Perpetual victims find new and bad reason to declare perpetual victimhood

Politico:

Maybe the rightwing will hate it, but everyone else will go awww: the adorable new #Cheerios ad w/ biracial family. http://t.co/SpB4rQDoAR
— msnbc (@msnbc)
January 30, 2014

The liberal cable news network MSNBC posted a tweet on Wednesday night in which it suggested that conservatives hate biracial families.

“Maybe the rightwing will hate it, but everyone else will go awww:  the adorable new #Cheerios ad w/ biracial family,” read the tweet, which was accompanied by a link to an MSNBC.com article about the Cheerios ad.

MSNBC has deleted the tweet and apologized, but for the life of me I can’t understand why. For your consideration:

Daily Mail, 2011: A majority of Republican voters in Mississippi believe interracial marriage should be made illegal.

The recently conducted phone poll, by credible firm Public Policy Polling (PPP), slipped the unambiguous racial question into a broader survey about the political chances of Republican candidates.

PPP, a Democrat-affiliated polling firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina, said it ‘surveyed 400 usual Mississippi Republican primary voters from March 24 to 27’.

Within the usual questions about candidates and whether the respondent viewed them favourably or unfavourably, the survey then asked the simple question: ‘Do you think interracial marriage should be legal or illegal?’.

While 40 per cent of respondents said interracial marriage should be legal, 46 per cent said it should be illegal - and a further 15 per cent were undecided.

I’m sorry guys, but I’m afraid your victim card has been declined.

[photo by Jeffrey]

News Roundup for 6/19/12

Romney's conception of the post office

-Headline of the Day-
"That's not 'how government works.'"

Yesterday, MSNBC aired a some footage of Mitt Romney praising the WaWa chain. "I was at WaWas, I went in to order a sandwich. You press a little touchtone keypad -- you touch this, touch this, go pay the cashier -- there’s your sandwich," Mitt said. "It’s amazing. People in the private sector have learned how to compete. It's time to bring some competition to the federal government." Unfortunately, the clip was a tad bit out of context, but not much. Yes, Mittens was praising a system that replaced a worker with a machine (because we all know how much he enjoys firing people), but there was more to it than that. And that's why the right thinks this is the worst thing ever.

Except there's a problem with the outrage. It seems that MSNBC was actually doing Mitt a favor. See, he was using Wawas to illustrate the problem with government. At the chain, you go and tell the robot what you want and you're done. At the post office, things are a living hell.

"I met an optometrist this morning and ... this optometrist wanted to change his billing address," Mitt said. "He moved his office from one side of town to the other, same Zip code, same post office. But he wanted to change his address. He got a form from the federal government. This is so he could get reimbursement from the federal government for the services he provides for the poor and seniors.

"The form he gets to change address is 33 pages long -- 33 pages long. He calls someone to ask how to fill it out. He calls someone in government. They tell him what to do. He sends it in. They sent it back. It wasn't done right, got to do it again, another 33 pages. He calls another person. They tell him what to do. Doesn't get it right the second time. The third time's the charm, though. This takes several months during which time he's not getting the checks for the work he's doing for people who need his care. That's how government works."

You've filled out a change of address form before. Mitt's slinging 100% pure horseshit. None of this is true -- and that's the context the right DEMANDS MSNBC provide. They DEMAND that everyone in America see the true context of Mittens' fascination with a sandwich shop with a stupid name -- a BS story involving a whopper of such extreme proportions that only the most stupid, gullible, or ideologically blinded could possibly believe it.

Asks Steve Benen, "If government is so awful, and the public bureaucracy is such a Brazil-like nightmare, why can't Romney point to real examples instead of passing along nonsense?" The question answers itself, doesn't it?

There's only one thing MSNBC can do to make up for this terrible misrepresentation of Mitt's story -- play it non-stop for 24 hours on all of MSNBC's channels, so everyone gets a real good dose of how stupid Mitt Romney thinks you really are. I'm sure the wingnuts would DEMAND no less. (Maddow Blog)


-No more pencils, no more books-



No more voters' dirty looks... (Truthdig)


-Bonus HotD-
"Millionaire Ann Romney thinks the Obamas are too much the jet-setters."

Ann will be swimming to the London to watch her horse compete in Olympic Horse Ballet, thank you very much. (AMERICAblog)

Stories to Watch: 5/3/12

It is humid and stormy and it just sucks. I don't want to talk about it. Now here's the news...


