May 6th, 2011
There are so many reasons not to release the kill photos of Osama Bin Laden. Philip Gourevitch makes his case against it in The New Yorker and observes:
"The main argument for releasing a photograph of the punctured scalp of our enemy is that it will provide proof that bin Laden really is dead. In other words, seeing is believing. But does anyone really believe that any more? Believing is believing. People who want, or need, to believe that bin Laden wasn’t shot dead will have no difficulty believing that a picture of his cadaver is a fake, a simple propaganda trick. The release of Obama’s long-form birth certificate didn’t put an end to birtherism, so why would the release of bin Laden’s autopsy video put an end to deatherism? And why does the White House care to appease the holders of such delusions?"
Friday, May 6, 2011
Mindbogglingly Epic Fail
May 6th, 2011
I don't know how I missed this one earlier in the week. Simply amazing.
I don't know how I missed this one earlier in the week. Simply amazing.
Quote Of The Day
May 6th, 2011
"If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons." -- James Thurber
Thursday, May 5, 2011
The Natural Reaction To Watching The GOP "Debate"
May 5th, 2011
Okay. Here's the deal. We can parse, analyze, dissect, collate and inter-referentially interpret tonight's GOP (FOX lackey) "Debate" tomorrow. This is how I felt watching it. I hope you did not watch it. I watched so you didn't have to.
Okay. Here's the deal. We can parse, analyze, dissect, collate and inter-referentially interpret tonight's GOP (FOX lackey) "Debate" tomorrow. This is how I felt watching it. I hope you did not watch it. I watched so you didn't have to.
Not Enough Paper Hats
May 5th, 2011
As the Great Recession deepened last year, many conservative Republicans tried to have it both ways.
As the Great Recession deepened last year, many conservative Republicans tried to have it both ways.
On the one hand, they attempted to smear President Obama's fiscal proposals as "job-killing." They played childish games and argued that his administration was "bad" for employment. They also sought to portray the collapse of new job creation as something that had only become a crisis a day or so after the inauguration of the new Democratic administration.
When DID We Know?
May 5th, 2011
Yesterday, Sam Seder dug up a very interesting 2008 appearance by Christiane Amanpour on Bill Maher's Real Time. In it, she clearly states that a source has told her Osama Bin Laden is living in "a nice comfortable villa in Pakistan." This raises so many troubling questions.
Yesterday, Sam Seder dug up a very interesting 2008 appearance by Christiane Amanpour on Bill Maher's Real Time. In it, she clearly states that a source has told her Osama Bin Laden is living in "a nice comfortable villa in Pakistan." This raises so many troubling questions.
Quote Of The Day
May 5th, 2011
"Meet failure and disappointment with courage. Rise superior to the trials of life, and never give in to hopelessness or despair. In danger, in adversity, cling to your principles and ideals." -- Sir William Osler
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Total Lack Of Surprise
May 4th, 2011
Hats off to Johnathan Cohn for his piece at The New Republic. The opener is pure money:
"The cuts in the Affordable Care Act hit the providers and producers of health care more than the consumers, at least directly, and include changes to the delivery of medical care that will, with any luck, make it possible for people to get better, more efficient health care even as it costs less. The Republican budget actually includes most of these same cuts for the first ten years, but then puts almost the entire onus for cost-cutting on individual beneficiaries via the vouchers.
Do Rubio and his colleagues care that they are completely distorting reality? Do they even realize it? Your guess is as good as mine. And quite possibly theirs."
Hats off to Johnathan Cohn for his piece at The New Republic. The opener is pure money:
"It’s becoming pretty clear how Republicans plan to defend their budget. They’re going to lie about it."
The breakdown:
"The cuts in the Affordable Care Act hit the providers and producers of health care more than the consumers, at least directly, and include changes to the delivery of medical care that will, with any luck, make it possible for people to get better, more efficient health care even as it costs less. The Republican budget actually includes most of these same cuts for the first ten years, but then puts almost the entire onus for cost-cutting on individual beneficiaries via the vouchers.
Do Rubio and his colleagues care that they are completely distorting reality? Do they even realize it? Your guess is as good as mine. And quite possibly theirs."
Read the whole thing HERE
Broken Promises Indeed
May 4th, 2011
I generally don't post outright DCCC videos here. This is a worthy exception. Enjoy this round up of liars. Blatant fear mongering prior to the 2010 ballot followed by lockstep approval of Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) Path To Poverty. I endorse their petition.
