Thursday, May 30, 2013
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Is Bachmann facing her electoral doom?
Politico: Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann may be the congresswoman with nine lives. But 2014 could be the gravest threat to her political career yet.It’s easy to dismiss Bachmann’s tough fight as a consequence of her legal and ethical troubles. But the fact is that Shelly barely won her race against hotel exec Jim Graves the last time around. Politico reminds us that Graves came “within 5,000 votes — 1.2 percentage points — of unseating her in 2012.”
The bomb-throwing conservative and onetime Republican presidential candidate is girding for what promises to be a ferocious reelection contest. Awaiting Bachmann is a serious Democratic opponent who has the full backing of his national party and a suburban Twin Cities electorate that six months ago nearly tossed her out of office.
The most glaring problem for Bachmann, though, may be a swirl of investigations into her campaign finances. The Federal Election Commission and the Office of Congressional Ethics are investigating whether her campaign concealed payments to an Iowa state senator who did work for her 2012 presidential bid. (A state ethics law bars senators from doing paid campaign work.)
And late last week, Minnpost.com reported that the FBI would be joining the investigation and interviewing a former Bachmann chief of staff.
Like other Republican house seats, Bachmann’s is gerrymandered. And that barely made the difference last time. This time, probably not. It’s the old demographics problem coming back again — Bachmann positively repels anyone other than GOP base voters and they’re becoming more and more of a minority as time goes on. Even without her scandals, Bachmann would likely do even worse this cycle, regardless of how conservative-leaning her district is drawn.
At a certain point, even electoral shenanigans will not save the GOP as a whole, as it may not save Michele Bachmann now. The influence of the Dreaded Progressive Menace is creeping into even the reddest districts and very little, if anything, can be done to stop it.
It’s time for Bachmann and her party to adapt or die. Unfortunately for them, that’s the process of evolution and they don’t believe in that.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Bachmann flees reporters again
Talking Points Memo: At a joint press conference Tuesday with a Republican state senator from Minnesota, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) was rushed out of the room by aides and shielded from reporters as soon as she was questioned about potential ethics violations committed during her 2012 presidential campaign, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.This is actually the second time Shelly’s hightailed it away from embarrassing questions in recent weeks. Just last month, she practically took off running from CNN’s Dana Bash who was asking about the same thing.
Bachmann was conducting the press conference with state Sen. Sean Nienow (R) to discuss problems related to Medicaid reimbursement rates. But the congresswoman and tea party champion was ultimately asked about allegations of campaign finance violations from her White House bid last year, which could lead to an investigation by the House Ethics Committee.
When that subject was broached, “aides closed in blocking reporters and photographers and ushered her out of the room,” according to the Star Tribune.
If Bachmann had managed against all odds to become president, I’d imagine all her press conferences would end the same way; about 15 minutes in someone would ask something she wasn’t prepared to answer, and she’d say, “Ooh fer goodness sake! Would’ya lookit the time. I gotta go. It’s been real fun. Let’s do it again sometime!”
Monday, April 01, 2013
GOP reboot effort hurt by ‘bagger frootloopery
Attention, GOP: Your rebranding attempts are being undercut by a segment of your party getting big headlines and lots of airtime — a segment symbolized by the Minnesota quote-machine, Rep. Michele Bachmann. Due to a series of gaffes, she is again on the receiving end of criticism, including from Fox News powerhouse Bill O’Reilly. The congresswoman is also, as reported by The Daily Beast’s John Avlon, “embroiled in a litany of legal proceedings related to her rolling disaster of a presidential campaign — including an Office of Congressional Ethics investigation into campaign improprieties.” It’s almost as if Bachmann were a Democratic mole embedded in the Republican Party with the purpose of chasing away a wide range of voters.
Her latest sound-bite-producing comment, this time on ObamaCare, begged for audio accompaniment of the Twilight Zone theme. Try to imagine it: “Let’s repeal this failure before it literally kills women, kills children, kills senior citizens. Let’s not do that. Let’s love people. Let’s care about people. Let’s repeal it now while we can.”
While some Republicans have distanced themselves from Bachmann — or fled altogether, as Republican campaign consultant Ed Rollins did from her ill-fated presidential campaign last year — she is still popular with GOPers who condone the paranoia-tinged political rhetoric that alienates independents, centrists, moderates, and many young people. Such rhetoric is in full display in too-out-there-for-Fox Glenn Beck’s theory that the real reason Bachmann is being investigated is because a faction of “radical Islam” embedded in the U.S. government is out to get her.
