News Roundup for 3/10/11

Wisconsin GOP Headquarters

-Headline of the day-
"Poll: Majorities support recall of two Wisconsin GOP senators."

You might have heard there was a little kerfuffle at the Wisconsin capitol last night. Seems a bunch of GOP state senators wanted to commit political suicide and no one could talk them off the ledge. Tragic, really. The method of self-execution was a vote -- of questionable legality -- to strip public employees of their collective bargaining rights. In case you haven't been paying attention, this was a mind-bogglingly unpopular move.

And so the efforts begin to recall senators involved in the vote. And (extremely) early polling shows some groundswell -- at least two Republican senators are easy pickings. The poll shows that 54% of his constituents would vote to recall Sen. Randy Hopper and 57% would do the same for Sen. Dan Kapanke.

Of course, things have changed since the poll was taken -- the GOP senators actually held the vote. That's right, those are pre-vote-to-throw-your-career-away numbers, so the odds are pretty damned good that things are just going to go from bad to worse for them. How do I know? Liberal groups raised $200,000 in one night following the vote and AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka named Gov. Scott Walker "Mobilizer of the Year," so lefties are pretty fired up here.

How many GOPers have to fall for Democrats to take control of the senate? Three. Eeeeee, I'm so excited!

It was a wild ride, Wisconsin senate Republicans. Hope you enjoyed it, because it's almost over. (Plum Line)


-Cartoon time with Mark Fiore-
Hey kids! Uncle Mark is sick or on vacation or dead or something, so today's cartoon is by some Xeth Feinberg guy filling in for him. It's just as good!

So today, we're going to learn how to be one of those talking head guys on teevee! Yay!


Click for animation

No really! People make money doing this stuff... Scout's honor! (MarkFiore.com)


-Bonus HotD-
"Rand Paul Blames Energy Department for Faulty Toilets, Among Other Things."

They're just so complicated -- he can't even figure out how you plug one in! (New York Times)

News Roundup for 3/9/11

Not if Republicans have their way

-Headline of the day-
"Wisconsin Senate leader admits union-busting bill is about defeating Obama."

Speaking with Fox's Megyn Kelly -- who I fell compelled to point out is just an awful, awful person -- Wisconsin senate majority leader Scott Fitzgerald -- or "Fitz," as no one calls him -- said that this whole "we gotta bust up the unions" thing has jack squat to do with any manufactured "budget crisis."

"If we win this battle, and the money is not there under the auspices of the unions, certainly what you're going to find is President Obama is going to have a much difficult, much more difficult time getting elected and winning the state of Wisconsin," he said. Thousands laid off, families seeing a drastic drop in their income, reduced tax revenues, falling consumer demand blowing a hole in economic recovery?

Who cares? They've got elections to win and, if that means screwing nearly everyone in Wisconsin to get there, then so be it.

Remember folks, today's Republican Party is looking out for you -- if by "looking out for" you mean "completely screwing over." (Raw Story, with video)


-Not those terr'ists, the other terr'ists!-
Jon Stewart takes on Rep. Peter King's "let's all be terrified of the Muslims!" hearings, scheduled to begin tomorrow.



A Republican and a hypocrite? Unheard of! (Crooks and Liars)


-Bonus HotD-
"Gingrich says he cheated on his wives because he felt so 'passionately' for 'this country'."

What, does Newt-level love of country give you a constant woody or something? I know they say that patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, but this is taking it to a whole new level. (Raw Story, with video)

News Roundup for 3/4/11

Try to remember the good times, Republicans...

-Headline of the day-
"Are Wisconsin Republicans preparing to break with Walker?"

Both the Wall Street Journal and an NBC affiliate in La Crosse, Wisconsin are reporting that some Republicans in that state's senate are starting to waver in their unquestioning, zombie-like support of Gov Walker's union busting budget plan. WSJ reports the GOP "are getting nervous that three Republican state senators may defect," while WEAU says "four moderate Republicans are wavering and could break with the GOP and vote against Walker's budget repair bill." The dem/GOP split in that chamber is 14-19, so two are enough to stall it and three would be enough to kill it.

Nononononono! says Wisconsin senate majority leader Scott Fitzgerald. They're all on the same page. And look, they all held a "unity" press conference to prove it. All the GOP senators were there -- that is, if you don't count Dale Schultz, who everyone knows is the most likely to bail on the whole idea. He skipped it, which is something you totally shouldn't read anything into.

See? They're all standing together on this -- except for that one guy who isn't.

Now all we need is another... (Plum Line)


-Cartoon time with Mark Fiore-
Hey kids, don't like broccoli? Make mom cut it from the budget in the name of "fiscal responsibility!"


Click for animation

Of course, if you cut everything that's good for you, you'll get sick and die... But you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, right? (MarkFiore.com)


-Adventures in Bass-Ackward-Land-
Jon Stewart examines the concept of "shared sacrifice" in budget balancing.



So, to sum up; teachers are fabulously well-to-do and Wall Street bankers are impoverished.

And people wonder why I tell them to steer clear of TV news. (Comedy Central)