And by the way ...

Fuck Olympia Snowe.

Once more for good measure.

Update:

And once for good luck:

...

TPM talked to Snowe today and she said "it would be difficult" to allow a health care bill to come to a vote in the Senate if it had the dreaded public option. Difficult? DIFFICULT? You want difficult, Senator Snowe? Try getting turned down for insurance because of pregnancy, past C-section, or being a victim of domestic violence? How about going bankrupt from health care expenses, even if you have insurance? What about the 45,000 people per year who die because they don't have health insurance? Do you think maybe it is difficult for them and their families?

...

Oh noes!!!!1

The White House doesn't like Fox 'News'! You know, an administration has never singled out a 'news organization' for retribution.

...

In 2001, indicted scumbag Tom DeLay boycotted and personally refused to appear on CNN.
In 2001, congressional conservatives were engaged in a boycott of CNN.
Also in 2001, CNN’s president met with GOP leaders to hear "concerns" about purported bias.
In 2002, GOP leadership reportedly threatened or engaged in Crossfire boycott
2002: GOP boycott of Crossfire "has become official policy."
In 2004, NY Times reporters were excluded from Air Force Two
In 2006, GOP House members sought punishment, possible prosecution of NY Times
In 2008, Bush counselor Ed Gillespie attacked NBC, accusing the network of "blurring" the lines "between the 'news' as reported on NBC and the 'opinion' as reported on MSNBC."

...

Whiny little twats. More at Maru's.

Quote of the Day

Oliver Willis:

...

Harry Reid is "leaning" to support the public option in the health care bill. Of course its far past time for he and the president to quit "leaning" towards things and crap if they’re gonna crap.

...

About the market ...

Yes, a lot of people are glad the stock market is going up again but a good portion of folks are understandably gun shy.

...

Most people are happy that the Dow is rising again because it's considered a leading indicator. But for middle class people in their 50s and 60s who managed to save for retirement, it's a rueful and wary eye they are keeping on the market right now. Between their house losing half of its value and their retirement accounts taking a stomach churning nosedive, they would love to enjoy this stock market rally, but they have a long way to go before they are back to where they expected to be at this point in their lives. They're watching, but I don't think there's all that much pleasure in it quite yet.

...

Of course there isn't because last year, people saw how fast it could all go to shit. Now they see the profits on the Street skyrocketing once again, yet their home value is nowhere near what it was 18 months ago (I got news for you, it'll never be that again.).

Until there is comprehensive regulation of the financial services industry, most people expect nothing but a cycle of bubble and bust for the foreseeable future. It's time to roll back the lassiez faire attitude of government toward business, cultivated in the Reagan years. As we've seen with health care, energy, the news media, or any other corporatized industries, big business does not know best and the 'free market' is the first casualty of deregulation.

If Congress and the President want to do anything to ensure a stable economy, reinstating the regulations put in after the Great Depression would be an excellent start. They can throw as much money as they want at the problem but with out a strict set of rules for business to follow, the financial industry will continue to remain nothing more than a high-stakes, high-risk gambling house with taxpayer money as their stake.

Clearly labelled establishment

Got this via email from my pal Bev.

Click to em-fook-hing-biggen

Problem solved

YubaNet

WASHINGTON, D.C. Oct. 21, 2009 - Senator Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Representative Sam Farr (D-Calif.) introduced legislation today that would prevent cruise ships from dumping sewage and other waste into coastal waters.

Just put the stuff in Fixer's empty whiskey bottles and let it float safely to shore where it can be dealt with. Put a little food coloring in it and dump it off red states. The natives will just think it's a bonanza of Repug kool-aid and drink it.

You can't make this stuff up...

Fed calls for closer scrutiny of bankers' compensation





I just thought this was a terrific juxtaposition on the front page of the LATimes. Heh.

Conservatives roar; Republicans tremble

Gordon tingles! A little good news for a change!

Politico

Many top Republicans are growing worried that the party’s chances for reversing its electoral routs of 2006 and 2008 are being wounded by the flamboyant rhetoric and angry tone of conservative activists and media personalities, according to interviews with GOP officials and operatives.

And this is somehow supposed to be a bad thing? I don't think so.

But the reality of the GOP during the Obama presidency is that the party’s image and priorities are in many ways being imposed on Washington — driven by grass-roots energies that lawmakers and strategists can scarcely control.

The only Republicans standing up to Beck and other conservative activists right now are familiar iconoclasts like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and New York Times columnist David Brooks — both of whom are distrusted by many Republicans for their frequent departures from conservative orthodoxy.

Sorry, probably shoulda given you a 'liquid alert' there...

Brooks, a Republican who has written both favorably and critically about Obama, amplified Graham’s concern with the party’s obsequious relationship with Beck and Limbaugh. “It is a story of remarkable volume and utter weakness,” he wrote. “It is a story as old as ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ of grand illusions and small men behind the curtain.”

Hey, you fuckers cranked up the Wurlitzer and now you can't control it. Tough shit. You crapped in your bed, now lie in it.

The debate means the argument over whether outspoken talk show hosts are reviving a beaten party or trashing its brand is likely to persist through the 2010 midterms and into the 2012 presidential primary.

What argument? They're trashing it, and rightly so and doing a fine job of it I might add. The lunatics are finally in charge of the asylum, and the Repugs are getting what they deserve.

The only thing better would be a buncha prison sentences.

Quote of the Day dos

This is about Repugs v Obama v ClusterF**. Buchanan figures in this one too. Heh.

Think Progress

“I also have to laugh,” liberal talk radio host Bill Press said during the segment. “When two Republicans want to hurt a Democrat, what do they do? They compare him to another Republican. It’s crazy.”

Repugs? Crazy? I think yer onto something there, Bill.

Quote of the Day

The Rude One:

While one should not advocate kicking an old man in the nuts, neither should one advocate not kicking an old man in the nuts. Especially when that old man is Pat Buchanan ...

It's already begun ...

Haven't the wingnuts been saying the Obamas are gonna indoctrinate our children into their ... something? Well, here's proof:



They're all gonna be hula hoop playing, pot smoking, Motown loving, dirty fucking hippies. The brainwashing is nearly complete. Heh ...

Pic stolen from Virgo Tex.

The Dream Vacation

I got this via email from an old schoolmate I hooked back up with on Facebook after 47 years.

Click to embiggen

Why The (Impure) Public Option is (Probably) Gaining Momentum

FiveThirtyEight, the best political analysis blog going. Here's just a few:

1. The tireless, and occasionally tiresome, advocacy on behalf of liberal bloggers and interest groups for the public option. Whatever you think of their tactics -- I haven't always agreed with them -- the sheer amount of focus and energy expended on their behalf has been very important, keeping the issue alive in the public debate.

2. The fact that the CBO thinks it will save money.

3. The seeming inevitability of health care reform, which neuters the voices of those who aren't opposed to the public option per se so much as the entire project of health care reform.

4. The fact that the locus of power has shifted from the Gang of Six -- Bingaman/Conrad/Baucus/Snowe/Grassley/Enzi to the Group of Six -- Pelosi/Dodd/Obama/Reid/Baucus/Snowe.

6. The fading from memory of the tea party protests and the "government takeover" meme.

My favorite, imp that I am, and also somewhat of an involuntary expert on 'senior moments':

9. The insurance industry's "senior moment": forgetting that this isn't 1993 and that the shelf life of a misleading study would be measured in hours (rather than days or weeks) and would damage its credibility in the process.

More, and many comments as well.