But, no, it’s not what “they” are doing to Bachmann but, once again, what Bachmann is doing to herself.
Really, there’s not much here that’s a big revelation. Anyone with any familiarity at all with Shelly Bachmann wonders if she even understands the concept of truth. She says insane/stupid things and seems genuinely surprised when other people find them completely unbelievable.
But the Tea Party/talk radio crowd keeps pushing her out front, at which point she becomes embroiled in some controversy over some insane fairy tale she tries to sell. And then even mainstream Republican voters reject her again. Don’t forget, she was an early frontrunner in the GOP primary, before it all fell apart and she was demoted to an also-ran.
“Bachmann committed no major gaffe to lose that lead, no revelation of old affairs, like Herman Cain, or inability to debate well, like Rick Perry,” the story quotes Joel Mathis of the Philly Post as saying. “Instead, what seemed to put off GOP supporters was the same thing that’s always alarmed the rest of us about Michele Bachmann: She seemed just a little crazy.”
It’s at this point that you begin to realize that the problem isn’t with Shelly per se, it’s with the crazpants ‘baggers who idolize her. If Bachmann were to disappear from the face of the Earth, they’d find someone to replace here — Louie Gohmert or Steve King, maybe. Since these sorts of voters have power in Republican primaries, there would be no shortage of lunatic candidates.
The people who applaud like crazy when Michele Bachmann speaks aren’t effect of Bachmann’s celebrity, they’re the cause of it. She a projection of everything they believe and want to hear someone say. That Bachmann is their reflection says a lot about how far gone these people are.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Michele Bachmann: Tea Party favorite, GOP stalwart, deadbeat, possible thief
Over a year after she dropped out, Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann has refused to pay five staffers from her failed presidential bid, according to a former top campaign official. Peter Waldron, her controversial former national field coordinator, told Salon the dispute started when former Iowa straw poll staffers refused to sign a nondisclosure agreement that would bar them from discussing any “unethical, immoral, or criminal activity” they witnessed on the campaign with police or reporters.
Waldron said the staffers are owed a mere $5,000, and that Bachmann has more than $2 million in her campaign account, but has refused to pay unless the staffers sign the agreement. Negotiations over payment with Bachmann Finance Chairman James Pollack eventually broke down and Waldron decided to go public with the news, posting a press release on Christian Newswire this evening.
“I feel a moral obligation to see that my Christian brothers and sisters are paid for worked performed in good faith. I’ve continually communicated by telephone and email with Mr. Pollack for 1 year but he broke every promise made to me to pay the staff. I appealed to Dr. [Marcus] Bachmann for help. I appealed to Representative Bachmann’s Chief of Staff Robert Boland to intercede with Mrs. Bachmann on behalf of her loyal Iowa staff — all of whom are married, all have children,” Waldron said in the press release.
“It is sobering to think that a Christian member of Congress would betray her testimony to the Lord and the public by withholding earned wages from deserving staff,” Waldron added.
Wait a second; a nondisclosure agreement gagging staffers from discussing “unethical, immoral, or criminal activity?” What’s that all about?
“Reached by phone, Waldron confirmed the details and said the nondisclosure agreement stems from the campaign’s alleged misuse of an email list;” Salon’s Alex Seitz-Wald reports. “A home-schooling group accused the Bachmann campaign of stealing the list, which was contained on a volunteer’s laptop, and then using it to fundraise for the campaign. The home-schooling group has sued the campaign and Waldron said there is also a criminal investigation pending, explaining that he spoke with police about the incident ‘several times.’”
The problem here is that Bachmann is a member of the religious right and, as such, literally believes she’s engaged in battle with Satan. All of us lefties, feminists, atheists, gays and gay-friendly folks, pro-choice people, etc. are the devil’s minions. When you’re locked in battle over the fate of humanity, nothing is out of bounds and every dirty, criminal trick is moral. When you think your adversary is literally the devil, you have no real incentive to fight fair — it’s not immoral to cheat Satan. In fact, it’s required. You can even — as is the case here — cheat allies. The end, being automatically Just and Holy, justifies the means.
Of course, this is the same psychology that terrorists use to justify murder. The difference really is only a matter of degree.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Bachmann so full of crap she exceeded the AP’s fact-checking capacity
You just can’t make this up, folks.
