Stories to Watch: 4/26/12

I'm stuck for something to make, so it's burgers. Good thing I like burgers. Now here's the news...


Paul Ryan renounces everything he previously believed in to mollify the religious wing of his party. Makes you wonder if he actually believes in anything.


Karl Rove's electoral math puts President Obama way ahead. Let me repeat; that's Karl Rove's math.


After overcoming some GOP shenanigans, the latest incarnation of the Violence Against Women Act passes the Senate. Now it goes to the House, where things are almost certain to get really stupid. Trust me, the odds are extremely high that some GOPer or three will say something astonishingly insensitive.


In the process of getting the VAWA through, Al Franken gets a bit emotional.


If SCOTUS strikes down healthcare reform, they'll be joining in on the War on Women.


A lot of Boston Bruins fans are complete assholes.


The Koch brothers seem to have realized that no one but Republicans gives a fuck about Solyndra.


Finally, an empty-headed bleached foxbot mocks Sandra Fluke -- because that worked out so well the last time conservatives tried it.

Related articles

• Addressing VAWA, Sen. Al Franken Breaks Down On Senate Floor (thinkprogress.org)
• Karl Rove at Tufts: To win, GOP 'can't be mean' (bostonherald.com)
• Karl Rove-linked group Crossroads slams 'cool' Obama (abcnews.go.com)
• IRS Complaint Filed Against Karl Rove Group (lesliebrodie.wordpress.com)

Stories to Watch: 10/6/11

Another gorgeous day. Going to have to do something about all the leaves soon, though. I actually kind of like raking, if the weather's nice. A good excuse to get outside and just do a pleasant and undemanding chore. It's all very zen. Now here's the news...


In the Massachusetts Senate race, Republican incumbent Scott Brown decides that being a dick is a real smart move. He might consider a strategy that involves more friend-making and less enemy-making in the future, since the 'baggers plan to cut him loose.


Republicans want President Obama's blackberry messages in a Solyndra probe. It would be poetic justice for the president to tell them, "What George W. Bush said."


Scientific idiocy in the pages of the Wall Street Journal? Imagine my shock.


Lindsey Graham plays the victim card on Rick Perry's behalf. It seems that you can't get away with racism in the south anymore and this is a terrible, terrible thing. Or something. Serious, I can't make heads or tails of this argument.


Jobless claims seem to be holding pretty steady, hovering "near levels normally associated with improving labor market conditions." Economists said this is "yet another sign the ailing economy was not falling back into recession."


Westboro Baptist Hate Cult are now officially clowns.


The health insurance industry jumps aboard the campaign to save healthcare reform.


How to hand down the death penalty -- without a trial.


Finally, Bank of America's decision to charge a fee for debit cards is beginning to look Netflixian in its stupidity. The bank's website may have actually been brought down several times by all the customers rushing to close their accounts. Of course BoA won't confirm this, other than to say that traffic has been heavy lately.

Related articles

• Scott Brown May Have Just Lost His Senate Seat (buzzfeed.com)
• Scott Brown On Elizabeth Warren 'Keeping Her Clothes On' During College: 'Thank God' (mediaite.com)
• Poll: Massachusetts Senate race heats up (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)
• Bank Of America Debit Fee: D.C. Woman Gathers 137,000 Signatures In Protest (huffingtonpost.com)

News Roundup for 9/22/11

Mitt Romney

-Headline of the Day-
"Hundred Millionaire Mitt Romney Tells Crowd He, Too, Is Middle Class."

Mittens Romney knows a thing or two about class warfare -- mostly because he's made most of his money waging it.

But that's not what's important now. What's important is that you know he's just your average middle-class Joe, who happens to have like a gazillion dollars. How does he pull this off? It's math, dummy!

See, at a town hall event, Mittens chewed on a wheat stalk and stuck his thumbs in the bib of his overalls. He told his fellow hayseeds that he favors a tax policy that will help "those who have been hurt by the Obama economy."

Who's that? Mittens helpfully defined it; "And that's the middle class," Romney continued. "It's not those in the low end; it's certainly not those in the very high end. It's for the great middle class -- the 80 to 90 percent of us in this country." So, if you're not the 5 or 10 richest percentile or the 5 or 10 poorest percentile, you're freakin' Ward Cleaver and Fred Flintstone all rolled up into one neat middle class package. The guy who works at the 7-11? Middle class. Fella who works at a factory? Middle class. The rock star in the last video you watched? Most likely just middle class.

So poor Mittens is just like everyone else, just barely squeaking by on his somewhere-in-the-neighborhood-of-a-quarter-billion dollars. He gets into his Learjet one leg at a time, just like everybody else. (Wonkette)


-Cartoon time with Mark Fiore-
Hey kids, have you heard about this whole big Solyndra loan guarantee thing? It's basically where this one solar energy company acted just like the nuclear energy industry and it's the worst thing ever -- I guess because no reactors are involved or something.

Anyway, it proves this whole "green energy" stuff is just a bunch of hooey and we should just stick with what's working for us.


Click for animation

Next thing you know, they'll be saying we can get free energy from the wind! Crazy treehuggers... (MarkFiore.com)


-Bonus HotD-
"McCotter drops out of race for GOP presidential nomination."

Wait, who? (Detroit News)