Stories to Watch: 7/17/12

Had to skip the roundup to pick up a bike wheel that was in the shop. I broke a spoke on it the other day, which sucks. Everything's good now, though. Now here's the news...


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.

Related articles

• Rush Limbaugh: Batman Villain Was Named "Bane" To Hurt Mitt Romney

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• Communist Republicans demand Mitt Romney release his taxes

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• McCain: Sarah Palin Was A "Better Candidate" Than Mitt Romney

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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: 5/11/12

More than 200,000 will lose their unemployment benefits this weekend. Happy Mother's Day!


Mittens likes to argue that markets are way too over-regulated these days. About that...


Trayvon Martin's mom has a Mother's Day appeal.


Barney Frank has professional homophobe Tony Perkins for lunch.


Consumer confidence is at a 4-year high. Yes, those are beads of sweat on the GOP's lip.


Mittens gets incoherent on foreclosures.


Related: Steve Benen's Chronicling Mitt's Mendacity, Vol. XVII.


Cops being trained to hate Muslims.


Finally, homophobes believe the craziest horseshit.

Related articles

• Chris Matthews & Barney Frank Own Tony Perkins
• If you like JP Morgan's $2 billion loss, you will like Mitt Romney and love Ron Paul
• Banks have only themselves to blame for more regulation

Stories to Watch: 3/27/12

Got the tornado mess all cleared up. I hadn't been up there since it happened. Man, it was devastation. A big wide path right through the woods. Oddly, my mother's trailer home up there was fine. It must've stopped right at her front steps. Now here's the news...


This is kind of surprising: a fairly decent majority -- 55% -- haven't heard about the Romney Etch a Sketch comments. This seems odd to me, since everyone but Romney -- Republican and Democrat -- has been pushing the story.


IMF chief Dominque Strauss-Kahn finds himself in another sex scandal after being charged with "aggravated pimping."


Santorum's latest ad takes fearmongering to a new low. Luckily, it's also so ridiculous that it's impossible to take seriously. As Steve Benen says, "I don't generally laugh out loud at these sorts of things, but Santorum's video is the most unintentionally hilarious video from a presidential candidate I've seen from someone whose name does not rhyme with Sherman Bain." Move over, Demon Sheep.


Dick Morris has finally snapped.


Embattled Wisconsin Gov. Walker barely leads his two most likely rivals, indicating a tight recall race. It also shows his ad campaign has gotten him nowhere.


Also in Wisconsin news, Mitt Romney may be ahead, but he's having trouble getting anyone's attention here.


For coverage of the Supreme Court and the Affordable Care Act, Talking Points Memo has healthcare reform feed.


Does working for an airline make you crazy?


John McCain -- probably correctly -- predicts corruption scandals in the future because of unlimited campaign cash.


Finally, conservatives would rather smear Trayvon Martin than admit that overly liberal gun laws are stupid.

Related articles

• Romney's Mansion to Have Elevator ... for Cars (newser.com)
• Santorum lashes out at reporters; Romney spokesman calls him 'unhinged' (mercurynews.com)
• Santorum Sweeps Louisiana (thedailybeast.com)
• Romney Advisor's 'Etch A Sketch' Comment Shakes Up The Web [VIDEO] (mashable.com)

News Roundup for 3/19/12

Tom Corbett: Fighting truth, justice, and the American Way

-Headline of the Day-
"112% wrong in Pennsylvania."

When last we saw Pennsylvania Space Cadet Gov. Tom Corbett, he was handily defeating the evil forces of Ladies Who Get Abortions. Armed only with his slow wit and keen sense of the exact wrong thing to say, resourceful Tom fended off critics of his ultrasound bill by telling them, "I don't know how you make anybody watch. You just have to close your eyes" -- easily to proving to one and all that he has absolutely no understanding of the basis of that criticism.

Now, we find Cadet Corbett fighting another ruthless and villainous foe -- Citizens Who Want to Vote. When some of this ravenous horde asked why a voter ID law he signed was necessary, he let them have it. "When some of the precincts come in with a 112 percent reporting you have to scratch your head and say how does that happen?" he declared.

Where does this figure come from? Straight out of Corbett's trusty Astro-Utility Butt. Notes Steve Benen, "Corbett was Pennsylvania's state Attorney General, and before that, a U.S. Attorney. If he had found evidence of such obvious fraud, he had opportunities to investigate and prosecute. That never happened, because the fraud never took place."

