It Depends on What the Meaning of "Lobbyist" Is

El Rude-o loves him some Gingrich, which, IMNSHO, strikes me as being very similar to "Santorum" albeit without the creamy texture and delightful flavor, basically just plain old fecal matter, peanuts, corn, plastic bags, high-heaven stench, and all.

Everyone knows it's lobbying. And why does that matter? Because that means that Gingrich is a bought and paid for corporate whore. He's just one of those chatty whores who wants to talk about his kids before he sucks your cock. You listen only because he sucks it so good.

It was essentially a money fight on the stage in Tampa last night. The really rich fuck versus the really, really rich fuck. But, and the Rude Pundit's not proud about this, Romney landing a blow that actually rattled Gingrich gave him a momentary thrill, a bit of wood, even. It was fleeting, yes, but goddamn, it's sweet to see someone punch that white-domed phlegm globule right in his cash sack.
...

Everyone knows what Gingrich has been doing for the last dozen years. He doesn't even bother to wipe the semen off his upper lip.

Reminds me of the guy whose snowmobile broke down out in the boonies. Mechanic comes, looks it over, says "Looks like ya blew a seal." Rider replies, "Nah, that's just some frost on my moustache."

Dear God let that asshole be the Repug nominee. If you got the balls to go against Wall St. that is.

Thank you...

...to whomever is in charge of the weather around here for finally realizing that there are different snow requirements between ski hills and my driveway. The guy you had last year sucked.

I'm very happy with my one foot of snow outta the three storms over the weekend. It let me go play with my toys enough to commune with nature without much effort, but boy, am I sore. Usually by this time of year I'm accustomed to it, but I've had the last two months off and went soft. Plenty of winter left to catch up, I guess.

The ski hills are also very happy, with up to six feet of fresh, money-generating snow at the higher elevations. The motels, restaurants, and merchants in general are happy as well.

This is a good plan, Weather Entity. Stick to it.

"The best government money can buy is not a good government at all."

Al Franken on PIPA, lobbying, and campaign finance reform:

Hi. My name is Al Franken. I am a Senator from Minnesota. A proposed bill in the Senate, PIPA, threatens to treat the concept of free speech in much the same way that totalitarian regimes in China, Iran and North Korea do. This bill is why so many internet sites have 'gone black' in protest. It was written for lobbyists to place corporate greed over the fundamental freedoms our nation was founded on, and I support it.

Does my support of this bill mean Lobbyist Money is more important to me than Free Speech?

Would it surprise you to know that, during the 2010 Election Cycle, I accepted at least $88,900 in contributions from members of the Entertainment industry, who are leading the push to have these bills hastily approved.?
...

What are you going to do? Complain? Go ahead, see if I care.

I've ignored the advice and warnings of hundreds of experts in Constitutional Law, Free Speech and Technology. Do you think I'll listen to *you*?

The sad truth is that politicians like money. That's why Campaign Finance Reform is such a hot -- and important -- topic.
...

A single person can't compete with the hundreds of thousands of lobbyist dollars that candidates typically receive, but together we might be able to.

If you tweet at a Senator or Representative with the hashtag #buythevote, we'll start tracking it. We'll keep a running tally of how many people want their representatives to give back lobbyist dollars before their vote. We'll also track the total number of people and dollars offered to congresspeople for them to represent people, not lobbyists.

There are some sample tweets for you tweeters. I'm more the "tar and feathers" type myself.

Campaign finance reform is never going to be be done by those who benefit from it. Same with crony capitalism. It's going to have to be imposed from outside. A few heads on pikes might be a good start.

Think about it ...

Mr. Philadephia in toto:

Romney has said he was unemployed. He's right. He actually does nothing to earn most of his income. He's just in possession of a giant pile of cash. He pays some people to do stuff with that giant pile of cash so it earns a rate of return. And because we are ruled by horrible people who think the lives of the 1% are more important than everyone else, the tax rate on any money that pile of cash earns is much lower than it is on the money earned by people who actually work.

Heh ...

Pic stolen from the Fundies Say The Darndest Things FB page.

Quote of the Day

Charlie Pierce:

... However, as an indication of how the debates against Barack Obama might go in the fall, Gingrich made himself look silly last night. Three hours? Lincoln-Douglas style? The president would be singing Al Green tunes over Gingrich's smoking hulk 45 minutes into the show ...

The "entitled" ...

No, not the "Cadillac-driving welfare queens", but the corporations whose only mission is screwing the American public, legally or not, to line their own pockets:

...

