News Roundup for 4/24/12

The world's least honest person, this side of James O'Keefe-

-Headline of the Day-
"Planned Parenthood Worried It's The Target Of New Undercover Sting."

Something hinky's up at Planned Parenthood clinics across the nation, as women are walking in and asking weird questions that no one's ever asked before. According to the report, "clinics in at least 11 states have reported two dozen or more 'hoax visits' over the past several weeks, in which a woman walks into a clinic, claims to be pregnant and asks a particular pattern of provocative questions about sex-selective abortions, such as how soon she can find out the gender of the fetus, by what means and whether she can schedule an abortion if she's having a girl."

The hoax is probably being carried out by Live Action, an anti-choice group headed up by James O'Keefe cult-member Lila Rose. In the past, Rose and Live Action tried to prove that Planned Parenthood was involved in sex trafficking -- no, really. They didn't have a lot of luck on that front, for obvious reasons. But that didn't stop them from stitching together a lying video from out-of-context takes anyway, because that's just what O'Keefe cultists do.

How worried should you be about all this? Not very, if you ask me. This is probably the first you've heard of the sex trafficking thing, so Live Action's influence is close to zero. Nice to see a group of liars getting all the attention they deserve. (Huffington Post)


-Speaking of unwanted pregnancies...


Click for full strip

If Sarah Palin ever sees this, somebody's getting buried under a stack of victim cards. (GoComics)


-Bonus HotD-
"Governor Rick Scott Vetoes Funds For Rape Crisis Centers During Sexual Assault Awareness Month."

If there's one thing that sets the generals on the front lines in the War on Women apart from everyone else, it's their general lack of brains. (Huffington Post)

News Roundup for 2/24/12

What Bob Morris sees when he thinks of the Girl Scouts

-Headline of the Day-
"Anti-Girl Scout rep regrets his tone."

Hey, you remember Indiana state Rep. Bob Morris? He's that one guy who didn't like the way the Girl Scouts turn kids into loose sluts who get abortions. Yeah, that guy.

Well, he wants you to know he's very sorry. Except he's not. He's released a statement to reporters which is a confusing mish-mash of conflicting messages. He's sorry for his "tone," but he's totally right about the evil of the Girl Scouts.

Maybe Bob doesn't realize it, but I don't think anyone was upset about his "tone." They were upset about the crazyassed, wingnut, Glenn-Beck conspiracy crap that he defends in his "apology" letter.

Sorry Bob, but I don't think this is going to do the trick. (Maddow Blog)


-Cartoon time with Mark Fiore-
Hey kids, ever wonder what someone from another planet would think of Rick Santorum's idea of theology? Let's find out!


Click for animation

He doesn't seem very impressed. (MarkFiore.com)


-Bonus HotD-
"Santorum: Colleges Are ‘Indoctrination Mills’ That Evilly Enlighten The Young."

See, colleges teach people about reality and reality has a liberal bias. (Wonkette)

News Roundup for 2/6/12

Save it for Pravda, comrade!

-Headline of the Day-
"Poll: Conservatives Oppose Planned Parenthood Cancer Screenings."

Wingnuts live in a world of stark blacks and whites. If someone does something that you disagreement, then everything they do must automatically be evil! Thus, if some like -- say -- Planned Parenthood were to do something good, that something would automatically become bad. Jerking knees lead the way.

So it is that a new poll finds that conservatives hate breast cancer screenings. Not all of them, mind you, just those done by Planned Parenthood. Not that PP's screenings are any different from anyone else's, but if PP's doing them, then they're evil. Automatically. According to the report, a "Daily Kos/PPP poll finds that a majority of conservatives have an 'unfavorable' view of breast cancer screening services performed by Planned Parenthood. Just 25 percent have a positive view, compared to 51 percent with a negative one. The poll, of course, comes in the wake of the Susan G. Komen foundation’s decision to stop funding screening services at Planned Parenthood, but the results call in question what it means to be 'pro-life,' as many conservatives identify themselves."

Bonus fun: "The poll also showed that Komen’s brand took a big hit in the controversy. A majority of all Americans, 53 percent, opposed Komen’s decision, while just 38 percent supported it. 49 percent said it made them less likely to support Komen financially in the future."

I guess not everyone sees things as clearly as conservatives. We're probably confused by all the colors that come with reality, obscuring the black and white. (ThinkProgress)


-The previous point, illustrated-


Click to embiggen

She was probably a Muslim or a feminist anyway. (McClatchy)


-Bonus HotD-
"New Poll Finds The More People Learn About Romney, The More They Dislike Him."

