Stories to Watch: 6/26/12

Five days smoke-free.


Rand Paul is a jackass. Likewise, Jon Kyl.


The EPA has a big win in federal court -- which gives the Supreme Court another chance to steal political power from the voters.


Joe Biden gives Mitt Romney the credit he deserves for creating jobs.


How to write headlines like a Fox News editor.


Mitt Romney is a child. A very flippity-floppity child.


Claire McCaskill will skip the Democratic convention to concentrate on her own race.


Finally, first they won the "right" to give unlimited amounts of money to candidates and buy elections. Now oligarchs -- and their bought and paid for GOP pets -- are fighting to keep you from even knowing who they are.

Related articles

• Both Sides Claim Victory After Court's Ruling on Ariz. Immigration Law

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• Jon Kyl Blames Obama For Failure Of Immigration Reform Under Bush

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• Sen. Rand Paul Endorses Mitt Romney

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News Roundup for 4/22/11

Down the memory hole

-Headline of the day-
"Sen. Kyl Erases His False Statement On Planned Parenthood From Congressional Record."

Note to pretty much anyone who's dealing or ever will deal with Sen. Jon Kyl; he's super easy to rattle.

After getting called out for saying that 90% of what Planned Parenthood does is abortion, Kyl's office "fixed" the problem by telling everyone that it was "not intended to be a factual statement." This went over about as well as you'd expect. Ridicule rose and jokes flew and, before you knew it, Kyl was looking pretty silly and feeling pretty embarrassed.

But, finally, the whole thing blew over. "Republican says stupid thing" doesn't have much of a shelf-life, because you never have to wait long for another Republican to say another stupid thing and know the first stupid thing out of the headlines (send Donald Trump a thank you note, Sen. Kyl).

Did I say the whole thing blew over? I should've said the whole thing would've blown over if Kyl wasn't so easy to rattle. Still embarrassed by the whole thing, Kyl can't seem to get out of damage control mode and quit poking at the problem. As a result, his attempts to force the whole thing behind him guarantee that the story stays alive.

See, congress critters can "edit the transcript of their floor remarks before publication in the daily record or the permanent record," according to the Library of Congress. You'd assume this would be used mostly to correct simple errors like, "I meant to say 'Frank,' but it came out 'Hank.'" In Kyl's case, you would be assuming wrong.

According to the report, "On April 8, Kyl said that, 'If you want an abortion you go to Planned Parenthood and that's well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does.' Following the change, the Congressional Record now reads, 'If you want an abortion you go to Planned Parenthood and that is what Planned Parenthood does.'"

So Kyl's statement is in the news yet again, because he's trying so damned hard to jam it back in his mouth.

That should work out well for him. (Talking Points Memo)


-Maybe this is the problem...-



I'm sure Jon Kyl can relate. (Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal)


-Bonus HotD-
"O'Donnell Blames Software for Bad Finance Reports."

Remember that witch who ran for Senate a while back? Christine O'Donnell? Yeah, her fundraising reports are all screwed up and inaccurate, which could lead to criminal charges -- or not. Who knows?

Anyway, Christine says it's not her fault, it was bad software. I'm guessing it's really bad wetware. (Political Wire)

Stories to Watch: 4/17/11

Pot roast tonight. Just chop up some potatoes, onions, etc. and throw it all in a slow-cooker. Easiest meal ever. Now here's the news...


If I had to pick two words to describe Sarah Palin's appearance in Madison, they would have to be "anticlimactic" and "inconsequential." Standing behind a podium draped with a banner from the Koch-funded Americans For Prosperity, Palin was merely a paid celebrity endorser and the "rally" was nothing more than an infomercial. It also did little to dispel the perception that the Koch brother's are behind all this. In fact, it pretty much proved it.

And it also proved what most suspect: Andrew Breitbart is a real asshole. A rich whiner jetting in from California -- or wherever the hell he's living now -- Andy not only stuck his nose in local politics that have jackshit to do with him, but he also used the Koch-supplied PA system to tell middle class Wisconsinites who didn't agree with him to "go to hell." Fuck you, Andy Breitbart. Fuck you very much.


The media and the blogosphere seems to think Palin's infomercial was tremendously important, however. See if they're still talking about it on Tuesday.


When is a racist email not really racist? When you get caught circulating it.


Donald Trump finds a new crazy-assed thing to generate headlines.


Former Bushie Mark McKinnon says Jon Kyl's statement that wasn't meant to be a factual statement was "completely bullshit" -- on national teevee.


Is Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker planning to follow Michigan's example by throwing local democracy out the window and declaring "financial martial law?" We know for a fact he wants to raise taxes... Just not on rich people and corporations. So a new way to screw people must be very appealing to Scooter.


Finally, on the off-chance you missed this, check it out: how to veto the living shit out of wingnut legislation.

News Roundup for 4/15/11

I tell ya, Jon Kyl don't get no respect...

-Headline of the day-
"Kyl Aide: My 'Not Intended To Be A Factual Statement' Statement Was Not Intended To Be A Factual Statement."

