Asshole ...

Just, asshole ...

Quote of the Day

Dahlia Lithwick:

For Republicans, the truth is almost Nixon-esque now.

Bark, woof ...

My girls have volunteered to take a bite out of the Mittster's ass the next time he comes to Long Island grubbing for money.

Pic stolen from Dogs Against Romney.com.

Heh ...

Pic stolen from Being Liberal.

Mayberry R.I.P.

Daddy Frank only infrequently writes feature articles. They're worth the wait. On "declining America" and "American exceptionalism". Runs to 5 screen pages and is my "highly recommended read" of the day.

In reality, The Andy Griffith Show didn’t transcend the deep divides of its time. It merely ignored them. “Local control” of Mayberry saw to it that this southern town would remain lily-white for all eight years of its fictive existence rather than submit to any civil-rights laws that would require the federal government’s “top-down management” to enforce. [...]
...

These declinist authors have in common a paucity of plausible or practical solutions to address the laundry lists of imperatives that America must deal with urgently if it is to save itself from perdition or extinction. But their most revealing shared trait, whatever their individual politics or panaceas, is an authorial demographic—they are all white men of a certain age (my em). It’s not happenstance that the Indian-born Fareed Zakaria, who shares some of the declinists’ complaints, conspicuously stands apart from them by defining his subject, in The Post-American World, as not “the decline of America” but “the rise of everyone else.”
...

Samuel Huntington wrote in 1988 that declinist waves “may be better indications of American psychology than of American power,” and that “decline, in short, may be in the eye of the beholder.” That certainly applies now. However serious America’s problems, the declinist panic has been fed psychologically by the advent of Obama: He was vilified for negating American exceptionalism months before he was even inaugurated and had the chance to take any official action that affected the country’s fortunes one way or the other. That Establishment pundits would be fellow travelers in this animus, yearning for an Obama who is not Obama, or for a great white daddy who would bring back the good old days, is a bipartisan indicator of a larger resistance to the onrushing ethnic, social, and cultural change in America of which Obama is only the avatar. It’s a kinder, gentler, and more respectable form of Palinism.

Lost in all our declinist panic is the fact that the election of an African-American president is in itself an instance of American exceptionalism—an unexpected triumph for a country that has struggled for its entire history with the stain of slavery. “Only in America is my story even possible,” Obama is understandably fond of saying, knowing full well that as recently as the year of his birth, 1961, he would not have been welcome in Mayberry, let alone the White House. That his unlikely rise has somehow been twisted into a synonym for America’s supposed collapse over the past four years may be the most disturbing and intractable evidence of our decline of all.

Shorter: The old white men that have traditionally run the joint are pissed that we let The Other in and America is getting browner and that signifies a collapse of the bad old ways of the good old days.

Don't worry, you old farts. Eventually the leaders of the 'browning of America' will become just as corrupt and repressive as you are and everything will be normal again.

"the dynamic duo of Republican fucktardery"

El Rude-o sounds off on Crazy Eyes and Louie the Gomer.

So when the dynamic duo of Republican fucktardery, Representatives Michele Bachmann and Louis Gohmert, work together on an issue, they create a deep and powerful void of ignorance, a black hole where imbecilic thought is actually dangerous. [...]
...

There's always somebody out there who is fucking things up for Bachmann. Liberal educators, socialist members of Congress, Muslims, all the stealth anti-American Americans who simply won't let Bachmann's view of America come to its fullest fruition. Perhaps the good idiots of Bachmann's district, who keep sending her back to Congress, ought to consider that their representative is the one who has America wrong.

"Bachmann's view of America" is a dark and scary place and thank God (probably not her dark and scary God) it exists only in her head and those of just enough others to have elected enough like-minded scaredy-cat room-temperature-I.Q. throwbacks to have temporarily seized the government and we see how poorly that works. She is going to lose her next election and we will be on the way back from madness.

You know ...

It woulda been nice if one of these Rethugs would have stepped up when that idiot Peter King (R-Long on Stupid) had those anti-Islamic hearings of his. At least they can draw the line between plain ol' stupid and completely batshit crazy ... sorta.

Better late than never but it appears Michele Bachmann's over the top fearmongering is losing her some more friends on the right. Last week it was House Intelligence Chair Mike Rogers. Now we've got her fellow Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner pushing back at her nonsense as well.