The public option is the essence of health care reform, along with regulation of the insurance cartel. It is the gateway to single-payer which the cowards took off the table right out front and our Ninja Jedi Prez put back on with the stealth public option.

The Warning

I watched "The Warning" on PBS Frontline last night. If you missed it, hit the link.

The Drudge Retort

Warning: Watching this episode of Frontline may (and should) make you sick to your stomach.

“The Warning” is a Frontline episode that aired this evening about derivatives trading and the demise of our economy. The main players were Alan Greenspan, Robert Rubin, and Lawrence Summers — all Ayn Rand disciples who believed that all regulation was bad. They honestly believed that the markets would regulate themselves, even after the Savings and Loan Scandal of the 80s. They even believed that fraud shouldn’t be investigated.

The “warning” was made back in the mid 90s by head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Brooksley Born. The economy appeared to be humming along beautifully. The stock market was soaring. There was a huge surplus of jobs. We even had a balanced budget!

But it turned out, a cancer was growing. It was the completely unregulated derivatives market — a giant, multi-trillion dollar ponzi-scheme. Brooksley Born attempted to alert Congress to the pending disaster but was met with violent opposition by Greenspan, Rubin, Summers, and most of Congress. Not only was she not allowed to regulate the markets, her power to do so was taken away. And the market was further deregulated with the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 and the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 and the

Less than 10 years later, our economy completely collapsed.

According to Ms. Born, this will happen again and again unless there are some new regulations, to which I would add jail sentences, toot de fuckin' sweet.

The still unregulated OTC Derivative scam is starting over again as we speak.

Headline of the Day

Has Right Wing News Doomed The Republican Party?

Oh please God, I hope so...

Pennsylvania state lawmaker: Veterans who support climate change legislation are ‘traitors.’

Think Progress, links at site:

A coalition of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, under the name Operation Free, is on a 21-state bus tour to alert the public about the dangers of global warming and its threat to national security. Upon hearing about the group’s visit to Pennsylvania, State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R) blasted the veterans as “traitors” and compared them to Benedict Arnold:

“As a veteran, I believe that any veteran lending their name, to promote the leftist propaganda of global warming and climate change, in an effort to control more of the wealth created in our economy, through cap and tax type policies, all in the name of national security, is a traitor to the oath he or she took to defend the Constitution of our great nation!” Mr. Metcalfe’s email reads. “Remember Benedict Arnold before giving credibility to a veteran who uses their service as a means to promote a leftist agenda. Drill Baby Drill!!!”

Rep. Metcalfe, who served in the U.S. Army from 1980-84, today defended the remarks, saying that “if the type of policies that an individual promotes undermines the Constitution and the law of the land in our country, then they are not patriots.”

Speaking as a Veteran myself, fuck you, Daryl. Your service as the Permanent Latrine Orderly in the 833rd Mess Kit Repair Battalion, or whatever it was you did, hardly qualifies you to call Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans 'traitors' because they are speaking out against your corporatist agenda, you fucking asshole.

Anybody who calls me a traitor to my face is going to get punched. Not that this bastard has the balls to do that to these climate change activist Veterans, but I hope a couple of them can get their hands on him.

Maybe while he's recuperating he'll have time to actually read the Constitution. That's probably too much to hope for. It's easier to hide behind if he doesn't know what's in it. Thank God he's only a state rep.

Quote of the Day

Comrade Misfit on Afghanistan:

... If raw military power was what was needed, the Afghan schools today would be teaching Russian as a second language ...

Bye-bye Bernie ...

It's about time a judge enforced the "pooper-scooper law" and got this piece of shit off the streets:

A federal judge on Tuesday revoked bail for Bernard B. Kerik, the former New York police commissioner who is facing conspiracy and fraud charges.

...

Before revoking the bail of Mr. Kerik, Judge Robinson described him as a "toxic combination of self-minded focus and arrogance, and I fear that combination leads him to believe his ends justify his means."

"He sees the court’s rulings as an inconvenience," Judge Robinson said, "something to be ignored, and an obstacle to be circumvented."

After the proceeding, Mr. Kerik loosened his tie and removed papers and a wallet from his pockets. He then carefully took off a chain and medallion and handed it to one of his lawyers. He was led away, not in handcuffs, by court officers.

...

I'm sure a few of his new neighbors will take the chance to 'welcome' him into his new digs.

Great thanks to Watertiger for the link.

Look on the bright side ...

You get to go to exotic locales, meet interesting new people, hunt them down, and kill them.

You see, this whole PTSD thing is a real bummer and it just depresses everybody. Christ:

So these researchers (being encouraged, of course, by fine organizations like the American Enterprise Institute) are working to counterbalance all that gloomy, depressing stuff like post-traumatic stress disorder that people associate with serving in a combat zone.

...

Just another attempt to downplay what the neocons have done to our military over the past 8 years.

The Year In Ridiculous Republicans

From Real Time with Bill Maher via HuffPo. I can't snag this so put down your drink, click here and go see it. Example from the episode guide:

On Michelle Bachman

The floor of a cave called. It wants its bat shit back.

Crazy takes on crazy Repugs. Go.

Web Surf to Save Your Aging Brain

From Yahoo!News:

MONDAY, Oct. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Surfing the Internet just might be a way to preserve your mental skills as you age.

Researchers found that older adults who started browsing the Web experienced improved brain function after only a few days.

Oh yeah?

Obama's commendable change in federal drug enforcement policy

Glenn Greenwald, links at site.

This is one of those rare instances of unadulterated good news from Washington:

The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new policy guidelines to be sent to federal prosecutors Monday.

Two Justice Department officials described the new policy to The Associated Press, saying prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state laws.

Beyond the tangible benefits to patients and providers, there is the issue of states' rights. Fourteen states have legalized medical marijuana, many by referendum. The Bush administration's refusal to honor or even recognize those states' decisions -- by arresting people for doing things which are perfectly legal under state law -- was one of many examples giving the lie to the conservative movement's alleged belief in federalism and limited federal power (see here, for instance, how John Ashcroft and GOP Senators tried deceitfully and undemocratically to exploit the aftermath of 9/11 to prevent Oregon from implementing its assisted suicide law). Constitutionally and otherwise, what possible justification is there for federalizing decisions about whether individuals can use marijuana for medical purposes? Ironically (given the "socialism" and "fascism" rhetoric spewed at it by the Fox News faction), the Obama administration's decision is a major advancement for the rights of states to have their laws respected by the federal government.

The War on Drugs is the pernicious precursor to the War on Terror in so many ways, beginning with the relentless erosion of civil liberties; endless expansions of federal powers of detention, surveillance and militarized involvement in other countries; and a general pretext for remaining in an endless "war" posture. Anything that moves even a little bit towards abandoning the orthodoxies which sustain it should be applauded. And whatever else is true, being free of gun-wielding DEA agents is a real benefit for people with serious illnesses and those who provide them with medical treatments prescribed by their physicians.

UPDATE: A newly released Gallup poll today finds support for full-scale legalization of marijuana (not just for medical use) at an all-time high, with "44% of Americans in favor of making marijuana legal and 54% opposed" (h/t Law Enforcement Against Prohibition). As Gallup put it: "Public mores on legalization of marijuana have been changing this decade, and are now at their most tolerant in at least 40 years."

Much more in the article.

This is a step in the right direction. Obama said he would do that and now it appears that he has.

Now we need to legalize weed and get it over with.

Update:

Medical-pot backers react to new Obama policy

American exceptionalism ...

Or, How many times do I have to say this?