Michele Bachmann is so divorced from Aristotelian logic that the Associated Press imposed a “self-imposed Michele Bachmann quota” when fact-checking her during the Republican presidential primary season. No, really!
From the Washington Post:
In a panel of fact-checking all-stars this morning at the National Press Club, a predictable question arose: What about the studies that have shown that fact-checking operations are tougher on Republican than Democratic politicians?
Among the points raised by the panel was that the balance over the past year has been skewed by the barroom brawl also known as the Republican primary season. A lot of nodding ensued.
Jim Drinkard, an Associated Press (AP) editor who oversees the wire service’s fact-checking work, said, “We had to have a self-imposed Michele Bachmann quota in some of those debates.”
After the session, Drinkard said that there wasn’t an actual numerical quota on Bachmann at the AP. It’s just that if the AP had gone back and vetted all her claims that looked dicey, the result would “overload” the debate story. “Often she was just more prone to statements that just didn’t add up,” said Drinkard.
I’m not even sure her name is really “Michele Bachmann.” I mean, it’s spelled weird. Come on…
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Bachmann in the fight of her political life
Less than a year ago, Rep. Michele Bachmann was traveling the country, making her case to be the Republican Party’s presidential nominee. Today, six weeks out from that long-awaited election, she’s caught in an unexpectedly tight race to keep her seat in Congress.
Bachmann’s challenger, Minnesota hotel magnate Jim Graves, 58, entered the fray in early April, quickly rallying state Democrats to his side and, perhaps more importantly, convincing Independence Party leaders and candidates to stay out of the mix, putting as much as 10 percent of the electorate up for grabs.
In two of Bachmann’s three races, the vote tally for the Independence candidate has exceeded her margin of victory.
“This district has the most independents in the state,” Graves told ABC News. “So we went to the Independence Party and asked, ‘Can you guys help us out a little bit?’ Well they said, ‘We like you, Graves, we’ll support you.’”
Though he hasn’t received an official endorsement from Minnesota’s largest “third party,” their decision to stand down has allowed him to focus exclusively on the incumbent.
So the long and short here is that Bachmann’s benefited from third-party candidates until now — and without one, things suddenly get competitive for Shelly. ABC reports, “A recent poll commissioned by the Democrat shows Bachmann with a two-point lead (48-46 percent), within the margin of error.”
Friday, July 27, 2012
Stories to Watch: 7/27/12
Mitt Romney's trip abroad isn't going very well at all. For example, Mittens repeats a rightwing lie -- right after the White House debunks it.
Eric Cantor defends Michele Bachmann's anti-Muslim witchhunt that so many other Republicans have had the sack to protest.
If you're worried that Mitt's not a "real" conservative, you can stop now -- Mitt's as paranoid as any talk radio nutjob.
Apparently, titty bars are a family value.
Yet another Republican bets against America.
Swing state Ohio seems to have swung Obama's way. Also, WeAskAmerica fibnds that Libertarian Gary Johnson pulls more than two percent in that state. If that number is anything close to what it is nationally, Johnson could be Romney's Ralph Nader.
The Church that Time Forgot.
Finally, "topic pods?" Can we get a gimmick-free debate here?
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Stories to Watch: 7/17/12
Steve Benen points out that Mitt Romney's reaction to the Bain outsourcing issue has been pretty much wrongheaded. Instead of denying he had anything to do with it, he should be defending the practice -- which is not indefensible within GOP ideology. At a certain point, he's not going to be able to run from the charge anymore. If this is any indication of the way the campaign is going to operate in the future, expect Team Romney to pick a lot of wrong hills to fight and die on.
Something that is indefensible are House Republican priorities for education.
Extreme rightwing nutjob Tony Perkins met with Mitt Romney about selecting a running mate. Rep. Allen West's name came up. Apparently, Perkins learned absolutely nothing from the Sarah Palin fiasco. As a liberal, I can't think of a better Romney VP pick than that lunatic. He makes Michele Bachmann seem levelheaded.
At this point, the only Republican who doesn't think Mitt Romney should release more tax returns is Mitt Romney.
One of my senators is a complete idiot and a ridiculous boob.
What makes Minnesota's Republican Party different from other states'? When they tried to cheat in elections, they got caught.
Mitt's campaign of lies continues by taking an Obama quote wildly out of context.