Totally Random Let's All Stay Sane Moment
May 4th, 2011
Let's all take a deep breath and enjoy Jasper's Audition
Let's all take a deep breath and enjoy Jasper's Audition
No Torture
May 3rd, 2011
As the right raced to make vulgar claims that torture is somehow vindicated in the wake of the death of Osama Bin Laden, the lie was put to rest by none other than former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
From a Newsmax exclusive:
"Asked if harsh interrogation techniques at Guantanamo Bay played a role in obtaining intelligence on bin Laden’s whereabouts, Rumsfeld declares: “First of all, no one was waterboarded at Guantanamo Bay. That’s a myth that’s been perpetrated around the country by critics."
Nope. Torture did not help get Osama Bin Laden. And, by the way, it's still un-American and immoral.
As the right raced to make vulgar claims that torture is somehow vindicated in the wake of the death of Osama Bin Laden, the lie was put to rest by none other than former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
From a Newsmax exclusive:
"Asked if harsh interrogation techniques at Guantanamo Bay played a role in obtaining intelligence on bin Laden’s whereabouts, Rumsfeld declares: “First of all, no one was waterboarded at Guantanamo Bay. That’s a myth that’s been perpetrated around the country by critics."
Nope. Torture did not help get Osama Bin Laden. And, by the way, it's still un-American and immoral.
Quote Of The Day - Here and Now Edition
Mar 3rd, 2011
"The [Al Qaeda] system is reeling overseas. Pakistan is terribly embarrassed, and every AQ guy hiding out right now, has to worry not only about predator strikes, but 40 Seals and the agency landing on your roof." -- a former covert ops CIA officer speaking to David Corn on the death of Osama Bin Laden
"The [Al Qaeda] system is reeling overseas. Pakistan is terribly embarrassed, and every AQ guy hiding out right now, has to worry not only about predator strikes, but 40 Seals and the agency landing on your roof." -- a former covert ops CIA officer speaking to David Corn on the death of Osama Bin Laden
Quote Of The Day
May 4th, 2011
"The most practical kind of politics is the politics of decency." -- Theodore Roosevelt
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
How The Internet Is Telling Us What We Want
May 3rd, 2011
Meet Eli Pariser of TED. The following is a presentation from a recent TED Talk in which he demonstrates how many of the sites we use most on the internet are editing what we see without our knowledge. In everything from search engines to social networks, algorithms are selecting out certain information based on past use in the name of "personalization." His examination of different Google Search results across multiple users during the Tahrir Square demonstrations is a bit chilling.
Meet Eli Pariser of TED. The following is a presentation from a recent TED Talk in which he demonstrates how many of the sites we use most on the internet are editing what we see without our knowledge. In everything from search engines to social networks, algorithms are selecting out certain information based on past use in the name of "personalization." His examination of different Google Search results across multiple users during the Tahrir Square demonstrations is a bit chilling.
It Mattered To Us...
May 3rd, 2011
by F. Grey Parker
The news of Osama Bin Laden's death at the hands of U.S. Forces operating deep inside Pakistan may well define us in a way matched only by a certain bad September day nearly 10 years ago.
by F. Grey Parker
The news of Osama Bin Laden's death at the hands of U.S. Forces operating deep inside Pakistan may well define us in a way matched only by a certain bad September day nearly 10 years ago.
Quote Of The Day
May 3rd, 2011
"It is a sin to believe evil of others, but it is seldom a mistake." -- H. L. Mencken
Monday, May 2, 2011
Serious Business
May 2nd, 2011
These are the faces of the administration while watching the operation to get Bin Laden unfold live from a world away. Powerful stuff.
These are the faces of the administration while watching the operation to get Bin Laden unfold live from a world away. Powerful stuff.
"Birthers" are out, "Deathers" are in...
May 2nd, 2011
I write this reluctantly. That is because it is more painfully stupid than anything I have encountered in my adult life.
It took less than 24 hours after the announcement of the decade for the crap to get deeper. Yes, there is a crazy beyond the "birthers." They are already called the "deathers."
They believe that President Barack Obama is clever enough to get every active member of CENTCOM and JSOC to participate in a vast conspiracy to fake a military operation resulting in the death of Osama Bin Laden but not clever enough to have perpetrated it prior to the 2010 election.
Pardon the interwebphemism, but FACEPALM.
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