Pennsylvania Space Cadet Gov. Tom Corbett; fighting truth wherever it rears its ugly head! (Maddow Blog)


-GOP strikes another righteous blow in the War on Women-



Now run along and knit baby clothes or needlepoint a pie or whatever the hell it is you women do when you're not eating fistfuls of abortion pills. (GoComics)


-Bonus HotD-
"Santorum Accepts Blessing After Pastor Tells All Buddhists, Muslims to Git Outta US."

Greenwell Springs (LA) Baptist Church pastor and Santorum-backer Dennis Terry says that America is Christians only and everyone else has to get the hell out! And Rick's just super-happy to take his endorsement and his magic blessing.

Can we get some media over  here to ask him if he agrees with Pastor Terry?

No? OK, under the rug it goes. (Wonkette, with video)

News Roundup for 3/7/12

Romney's latest tax plan

-Headline of the day-
"'It can't be scored.'"

Mitt Romney has a tax plan problem; he keeps coming out with new ones that nobody likes. According to Steve Benen, "For the second time in as many months, Mitt Romney unveiled another tax plan recently, and this one was intended to make his party's far-right base even happier. There's a lot for a conservative to like: major new tax breaks for the wealthy, slashing the corporate tax rate, and eliminating estate taxes altogether."

And the reason that the far-right will like it? It's completely insane and not at all based in anything resembling reality -- which is exactly what the wingnuts like. According to Benen, "The non-partisan Tax Policy Center published a fairly detailed analysis of Romney's new proposal and found that it's not only heavily tilted to benefit the rich, it also would make the deficit much worse -- by nearly a half-trillion dollars in 2015 alone -- because the former governor has made no effort to explain how he'd pay for these unnecessary tax breaks." It's typical Republican mumbo-jumbo; you pass huge tax breaks for bazillionaires and money flies out of your butt to cover the lost revenues. Worked for Bush, right?

Anyway, Romney made the mistake of going on CNBC, where people are serious about money and know things about it. The host of the network's Squawk Box asked Mittens what was up with this crazy, deficit exploding tax idea and Romney laughed it off. You can't score this thing, he answered, because how I pay for it all is, by design, a complete mystery.

No, really.

"I haven't laid out all the details of how we're going to deal with each one of the deductions and exemptions," Mittens said, "so I think it's kind of interesting for the groups who try and score it because, frankly, it can't be scored because those kinds of details are going to have be worked out with Congress."

"A tax plan that can't be scored because it doesn't include sufficient details is not a plan," Ezra Klein's WonkBlog notes. "[Romney] has a statement about what he would like a reformed tax system to include: lower rates for everyone. But that's cake-and-ice-cream stuff. All the hard questions -- which tax breaks to close, for instance -- remain unanswered, and it doesn't appear that he plans to answer them anytime soon."

So all pie-in-the-sky promises and no specifics? The nuts will just eat it up. And if this doesn't work, the next plan can include free unicorn rides. (Maddow Blog)


-The eyes follow you everywhere-



It'd totally work, though... (Truthdig)


-Bonus HotD-
"Joe The Plumber May Become Congressman The Plumber."

But more likely he'll remain Loser the Plumber. (Wonkette)

Stories to Watch: 1/28/12

The Washington Post has changed the address to Greg Sargent's RSS feed. Why do sites do that? It's a total pain. I'm going to have to edit it into the Superfeed, but I'm not going to be able to do it right away. For the time being, items marked "[Greg Sargent]" are actually general WaPo news stories. That'll be fixed later today.

I wish I would've noticed it sooner, because I added the Maddow Blog to get Steve Benen's new home into the feed this morning. I was already under the hood once -- I could've done it then. Now here's the news...


John Nichols notes that if you take all the votes in the GOP primary so far, break them down as a percentage of the electorate, and compare them to the number of signatures turned in to recall Wisconsin Republicans, you find that the Wisconsin recall is about twice as popular as all the GOP candidates combined. That may seem a little off in the weeds at first, but his point is that the numbers show a much more important movement than the media is giving us credit for.


For his part, Stephen Moore mostly agrees. In a Wall Street Journal piece in which he calls the recall the "most important non-presidential election of the decade." Of course, being the WSJ, that means sheer terror at the thought that unions could be making a comeback.


