Dark as the dungeon he'll be put in

Another corrupt corporate bully, thug, and asshole I'd like to see in jail.

Daily Beast

Donald Blankenship was the most powerful coal mogul in America, but he could soon be indicted, thanks to 14 years of work by two Pittsburgh lawyers. By Laurence Leamer, the author of the new book The Price of Justice.

Although the investigation began by exploring what role Massey supervisors and executives had in the 2010 explosion at their Upper Big Branch mine, the feds have gone on to look into a wide range of devastating accusations against Blankenship. This is a daring inquiry into the dark heart of power at Massey and in West Virginia. If only a portion of what they are exploring is true and Goodwin has the guts to stick to it, in the next couple of months Blankenship may be indicted with a series of charges that will shake up the Mountain State as few things have in years. If Goodwin decides not to indict and cuts a deal to help his anticipated run for governor next year with the backing of Big Coal, as the most fervid cynics suggest, he will have to defend his conduct from Bluefield to Wheeling. But everything so far suggests that the investigation has led inevitably and inexorably to Blankenship, and that Goodwin and his associates will not be walking away without an indictment.
...

Blankenship may very well be indicted in the next few weeks and if the evidence is strong and well presented, he will be convicted and sent to prison. That will send a signal to the entire Appalachian region that no longer can corporate and political mandarins run roughshod over the rights of the people.

There's no such thing as "clean coal". On any level. This might help on one.

Just for fun:

Thanks to henrygreen0203.

Saturday Emmylou Blogging

I'm sure all us Olde Fartes can relate...

Heartbreak, as only she can do, the Matraca Berg classic...from the album out now, Old Yellow Moon with Rodney Crowell,

Back When We Were Beautiful

Thanks to Jojo heartspaypay.

Heh

I see I'm not the only one who has busted this. :-)

A tip o' the Brain to Being Liberal.

Rep. Issa (Bully, Loser - CA)

Article at Salon on Darrell Issa, former car thief and presently, and shamefully, congressman from my state in charge of the Benghazi keep-Hillary-from-becoming-President failed witch hunt. We have several despicable Repug congressman from California. He's the worst one.

This ¶ sums the article up pretty well:

Observing him, it quickly became clear that, like all bullies, Issa is not prepared to fight. He counts on his opponents to back down. His M.O. is to make outrageous, unsubstantiated claims, follow them with a lot of bluster, and then quietly fold at the first sign of being challenged. And here’s his “tell”: The more bombastic he is, the more he hungrily seeks out the cameras, the more he promises “explosive revelations,” the less he actually has. Bullies don’t win fights; they win defaults. Push back just the tiniest bit, and it’s all over.

Just another Repug I'd like to punch.

The truth about the Benghazi hearings

CNN

Republican spotlight shifts from Obama to Clinton
...

Soon after the hearing by the GOP-led House Oversight Committee looking into the events surrounding the death of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans, a recently formed pro-Republican opposition research group blasted out an e-mail with the headline "Benghazi Hearing Raises Serious Questions About Clinton."

America Rising PAC then followed up Thursday with a Web video which it says outlines "the serious questions raised about Hillary Clinton's leadership yesterday in a House Oversight Committee hearing."

The Republican National Committee and American Crossroads, the Karl Rove-backed pro-GOP super PAC, also issued e-mails critical of Clinton, America's top diplomat at the time of the attack last September 11. The group put out a web video Friday morning that asks if Clinton "was part of a coverup." And Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a possible 2016 GOP White House contender, criticized Clinton in an interview on Thursday on Fox News Channel.

But, gee, why would they be doing that?

Obama can't run for a third term and Clinton, who's weighing a White House run, would be the instant front-runner for the Democratic nomination if she launches a bid for president.

Ohhhhhh, I get it...

From The Christian Left from whence came the CNN link:

A move suggested to them by Dick Cheney. It's always been a politically motivated "investigation," but this is their way of saying, "we don't care about the truth, only about winning."

Note to the Repug losers of the next two Presidential elections: the next one's 3 1/2 years away and you're already too late. Suck it, bitchez.