Even in brief, the story is appalling. PG&E was subject to a couple of independent audits out in California because elements of the state regulatory apparatus out there suspected that the company was largely run by avaricious weasels. The audits proved that this initial speculative evaluation was dreadfully unfair to weasels. It turns out that executives of PG&E "diverted" (nice word, that) $100 million earmarked for gas safety and for operational expenses. This money, it should be noted, was squeezed out of PG&E's customers, and at a time when PG&E was soaking its customers for $430 million more than it was authorized to collect, according the the state's utility regulators. And to where exactly, you may wonder, pray tell, was all this extra money diverted? Take it away, San Francisco Chronicle:

"...the company spent $56 million annually on an incentive plan for executives and 'non-employee directors,' including stock awards, performance shares and deferred compensation. 'A cursory review reveals that a significant portion, in the millions, has been awarded to the CEO,' the commission staff report said in a reference to former PG&E head Peter Darbee, who retired last year."

Of course, it did.

And all that happened was that, in 2010, a PG&E pipeline in San Bruno blew up, killing eight people and demolishing 38 homes.

Of course, it did.

And why did the pipeline explode?

"An independent audit and a staff report issued by the California Public Utilities Commission depicted a poorly led company well-heeled in its gas operations and more concerned with profit than safety. The documents link a deficient PG&E safety culture — with its 'focus on financial performance.'"

Of course, it was.

...

This goes directly to my previous post. If the only punishment these clowns can expect is a relative slap on the wrist, they will continue their behavior, no matter how many innocent people die, no matter how many hard-working Americans lives are ruined.

Caving ... again ...

True to form, the "Wall St. Cabal" in the White House wants to let the banksters off relatively scot-free:

...

It looks like the Obama administration is on the verge of announcing a deal with some number of state AGs, a handful of regulatory bodies, and the nation's five largest banks. There's a meeting today between HUD officials and an undisclosed number of Democratic AGs or their staffs. Liberal groups are pushing to make this as strong as possible, with lots of activity from New Bottom Line, Color of Change, MoveOn, Rebuild the Dream, and many blogs who have been covering this crisis for years. The expectation is that the Obama administration wants to announce this deal in connection to Tuesday's State of the Union address.

...

It's time to get Geithner and the other Wall St. lackeys out of 1600. You know this deal won't change behavior and undercuts the investigations by Attorneys General who want to put these assholes in jail.

You know why this deal is getting done, right? Because Obama needs these assholes to finance his campaign. It's time for federally-financed elections and maybe then we'll see some rich twats get the justice they deserve, not the justice they can afford to buy.

3 hour bus ride to watch the 49ers lose

Leah Garchick in the EssEffChron.

It all started pretty well, with a short line of fans waiting at California and Van Ness for the first Muni express bus of the day to Candlestick.

An hour into the ride, we were not even at the Interstate 280 connector. By this time, the boys on the bus had cracked open beers. A passenger yelled, "Back door, back door." Everyone laughed, but not as merrily as they had at the first round of jokes.
...

"We have to pee," said someone in the back. "Ladies, look aside, please." A beer can rolled across the floor.

Someone opened a bottle of Champagne, but the mood was no longer festive. It was suggested that we call 911 and report a hostage situation.

"I'm not going to sit in this damn thing," said a man in the back. "I'd like to be there for the kickoff."

And then it became too much. At 2:10 p.m., with the bus at a complete standstill and not yet on the off-ramp, a pair of guys pushed open the emergency window and jumped onto the freeway shoulder. They were followed by about a dozen fans who urged others to come along: "We've got to get to the stadium. No more excuses."

They walked along the shoulder, moving quicker than us by far. There were buses behind us, and a few passengers left those, too.

At this point, a CHP car came up, loudspeaker on: "You've got to stay on the bus." The patrol car pulled in front of the bus, officers got out and addressed the highway trekkers. It seemed citations weren't issued because a few minutes later, they were walking again.
...

Eventually, we lurched off the freeway, passing the gang that had made use of the windows to abandon our ship.
...

We had arrived, having covered 8 miles in 3 hours and 10 minutes. To have our hearts broken by a loss.

Here's a Frisco take on the game:

The locker room afterward was predictably glum, and the quarterback summed it all up pithily. "Crappy," Smith said.

Here's the Chron's 49ers page, should you care, and a disturbing headline:

Kyle Williams receiving death threats after NFC Championship

It's just a fucking game, people. Grow up.