Mitten's opens up a big lead in Florida. However, that'd be the third time this month that the frontrunner has switched from Romney to Gingrich or vice versa (the last being just eight days ago) -- and new polling is expected tonight.


Sarah Palin attempts to remain relevant.


Grover Norquist wants to impeach Obama if he wins reelection and doesn't extend the Bush tax cuts. "High crimes?" "Misdemeanors?" "Democracy?" What are these things of which you speak?


Obama takes on an obstructionist congress.


Mittens has lost the independent voter.


Finally, Obama and Democrats are working to bring the Buffet Rule -- which would have the wealthy paying more in taxes than their help -- up for a vote. This is probably going to be a big one, so keep an eye out.

Related articles

• Late Night FDL: Crime and Punishment, by Grover Norquist (firedoglake.com)
• How Out There Is Grover Norquist? (andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com)
• Mitt Romney turning off independents (dailykos.com)
• What Romney Would Pay Under His Tax Plan (alan.com)

Stories to Watch: 1/24/12

Lasagna tonight. Gonna be awesome. Now here's the news...


Big State of the Union address tonight. There will reportedly be a focus on the shrinking middle class, so expect shrieks of "class warfare!" from the country club set. John Boehner gets the fainting couch all warmed up.


One of my fave go-to bloggers -- Steve Benen -- is moving to the Rachel Maddow show. No word on who'll be replacing Steve, but Washington Monthly' Political Animal will go on.


Both Gingrich and Romney are unpopular with general election voters. The frontrunner situation has the right falling on each other like a pack of wolves.


Barney Frank proves that flawless logic can be really funny.


Dem insiders think the GOP primaries could last until the daisies start sprouting again.


This may be the stupidest, most unnecessary piece of legislation in the nation right now.


Bill Kristol's panic deepens.


Finally, Wisconsin dems make sure Scott Walker's out-of-state fundraising tour gets the attention it deserves.

Related articles

• Griper Blade: Out of State Money King Scott Walker Complains About Out of State Money in Wisconsin Recall (gripernews.blogspot.com)
• Preview Obama's State Of The Union Address (dfw.cbslocal.com)
• Romney Attacks Obama in 'Prebuttal' (myfoxny.com)
• White House on the offensive in final hours before State of the Union (whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com)

Stories to Watch: 1/15/12

Not much going on out there. There never really is on a Sunday. I guess I'll take a moment to explain a feature of the daily "Stories to Watch" post that I've never gotten around to explaining.

A lot of these links may seem to lack context, but if you hover your cursor over them, you'll get the headline to the piece it links to. So, if you see a link that says "So-and-so is a dick" and nothing else, hover the cursor to see why. Now here's the news...


Mittens -- by his own argument -- is a serial killer.


It's come to this; a climate scientist's wife is threatened by warming-denying cultists.


Mittens puts out an ad claiming that everyone's lying about him -- then lies about Obama in that same ad.


Steve Benen points out that the fight against SOPA is over -- at least, for this year -- and we've won. No, really.


Perhaps worse than being out-of-touch, Mitt's Bain history shows that he's untrustworthy.


That's it for the Wisconsin recall petitioning phase, now on to counting the signatures. Don't expect any dem candidates until we have an official count.


Finally, SOPA's demise makes Rupert Murdoch sad.

Related articles

• Controversial Scott Walker Billboard Removed (huffingtonpost.com)
• Wisconsin Rising: Grassroots Documentary Film Follows the People's Movement in Madison from Revolt to Recalls (alternet.org)
• Grassroots effort on the brink of recalling a fourth Wisconsin Republican state senator (dailykos.com)
• Rupert Murdoch blasts Google as 'piracy leader' in Twitter rant (simplyzesty.com)

Stories to Watch: 1/12/12

You know how to prepare to clear snow? First you get out cocoa powder, sugar, milk, and vanilla, make hot cocoa, and put it in a thermos. This is readiness. Now here's the news...


Hey, want to see Newt Gingrich's attack movie on Mitt Romney? Here ya go. It's 28 minutes, so make sure you've got the time. Steve Benen says, "Aside from some oblique xenophobic slights sprinkled into the script, it is as liberal an indictment against the former governor as anything I’ve seen." I haven't seen it yet, but I'll probably watch it tonight -- with popcorn.


