Nov 15th, 2011
... that "Shit is fucked up and bullshit" after all.
The siege of peaceful protesters in Liberty Square by highly militarized officers in riot gear with battlefield sound weapons is underway. It began at roughly 1am EDT.
It is a sad day for America.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Things We Post For No Particular Reason
Nov 14th, 2011
I've never been a fan of Keith Urban. As for John Mayer, aside from a handful of songs I genuinely like, he's not exactly at the top of my playlist. Together, however, they are really quite phenomenal. Here's proof. A different link with video of the actual performance can be found HERE.
I've never been a fan of Keith Urban. As for John Mayer, aside from a handful of songs I genuinely like, he's not exactly at the top of my playlist. Together, however, they are really quite phenomenal. Here's proof. A different link with video of the actual performance can be found HERE.
Cain Watch - "Manly Man" Pizza? Seriously?
Nov 14th, 2011
Okay. That's it. Barring some wildly more insane display than we have already had to endure (I know, maybe it could happen), we are ending our running series on the artist formerly known as Herman Cain with this one:
"The more toppings a man has on his pizza, I believe the more manly he is. Because the more manly man is not afraid of abundance. A manly man don’t want it piled high with vegetables! He would call that a sissy pizza."
Enough. No more Cain Watch. Unless and until he starts singing the Star Spangled Banner naked, in public while rubbing anchovies all over himself? We... Are... DONE.
Okay. That's it. Barring some wildly more insane display than we have already had to endure (I know, maybe it could happen), we are ending our running series on the artist formerly known as Herman Cain with this one:
"The more toppings a man has on his pizza, I believe the more manly he is. Because the more manly man is not afraid of abundance. A manly man don’t want it piled high with vegetables! He would call that a sissy pizza."
Enough. No more Cain Watch. Unless and until he starts singing the Star Spangled Banner naked, in public while rubbing anchovies all over himself? We... Are... DONE.
There Aren't Different Versions Of The Truth, cont...
Nov 14th, 2011
As it turns out, the Koch Brothers are being forced to face the fact that some things just aren't for sale. Not even at any price. One of those things is empirical truth.
Via Raw Story:
"A prominent climate change skeptic told Congress on Monday he no longer doubts that global warming is real and caused by humans, and joined other scientists in urging action to stop it.
Physicist Richard Muller, director of the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature Project, whose two-year research was funded in part by a foundation formed by the conservative billionaire Koch brothers, said he could find no bias in other studies.
"We confirm that over the last 50 years, temperature has risen 0.9 degrees Celsius, or 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the same number that the IPCC (UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) says."
Muller told the House Committee on Natural Resources that while he remains cautious about the extent to which humans have played a role, he now hopes other climate skeptics will come on board with his findings."
Muller, long thought of by climate change deniers as one of their own, simply couldn't deliver manufactured science. Funny how genuine science works that way, ain't it?
Via Raw Story:
"A prominent climate change skeptic told Congress on Monday he no longer doubts that global warming is real and caused by humans, and joined other scientists in urging action to stop it.
Physicist Richard Muller, director of the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature Project, whose two-year research was funded in part by a foundation formed by the conservative billionaire Koch brothers, said he could find no bias in other studies.
"We confirm that over the last 50 years, temperature has risen 0.9 degrees Celsius, or 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the same number that the IPCC (UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) says."
Muller told the House Committee on Natural Resources that while he remains cautious about the extent to which humans have played a role, he now hopes other climate skeptics will come on board with his findings."
Muller, long thought of by climate change deniers as one of their own, simply couldn't deliver manufactured science. Funny how genuine science works that way, ain't it?
Mayor Quan Loses An Ally
Nov 14th, 2011
The mayor of Oakland has tried to mitigate her responsibility for the horrific police riot against that city's occupation by reminding voters of her activist background. Not good enough.
Via SFGate:
"Mayor Jean Quan's chief legal adviser resigned early this morning after what he called a "tragically unnecessary" police raid of the Occupy Oakland camp.
Dan Siegel, a civil rights attorney and one of Oakland's most active and vocal police critics, said the city should have done more to work with campers before sending in police.
"The city sent police to evict this camp, arrest people and potentially hurt them," Siegel said. "Obviously, we're not on the same page. It's an amazing show of force to move tents from a public place."
Siegel strongly and vocally opposed any plan by the city to take down the month-old camp in the days leading up the police raid."
I suspect this not the last defection Mayor Quan will have to endure. Here is a reminder of what she authorized.
The mayor of Oakland has tried to mitigate her responsibility for the horrific police riot against that city's occupation by reminding voters of her activist background. Not good enough.