Traveling as much as we do, the Mrs. and I have friends in many different countries. Almost unanimously, they say that what bugs them most about America and Americans is the attitude that everything we do is the right thing or, at the least, be accepted without question because we know better. They consider it an extreme arrogance, especially those from cultures far older than ours.

Greenwald looks at "why they hate us" and puts lie to the response that it's our freedoms which bother them:

...

Note, too, the vast gap between how Americans perceive of their actions (mere "aberrations") and how so much of the rest of the world perceives of it, especially those in the targeted regions. So much of this disparity is explained by a basic lack of empathy: imagine if every American spent just a day contemplating how they'd react if some foreign army from a Muslim nation invaded and bombed the U.S., occupied the country for the next several years with 60,000 soldiers, killed tens of thousands of citizens here, set up secret prisons where they disappeared Americans for years without charges or even contact with the outside world, imposed sanctions that blockaded food and medicine and killed countless children, invaded and ransacked our homes at will, abducted Americans and shipped them halfway around the world to island-prisons, instituted a worldwide torture regime, armed their allies for attacks on other Western nations, and threatened still other invasions.

...

And to top it off, we give the foreign tourists who do want to visit our beautiful country a hard time in the name of "keeping us safer".

We've become an international bully, especially with regard to Muslim nations. A good segment of our population looks at them as subhuman or animals, their lives worth nothing and that was perpetuated by the Bush administration. If President Obama doesn't change attitudes soon (he's made a good start) we're going to lose a lot more tourist dollars and make more enemies in the Muslim world.

We've lost too much already, respect, credibility, and money in the name of "homeland security" and fear mongering. Locking innocents up without charge, torturing them, and murdering them, along with occupying their countries is not the way to "win hearts and minds". All it does is dig us into a deeper hole. If we really want to keep our country safe, we have to stop threatening people with violence and occupation and we have to stop turning friends into adversaries. It's time to start "walking the walk" instead of lecturing others with a heavy air of hypocrisy as we do what we please.

ObamaCare to include psychological counseling for Republicans

The Seminal at FDL.

Breaking news: At a White House press briefing, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced that a deal was being cut with congress to include a special program in the upcoming health care reform, commonly known as ObamaCare. “In recognition of the traumatic stress syndrome that uniquely afflicts many Republicans, we are adding a program to provide psychological counseling for those Republicans who want it. We hope that the bipartisan nature of this gesture will help to ensure speedy passage of the legislation.”

Kathleen Sebelius went on to explain the thinking behind the new program. “We are aware of the serious mental problems being faced by many Republicans in the current situation. It’s not easy going from ‘This is my country, suck it up!’ to ‘You are an undesirable, and a rather hysterical one too’. We Democrats were in a similar position eight years ago, so we know what it’s like and we can feel their pain,”

Most leading Republicans decried the move. “The White House is trying to label Republicans as loonies, but there’s nothing wrong with us! Just look at those town hall protests in August, and the tea party demonstrations. Those were good loyal patriotic Republicans just displaying their core values. The constitution gives us the right to act as we please, and we intend to keep on yelling and screaming and running around with guns until we get what we want!” proclaimed Newt Gingrich.

“It’s the liberals who are crazy!” agreed Rush Limbaugh. “Next thing, they’ll be prescribing lobotomies for conservatives! Well, if anyone tells me I need a lobotomy, I’ll give him a piece of my mind!”

Asked if he was disappointed by the lack of gratitude on the part of Republican leaders, President Obama shrugged his shoulders and pointed to polling showing that many Republicans suffered from feelings of disorientation, alienation and inferiority. “We’re just trying to help these poor souls, these unfortunate fellow Americans, so they can once again lead productive lives and make positive contributions to society. Of course, we are aware that there are many cases where the psychological condition is so serious that we have to face the fact that we’re talking about a lost cause.”

“But isn’t being a Republican a ‘pre-existing condition’?” asked one of the journalists.

“Ah, now that’s a very good point,” replied Obama. “That’s why it is so important that we get the ‘public option’ included in this legislation. We’ve talked to representatives for the health insurance industry, and they’re unanimous on this. There isn’t a single one of them who are willing to attempt to get Republicans to accept reality.”

To be continued…

Better yet:

Click to embiggen

I would like to volunteer my services as a 'street surgeon'. I've never done a lobotomy with my K-Bar, but it can't be too much different than poppin' off a bottle cap. It might take openin' the gourds of quite a few Repugs to get the technique and the flat rate down pat, but what the hell, we got plenty of 'em.

Note to wingtards: You can save yourself from all this by remembering, and acting upon, the old adage:

"Better a bottle in front o' me than a frontal lobotomy."

Whatever takes the teabaggers etc. out of the political discussion, or rather turns their idiot blathering into a discussion by their absence, is fine with me.

Sarah Palin Goes Down Cheap

Her $29 book is going for $9 on Amazon. It's not even out yet. Heh.

BuzzFlash Editor's Blog

Yes, Palin and "Going Rogue" -- not released until November 17 -- are going down cheap, at a price usually reserved for what are called "remainder" books, the surplus stock of a book that is dramatically discounted.

Of course if you give it away, you can have a popular product, so it's no surprise that as of October 19, "Going Rogue" is number 4 on Amazon.

And the right-wing think tank media infrastructure, which is so successfuly integrated, is indeed giving it away!

The right-wing rag site, NewsMax, is offering "Going Rogue" free with a subscription, or for a cost of -- coinky dink -- $9.00.

For close to four decades, the GOP and the right wing have synergistically intertwined -- with the backing of the oligarchy -- think tanks, electoral politics, the media, and book sales (with cross-promotion of books and think tank "fellows" on the programs of RWNJ media shills).

This is something that BuzzFlash and some others have noted is critically lacking among the progressives. A lot of it is due to the limited financial backing received by progressive causes (just ask us at BuzzFlash), and a lot of it has to do with a more well-oiled structure on the right.

Meanwhile, the right wing knows how to practically give away books and get them to the top of the bestseller lists.

They sure do go down cheap, don't they?

This is one of those books that wingers will just have to have and will never read. Might be a good book to hollow out to stash stuff in. Nobody'll ever open it.

Oh, the irony...

Ironic Times

MALDIVES GOV'T IN EMERGENCY SESSION TO ADDRESS RAPIDLY RISING SEA LEVELS
Motion to name blue ribbon commission to recommend committee to hire consultant to research cost of conducting study tabled.

Pakistan's Nukes Secure, Says Army Chief
After wresting phone from militants.

Recession Over, Say Economists
No it's not, say non-economists.
...

Deficit Hits All-Time High of $1.42 Trillion
Goldman Sachs reports record profits of $1.42 trillion.

White House: GOP Calling Shots for Fox News
“Nonsense,” says Fox News spokesman Michael Steele.

Hummer Drivers Receive 5 Times as Many Tickets as Other Drivers
Statisticians attribute it to karma.

Black helicopters ...

This is the stuff of crap spy novels. Unfortunately, a good many of us are gullible enough to believe the propaganda:

Depending on your perspective, the Oath Keepers are either strident defenders of liberty or dangerous peddlers of paranoia.

...

More specifically, the group's members, which number in the thousands, pledge to disobey orders they deem unlawful, including directives to disarm the American people and to blockade American cities. By refusing the latter order, the Oath Keepers hope to prevent cities from becoming "giant concentration camps," a scenario the 44-year-old Rhodes says he can envision happening in the coming years.

...