Rudy Giuliani is decidedly unimpressed with Newt's cinematic opus. I like to see that.


And if Mittens thinks he's getting hammered with Bain now, wait until the general election.


The concept of poetic license is completely alien to wingnuts.


Rick Santorum is a clown.


Rush Limbaugh is a racist.


McCain flip-flops on Romney's Bain career.


Finally, Newt's a commie.

Related articles

• Rudy Giuliani To Newt Gingrich: 'What The Hell Are You Doing?' (huffingtonpost.com)
• Newt Gingrich: I Didn't Admit Attacking Mitt Romney On Bain Capital Was A Mistake (huffingtonpost.com)
• Private Equity Investor Rudy Giuliani Slams Attacks On Romney, Bain Capital As 'Ignorant, Dumb' (thinkprogress.org)
• Giuliani Calls Gingrich's Anti-Romney Attacks 'Ignorant, Dumb' (abcnews.go.com)

News Roundup for 1/9/12

Probably not what Romney meant

-Headline of the Day-
"'I like being able to fire people.'"

The above words are a fine example of something you should never, ever in a million years say if you're running for president under the banner of "I'm a Big-Time Job Creator!"

This is especially true if you're Mitt Romney, whose record of job creation is sketchy at best and nearly nonexistent at worst.

But Mittens said exactly that at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast this morning in Nashua. Full context: "I want individuals to have their own insurance. That means the insurance company will have an incentive to keep you healthy. It also means that if you don’t like what they do, you could fire them. I like being able to fire people who provide services to me. You know, if someone isn’t giving the good service, I want to say, I’m going to go get someone else to provide this service to."

OK, so not so extremely terrible in context -- just garden variety terrible. As a sound bite goes, this is a campaign commercial. For example, Team Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt was nearly speechless at his candidate's good fortune. His response: "!!!"

No, really.

"I think I see the point Romney was trying to get at," Steve Benen comments, "but for a guy with an atrocious jobs record, who got very wealthy laying off American workers, 'I like being able to fire people' is a seven-word phrase that may prove tough to live down."

With all the GOP candidates already going all OWS on Romney (yeah, they've all turned hippie), this is exactly the wrong way for Mittens to go.

Still, he's quickly disproving that whole "not a real Republican" thing everyone tried to saddle him with -- he's got the Republican style of competence down pat. (Political Animal)


-I used to like having eyes-
Oh jeebus...


Click for full comic

Maybe steel wool will get the image out... (Bad Reporter)


-Bonus HotD-
"Could Huntsman Take Second?"

Jon Huntsman has a real chance of taking the silver in New Hampshire tomorrow. That Santorum boomlet sure didn't last long, huh? (Talking Points Memo)

Stories to Watch: 12/6/11

Burgers tonight, because I can't think of anything else to make and I haven't had one in a while. Always nice to have an old standby. Now here's the news...


National Review senior editor Ramesh Ponnuru tries to talk sense into Republican voters flocking to Gingrich. It is, of course, a lost cause. Check the comment thread for the racist, idiotic, ignorant response from the base. One moron calls him a "non American," while another says he's a member of the "same biased media that brought us Obama." Trust me, the thread is full of this kind of stupidity. Rightwing blowhards like Ponnuru made these idiots -- now they get to live with them.


Rightwing hack Jennifer Rubin also gives a shot at dragging the base back to reality and away from Newt. I doubt she'll have any better luck.


BTW, Gallup confirms that the fools are running toward Gingrich like he's the second coming of Reagan.


I don't think I've ever come across the writing of Esquire's Charles P. Pierce before, but this is freakin' awesome.


The Pentagon advises Newt Gingrich to actually read the stuff he mouths off about.


Yahoo News gets invited (accidentally) to listen in on an RNC strategy call.


Obama talks income inequality.


Politico will give a "Health Care Policymaker of the Year" award to Rep. Paul Ryan. Steve Benen notes that this is insane.


Republicans filibuster the appointment of a judicial nominee. Caitlin Halligan would've been confirmed had it been an up-or-down vote. That's the Senate's version of democracy for you; the side with the least votes wins.


Finally, Mittens turns down The Donald's celebrity game show. So far, it's just Newt and Rick Santorum. Sounds like must-miss TV.