Benghazi

Here's a twofer that covers it. First, The Rude Pundit:

The reason the Rude Pundit can't count the number of fucks he doesn't give about Benghazi is because there is not a goddamned thing that anyone has said that could have prevented the attack from happening (other than the hindsight observation that security in Benghazi should have been beefed up. Yep, and having flying monkeys drop grenades would have been cool, too). And the only possible scandal is that, after the fact, some people said some shit that might not be true. That's it. That's all there is. So, please understand, House GOP members and noted panty-wearer Lindsey Graham, we don't care about Benghazi, no matter how much you want us to. You can bring out every self-aggrandizing State Department employee you want, but, sorry, you have not been able to fluff the flaccid prick of this into a proud, erect Libyagate.
...

So that's the deal: Obama's Benghazi "lies" for Bush's Iraq lies. And then let the chips fall where they may with guilt and prosecution. Then we can swap again. Say Fast and Furious for approval of torture. You might think it's mutually assured destruction, but, dear, dumb GOP, like when you overplayed the Bill Clinton blow job perjury charge, you seem to think that possible lies to cover-up fuck-ups are the same as lies that lead directly to thousands of people dying. You seem to think that low-level incompetence is the same as giving the orders to commit war crimes.

But, no, really, continue with the Hillary Clinton bashing, which is all this actually is. It's just so retro-charming at this point. Make sure that no Republicans even thinks about voting for her in 2016. That's a valuable way to spend your time. And if this one doesn't stick, well, the Rude Pundit's pretty sure you'll just move on to a new fake scandal rather than actually governing.

And the must-see by Jon Stewart who nails it better than the non-comedic media once again:

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook

Notable quote from this next one:

"IF?! IF?! If dingleberries were diamonds I could open a Kay's Jewellers in my pants!"

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook

Note to the Repugs: Stick to trying to undo Obamacare. It's not going to happen just like drumming up "Benghazigate" isn't working and you don't have to waste as much time and money. Hillary's going to be a two term Prez so suck it in silence, bitchez.

Update:

Andrew Sullivan:

Which is the only reason we haven’t covered this much. Because what is worth covering has largely been covered; because some in government have already lost their jobs for the incompetence; because we have had nine separate Congressional investigations, while attacks on embassies and consulates in the past have been far less likely to be controversial. In other words: this is now a function entirely of factionalism. It’s a test of how far one cable news channel can go in creating something big out of something tragic, regrettable, well worth looking into, but in the end scarcely scandalous.

Update the twoth:

Addicting Info:

This Benghazi thing is making the right insane. Literally. You know the saying about doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result? That’s where the GOP is right now. They are so invested in this fantasy that they have lost any ability to see reality. And Fox News feeds the fire, complaining that no other news outlets are covering this. Could it be because it’s utter and complete bullshit? Of course not, not to these modern-day inquisitors. They hate our president that much. It’s sickening.

Yep.

Nine amazing truths you already suspected

If it's Wednesday it's Morford going off on the gun nuts and others.

The NRA is the new Christian right

Remember that shrill, fundamentalist, God-fearing, adorably insane Christian coalition that somehow elected Bush to two miserable terms, then self-imolated in a cavalcade of confusion and homophobia? Behold, it hath re-emerged! It is now tinier, angrier, far more paranoid, licks AR-15 semi-automatics like popsicles and gathers itself into sweltering Texas convention centers packed like canned lard with panicky, overweight white guys who cheer Glenn Beck’s sweaty tears and give standing ovations to Sarah Palin. Welcome back, right-wing fearclumps! My how you’ve shrunk. And God, you look awful.

The NRA is also a twitchy clown car of paranoia and failure

This much we know: Any event where Sarah Palin still gets a standing ovation, where not a single respected celebrity, politician, spiritual leader or intellectual pundit would ever dare show his face, where they want to arm children and compare Michael Bloomberg to a Nazi, these are surefire signs you’re among the most lost and desperate in America.