Folks better get out from in front of their TVs and breathe fresh air again. To these people, life is one big Oliver Stone movie.

...

"The whole point of Oath Keepers is to stop a dictatorship from ever happening here," Rhodes, a former Army paratrooper and Yale-trained lawyer, said in an interview with the Review-Journal. "My focus is on the guys with the guns, because they can't do it without them.

...

I'd say you're about 8 years too late, pal. All your rights left during the Chimp's reign. Where were all of you then? If I had to guess, I'd say they were the ones cheering the loudest for us to "go kill some ragheads".

Great thanks to Oliver Willis for the link.

Don't get busted ...

In Mexico. It seems to have turned into the Midnight Express of my youth:

...

Mr. Zuñiga, then 26, was charged in the shooting death of a gang member from his neighborhood. Ballistic tests showed Mr. Zuñiga hadn't fired a gun. Dozens of witnesses saw him working at his market stall during the time of the murder, which took place several miles away. And he had never met the victim. Still, he was found guilty by a judge at trial and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

...

As an experienced traveler, I'd recommend better places to spend your travel dollar. Granted, the police probably won't do this to a U.S. citizen but kidnappings by drug dealers and other criminals are common enough to give me pause.

The Mrs. and I prowled all over Mexico when we were younger but it was better then. The cartels weren't as powerful there and the cops, or so it seemed, weren't as corrupt. At least, they looked out for the tourists who spent money there. Now the cops make more through payoffs than they do legitimately so it's far easier for them to look the other way.

And for those interested, the same goes for Jamaica. The Dutch islands are much nicer. If you have to be on the mainland, try Costa Maya or Belize.

At the least ...

Arlen knows how to follow a script. Can't say that for the rest of the Dems:

Sen. Arlen Specter told Fox News' Chris Wallace that the Republican Party was the party of "no, no, no" when it comes to passing meaningful health care reform. While Specter believes the public option is "gaining momentum" within the Democratic Party, the GOP is the "party of obstructionism," said Specter.

...

US Troops in Iraq talk about Halliburton & KBR

This not only pissed me off to the nines, it gave me a good idea how to pay for health care: cut the Halliburton/KBR/Blackwater/Contractors/Mercenaries/Whatever off at the knees and let 'em walk home.

Interviews with US troops and Halliburton employees explain what is happening in Iraq.

The vid is about Iraq, but it applies as well to Afghanistan where we also have more 'contractors' than we do troops. We pay through the nose and get virtually nothing for the money.

Thanks to truthtrekker.

Goldman Can Spare You a Dime

Daddy Frank on the Vampire Squid that is Wall St.:

Teddy Roosevelt’s trust-busting crusade ultimately broke up Standard Oil. Though Goldman did outlast three of its four major rival firms during last fall’s meltdown, it is not a monopoly. And there is one other significant way that our 21st-century vampire squid differs from Rockefeller’s 20th-century octopus. Americans knew what oil was, and they understood how Standard Oil’s manipulations directly affected their pocketbooks. Even now many Americans don’t know what Goldman’s products are or how it makes its money. The less we know, the easier it is for reckless gambling to return to capitalism’s casino, and for Washington to look the other way as a new financial bubble inflates.

Those Obama fans who are disappointed keep looking for explanations. Is he too impressed by the elite he met in Cambridge, too eager to split the difference between left and right, too willing to compromise? As he pursues legislation, why does he keep deferring to others — whether to his party’s Congressional leaders or the Congressional Budget Office or to this month’s acting president, Olympia Snowe? Why doesn’t he ever draw a line in the sand? “We know Obama has good values,” Jeff Madrick said to me last week, “but we don’t know if he has convictions.”

What we also know is that if Teddy Roosevelt palled around with John D. Rockefeller as today’s political class does with Wall Street’s titans and lobbyists, the tentacles of the original octopus would still be coiled tightly around America’s neck.

As the vanquished 'original octopus' morphed into today's 'vampire squid', it adapted by offering lotsa bait to politicians and its grip is now very firm.

A little Saturday afternoon Bonnie

Bonnie Raitt, who at three weeks shy of 60 years still qualifies (to me, at least) as 'young stuff', tears it up in New Orleans. There were several tunes to choose from (see her NOLA playlist), but I chose this one. Enjoy.

Classic performance from the 2009 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival

Bonnie Raitt ~ Women Be Wise

ZviZeav has a buncha really good blues and other stuff on his channel.

Enriched Pootonium

Fixer started it with a tip from Comrade Misfit, and it was brought along by a comment by our pal David Aquarius:

"Home, Home on the Range
Where the squirrels and chipmunks all bark
where seldom is heard
a discouraging word
and the jack rabbits glow in the dark"

And finally, brought to the big screen by our gal Rachel, obviously a discriminating reader of these blogs.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Seems ta me like they better be checking coyote poop as well. Who knows where this will end?

OBAMABUSTERS!

Have your bottle of brain bleach ready for the visual caused by the headline of MoDo's op-ed:

Daisy Chain of Cheneys

I warned ya...

I imagine that if you called the new consulting firm of Cheney, Cheney & Cheney and got put on hold, you’d hear the “Ghostbusters” theme:

“If there’s someone weak,
if you’ve sprung a leak,
if the world looks bleak,
if you hide and seek,
who ya gonna call?
OBAMABUSTERS!”

It’s hard to believe that the Bush dynasty, which limped away in disgrace after smashing our economy and the globe, has spawned another political dynasty.

The influence-peddling firm will be wildly successful, no doubt, because if anyone has shown a golden touch, it’s Dick Cheney. And there are bound to be oodles of clients who want coaching on how to make things look totally the opposite of what they are.

The blonde 43-year-old lawyer, a mother of five hailed by her fans as “a red state rock star,” teamed up this week with Bill Kristol to start a new group called “Keep America Safe.” Kristol, of course, was the chief proponent of the wacky notion that Dan Quayle, and later Sarah Palin, could Keep America Safe, which somewhat undermines the urgency and gravity of the group’s moniker.

Go see their logo and where they stole it from.

Kristol joked to Politico’s Ben Smith that the venture might serve as a launching pad for Liz to run for office. (A Senate bid from Virginia, where she lives, or Wyoming, which she still calls home?)

That raises the terrifying specter that some day we could see a Palin-Cheney ticket, promoted by Kristol.

Sarah would bring her content-free crackle and gut instincts; Liz would bring facts and figures distorted by ideology. Pretty soon, we’re pre-emptively invading Iran and the good times are rolling all over again.

Swell. I hope I'm dead by then.

Cindy McCain Bankrolled Conference That Called for Ban on Mercenaries

Rebel Reports, links at site.

By Jeremy Scahill

A little-publicized US Naval Academy conference named after Senator John McCain and bankrolled by his wealthy wife, Cindy, issued a call earlier this year for the US government to ban the use of armed private security contractors like Blackwater in US war zones, stating bluntly, “contractors should not be deployed as security guards, sentries, or even prison guards within combat areas.”

[...] At present, there are 74,000 contractors on the DoD payroll in Afghanistan—roughly 10,000 more than the number of US troops. Thousands of other contractors work for the US State Department and other agencies. (my em)

The McCain conference raised questions about “the privatization of combat support functions,” including intelligence collection and analysis, as well as “advising/training for combat.” It concluded, “In irregular warfare environments, where civilian cooperation is crucial,” barring the use of armed contractors “is both ethically and strategically necessary.”

I'm liking the McCain women more and more. Yes, I know they're still Repugs. Go read the rest.

I thank god ...