Via SFGate:
"Mayor Jean Quan's chief legal adviser resigned early this morning after what he called a "tragically unnecessary" police raid of the Occupy Oakland camp.
Dan Siegel, a civil rights attorney and one of Oakland's most active and vocal police critics, said the city should have done more to work with campers before sending in police.
"The city sent police to evict this camp, arrest people and potentially hurt them," Siegel said. "Obviously, we're not on the same page. It's an amazing show of force to move tents from a public place."
Siegel strongly and vocally opposed any plan by the city to take down the month-old camp in the days leading up the police raid."
I suspect this not the last defection Mayor Quan will have to endure. Here is a reminder of what she authorized.
Cain Watch - Why? Why Is He Doing This? cont...
Nov 14th, 2011
Wow. Jeff Spross adds this withering look at Cain's bumbling in light of today's "Libya moment."
Wow. Jeff Spross adds this withering look at Cain's bumbling in light of today's "Libya moment."
Cain Watch - Why? Why Is He Doing This?
Nov 14th, 2011
I think it's a legitimate question; Why, for goodness sake's, is Herman Cain still running? This train-wreck goes beyond a "performance art" candidacy. Today's display of raw ignorance on the subject of Libya should make every foreign policy attuned conservative run from him, but quick.
By Alex Seitz-Wald and Jeff Spross observe:
"Unlike Rick Perry’s infamous "oops" moment, Cain doesn’t appear to have a momentary brain lapse, but seems to be genuinely befuddled by the substance of the question. Last month, Cain said he had studied up on foreign policy and "challenge[d] anybody who says I wouldn’t know how to address foreign policy."
While becoming the next commander in chief is looking increasingly unlikely for Cain, he has a backup plan. This weekend, he said he would like to be secretary of defense so he could "kick the you-know-what out of everyone in the world."
I think it's a legitimate question; Why, for goodness sake's, is Herman Cain still running? This train-wreck goes beyond a "performance art" candidacy. Today's display of raw ignorance on the subject of Libya should make every foreign policy attuned conservative run from him, but quick.
By Alex Seitz-Wald and Jeff Spross observe:
"Unlike Rick Perry’s infamous "oops" moment, Cain doesn’t appear to have a momentary brain lapse, but seems to be genuinely befuddled by the substance of the question. Last month, Cain said he had studied up on foreign policy and "challenge[d] anybody who says I wouldn’t know how to address foreign policy."
While becoming the next commander in chief is looking increasingly unlikely for Cain, he has a backup plan. This weekend, he said he would like to be secretary of defense so he could "kick the you-know-what out of everyone in the world."
Bill Moyers On The Occupation
Nov 14th, 2011
I might be more sympathetic to Moyer's position were it less likely that the Occupation would be co-opted under such a scenario. This is what happened to the original, grassroots Tea Party movement. Complicated times lie ahead.
"I don't think Occupy Wall Street will have the influence they want unless they do what the tea party did and take over the nominating process. Unless they do, they will never have the satisfaction that they want and that the civil rights movement, say, had back in the 1950s and '60s. These people are not going to have long-ranging effect unless they have a party to act on their interests. They need to become a political movement instead of a grievance committee."
I might be more sympathetic to Moyer's position were it less likely that the Occupation would be co-opted under such a scenario. This is what happened to the original, grassroots Tea Party movement. Complicated times lie ahead.
"I don't think Occupy Wall Street will have the influence they want unless they do what the tea party did and take over the nominating process. Unless they do, they will never have the satisfaction that they want and that the civil rights movement, say, had back in the 1950s and '60s. These people are not going to have long-ranging effect unless they have a party to act on their interests. They need to become a political movement instead of a grievance committee."
Smoke, Smoke, Smoke...
Nov 14th, 2011
Cletis suggested we post this with a dedication to Judge Richard J. Leon, apparent darling of tobacco's corporate death merchants.
Cletis suggested we post this with a dedication to Judge Richard J. Leon, apparent darling of tobacco's corporate death merchants.
"Values Voter" Values In Wisconsin
Nov 14th, 2011
Screw fair play, to Hell with the law and look out democratic process in Wisconsin. Angry "conservatives" are gearing up to play very dirty tricks in the run up to the expected recall of Gov. Scott Walker.
Via Mother Jones:
"A group of self-identified conservatives say they plan to sabotage the effort to recall Wisconsin GOP Gov. Scott Walker, which begins on Tuesday, by burning and shredding recall petitions they've collected and misleading Wisconsinites about the recall process.