Rush Limbaugh's a clown.
Finally, Harry Reid talks post-election filibuster reform.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
News Roundup for 5/10/12
Rep. Michele Bachmann
-Headline of the Day-
"Bachmann Withdraws Dual Swiss Citizenship."
After news that Rep. Bachmann had switched sides in the war between 'Murka and Yurp, Shelly beat a hasty retreat from her allegiance with the Schweizer Menace.
"I took this action because I want to make it perfectly clear," she said, "I was born in America and I am a proud American citizen." And it had nothing to do with the fact that her family would've been covered by that commie Swiss healthcare and the freedom-hating social safety net.
How do we know that? Well, because if Shelly's the only one pulling out, her family will still be covered by that commie Swiss healthcare and the freedom-hating social safety net, since they decided to go get their official Swiss Army knives "as a family."
So nice try, Comrade Bachmann. But no one's buying it. Your story has more holes in it than a certain type of cheese. (Talking Points Memo)
-Cartoon time with Mark Fiore-
Hey kids, have you heard about all this austerity stuff in Europe? Yeah, that didn't work out so well. Here's Uncle Mark to explain everything.
Click for animation
I guess it's true all over the world. When something's not working, a conservative thinks that just means you need to do more of it. (MarkFiore.com)
-Bonus HotD-
"Bristol Palin Slams Obama For Listening To His Daughters On Gay Marriage."
Because no one brings the sanctity of marriage to mind like Bristol Freakin' Palin. (Business Insider)
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Stories to Watch: 4/19/12
Frootloop Republican Rep. Allen West comes to the defense of wingnut used-to-be celebrity Ted Nugent. Because it's important for batshit insane people to stick together, I guess. So what's that make Scott Walker?
Speaking of lunatics, Tea Party Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick is one.
The Republican War on Women continues.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy may be done for.
ALEC's troubles aren't letting up.
Eric Cantor comes within millimeters of confirming that antisemitism is a real problem among House GOP.
Republicans are also not real worried about women getting knocked around.
Finally, Michele Bachmann is still a moron.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Stories to Watch: 1/21/12
Nate Silver has Gingrich 8 points up as South Carolinians head to the polls, giving him an 82% chance of taking that state. A big part of the story here: Mittens sucks at playing defense.
And it's not just South Carolina. Romney's numbers are nosediving nationally, as Gallup has him down 10 points in one week. He's still in the lead, but the media's beloved "momentum" narrative is becoming a "stalled momentum" narrative.
All of this has to make Democrats happy, since Newt would be an astonishingly poor choice as his party's nominee. In fact, don't be surprised if Team Obama starts talking about Gingrich more than Romney. It'd lend Newt's campaign more legitimacy and drive the rabidly anti-Obama -- led by their jerking knees -- to Gingrich. It's what I'd do, anyway.
Huckabee goes birther.
Many on the left want to make the Citizens United ruling a campaign issue, drawing parallels to Romney's Bain past.
Some of the Justice Department's evidence against Megaupload is sketchy. Meanwhile, people who used the service to store legit files are screwed -- making government anti-piracy efforts even less popular than they were before.
Ghosts on the campaign trail; top billing on South Carolina's Republican Primary ballot goes to Michele Bachmann, followed by Herman Cain. They'd already qualified for the ballot before they dropped out and the names are listed alphabetically.
Finally, the three little words every Republican candidate has so much trouble saying; "George W. Bush."
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Stories to Watch: 12/20/11
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker doesn't have the guts to put his new first amendment curbs on protests to the test.
Iowa religious nutjob Bob Vander Plaats urged Michele Bachmann to drop out, I guess because she was hurting Rick Santorum's chances. Newsflash for Vander Plaats: Rick Santorum is the one hurting Rick Santorum's chances. Then again Bob and the Family Leader are completely insane.
Today proves that John Boehner isn't blessed with leadership skills. Want a payroll tax cut extension to help you get through the holidays? OK, here's a bust of Winston Churchill. Close enough.
Bloomberg News gives the 1% a chance to tell their side of the story -- a chance they promptly blow by being whiny, bitchy, pissy, and hopelessly out of touch. In short, every bit the fat-cat stereotype you envision when you think of them. I'll bet they were chomping on cigars. Check out Felix Salmon's take on the piece.
Tim Tebow's message for gay teens considering suicide; it does not get better. Like 99% of hardcore evangelicals, Tebow is an ass.