Must See TV

Excellent Bill Moyers show about crony capitalism. It's as bad as we think it is.

GOP Embraces the Devil

Long ago. El Rude-o's just catchin' up.

You want to know what a lying shitsack Newt Gingrich is? It's easy. Choose anything that he repeatedly asserts and look at the truth. Chances are that he's bending the truth. Chances are better that he's just outright lying to your face.

The thing about the Devil is that he tells his lies with such utter confidence that the unquestioning listener hears them as truth. And the Devil wins when his lies begin to supplant the truth until there is nothing but lies left.

Hey, lies work on those clods. Obviously.

Gingrich is like a pimple you get on your forehead that you can't get rid of it. Sure, you can squeeze it, you can put creams on it, you can try alcohol or toothpaste or warm or cold compresses, but that fucker just won't go away. And it just gets bigger so that every time you look in the mirror, it's the only thing you see. You are your zit.

There's gonna be a war in the GOP between the Tea Party monster that was cravenly embraced and co-opted by the right and the old school Republicans, who just want their satisfactory corporate lackey who is easily controlled to be the nominee. It's more than likely going to be a civil war, with southern states going Gingrich and northern ones going Romney, thus making it an insurgency by evangelicals, people who have given a pass to the serial adulterer, but won't vote for a Mormon because it sounds almost like "Muslim." They wouldn't know the real Devil if he stabbed them in the ass with his pitchfork. If Gingrich wins Florida, it's gonna be wonderfully messy. (And if he gave a shit about Romney as a human being, the Rude Pundit would be advising him, "Dude, just tell everyone 'Kiss my rich white ass' and go home.")

This is getting better and better!

Oh, the irony...

Ironic Times

Rejection of Keystone Pipeline A Job Killer, Say Critics
Thousands of lobbyists will lose their jobs.

Los Angeles City Council Rules Condoms Must Be Worn in Porn Films
Recently retired Cardinal Mahony says he's “very disappointed.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Named Our Global Cultural Ambassador
He'll replace Charlie Sheen.

Texas, Louisiana, South Dakota, Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma Require Climate Change Denial to Be Taught in Classrooms
Flat earthers next in line.

No shit ...

Pic stolen from the Americans Against the Tea Party's FB page.

Really?

Newt signs a "marriage pledge"*?

Former Speaker of the House has signed NOM's Marriage Pledge

Ha! Ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Shit, I think I peed myself. Why? This is why:

...

Gingrich, Santorum and Romney have each signed NOM's Marriage Pledge, which commits signatories, if elected, to taking specific steps toward preserving the institution of marriage as the union between one man and one woman ...

They should add the phrase "at a time" to the end. And we should take Newt's word for something, why?

Fucking hypocrites, the lot of 'em.

*The link is to Thers' place because I won't link to NOM.

Quote of the Day

Barney Frank:

...

“I did not think I lived a good enough life to see Newt Gingrich as the Republican nominee,” the 30-year House veteran said. “He would be the best thing to happen to Democrats since Barry Goldwater ... It’s still unlikely, but I have hopes.”

...

Heh ...

Pic thanks to Tengrain.

Jesus, Protect Me...

This fuckin' rocks! New bumpersticker: JPMFYF ?

Mr Tim Easton, playing at the Hickory Wind Ranch center for sober living see www.hickorywindranch.com for details
Grow Where You Are Planted

Thanks to SINCITYSOCIALCLUB.

Haiku of the Day

By Madeleine Begun Kane

Newt Gingrich wins big.
Mitt Romney isn't smiling,
but Barack sure is.

Heh. Me too.

Happy Playoffs!

LATimes photo.

It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that, given the South Carolina Repug primary, we're still warming up for National I.Q.-Lowering Day on February 5th!

Have fun watching all those millionaires knock each other around. Heh.

I have no love for Carville ...

But he's spot on here:

Memo to Republican Establishment:

...

Let me break it to you gently -- you've got a first-class disaster on your hands. I know you boys thought this thing would work out and you would be able to whip the Republicans in line to fall in behind Mitt (I assume you are all males but if there is a female in the establishment, I apologize.) Not going too good, is it fellows?

...

Your new front-runner is one of your old front runners, Newt Gingrich. I would like to take a moment to revel: I cannot personally tell you how pleased I am to see old Newt rise to the top after listening to all of your nauseating, sickening lectures on the evils of government and the importance of family values.

...

Note: The Republicans have no values. They will do anything to win, from trying to rig elections to outright lying to fucking their sisters if they thought it would help.