Yes, the NRA still has a ridiculously powerful lobby in Washington D.C. So does the high fructose corn syrup lobby. Did you see the photos from the big convention in Houston? Glenn Beck holding up a rifle? Wayne LaPierre’s mouth contorting in manic anguish? This is the army of the insane and the paranoid, the least compassionate the country has to offer. Sorry, Newtown kids; they hate you most of all.

George W. Bush is a sad, awkward loser
...

George W. Bush is, in short, a shameful footnote, sad and strange and sort of awful. The Republican party – for whom, if they’re honest, George W. Bush remains their truest and most accurate representative – should be proud.

There's more, including how Google Glasses are guaranteed to NOT get you laid. Heh. Enjoy.

Godless liberal commie fuck Rivera gets mic cut off by just-plain-fuck Ailes.

Raw Story

A new report says that Fox News President Roger Ailes ordered the Fox News control room to cut host Geraldo Rivera’s mic just two days before November’s election because he was defending President Barack Obama against the network’s “misinformation” about terrorist attacks in Benghazi.

Well, whaddya expect? There's a party line that must not be crossed, even by the famously liberal godless commie fuck Rivera (choke). They oughta change their name to FOXRepugProp. Yeesh.

And, oh yeah, how did trying to change the election work out for ya, Ailes? Heh. Asshole.

Let's Nullify Kansas

The Rude One on "nullification" laws.

Look at how bwave and stwong the wittle state of Kansas has been. Standing there on its two feet like big gwown-up boy. It's adorable. You're adorable, Kansas. C'mere so we can pinch your pudgy cheeks, woogums. Your tough ol' governor, Sam Brownback, signed a bill into law that says, "[A]ny act, law, treaty, order, rule or regulation of the government of the United States which violates the second amendment to the constitution of the United States is null, void and unenforceable in the state of Kansas." You made it a felony for federal government official to enforce a federal firearms law. Aww. That's just...so cute that the rest of us just can't stand it, like a baby sloth on Buzzfeed. Just look at you, acting like you're not part of the United States and pretending that if the United States abandoned you, you wouldn't fall quickly into a pretty dark nightmare of debt, wrecked schools, worse roads, and no jobs. And we just don't want that to happen to you, cutie-wootie.

Yeah, see, Kansas is one of the many, many red states that gets more federal tax money than the state sends to Washington. At $1.10 received for every $1 paid, it's nowhere near the worst freeloader, but it'd be a pretty big hit if Uncle Sam said, "Ooh, don't like our laws? Then kiss our cash's ass as it walks out of your state."
...

Your despicable asses survive on the backs of the very states you despise for being liberal: New York gets only 72 cents in federal spending for every federal tax buck. New Jersey? 49 cents. Taxachusetts? 83 cents. You're living on our dime, Kansas, South Carolina, Alabama, Missouri, Alaska, North Carolina, Montana, and Alaska, all states attempting to nullify federal laws. Fuck, if we just got a buck for a buck up here, our infrastructure could be strengthened and more people would have jobs. California gets 87 cents for each dollar. That state would love to get South Carolina's level of federal spending. You got that, motherfuckers? You are fucked without us, without block grants and military bases and highway construction contracts and so very much more that our tax dollars at least partially pay for in your state. We could nullify you. So howzabout abiding by the laws of the nation we're all a part of?

Yeah, sometimes the adults need to stop coddling the kids and tell them to shut the fuck up and sit the fuck down.

Amen. And if they don't STFU and sit down, slap 'em 'til they do.

Headline of the Day

Reuters: U.N. Investigators Say Syrian Rebels, Not Syrian Regime, Used Chemical Weapons

Verrrrrry interesting...

Yeah, I'm tom...

NOT! Bwahahahaha!

A tip o' the Brain to Being Liberal.

Oh, the irony...

Ironic Times

Poll: Nearly One Third of Americans Think Armed Revolution Against Government Necessary
Other two thirds love watching reality shows about them.

Heh.

Researchers Find Evidence of Cannibalism by Jamestown Colony Settlers
Their findings will be basis of upcoming special on Food Channel.

Report: $2 Trillion Underground Economy Keeping Country Afloat
Experts suggest Bernanke be replaced by Snoop Dog.