Related articles

• Newt Gingrich swings into lead in new polls (bazaardaily.com)
• Rev. Chuck Currie: Would You Trust Newt Gingrich With Your Children? (huffingtonpost.com)
• Newt Gingrich on terror attacks: "they should every once in a while have allowed an attack to get through" (seeker401.wordpress.com)
• James Moore: Kiss What? (huffingtonpost.com)

Stories to Watch: 11/6/11

Made tuna melts on homemade sourdough last night. Envy me. Now here's the news...


Wingnut outrage of the day: OccupyDC protests a Koch event in Washington, where the rampaging commies attack a 78 year-old woman and brutally throw her down a flight of stairs. To prove it, John Hinderaker posts video -- which, unfortunately for him, doesn't show that at all.


John Boehner says members of his party aren't servants to the rich (while rushing to the defense of the 1%) and are all about cutting spending -- an argument Steve Benen knocks down effortlessly.


At a Koch event, Mitt Romney promises to take as much away from you as he can get away with, in order to continue tax cuts for the rich.


While the subject of his sexual harassment problems were off-limits at a Gingrich-Cain debate, that didn't stop Herman from totally screwing the pooch. A question about Medicare induced a "deer in the headlights" moment for Cain -- and he finally passed the question to Gingrich, like a contestant on a game show. Newt may be completely bonkers, but he's way smarter than Herman. Why Cain agreed to participate in what would so clearly become a fiasco for him is something I may never understand. This was just so utterly predictable.


5.6 earthquake in Oklahoma.


George Will applauds increased unemployment.


Finally, it's clear that constant questions about his harassment scandal are starting to get under Herman Cain's skin.

Related articles

• Herman Cain: "I've Had A Great Week" (alan.com)
• Herman Cain Blasts Media For Sexual Harassment Questions After Debate With Gingrich (mediaite.com)
• Cain Support Drops Amid Harassment Scandal (businessinsider.com)
• Cain-Gingrich in 2012? (politicalwire.com)

Stories to Watch: 11/3/11

Purported details of one of the incidents that got Herman Cain in hot water are published by -- of all places -- Pajamas Media. If true, it's really, really, really, really, really, really bad.


In related news, it looks like Team Cain has run out of people to blame.


A 'bagger calls Elizabeth Warren a "socialist whore" at an appearance before campaign volunteers, because they're classy like that. She handled it with grace. Oh, and he was a birther, too. What joys these people are.


Nate Silver gives Obama a 50/50 at reelection. Not a big fan of those odds. Still, it's a long way to go to the election.


Still wondering what the Occupy movement is about? Try this. Not good enough? How about this?


Nearly half of Floridian respondents to a poll said they believed the GOP "are intentionally hindering efforts to boost the economy so that President Barack Obama will not be reelected." It's one state, but "[I]t’s a large, diverse swing state that both parties take very seriously" and may be indicative of the US as a whole, says Steve Benen.


Rick Santorum is still an ass -- I guess because it's been working so well for him so far. At this rate, all he needs is for every, single other GOP candidate to literally die off and he just might have a shot at the nomination.


Occupy Mitch McConnell!


Republicans filibuster a major infrastructure bill, because jobs and roads and bridges and stuff are socialism.


Finally, who are the 1%? We may just find out.

Related articles

• Herman Cain's New Strategy: Look the Other Way (abcnews.go.com)
• Herman Cain Campaign Manager Struggles With Megyn Kelly's Most Basic Questions (mediaite.com)
• Herman Cain blames left-wing racism for his sexual harassment problem (dailykos.com)
• Herman Cain In March: If Anyone Finds A Skeleton In My Closet 'They Will Have Made It Up' (mediaite.com)

Stories to Watch: 10/22/11

I'm going to take another whack at sourdough bread. This time, I'll knead it after it comes out of the bread machine and divide it into two loaves so it's not in the oven for as long (the crusts have been a little too crusty, even for sourdough). We'll see how that works out. Now here's the news...


The UPenn campus paper publishes Eric Cantor's speech on income inequality. You know, the one he cancelled after it became clear the audience wouldn't be sycophantic? Here's a fun game: use your browser to search for the words "income" and "inequality" in the text. It's very instructive.


Steve Benen reviews Cantor's undelivered speech; "After having read it, it seems Cantor probably made a wise choice canceling at the last minute." The speech in a nutshell; "Trickle down economics will work this time. I swear!" Anyone who'd give this steaming pile of a speech deserves to be heckled.


