News Roundup for 11/29/11

Pres. Obama and VP Biden react to Gingrich's call for them to repudiate numbers

-Headline of the Day-
"Newt Gingrich: 'I Call On The President To Repudiate The Concept Of The 99 And The 1.'"

The Republican War on Math reached a fever pitch today, when presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich called upon President Obama to disavow the very concept of numbers.

"I repudiate, and I call on the President to repudiate, the concept of the 99 and the 1," Newton said. "It is un-American, it is divisive, it is historically false... You are not going to get job creation when you engage in class warfare because you have to attack the very people you hope will create jobs."

You ever notice that Newton does not use any contractions? Perhaps he can not.

Whatever linguistic challenges Gingrich may face, his grasp of mathematics is as poor as the rest of the GOP field. The concept of 99% and 1% is not only "historically accurate" -- whatever that's supposed to mean -- but provable with a common household calculator. And it's not the 99-percenters who've been attacking "the very people you hope will create jobs," it's Newton. Because, in typical GOP fashion, he has job creation all wrong. Consumers create jobs, not suppliers. If 99% of the people are broke, those 1% who aren't aren't going to hire people -- mostly because no one will be able to afford what they've been hired to do. It's like hiring someone to paint your boat because you can afford to pay them -- but you don't actually have a boat.

People aren't going to do stuff like that.

But don't try to tell Newt that. Those are facts. And the War on Math is just a front in the broader War on Facts. In that war, Newt's a four-star general. (ThinkProgress, with video)


-And the main tactic is the War on Facts is...-
...being an asshole about it.


Click to embiggen

It's what they're good at. (Cartoon Politics)


-Bonus HotD-
"Rick Perry Hoping He Can At Least Win Imaginary Nov. 12 Election."

Rick tells an audience, "Those of you that will be 21 by November the 12th, I ask for your support and your vote. Those of you who won't be, work hard."

The election is November 6th and you only have to be 18 to vote.

The elitist tyranny of facts wins again. (Wonkette)

News Roundup for 6/7/11

Stuff is too complicated!

-Headline of the day-
"EXCLUSIVE: Herman Cain Pledges Not To Sign Any Bill Longer Than Three Pages."

At an appearance in Iowa, The Hermanator gave his take on the big ol' honkin' laws congress insists on passing and that presidents have a habit of signing. "Engage the people," he told the crowd. "Don't try to pass a 2,700 page bill -- and even they didn't read it! You and I didn't have time to read it. We're too busy trying to live -- send our kids to school. That's why I am only going to allow small bills -- three pages. You’ll have time to read that one over the dinner table. What does Herman Cain, President Cain talking about in this particular bill?"

A couple of points here; first off, President Cain wouldn't say jack in a bill -- congress writes them. That's in the Constitution and everything.

Second; super-complicated issues need super-complicated bills. That's just reality. You could pass the leanest federal budget in American history on three pages, but you'd need an electron microscope to read it.

"The vast majority of substantive bills passed by Congress are longer than three pages," the report tells us. "Under this bright-line rule, Cain wouldn't have signed such landmark pieces of legislation as the Civil Rights Act, the Social Security Act, or the PATRIOT Act. In fact, he wouldn't have even been able to sign the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003, which ran 114 and 18 pages, respectively."

This is like saying that computers don't work because the mechanics and electronics are too complicated for most people to understand. In Cain's world, you'd be reading this on an abacus right now. (ThinkProgress, with video)


-Listen my children and you shall hear...-
...Sarah Palin butcher the story of Paul Revere.



I'm saddened that there wasn't a joke about "every middlesex village and farm." Seriously, kids have been giggling over that one for years. (Comedy Central)


-Bonus HotD-
"Party of David Vitter & Larry Craig & Newt Gingrich Tells Anthony Weiner To Resign."

Kind of speaks for itself, doesn't it? (Wonkette)

News Roundup for 2/8/11

GOP motto

-Headline of the day-
"CNN Poll: Republicans want winner over ideology in 2012."

Turns out that ideological purity isn't super-important to the teabagging right. Who knew? What they want is someone who can win, because Barack HUSSEIN Obama is the worst president ever and anything would be better than that commie!

At least, that's what Republican respondents told survey takers for a CNN poll. According to the report, "nearly seven out of ten Republicans say they would prefer a GOP presidential nominee who can top Obama in the next election, with 29 percent saying a nominee who agrees with them on every issue that matters the most is more important."

Republicans being open minded! It's a miracle!

Except, they aren't. When asked who they'd support for president, the three top vote-getters were Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, and Mittens Romney.

You know, real middle-of-the-road types. (CNN)


-Yeah, is this the number for tech support?-
Came across this on reddit today:


Click for full image

Sums everything up nicely, I think. (Reddit)


-Bonus HotD-
"Rep. Posey Can't Say If He Takes Govt. Health Care Because He Doesn't 'Know' If He's 'A Federal Employee'

So, not only doesn't Bill Posey know that, yes, he's a fed employee, but he doesn't know whether or not he has health insurance.

Good job, voters of Florida's 15th district. You really picked a winner here. (ThinkProgress, with video)