Rightwing ultra-gazillionaire energy magnates don't always get along.


George Zimmerman keeps changing his story.


Super PACs are super-negative.


Gender-based income inequality extends even to CEOs.


Facing recall, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker rewrites history to a ludicrous degree.


The War on Women rages in Alabama and Louisiana.


You know how Republicans argue that tax cuts are always just the best thing ever for the economy? About that...


In polling, Rick Santorum barely edges out Marco Rubio as Republicans' VP candidate of choice. Boy, are they going to be disappointed.


Ed Kilgore's take on Mitt Romney's campaign firing adviser Ric Grenell for being gay is well worth a moment.


If you saw Louisiana Gov. Bobbie Jindal on MSNBC this morning, you saw him lie.


Finally, how much does Mitt Romney love America? This much.

Related articles

• Soledad O'Brien Grills Evasive Bobby Jindal About Whether He'd Be Open To VP Slot
• Mitt Romney Campaign Thought Richard Grenell Flap Had Blown Over
• Grenell Departure Is Romney Campaign's First Big Mess

Stories to Watch: 2/26/12

I'm going to finish up my english muffins here pretty soon. They take an insanely long time to make. You have to rise them all night, then punch it down, knead it, roll it out, cut them, rise them again, then griddle them. Worth it though. They're awesome. Now here's the news...


Rick Santorum says he "almost threw up" after reading JFK's speech on the separation of church and state. I don't even know where to start. Do I point out that Kennedy was saying that he'd be the president -- not his priest or the pope -- and that this was exactly what the founders had intended? Or do I point out that the memory of John F. Kennedy is beloved to Americans and that Rick's being a politically suicidal lunatic?


Also from the "Stupid S***t Rick Says" pile: President Obama should not have apologized for the burning of Qurans in Afghanistan.


A GOP strategist tells Maureen Dowd that Republicans are in danger of being seen as an anti-sex party of prudes. "Republicans being against sex is not good," says Alex Castellanos. "Sex is popular."


John Heileman refers to the GOP as "The Lost Party." Santorum can't possibly win the general and Romney's spinning his wheels. An unnamed Romney insider tells him that a loss in Michigan would be "absolutely, completely fucking horrible." Heileman sees Rick the nominee as a real possibility, even if the absolutely, completely fucking horrible doesn't happen.


I don't have a link for this one, since I saw it on the teevee, but elections analyst Larry Sabato told MSNBC that when you speak to long-time GOP insiders about the elections, the mood is one of "doom and gloom."


All of a sudden, President Obama has like a bazillion Chinese Google+ buddies.


Fun with unintentional humor in headlines: "Poll: Santorum comes from behind in Alabama three-way."


Finally, Mittens tries to bolster his rightwing bona fides by appearing on as many wingnut radio shows as possible.

Related articles

• Rick: JFK speech makes me sick (politico.com)
• If you're not embarrassed by Rick Santorum you're an embarrassment (atlmalcontent.wordpress.com)
• GOP Establishment Worries About Santorum (politicalwire.com)
• Rick Santorum continues his racist themes (capitolhillblue.com)

News Roundup for 2/17/12

You probably don't want to know what's rolling around in this guy's head

-Headline of the Day-
"Santorum On Firestorm Over Friess: 'This Is Just Crap.'"

Rick Santorum's Sugar Daddy Foster Friess got himself in a little trouble when he told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell that back in his day, women used to use aspirin as birth control. "The gals put it between their knees and it wasn’t that costly," he said. This didn't go over real well. Even if you cut him just a buttload of slack, you've really got to admit that going on cable news to tell dirty jokes probably isn't the smartest thing ever. Offensive dirty jokes... Well, that's just going in the wrong direction entirely.

But Rick isn't going to sit back while his piggy bank good buddy gets well-deserved criticism from the media. No sirree Bob. He's fighting back the only way a good conservative knows how -- by playing the living shit out of the victim card. He told the wingnut National Review that he's "not going to put up with it."

"You know, [reporters] sit there and they say nothing, while for 20 years [President Obama] sits in a church with a guy who is a racist," Santorum says. "And somehow or another Foster Friess is now who I am? This is just crap."


Wait, what? Jeremiah Wright was a racist? I don't remember that. I remember a guy saying a lot of things that conservatives didn't like much, but racism?