These plans, discussed in Facebook posts that were first reported by the blog PolitiScoop, entail posing as recall supporters and gathering signatures, only to later destroy the petitions. They also include telling Wisconsinites that they can only sign one recall petition (which is false—they can sign different petitions as long as they each correspond to a different organization) and directing signature collectors to the homes of registered sex offenders. (Requests for comment were sent to each of the Facebook posters who allowed messages from other users.)
In one post, Will R. Jenkins says, "I'll be able to destroy 15-20K signatures." If things go well, he adds, he might even "be able to destroy upwards of 15-20% of the entire collected ballots in the state of Wisconsin."
What is absent, thus far, is any condemnation from the state's Republican Party or its leaders. Apparently, the Tea Party chant that they want to "take back our country" refers to a very different country indeed.
Shameful. And dangerous. Suffice to say, were the parties reversed and a number of "self declared" liberals were opening boasting of similar plans, this would be the lead story on every major outlet for the remainder of the year.
Period.
Via Mother Jones:
"A group of self-identified conservatives say they plan to sabotage the effort to recall Wisconsin GOP Gov. Scott Walker, which begins on Tuesday, by burning and shredding recall petitions they've collected and misleading Wisconsinites about the recall process.
These plans, discussed in Facebook posts that were first reported by the blog PolitiScoop, entail posing as recall supporters and gathering signatures, only to later destroy the petitions. They also include telling Wisconsinites that they can only sign one recall petition (which is false—they can sign different petitions as long as they each correspond to a different organization) and directing signature collectors to the homes of registered sex offenders. (Requests for comment were sent to each of the Facebook posters who allowed messages from other users.)
In one post, Will R. Jenkins says, "I'll be able to destroy 15-20K signatures." If things go well, he adds, he might even "be able to destroy upwards of 15-20% of the entire collected ballots in the state of Wisconsin."
What is absent, thus far, is any condemnation from the state's Republican Party or its leaders. Apparently, the Tea Party chant that they want to "take back our country" refers to a very different country indeed.
Shameful. And dangerous. Suffice to say, were the parties reversed and a number of "self declared" liberals were opening boasting of similar plans, this would be the lead story on every major outlet for the remainder of the year.
Period.
Legal Insider Trading
Nov 14th, 2011
60 Minutes shines some light on the very disturbing fact that Senators and Congressmen are exempt from insider trading laws and are making a killing in the stock market using non-public information.
60 Minutes shines some light on the very disturbing fact that Senators and Congressmen are exempt from insider trading laws and are making a killing in the stock market using non-public information.
Quote Of The Day
Nov 14th, 2011
"A healthy attitude is contagious but don't wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier."
-- Tom Stoppard
-- Tom Stoppard
Sunday, November 13, 2011
The Continuing Re-Definition of "Speech"
Nov 13th, 2011
by F. Grey Parker
As an American smoker who has also spent time in Europe and in Canada, the concept of dramatically more discouraging messaging on cigarette packages is not alien to me. In fact, it makes a great deal of sense. The labeling that was supposed to begin accompanying American tobacco products, in much the same way that these other countries have demanded, is now in limbo due to the amazing logic of one American judge.
by F. Grey Parker
The Message Is Clear
Nov 13th, 2011
Charles Toy of The Christian Left has had it with self-declared "Christians" rationalizing their own self-interest:
"Frankly, I'm sick and tired of hearing this epic cop-out on the part of Christians: "I wonder if Jesus meant for the government to feed the poor, or for us to voluntarily give to make sure all the poor people have food." Many don't even wonder about the notion.
They insist they know. Provision and care for the least of these -- the sick, the poor, the homeless, the addicted, the mentally ill, the displaced, the marginalized -- is an individual mandate. Human institutions of government have no business worrying about such things.
What a load of Bull dung.
How many passages of God's word do they need?"
Charles Toy of The Christian Left has had it with self-declared "Christians" rationalizing their own self-interest:
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| Image via |
They insist they know. Provision and care for the least of these -- the sick, the poor, the homeless, the addicted, the mentally ill, the displaced, the marginalized -- is an individual mandate. Human institutions of government have no business worrying about such things.
What a load of Bull dung.
How many passages of God's word do they need?"
Hear hear. He goes on to cite just a handful of Biblical passages, merely scratching the surface, from the hundreds that so obviously put the lie to those who profess the view that God wants an aristocratic, wealthy minority class.
Quote Of The Day
Nov 13th, 2011
"Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his countrymen work for nothing, not paying them for their labor."