Thousands Busted in Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma
After inhaling smoke drifting eastward from Denver pot holiday celebration.

Yes, giggling and feeling good in those states is definite evidence of being on drugs,

Saturday Emmylou Blogging

Great old tune, good pics. Please sign the petition.

Published on May 1, 2013
Finally, FINALLY here...From the album Cimarron...Emmylou.....Emmylou..Laying siege to the Anne Murray classic...I do not own anything as always. Help get Emmylou's mentor, Gram Parsons into the Country Music Hall of Fame by visiting and signing the petition at WWW.GRAMPARSONSPETITION.COM God bless all...

Thanks to Jojo heartspaypay.

Will Wonders Never Cease?! Headline of the Day

Congressional GOP beginning to notice their own incompetence

Notable quote:

"Stalemate" is the nice way of saying that House Republicans couldn't pass a bill to dial 911 if John Boehner were on fire.

Well, I can't really blame them for that. Heh.

Democracy works too well for Repugs' liking

From You’ll Find Koch Dollars At the Root Of the Calls for Armed Revolution Against Obama.

Well, of course you will. Worth a read.

It is difficult to imagine many Americans agreeing to abandon democracy for another form of government, but there are a frightening number of citizens who hate America’s representative democracy with such passion that they are leaning heavily toward overthrowing the government and installing a fascist dictatorship.
...

What the Republican threats of armed revolution really expose is that anything outside the conservative agenda, whether it is gay rights, contraception, clean air regulations, free and fair elections, immigration, or freedom from religious imposition is an assault on their liberty and more than enough reason for “armed revolution” against the government.

Buncha sore losers flappin' their gums. If they try a violent overthrow, it would be the best case yet for drone strikes on Americans in the United States. Turning 'em into red paste would calm 'em right down. It won't come to that. Chickenhawl pussies, the lot of 'em.

Headline of the Day

Dubya's Europe Trip Canceled After His Arrest Is Called For

Shit, nobody told that dumbass anything while he was in office, why start now? Drat.

Trapped in a Web of Truth, Frank Luntz is Whining

Bill Berkowitz

Republican Party political consultant, strategist and pollster Frank Luntz is whining. Being Frank Luntz, you can be sure that it's calculated whining, but it's whining nevertheless.

The man who has devoted the better part of his professional life to turning words into weapons of mass misdirection in support of his clients -- often resulting in their becoming weapons of mass indigestion for his clients' opponents -- is claiming that his privacy rights have been violated by a University of Pennsylvania student who secretly taped "off-the-record" comments made by Luntz about how certain well-known figures within the conservative movement are hurting the movement.

There are two storylines in play here: 1) The Original -- What Luntz actually said about divisive conservatives hurting the Republican Party; and, 2) The Conjured-- Luntz the aggrieved.

Clearly, Luntz's whining is aimed at changing the narrative from storyline one to storyline two.
...

The latest Luntz story has the no-longer boy wonder trying to finagle his way out of what can only be characterized as "another fine mess."

In late April, Luntz , a 1984 U of Penn graduate, was invited by the school's College Republicans to speak at a public event on campus. According to thedp.com's (The Daily Pennsylvanian) Sarah Smith and Will Marble, "During the speech, members of the audience asked Luntz about his views on political polarization in the United States. Luntz - who also taught at Penn in the 1980s - answered that he was hesitant to speak on the record." He then asked "if anyone was recording the speech." A Daily Pennsylvanian reporter covering the event "shut his recorder off. When Luntz asked College junior Aakash Abbi if he was recording, he told Luntz he was only taking a picture, but continued filming the speech ..."

Luntz then proceeded to go off on some of his longtime Republican Party-related brethren, particularly conservative pundits and talk-show hosts. "They get great ratings, and they drive the message, and it's really problematic. And this is not on the Democratic side. It's only on the Republican side," Luntz said in the tape. "Democrats have every other source of news on their side. And so that is a lot of what's driving it. If you take -- Marco Rubio's getting his ass kicked. Who's my Rubio fan here? We talked about it. He's getting destroyed! By Mark Levin, by Rush Limbaugh, and a few others. He's trying to find a legitimate, long-term effective solution to immigration that isn't the traditional Republican approach, and talk radio is killing him. That's what's causing this thing underneath. And too many politicians in Washington are playing coy."