So I did what good bloggers do; I checked. Turns out that the charge of racism comes from a wingnut chain email. Yeah, one of those. It said that only black people were allowed to attend Trinity Church of Christ. That's about as true as the other claim in the email that Barack Obama's middle name is "Mohammed." It also has some great birther stuff in it -- "secret Muslim" crap that makes no sense at all in connection with attending a Christian Church. It's just typical frothing, fringe-looney BS.

And this just popped into Rick's head? You've got to wonder what other lunatic items are rattling around in there. (Talking Points Memo)


-Cartoon time with Mark Fiore-
Hey kids, you've probably heard about this contraception thingy. It's all very complicated and adult, but some Bishops are here to explain it. Yay!



Click for animation

Remember, no one's a better expert on birth control than some celibate guy who can't even get married. (MarkFiore.com)


-Bonus HotD-
"Another Romney 'Victory' Could Become Hollow."

You remember how Mitt Romney won Iowa -- and then he didn't and Rick Santorum won?

Now it's looking like Mittens won Maine -- and then he didn't and Ron Paul won. It's still all up in the air, but it really could turn out that way.

Remember, Republican election officials can't find their own asses with both hands, a flashlight, a map, and a GPS -- but we need voter ID because screwed up elections are your fault. (Political Animal)

News Roundup for 12/12/11

YouTube's logo?

-Headline of the Day-
"Legal expert says online piracy bill is unconstitutional."

Imagine a law so broadly and stupidly written that a couple of kids singing Birthday by The Beatles could get YouTube shut down. Now stop imagining it, because it's not an entirely imaginary scenario. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is currently being bounced around in congress and would do just that. According to the report, "The bill would empower the Justice Department and copyright holders to demand that search engines, Internet providers and payment processors cut ties with websites 'dedicated' to copyright infringement." What does it mean to be "'dedicated' to copyright infringement?" Who knows? It's not defined, but since YouTube probably gets hundreds of copyright infringement notices a day, you could easily argue that it's a piracy site by SOPA's standards.

Like I said, broadly and stupidly written.

But Lawrence Tribe, a legal scholar with the Harvard Law School says that the very basis of the law is unconstitutional, since it calls for "prior restraint" -- the suppression of speech before a case goes to court. In other words, the punishment is handed down before the trial -- which is bad. And, of course, there's that whole "broadly and stupidly written" thing.

"Conceivably, an entire website containing tens of thousands of pages could be targeted if only a single page were accused of infringement," Tribe says. "Such an approach would create severe practical problems for sites with substantial user-generated content, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and for blogs that allow users to post videos, photos, and other materials."

You know, sites like the one you're looking at right now. Real terrible piratey stuff.

And, of course, there's the whole question of whether law enforcement should be involved in copyright policing at all. Copyright infringement has traditionally been a civil crime, policed by lawsuits. Changing it to a criminal offense and having law enforcement police it would save media companies a lot of money, while shifting that cost to the taxpayers. In short, it's a permanent bailout for people who don't even need a temporary one -- seen a lot of starving media execs lately? Me neither, so what problem is it that we're solving here again?

But hey, it's already passed the House, which is run by Republicans who oppose burdensome, big-government regulations and corporate bailouts -- right up until the point that they don't. It's the Senate, run by supposedly big-government regulatin', baily-outy Democrats, that's holding things up here.

Here's hoping they hold it up forever. (The Hill)


-Merry Christmas to some!-


Click to embiggen

To the rest, good luck. (MSNBC)


-Bonus HotD-
"Crappy Retail Chain Lowe’s Sorry If Anyone Is Upset They Hate Muslims."

Bigots were unhappy that Lowe's advertised on a show that portrayed American Muslims as not-insane. So Lowe's pulled the ads. Now they're in trouble with the not-insane -- who are most people.

The moral of this story: always tell bigots to fuck off. Every time. (Wonkette)

Stories to Watch: 9/27/11

It will not stop raining. It's been like a week. The window of opportunity for further grilling is slowly closing. Panic sets in. Now here's the news...


Huge scandal as it's revealed that the White House strong-armed Ford into pulling ads critical of the auto bailout. The only problem with this story is that it seems to be completely made up.


The GOP plans to create a whole bunch of jobs by investigating Planned Parenthood for no good reason.


A local Los Angeles nutjub is dragged out of an Obama speech after shouting that the President is the antichrist. An LA County supervisor says the guy routinely shows up to county board meetings to make lunatic statements. "He talks about Jews in his diatribes and seems very anti-Semitic," says Michael Antonovich. "I don't have the impression he's dangerous, but he has issues that could use some help."