...

If you have a Facebook account ...

You know all about this because you see it in your news feed from your crazy conservative relatives.

Racism is alive and well on Facebook, despite the social network's policy banning hate speech.

A new study from Baylor University shows how anti-Obama and just plain racist groups use Facebook to spread their messages. And we're not talking about politics, but Ku Klux Klan-style hate speech using old stereotypes updated with do-rags and golden grills.

"Some people have declared the present a "post-racial" era in that U.S. citizens elected a black president, maintaining that policies to address racism are no longer necessary," Mia Moody, Ph.D., who led the Baylor study, said in a statement. "But depictions of minorities in new media show otherwise."

...

It's crippling our business!

Not so much:

...

Over a four years period from 2008 to 2011, Corning Inc. was one of 26 companies that managed to avoid paying any American income taxes, even though it earned nearly $3 billion during that time. In fact, according to Citizens For Tax Justice (CTJ), the company received a $4 million refund from 2008 to 2010. That didn’t stop Susan Ford, a senior executive at the company, from telling the House Ways and Means Committee this week that America’s high corporate tax rate was putting her company at a disadvantage: [all ems in orig]

...

It's all about the greed, nothing more. "More for us and fuck the rest of you" is the 1%ers' motto.

Romney and the White Horse Prophecy

Salon

A close look at the roots of Romney's -- and the Mormon church's -- political ambitions

Upon completion of his foreign mission, he immersed himself in the 1970 senatorial campaign of his mother, Lenore Romney, who was running against Phillip Hart in the Michigan general election. That same year, the Cougar Club — the all male, all white social club at Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City (blacks were excluded from full membership in the Mormon church until 1978) — was humming with talk that its president, Mitt Romney, would become the first Mormon president of the United States. “If not Mitt, then who?” was the ubiquitous slogan within the elite organization. The pious world of BYU was expected to spawn the man who would lead the Mormons into the White House and fulfill the prophecies of the church’s founder, Joseph Smith Jr., which Romney has avidly sought to realize.

Romney avoids mentioning it, but Smith ran for president in 1844 as an independent commander in chief of an “army of God” advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government in favor of a Mormon-ruled theocracy. Challenging Democrat James Polk and Whig Henry Clay, Smith prophesied that if the U.S. Congress did not accede to his demands that “they shall be broken up as a government and God shall damn them.” Smith viewed capturing the presidency as part of the mission of the church. He had predicted the emergence of “the one Mighty and Strong” — a leader who would “set in order the house of God” — and became the first of many prominent Mormon men to claim the mantle.

Michael Moody says political success was an institutional value of the LDS church.

“The instructions in my [patriarchal] blessing, which I believed came directly from Jesus, motivated me to seek a career in government and politics,” he wrote in his 2008 book. Moody recently said that he ran for governor of Nevada in 1982 because he felt he had been divinely directed to “expand our kingdom” and help Romney “lead the world into the Millennium. Once a firm believer but now a church critic, Moody was indoctrinated with the White Horse Prophecy. Like Romney, Moody is a seventh-generation Mormon, steeped in the same intellectual and theological milieu.

“We were taught that America is the Promised Land,” he said in an interview.”The Mormons are the Chosen People. And the time is now for a Mormon leader to usher in the second coming of Christ and install the political Kingdom of God in Washington, D.C.”

In this scenario, Romney’s candidacy is part of the eternal plan and the candidate himself is fulfilling the destiny begun in what the church calls the “pre-existence.”

We need that like we need another itchy asshole.

Far fetched? Sure, but you can believe that the Saints have their own brand of radical right-wingers who are working towards this, and I put nothing, but nothing, past wingtard religionists.

The hunt for a mariachi suit in East L.A.

A mural and shrine in Mariachi Plaza de Los Angeles (in East Los Angeles) are dedicated to musicians.

A little light fare for Monday.

Most of us probably think of mariachis as strolling musicians whom we pay off not to play at our table, but they're part of my Los Angeles cultural heritage. Don't have mariachis in your neck of the woods? The demographics are changing. You will.

EssEffChron

My heart sinks when I see the black gate in front of the window. "Lunes cerrado," says a hand-scrawled sign on the door of La Casa del Mariachi. Closed Mondays.

