And ...

Speaking of right wing nutjob theocrats, Charlie Pierce* looks at the Frothy One's latest success and the people who gave it to him:

...

For all the post-game analysis of whether or not Santorum is now clearly "the real conservative" alternative to Romney, and whether or not it's time for N. Leroy Gingrich, Definer Of Civilization's Rules And Leader (Perhaps) Of The Civilizing Forces, to get out of his way, the basic point is being missed. The basic argument is not about being "the real conservative" per se; it's about being "the real conservative" as "conservative" is defined by a shoeless, Bible-banging, anti-intellectual, woman-hating, sex-maddened Republican base. And, for the moment, that is Santorum in full. He has recovered from whatever damage he did to himself in Michigan, and I'm thinking he didn't really do that much. His retrograde position on contraception is now fully part of the mainstream debate. He has been rewarded by the people who feel the same way he does, and they happen to be the people who are driving the train at the moment. And he's doubled down on all the other faith-based nonsense that passes for critical thought in the Republican party. Daring to be stupid is the highest form of courage to the people to whom Santorum is pitching his campaign. And there are a lot of them, and very few of them are sold on Willard Romney.

"The dangers of carbon dioxide? Tell that to a plant, how dangerous carbon dioxide is," he said.
(I asked a tree in my front yard, Rick. It said it thought you were a colossal dick.)

...

That's why guys like Frothy don't want people to go to college, ignorant people are easier to manipulate. I don't know why the GOP doesn't adopt the slogan "The dumber you are, the more we like you".

*Not a right wing nutjob theocrat.

Since ...

Politicians love watching polls, they should watch this one (.pdf!) closely:

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1. Support for Continued Diplomacy Rather Than an Israeli Military Strike
Only one in four Americans favor Israel conducting a military strike against Iran’s nuclear program. Seven in ten favor instead the US and other major powers continuing to pursue negotiations with Iran. Three in four say that the US should primarily act through the UN Security Council rather than acting by itself.

...

3. If Israel Goes Ahead With a Strike
If Israel goes ahead with a military strike against Iran’s nuclear program and Iran retaliates (but not against American targets), only one in four favors the US providing military support for Israel and only 4 in 10 favor the US providing even diplomatic support. Few would support open opposition. The most popular position is for the US to take a neutral stance. If Israel strikes Iran even without American approval one in three Americans think the US would provide military support and a slight majority thinks that it would at least provide diplomatic support.

...

The American people are sick of war and a very small few actually want us to get sucked into another one by some right-wing nutjob theocrats in another country.

Great thanks to Dr. Fez for the link.

Woman On The Wheel

I doubt if Ms. Peters anticipated the knives currently being thrown at women from the right , but this song turns out to be rather timely. Posted on YouTube yesterday.

"One false move and it's a real bad day at the amusement park"

Thanks to gretchenpeters.

If only...

Thanks to Slate.

Lee needs an Intervention!

In a Rude Pundit post about Sandra Fluke comes this:

(Note: The Rude Pundit is having a serious case of the writer's block when it comes to bloggery. Hopefully, he'll drink his way through it. If not, he may need to call in the pill guy. If that doesn't work, he'll call the powder guy. If that doesn't work, he'll call the virgin sacrifice guy. One way or another, he'll deal with it.)

Fixer, if you can lift it, take yer stash bag and get over there! I know it doesn't have any virgins...

"They don't like me. They really, really don't like me".

The National Memo.

Mitt Romney's losses in Alabama and Mississippi underscore a stark reality: The core of his party does not want him.

To paraphrase The Rolling Stones:

You don't always get what you want/but if you try sometime/I think you'll find/you get exactly what you got comin'.

If there was any clearcut karma in the world they'd get a Santorum/Gingrich ticket. I'd love it, but they'll get Romney and then they'll lose, just not as badly.

Collapse of the shiny pretty things

If it's Wednesday, it must be Morford on how we're runnin' outta planet ta fuck up.