Unfortunately for Eric, he doesn't actually have to be there to be protested.


The new conservative spin; President Obama won the war in Iraq wrong.


Proof that global warming denial is an article of faith, not a scientific position; after a Koch-funded study led by a climate skeptic confirms anthropogenic global warming, the deniers are still denying.


Electric car companies are using federal money to create jobs in America. Needless to say, it's the worst thing ever.


Finally, Karl Rove's super-secret American Crossroads PAC warns the GOP that Obama's "tax the rich" rhetoric is working; "our poll found that 64% favor raising taxes on people with incomes above $200,000."

Related articles

• Eric Cantor Cancels Income Inequality Speech When UPenn Can't Guarantee 'Selected Audience' (mediaite.com)
• Protesters Scare Eric Cantor Into Canceling His Income Inequality Speech [The Economy] (gawker.com)
• Cantor Cancels Wharton Lecture When He Finds Public Is Invited (crooksandliars.com)
• Fearing Occupy Philly, Eric Cantor cancels speech (dailykos.com)

News Roundup for 10/20/11

Was killed wrong

-Headline of the Day-
"The GOP's 'Thank America Last' crowd."

Moomer Qadaffy's dead. Yay! Everyone's celebrating, even the GOP. Tea Party darling Sen. Marco Rubio went on Fox News to give credit where credit was due.

"Today's not a day to point fingers," Marco said. "I'm glad it's all working out. Ultimately this is about the freedom and liberty of the Libyan people. But let's give credit where credit is due: it's the French and the British that led in this fight, and probably even led on the strike that led to Gadhafi's capture, and, or, you know, to his death."

"So, that's the first thing," he went on. "The second thing is, you know, I criticize the president, for, he did the right things, he just took too long to do it and didn't do enough of it."

Wait, I thought "today's not a day to point fingers." Oh well, whatever. What's really important is the flag-humping Marco offers thanks to the people who deserve it -- the French, who I guess 'baggers no longer hate.

"In the mind of this rising Republican star, the American military that helped drive Gadhafi's regime from power deserves no credit at all," writes Steve Benen. "Marco Rubio is comfortable crediting the French, but not American men and women in uniform."

Well yeah. If you start giving credit to the men and women in America's fighting forces, you're going to wind up having to give Obama credit -- and who wants that? It'd totally undermine Rubio's argument that Khaadoffi wasn't killed right.

Not to be left out in the cold with the troops, Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham -- America's only conjoined twin senators -- issued a statement congratulating "British, French, and other allies, as well as our Arab partners, especially Qatar and the UAE" for Ghadfaffle's death. It was just too bad "this success was so long in coming due to the failure of the United States to employ the full weight of our airpower." Once again, Obama didn't kill Kgaqffk right, so no thanks for you, American fighting person. You won the war wrong!

So, to sum up the GOP's response to Ghqkkff's death: "Suck it, troops." (Political Animal)


-Cartoon time with Mark Fiore-
"Hey kids, Dogboy and Mr. Dan are back -- Yay! -- and they're in a cartoon coincidentally called...


Click for animation

Conservatives have weird ideas about gratitude. (MarkFiore.com)


-Bonus HotD-
"Trump upset Gadhafi killed before U.S. got Libya's oil."

I mean, just because the oil's under their dirt doesn't mean it's the Libyans' oil. (Raw Story))

News Roundup for 10/11/11

100% dumb

-Headline of the Day-
"About those '53 percent.'"

You might've heard that some "conservative activists" [read "paid corporate whores"] have put together a site they call We are the 53%. Erick Erickson is one of the brainiacs behind this thing and, since he's a clown, it's all very stupid. Basically, it's a way to make fun of another blog -- We are the 99% -- where people share stories about how they're either barely getting by or are not getting by at all. This seems the obvious thing to do, because these 99-percenter stories are all from people who've been wrongfully evicted or developed cancer or had their jobs shipped overseas or had their better-paid spouse die on them. Since conservatives are assholes, they're going to kick these people when they're down. And get a good chuckle out of it at the same time.