The student who recorded Luntz's remarks sent them off to Mother Jones' David Corn, who, as Wonkette's Gary Legum pointed out, "is becoming a clearinghouse for this sort of thing," referencing Corn's work publicizing Mitt Romney 47% video.

"I made the choice to share my recording with Mother Jones because Luntz's comments are important. They illustrate one of the largest schisms within the GOP and expose the hypocrisy of Luntz's willingness to place blame for his party's division upon a media establishment he has helped build. Further, his request to be taken off the record was never one to which I acquiesced" Aakash Abbi wrote in a thedp.com column.
...

And in a final burst of Luntzian magnanimity, he announced that he would not renew a scholarship in his father's name for students to travel to Washington, D.C.

Ya see what happens when even a Repug powerhouse tells the truth just ONCE?!

On the bright side, Sen. Toomey did that recently as well. Truth-telling by Repugs twice in one week! The earth has shifted on its axis...

Recent Polls Demonstrate Why We Are So Fucked

A 'must read' by The Rude One, many links.

A recent poll of 863 registered voters, conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson (which also happens to be one of the Rude Pundit's nicknames for his penis) University's Public Mind showed that 44% of Republicans believe "that an armed revolution in order to protect liberties might be necessary in the next few years." The overall number, 29% of respondents with 18% of Democrats and 27% of independent voters believing the same, is alarming enough. But that nearly half of Republicans think that they might have to take up their AR-15s of freedom in order to go to war with their government? Man, a bunch of people are living in the kind of fantasy land where their giant beer bellies are seen as sexy and that the greatest threat in the world comes from a black Kenyan in the White House. Partly, the Rude Pundit thinks, "Oh, c'mon, motherfuckers. Wheeze yourselves out of your scooters and just try it. You'll be drone missiled into a red paste in no time." But mostly, he just feels sad.
...

Seriously, it's like the GOP is a bunch of whoremongers driven mad by syphilis, refusing any medical treatment because penicillin is from the Devil and they'd rather scrawl filthy manifestos against Obamacare in their shit and howl at the moon and call it "genius."
...

We are so very fucked because Americans are so fucking dumb, especially the Americans belonging to one particular political party. When a large number of a nation's citizens are more willing to entertain armed insurrection than providing health care for the poor, well, it's pretty goddamn hard to make the case that we're the Greatest Country in the History of Everything.

I have nothing to add.

One more reason why I hate Repugs

I'm glad one of them finally said it out loud. Article and videos at HuffPo.

Just for fun

Daddy Frank

Last week, Politico published a piece by Mike Allen and Jim Vandehei simultaneously criticizing and celebrating Times reporter Mark Leibovich for writing a book on D.C. culture while also being part of it. This past Saturday night was the annual journalist-celebrity-politician schmooze-fest that is the White House Correspondents' Dinner. How uneasy are you with this brand of Beltway navel-gazing?

Mark Leibovich is one of the wittiest writers about politics around. If he is already provoking Politico to take a preemptive strike at a book that no one has read and isn’t out until July, he must be doing something right. Indeed, we’ll know Leibovich’s book, titled This Town, is a success if he can never eat lunch in that town again. As for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, it is what it is — a campy hoot as long as you don’t have to attend. Just seeing (on C-Span) how the Washingtonians are dressed as they saunter down the red carpet is hilarious; the town’s fashion sense hasn’t changed all that much since I attended the senior prom of my D.C. high school, Woodrow Wilson, quite some time ago. This year, as in other recent years, the only real winner at the dinner itself was President Obama. He was funny, and watching journalists and politicians squirm as the president mocks them is always a fabulous spectator sport. The black-tie audience in the ballroom looked as if it was having about as much fun as the Broadway opening-night crowd at Springtime for Hitler.

Heh.