Turns out that cutting Keith Olbermann loose was about the worst thing MSNBC could've done, ratings wise.


The Tea Party specializes in solving problems that don't actually exist.


When the guys at the foundation dedicated to perpetuating the policies of Herbert Freakin' Hoover don't like your jobs plan, it's probably awesome.


The White House is extremely confident that the Affordable Care Act will survive a SCOTUS test.


Tea Party hero Rick Perry doesn't know what the original Tea Party was all about.


Finally, John Huntsman may be disqualified from an Oct. GOP debate due to low poll numbers.

Related articles

• Reblog: Heckler Shouts "Antichrist" At Obama (alan.com)
• Heckler Calls Obama 'The Antichrist': VIDEO (towleroad.com)
• Without Keith Olbermann, MSNBC on verge of falling behind CNN (dailykos.com)
• Morgan Freeman vs. Herman Cain: Is the Tea Party Racist? (usnews.com)

News Roundup for 9/6/11

Charles Koch

-Headline of the Day-
"Petro-Boss Charles Koch Labels Obama 'Saddam Hussein,' Tells Big Donors He Must Be Defeated In 'Mother Of All Wars.'"

Remember how the right freaked out over news that Teamster President James Hoffa told a crowd that unions were at "war" with the Tea Party and we all had to vote to "take these son of a bitches out?" You should. It was yesterday.

At the time -- which is to say, right this very minute -- it was (is) the worst thing ever in the history of worst things ever. Which explains why the right wing is all up in arms about Tea Party puppetmaster Charles Koch saying awful things about Barack Obama and calling for open war against the duly elected US government. Andy Brietbart, Shelly Malkin, Jim Hoft, Erick-Erick, etc., all have the same thing to say after their de facto boss made a statement extremely similar to Hoffa's.

And I quote, "..."

That's right, nothing. Not a peep.

Remember, no matter what it is, it's always OK when Republicans do it. (ThinkProgress)


-Speaking of Labor Day-
Huzzah for the hard work that goes into making America great!


Click to embiggen

Ha ha! See, 'cause they're in China and US corporation outsource. It's funny if you think about it!

Oh, now I'm sad. (MSNBC)


-Bonus HotD-
"Texas Cut Volunteer Fire Department Funding by 75% This Year."

Fire departments are the worst kind of socialism. Rick Perry knows it's better to take the rational approach and pray.

That's been working about as well as you might expect. (Crooks and Liars)

News Roundup for 8/25/11

The couple in happier times

-Headline of the Day-
"Condi Rice Photos Are Moammar Gaddafi's Dictator Porn of Choice."

One of the things about being ousted from power is that it's a lot like dying; if you aren't prepared for it, people are going to find some embarrassing things in your left behind stuff. In the case of Moammar G or K or Q or whatever, that means "a big ol' catalogue of fap fuel made up of Condoleezza Rice photo scrapbooks hidden in his torture castle."

It's not like there weren't clues. "I support my darling black African woman," he said in a 2007 Al Jazeera interview. "I admire and am very proud of the way she leans back and gives orders to the Arab leaders... Leezza, Leezza, Leezza... I love her very much. I admire her, and I'm proud of her, because she's a black woman of African origin." Oh yeah, crack that whip, baby. Make those Arab leaders beg!

"I think I don't need to see the photos, but bizarre and creepy are good adjectives to describe much of Gadhafi's behavior," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. "It doesn't surprise me. It's deeply bizarre and deeply creepy, though, if it is as you described."

To this blog's knowledge, this is the first time in history the State Department commented on photos stashed under a guy's mattress. (Wonkette, MSNBC)


-Cartoon time with Mark Fiore-
Hey kids, Little Suzie Newsykins is back and she's here to tell us what she learned on her summer vacation. Yay!


Click for animation

I think there might be something wrong with Suzie... (MarkFiore.com)


-Bonus HotD-
"Cantor Spox: If There's Hurricane Damage, Costs Will Have To Be Paid For With Spending Cuts."

Ooh look! A brand new hostage! (Talking Points Memo)

Stories to Watch: 8/2/11

Burgers tonight -- inside, in a skillet, because there's no way you can imagine what it's like out there now. It's a freaking sauna. And it looks like rain. Now here's the news...


Biden's alleged "terrorists" comment brings down an avalanche of victim cards. Remember it the next time one of these clowns calls a Democrat a Marxist.