And then the international think tank said, you know what? It's still not working.

All the green initiatives in the world combined with all your good intentions intermixed with a million heartfelt promises to do better, all the environmental summit agreements and all the solar panels and recycled toothbrushes and spending all those hours sorting plastic from glass and carefully rinsing your mustard bottles?

What's that you say? You've heard it all before? The end is nigh and civilization as we know it is on track for serious collapse, meltdown, infrastructure implosion unless -- and this might be the biggest unless in modern world history -- unless there's a major and they do mean major overhaul of how culture, greed and entitlement operate? Sure you have. So did the Romans

Hence, zombies. Hence, Rick Santorum's sad little existence, his and his followers' blind faith in an angry, self-hating God to save us all from His own creation.

Hence, gruesome end times scenarios, apocalypse porn and a new reality show called "Doomsday Preppers" -- or was that "Doomsday Bunkers"? -- all about numbly misanthropic, unbathed white nutballs in mostly Podunk towns readying themselves for the end of the world by stockpiling canned meat, coddling large firearms and training themselves in hand-to-zombie combat as they feed their twitchy kids stuff they killed with a crossbow in the driveway. Neat.

Here is the question of our day: Does it take a cataclysm? It takes a wake up call so massive and deadly there is nothing else to be done but make ferocious and painful change? Or can it be induced by something more calm and deeply felt, a flip and turn in the soul, an intimate spiritual awakening writ large? What's it going to take? I don't know, either, but whatever it is, it really might require some intense sacrifice on the part of -- whoa, wait a second. Is that the new iPad? Wow. Pretty.

Shorter: smoke it while ya got it before the Earth is all stems and seeds. Enjoy.

Exactly!

Stolen from the Americans Against The Tea Party FB page.

I admit it ...

I talk a lotta shit. If you ever catch up to me at a cocktail party or at a bar on a cruise ship, I will regale you with strange, made up stories, tell you shit just to get a rise out of you, and tell a lot of off-color jokes. I'm also the master of the grand entrance. It's the way I am and I always draw a crowd. I've had total strangers come up to me, shake my hand, and tell me what a funny guy I am. Thing is, I'll tell you I'm bullshitting and I don't ever expect to get paid for the crap I say.

That said, some people whose words could have life and death implications, talk a lotta shit, take it and themselves seriously, and actualy draw a 6-figure salary:

...

Seriously, O'Hanlon has never been right about anything, not even whether Sarah Palin had a clue what she was talking about in foreign policy. (She didn't.) It's just amazing that he's still out there getting paid to pontificate.

Quote of the Day

Our pal Comrade Misfit:

Rich and clueless. Didn't we have enough of that between 2001 and 2009?

Yes indeed, my friend.

Heh ...

Dr. Fez:

...

Of course, this being the South, those are probably the only actually innocent people in the building.

Look who's counting votes in Gooberville down south.

The Clown Car ...

The Frothy Mixture won big last night and that means we have to buy more popcorn.

Rick Santorum won primary victories in Alabama and Mississippi on Tuesday, according to network projections, bolstering his credibility as Mitt Romney’s top challenger and denying the former Massachusetts governor an opportunity to solidify his status as inevitable nominee. With most of the vote counted, Romney appeared likely to finish third in both races, with Newt Gingrich poised to take second.

...

So they're gonna continue to out-wingnut each other for the foreseeable future. The more crazy they bring, the better it will be for Barry in November.

How d'ya git a chicken stump broke?

Georgia Republican Compares Women to Cows, Pigs, And Chickens
...

"They's all jist fine fer fuckin'!"

I mighta made part of that up...

Headline of the Day

Cheney says Canada ‘too dangerous’ for visit

Yeah, a real Somalia is Canuckistan. Besides, The Dick might get arrested for war crimes. Or get sick and have to be treated under - gasp! - socialized medicine.