-- Jeremiah 22:13
-- Jeremiah 22:13
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Things You Can't Make Up
Nov 12th, 2011
It seems that Ford's Theater, the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, has banned Bill O'Reilly's bestselling book about... the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Apparently, O'Reilly is not merely content to misrepresent provable contemporary truths.
Via Gawker:
"According to the Washington Post, the theater has banned Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever, a new book O'Reilly wrote with fancy American writer Martin Dugard, because it's "sloppy with the facts and slim on documentation"—an assessment given by Ford's officials and outside historians who have panned it. In addition to lacking footnotes, the book includes factual inaccuracies (for example, it says that Lincoln held meetings in the Oval Office, when that office didn't exist until 44 years after Lincoln's death) and its portrayal of assassination conspirator Mary Surratt is so fantastical that it might as well say she was captured by authorities while trying to board a plane at Dulles. The book even calls her "bloated"! Speaking of indignities. For more details on the factual error stuff, you can check out the review written by Ford's Theatre deputy superintendent Rae Emerson."
A colleague who just finished the O'Reilly mess had this to say:
"I am nearly certain that Seth Graeme Smith's Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is more historically accurate."
Wow.
Via Gawker:
"According to the Washington Post, the theater has banned Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever, a new book O'Reilly wrote with fancy American writer Martin Dugard, because it's "sloppy with the facts and slim on documentation"—an assessment given by Ford's officials and outside historians who have panned it. In addition to lacking footnotes, the book includes factual inaccuracies (for example, it says that Lincoln held meetings in the Oval Office, when that office didn't exist until 44 years after Lincoln's death) and its portrayal of assassination conspirator Mary Surratt is so fantastical that it might as well say she was captured by authorities while trying to board a plane at Dulles. The book even calls her "bloated"! Speaking of indignities. For more details on the factual error stuff, you can check out the review written by Ford's Theatre deputy superintendent Rae Emerson."
A colleague who just finished the O'Reilly mess had this to say:
"I am nearly certain that Seth Graeme Smith's Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is more historically accurate."
Wow.
Quote Of The Day - Brazenly Honest Edition
Nov 12th, 2011
"I don’t think it requires us to go negative in the sense of us running a bunch of ads that are false, or character assassinations. It will be based on facts …
We may just run clips of the Republican debates verbatim.
We won’t even comment on them, we’ll just run those in a loop on Univision and Telemundo, and people can make up their own minds."
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| Image via La Plaza |
We may just run clips of the Republican debates verbatim.
We won’t even comment on them, we’ll just run those in a loop on Univision and Telemundo, and people can make up their own minds."
-- President Barack Obama's response to questions from a gathering of Hispanic American broadcasters about whether he feels he will need to "negatively campaign" to reach Latino voters.
Why I Won't Be Watching...
Nov 12th, 2011
A number of readers have asked if will be liveblogging tonight's GOP "debate." My answer is NO. Of course... no. I just can't take it anymore. BooMan explains why it's pointless:
"Voters are not learning anything by watching these debates. They're just being misinformed and presented with an alternate reality that is quite different from anything normal people experience in their lives. Unless you are immersed in right-wing talk radio and Fox News, most of what they're saying doesn't even have a passing relationship to your understanding of the world. Their statistics are fabricated. The problems they identify don't even exist. Their solutions are not plausible on any level you might want to consider. It's really a lot more like pro wrestling than actual politics. Except it's actually less entertaining than actual politics, which proves they're doing it wrong. Even Herman Cain, who was providing some consistent comedic value for a while, is no longer funny now that he's trying to explain how many women he's never harassed. I know it's hard to write about a presidential campaign if you don't watch the debates, but I just can't do it. My capacity to imbibe The Stupid has been maxed out."
A number of readers have asked if will be liveblogging tonight's GOP "debate." My answer is NO. Of course... no. I just can't take it anymore. BooMan explains why it's pointless:
"Voters are not learning anything by watching these debates. They're just being misinformed and presented with an alternate reality that is quite different from anything normal people experience in their lives. Unless you are immersed in right-wing talk radio and Fox News, most of what they're saying doesn't even have a passing relationship to your understanding of the world. Their statistics are fabricated. The problems they identify don't even exist. Their solutions are not plausible on any level you might want to consider. It's really a lot more like pro wrestling than actual politics. Except it's actually less entertaining than actual politics, which proves they're doing it wrong. Even Herman Cain, who was providing some consistent comedic value for a while, is no longer funny now that he's trying to explain how many women he's never harassed. I know it's hard to write about a presidential campaign if you don't watch the debates, but I just can't do it. My capacity to imbibe The Stupid has been maxed out."
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