My high school still holds a grudge and refuses to invite me to a reunion. It'll be 30 years next year and I'm grateful:

The latest tear-jerker from Glenn Beck will remind some readers of that drunken idiot who cornered you at the last reunion and wasted ten minutes of your life describing, with malodorous inaccuracy, how fucking awesome everything was when you were in high school together.

...

It's amazing how conservatives rewrite/remember history to suit themselves.

Blue Saturday ...

Supposed to be shitty weather all weekend in NY so I found a blues number that I love along with a video of a drive I've done quite a few times, along the beach in Ft. Lauderdale.

Susan Tedeschi - Friar's Point

Saturday Emmylou Blogging

I have this song on a Johnny Cash LP from the late '50s. Sigh.

From Nashville Now 1980's

Emmylou Harris ~ I Still Miss Someone

Thanks to 1000Magicians, UK.

McCain apologizes for boob tweet

Raw Story

Meghan McCain, one of the daughters of former Republican presidential candidate John McCain, has apologized for using Twitter to post a picture in which she displayed an ample amount of cleavage.

Very nice, hon, no offense taken. They look very comfortable. The only people who'd take offense at your mildly cute picture are the ones who feign outrage about 'moral values' in public and consume mass quantities of porn in private. Oh, that's right, those are your people. Live with it.

Come ta think of it, I bet your Dad'd got a few more votes if he'da turned you out for the bikers' wet T-shirt contest last summer instead of your mom. Wouldn'ta been enough votes anyway, of course, but it'da been a lot more fun!

Enjoy 'em while ya got 'em, Meghan. They'll dry out and wither and droop pretty soon like all Repug broads' tits do. And, oh yeah, your face'll get all desiccated like a mummy too like the rest of 'em.

I don't know this first-hand of course, because I only hang out with good Librul gals who stay gorgeous and juicy forever thank you Jesus, but I understand there are other parts of Repug women that dry out and become useless too. That might explain a lotta the goings-on of Repug senators and congresspukes.

$400 a gallon

The Hill

The Pentagon pays an average of $400 to put a gallon of fuel into a combat vehicle or aircraft in Afghanistan. (my em and holy shit! - G)

“It is a number that we were not aware of and it is worrisome,” Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), the chairman of the House Appropriations Defense panel, said in an interview with The Hill. “When I heard that figure from the Defense Department, we started looking into it.”

The Pentagon comptroller’s office provided the fuel statistic to the committee staff when it was asked for a breakdown of why every 1,000 troops deployed to Afghanistan costs $1 billion. The Obama administration uses this estimate in calculating the cost of sending more troops to Afghanistan.

The $400 per gallon reflects what in Pentagon parlance is known as the “fully burdened cost of fuel.”

Guess whose 'burden' it is. That's right - ours. No wonder those Repug senators didn't want rape victims to be able to take their rapists to court!

Maybe if they get somebody besides Halliburton to haul it we could get it down to $350. Yeesh.

No cost analysis available yet as to the 'fully burdened' cost of officers' whiskey in Afghanistan. $400 a gallon's probably pretty close if they don't get the good stuff.

Your government is trying to kill you

The best line in this is "my underwear looked like the mudflaps on a swamp buggy" (been there, done that), but my main point is: if there's any lingering doubts that the pundits, and in particular Little Miss Becky, have no limits as to the depths they will plumb to spew fear over nothing, this oughta take care of 'em:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Doubt Break '09
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

Colorado Balloon Boy Named Head of GOP

SPR

"When you think about it, it's really the perfect choice - an immature person, surrounded by hot air, but who still never gets off the ground."

I watched a few minutes of the Great Balloon Chase. Shot with a long lens from a helicopter, the balloon looked like it was really big and going really fast. Turns out it wasn't very big at all and was going pretty slow. Just like the GOP.

Obama proposes $250 for retirees

We got one of these in May. It bought us a new washing machine right when we needed one. Looks like we're gonna get another one.

The Hill

President Barack Obama proposed giving payments of $250 to more than 50 million retired Americans who won't get an increase in their Social Security checks next year.

"Even as we seek to bring about recovery, we must act on behalf of those hardest hit by this recession," Obama said.

I applaud the sentiment, but me 'n Mrs. G are probably the least hardest hit by the recession. Everything we own is paid for, we only use our credit cards for internet purchases, gas, and travel, and hardly ever so much that we can't pay it off every month without difficulty, we have retirement accounts that just sit there, in short, we planned ahead a little and it's paying off, at least in financial peace of mind.

I'm sure there are folks out there to whom $250 will make a difference, and I feel for them. I don't mean to sound like the old rich white guy I'm not, but that amount ain't shit these days. It used to be you could buy a pretty good car or bike for that, but I wouldn't sleep in a $250 car these days!

All that said, I'll gladly accept some of my tax money back, and I hope it comes soon. My TV quit the other day and I had to buy a new one (Energy Star rated, of course), and 500 bucks'll just about cover it.

Just as an aside, when I properly disposed of the old TV at the recycling center, it took me an' a Mexican to get it out of my truck and into the bin. I can lift the new one with one hand and it was $200 cheaper too and uses less electricity. That's progress. TVs, like all appliances, aren't made to last as long as they used to be. The old one lasted 8 1/2 years as opposed to the TV in the spare bedroom which is 25 years old and works fine. That's the flip side of progress.

The gang rape and the Republicans

Mark Morford on the pro-rape Repugs:

It is with this wonky filter in mind we turn our gaze to the gaping hellmouth that is the U.S. Senate, that drab cauldron of grumpy old men, defeminized women and tiny handful of rebellious dissenters, all of whom claim to have your best interests at heart but mostly only really give a damn about which lobbyist will help them best make their next boat payment.

It's the same old spectacle, isn't it? There they go, tossing around the health care reform issue like it didn't affect millions of humans every single day, throwing in massive compromises and snags just so the GOP can fellate its pals in the insurance industry and a gaggle of aggrieved Democrats can get their egos fluffed and you still won't be able to get a decent dental plan for your family.

But now, just for fun, let's take it a step further. Or rather, darker. Let's go ahead and step right onto one of those large, rusty nails sticking up from the senate floor, so painful as to make your stomach turn, a bit of your lunch jump back into your throat.

Here is freshman Minnesota senator Al Franken's first-ever legislative action, a relatively simple, almost laughably surefire bill requiring the Pentagon no longer do business with any contractor -- hi, Halliburton! -- that requires its employees to agree that she cannot sue said contractor if she is, oh let's just say, gang raped by its employees.

You read that right. It's a can't-sue-us-if-you're-raped clause. In a U.S. government contract. Aimed squarely at Halliburton. Thanks, Dick Cheney!

Let us pause to imagine if, say, Wal-Mart had such a clause. Or maybe Toys 'R' Us. Starbucks. Let us imagine the appalled outcry. But Halliburton? Dick Cheney's vile little spitwad of shameless war profiteering? No problem. Hey, it's Republican-endorsed military contracting. No one said it was ethical.

The most repellant part is the 30 U.S. senators -- Republicans each and every one -- who just stepped forth to vote against the Franken amendment, essentially saying no, women should have no right to sue if they are sexually abused or gang raped, Halliburton and its ilk must be protected at all costs, and by the way we hereby welcome Satan into our rancid souls forevermore. God bless America.

Let us repeat, for clarity. Franken's amendment passed with a vote of 68-30. Meaning 30 U.S. senators voted against the elimination of the rape/sue clause. Meghan McCain, call your dad. He's one of them.

