cartoon via The Boston Occupier]