Rocker Jon Bon Jovi shares a trait with Schrödinger's cat; he is both dead and alive.
Finally, this is a real headline: "Arrested man dies from eating cocaine hidden in brother’s butt." Happy Holidays, everyone!
Friday, December 16, 2011
News Roundup for 12/16/11
As trustworthy as she looks
-Headline of the Day-
"Michele Bachmann says 'PolitiFact came out and said that everything I said was true' in last debate."
During the last semi-weekly meeting of The Liar's Club, Michele Bachmann and Newt Gingrich got into a little tête-à -tête over Newt's influence lobbying with Freddie Mac. This was probably a tactical error on Shelly's part, since no one has a bigger tête than Newt -- in both the physical and metaphorical senses. Seriously, he couldn't find a football helmet that would fit over his melon in high school.
Anyway, Newt said that Shelly's claim that he lobbied for Freddie Mac was "factually not true" -- which is ironic, because it was a rare instance where she was saying something factual. And it was here that she slipped back into her old habit.
"Well, after the debates that we had last week, PolitiFact came out and said that everything that I said was true," she said. "And the evidence is that Speaker Gingrich took $1.6 million. You don't need to be within the technical definition of being a lobbyist to still be influence-peddling with senior Republicans in Washington, D.C., to get them to do your bidding."
To which PolitiFact says:
So, yeah... (PolitiFact)
-Past the 'sell by' date-
Click to embiggen
Precisely. (Truthdig)
-Bonus HotD-
"Newt's New Endorser: OWS is a Muslim Brotherhood Plot!"
Bonus fun: it's "Gopher" from Love Boat -- who apparently is a complete lunatic.
No, really. (Mother Jones)
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Stories to Watch: 12/8/11
RNC chair Reince Priebus comes out against a Trump-sponsored GOP debate. When it's beneath even Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann, that tells you a lot. This thing is probably dead.
A payroll tax cut fails again in the Senate.
Meanwhile, Republicans offer their own payroll tax cut plan. As always, the GOP wants to cut off your left arm as the price for saving your right.
David Frum sees Newt Gingrich as the latest GOP fad-candidate. But this time, he sees it hurting the party. "[G]iven that these balloons take typically 6-8 weeks to shrivel, the impending Gingrich bust may not arrive soon enough to save Romney," he warns. "No question though, it will arrive in time to freak out the Republican party."
A certain fella named "Mitt" seems to agree with Frum.
Eric Cantor shuts down a bill in the Financial Services Committee that would've made insider trading by congress critters illegal. If congress shuts off the easy-money tap, Republicans like Cantor might have to actually, you know, do work.
President Obama bitchslaps GOP candidates who claim he follows a foreign policy of "appeasement": "Ask Osama bin Laden and the 22 out of 30 top al Qaeda leaders who have been taken off the field whether I engage in appeasement. Or whoever’s left out there about that."
As ads tying Elizabeth Warren to Occupy Wall Street fail to impress Massachusetts voters, Karl Rove switches gears and tries to tie her to big banks. When one argument contradicts another, that's what savvy DC insiders call "amateurish bullshit."
Finally, here's a good way to join the ranks of the unemployed.
Sunday, December 04, 2011
Stories to Watch: 12/4/11
In related news, PolitiFact confirms that it is indeed perfectly legal to sign the recall petition more than once, if you feel you might've been scammed by someone collecting signatures to keep them from being turned in. Just don't sign every time someone puts a petition in front of you.
In a sign that Mittens' troubled past is going to be an issue, the LA Times runs an article on Romney's time with Bain Capital. It's the second time I've seen that exact photo illustrating a piece; the other was a similarly less-than-complimentary New York Times article on the same subject.
Sen. John McCain suggests we should find a "humane" solution to illegal immigration and that several states, including his own Arizona, might be "up for grabs" as Republican rhetoric on immigration drives away Hispanic voters.
Powerline's John Hinderaker joins Herman Cain in blaming Democrats for Herman Cain's fall -- proving once again that John Hinderaker is an emptyheaded lightweight. When Herman Cain went down the drain, I'd imagine they held a wake at the White House, just as they would've thrown a party had he been nominated. He was just such a poor frontrunner, an Obama win would've been guaranteed.
Presidential pardons still bias white.
Sen. Tom Coburn, who was a mere House member at the time, does not have fond memories of Speaker Gingrich's leadership.