The best way for Mittens to win may be under an assumed identity. (Talking Points Memo)

Stories to Watch: 2/3/12

Here comes the weekend -- and the news...


Did the Susan G. Komen Foundation really reverse their decision -- or did they kick the can down the road?


Either way, the wingnut publication National Review's website goes mental over the decision.


And if you think Komen's original decision wasn't political, think again.


In Nevada -- the next primary state -- the Gingrich campaign is "a mess."


With good jobs numbers out, Mittens is at a loss as to what to say.


Republican Rep. Phil Gingrey is a petty little dick.


Embattled Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker "has hired two criminal defense attorneys and will be meeting with Milwaukee County prosecutors about the John Doe investigation into his current and former aides."


Finally, wingnuts' terrified speculation is confirmed -- Mitt Romney was once a Democrat. For about a second.

Related articles

• Watch: Susan G. Komen Foundation Backlash (abcnews.go.com)
• Susan G. Komen Foundation Kicks Off P.R. Rehab by Promoting Pink Handguns [Public Relations] (gawker.com)
• How the Susan G. Komen Foundation Lost Its Way [Disgrace For The Cure] (jezebel.com)
• By defunding Planned Parenthood, the Susan G Komen Foundation betrays women | Lizz Winstead (guardian.co.uk)

Stories to Watch: 2/2/12

Way too warm around here. Way. Now here's the news...


Meet Karen Handel, a "former Mama Grizzly, failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate, and longtime anti-Planned Parenthood crusader," who also just happens to be the new head of the anti-breast cancer group Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Golly, I wonder if that has anything to do with their cutting ties to Planned Parenthood? And the anti-Komen fallout begins.


Obama tells wingnut prayer-breakfasters truths they probably didn't want to hear.


Indiana sets back labor rights several decades. I guess because attacking workers made Scott Walker such a popular guy in Wisconsin.


Can a transportation bill be ridiculously partisan? Why yes. Yes it can.


The Senate votes to make insider trading as illegal for elected officials as it is for you. Meanwhile in the House, Eric Cantor works to keep the cheating legal.


Mittens may be winning races, but he's having a real hard time getting people excited about it.


On the other hand, Romney's just beside himself with glee over Trump's endorsement. Damned if I know why.


Finally, Rick Santorum is awful.

Related articles

• Susan G. Komen Official Resigned in Protest Over Planned Parenthood Cut-Off (littlegreenfootballs.com)
• Susan G. Komen Founder Tells Shocked And 'Anger'(ed) Andrea Mitchell, They Didn't De-Fund Planned Parenthood (mediaite.com)
• Anti-Abortion Komen Vice President Pushed For Split From Planned Parenthood (thinkprogress.org)
• Cancer charity confronts backlash over grant cuts (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

News Roundup for 9/1/11

Turns out this is illegal

-Headline of the Day-
"Justice Department Tougher On Abortion Protesters."

People who yell at ladies outside women's health clinics are shocked to discover the President Barack HUSSEIN Obama isn't as willing to look the other way as the Oh-so-Christian GWB was. See, it seems there's a law against that sort of thing and people have been breaking it -- a lot. According to the report, "Under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE Act, the Justice Department's civil rights division has filed eight civil cases since the start of the Obama administration. That's a big increase over the George W. Bush years, when one case was filed in eight years."

The FACE basically makes it illegal to keep people from entering a clinic, but it also includes penalties for trespassing. Clinics have used the trespassing provision to create a "buffer zone" to keep the nuts away, but the Bush administration had a bad habit of not giving a fuck. Now the free ride is over.

"There's been a substantial difference between this administration and the one immediately prior," says Ellen Gertzog, director of security for Planned Parenthood. "From where we sit, there's currently much greater willingness to carefully assess incidents when they occur and to proceed with legal action when appropriate."

Now would seem to be a good time to point out another news story of the day: the US ranks 41st in the world in terms of infant mortality, which -- for the record -- is just awful.

Want to save some babies in real numbers? Put down the aborted fetus signs, quit the Republican Party, and become activists for real healthcare reform.

Just sayin'. (NPR)


-Moammar and the monster-
Qadaffi gets some really solid advice from a fellow human rights violator.


Click to embiggen

Actually, that doesn't really seem to be working for Dick. (Truthdig)


-BonusHotD-
"Arizona GOP Fundraiser Remembers Giffords Shooting With Glock Raffle."