So perhaps all we can do is ponder how pathetic and sad these various senator's lives must be, how these bitter old men will now go home at night and announce around the dinner table that, yes, today they worked very hard to help improve the welfare of the nation by essentially enabling rape and sexual abuse, tried their darndest to prevent women who've been viciously attacked from having much legal recourse. And lo, Satan will chuckle happily.

Then maybe these senators will try and hug their wives, or their daughters. And maybe, if there's any justice in the universe, their wives and daughters will slap them as hard as humanly possible, lock them in a shipping container, and never let them touch them again.

Why look, there's grandpa McCain. There's disgraced man-child John Ensign. Hooker-lovin' David Vitter. Saxby Chambliss. Inhofe. It's a veritable welfare-state who's who of Dick Cheney's sanctum of oily fluffers, and many more who would love to be. Shall we write a nice letter to them? Or maybe their wives and daughters?

I think these 30 asshole senators aren't as much pro-rape as they are pro-tort reform, as in there should be no civil or criminal or any recourse by the peasant victims of their big contributors. They've got it rigged so what Halliburton et al do overseas stays overseas.

That said, I think there are at least a few who think rape is what women are for, being vessels of unholiness and properly subservient to 'men' as the rightful Masters of the Universe and all, and that they should have no rights other than the God-given right to be dominated and humiliated by the same so-called 'men'.

Mainly, Morford's right. It's all about the money. It's disgusting and I hope this comes back to bite 'em all on the ass.

As usual ...

The American taxpayers are supporting the "red" states. It really chaps my ass that those who can't wrap their heads around having a black President benefit most from his largess.

WASHINGTON – Businesses reported creating or saving more than 30,000 jobs in the first months of President Barack Obama's stimulus program, according to initial data released Thursday by a government oversight board. Military construction led the way, and states in the South and Southwest saw the biggest boost. [my em]

...

Weren't these the states whose governors "rejected" the stimulus money? Just askin' because the governor of New York is about to cut everything to prevent us going belly up. We could use any extra the "big government" might have.

I'm sorry, at the risk of offending many great progressives down there, but fuck these people. They're the ones who yell the most about the "lack of values in New York or San Francisco", yet are the ones with the highest teen pregnancy rate and highest percentage of divorces. They are the ones who dismiss any federal program as "big government intruding into their lives" or "wasting their tax dollars" yet are perfectly willing to accept every dime they get from it.

Fuck them.

The next time one of their elected leaders makes a stink about federal money going to "welfare queens" or "those that don't deserve it", let's cut back on the amount of federal money they get. Let's face it, they should just say they don't want federal programs designed to help those who aren't Christian and Caucasian, not necessarily in that order, for heaven forbid they turn away any coming to them.

They're worried about the deficit should the health care bill pass with a "public option"? I'm worried about the deficit because we're spending so much on defense vis-a-vis the actual risk (psst ... the Cold War is over). How about we cut back on bombs and bullets and take care of Americans here? That wouldn't happen down there, would it? Not with all the defense contractors putting red staters to work. There's a government program is I ever saw one.

My message to those folks: How about shutting the fuck up and saying "thank you" to the rest of us?

Great thanks to Ol' Fez for the link.

How long ...

Have we been saying Joe Lieberman has to go?

...

We're told that Lieberman needs to still be part of the action because he's with us on everything except the war. Now we have to include health care on his list of shit he's against us on. What next?

...

So ...

That's how they make Easter eggs. (h/t Comrade Misfit)

...

A government contractor at Hanford, in south-central Washington State, just spent a week mapping radioactive rabbit feces with detectors mounted on a helicopter flying 50 feet over the desert scrub. An onboard computer used GPS technology to record each location so workers could return later to scoop up the droppings for disposal as low-level radioactive waste.

...

Vintage Dragsters

Please go enjoy this photo gallery.

"...left to their own devices, the nation's health insurers admit they're gonna ass rape us."

The Rude One on the insurance cartel's threats about health care reform. Links at site.

The horse's head of a report delivered by the American Health Insurance Providers to the beds of sleeping senators is quite a document, not just because of what it threatens, but because of what it admits. [...]

[...] In other words, left to their own devices, the nation's health insurers admit they're gonna ass rape us. They just wanna make sure we understand that if reform passes, they'll also...(tsk, tsk, such language! - G)

[...] Seems like a clusterfuck of such epic proportions that there's no fucking way you are going to understand any of this? No shit. The Rude Pundit just wrote that, and it seems like it's not only opposed to common sense, but it's where common sense goes to vomit and die.

Because the natural response to any of the insurance companies' threats is "Wow, there's an industry that needs the government to step in." And thus the circle is complete.

The Rude Pundit has tried to come up with a rational reason why the public option is still even being debated and is not the centerpiece of the bill. He can't do it. By AHIP's own admission, they have to be stopped or they'll kill again. The report is a taunt, a thug-level threat, terrorism, if you will. With no government alternative to corporate health insurance, it's like asking captured bank robbers if they'd mind not robbing banks anymore. When they say, "Yes, we mind," you ask if they'd stop shooting hostages. And when they say, "We'll think about it," you thank them for accepting their punishment so gracefully and release them.

I hope the AHIP mafia stepped on their dicks enough that folks take notice. The way to deal with bullies is to confront them. Then beat the shit out of 'em.

Fahrenheit 451, with fried chicken and all the sides

This is NOT satire. Raw Story:

A Baptist Church near Asheville, N.C., is hosting a "Halloween book burning" to purge the area of "Satan's" works, which include all non-King James versions of the Bible, popular books by many religious authors and even country music.

Church leaders deem Good News for Modern Man, the Evidence Bible, the New International Version Bible, the Green Bible and the Message Bible, as well as at least seven other versions of the Bible as "Satan's Bibles," according to the website. Attendees will also set fire to "Satan's popular books" such as the work of "heretics" including the Pope, Mother Teresa, Billy Graham and Rick Warren.

"I believe the King James version is God's preserved, inspired, inerrant and infallible word of God," Pastor Marc Grizzard told a local news station of his 14-member parish.

The event also seeks to destroy "Satan's music" which includes every genre from country,rap and rock to "soft and easy" and "Southern Gospel" and" contemporary Christian."

Church leaders did not respond to Raw Story's requests for comment, but the website notes they will be providing "bar-b-que chicken, fried chicken and all the sides" at the book burning.

I don't give a shit what they burn as long they paid for the books and music, but it looks like the preacher figured out how to attract all 14 members of his congregation. Heh. Gotta cook the chicken over something and most of these books may serve their highest usage as cooking fuel anyway.

If these morons knew how close to Catholicism, aka 'those bloody papists', the Church of England, aka 'Anglican Catholics' or 'Episcopalian' really is, they'd burn the 'Authorized Version' as well and just make up their own like everybody before them did.

My personal Sacred Texts are motorcycle service manuals.

Majority Of Newspapers Now Purchased By Kidnappers To Prove Date

From The World's Best News Source, after The Daily Show of course:

NEW YORK—According to a report published this week in American Journalism Review, 93 percent of all newspaper sales can now be attributed to kidnappers seeking to prove the day's date in filmed ransom demands.

"Although the vast majority of Americans now get their news from the Internet or television, a small but loyal criminal element still purchases newspapers at a steady rate," study author and Columbia journalism professor Linus Ridell said. "The sober authority of the printed word continues to hold value for those attempting to extort large sums of money from wealthy people who wish to see their loved ones alive again, and not chopped into pieces and left in steamer trunks on their doorsteps."

