Stories to Watch: 11/29/11

Is the Apple iPhone 4S anti-choice? "The evidence seems pretty damning," reports Gizmodo. Asking for directions to abortion clinics gets you sent to a anti-choice "pregnancy counseling center" or, if there aren't any in your area, the phone comes up empty. Ditto for searches for birth control. The good news is, you can still find hookers and Viagra. Note to Apple: IT stands for "Information Technology," not "Ignorance Technology."


I keep hearing pundits say that Mitt Romney's using a tortoise-and-the-hare "slow and steady wins the race" strategy that's working well for him. The thing is, there's no evidence of that. Mittens is slowly and steadily losing the race, according to Public Policy Polling.


Also from PPP, Gingrich is still on the rise.


The Tea Party continues to crash and burn.


Following a massive explosion at an Iranian military base, protesters storm the British embassy in Tehran. While the protest itself was over British sanctions, it's hard to believe that the explosion -- and worries that western powers and Israel are responsible -- didn't play a part.


Andrew Sullivan gets all master-racey. People forget that he is, in fact, a conservative.


Mitt Romney becomes the latest beneficiary of the "It's OK when Republicans do it" rule.


Anders Behring Breivik, the racist gunman who went on a killing spree in Norway, is declared legally insane.


Apparently, it's some sort of breach of journalistic ethics for an opinion columnist to have, like, opinions for real.


Finally, I'm genuinely astonished that anyone still gives a fuck what Donald Trump thinks. He's a clown, a game show host, and a publicity hound. He is most definitely not a keen political mind. Quit pumping him up like he's anyone important -- I'm looking at you, Mediaite.

Related articles

• Herman Cain 'reassessment': What will his voters do if he drops out? (csmonitor.com)
• PPP surveys show Herman Cain's collapse is good news for Newt Gingrich (dailykos.com)
• Democrats continues pounding Mitt Romney's flagrant dishonesty (dailykos.com)
• Mitt Romney's Dark History of Occasional Rage [2012] (gawker.com)

News Roundup for 5/10/11

"Oh fer chrissake..."

-Headline of the day-
"Half of Republicans polled still don't believe Obama was born in USA."

File this under "never underestimate the bullheaded stupidity of Republican voters." According to the report, "More than a week after the White House unearthed President Obama's original, long-form, Hawaii birth certificate, only 48% of Republicans polled said they believe he was born in the United States.

"In a poll conducted by Public Policy Polling from May 5-8 of 610 Americans who usually support Republicans in primaries, 34% said they did not believe Obama was born in the U.S. while 18% said they still aren't sure."

So, after the release of the document that birthers said would totally convince them, 52% of GOP voters are either birthers or birther-lite.

And this was the same poll that showed that Donald Trump's candidacy had "collapsed" following the BC release.

It's like they blame him for getting the document and (almost) bursting their bubble. (LA Times)


-And here comes the next round of crazy-
Newt Gingrich is going to announce his candidacy. Expect it to look like this:



Click to enbiggen

It's not so much a question of whether a crazy person will win the GOP primary, as it is a question of which one. (Political Wire)


-Bonus HotD-
"Republicans in Texas Senate approve guns on campus."

Because history shows that really awesome things happen when people bring guns to colleges. (AP)

News Roundup for 3/15/11

I've got bad news for you, pal...

-Headline of the day-
"ABC-Washington Post Poll: 64% of Americans Favor Tax Increases to Trim Deficit."

Americans want to cut, cut, cut. Cut Social Security and Medicare, slash spending on education, slice Planned Parenthood to the bone - cut, cut, cut, cut, cut! And none of this "tax the rich" class warfare stuff either. Americans want to cut!

Except, they don't. They want some of that commie "tax the rich" class warfare stuff.

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll [pdf] shows that nearly two-thirds of Americans want to increase taxes on the rich. While the poll shows some appetite for spending cuts, it also finds that a "substantial 64 percent say the best way to trim the deficit is with a combination of spending cuts and tax increases, rather than just cutting spending (31 percent, down 5 points from December) or only raising taxes (3 percent)."

And Republicans ain't doing so well either. 46% say they trust Obama on the recovery more than Republicans, while only 34% hold the opposite opinion. Worse, among those who believe the economy is in recovery, only 6% credit Republicans for it.

And those cuts everyone wants? Where do they come from? While this poll doesn't address that question, an earlier Ipsos poll did -- people want to cut defense spending.

So there you go: tax the rich, pass a peacenik budget, GOP economics suck. Looks like, just a few months after the big Republican win in November, the GOP has managed to turn Americans into a bunch of commies. (Firedoglake)


-Cheddar rebellion update-
Hey, how's that whole recalling your insane GOP state senators thing going in Wisconsin, you ask?

Very well. How kind of you to inquire. And how is your Aunt Rosamunde? Well, I hope? Good, good.

Anyway, a new Public Policy Polling survey finds that, of the eight Republicans eligible for recall, three would go down today to a generic Democrat. That's right, voters would rather buy a pig in a poke than reelect Luther Olson, Dan Kapanke, or Randy Hopper. And, while the margin of error isn't mentioned in the report, two other GOPers only beat an unnamed dem by four points or less. So those are looking pretty darned doable at this point.

As a side note, I propose we start calling Dan Kapanke "Dan Hanky-Kapanke," since he's been kicked out of his house and is living in Madison with his mistress now. Even his wife wants to recall him. Seriously, that story can't help him any.

So, how many seats would Democrats have to take to turn over the senate?

Three. Thank you for asking. You really are most kind today. (Daily Kos)


-Bonus HotD-
"Snake dies from silicone poisoning after biting model's breast during photoshoot."

A lesson for us all. (Daily Mail)