Everything I need is in the window display: the straight-cut pants adorned with silver botonaduras; matching chuleco (vest); the chamarra (short jacket); and the moño, a fluffy bow tie. These items together are called a "traje de charro," which loosely translates as "cowboy suit," and refers specifically to the outfit worn by the lead singer of a mariachi band. Sold separately and equally important: boots, belt, buckle and sombrero.
...

I pay Cesar cash, and he hands me a dark blue moño. "I wore that suit when I was in a group called Mariachi Sol de America. You can find them on YouTube," (Aqui - G) he says.

"What instrument do you play?" I ask.

"Guitarra y biguela," he says. As I begin to remove the jacket, Cesar puts his hand on my arm. "If you are going to remain in this barrio, you should keep the traje on."

That's the opposite advice I expect, a white gabacho from Colorado parading around East L.A. in a traje de charro seems like asking for trouble, but Cesar explains: "The thieves, pandilleros and gangbangers, they'll leave you alone. They respect mariachis."

Respect indeed. The pandilleros are afraid that, if approached, los mariachis might start playing!

Headline of the Day

DARK KNIGHT SHOOTING VICTIMS PRACTICALLY SHOT THEMSELVES, SAYS PROMINENT ARIZONA IDIOT

Same wingtard who wrote the "show me your papers" law. Someone needs to beat the crap out of this asshole.

Oh, the irony...

Ironic Times

Bad News: Worst Drought Since Dust Bowl
Good news: more Woody Guthrie

California Legalizes Hands-Free Texting While Driving
Also ventriloquism, psychokinesis.

"Hands free" texting? I don't wanta know...

London: With Olympics Near, Security Breaches at Heathrow Have Authorities Worried
Inexperienced airport personnel allow modern pentathlon team from “Talibania” to enter country.

New Tablet Safe for Christians Introduced
For example, when you search for porn films, it redirects you to Christian-themed porn films.

Snooki Endorses Gingrich
He asked her to wait until after he dropped out.

Heh.

Quote of the Day

From the Rude One's FB page:

In Hell, the demons took a break from anally violating Joe Paterno to let him watch the NCAA news conference.

Mighty nice of them. Heh ...

Song For A Romney Presidency

God forbid...

Roy Rogers & Norton Buffalo ~ Ain't no Bread in the Breadbox

Thanks to Recoaro.

Hard Rock Trial

Got a little blurb and video up over at Fixer & Gordon. Enjoy.

Heh ...

Careful, Gordon! Heh ...

Goin' Ridin'

Going to ride the Hard Rock trial today. Two trials in two weeks doesn't happen very often, thank goodness.

I didn't write anything about last week's AHRMA trial mostly because it kicked my ass and I DNF'ed and I've been trying to figure out how to make it sound like I'm less of a wimp. I only fell all the way off once and in the process I managed to save the handlebar end-protector by putting my hand between it and the ground. The swelling's gone down but I'm playing still slightly hurt today. Stay tuned.

Knowing your audience ...

I betcha the gay bars are gonna be doing a bang up business too:

TAMPA -- Strip clubs may not be the most politically correct venue for those attending the Republican National Convention, but that doesn't mean Tampa's well-known adult hot spots won't be ready for the influx of visitors.

One place is bringing in a stripper who looks like former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. There are major renovations taking place. And some nude clubs have already been giving potential customers a taste of the talent online.

...

All those pent up Rethuglicans in one place with minimal spousal supervision. The dough will be rolling in like the high tide.

Great thanks to Tengrain for the link.

Fuck this guy ...

That fucking twat Louie Gohmert is another one who needs to be in a rubber room:

In the wake of tragic gun violence, most politicians realize the decent, responsible thing to do is send sympathies to those affected while leaving politics out of it. Others aren't as sensible.

...

I see. So, in the mind of this strange Republican congressman, a madman killed 12 people because of ... the separation of church and State? The First Amendment is to blame for a shooting spree in a movie theater?

...

And, of course, that idiot Rick Warren, thinking his 15 minutes was slipping away, had to put in his 2 cents:

...

So, according to Rick Warren, pastor extraordinaire, teaching scientifically-sound evolution is the reason the shooter went into that theater.

Tell me again why he deserves our respect?

Fuck him too.