"These are sick, sick individuals," Ridell added. "God bless them for saving our industry."

"They're also great for wrapping up a severed ear and mailing it to the family when they don't come through with the cash fast enough," the source continued. "And I always enjoy reading For Better Or For Worse."

[...] While most Americans have cut back on specialty publications, kidnappers still find them useful for making cut-and-paste ransom letters and death threats.

Although newsstand sales remain steady, neither newspapers nor magazines have seen much growth in terms of subscriptions, as their last existing consumers are extremely reluctant to provide permanent addresses.

"In order to reflect the purchasing habits of our most loyal customers, we will work with our distributors to ensure that these people can get newspapers at all hours of the night in inconspicuous, security-camera-free venues," said billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who later offhandedly mentioned that his wife often takes late-evening walks all by herself. "As long as violent sociopaths continue to abduct those closest to affluent people for huge cash ransoms, the long and storied tradition of the American newspaper will be preserved."

And let's not forget that there's nothing better than newsprint for firing up the woodstove and lining the birdcage, not to mention the classic presentation of fish and chips.

Besides, where else can you find out which of your neighbors are being foreclosed on without the 'notice of trustees sales' in the classified ads?

A lot of talk ...

But I'll believe it when I see it. With Harry Reid at the helm, any threats made by the U.S. Senate toward the insurance industry have a slim chance of coming to fruition. But while we're talking about yanking the insurance industry's anti-trust exemption, why not include a provision to jerk the tax-exempt status of churches, synagogues, and mosques? Times are hard (except for those on Wall St.) and communities need all the help they can get.

Late for work ...

The best explanation I've heard ...

About why Obama should have won the Nobel. Michael Moore via Maru:

...

The simple fact that he was elected was reason enough for him to be the recipient of this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

Because on that day the murderous actions of the Bush/Cheney years were totally and thoroughly rebuked. One man -- a man who opposed the War in Iraq from the beginning -- offered to end the insanity. The world has stood by in utter horror for the past eight years as they watched the descendants of Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson light the fuse of our own self-destruction. We flipped off the nations on this planet by abandoning Kyoto and then proceeded to melt eight more years worth of the polar ice caps. We invaded two nations that didn't attack us, failed to find the real terrorists and, in effect, ignited our own wave of terror. People all over the world wondered if we had gone mad.

And if all that wasn't enough, the outgoing Joker presided over the worst global financial collapse since the Great Depression.

...

I'm down wid dat.

And ...

As if you didn't know, Tom Friedman is still an idiot.

...

More importantly, I thought we understood that this kind of adolescent, swaggering attitude turned out not to be the best way to deal with the rest of the world. I guess it's a sign of maturity that Friedman isn't advocating shock and awe this time, but it's clear he hasn't yet grokked the fact that the US can't rely on bombast and bombs to deal with foreign governments, legitimate or not.

Quote of the Day - Zwei

Athenae:

... It is entirely possible to hold in one's mind the idea that Obama is the best president we've had in a long time, and that he's not doing enough on X, Y or Z to move things along.

McDonald's At The Louvre

Thanks, YubaNet.

From the looks of the lady making the comment, her fries follow her wherever she goes too...

GOP Claims Olympia Snowe Was Born in Kenya

Andy Borowitz via YubaNet

Just moments after she broke with fellow Republicans and voted in favor of health care reform, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) came under fire from the GOP for allegedly lying about her nation of birth.

"This vote is going to raise suspicions, once again, that Sen. Snowe was born in Kenya," said GOP Chairman Michael Steele. "We demand that she prove, once and for all, that she is definitely not Kenyan."

Orly Taitz, leader of the so-called "birther" movement, said that Sen. Snowe's vote was "textbook Kenyan" behavior: "She's putting her tribe first."

Elsewhere, the Rev. Moon married 10,000 people, putting him slightly ahead of Liza Minnelli.

Ready to eat your face and scream

Mark Morford is talking about horror/apocalypse movies, and manages to talk about the far right in that context. As long as we have ignorant Repugs, I don't need to go see any horror movies.

I mean, we adore violence, mayhem, the id unleashed. We are eternally fascinated by our own decay and demise, enthralled by our most disturbing fantasies, everyone not so secretly wishing they really could turn into a zombie, vampire, werewolf or a hundred other misunderstood mutant monsters because, well, that's what we all like to think we are, right? Some noble, misunderstood beast? Hey, I get it.

What's more, fear is where the money is. Fear is where the power is. Who wants to hear a tale where everyone wakes up to their divine natures, where suddenly everyone in town starts channeling the Dalai Lama and no one steals anything or molests anyone or calls the president a commie socialist Nazi whilst humping their Bible and quoting their gun? Oh wait, that's backwards. Or not.

Even the laughable "Left Behind" series of apocalypse porn books written for undereducated Christian paranoids traffics in the same violence-drenched, juvenile chyme as your average dimestore horror flick. Turns out even Christian euphoria and enlightenment are bathed in gunfire and blood. After all, everyone knows Jesus loves nothing more than a good, flesh-rending massacre, right?

As long as it's a massacree of us godless librul commie fucks, I guess. The christards have been willingly duped to twist the whole concept of what they claim to believe in into something that would horrify Jesus. Probably make a good horror movie.

For Zappatistas

Article in LATimes.

Now there's a headline that catches your eye. Yes it turns out that late Frank Zappa, the restless musical genius who may have been the most committed inconoclast in the history of rock, was a pal to the late Jack Kirby, the cosmic dreamer who is arguably the second most essential figure in the history of the American comic book. (You have to put Superman at first.)

Quote of the Day

The first little bit of a good article by Robert Parry on the reasoning behind Obama's Nobel:

Last year, Barack Obama did something extraordinary for the cause of world peace. He built a campaign that wrested control of the U.S. government from a gang of duplicitous warmongers.

"If you need a goat f****d, CNN will do it!"

Funny and sad but true at the same time, Jon Stewart roasts CNN and by extension, cable 'news'.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
CNN Leaves It There
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

Brings a whole new level ...

To the term "Eat Me". God, I love the French:

Paris Chocolate Fashion Show: feast for chocolate lovers

If ya really gotta be ...

A racist Nazi pig, at least do it right.

Irony and Satire are dead ...

Been saying it since the Chimp's first term. Even Gordon, our eternal optimist, has to label his satirical posts as such because people will believe they're real. Hey, the truth is more ironic than The Onion nowadays. To wit:

...

"We're not going to be the party of angry white guys," [Self-hating closeted homosexual Sen. Lindsay] Graham told the irate, overwhelmingly Caucasian crowd, apparently ignoring the obvious irony of his directive.

...

Sigh ...

Great thanks to our pal UL for the link.

Is this where the line forms ...

To kiss Olympia Snowe's old white ass?

President Obama appeared in the Rose Garden late Tuesday afternoon to hail the Senate Finance Committee's passage of a health-care overhaul bill - singling out Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Me.) for her "courage" and "seriousness of purpose."

...

Is she a Democrat? No. Will she bring other Republican votes with her on the final health care bill? Probably (almost certainly) not.

Mr. Obama, one Republican vote, given so grudgingly, does not bipartisanship make. Fuck Olympia Snowe and all the Republicans (and their corporate puppeteers) and give the overwhelming majority of Americans what they want. A publicly supported health care program that is good and affordable.

Light to none blogging today

A part broke on my motorcycle (Imagine that! It's only nine years old!) and I gotta go to Reno and get a replacement so I'll have a running bike until the snow flies. See yas later.