Tiny pinhole of sunlight in the debt limit deal: Nancy Pelosi gets to appoint the House dems on the "super-committee" and she says she's not appointing anyone who'll allow cuts in entitlement benefits.


The Economic Policy Institute has issued a report finding that the debt limit deal will cost 1.8 million jobs in 2012. And, now that the debt ceiling stupidity is behind them, Democrats think it's time to focus on jobs. Too late, guys. Too late.


Joe Lieberman is insane.


Returning to yesterday's theme, the stock market hates the debt limit deal.


The Republican commitment to America can only go so far. Asking that their fundraising doodads be American-made is apparently too far.


Hate-porn writer Pam Geller's new book is eerily similar to Anders Breivik's crazy-assed manifesto.


MSNBC's Rachel Maddow isn't going anywhere any time soon. The network extended her contract until 2014.


Finally, Rick Santorum is Glenn-Beck-level crazy.

Related articles

• Joe Lieberman: We Have To Cut Social Security So We Can Fight Muslim Extremists (alan.com)
• Rachel Maddow Signs Multi-Year Contract Extension at MSNBC (aoltv.com)
• Stocks extend fall as Senate votes on debt plan (marketwatch.com)
• Wall Street on Debt Deal: So What? (foxbusiness.com)

Stories to Watch: 5/20/11

You ever wish your PC had an ass, so you could kick it? Now here's the news...


Obama, Netanyahu meet. Not a lot accomplished.


Everyone on the right is saying that Obama threw Israel "under the bus" with his call for a return to 1967 borders. The Anti-Defamation Leagues Abe Foxman disagrees -- but that's probably because he's so antisemitic.


Are you a bright teen who thinks it would be fun to debate Michele Bachmann on the subject of the Constitution? Then get ready for threats of rape and violence. Bachmann is a Tea Party hero and apparently the 'baggers have decided that calling 16 year-old Amy Myers a "whore" and threatening to publish her home address so nuts can come have their way with her is what the founders had envisioned.


Fox big Roger Ailes doesn't like that Chris Matthews said Sarah Palin is "pathetic." Luckily, there's no reason for anyone at MSNBC to give a fuck what Roger Ailes thinks.


Speaking of Sarah, apparently she's got heartburn or something. Get well soon, Moose-o-lini!


Story #4,307 about how Mittens Romney has a problem because GOP bigots hate Mormons. We get it.


A recess appointment for Elizabeth Warren gets some backing.


Finally, how are all those new GOP governors doing? Not so good.

Related articles

• Fox News Chief Rips Matthews For Brutal Palin Comments (huffingtonpost.com)
• FOX NEWS BOSS: People Say It Was Truly Pathetic That I Gave Chris Matthews His Start On Television (businessinsider.com)
• Chris Matthews On A Michele Bachmann Campaign: 'I Want Her To Run So Much' (mediaite.com)
• Romney: More Pro-Israel Than Abe Foxman (andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com)

Stories to Watch: 1/22/11

The big story from last night; Olbermann's out at MSNBC, effective the signoff of his final show. Here's that signoff:

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

There's been some noise that Keith's been ousted because of the Comcast merger, but this strikes me as maybe not so true (a suspicion backed up here). MSNBC still has Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, and Ed Schultz, so the idea that Olbermann was "too liberal" for his new corporate masters seems to hit kind of a false note -- if I were looking for people who were dangerous to the corporate bottom-line, I'd be a lot more worried about Rachel Maddow's investigative bent. Check out Steve Benen's take on the whole thing here. If that's not enough, there's just boatloads of commentary here. As I said, it's the big story.


Speaking of "dangerous" cable hosts, let's take off the quotation marks. Glenn Beck is dangerous. Sooner or later, this bastard is going to get someone killed.


The right goes from asking why lefties are so "obsessed" with Sarah Palin to asking why the left is refusing to cover Sarah Palin. Make up your freakin' minds, people.


Former GOP congress critter Bob Barr loves him some "Baby Doc" Duvalier. Republicans -- authoritarians at their core -- just can't get enough of monsters.


The governments of states across the nation have become a lot more anti-abortion-rights recently, which never works out well for the GOP in the end. Nothing brings out the crazy like abortion. You thought the 'baggers were crazy? You ain't seen nothin' yet.


Finally, when you see them laid out graphically, the shift in Obama approvals looks pretty radical.