Anyhoo, as I said, it's all very stupid. Many of the people on the site claiming to be the 53% (i.e., people who pay income tax) clearly aren't, but aren't smart enough to figure that out. In other cases, they're chumps who are getting fucked ("I work 60 hours a week on a salary that pays me for 45 hours"), but think it's somehow "unamerican" to try to do anything to get unfucked. These are deeply, deeply dumb people.

But, as I said, Erick-Erick is a clown, so a big part of the fun comes from his story of hardship (he's a professional pundit and a CNN contributor); "I work three jobs. I have a house I can’t sell. My family insurance costs are outrageous. But I don’t blame Wall Street. Suck it up you whiners. I am the 53% subsidizing you so you can hang out on Wall Street and complain."

To which Steve Benen responds that this is all crap. It's "rather foolish" to argue Erick-Erick works three jobs and, even if he did, it'd be even crazier to say it was because he has to. Not blaming Wall Street for a weak housing market caused by securitized debt in the form of "toxic assets" is even crazier. And, of course, his "family insurance costs" are something Erick-Erick literally gets paid to keep high, by virtue of being a professional opponent of healthcare reform. In short, Erick-Erick is -- as I keep saying over and over -- a freakin' clown. At this point, saying he's a hack would be giving him too much credit.

What Benen doesn't point out -- and I'm surprised he doesn't -- is that Erik-Erik and all these bobbleheads on his site just spent the last three years bitching about the economy. But now that someone comes along and places the blame where it belongs... Why, there's nothing wrong with the economy! Everything's great! Stop whining! (this "reasoning" is rampant on the right; see my handy infographic here)

"If there are any actual 'whiners' in this scenario," Benen asks, "shouldn't the label go to millionaires who shudder at the idea of paying Clinton-era tax rates?"

Yes. Yes it should. Quit your bitching, Erick-Erick, and pull your goddam weight. (Political Animal)


-Why the wingnuts don't love Mittens-


Click to embiggen

And let's not even get started on their whole "save Medicare from being slashed by Obamacare/slash Medicare!" thing. (McClatchy)


-Bonus HotD-
"Conservative Fundraiser Wants To 'Clear K Street Of Protesters' By Hitting 'A Few With A Car.'"

Nathan Wurtzel is also a clown. (ThinkProgress)

Stories to Watch: 10/7/11

Last time I checked, it was 82 degrees out. Eighty-freakin'-two. I have to grill burgers. I have no choice. Now here's the news...


It's come to this; Rick Perry has an ad out attacking Mitt Romney for being concerned about the environment. Perry's clearly going for the asshole vote -- i.e., those people who buy the least fuel efficient vehicles they can find, just to piss Al Gore off.


Speaking of Mittens, he made a foreign policy speech to day that was a hopeless mess of inane and paranoid nonsense.


Steve Benen takes on GOP economic flateartherism; "In the GOP worldview, the economy will improve when hundreds of thousands of public-sector workers lose their jobs. That may sound ridiculous -- and it is -- but it's also a central tenet to the Republican employment policy. Remember what House Speaker John Boehner said earlier this year, told that his budget plan would force hundreds of thousands of government employees into unemployment? 'So be it.'"


Also from Benen; You may have heard that Harry Reid invoked the "nuclear option." That's only true if you completely redefine what "nuclear option" means.


The White House responds to Eric Cantor's assertion that Occupy Wall Street is a "mob," calling it "hypocrisy unbound." To fully understand Cantor's argument, see my handy infographic.


Good news for President Obama; the birthers are still out there, making the right look like a group of idiots and mental patients.


The Obama administration takes Alabama to court, seeking to overturn their insane anti-immigrant law.


Finally, the return of the glitter protest.

Related articles

• Cantor worried about #OccupyWallStreet protesters. He should be. (americablog.com)
• Eric Cantor Says He's 'Worried' About The Occupied Wall Street 'Mobs' (mediaite.com)
• The media asks: Why oh why won't Obama compromise with the Republicans? (americablog.com)
• Populism And The Shift In Political Debate (andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com)

News Roundup for 9/24/11

BLT's tonight, I think. Summer's quickly fading, but I've still got garden tomatoes. Now here's the news...


We're back to this again; old and stale, Rick Perry. Shiny and new, Chris Christie.


A federal John Doe investigation into campaign work surrounding Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker appears to heat up as three witnesses are granted immunity. Judge Neal Nettesheim, who's overseeing the investigation explained that the grant of immunity "does not necessarily mean, imply or infer that those witnesses are suspected of, or guilty of, any criminal wrongdoing. Rather, it simply means that the witnesses asked for immunity, that the State chose to ask me to confer such immunity, and that I chose to grant the state's requests."