Yeah, why not?

Jill just had to have a procedure and after a successful outcome asks a question:

...

I'm fortunate in that even if I do have to pay for it, it won't bankrupt me. I would guess that this is not the case for up to 90% of Americans. The difference between me and Republicans is that I ask "Why can't everyone have this", whereas Republicans say "I get my health care -- fuck you."

...

Fortunately, like Jill, the Mrs. and I have good health insurance. They've always been there to put me back together and the Mrs.' week-long stay (with surgery) in Sloan-Kettering a few years back would have bankrupted us (or brought us really close to the edge) were it not for our insurance.

There are many Americans one hospitalization, one surgical procedure, one emergency room visit away from financial ruin. We have people debating whether or not to allow undocumented immigrants die from their illnesses instead of someone paying to treat them.

...

There are six insurance company lobbyists for every member of Congress. These lobbyists have spent $380 million in the last few months buying the minds of American Idiots and the votes of Congresscritters so that their gravy train will keep on rolling. That's enough to pay the premiums for family coverage for over 29,000 families. Assuming $5000 per colonoscopy (WITH anesthesia), that's enough to pay for 76,000 colonoscopies. Even if you believe that insurance company executives are entitled to eight-figure compensation packages, do you also think that lobbying is the best way to spend $380,000,000? [my em]

...

For those taking the insurance companies' side in this, I have a question of my own: Where's your humanity?

With what the insurance companies spend ensuring their position and monopolies (don't forget, they lobby Congress all the time, not just when something of this much import to them is on the table), they could have insured everyone in America who needed it. It is disgraceful on both the insurance companies' part and those in Congress who enable them.

Jill agrees with me on another point:

...

Here's how Wikipedia defines "protection racket":

...

American health care policy has become a form of legalized robbery, the same way defense contractors were allowed to loot the Treasury at the height of the Iraq War. It's time for guys like Harry Reid (and you too, Mr. President) to grow some nut and call it like it is. The insurance companies and their elected cohorts have traded their humanity for profit and campaign donations. It has to stop now.

Quote of the Day

Digby:

... Personally, I think that a report put out by my cat would be more reliable than one that was put out by the insurance companies. (And he's not even an economist.) ...

Quote of the Day

Dave Zirin, sports editor of The Nation on TRMS about Rushole's past drug use re owning a team:

"If OxyContin keeps Limbaugh from owning an NFL team, it truly is the miracle drug!"

No shit!

Maybe video later.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

It's called extortion ...

Being it's Columbus Day, this is quite apropos. The Mothers And Fathers Italian Association used to call it "protection".

I guess the insurance industry finally decided they weren't going to get the kind of sweetheart deals that PHarma and the Hospitals got, so they've gone on the warpath by holding a gun to ... er ... releasing a "cost projection" report about the effects of health care reform. I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear that it says they will raise premiums sky high if reforms are passed.

...

"Ey, ya nevah know when ya might have a fiah or some punks wanna trow a rock tru yer windah. We make shuah dat don't happen ... for a small weekly payment, ya heah."

Quasi-Holiday Bonus Music Blogging

Since today is kinda sorta a holiday, I thought I'd slip in a little bonus music.

Guy Clark performing with Emmylou Harris at the 2005 Americana awards, with Shawn Camp on the fiddle.

Guy Clark w/Emmylou Harris ~ Dublin Blues

Thanks to Txmusicam.

Support the Troops? NIMBY!

[Welcome to Crooks and Liars readers. Thanks, Mike! ~ F]

Veterans For Common Sense

October 11, 2009, Taylor, Texas (Austin American-Statesman) — A California company wants to convert an empty facility formerly used as nursing home into a trauma assistance center for as many as 88 female veterans, including those who have been sexually assaulted by fellow soldiers.

But some Taylor residents say they don't want the facility in their town.

Wolbrueck lives across the street from the proposed facility where veterans would live. She said she fears that veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder might attack residents in the Buttermilk Hill neighborhood.

"They can have an episode where a flashback transports them back into a combat situation, and they can perceive anyone as a threat: an elderly person taking a walk around the neighborhood, or a child on a bike," she said.

Yeah, 'support the troops' is fine. Until they need support. Then they're all crazed time bombs and should go live in someone else's neighborhood or under a bridge. Maybe especially female veterans - PTSD combined with PMS might level the joint.

Yeesh. Moral values, you know. It's for the children. Hooray for the red, white, and blue. Until the chickens come home to roost, that is.

Oh, the irony...

Ironic Times

Legalization of Marijuana Gains Support in California
Legalization of OxyContin gains support in Mississippi.

Drop in Birth Rate Blamed on Recession
Babies having second thoughts about being born already $40,000 in debt.

Physicist Working on Large Hadron Collider Arrested for Al Qaeda Links
Terrorists reportedly trying to obtain a black hole.

McDonald's Opens in the Louvre
Officially brings to close 500-year epoch of European cultural dominance.

Pity me ...

It's Columbus Day, in New York, and I work for an off-the-boat Italian. It's gonna be all Italy, all day:

Today is a holiday because a Spanish queen sent some bocciagalupe out to get her a curry and he got lost and found chocolate and syphilis instead ...

I wonder if the Native-Americans celebrate today too?

Wingnut logic ...

George W. Bush (if the Scandinavians would stop smoking dope) should be the one to get the Nobel Peace Prize. Scott takes a look:

Doug Giles, pastor of Our Lady of Free In-Room Coffee and HBO, and father of Fantasy Camp Follower Hannah Giles, is here to pierce Obama’s Nobel Prize-winning pretension like a Roman soldier poking Jesus with a spear to see if he’s done.

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Being a godless infidel, I hadn't been to a church service in a while (aside from weddings and funerals) and I hadn't realized they changed their whole schtick.

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What kind of Scandinavian trip weed are you guys roasting up there in your skull bongs? You blondies are orbiting the moon on this one!

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Of course, if the Nobel boys truly wanted to dole out props to people who actually brought real peace to rank regions, men such as George W. Bush, who liberated 50 million Muslims in Iraq living under jackass Hussein’s murderous boot

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Last mass I went to, Fr. Joe talked about the church carnival that raised money to help the disadvantaged in South America and Africa. He talked about helping your fellow man who'd fallen on hard times (it was during the 'Nixon Recession') and the losses to our parish in the Veitnam war (everybody knew a family where a father or son was killed there). He talked about kindness and caring for all of God's children.

I guess all that compassion went out the window in the past 35 years in favor of hate and prejudice. Services in this guy's church must resemble a Klan meeting.

Just sayin' ...

What gets me is that the news media spends more time talking about Dave Letterman's, and now Jimmy Kimmel's, sex lives when all evidence so far shows they were faithful to their partners when in committed relationships.

How come, when the senators and reps who are part of the 'moral' and 'family values' crowd (and generally the loudest) cheat on their wives, multiple times, it's glossed over? Reported on once or twice and then down the memory hole?

Hypocrisy (not even) among late night talk show hosts isn't detrimental to the running of the nation, yet we make a big deal of it. Though when our elected reps cheat and lie, well, that's business as usual.

Quote of the Day

The Rude One speaking of Michael Moore:

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America has always been his subject, and there are few people who have loved this country as much as Michael Moore. But while most Americans love this nation as if it's their hometown football team, he loves it like you love your child. That means that, while he may be ready with the praise, he is ready to scold it and correct it and try to make it better as it grows. For what else do we want for our children than for them to be confident, happy, and secure adults?

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