Better just stay holed up in Der Dickenbunker and wait for your battery to run down, Dick.

Off ...

Gonna be in Manhattan in a little while with the Mrs. to see our lovely and talented niece Lauren perform in a showcase for Broadway agents, directors, and producers. Break a leg, sweetie!

Because we have to get out ...

Sooner rather than later. I'm putting our pal Montag's post up in toto. Please sign the petition.

Calling all bloggers

I have had enough of that bullshit Kabuki we call the War on Afghanistan. I have started a petition on the White House website calling for us to declare Victory in Afghanistan and get out. I need your help to get 25,000 signatures by April 10. If we get to that number the White House says they will respond. I don't want to hear that it will not do any good. All I want are as many signatures as possible. Please sign and pass it around to as many people as you can.

There is a registration necessary to sign but they are already watching you so it is harmless.


Declare Victory in Afghanistan and bring all troops home now.

Can't fix stupid ...

Personally, I don't know why anybody gives a shit what people in Mississippi and Alabama think anymore.

...

In Alabama, 45 percent say he's a Muslim, 41 percent aren't sure and 14 percent think Obama's a Christian. In Mississippi, 52 percent of likely GOP voters say Obama's a Muslim, 36 percent aren’t sure and only 12 percent take his word that he's a Christian.

...

I mean, come on, who really looks at that part of the country as a hotbed of intellectualism? You know Dems can't win there, no matter what they say. There is no way these people will support a black man in the White House and they're gonna believe what Rush, Hannity, and Fox 'News' tells them.

Update:

And it might just be time for this little reminder.

Support The Troops. Until it costs money....

We've posted before about government nickel-nosing that threatens the mental health of Bush's Unnecessary Veterans until the last one of them dies from old age in about a hundred years. Dr. Winston Chung in the EssEffChron revisits this despicable aspect of "support the troops":

Amidst speculation and outcry surrounding the alleged killer of 16 civilians in Afghanistan, the AP reports that the solider comes from a base, Lewis-McChord, that has a history of soldiers being convicted for killing Afghan civilians, one who shot a Salt Lake City police officer, and another who killed a Mt. Ranier National Park ranger.

Joint Base Lewis-McChord saw more suicides in 2011 than ever before and doctors at its hospital, Madigan Army Medical Center, are being reviewed for whether they have been influenced by how much a PTSD diagnosis can cost.
...

Captain Susan Carlson is a social worker whose story was chronicled in the New York Times last month, serving as an example of one of thousands who have been discharged from the military by virtue of being diagnosed with a personality disorder. She provided portions of her medical record to the New York Times, including a document signed by a psychiatrist saying, “Her command specifically asks for a diagnosis of a personality disorder,” (my em) suggesting the possibility that military commanders pressure clinicians to issue diagnoses for reasons other than soldiers’ best interests.

Based on these trends, I guess it’s not surprising that the military has also become wary of the costs for treating veterans’ mental health. But, the war in Afghanistan continues and what few vets I’ve seen that are returning from this war have some of the most serious mental health needs.

As resources continue to be cut and minimized, what happens to the mental health of the thousands of soldiers who continue to fight in Afghanistan?

We'll find out and it won't be pretty.

Just a word about the recent killings in Clusterfuckistan - I'm a little grateful that the doggie Sergeant nutted up over there rather than waiting 'til he got back to Washington.

He may have done us all a favor if the timetable for getting the fuck out of that shithole moves up because of his alleged act.

Quote of the Day

Bill Maher

Tough weekend for Mitt Romney - lost Kansas by a zillion pts. Guess an endorsement by Ted Nugent aint what it used to be.

Heh. His cat scratch fever musta done cooled off.

"But it's Spring, sir!"

The weather has been gorgeous on the Isle of Long, low 60s to 70, for the last few days and me and the girls have been out in the yard getting rid of the remnants of winter (mild as it was). On our way out now to prep the flower beds.