Mitt Romney and Rick Perry have yet to condemn the boos of a gay soldier at the latest GOP debate. When Rick Santorum is out ahead of you in doing the right thing, you've really screwed things up.


A new poll finds Obama approvals through the floor -- although he still leads the entire GOP field. You've got to remember here, people saying they disapprove aren't saying they won't vote for him. If someone called me, I'd say I disapproved too -- because he makes bad deals that water down what could be effective policy. But that doesn't mean I'm going to vote for one of the Republican nutjobs.


Democrats make a big push behind the president's jobs bill. Steve Benen says the massive ad buy shows real commitment to the legislation.


Finally, proof that the NRA is just a collection of ideological clowns; top NRA nut Wayne LaPierre says that the fact that President Obama hasn't tried to take guns from Americans is proof that President Obama will try to take guns from Americans.

Related articles

• Santorum Limply Condemns Those Who Booed Active Duty Gay Soldier (pinkbananaworld.com)
• Santorum: "Boos? What Boos?!! Oh And... Uhh, Thank You, Soldier" (queerty.com)
• Feds Grant Immunity To Walker's Former Spokesman In Ongoing Probe (crooksandliars.com)
• Walker Eyed in Corruption Probe (politicalwire.com)

Stories to Watch: 8/29/11

Put in a ceiling fan yesterday. It was a nightmare. If I were designing something to be installed by someone I hated, this is what I'd come up with. Seriously, it's like it never occurred to any engineer at the manufacturer that someone would actually have to connect this thing to the ceiling. Now here's the news...


Michele Bachmann's campaign says she was kidding when she said God was sending earthquakes and hurricanes because he was mad at government spending. Let me make a couple of points here; one, jokes are generally supposed to be funny and, two, if she was kidding, what does it say about the candidate that no one could tell the difference Shelly the absurdist and Shelly the serious?


Labor economist Alan Krueger will replace Austan Goolsbee as chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. He sounds like the kind of guy America needs, which means confirmation is going to be a bitch. No sanity or realism allowed!

***
Here comes the racism again. Jack Cashill at the poorly named American Thinker takes a gander at a letter Barack Obama wrote in the Harvard Law Record and simply does not care for the writing. Conclusion, President Obama is an affirmative action case who never belonged at Harvard in the first place. Needless to say, Scott Johnson at Powerline concurs.

Here's a fun game; let's take a look at George W. Bush's, Michele Bachmann's, Rick Perry's, and Sarah Palin's college writings and see how they stack up. I'd bet the farm they'd be as stupid as you'd expect. And only one of those was an affirmative action case -- George W. Bush, who scored a scholarship because his dad was a Yale graduate.

But we don't call that "affirmative action for rich white guys," we call that "legacy."

***
Eric Cantor is still standing by his "no disaster relief without spending cuts" hostage scheme. Steve Benen nails it:

Let’s also not lose sight of the larger context here. As far as Eric Cantor is concerned, launching wars in Iraq and Afghanistan do not need to be paid for. Tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires do not need to be paid for. Bailing out Wall Street does not need to be paid for. But when American communities are struck by a natural disaster, all of a sudden, House Republicans discover a new standard: if Democrats want to help affected areas, the GOP has some demands that must be met.

Benen says Cantor's stance is "morally reprehensible." I say I wish Benen hadn't gone so easy on him.

***
Gay terrorists wage jihad on poor Rick Santorum.


Joe Scarborough wonders if it's a good idea to go marching off to war at the drop of a hat, without considering what the costs might be.


Rick Perry's brain is like a "chicken pot pie," in case you were wondering about that. Apparently, Republican voters really like that in a candidate.


Finally, Fox News' Stuart Varney is really just an awful, awful person.

Related articles

• Eric Cantor God's Punishment for Voting for Eric Cantor (isoutrage.wordpress.com)
• Eric Cantor hates people who ride bikes, apparently The... (shortformblog.tumblr.com)
• CNN Poll: Perry Leads GOP Race Even If Palin Runs (blogs.wsj.com)
• Rick Santorum says Gays Are On "Jihad against Rick Santorum" (towleroad.com)