Ron Paul says he won't attend the Donald Trump-moderated
Finally, Michele Bachmann seems to confuse Occupy Wall Street with Wall Street execs. "If you go to the essence of what Occupy Wall Street stands for, it’s having other people pay for their stuff," she told CNN. "That’s not where the American people are at." Meanwhile, the bank bailouts + huge executive bonuses = huge taxpayer-funded executive bonuses.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Stories to Watch: 11/30/11
Hey, remember how silly it was for people to say the Fukushima Daiichi was near full meltdown? Hahahaha! Yes, that sure was dumb. And how people worried that it might cause illness? Hahahaha! Stop! It's totally fine.
The rightwing National Review's Jim Geraghty is apparently no fan of Newt Gingrich. In a post, he lists off a whole bunch of crazy and stupid things Newt has said or proposed. I'd edit his list shorter, since Geraghty's idea of "crazy" includes "vaguely liberal," but there's still some gold in there.
And shut up Newt, you were a lobbyist. Lobbyist, lobbyist, lobbyist. If you're ashamed of it now, you never should've signed up for it. As speaker, your favorite phrase was "personal responsibility." Time to practice it.
I'm not a big fan of Rick Perry, but CNN seems to be scraping the bottom of the barrel here. In speaking about New Hampshire, Perry says "caucuses," instead of "primaries." Oooh! Big gaffe, big scoop -- stop the presses!
Another Iranian nuclear facility has exploded. Either the Iranians are hopelessly inept or they're under attack.
Still don't understand what's up with the Occupy movement? It's shit like this.
NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg goes all James Bond villain. We better give him what he wants or he'll destroy the moon or something.
When do Republicans think tax cuts need to be paid for? When they're for you. When they're for bazillionaires, not so much.
A win for labor.
Finally, Michele Bachmann doesn't know what "scientific" means? Imagine my shock.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Stories to Watch: 11/18/11
Have you seen those clips of Occupy Wall Street slogans projected onto the side of the Verizon Building? Meet the projectionist.
David Mooney, chief executive officer of Alliant Credit Union in Chicago and former JP Morgan Chase exec, tells the ugly truth; "I don't say this lightly, but the consumer is simply an income stream and exploiting that is the purpose of the banking organization." They don't work for you, you work for them.
Did Newt Gingrich -- Newt Freakin' Gingrich -- really think he could get away with pretending to be a Washington outsider?
Occupy Memphis and Tea Party members meet. The body count was zero. In fact, they discovered points of agreement.
Herman Cain said something stupid again.
Journalism ain't what it used to be.
Michele Bachmann said something stupid again. Now with extra irony.
The super committee remains super-useless.
Finally, Louie Gohmert did something stupid again.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Stories to Watch: 11/13/11
Images wider than my center column have always been a problem for me, so I've added another upgrade to the site. Opening the image in a new window has been the solution I've been going with, but I don't like switching between tabs to look at charts, graphs, illustrations, etc. that go along with posts. Maybe it's just me, but I find it breaks the chain of thought.
So now when you see a "click to enlarge" link, click it or the thumbnail to open the image. It'll open in the same window and shrink to fit to your screen, if necessary. To view the image at full resolution, click the diagonal arrow at the bottom center and drag the image with your mouse to scroll. Click the arrow again to return to resized. And click the close button at the top
This should be universal, but on the off-chance it doesn't work with your browser, images should just open in the conventional manner.
Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul complain that last night's GOP debate was unfair -- and they're right. Team Bachmann got hold of a CBS News email saying that she would "not going to get many questions during the debate and she's nearly off the charts." Yes, it's true that Bachmann no longer stands a chance in hell of the nomination, but by using polling to decide how many questions she gets that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Here again, we see presidential debates as a way for the media to generate news stories -- and not as an informative part of the democratic process.
Bill O'Reilly's book on the Lincoln assassination is like everything else Bill does -- it's complete bullshit.
Occupy Portland defies a police order to clear out.
Herman Cain has conversations with God, who -- according to Cain -- told him to run for president. Oh, and Herman's just like Moses. That's what you want in a president; delusional megalomania.
Michele Bachmann thinks America should be more like a China that exists only in her imagination.
Finally, it's back. Republican candidates say we shouldn't torture people -- we should just do things that are torture and call it something else. Because that's what good people do.
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