Pure class... (Wonkette)

Stories to Watch: 7/31/11

Got out to a street fair yesterday. Bands, beer, and burgers. Pretty hot though, but that's what all the beer was for. Now here's the news...


Another day, another debt limit deal. I don't suppose it would surprise you to learn that this one sucks.

***
At this point, it doesn't seem like anyone's considering any deal that doesn't fuck up the economy. My advice for Democrats; preview the consequences for the American people. Get someone in leadership out there, preferably the president, to explain that this is all a very, very bad idea. "The deal we struck today is crap. It's awful. Expect unemployment to rise, consumer demand to drop, and the gap between the rich and everyone else to widen further," the Democrat could say. "Republicans made it impossible to get a deal any less stupid and destructive and, bad as it is, we believe that default would be worse -- slightly. When this whole thing goes south, you know who to come looking for. Republicans broke your economy. Today we were only able to prevent them from doing even worse. And when Republicans try to spin this into being Democrats' fault -- and I guarantee they will -- remember what I say to you today; we told you so."

Sure it's passing the buck, but taking ownership of this economic flateartherism would be numbskullery.

***
The most popular solution to debt and deficit? Soaking the rich -- by 72%. So, of course, that's totally off the table.


Why are Republicans so fascinated with Nazis?


When is an act of terrorism not worth freaking out over? When some nut firebombs a Planned Parenthood.


Speaking of arson, it could be that the dirtiest of dirty tricks has been pulled in the Wisconsin recall fight.


Finally, a glimpse at the sort of jobs Republicans think America needs. It's not pretty.

Related articles

• Jon Kyl Continues the "Can't Raise Taxes on the Job Creators" Nonsense in the Republican Weekly Address (crooksandliars.com)
• Report: Tentative Debt Deal Reached Between Obama And Republicans (mediaite.com)
• Wisconsin Tea Party Republican Admits She Compared Public Schools To Nazi Germany (alan.com)
• Sunday Reads: Fires, Firebombs and Forced Migration (skydancingblog.com)

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: 4/16/11

There is snow and it's coming out of the sky. This should not be. Now here's the news...


This is fun: a reviewer for the hopelessly biased Washington Times tries really, really, really hard to give Atlas Shrugged a good review, but just can't bring himself to do it. When your wingnut movie can't get a good review from the Moonie Times, you've really put out a turkey.


Trying just a little harder is the New York Posts's Kyle Smith, who worries that the Earth-Shattering Importance of the movie might be lost on audiences distracted by all the suck. I think I might've found something better than bad reviews: reviews that try to love the movie, but just can't seem to get there.


Chris Cillizza on the House passage of Paul Ryan's fantasy-economics porn: "While the vote was quickly hailed as a victory by Republican leaders, there is reason to believe that for some of the 61 GOP Members who sit in districts President Obama carried in 2008 it may well be a defining moment — and not in a good way -- of their first two years in Congress."


The budget fight seemed to leave some bruises on both sides though. Obama's ratings with Gallup tie his lowest recording, at 41%.


The religious right continues to take a courageous pro-bullying stance.


Can't justify the anti-Sharia law hysteria you're pushing? Just make shit up.


Ditto for Planned Parenthood, the healthcare reform law, and abortion -- especially if you're Michele Bachmann.


Finally, Republicans spend a boatload on a big celebrity fundraiser featuring LeAnn Rimes and raise a boatload in return. Unfortunately, both boatloads were almost even and, after the glitz, glitter, and stardust was all swept up, the party was up $650 -- after spending more than $200k. I'd figure the percentage, but it's Saturday and I'm lazy. It's less than a .5% profit. Let's leave it at that.

That's what you call your "fiscal sanity."

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)

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.

Stories to Watch: 4/7/11

Nothing much going on. How about you? Now here's the news...


The election night that would not die: vote count corrections are popping up all over the state of Wisconsin. Go here, scroll down to the updates at the end of the article, and keep your hands away from your hair.


Wait a second. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Prosser picked up 7,582 votes from Waukesha County. There's reason to doubt the veracity of this previously unknown cache of votes; Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus is a Republican activist and she's previously been under scrutiny for her handling of election data.


Gay caveman! You'll never look at Fred and Barney the same way again.


Defunding Planned Parenthood and crippling the EPA are the hills Republicans have chosen to die on.


The question (almost) no one's asking: does a government shutdown have a price tag? Yeah, it does. And it's hefty. Kind of makes Republican claims that they're being forced into a shutdown by "fiscal irresponsibility" ring a little hollow, doesn't it?


Finally, what you already knew is now confirmed: the New Black Panther case was pretty much bullshit.