You might remember that Sen. Jon Kyl caught some flack for saying that "well over 90%" of what Planned Parenthood does is perform abortions. Turned out that wasn't so much true. In fact, it was Bizarro-world not-true -- well over 90% of what PP does not do is abortion. Only 3% of Planned Parenthood services are abortion services.

So, Kyl said in a statement that his figure was "not intended to be a factual statement" -- which is fancy-talk for "Hey, it was a lie, OK?" Everyone thought this was the stupidest non-defense we'd ever heard and we all enjoyed laughing at Sen. Jon Kyl.

Well, Kyle doesn't like that much. He's a serious man who pulls serious figures out of his serious butt. Laughing at him will not be allowed to stand! So he did what all serious Heroes do -- he threw his spokesperson to the wolves.

"Senator Kyl misspoke when he incorrectly cited a statistic on the Senate floor last week regarding Planned Parenthood," says Kyl spokesperson Ryan Patmintra. "Rather than simply state that in response to a media inquiry, I responded that his comment was not intended to be a factual statement; a comment that, in retrospect, made no sense. Senator Kyl neither saw nor approved that response."

Obviously, this still leaves the question -- was it intended to be factual or wasn't it? Or, to put it as the question we so often ask about Republicans: is Jon Kyl lying or just stupid? Americans demand to know and, by addressing the ridicule without addressing the underlying cause for the ridicule, Kyl and company leave the question unresolved.

Don't worry guys, you'll dig your way out of this hole yet. Just keep plugging away. (ThinkProgress)


-Altas Sucked-
Sure, the House GOP passed Paul Ryan's fantasy-economics porn today, but no one actually believes it's going any farther than that. All that's been accomplished here is the groundwork for "Rep. ___ even voted to privatize Medicare!" campaign ads the next time around.

No, the big news is that a movie version of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged hit theaters today -- and it stinks out loud. You'd think a barely-disguised political screed with all the actual literary value of Peyton Place could only be improved upon, but you'd be wrong.

"Out of the 16 critics who have reviewed the movie on the website Rotten Tomatoes, just one has given a positive review with 15 negative reviews," according to the report. "The critics are nearly universal in slamming the movie for lack of talent, cinematography, and direction."

"Let's say you know the novel, you agree with Ayn Rand, you're an objectivist or a libertarian, and you've been waiting eagerly for this movie," writes Roger Ebert. "Man, are you going to get a letdown."

For myself, I'm in heaven. My absolute favorite form of literature is a bad review -- so I am going to have so much fun! And the fact that a movie made by and for people who claim to really understand how markets work is going to be a box office bomb? Even better.

Did I mention that Paul Ryan is a huge Ayn Rand fanboy?

It just keeps getting better. (Examiner)


-Bonus HotD-
"Trump's a Joke."

Y'don't say? (The Cook Report)

News Roundup for 4/12/11

Donald Trump's actual interest in becoming president, on a scale of 1-10

-Headline of the day-
"Fake Republican Candidate Trump May Also Run As Fake Independent."

There are a lot of places I could go to get this story, but no headline would be truer than the one at Wonkette. The publicity stunt is planning a sore loser publicity stunt if the original publicity stunt fails. And that's about the size of it.

"I think the Republicans are very concerned that I [may] run as an independent..." Trump said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. "The concern is if I don't win [the GOP primary] will I run as an independent, and I think the answer is probably yes."

Trump said, "I hate what's happening to the country" and called his birtherism "a very important issue" -- which does absolutely nothing to explain why he'd be willing to split the GOP vote and hand an easy win to Barack Obama.

Oh yeah, I forgot. It's all fake. (Wonkette)


-You can read a book by him-
The recent budget standoff was especially hard on John Boehner.



I'll bet it made him cry. (Bad Reporter)


-Bonus HotD-
"Some statements about Sen. Jon Kyl that are not intended to be factual."

Go here to get the background, then go here to join in the fun. (MLive)

Stories to Watch: 4/9/11

Man, is this ever one gloomy Saturday. Must be April. Now here's the news...


No government shutdown, Planned Parenthood and the EPA remain funded. 'Baggers are furious, freshman 'bagger reps are less than enthused.


Steve Benen points out that Reagan signed Planned Parenthood funding too. Of course this doesn't matter, since the 'baggers worship a different Reagan than the real one.


Another day, another rip on the talking heads' narrative that Paul Ryan's budget porn is "serious."


Thank Donald Trump for this one: the right is starting to consume itself over the birther goofiness. WingNutDaily cheers on attacks against Rush Limbaugh for not being birther enough.


In Wisconsin Supreme Court race news, incumbent Prosser hires George W. Bush's recount lawyer, while challenger Kloppenburg hires Al Franken's. These people don't come cheap.


A "minor incident" at a Washington state nuclear plant forces the evacuation of 25 workers. Now seems like a good time to point out that a "minor incident" at a wind farm probably requires someone to climb up there and poke the turbine with a broom handle.


Finally, Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl explains his claim that 90% of Planned Parenthood funding pays for abortion services. In a statement released by his office, Kyl explains the figure "was not intended to be a factual statement." This is the definition of a deliberate lie. That's pretty much the whole problem everyone had with it in the first place, Jon.